North State Journal Vol. 7, Issue 32

US job openings sink as economy slows, cost to borrow rises

Washington, D.C.

The number of available jobs in the U.S. plummeted in August compared with July as businesses grow less desperate for workers.

The government jobs report released Tuesday also showed that layoffs remained historically low, even after a modest increase in August.

“Employers are thinking about who they don’t need to hire, but not thinking about who they need to lay off,” said Layla O’Kane, a senior economist at labor analytics firms Lightcast.

The U.S. releases critical data on monthly employment on Friday.

THE

Biden running for reelection according to Sharpton

Washington, D.C.

President Joe Biden told the Rev. Al Sharpton that he will seek a second term in a private conversation at the White House last month, Sharpton informed his National Action Network staff in Washington later that day, NBC News reported.

“I’m going to do it again,” Biden said as he posed for a photograph in the Roosevelt Room with Sharpton. “I’m going.”

Musk proposes going ahead with deal to buy Twitter

San Francisco

Trading in shares of Twitter were halted Tuesday after the stock spiked on reports that Elon Musk would proceed with his $44 billion deal to buy the company after months of legal battles.

Bloomberg News reported Tuesday that Musk made the proposal in a letter to Twitter, according to people familiar with the case who were not identified.

The trial seeking to compel Musk to buy Twitter is set to start in Delaware Chancery Court on Oct. 17.

THE

Poll: Many pessimistic about improving standard of living

New York More than half of Americans believe it’s unlikely younger people today will have better lives than their parents, according to a new poll from the University of Chicago and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Most of those polled said that raising a family and owning a home are important to them, but more than half said these goals are harder to achieve compared with their parents’ generation. That was particularly true for younger people — about seven in 10 Americans under 30 think homeownership has become harder to achieve.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Pink Energy closes, leaves customers with faulty solar panels

Mooresville

A nationally known solar power company abruptly closed its doors last week. Now, hundreds of customers have questions about what to do with their malfunctioning and underperforming solar panels.

Many customers told WBTV that their solar panels aren’t producing the energy or the savings they were originally promised. More than 80 complaints were filed against the company, formerly known as Power Home Solar, with the N.C. Attorney General’s office.

However, customers still must make monthly payments on loans that were used to buy the systems. In some cases, the loans are upwards of $60,000.

Cooper’s Department of Administration still withholding details of costly mansion repairs

the $2,123,955 total first obtained by North State Journal in Decem ber 2020. The DOA took 820 days – well over two years – to respond to the first records request.

UNC Asheville students told to ‘sacrifice’ themselves during active shooter training

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal

RALEIGH — Students partic ipating in a recent active shooter training on the UNC Asheville campus were told to “sacrifice” themselves by a university official leading the training.

About 50 student employees of UNCA’s Highsmith Student Union were involved in the Sept. 20 training drill, one of which spoke to North State Journal on the condition their identity be kept anonymous. This article will refer to them as Jordan.

The student employees had re ceived an email notice of a “man datory training” event that would last two hours on Sept. 9. The Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Count er, Evacuate (ALICE) training

that was employed has been de scribed as “interactive,” and the Sept. 9 session was apparently headed up by UNCA Director of Emergency Management David Weldon. Also in attendance were Highsmith Student Union Direc tor Jessica Inman and Associate Director Silke Crombie.

At the onset of the training, Weldon told students that if they were to leave, they would tell an other staff member present the reason why.

During the first part of the training, footage and images of the shootings that took place at UNC Charlotte before the pan demic and at Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School were shown to the participants.

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal

RALEIGH — The N.C. Depart ment of Administration has not complied with attempts by North State Journal to ascertain details surrounding over $2.5 million in repairs to the Executive Mansion during Democratic Gov. Roy Coo per’s tenure.

Earlier this year during the an nual media observance of trans parency in government operations known as “Sunshine Week,” North State Journal filed a records re quest on March 14 with the N.C. Department of Administration (DOA) for a list of repairs and the associated costs for the Executive Mansion.

Communications Director for the DOA Julia Hegele respond ed 149 days later on Aug. 10 with a dollar figure of $2,569,459; a $445,504 increase from

North State Journal’s current request for a line item list of the repairs was denied by the depart ment which initially cited “security concerns.”

“Due to security concerns, we typically do not share publicly re pair records and recommenda tions for the Executive Residence,” Hegele said in an email response. “Providing specific line items and costs could identify potential defi ciencies in the historic building as well as materials used for repairs, information that could be exploit ed to threaten the safety of the res idence, its occupants and visitors.”

In response to that denial of re cords, on Aug. 17 North State Jour nal asked DOA for a copy of the policy, emails or memos that would back up the “security issues” claim. The agency was emailed again on Aug. 26 and again on Sept. 13 after

By Matt Mercer North State Journal

RALEIGH — As the cal endar flipped to October, the candidates for North Carolina’s open U.S. Senate seat sharpened their attacks on one another as the only debate in the race will see Cheri Beasley and Ted Budd meet for the first time.

Much of the race is now cen tered on Beasley’s record as a lawyer and judge. Budd and outside groups have focused on a string of controversial cases Beasley was involved in.

The Washington Free Beacon reported last month about Beas ley’s involvement in a 1998 case where she was one of the “key defense attorneys” for Tilmon and Kevin Golphin, brothers who one year before the trial killed two North Carolina police officers during a traffic stop that came after they robbed a loan agency at gunpoint. The broth er of one of the slain officers, Al Lowry, said it’s “B.S.” that the Democrat is portraying herself as a friend of law enforcement.

“It makes me sick every time I look at her because I know she’s not the right person for the job,” Lowry said in the report. “She’s for the criminals and not for the law officers. … [Beasley’s] ad says law enforcement stands be hind her. I don’t believe that for one second.”

In another case, when she served on the N.C. Supreme Court, Beasley voted to vacate a career criminal’s habitual fel on status just after the man was caught with a “weapon of mass death,” a move that would have

seen him receive a lighter sen tence if he committed another crime, the Free Beacon also re ported. The majority of justices disagreed with her in that case, though.

Most recently, Beasley’s rep resentation of Massage Envy

NSJ STAFF

Department first cited security reasons but now claims no list exists

COURTESY PHOTO

The UNC Asheville campus library is shown in this photo from the university.

Beasley, Budd to meet Friday in only scheduled debate

receiving no response to the initial email sent to Hegele on Aug. 17.

On Sept. 19, Hegele responded. For the first time in seven months of email correspondence, Hegele was now stating that DOA wasn’t keeping a detailed list of repairs for the mansion.

“You request below that we share with you “line item” costs for re pairs to the Executive Residence,”

The image of a child in the strong arms of a father or a single path of footprints in the sand are metaphors of how The Almighty protects and strengthens humanity.

At the two extremes of life, childhood and old age — this promise comes with special assurance.

“He shall gather the lambs in His arms, and carry them in His bosom” (Isaiah 40:11), is a word for the children.

“Even to your old age and gray hairs I am He; I am He who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.” (Isaiah 46:4), brings its blessed comfort to the aged.

The thought of God’s embracing arms is very suggestive. What does an arm represent?

One suggestion, is protection. As a father puts his arm about his child when it is in danger — so God protects His children. Life is full of peril. Enemies lurk in every shadow — enemies strong and swift. Yet we are assured that nothing can separate us from the love of God.

Another thought, is affection. The father’s arm drawn around a child — is a token of love. The mother holds the child in her bosom, because she loves it. This picture of God embracing His children in His arms — tells of His love for them — His love is tender, close, intimate.

Another thought suggested by an arm, is strength. The arm is a symbol of strength. His arm is omnipotence. “In the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength” (Isaiah 26:4). His is an arm that can never be broken. Out of this clasp — we can never be taken. “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish — ever. No one will snatch them out of My hand.” (John 10:28)

Another suggestion is endurance. The arms of God are “everlasting.” Human arms grow weary even in love’s embrace; they cannot forever press the child to the bosom. Soon they lie folded in death.

There is another important suggestion in the word “underneath.” Not only do the arms of God embrace His child — but they are underneath — always underneath. That means that we can never sink — for these arms will ever be beneath us.

Sometimes we say the waters of trouble are very deep; like great floods they roll over us. But still and forever, underneath the deepest floods — are these everlasting arms. We cannot sink below them — or out of their clasp.

And when death comes, and every earthly thing is gone from beneath us, and we sink away into what seems

Hegele said in an email on Sept. 19. “While we have provided you with the total amount spent on repairs, we do not maintain a master list of line-item costs for repairs to the Executive Residence.”

North State Journal replied to Hegele on the same day question ing the contradiction of “security issues” as the reason for the de nial of records and the new claim that DOA was not keeping a list of repairs. Additionally, our outlet

re-stated the request for the policy or memos backing the refusal to produce the records due to “securi ty concerns.”

As of the publication of this arti cle, Hegele has not yet responded. If the DOA is not keeping re cords of repairs for Cooper’s tenure as Hegele indicated, that would seemingly represent a departure from the record-keeping for pre vious occupants of the Executive Mansion.

darkness — out of all human love, out of warmth and gladness and life — into the gloom and strange mystery of death — still it will only be — into the everlasting arms.

This view of God’s divine care is full of inspiration and comfort. We are not saving ourselves. A strong One, the mighty God — holds us in His omnipotent clasp. We are not tossed like a leaf on life’s wild sea — driven at the mercy of wind and wave. We are in divine keeping. Our security does not depend upon our own feeble, wavering faith — but upon the omnipotence, the love, and the faithfulness of the unchanging, the eternal God.

No power in the universe can snatch us out of His hands. Neither death nor life, nor things present, nor things to come — can separate us from His everlasting arms.

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

It’s also a departure from trans parency by the DOA as evidenced by 2013 reporting on repairs con ducted under former Gov. Pat McCrory’s administration. The repairs to the mansion at that time were widely reported on by mul tiple media outlets, no “security concerns” qualifiers were applied to records requests. In fact, media outlets were given detailed lists of repairs and access to a list of con tractors hired and considered for

the work.

There is also a question of how frequently Cooper is utilizing the mansion. Sources tell North State Journal that the governor and First Lady spend a significant amount of time away from the mansion.

A request sent to the governor’s office inquiring how many days and nights he and the First Lady have stayed at the mansion has gone unacknowledged by Cooper’s communications staff.

millions in the race.

just months before she jumped into the race also drew scruti ny. She was listed as counsel in during a court case involving the massage therapy chain. More than 100 women have accused massage therapists for the chain of sexual assault, including in North Caro lina.

“Massage Envy stood accused of awful instances of sexual assault and Cheri Beasley still took them on as a client,” NRSC spokesman T.W. Arrighi said in a statement. “North Carolinians have no pa tience for politicians who say one

thing but do another, especially when it comes to protecting vic tims.”

In a recent MSNBC interview, Beasley appeared to sidestep questions regarding those deci sions, instead pivoting to discuss ing lower costs.

“There are a whole host of is sues, but folks want to know their next senator will work to lower costs,” Beasley said, adding that the has been “unfairly attacked” over record. She did not directly rebut any of the attacks but to call them unfair and distortions.

Budd seems likely to bring those issues up during the debate,

even as his main message is fo cused on the economy, inflation, and the Biden administration’s job performance.

Budd launched his first televi sion ads in August in the race with that message – even a mock cam paign rally for Beasley to welcome President Joe Biden to the state. Budd says in the ad in reality it would never happen and that Bea sley is trying to not tie herself to Biden but would support his pol icies nonetheless.

Many pundits have said Budd’s campaign is not one of the high est-profile, drawing some com parisons to outgoing U.S. Sen.

Richard Burr’s 2016 campaign, in which some thought Burr strug gled before going on to win by six points – a margin only eclipsed by his 2010 margin of victory of 12 points in the last 20 years of U.S. Senate races in the state.

The money advantage is also tilted toward Budd.

Outside spending typically dwarfs the amounts candidates raise for themselves in the state’s U.S. Senate races. The Republi can-aligned Senate Leadership Fund laid down a marker when they booked nearly $30 million in ads over the summer to boost Budd. The NRSC also laid down

The same kind of money has not been spent on Beasley’s behalf. The Democratic super PAC Senate Majority PAC has spent just $3.5 million supporting Beasley.

In 2020, the race between Re publican U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis and Democrat Cal Cunningham was the most expensive of the 2020 campaign cycle and was only ex ceeded by the Georgia U.S. Senate runoffs in early January 2021.

Friday’s debate will take place in Raleigh and will air on Spec trum News 1 stations. The chan nel’s Capital Tonight host Tim Boyum is moderating the debate.

ticipants who were sent “scream ing” and “charging towards the guest services desk.”

That lined up with the expectation the training would be similar to the active shooter training description on the UNCA Police Department’s webpage that includes a video and a theme of “Run. Hide. Fight.”

Jordan also said they had ex pected something like the “Run. Hide. Fight.” But what the students experienced was something totally different.

During the training, Weldon joked around a number of times and used a fake weapon which he waved at the students at one point, according to Jordan.

Jordan also recalled Weldon held his hand like a gun to one student’s head. That student then went to exit the building, however, Jordan said Weldon told her she needed to stay longer. Following that exchange, Weldon made gun noises by clap ping his hands together and told the remaining students to run and hide — and they did, with at least one student injuring themselves while trying to dash away and oth ers experienced panic attacks.

To add to the confusion, the Highsmith Student Union had ap parently been left open, resulting in students not taking part in the training being exposed to the par

One participant “busted her knee open” while trying to hide under a desk, and Jordan said that student expressed concern that if she didn’t continue with the train ing she would lose her job.

“The fact that [Weldon] told us that we should ‘sacrifice ourselves’ like Riley Howell at the UNCC campus … that was what kind of sent everyone off the edge,” Jordan said.

It is unclear whether Weldon’s remark was referring to the stu dents putting themselves out there to train to protect other students or if his remark was a literal reference to giving up one’s life for other stu dents.

North State Journal reached out to Weyant but did not receive a response from her.

Instead, Crissa Sinkovic, UNCA’s co-interim asso ciate director of communications and marketing, responded with a statement from Weyant.

“The active shooter prepared ness training was implemented eight years ago by UNC Asheville’s Emergency Management,” the statement said. “The purpose is to prepare members of the campus community with actionable steps

“The fact that [Weldon] told us that we should ‘sacrifice ourselves’ like Riley Howell at the UNCC campus... that was what kind of sent everyone off the edge”

Anonymous Student

in a worst-case scenario. Con cerned students alerted us about an active shooter preparedness training program that took place on Tuesday evening with student employees. The program has been paused while we conduct a com prehensive review of the program’s history and the evening’s event. We take the safety and well-being of our students and campus commu nity very seriously. As a learning community, we look forward to considering ways to support our students and strengthen this pro gram in the future.”

The language in the statement sent to North State Journal is iden tical to the email Weyant sent to students the day after the training occurred.

Several hours after the training, students involved received an email from Inman, the student union di rector, that said, in part, “We know that this meeting did not go as in tended, and we would like to learn more about what exactly caused the meeting to be derailed the way it was.”

Inman’s email, which conformed Weldon was heading up the school’s emergency management team, said that Weyant had “declined to say whether Weldon is facing disci plinary action.”

Weyant sent an email on Sept. 23 to staff and students announc ing UNCA would be conducting a full review of the ALICE training program that will likely be finished by the first week in October.

The same day Weyant an nounced a review of the training, students gathered for an open fo rum meeting to discuss the inci dent.

About a dozen or so students were captured on video of the fo rum taken by Blue Banner Pro ductions, the YouTube Channel for UNCA’s student newspaper. Inman and Dean of Students Meghan Pugh apparently hosted the forum.

Questions included how this training was scheduled, who was responsible, was it supposed to be

mandatory, what went into imple menting it, and conflicting infor mation about the training being mandatory while some students were allowed to leave.

Students also wanted to know where Weldon was.

“This is not a space where we wanted to create a dynamic where we were piling on, so that is why Da vid Weldon is not here. We can tell David Weldon how you feel about things,” Pugh said when questioned about why Weldon was absent.

One forum participant said other students who witnessed the train ing that day had asked what they were doing and what was happen ing because people were running through the hall. She said someone could have called the police out of panic.

Near the discussion, Pugh said all UNCA employees have gone through active shooter training but that as the school moves forward they will plan to listen to student suggestions as well as reevaluate the current training program.

The ALICE training was ad dressed one last time, on Sept. 27 when UNCA’s administration hosted a community conversation during which officials reportedly apologized to students for the trau ma caused by the training.

“The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms!”

“The Good Shepherd” in the Catacombs of Domitilla, Rome (circa 300 A.D.)

Supreme Court’s top cases for new term

The Associated Press

THE SUPREME COURT opened its new term Monday, hear ing arguments for the first time af ter a summer break and with new Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. A look at some of the cases the court has already agreed to hear. The jus tices are expected to decide each of the cases before taking a summer break at the end of June.

The justices will add more cases to their docket in coming months.

Affirmative action

In cases from Harvard Universi ty and the University of North Car olina at Chapel Hill, the court could end any consideration of race in col lege admissions. If this seems famil iar, it’s because the high court has been asked repeatedly over the past 20 years to end affirmative action in higher education. In previous cases from Michigan and Texas, the court reaffirmed the validity of consider ing college applicants’ race among many factors. But this court is more conservative than those were.

Voting rights

The case the justices are hear ing involves Alabama, where just one of the state’s seven congressio nal districts has a black majority although plaintiffs say they are en titled to more, as 27% of the state’s residents are black. A three-judge panel agreed that the state should have to create a second district with a black majority, but the Supreme Court stopped any changes and said it would hear the case.

Elections

Republicans are asking the jus tices to embrace a legal concept that would limit state courts’ oversight of elections for Congress. North Carolina’s top court threw out the state’s congressional map overrode the General Assembly’s drawing

In this image provided by the Supreme Court, members of the Supreme Court pose for a photo during Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s formal investiture ceremony at the Supreme Court in Washington, Friday, Sept. 30, 2022.

of the state’s 14 congressional dis tricts. The state GOP argues that state courts have no role to play in congressional elections, including redistricting, because the U.S. Con stitution gives that power to state legislatures alone. Four conserva tive justices have expressed varying levels of openness to the “indepen dent state legislature” theory.

Clean water

This is yet another case in which the court is being asked to discard an earlier ruling and loosen the regulation of property under the nation’s chief law to combat wa ter pollution. The case involves an Idaho couple who won an earli er high court round in their bid to build a house on property near a lake without getting a permit under the Clean Water Act. The outcome could change the rules for millions of acres of property that contain wetlands.

Immigration

The Biden administration is back at the Supreme Court to argue for a change in immigration policy from the Trump administration. It’s is appealing a ruling against a Biden policy prioritizing deportation of people in the country illegally who pose the greatest public safety risk.

Last term, the justices by a 5-4 vote paved the way for the administra tion to end the Trump policy that required asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico for their court hearing. In July, also by a 5-4 vote, the high court refused to allow the admin istration to implement policy guid ance for deportations. A Trump-era policy favored deporting people in the country illegally regardless of criminal history or community ties.

LGBTQ rights

A new clash involving reli gion, free speech and the rights of LGBTQ people will also be before

the justices. The case involves Col orado graphic and website designer Lorie Smith who wants to expand her business and offer wedding web site services. She says her Christian beliefs would lead her to decline any request from a same-sex couple to design a wedding website, however, and that puts her in conflict with a Colorado anti-discrimination law.

Native American adoption

In November, the court will re view a federal law that gives Native Americans preference in adoptions of Native children. The case pres ents the most significant legal chal lenges to the Indian Child Welfare Act since its 1978 passage. The law has long been championed by Na tive American leaders as a means of preserving their families and culture. A federal appeals court in April upheld the law and Con gress’ authority to enact it. But the judges also found some of the law’s provisions unconstitutional, includ ing preferences for placing Native American children with Native adoptive families and in Native fos ter homes.

Bacon law backlash

Also on the menu for the justices: a California animal rights law. The case stems from a 2018 ballot mea sure where California voters barred the sale of pork in the state if the pig it came from or the pig’s mother was raised in confined conditions pre venting them from laying down or turning around. Two agricultural associations challenging the law say almost no farms satisfy those con ditions. They say the “massive costs of complying” with the law will “fall almost exclusively on out-of-state farmers” and that the costs will be passed on to consumers nationwide.

Art world

The court’s resolution of a dis pute involving pieces by artist Andy Warhol could have big consequenc es in the art world and beyond. If the Warhol side loses a copyright dispute involving an image Warhol made of the musician Prince, other artworks could be in peril, lawyers say. But the other side says if Warhol wins, it would be a license for other artists to blatantly copy.

Audit finds $166 million in improper unemployment benefit payments

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal

RALEIGH — A new audit from the N.C. State Auditor’s Office details $166 million in improper unemployment in surance (UI) payments made between the beginning of April 2016 and the end of March 2021.

According to the audit report, the Department of Commerce’s Division of Employment Secu rity (DES) reported improper unemployment insurance pay ment rate averaged 18% during the period of April 1, 2016, through March 31, 2021. That exceeded the 10% federal im proper payment rate allowed by the United States Department of Labor (USDOL).

“As a result, DES paid ap proximately $166 million in improper payments over and above the federal improper payment limit during the same time period,” a summary of the audit report says.

During that time period, DES paid approximately $2.2 billion in UI benefits.

The audit report says DES exceeded the improper payment limit because it failed to imple ment USDOL recommendations to reduce improper payments that resulted from three areas; work search requirements, ben efit year earnings, and separa tion information issues.

These three types of errors made up 94% of all DES over payments over the last five years

North Carolina’s Unemploy ment Insurance program is “currently designated as “HighRate/High Impact” by the US

DOL due to its high improper payment rates,” according to the audit report.

The state auditor’s report made several recommendations to remedy the overpayment situation, including the areas involving work search require ment errors, benefit year earn ings errors, and separation is sue errors.

The audit report also rec ommended DES management should “implement USDOL rec ommendations, best practices, and strategies to limit DES’s improper payment rate to less than 10% of claims paid.”

Department of Commerce Secretary Machelle Sanders agreed with the results of the audit as well as the recommen dations for improvement in cluded in the report.

The time period covered by the audit report overlaps with pandemic-related federal UI payments.

An audit report produced in March of this year reported that the first COVID-related unemployment claims were not handled in a timely manner by DES for the period of January 1, 2020, through March 31, 2021.

“As a result, $438 million of financial assistance was not received by unemployed North Carolinians during a time of tremendous need,” the March audit report stated.

In 2020, Gov. Roy Cooper selected former state legislator Pryor Gibson to replace Lock hart Taylor as the head of DES. In February 2021, Cooper made another change, appointing Sanders to lead the Commerce Department.

Johnston Co. looking at weapons detection system for school safety

Gaggle school safety app launches AI gun detection system

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal

RALEIGH — A request for pro posal by Johnston County Public Schools System may signal the dis trict might be considering use of a weapons detection system to en hance school safety.

The request for proposal (RFP), dated Oct. 4, is seeking quotes for “Weapons Detection System” for eight high schools and 13 middle schools.

“Johnston County Public Schools is requesting quotes to outfit our 8 High Schools with 26 free flowing weapons detection systems with accompanying tablets, as well as our 13 Middle Schools with 26 free flowing weapons detection systems with accompanying tablets,” the RFP reads. “Contractor providing proposals shall be a current free flowing weapons detection system with tablet authorized dealer and should provide proof of this certifi cation along with the proposal.”

The RFP also says the “Contrac tor must be able to maintain two manufacturer certified personnel on staff” and “Site visits to each school are mandatory to ensure the contractor has made any necessary provisions to complete this scope of work.”

Richard Carr, an official with the Johnston County Public Schools’ communications department, told

North State Journal via that the RFP “was discussed during a pre vious committee meeting and was simply presented to the Board for approval to pursue RFPs, which was granted.”

Carr also said that once RFPs are submitted, they will be present ed to the Board for consideration at a later date, which has yet to be determined.

“There is not an established bud get for this project. From my un derstanding, it could be a one-time allocation of funds, or a multi-year plan as funding allows. However, this will be determined at a later date as well,” Carr said in an email response to North State Journal.

While Johnston County Schools is looking at weapons detection systems, Gaggle, a school safety monitoring app, has rolled out a new AI gun detection tool for K-12 schools.

According to a post on Gaggle’s website about the tool, the compa ny had identified 195 “disturbing images” over a five week period this past summer.

“One very disturbing video starts with a teenage boy on the ground with his hands tied. The camera briefly shows a hand with a gun held over the student. The stu dent is then kicked repeatedly by other teens and told not to snitch on people anymore,” according to the post.

Per Gaggle’s press release, the AI gun detection system is “powered by the latest AI image recognition software available today, as well as Gaggle’s proprietary technolo

gy, the new gun detection feature is designed to explicitly search for and detect gun images, ammuni tion, magazines, and other gun or weapon-related paraphernalia on K-12 school-issued devices and on line collaboration platforms.”

“No other company or service is offering a gun imagery detection tool for K-12 schools,” Jeff Patter son, chief executive officer of Gag gle, said in a press release. “This will be a game-changer for school districts as it will allow them to immediately identify students who are posting or sharing gun or weap on-related images on school-is sued devices and platforms and to quickly intervene to stop any po tential acts of self-harm or violence to others.”

Gaggle indicates their app saw a 152% increase in “serious incidents involving violence” during the 2021-2022 academic year over the prior school year.

When asked for details of the AI gun detection system and if any North Carolina statistics were available Melissa Penn, on behalf of Gaggle’s public relations arm, told North State Journal “We cannot disclose or share any further infor mation about the photos that were found.”

Penn referred North State Jour nal back to the press release related to the AI gun detection model.

Upwards of 5.8 million students at over 1,500 school districts across the United States have used Gag gle’s app, according to the compa ny’s website.

Of North Carolina’s 115 districts,

67 had utilized Gaggle during the last school year. According to Gaggle, 23,000 student safety in cidents were flagged for district officials and four in 10 of the inci dents reported were for self-harm or suicide, and “113 student lives were saved.”

Wake County Public Schools was one of the state’s districts using the app during 2021-22 but ended their pilot run of the program in June of this year. The main reason given by the district for ending use of Gaggle was that “implementing the software took away from class room time and required additional staff to monitor the software out side of school hours.”

Violence in K-12 school, includ ing incidents involving firearms, has increased since the pandemic

According to data published by the Center for Homeland Defense and Security’s K-12 School Shoot ing Database, saw a big spike in incidents following the pandemic.

The information that supports the database pulls from “publicly available data” and has a wide defi nition of gun violence that includes “each and every instance a gun is brandished, is fired, or a bullet hits school property for any reason, re gardless of the number of victims, time of day, or day of week.”

In other words, the database includes incidents that may not have anything to do with a student or K-12 campus, such as drive-by shootings or police activity in the area related to criminal activity.

Graphs of the data by calendar year show 240 such incidents not

involving an active shooter report ed and nine active shooter inci dents recorded during 2021.

There were 115 incidents for the calendar year 2021, yet only four in 2020 reports were logged for North Carolina according to the database.

In comparison, during 2019, there were 112 non-active shooter and seven active-shooter incidents logged. Of those 112, only three were attributed to North Carolina.

2020’s numbers were much low er as most schools were closed to in-person instruction for extended parts of the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years, but still recorded nine active shooter and 113 non-active shooter events.

A closer look at the data this far for 2022 shows 155 incidents with only two marked as active shoot er-related. Of those 155, only 2 originated in North Carolina; one at Oakdale Elementary School in Charlotte and one at Speight Mid dle School in Stantonsburg.

The Charlotte incident involved illegal activity in the parking lot of the school and a 16-year-old was shot by an 18-year-old. In Stan tonsburg, the incident involved a stray bullet hitting the window of a school bus after dismissal.

Additional graph represen tations of the data show that post-pandemic reported active shooter incidents differ in root cause from the pre-pandemic years. The majority of post-pandemic in cidents revolve around disputes be tween students that escalated into a gunfire incident instead of some type of planned attack.

PHOTO VIA AP

FILE PHOTO

The Division of Employment Security login is shown in this file photo.

Murphy to Manteo

Peak leaf season

Dr. Howard Neufield is a professor of Biology and Director of Southern Appalachian Environmental Research and Education Center at Appalachian State University.

During the fall, however, he also takes on the title of Fall Color Guy, writing about peak leaf colors on Facebook and his page on the ASU website.

This year, his map assumed that fall color would start earlier at higher elevations. He also then created the map assuming each 1,000’ increase in elevation would produce peak fall colors about one week earlier, with the exception of those areas near the coast.

Fall colors have started showing now in the High Country, he said in late September, particularly above 4,500’ elevation.

He added that for the next month, the cool weather, lower temperatures and clear skies will bring out the colors.

Joe Biden’s ‘Where’s Jackie?’ moment reverberates across the country

THAT PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN is prone to bouts of forgetfulness is not new news. What is new news, however, is a recent alarming incident that forced the media’s hand on covering a sensitive topic that was once considered virtually taboo in media circles ― at least as far as Democrat politicians were concerned.

WEST PIEDMONT EAST

Medical professionals prepare with wilderness training

Burke County Hawk Ventures held its annual Carolina Wilderness EMS Summit, a weekend of wilderness training for emergency medical professionals, EMTs and medical students, in The Pisgah National Forest. The event was the culmination of its Wilderness EMS Externship Program, a month of intensive training in emergency wilderness medicine.

Run by local physician Dr. Seth Collings Hawkins, the externship is an innovative collaboration that has won numerous awards in the past.

Suspect in birthday party stabbing arrested in Wilkes County

Wilkes County Police in Wilkes County arrested Cortlan Damaryce Clark, 21, as a suspect in a stabbing at a birthday party in Dobson.

Three people at the party suffered stab wounds in their chests and necks. Two other people reportedly suffered injuries but left the party before police arrived. The victims included two women and three men, between the ages of 19 and 25. All were treated at the hospital, and three are in serious condition.

WFMY

Two arrested in home invasion death

Person County Police made two arrests in the home invasion death of an 80-year-old woman. Roger Letroy Wilkerson, 39, was arrested, as was a juvenile whose name was not released due to their age. They are accused of breaking into the home of Nancy Horton on Burlington Road in Person County. Horton was killed during the home invasion. Wilkerson, who had outstanding warrants for drug and gun offenses as well as breaking and entering, was charged with murder.

WTVD

Officials: Deputies fatally shoot hostage-taker

Catawba County Authorities say sheriff’s deputies in North Carolina fatally shot an armed man who had taken a relative hostage. Neither the hostage nor law enforcement officials were injured in the incident Saturday morning in the Catawba County community of Mountain View. A news release from the sheriff’s office says deputies and crisis negotiators tried to de-escalate the situation, but the suspect continued to threaten the hostage. State officials will conduct an investigation.

Man arrested for Philadelphia sexual assault

Chowan County Police arrested Zyree Downing, 22, of Middletown, Delaware, in Chowan County last week. Downing was wanted for the sexual assault and beating of a 71-year-old woman in Philadelphia. The arrest came a short time after Philadelphia Police released his photo nationally and asked for help locating him. He will be transported back to Philadelphia, where he faces charges of rape, burglary and strangulation, among other charges.

Police: Man charged in fatal crash at fast-food restaurant

Wilson County A man was charged with misdemeanor death by motor vehicle in a crash that killed two sibling customers at a fast-food restaurant last month. Wilson police obtained warrants charging 75-year-old Jesse Lee Lawrence of Wilson with reckless driving and two counts of misdemeanor death by motor vehicle. Lawrence surrendered to authorities that evening. Police say an SUV crashed into a Hardee’s on Aug. 14, striking brothers Christopher and Clay Ruffin. One died at the scene, while the other died at a hospital.

During a White House conference last Wednesday on hunger, nutrition, and health, Biden gave a speech. During the course of speaking, it appeared his notes reminded him to make sure to honor former Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.), who was the co-chair of the House Hunger Caucus.

If he’s not at 100% and can’t run the country during these bouts, just who exactly is running it?

The problem, however, came when Biden asked “Jackie, are you here? Where’s Jackie?” and searched all over the room for the Congresswoman. Unfortunately, Walorski was not in attendance at the event because she along with two Congressional aides tragically passed away on August 3rd after a car accident in Indiana.

signing in her honor a couple of days later.

The press conference went so badly with reporters repeatedly pressing Jean-Pierre on the subject that, conveniently, there was no daily briefing the next day. That so many in the media including the New York Times and CNN not only grilled the Biden White House on him forgetting Walorski’s passing but also published full reports on what happened and how their questions weren’t answered represents a major sea-change on this issue, in my opinion, which comes at a very inconvenient time for Democrats considering the midterm elections are just a few weeks away.

AP

Teen driver may face charges in fatal crash

Caldwell County Harold Mann Jr., 53, of Lenoir, was killed when the car he was driving was hit head on by another driver who crossed the center line. Mann was thrown from his car, and was declared dead at the scene. A passenger, whose name was not immediately released, was also thrown from the vehicle and was airlifted to the hospital. The driver of the other car was a 16-year-old whose name was not released. That driver may pursue charges against that driver.

Five arrested with more than $120K in stolen property

Buncombe County Five people were arrested after police deputies executed search warrants at two houses in the Riceville community. Police seized four guns, a Kubota Track Hoe, 2022 Ford Tremor F-250 and a Demco Trailer, all of which had been stolen. Overall, the value of the stolen propery was $121,000. Arrested were Michael Isaac Robinson, Travis Keith Ledford, Misty Fender Biggerstaff, Michael Bruce Brooks and Allen Lee Turbyfill.

Drive thru flu shots available

Alexander County

The Alexander County Health Department will hold flu shot clinics every Friday in October. The annual event features drivethru shots outside the health department from 1:00 to 3:00 every Friday afternoon.

Recipients are instructed to schedule an appointment by calling the health department at 828-632-9704. While an appointment is not required, Alexander County Public Health officials say it will reduce the wait time in line.

AP County confronts past with lynching victims memorial

NBC PHILADELPHIA

New plan aims to help homeless people downtown

AP Sheriff probed after comments surface condemning black staff

On the same day she passed away, Biden and First Lady Jill Biden issued a statement that noted they were “shocked and saddened” by her death, talked up her accomplishments, and sent their “deepest condolences” to the family members of all involved.

The self-imposed media moratorium on questioning Biden’s mental health and state of mind appears to be officially over at this stage of his presidency because the incident with him calling out and looking around for Walorski was just too concerning, too eye-opening even for those in the press who had previously operated from the “we’re just not gonna go there” perspective on questions that have been raised for over three years now (including during his time on the campaign trail) about Biden.

WCCB

WSPA

ALEXANDER COUNTY

Chatham County Community members and officials recently gathered at the Chatham County government annex in Pittsboro to unveil a marker remembering several Black people who were lynched in Chatham County between 1885 and 1921. During this time, county officials said, white mobs terrorized and lynched at least six people in the county. Their names — Jerry and Harriet Finch, John Pattishall, Lee Tyson, Henry Jones and Eugene Daniel — are all on the plaque, preserving their memory and acknowledging the murders. The Equal Justice Initiative has helped place markers across North Carolina.

New Hanover County Looking to solve the problem of homelessness around downtown Wilmington, local leaders greenlighted a pilot program that pairs social workers with law enforcement. The new plan, called the “Getting Home Street Outreach Program,” is a joint city-county effort. The pilot program won unanimous approval from both the Wilmington City Council and New Hanover County’s Board of Commissioners.

New Hanover County plans to hire five new positions, including four social workers and one supervisor, for this program. The social workers will work with officers from the Wilmington Police Department to help connect the homeless with the services they need.

Columbus County A sheriff was recorded calling black employees by derogatory names and saying they should be fired. Columbus County

Sheriff Jody Greene issued a statement arguing that the recording of the February 2019 phone call had been edited or altered, however he did not deny that he was on the call or that he made the statements. The recorded comments were condemned by the North Carolina NAACP, which demanded Greene’s resignation. The local district attorney said he asked the State Bureau of Investigation to probe allegations of obstruction of justice within the sheriff’s office.

Clearly, Biden was aware, at least initially, that Walorski was no longer with us. So how could he forget not quite two months after her death that she had died?

That’s a question many in the White House press corps had in so many words for press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who a few hours later was hit with a barrage of questions from several reporters in the briefing room, including some who worked for news outlets typically considered to be Democrat-friendly.

In short, the elephant in the room roared to life last week in a major way, causing people on both sides of the aisle and members of the mainstream media to do some double takes. Because if Biden really does have cognitive issues from time to time, that’s an especially big problem considering he is the President of the United States of America.

If he’s not at 100% and can’t run the country during these bouts, just who exactly is running it?

AP

AP

AP

Instead of answering the questions in a straightforward manner, Jean-Pierre dodged them and instead claimed that Walorski was simply “on top of mind” for the President considering the events of the week. She said Biden was looking forward to meeting Walorski’s family during a bill

It’s no laughing matter; it’s a very serious one. Serious enough that not even the Democrat apologists in the White House press corps can ignore it anymore.

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

AP PHOTO

President Joe Biden speaks during the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, at the Ronald Reagan Building, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022, in Washington, D.C.

north STATEment

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

Are blacks dying to be progressive?

SOMETHING IS TERRIBLY WRONG in our world. Every time you turn on the television or scroll through social media, you can see it for yourself. You’ve probably seen it at work and in your local schools as well. In fact, you’ve likely experienced it firsthand.

I’m talking about racism.

Racism is not color ― it’s a sin.

Racism is, of course, nothing new in the United States of America. Our history is blotted and marred with slavery, the KKK, and Jim Crow, among other horrors. But today’s brand of racism is different: it’s more subtle but just as damaging.

The racism of today is not the historic oppression of black people by whites. The racism of today is one of personal philosophy and ethics, one which turns a blind eye to the murder of black children in the womb in the name of choice; poisons the minds of those who escape the horror of abortion in the name of education, and sentences the rest of the black community to lives of victimhood in the name of justice, all while flipping the sharp edge of racism around to stab whites of every socioeconomic background.

In the imaginary world of progressives, nearly everything is racist and anyone who disagrees with their views are racists. They have no desire to see Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream come true; they have no wish to see people of all colors and creeds come together as one American people. Instead, they hope to see tribal divisions grow and violence in the streets continue.

Progressives long to undo the progress America has made since the Civil Rights Act was first passed in 1964. They talk about equity but never equality. They shout about social justice but are silent about actual justice when the suspect’s skin color doesn’t fit their narrative. They say they care about the lives of black people, even as they support policies that make abortion the number-one cause of death for black Americans. Progressives seek to dupe the black community into believing they want what is best for us, but in reality, almost everything progressives propose does irreparable harm to the black family, abortion being one of the biggest lies out there.

Abortion and Critical Race Theory are poisonous plants that both

COLUMN | BEN SHAPIRO

International anti-woke backlash

LAST WEEK, Italy prepared to welcome a new prime minister: 45-year-old Giorgia Meloni, leader of the rightwing Brothers of Italy party since 2014. Meloni is a populist conservative on issues ranging from marriage to immigration; she is a nationalist by philosophy and combatively passionate by temperament.

grow from the bitter soil of racism. I believe they are among the greatest evils persisting in our time. The pro-life cause has been on the hearts of most white evangelicals since the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision of 1973. Sadly, it has not been embraced to the same degree by black Christians, though I hope we can change that. CRT is a newer plague, and while some believers are beginning to understand the harm it is doing to our society, many others have embraced it as a more righteous way of viewing our world.

The picture painted by proponents of CRT is bleak. If racism is baked into every area of society and every system that pervades our lives, what hope is there? The short answer: there isn’t any. The solution, according to many CRT advocates, is to tear down the system completely. Our institutions, laws, free markets, and traditions all have to go ― without any real alternative offered to take its place.

This won’t happen overnight, so to move things along ― as progressives command ― whites must denounce their “white privilege” to stand in solidarity with blacks. But the answer to racism cannot be more racism, and the remedy for white supremacy, where it does exist, cannot be a new system of black supremacy. Scripture doesn’t tell us to repay evil with evil, but to overcome evil with good (1 Peter 3:9).

CRT is insidious because while it promises to right wrongs, it does nothing to lift anyone up. White people, of course, are condemned as racist, regardless of their specific actions. Individual responsibility is replaced with predetermined outcomes, so blacks are robbed of the dignity that comes with hard work and determination. Progressives pass out the crown of victimization to blacks as a garland, but only fools wear it.

Racism is not color ― it’s a sin.

John Amanchukwu is the author of a new book, ERACED, which explores the myths surrounding abortion and critical race theory and the Left’s sinister plot to destroy the black community and divide the church.

Left-wing politicians have engaged in far more intrusive antidemocratic measures over the past two years from lockdowns to unilateral centralization of executive power.

A clip of a speech she gave at the World Congress of Families in 2019 has now gone viral with American conservatives; she explained, “Why is the family an enemy? Why is the family so frightening? There is a single answer to all these questions. Because it defines us. Because it is our identity. Because everything that defines us is now an enemy for those who would like us to no longer have an identity and to simply be perfect consumer slaves. And so they attack national identity, they attack religious identity, they attack gender identity, they attack family identity... We will defend God, country and family.”

This speech, according to much of the media, represented an indicator of incipient fascism in the land of Benito Mussolini. Never mind that former Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi scoffed at such a notion, calling the “risk of fascism... absolutely fake news.” The Intercept promptly called Meloni the “latest fascist womanhood icon.” Ishaan Tharoor of The Washington Post railed that she’s “set to be her country’s most ultranationalist premier since fascist dictator Benito Mussolini.”

Meloni is merely the latest recipient of such treatment internationally. In Sweden, the new government, supported by the right-wing Sweden Democrats, is already being touted as proto-fascist thanks to the origins of the SD. In Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been treated as a knockoff of Vladimir Putin, despite the fact that he won his last election with a bare majority of 52.52% of the vote, increasing his vote share from 47.89% in 2018 and 44.87% in 2014. Polish Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of the Law and Justice Party, has been treated similarly; so have Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro (currently trailing in the polls to socialistic former

president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva), and former and probable future Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. What, precisely, is the common thread linking these disparate politicians across a wide variety of countries? After all, none of these politicians are remotely like Vladimir Putin or Xi Jinping; none of them preside over authoritarian states. In fact, Left-wing politicians have engaged in far more intrusive antidemocratic measures over the past two years, from lockdowns to unilateral centralization of executive power.

The common thread is precisely the themes embraced by Meloni: national pride and rejection of Left-wing social values. The radical anti-traditionalism of the post-modernist Left, combined with the social apathy of centrists, has led to a serious international backlash. That backlash takes the form of a resurgent recognition that basic roles within societies must be protected, and that failure to do so is tantamount to national suicide.

And it is precisely that backlash that many in the media find so disquieting. To them, traditional roles are themselves fascist institutions; those who promote such roles suggest that human happiness can’t be found in atomistic individualism, supplemented by collective social welfare schemes. And so true freedom requires that those like Meloni be fought.

Unfortunately for the Left, anti-traditionalism is the privilege of the frivolous — and after the failure of totalitarian COVID-19 policy, the collapse of green utopianism and the decay of societal solidarity, frivolity is no longer the order of the day. Which means that Meloni and those who agree with her are only the beginning.

Ben Shapiro, 38, is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law School, host of “The Ben Shapiro Show,” and co-founder of Daily Wire+. He is a three-time New York Times bestselling author; his latest book is “The Authoritarian Moment: How The Left Weaponized America’s Institutions Against Dissent.”

Word revolutions

REVOLUTIONS DON’T “JUST HAPPEN”.

In modern times, there is always a written document ― a book, a speech, a pamphlet or a constitution ― which has been widely circulated and read before a revolution has taken hold of the attention of the public and changed their world.

backdrop of monarchial rule for millennia and the institution of slavery since the beginning of time. “All men are created equal” has been used as the basis for democratic revolution on every continent ever since.

Thirteen years later, fifty-five Americans adopted the US Constitution with three words in the preamble: “We the people”. Those three revolutionary words helped codify freedom principles embodied in the Declaration in a document which established government based on selfrule for the first time, again which has been copied the world over.

Freedom is never more than one generation from extinction.

Words have consequences. Well-written speeches and constitutional documents strike at the heart of people with universal truths that are selfevident but need to be reinforced over and over again so they will not be forgotten.

Martin Luther, a Catholic monk living in a German monastery, struggled with the concepts of salvation through faith and not by works in the New Testament. He nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the cathedral in Wittenberg on October 31, 1517 and proceeded to write copious amounts about his views on salvation by grace which conflicted with official papal doctrine. He famously concluded his defense at the Diet of Worms on April 17, 1521 with his famous quote: “Here I stand. God help me. I can do no other.”

The Protestant Reformation which Luther’s words helped ignite, a true “revolution” towards individual autonomy and self-worth, is still saving souls through Christ around the globe today.

Thomas Jefferson penned the immortal words: “All men are created equal” in the Declaration of Independence for the American colonies in 1776. Those five words rang out like a shot in the night against the

| GIORGIA MELONI

“God, Homeland, Family”

The real reason people are conservatives is that they are attached to the things they love.

“THE GREAT CHALLENGE facing us today is defending national identity and the very existence of the nation-states as the sole means of safeguarding peoples’ sovereignty and freedom.

Our main enemy today is the globalist drift of those who view identity, in all its forms, to be an evil to be overcome, and constantly acts to shift real power away from the people to supranational entities headed by supposedly enlightened élites. We did not fight against, and defeat, communism in order to replace it with a new internationalist regime. [We won] to permit independent nation-states once again to defend the freedom, identity and sovereignty of their peoples.

It is in this same spirit that, today, Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy) is fighting for a Europe of free and sovereign nations as a serious alternative to the bureaucratic super-state (the EU) that has been gradually foisted on us since Maastricht onwards, following the rationale of the “external constraint” whereby there is always someone who claims the right to take decisions in place of the sovereign peoples and the national governments.

And although that ‘someone’ in Brussels or Frankfurt, Davos or the City of London lacks democratic legitimacy, every day it conditions the economic choices, and the political decisions, of those who have been vested with that legitimacy by the popular vote.

This means that, whether the false democrats like it or not, national conservatives in every latitude are actually the only real democrats, because it is only by defending the nation-state that we defend the political sovereignty that belongs to the citizens of that state.

A national conservative cannot be content with claiming to be a democrat.

Because democracy without values becomes demagoguery and can itself hasten decadence. I believe that it is not difficult for the conservative world to identify the substance with which we want to fill our democracies. We do not need the ideological indoctrination manuals that are so dear to the Left.

Our vision of values and our worldview is actually quite simple, as a great philosopher who died a few days ago, Roger Scruton, pointed out: “The real reason people are conservatives is that they are attached to the things they love”.

As another great father of conservative thought, John Tolkien, put it clearly in the words of one of the characters of his Lord of the Rings: “I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend”.

This worldview is embodied every day by millions of ordinary men and women, and sometimes even by some of the great men of history. Two of these were John Paul II and Ronald Reagan, to whom today’s meeting is dedicated.

John Paul II, the “Patriot Pope”, knew perfectly well that nations, and the fact of belonging to a people sharing the same historical memory, were the bedrock of the freedom of every man. He never tired of repeating that “there is no Europe without Christianity“, a teaching which is more topical than ever today, when the Christian identity of Europe is under attack by a distorted secularism that even attacks the symbols of the Christian tradition, while throwing open the gates to the most intransigent form of Islam that wants to apply Sharia law in our European homelands, and which lies at the heart of the Islamic terrorism that has caused bloodshed in Europe and the United States.

John Paul II’s patriotism also enabled him to view today’s historical events in the light of a Christian realism shorn of all rhetoric, as in the case of immigration. He considered that the right to immigrate had to be preceded first and foremost by a right not to emigrate “to live in

Giorgia Meloni of Italy delivered a speech at the God and Freedom Conference in Rome on February 3, 2020 which no doubt led to her recent election as Prime Minister of Italy (reprinted below).

Her speech, “God, Homeland, Family” is revolutionary because it strikes at the heart of European socialism and their 29-year experiment with the supra-national entity, the European Union. She quotes historian G.K. Chesterton, novelist J.R.R. Tolkien, British philosopher Roger Scruton, Polish Pope John Paul II and Ronald Reagan, all promoters and purveyors of freedom and the rule of law through democratically-elected government throughout the world.

Her detractors are already labeling her as a fascist in the mold of Benito Mussolini. Progressive liberals fear anyone who opposes their “One World/ The Great Reset” agenda based on centralized socialism. Giorgia Meloni is no fascist ― she has just recognized what Reagan said was true in his 1964 GOP Convention address: “Freedom is never more than one generation from extinction”.

Her words to the Italian people may one day be remembered as revolutionary as any words which have sparked freedom revolutions in history.

and any son they may have.

They are creating a world of alleged individual rights and formal freedoms. In theory, we are free to do anything we like, or almost … free to take drugs, free to have an abortion, free to take the lives of human beings suffering from serious illnesses and therefore defenseless.

Only rights, and few — if at all — duties. Free indeed, but never free for the sake of something, of fulfilling a life project. Free indeed, but fenced in within a predetermined enclosure, because if you dare try to clamber over it, you are censured by the new Menlo Park high priests of the only school of thought allowed.

Our task is to counter this drift, and reaffirm that the Nation is the place where our values are safeguarded and transmitted, renewed every day as the common sense of the people, forging an identity that is the greatest treasure in the world.

peace and dignity in one’s homeland”. Christian, patriot, and also a critic of mass immigration. When you think about it, today John Paul II would be on the EU’s blacklist as a dangerous subversive.

But neither would Ronald Reagan have fared any better. More than any other President of the United States, Reagan stood for the America of “We the People”, of that preamble to the Constitution that bases national democracy on the principle of popular sovereignty, another great enemy of the globalist élites.

I was very impressed by the metaphor Reagan used to describe the conservative movement, as a “three-legged stool”. Without any one of the three legs, the stool will collapse, and the three legs are “Defense, Fiscal, Social”.

First leg is the patriotic soul (which today would be called ‘sovereignist’), which means the defense of national interests and popular sovereignty;

The second leg is economic freedom, which means also a just relationship between government and taxpayers. A great lesson of conservative thought is that an oppressive tax system not only limits free enterprise, production and consumption, but it also destroys the covenant between the state and citizens.

Because over-taxation stifles and forces the state to build up a system of controls similar to that of the totalitarian regimes, with all the consequences that ensue in terms of restricting individual freedoms and the overall weakening of the economy as a whole. Free enterprise, lower taxes and less bureaucracy, public investment in infrastructure, the defense of national interests: this is the recipe with which President Trump today is making the American economy soar. It is the recipe that we want to bring to Italy and to Europe as an alternative to the blind austerity that Germany wanted, and which so far has only benefited Germany and the big financial speculators.

The third leg is the social soul, to protect religious and moral values, the noblest purpose of all political action.

These values and principles are found in the three concepts of today’s meeting: God, Freedom, and Nation, or, in the Italian formula to which I am very attached, God, Homeland, and Family.

One of the founding values of conservative movements is the defense of natural family.

They would like us to give up defending the family, considering it to be an archaic and backward concept to be superseded. They would like to convince us that a family is any emotional bond between sentient beings, that it is a sign of great civil and moral progress to pay a poor mother to keep her child in her womb for nine months and then snatch it from her arms to give it away to whoever has bought it.

We reject all this, without a moment’s hesitation, even though today it is considered highly scandalous and even revolutionary to say that a family is made up of a man and a woman,

Our opponents paint us as obtuse nationalists, in love with autarky and rejecting any dialogue, ready to wage war on the slightest pretext. But that is not the case.

The Sovereignism of Nations is not out to destroy Europe but it wants to build the true, real Europe of peoples and identities, not the abstract Europe decided in dark rooms by technocrats. It does not want to impose its own interests at the expense of other nation-states.

When Trump says “America first” or we say “Italians first,” it certainly means defending the national economic interest of those countries, but as conservatives I think we have to focus above all on the world of high finance and the great economic powers that are imposing their will on the nation-states. The message “Our homeland First” means reaffirming the primacy of the real economy over the financial economy, and popular sovereignty over supranational entities with no democratic legitimacy.

Modern national conservatism defends the identities of nations as the basis for new forms of cooperation. That is why, while defending Italian sovereignty, we cannot forget to defend Viktor Orban’s Hungary or Kaczynski’s Poland, once again under attack from the European progressive mainstream. That is why we defend — without the shameful ambiguity typical of the Left — the right of the State of Israel to its security and a future of peace and prosperity.

Our patriotism is the will to defend our Homelands from the great challenges of our age. Challenges that will mark the future and the very survival of our civilization and which we have to face together. The division between extreme nationalisms is as bad as the weakness of ill-defined supranational entities such as the EU. The only possible answer must be the alliance of homelands that believe in a common destiny.

It is this vision that has led us to join the great family of the European Conservatives: the idea of a new Europe as a confederation of sovereign nation-states capable of cooperating on important matters, while remaining free to take decisions regarding matters affecting our daily lives. It is much more than a choice of political positioning; it is taking up a firm stand and choosing sides.

I have an image in mind: President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II walking in the gardens of the President’s residence in Florida back in 1987. It is the image of two great men walking together along the path of history, in that brief period in the 20th century that was to change the world very shortly thereafter, thanks also to them, with the collapse of communism.

Remembering them here today is not simply to pay tribute to them; it is a warning, and a commitment not to betray their dream of freedom, which is ours, too”.

Giorgia Meloni is the new Prime Minister of Italy. This speech was delivered at the “God, Freedom, Nation” National Conservatism Conference in Rome on February 3, 2020.

AP PHOTO

Far-right Brothers of Italy’s leader Giorgia Meloni votes at a polling station in Rome, Sunday, Sept. 25, 2022.

NATION & WORLD

Iran’s supreme leader breaks silence on protests, blames US

IRAN’S SUPREME leader Aya tollah Ali Khamenei responded publicly on Monday to the biggest protests in Iran in years, breaking weeks of silence to condemn what he called “rioting” and accuse the United States and Israel of plan ning the protests.

The unrest, ignited by the death of a young woman in the custody of Iran’s morality police, is flaring up across the country for a third week despite government efforts to crack down.

On Monday, Iran shuttered its top technology university follow ing an hours-long standoff be tween students and the police that turned the prestigious institution into the latest flashpoint of pro tests and ended with hundreds of young people arrested.

Speaking to a cadre of police students in Tehran, Khamenei said he was “deeply heartbroken” by the death of 22-year-old Mah sa Amini in police custody, calling it a “tragic incident.” However, he lambasted the protests as a foreign plot to destabilize Iran, echoing authorities’ previous comments.

“This rioting was planned,” he said. “These riots and insecurities were designed by America and the Zionist regime, and their employ ees.”

Meanwhile, Sharif University of Technology in Tehran announced that only doctoral students would be allowed on campus until fur ther notice following hours of turmoil Sunday, when witnesses said anti-government protesters clashed with pro-establishment students.

The witnesses, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, said the police kept hundreds of students holed up on campus and fired rounds of tear gas to disperse the demonstra tions. The student association said plainclothes officers surround ed the school from all sides as protests roiled the campus after nightfall and detained at least 300

students.

Plainclothes officers beat a pro fessor and several university em ployees, the association added.

The state-run IRNA news agency sought to downplay the violent standoff, reporting a “pro test gathering” took place without causing casualties. But it also said police released 30 students from detention, acknowledging many had been caught in the dragnet by mistake as they tried to go home.

The crackdown sparked back lash on Monday at home and abroad.

“Suppose we beat and arrest, is this the solution?” asked a column in the Jomhouri Eslami daily, a hard-line Iranian newspaper. “Is this productive?”

Iran’s latest protest movement, which has produced some of the nation’s most widespread unrest in years, emerged as a response to Amini’s death after her arrest for allegedly violating the coun try’s strict Islamic dress code. It has since grown into an open challenge to the Iranian leader ship, with women burning their state-mandated headscarves and chants of “Death to the dictator,” echoing from streets and balco nies after dark.

The demonstrations have tapped a deep well of grievanc es in Iran, including the coun try’s social restrictions, political repression and ailing economy strangled by American sanctions. The unrest has continued in Teh ran and far-flung provinces even as authorities have disrupted in ternet access and blocked social media apps.

Protests also have spread across the Middle East and to Europe and North America. Police scuf fled with protesters outside Irani an embassies in London and Ath ens. Crowds chanted “Woman! Life! Freedom!” in Paris.

In his remarks, Khamenei con demned scenes of protesters rip ping off their hijabs and setting fire to mosques, banks and po lice cars as “actions that are not normal, that are unnatural.” He warned that “those who foment unrest to sabotage the Islamic Re public deserve harsh prosecution and punishment.”

Security forces have responded with tear gas, metal pellets and in some cases live fire, according to rights groups and widely shared footage, although the scope of the crackdown remains unclear.

Iran’s state TV has reported the

death toll from violent clashes be tween protesters and security offi cers could be as high as 41. Rights groups have given higher death counts, with London-based Am nesty International saying it has identified 52 victims.

An untold number of people have been apprehended, with local officials reporting at least 1,500 arrests. Security forces have picked up artists who have voiced support for the protests and doz ens of journalists.

Iran’s intelligence ministry said nine foreigners have been detained over the protests. A 30-year-old Italian traveler named Alessia Piperno called her parents on Sunday to say she had been arrest ed, her father Alberto Piperno told Italian news agency ANSA.

Most of the protesters appear to be under 25, according to witness es — Iranians who have grown up knowing little but global isolation and severe Western sanctions linked to Iran’s nuclear program. Talks to revive the landmark 2015 nuclear deal have stalled for months, fueling discontent as Iran’s currency declines in value and prices soar.

A Tehran-based university teacher, Shahindokht Kharazmi, said the new generation has come up with unpredictable ways to defy authorities.

“The (young protesters) have learned the strategy from video games and play to win,” Kharazmi told the pro-reform Etemad news paper. “There is no such thing as defeat for them.”

The eruption of student anger has worried the Islamic Republic since at least 1999, when security forces and supporters of hard-line clerics attacked students protest ing media restrictions. That wave of student protests under former reformist President Mohammad Khatami touched off the worst street battles since the 1979 Is lamic Revolution.

“Don’t call it a protest, it’s a revolution now,” shouted students at Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran, as women set their hijabs alight.

Riot police have been out in force, patrolling streets near uni versities on motorbikes.

“Students are awake, they hate the leadership!” chanted crowds at the University of Mazandaran in the country’s north.

Bolsonaro surprisingly strong, forces Brazil runoff

The Associated Press

RIO DE JANEIRO — Jair Bolsonaro considerably outper formed expectations in Brazil’s presidential election, proving that the populist wave he rode to the presidency remains a force.

Most polls had indicated left ist former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had a significant lead, with some suggesting he could even clinch a first-round victory on Sunday and showing margins that neared or exceed ed double digits. But Bolsonaro came within just five points of da Silva, who he will face in a highstakes runoff on Oct. 30.

Da Silva came close to an out right majority with 48.4% of the vote to Bolsonaro’s 43.2%, ac cording to Brazil’s electoral au thority. Nine other candidates split the rest.

“There are still lots of questions about Bolsonaro’s vote, there is a lot of discussion about an embar rassed vote for Bolsonaro among people who said they were going to vote for a third-way candidate ... but that in itself doesn’t explain everything,” said Arilton Freres, director of Curitiba-based Insti tuto Opinião, adding outdated census data also may have had an impact on the design of the polls.

“Lula starts ahead, but it won’t be easy for him,” he said.

The vote was virtually free from the political violence that many had feared. Alexandre de Moraes, the Supreme Court justice who also leads the electoral authority, congratulated Brazil for the “safe, calm, harmonious and peaceful” election that demonstrated its democratic maturity.

Yet tensions remain high, as are the stakes. The election will determine whether the country returns a leftist to the helm of the world’s fourth-largest democracy or keeps Bolsonaro in office for another term.

He has built a devoted base by defending conservative values

and presenting himself as pro tecting the nation from leftist policies that he says infringe on personal liberties and produce economic turmoil.

“I understand there is a desire from the population for change, but some changes can be for the worse,” Bolsonaro told reporters after the results were released. Bolsonaro has repeatedly claimed — without citing evidence — that the nation’s electronic voting ma chines are vulnerable to fraud, but didn’t challenge the result.

Da Silva built an extensive so cial welfare program during his 2003-2010 tenure but is also re membered for his party’s involve ment in corruption scandals and his own convictions, which were later annulled by the Supreme Court that ruled the judge had been biased. That freed him from imprisonment and cleared the way for his presidential run.

Many voters apparently veered to Bolsonaro after earlier favor ing candidates with little chance of victory, according to analysts. Those also-rans did worse than anticipated.

“People who were originally voting for Simone Tebet or Ciro Gomes (the third and fourth place finishers) decided at the last min ute to vote for Bolsonaro,” said Nara Pavão, who teaches political science at the Federal University of Pernambuco.

The result “leaves a bitter taste for the left, if we consider what the polls were showing.” said Ra fael Cortez, who oversees political risk at consultancy Tendencias Consultoria.

Bolsonaro and allies have re peatedly cast doubt on the reli ability of pollsters like Datafol ha, and pointed instead to great turnouts at his street rallies.

“Many people were carried away by the lies propagated by the research institutes,” Bolson aro wrote Monday on his Twitter profile. “All their predictions were wrong and they are already the biggest losers of this election. We beat that lie and now we’re going to win the election!”

The difference between Bol sonaro and da Silva in the first round amounted to 6.1 million votes. Tebet and Gomes togeth er earned 8.5 million votes, and more than 30 million people ab stained.

“I always thought that we were going to win these elections. And I tell you that we are going to win this election. This, for us, is just an extension,” da Silva said.

The right’s positive night ex tended to races for governorships and congressional seats, especial ly candidates with Bolsonaro’s blessing. His former infrastruc ture minister won the race to govern Sao Paulo. The governor of Rio de Janeiro, an ally, van quished his opponent to win re election outright.

Sergio Moro, the former judge who temporarily jailed da Silva and was Bolsonaro’s former jus tice minister, defied polls to win a Senate seat.

And Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party will surpass da Silva’s Workers’ Party to become the biggest in the Senate and the Lower House.

Bolsonaro told reporters that his party’s showing in Congress could bring fresh endorsements ahead of the Oct. 30 vote, as oth er parties strike alliances in ex change for support in the runoff.

Senators push new oversight to combat federal prison crises

Washington, D.C.

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators introduced legislation to overhaul oversight and bring greater transparency to the crisisplagued federal Bureau of Prisons following reports of systemic corruption in the federal prison system and increased congressional scrutiny.

The bill, called the Federal Prison Oversight Act, would require the Justice Department to create a prisons ombudsman to field complaints about prison conditions, and would compel the department’s inspector general to evaluate risks and abuses at all 122 federal prison facilities.

The bill is sponsored by Sens. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., Mike Braun, R-Ind., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill. They are three founding members of the Senate Bipartisan Prison Policy Working Group. The panel launched in February amid turmoil at the Bureau of Prisons.

“It’s no secret that BOP has been plagued by misconduct,” Durbin said. “One investigation after another has revealed a culture of abuse, mismanagement, corruption, torture, and death that reaches to the highest levels. And yet it still operates without any meaningful independent oversight. The result has been catastrophic for both incarcerated people and staff.”

Under the Federal Prison Oversight Act, the Justice Department’s inspector general would be required to conduct riskbased inspections of all federal prison facilities, provide recommendations to address deficiencies and assign each facility a risk score. Higher-risk facilities would then receive more frequent inspections.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

EU, Israel hold highlevel talks for first time in a decade Brussels

The European Union and Israel on Monday held high-level talks for the first time in a decade, with the Europeans pressing Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid about how to put a two-state solution to the conflict with the Palestinians into place. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell welcomed the recent support from Lapid — who took part in Monday’s talks by videoconference — for an end to the conflict based on an Israeli and Palestinian state living peacefully side by side.

“This is also what we want to push for. We want the resumption of a political process that can lead to a two-state solution and a comprehensive regional peace,” Borrell said. “We have to explore how we can put this into practice.”

“It’s better to sit and discuss frankly, than to avoid any contact. Certainly we disagree. Certainly we express concern, but I think it’s more positive to sit and discuss,” Borrell told reporters in Brussels.

It’s the first time the two sides have held an “Association Council” since July 2012. Israel and the EU signed an Association Agreement governing their ties in 1995, and the pact entered force in 2000. Talks were meant to be held annually, but Israel canceled a planned 2013 meeting over the EU’s policy toward Israeli settlements.

Some EU countries have also been reluctant to meet since then.

AP PHOTO

Supporters of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who is running for another term, celebrate partial results after general election polls closed outside his family home in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, Oct. 2, 2022.

OFFICE OF THE IRANIAN SUPREME LEADER VIA AP

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, third left, reviews a group of armed forces cadets during their graduation ceremony accompanied by commanders of the armed forces, at the police academy in Tehran, Iran, Monday, Oct. 3, 2022.

“All their predictions were wrong, and they are already the biggest losers of this election.”

Jair Bolsonaro

QB change coming to

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Alabama new No. 1 in AP poll; NC State 14th, Wake jumps to 15th

New York

Alabama reclaimed No. 1 from Georgia in The Associated Press college football poll in one of the closest votes in the recent years. Two points separate the Crimson Tide from the Bulldogs. Six teams including Kansas made their season debut in the AP Top 25.

The Jayhawks are ranked for the first time since 2009, which was the longest drought among current Power Five conference teams. NC State slid four spots to No. 14 after its 30 20 loss Saturday at No. 5 Clemson. The Wolfpack on Saturday hosts Florida State, which lost to Wake Forest last weekend. The Demon Deacons made the biggest jump of any team in last week’s rankings, moving up seven spots to No. 15 after their 31 21 over the Seminoles in Tallahassee.

Wake Forest hosts Army this coming Saturday. UNC was the only other team from the state on any ballots this week, totaling five votes. Ohio State and Michigan remained at third and fourth, respectively.

MLS Rios’ 4 goals lead Charlotte over Philadelphia

Charlotte Daniel Rios scored four goals as Charlotte FC defeated the Philadelphia Union 4 0 on Saturday. Rios secured the first hat trick in club history on a penalty kick in the 72nd minute in front of an announced crowd of 43,860 at Bank of America Stadium. Rios, who was voted MLS Player of the Week, has six goals on the season and became the first person to score multiple goals on Eastern Conference leading Philadelphia in three years. Charlotte (13 17 2) plays at New York Red Bulls on Sunday and, with 41 points in the standings, trails three teams tied for sixth place in the conference.

Roval returns amid controversy

Drivers have overshadowed the Cup Series playoffs with criticism of the Next Gen car, saying it’s unsafe

By Jenna Fryer The Associated Press

CHARLOTTE— NASCAR’s be leaguered new car somehow made it out of Talladega Superspeedway in the cleanest race yet of this year’s playoffs.

It did little to quell the safety concerns surrounding the Next Gen car that debuted this season.

The first four playoff races were a disastrous mess of car fires, broken parts and blown tires, and after Alex Bowman became the second driver sidelined with a concussion, the veterans snapped.

Denny Hamlin, a three-time Daytona 500 winner for Joe Gibbs Racing and co-owner of 23XI Rac ing with Michael Jordan, led the charge by calling for a complete redesign of the Next Gen and an overhaul of NASCAR leadership.

Then Chase Elliott, NASCAR’s most popular driver, spoke up and accused NASCAR of taking a step backward in safety.

“I’m just so disappointed and shocked that we went backwards,” Elliott said.

Then he went out and won an unusually calm race by Tallade ga standards: of the six cautions, only one was for a multicar crash. The winning crew chief, Alan Gustafson, acknowledged “it was certainly a bit tamer than I expect ed” and attributed it to the perfor mance of the Next Gen.

Gustafson certainly understood that the midpoint of the playoffs is not the ideal time for an intense debate over driver safety. Bowman and Kurt Busch both suffered con cussions when the back of their cars hit the wall; Busch has been out 11 races, while Bowman was diagnosed with his concussion last Thursday — four days after his crash at Texas.

“We know this is an inherently dangerous sport, but I want him to be as safe as he possibly can be,”

Gustafson said of Elliott. “I feel like collectively, in this garage, there’s a huge resource of intelligent people where we can push this forward, get to a position where it’s not a topic, not something these guys are having to worry about week in and week out.”

That message was delivered to NASCAR by Rick Hendrick, the most powerful team owner in the sport. He said NASCAR “said they’re working on it” but Hen drick’s sense of urgency increased after Bowman, his own driver, was concussed in what seemed to be a routine hit.

“These guys are stars. You spend a lot of money bringing them along over the years. Then to have ’em hurt, you have sponsors and ev

ECU prepares for trip to Tulane

Both teams are coming off conference road victories

By Jesse Deal North State Journal

GREENVILLE — East Caroli na heads to Tulane this weekend for a key game that will not only impact the American Athletic Conference standings but could also determine if the Pirates re turn to a bowl game this season under coach Mike Houston.

The Pirates (3-2, 1-1) and the Green Wave (4-1, 1-0) both won on the road last weekend, bouncing back from home losses the week prior. ECU delivered a convincing 48-28 win at South Florida, while Tulane pulled out a 27-24 over time win with their third-string quarterback at Houston.

It was a step forward for both programs after each suffered three-point losses the week be fore, with the Pirates losing to Navy and the Green Wave falling at home to Southern Miss.

ECU will be looking to build off the 575 yards of offense its offense piled up in the win over USF when it visits Yulman Stadium on Sat urday.

Pirates quarterback Holton Ahlers was named the AAC’s Of

fensive Player of the Week after his 465-yard, six-touchdown per formance, while wide receiver C.J. Johnson had seven receptions for 197 yards and three touchdowns in the win.

The situation at running back isn’t as rosy.

The school announced Monday that Rahjai Harris suffered a sea

son-ending knee injury against USF, a game that Keaton Mitch ell dressed for but did not play in after getting hurt in the Navy game. Harris and Mitchell have combined for 624 yards and eight touchdowns this season.

Mitchell could play a limited role against the Green Wave, but freshman Marlon Gunn Jr. will

erything involved, they’re in the playoffs, they get knocked out of the playoffs,” Hendrick said. “And it’s not about the playoffs, it’s about safety, having a guy that wants to be able to race again. We have done really well in the last 10, 15 years with safety in so many ways. But this car, from the rear impact, it’s just like you’re sitting on a piece of steel.

“We need to fix it as soon as we can.”

The Next Gen was an industry collaboration designed to improve the racing, increase parity on the track and reduce costs. The racing for the most part has been better, and 19 different Cup Series win ners (including Ryan Blaney’s nonpoints All-Star victory) is mea surable proof the competition has improved.

The car in many areas has been reinforced and is much safer, par ticularly when drivers are hit in the door or a car lands on its roof. But part of the cost-cutting meant

continue to have an expanded role in Harris’ absence after totaling 61 yards on 15 carries last week end. It will be a homecoming for Baton Rouge native Gunn, who received an offer to play at Tu lane but instead decided to play in Greenville.

For the Green Wave, starting quarterback Michael Pratt will be back in action after being ham pered by a recent shoulder injury. The junior has completed 63.5% of his passes for 905 yards and seven touchdowns with three in terceptions.

“He’s just an awesome young man,” seventh-year Tulane coach Willie Fritz said of Pratt and how he supported backup quarter backs Kai Horton and Justin Ibi eta last week. “We expect nothing less from him. It’s just the way he was raised, the way he operates, and that’s how you’re supposed to be. I always tell these guys, ‘If you’re not going to root for your buddies, get into MMA fighting.’” ECU’s defense will also need to contain Tyjae Spears. The fourthyear running back carved up the Houston defense for 139 yards from scrimmage last week, post ing team highs in rushing (35) and receiving (85) yards.

Running back Iverson Celes tine (202 yards rushing) and wide receiver Shae Wyatt (220 yards receiving) are also threats on Tu lane’s offense.

“We need to fix it as soon as we can.”

Rick Hendrick

LARRY PAPKE | AP PHOTO

Chase Elliott, right, has his tire catch fire as Martin Truex Jr. and Corey LaJoie drive past during the Sept. 25 NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas. Driver complaints about the safety of NASCAR’s Next Gen car have surged during the postseason.

KARL B. DEBLAKER | AP PHOTO

East Carolina quarterback Holton Ahlers was named AAC Offensive Player of the Week after throwing for 465 yards and six touchdowns in the Pirates’ 48-28 win Saturday over South Florida.

TRENDING

Marvin Powell:

The three‑time All‑Pro right tackle and Fort Bragg native who served as president of the NFL Players Association for two years during his 11‑year NFL career died Friday. He was 67. A member of the College Football Hall of Fame, Powell was drafted fourth overall by the Jets in 1977 out of USC. He was elected to the Pro Bowl five straight seasons from 1979‑83 and was an All‑Pro in 1979, ’81 and ’82. He played nine seasons in New York and his final two years with Tampa Bay.

Shohei Ohtani:

The two‑way superstar agreed to a $30 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels for the 2023 season, his final year of arbitration eligibility before free agency. The 2021 AL MVP’s deal is fully guaranteed with no other provisions. The contract is the largest ever given to an arbitration‑eligible player, surpassing the $27 million given to Mookie Betts by the Red Sox in January 2020, a month before he was traded to the Dodgers.

Terry Bradshaw:

The Hall of Fame quarterback and broadcaster has been treated for two forms of cancer in the past year. Bradshaw said on “Fox NFL Sunday” that he was diagnosed with bladder cancer late last year and was treated at Yale University Medical Center, including surgery. The 74‑year‑old then said he found a tumor in his neck earlier this year that turned out to be a Merkel cell tumor, a rare form of malignant skin cancer. He was treated and says he is “cancer free and feeling great.”

Beyond the box score

NASCAR

Chase Elliott moved a step closer to reclaiming the NASCAR Cup Series title he lost last season, winning at Talladega to advance to the Round of 8 ahead of Sunday’s cutoff race on Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Roval. Elliott held off Ryan Blaney for his fifth win, 12th top five and 19th top 10 — all the most in the series this season. Austin Cindric, William Byron, Christopher Bell and injured Alex Bowman are all below the elimination line heading into Charlotte.

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid said he became an American citizen last month, saying he was sworn in as a citizen in Philadelphia. The 28‑year‑old Embiid, who is a native of Cameroon and also French citizen, averaged a career‑best 30.6 points in 68 games and won the NBA scoring title last season.

WRESTLING

13Consecutive losses for Duke football against ACC opponents until the Blue Devils defeated Virginia 38‑17 on Saturday. Duke, 4‑1 in its first year under new coach Mike Elko, had last notched a conference win on Oct. 10, 2020, when it won 38 24 at Syracuse.

Popular Japanese professional wrestler and lawmaker Antonio Inoki, who faced Muhammad Ali in a mixed martial arts match in 1976, died Saturday. He was 79. Inoki made his pro wrestling debut in 1960. He made more than 30 trips to North Korea during his time as a lawmaker in hopes of forging peace and friendship.

BUTCH DILL | AP PHOTO

Three‑time NFL Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt helped the Cardinals beat the Panthers 26‑16 on Sunday, just three days after having his heart shocked into rhythm after going into atrial fibrillation. The 33‑year‑old, in his second season with Arizona, finished with three tackles and two pass breakups in the road win.

NFL

JACOB KUPFERMAN | AP PHOTO

NBA

CHRIS SZAGOLA | AP PHOTO

“We’ve definitely got bigger fish to fry.”

Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton on the controversy surrounding him wearing a nose ring.

“There’s a reason we took the PTO here.”

Defenseman Calvin de Haan after he turned a tryout into a one‑year, $850,000 contract with the Hurricanes to chase a Stanley Cup.

VINCENT THIAN | AP PHOTO

AP PHOTO

Jeremy Roach: Duke’s last man standing

The junior guard is one of the few returnees for the Blue Devils

By Shawn Krest North State Journal

DURHAM — If there’s one thing a point guard wants to avoid, it’s the turnover. Unfortunately for Duke’s Jeremy Roach, that’s all that’s around him this season.

Roach returns for his junior year at Duke, but ev erything around him is brand new.

There’s a high-pro file coaching change, as Hall of Fame head coach Mike Krzyzewski retired following last season’s trip to the Final Four. Longtime assistant Jon Scheyer takes over after a year in waiting. Ob servers wonder how the transition will go, but the only one transitioning will be Roach.

him to do. Hopefully that means it can be exciting because it’s not like he’s just doing the same thing. It’s a different role, and he’s done a great job.”

Coach K always emphasized the importance of talking and com munication on the floor, which is an area where Roach has struggled at times. But he’s trying to become more vocal.

“The strength I bring as a lead er is I’ve been here,” he said. “I’ve been to a Final Four. I know what to expect and how to build a championship team — what to do every day during practice, to have that hunger every day.”

Licking their wounds: Wolfpack look to respond after tough loss

No. 14 NC State, coming off a loss at Clemson, hosts Florida State

By Ryan Henkel North State Journal

RALEIGH — After falling short to fifth-ranked Clemson last week in Death Valley, No. 14 NC State will look to right the ship when Florida State visits Carter-Finley Stadium on Sat urday.

A game that could have put the Wolfpack in the driver’s seat in the ACC’s Atlantic Division was instead a night of missed opportunities as Dave Doeren’s offense sputtered and his de fense couldn’t hold off the Ti gers.

While the Wolfpack’s defense had a few crucial stops and gave good field position to the of fense, it was unable to come up with a game-changing play at Memorial Stadium.

“We didn’t create a takeaway. We had two critical opportuni ties in the game,” said Doeren, highlighting two near inter ceptions. “Just those two plays alone, if Devan Boykin has his, that’s one touchdown off the board, and if Aydan White has his and scores, that’s a 14-point swing in a game that we lost by 10 points. Plays like that you have to make in games like that, particularly when you’re on the road.”

While the defense had its chances to alter the result, the offense struggled to create much of anything.

“I think just connecting on more deep balls,” Doeren said of how the offense can improve. “This isn’t just all on [the receiv ers]. We’re overthrowing balls

too. Just getting that downfield production to be more consis tent. Putting the ball where they can catch it and giving those guys a chance to go out and make plays.

“We win a lot of 50/50 balls,” he added. “We have for a while here now, and we need to get back to that. That’s not just on the receivers, the tight ends, the backs — it’s on the entire offense. Give the quarterback a chance to make a throw and then go up and finish the play. I think that’s the thing we need to see.”

This week’s opponent doesn’t feature the same talent as the Tigers, but the Seminoles have a balanced ground game that uti lizes three running backs, and FSU has also done a good job of spreading the ball through the air. Johnny Wilson, a 6-foot-7 sophomore receiver, is FSU’s deep threat with a team-leading 357 receiving yards along with three touchdowns.

“Coach (Mike) Norvell and his staff deserve a lot of credit for the turnaround they’ve had down there,” Doeren said of the improved Seminoles. “You can see they’re playing really fast of fensively. They’re very balanced. Averaging 200-plus yards in rushing. You have to give them credit.”

Perhaps the biggest improve ment to Florida State’s offense has been the play of junior quar terback Jordan Travis, who has

thrown for 1,226 yards and eight touchdowns with just one inter ception through five games.

“He is very athletic,” Doeren said of the Seminoles’ quarter back. “Comparing him from last year to this year, I thought last year he was an athlete playing quarterback, but this year he’s a quarterback. He’s throwing ac curate passes, he’s reading cov erages, he’s giving his receivers chances to make plays, he’s mov ing around in the pocket extend ing plays and not just to run.

“He’s playing really good football and, like most quarter backs, the longer you play, the better you get.”

Most importantly, the Wolf pack will need to move past their tough loss at Clemson and refocus on the task at hand.

“We have a lot to play for,” Doeren said. “(We) have eight weeks and seven games, and that’s kind of how we’ve broken it down. We have a seven-game season here, and as you know the landscape of college football changes dramatically every sin gle week. So it’s a one-week-ata-time deal.”

It’s also a chance for the de fense to again show it can be one of the best in the nation, while the offense will be looking to find its footing in what has been a disappointing start to the sea son.

“This is just an opportunity to respond,” Doeren said. “I think in life, you find out who you are when you’re knocked down. It’s easy to be what everyone wants you to be when you’re good. But the best way to get over that feeling is to go back to work, put your head down and focus on what led to success earlier. We know what the formula is for that here.”

From last season’s team, only 16% of the minutes played are re turning to this year’s roster, and 92% of those were logged by Roach. He also scored 336 of the 358 points that return from last season.

Dereck Lively, Duke freshman center

“I think Jeremy’s not a guy that necessarily is going be the loudest on the floor all the time, but he has great experi ence,” Scheyer said. “He’s been a winner his whole life, so he knows what it takes to win. I would just encourage him to follow his instincts, continue to talk, continue to lead — not just by example, but continuing to be com fortable using his voice and whatever way that means.”

Jaylen Blakes, who played sparing ly as a freshman last season, and little-used walk-ons Stanley Bor den and Spencer Hubbard are the only other members of this year’s team who have played for Coach K.

“We have different ages on the team, different backgrounds,” Scheyer said. “We have four grad uate transfers, we have seven freshmen and they get along; you wouldn’t know who’s who. I think that’s the cool part for this group is that chemistry is there. They like one another.”

The person primarily responsi ble for developing that chemistry on the floor is Roach, who has a new leadership role as the senior member of the team.

“It’s changed a lot,” Roach said of his role. “I knew coming into this year that I was the only re turning player who has played big minutes, so Scheyer’s just been harping on me to be the leader, show guys where to be, how to do things around campus, and just different things around the cam pus that I have to do now that I kind of wasn’t doing before. So it’s definitely been good.”

Scheyer likes what he’s seen from Roach thus far.

“Jeremy is going great,” he said. “Jeremy is in a great spot right now. You know, Jeremy, he’s in a new position, not only with his role on the team and his experience from coming off of last year. We have a great relationship, but he’s figuring out what I’m like as a head coach and the things that I’m looking for

Freshman big man Dereck Live ly, the five-star crown jewel of the Blue Devils’ top-rated recruiting class, has certainly heard from Roach on the floor.

“He’s been a great leader,” Live ly said. “He makes sure we set the tone for Duke basketball. If we’re messing up, he gets right to the point. We’re not sugar coating any thing. If we make a mistake on the court, everybody’s looking at us.”

Roach will also need to step up on the court, where he emerged during last season’s Final Four run as a reliable scorer and clutch play er for the Blue Devils. He averaged 12.8 points and 3.8 assists in the NCAA Tournament run, giving Duke another scoring option.

“It definitely brought a lot of confidence in me,” he said. “I’m just trying to bring that confidence that I have and kind of instill it into all these other guys. Just to know what’s to come for the season and what kind of target we are go ing to have on our back to get back to where we were last year.”

Ready or not, surrounded by turnover in the Duke locker room, Jeremy Roach is ready to lead the Blue Devils into the season.

“I definitely feel like I’ve earned it,” he said. “I’ve been here two years. I’ve been through rough times and good times. I know the ins and outs of the Duke program. I’m ready for a leadership role.”

“He’s done a great job,” Scheyer said. “He’s in a great spot to really have a heck of a year. He’s gonna be our guard, and I’ll put them him against any guard of the country.”

building a very durable car that could withstand crashes and re duce the fleets needed for a 38race season.

The drivers say they warned NASCAR throughout the devel opment phase the car was too stiff, and many walked away from minor crashes this year complain ing it was the hardest hits they’ve ever taken.

Bowman and Busch are the only two drivers to miss races with concussions, but The Associated Press learned of at least two other drivers who believe they suffered concussions earlier this season. A person with direct knowledge of the situation shared the number but was not comfortable sharing further details because the infor mation is private.

NASCAR will be busy this week heading into Sunday’s elimination race at the Roval at Charlotte Mo tor Speedway. Series leadership

has used computer modeling on potential changes for the rear clip, rear bumper structure and cen ter structure, and has a crash test scheduled for Wednesday in Ohio.

NASCAR then has a previous ly scheduled owners meeting on Friday at 23XI and the drivers have been summoned to a Satur day discussion at the R&D Center.

NASCAR President Steve Phelps met privately with Hamlin before Sunday’s race.

The computer modeling and ongoing discussions are taking too long for the drivers’ liking.

NASCAR has acknowledged that any improvements wouldn’t be implemented on the cars until 2023; there are five races remain ing this season.

“Our drivers are so important, we don’t want ’em hurt, so if it meant buying all new clips Mon day morning, I’d do it. I’d be happy to do it,” Hendrick said. “I’m all for whatever it takes. I think the teams could fix it. If NASCAR

wants to do it, I think everybody working together, we could do it in a hurry, test it, have it on the cars ASAP.”

It’s not that simple, though, be cause the Next Gen is a spec car with single-source parts suppliers. The manufacturer would have to make enough new parts for every car and, assuming it can even be done with urgency, smaller teams would have to figure out how to af ford unplanned purchases.

Gustafson said setting a time line for corrections is secondary right now.

“I think the first step is we need a solution, right?” Gustafson said.

“That is a good goal for us as an industry to collectively look at what’s the best solution we can come up with in the short term. If we can get the solution figured out, implementation, you can worry about that later.

“I think the solution is the key right now. To my knowledge, it doesn’t exist.”

ECU from page B1

While the Green Wave’s of fense has gotten the job done this year, it has been the team’s stout defense that has provided con sistency. Tulane’s passing defense is allowing only 123.6 yards per game, best in the nation thanks to standouts like cornerback Jarius Monroe and defensive end Keith Cooper.

With Ahlers and the Pirates’ offense firing on all cylinders, the matchup of ECU’s passing attack and Tulane’s defense could deter mine the outcome.

“I’ve known Coach Fritz for a long time. … I have such respect for him,” fourth-year Pirate coach Mike Houston said. “I knew he’d have them turned around. I was watching them play and they are

very solid defensively. Very good offensively at all the standup po sitions.

“To be able to go in with your backup quarterback, and then a young quarterback to be able to win that ball game, that’s a very impressive win. Obviously we’ll have our hands full going down there to New Orleans next Satur day night.”

MARCIO JOSE SANCHEZ | AP PHOTO

In an offseason of monumental change, Duke guard Jeremy Roach is back with the Blue Devils and taking on a leadership role.

JACOB KUPFERMAN | AP PHOTO NC State coach Dave Doeren said the Wolfpack defense’s inability to create turnovers against Clemson contributed to a 30-20 loss.

“If we’re messing up, he gets right to the point. We’re not sugar coating anything”

“We have a lot to play for. … It’s a one-week-ata-time deal.”

Dave Doeren, NC State coach

“We’ll have our hands full going down there to New Orleans next Saturday night.”

Mike Houston, ECU coach

Necas hits reset, looks to be Hurricanes’ X-factor

In his fourth NHL season, the former first round pick is looking to fulfill his promise

By Cory Lavalette North State Journal

RALEIGH — The words result ed in a bit of a double take.

“Me and Roddy gotta trust each other a little more,” said Hurri canes forward Martin Necas at his season-ending availability in June.

Many took that as a swipe at Rod Brind’Amour despite the fact the coach said later that same day he was glad Necas had gotten the message during their exit interview.

Some still assumed Necas would be looking for a way out rather than re-signing as a restricted free agent and returning for a fourth season in Raleigh.

“I don’t know if somebody took it like we had some beef between each other,” Necas said last week. “It was nothing like that. We’ve al ways had a good relationship.”

It was still the latest bump in what has been an up-and-down journey for Necas since he was the 12th overall pick by the Hurricanes in the 2017 draft. The Czech native came to North America for the 2018-19 season and won a Calder Cup with the Charlotte Checkers, then Carolina’s AHL affiliate.

While the year on the ice was a crucial step in his development, it did not benefit Necas’ contract situation.

The Hurricanes were able to slide his contract for his first season in North America, shielding him for needing pro tection in the Seattle Kraken expansion draft but also keeping Necas from shaving a year off his entry-level contract.

His rookie season was encour aging —16 goals, 20 assists and 36 points — but the leap many expect ed in 2019-20 was more of a small hop as he finished with 16 goals and 41 points in the COVID-inter rupted season.

with 14 goals and 40 points in 78 games, one point fewer than he had totaled the previous season when playing in just 53 contests.

A player who once seemed on the cusp of breaking out was in stead seeing Andrei Svechnikov land a big payday and Seth Jarvis emerging as the team’s other dy namic young forward.

There were rumbles that Ne cas and his agent were unhappy he had just played four years on a three-year entry-level contract, leading to further speculation that his future in Raleigh was uncertain.

“I couldn’t do anything about it,” Necas countered. “It was just a couple of decisions that they made and it’s like that, so I didn’t really think about it.”

“It took a little bit, but we got it done. I have two years here to get myself in better position and then we’ll see what happens.”

Better positioning himself meant getting bigger and stronger — “maybe five, six pounds, some where close to 200 pounds” — and the 23-year-old’s peach fuzz has also been replaced with the slight est hint of stubble.

The changes in his physique co incide with an emotional maturity that Necas himself recognizes.

“I’m kind of a bit older,” he said. “I’m not a rookie anymore.”

Which takes us back to the June heart-to-heart with Brind’Amour that laid out what “trust” between the player and coach meant.

Playing on Jesperi Kotkaniemi’s right wing, Necas has three goals and six points in three preseason games, including a two-goal, fourpoint night Monday in an 8-1 rout of Columbus.

“It’s preseason. I’d rather save it for the season, but it’s good to have these moments,” Necas said after he was named first star in the lop sided win.

With Svechnikov on the oppo site side of Kotkaniemi most of this preseason, Necas is in a posi tion to be an X-factor in the Hurri canes’ quest to win a Stanley Cup.

Contract negotiations finally ended Aug. 9 with a two-year, $6 million contract that will pay $2.5 million this season, $3.5 million next season and carry a $3 million cap hit.

“It’s his overall play, shift in, shift out,” Brind’Amour said last week when asked about what Ne cas needed to do to get his career back on an upward trajectory. “Obviously, do it the right way, do it the way we need to do it.”

“We know he’s got talent,” Brind’Amour said. “We’re not ever taking that away. But there’s a time and place for all that stuff, and I think last year maybe he tried to push it a little too much and it didn’t work. … Certain players have a flair and they’re gonna get freedom to do a little more outside the box, but you still got to fill the box.”

His contract year finally ar rived but was, as he said, “disap pointing.”

Necas finished 2021-22

“It’s nice to be back here, nice to get the contract done,” Necas said.

If his performance this presea son is any indication, Necas has heeded his coach’s advice.

Are the Panthers headed for a quarterback change?

If Necas can fill the box while occasionally venturing out of it, he could be in for a breakout season.

By Shawn Krest North State Journal

DURING TRAINING camp when Baker Mayfield was battling Sam Darnold for the Panthers’ starting quarterback job, longtime NFL executive Michael Lombardi shared his thoughts, which proved to be prescient.

“I’m not sure that whatever deci sion is made now is going to be the one that’s going to be the perfect decision in October,” he said.

It’s October, and Darnold, sent to injured reserve with a training camp injury, is eligible to return to the active roster. That means that there will be a strong temptation to revisit the decision that gave May field the job.

Four games into the season, the Panthers are 1-3, and Mayfield has not inspired confidence. His QBR rating is 15.3, according to ESPN, which ranks at the bottom of the NFL and would need to nearly double to pull out of the last spot. He’s completing just over half of his passes, which is the lowest rate of his career. His touchdown percent age, yards per pass and yards per completion are all the worst of his career.

“I know it wasn’t good enough and I know the numbers aren’t what they need to be in a lot of dif ferent areas,” Panthers coach Matt Rhule said. “I have to really though, even as I said to the team, go back and really look and see why is this happening, why are we not playing

better than this. I know we have the personnel on offense to make plays and it’s just not coming to gether the way it needs to.”

Mayfield may have bottomed out against the Cardinals on Sun day, producing two turnovers, two punts and a turnover on downs in Carolina’s first five offensive pos sessions.

The Arizona defensive line also batted down several of his passes, and he left the home field to

boos on several occasions.

Despite the struggles, Rhule said he never considered replacing Mayfield.

“I didn’t think about that today,” he said.

“I was just kind of in the moment, like, ‘Hey, go to the next drive.’ Trying to again, get down there, score a touchdown, go for two, thinking ‘Hey, let’s kick it deep and play defense.’ So, hop ing that we could make something

happen.”

Despite leading the game into the second half, the Panthers aban doned the run early, only giving the ball to star running back Christian McCaffrey for eight carries and producing a very imbalanced 36to-13 pass/run mix.

Mayfield may not have been put in the best position to succeed, but he shied away from placing blame.

“I am not going to fall for that

trap,” he said. “We have plays to be made. We have to find ways to complete the ball. We had a good game plan, we just didn’t execute it. … It’s everybody. That goes for the run game as well. When we’re not running the ball well, that goes on everybody. Like I said, have to look at the tape. Have to look to see if we were detailed enough but I know there were definitely plays to be made there that we didn’t.”

While things haven’t gone as planned, Mayfield tried to down play how bad it’s been.

“Obviously, I am frustrated with the fact that we are 1-3,” he said. “That’s it though. We are four weeks into the year. We can sit here and let you guys pile on us or we are going to come together as a locker room. That is exactly how we are going to handle it. We are going to figure it out. And when we win, it’ll still be just us in the locker room and that’s really all I care about. … This is a four-game stretch that everybody wanted to have more success, including us. It is frustrat ing, we are frustrated, but it’s not the end of the world. We can still turn this thing around. We are four games into the year, we are going to be just fine.”

After the loss to the Cardinals, Rhule and Mayfield both pro claimed that they needed to watch tape before evaluating Sunday’s performance. On Monday, Rhule gave his quarterback the shakiest vote of confidence ever, proclaim ing that Mayfield was still QB1 be cause Darnold isn’t ready to return.

“I think Baker’s our quarter back,” Rhule said. “We have to con tinue to find ways to help him. ... Sam is not cleared right now.”

For better or worse, Mayfield is still starting quarterback for the Panthers, but as Lombardi pointed out before any decisions were made, that status is a temporary one.

KARL B. DEBLAKER | AP PHOTO

Hurricanes forward Martin Necas enters his fourth NHL season looking to reclaim his spot as a core piece in Carolina.

Baker Mayfield has struggled in his first four games

JACOB KUPFERMAN | AP PHOTO

Panthers quarterback Baker Mayfield speaks to the media following Carolina’s 26-16 home loss to Arizona on Sunday.

partners grew up in the North Hills area, now generally re ferred to as Midtown. Poole, on the other hand, had the exact fig ures stating, “Todd grew up right over there on Converse Drive. It’s 3,637 feet from [The Exchange]. And I grew up a little further west on Macon Place. That’s 7,874 feet from here.”

A s active business leaders in the Raleigh community, Poole and Saieed have had front-row seats to the massive growth the city has experienced. With more growth to come, the business partners want to ensure that the spirit of the city they grew up in is preserved.

“We know that growth can bring some anxiety, but we’ve in volved community stakeholders throughout the design process and worked hard to craft a vision and a masterplan that will bene fit the entire Raleigh community,” Saieed assures skeptics. “Preserv ing the trees whenever possible and dedicating over 7 acres of greenspace throughout the devel opment is just part of our commit ment to this new vision for Ra leigh.”

The DeWitt team was active with the Citizens Advisory Coun cil (CAC), to ensure the neighbors within the Midtown community had a say in what will become of their neighborhood. DeWitt also received a full endorsement of the Exchange Raleigh project from the council.

There is something special go ing on here, and something differ ent going on here,” said Raleigh city councilman Patrick Buffkin, who attended the project an nouncement.

“How many groundbreak ings have you been to that young children were at and the proj ect owner’s parents showed up? There is something special about this team; how they do business, how they work with the commu nity, and how they partner with the city. They turned the develop ment process inside out, they in vited the community to come in, and they started with ‘how can we address your concerns and your problems?’”

“This is a project that we are proud of,” says Poole. “And we hope our neighbors will be proud of us too.”

House approves antitrust bill targeting Big Tech dominance

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The House on Thursday approved anti trust legislation targeting the dom inance of Big Tech companies by giving states greater power in com petition cases and increasing mon ey for federal regulators.

The bipartisan measure passed by a 242-184 vote. It was separat ed from more ambitious provisions aimed at reining in Meta, Google, Amazon and Apple and cleared by key House and Senate committees. Those proposals have languished for months, giving the companies time for vigorous lobbying cam paigns against them.

The more limited bill would give states an upper hand over com panies in choosing the location of courts that decide federal antitrust cases. Proponents say this change would avert the “home-court ad vantage” that Big Tech companies enjoy in federal court in Northern California, where many of the cas es are tried and many of the com panies are based.

Many state attorneys gener al have pursued antitrust cas es against the industry, and many states joined with the Justice De partment and the Federal Trade Commission in their landmark lawsuits against Google and Meta (then called Facebook), respective ly, in late 2020.

The bill also would increase fil ing fees paid by companies to fed

eral agencies for all proposed mergers worth $500 million or more, while reducing the fees for small and medium-sized transac tions. The aim is to increase reve nue for federal enforcement efforts.

Under the bill, companies seek ing approval for mergers would have to disclose subsidies they re ceived from countries deemed to pose strategic or economic risks to the United States — especially Chi na.

“We find ourselves in a monopo ly moment as a country,” Rep. Lori Trahan, D-Mass., said before the vote. “Multibillion-dollar corpora tions have grown into behemoths, eliminating any real competition in their industries and using their dominance to hurt small business es and consumers. Meta’s monop

oly power has enabled it to harm women, children and people of all ages without recourse. Amazon has used its dominance to copy competitors’ products and run small businesses into the ground.”

The Biden administration, which has pushed for antitrust legislation targeting Big Tech, en dorsed the bill this week.

The legislation drew fierce op position from conservative Repub licans who split from their GOP colleagues supporting the bill. The conservatives objected to the pro posed revenue increase for the an titrust regulators, arguing there has been brazen overreach by the FTC under President Joe Biden.

Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., described the FTC’s leader, Lina Khan, as a “a radical leftist seek ing to replace consumers’ decisions with her own.”

Another California Republi can, Rep. Darrell Issa, told his col leagues, “If you want to stifle inno vation, vote for this.”

If Republicans win control of the House or Senate in the Novem ber elections, they are certain to try to crimp the activism of the FTC and to challenge its broader inter pretation of its legal authority.

The more sweeping antitrust proposals would restrict powerful tech companies from favoring their own products and services over ri vals on their platforms and could even lead to mandated break ups separating companies’ dom

inant platforms from their other businesses. They could, for exam ple, prevent Amazon from steering consumers to its own brands and away from competitors’ products on its giant e-commerce platform.

The drafting of that legislation marked a new turn in Congress’ effort to curb the dominance of the tech giants and anti-competi tive practices that critics say have hurt consumers, small business es and innovation. But the propos al is complex and drew objections to some provisions from lawmak ers of both parties, even though all condemn the tech giants’ conduct.

Lawmakers have faced a deli cate task as they try to tighten reins around a powerful industry whose services, mostly free or nearly so, are popular with consumers and embedded into daily life.

So with time to act running out as the November elections ap proach in about six weeks, lawmak ers extracted the less controversial provisions on antitrust court ven ues and merger filing fees, putting them into the new bill that passed.

Lawmakers added the provision targeting foreign subsidies to U.S. companies. Republicans especially have vocally criticized the Chinese ownership of popular video plat form TikTok.

In the Senate, Minnesota Dem ocrat Amy Klobuchar is sponsor ing similar legislation with Repub licans Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Mike Lee of Utah.

“Effective antitrust enforcement is critical to ensuring consum ers and small businesses have the opportunity to compete,” Klobu char said in a statement Thursday. “Enforcers cannot take on the big gest companies the world has ever known with duct tape and BandAids.”

White House unveils artificial intelligence ‘Bill of Rights’

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Biden administration unveiled a set of far-reaching goals Tues day to align artificial intelli gence-powered tools with what it called the values of Democra cy and equity, including guide lines for how to protect people’s personal data and limit surveil lance.

The Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights notably does not set out specific enforcement actions, but instead is intended as a White House call to action for the U.S. government to safeguard digital and civil rights in an AI-fueled world, officials said.

“This is the Biden-Harris ad ministration really saying that we need to work together, not only just across government, but across all sectors, to really put equity at the center and civ il rights at the center of the ways that we make and use and govern technologies,” said Alondra Nel son, deputy director for science and society at the White House Office of Science and Technol ogy Policy. “We can and should expect better and demand better from our technologies.”

The office said the white paper represents a major advance in the administration’s agenda to hold technology companies ac countable, and highlighted var ious federal agencies’ commit ments to weighing new rules and studying the specific impacts of AI technologies. The document emerged after a year-long con sultation with more than two dozen different departments, and also incorporates feedback from technologists, civil society groups, businesses and industry researchers.

The resulting non-bind ing principles cite academic re search, agency studies and news reports that have documented real-world harms from AI-pow ered tools, including facial rec ognition tools that contributed to wrongful arrests and an au tomated system that discrimi nated against loan seekers who attended a Historically Black College or University.

The white paper also said par ents and social workers alike could benefit from knowing if child welfare agencies were us ing algorithms to help decide when families should be investi gated for maltreatment.

Earlier this year after the publication of an AP review of an algorithmic tool used in a Pennsylvania child welfare sys

tem, OSTP staffers reached out to sources quoted in the arti cle to learn more, according to multiple people who participat ed in the call. AP’s investigation found that the Allegheny County tool in its first years of operation showed a pattern of flagging a disproportionate number of Black children for a “mandato ry” neglect investigation, when compared with white children.

In May, sources said Carnegie Mellon University researchers and staffers from the American Civil Liberties Union spoke with OSTP officials about child wel fare agencies’ use of algorithms. Nelson said protecting children from technology harms remains an area of concern.

“If a tool or an automated sys tem is disproportionately harm

ing a vulnerable community, there should be, one would hope, that there would be levers and opportunities to address that through some of the specific ap plications and prescriptive sug gestions,” said Nelson, who also serves as deputy assistant to President Joe Biden.

OSTP did not provide addi tional comment about the May meeting.

Still, because many AI-pow ered tools are developed, ad opted or funded at the state and local level, the federal govern ment has limited oversight re garding their use. The white pa per makes no specific mention of how the Biden administration could influence specific policies at state or local levels, but a se nior administration official said the administration was explor ing how to align federal grants with AI guidance.

The white paper also did not specifically address AI-powered technologies funded through the Department of Justice, whose civil rights division separately has been examining algorithmic harms, bias and discrimination, Nelson said.

Tucked between the calls for greater oversight, the white pa per also said when appropriately implemented, AI systems have the power to bring about lasting benefits to society, such as help ing farmers grow food more ef ficiently or identifying diseases.

“Fueled by the power of Amer ican innovation, these tools hold the potential to redefine every part of our society and make life better for everyone. This important progress must not come at the price of civil rights or democratic values,” the docu ment said.

“Effective antitrust enforcement is critical to ensuring consumers and small businesses have the opportunity to compete. Enforcers cannot take on the biggest companies the world has ever known with duct tape and Band-Aids.” Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)

Alondra Nelson speaks during an event at The Queen theater, Jan. 16, 2021, in Wilmington, Del.

pen & paper pursuits

New director of Stanly County Public Library announced

After working for the Albemarle branch of the Stanly County Public Library for the last eight years, Sara Hahn has been promoted as the new director. News of Hahn’s promotion has come just a month after the former manager, Melanie Holles, left for the same position in Cabarrus County.

Hahn was informed of her promotion by the County Manager, Andy Lucas, this past Friday. Her first day as director is scheduled to take place on October 17. In addition to her new role, Hahn will also continue to serve as the children’s librarian until a replacement can be found.

First Stanly distillery set to open this month

Loping Crow Distillery, the first distillery to open in Stanly County, is set to open its doors in late October or early November.

The distillery, which is the culmination of efforts on behalf of Maria Harrell, Michele Goodwin, and their father, Tony Dennis, will be located on the Dennis family farm on Endy Road. It will be located across the street from Dennis Vineyards, which is owned and operated by Tony’s brother. According to the business owners, this distillery is a way to honor their family’s history of producing spirits.

The distillery will include a tasting room for patrons to come and sample the family’s recipes.

NC Supreme Court weighs if voter ID tainted by racial bias

By Gary D. Robertson The Associated Press

RALEIGH — North Carolina’s long-litigated photo voter identi fication law was appraised at the state Supreme Court on Monday.

Justices heard arguments on whether it was reasonable for tri al judges to throw out the law that they determined was tainted by racial bias and designed to help Republicans retain their grip on the legislature.

The voter ID law approved by the General Assembly in Decem ber 2018, but it has never been enforced, as the requirement has been blocked by both federal or state courts over time. That re mains the case for next month’s midterms.

An attorney for the Republican legislative leaders said a majority of trial judges conducting a trial on the law last year got both facts and conclusions wrong when they struck down the law.

Those judges failed to take into account the bipartisan nature of its passage and rule changes that would eliminate any disad vantage that Black voters would have in carrying a photo ID, law yer Pete Patterson said. People without qualifying IDs would still able to cast ballots by filling out a form.

“This is the most forgiving, rea sonable impediment (form) pro

vision in the nation,” Patterson told the justices in urging them to uphold the law or void the trial court’s decision. “The notion that this was meant to be passed for partisan entrenchment just does not match up with the evidence.”

But minority voters represent ed by lawyer Jeff Loperfido urged the Supreme Court to keep intact the lower court ruling, saying it’s not the job of the justices to sub stitute a different result if the trial judges’ decision is reasonable.

“The question before this court is whether that conclusion is sup ported by findings of fact based on competent evidence,” Loperfi do said. “And the answer to that question is an unequivocal yes.”

Justices didn’t say when they would issue an opinion follow ing an hour of arguments at the old Chowan County Courthouse in Edenton. But it’s likely to oc cur by the end of the year given that Senior Associate Justice Rob in Hudson is retiring and Associ ate Justice Sam Ervin IV may lose a reelection bid. Hudson and Er vin are part of the four-member Democratic majority on the sev en-member court.

Republicans have been trying for over a decade to implement photo ID. A 2013 voter ID law that was later struck down was carried out in 2016 primary elec tions.

The legislature then put a pho

to ID constitutional amendment on the ballot in November 2018, which voters approved. Lawmak ers followed mere weeks late to pass a separate law implement ing voter ID rules, which was Monday’s topic. Republicans with large enough majorities at the time overrode Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of the bill, re sulting immediately in a lawsuit filed by minority voters.

In a 2-to-1 ruling following a three-week trial, judges found in September 2021 the implement ing law was rushed through and discriminated against black vot ers, violating the equal protec tions contained the state consti tution. In turn, according to the voters who sued, the law made it harder for Black citizens to cast ballots that could erode GOP power.

The majority wrote dozens of Republicans, who voted both for

Badin Brews to host street festival in downtown Albemarle

By Jesse Deal North State Journal

ALBEMARLE — A local tap house in downtown Albemarle is gearing up for its second-annual all-day festival that is set to take place on Oct. 8 between the hours of 11 a.m. and 8 p.m.

The Badin Brews Fall Street Festival, which is based at 124 S. First St. location and spread out from W. North St. and E. South St., will host an array of brewing com panies and local musicians as well as a variety of dining and shopping options.

Badin Brews opened in the sum mer of 2021 and has continued to

expand the scope of its entertain ment outreach, culminating in this latest festival. Co-hosted by event planners at the Indian Trail-based Sunny Day Markets, over 75 differ ent vendors are currently sched uled to participate throughout the course of the day.

Admission and parking for the festival are both free of charge.

“Even bigger and better than the last. Prepare yourself!” Ba din Brews announced on its social media page. “David Bell (Pfeiffer Alum) will be playing on the out door stage if the weather cooper ates.”

Southern Range Brewing Com pany, Sycamore Brewing, Victo

ry Brewing Company, Cabarrus Brewing Company, Four Saints Brewing Company, Lenny Boy Brewing Company, Wise Man Brewing, Legal Remedy Brewing, and Catawba Brewing Company will all be on-site at the event.

Additionally, food options at the festival will include Wildfire Piz za, Mana4U, Kasen’s Krab Shack, Mike’s Vegan Cookout, Trixi’s Mex ican Street Food, Sweeter Than Honey Concessions, Duck Donuts, Golden Gals Funnel Cakes, Nomad Coffee, and The Boba Tea Bar.

Montana Noel, organizer and co-owner of Sunny Day Markets, spoke at the Albemarle City Coun cil meeting on Sept. 6 about her

the 2013 voter ID law and the 2018 law, knew of earlier evidence that black residents had less ac cess to voter ID than others. A few Democrats voted for the 2018 law, one of them a Black senator who worked with Republicans to de velop it. But the minority voters who sued diminished the Demo crats’ role.

Lawyers for the Republican legislative leaders said voter ID is designed to bolster confidence in elections. Thirty-five states re quest or require some ID at the polls, with about half asking for photo identification, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

In August, the Supreme Court’s 4-3 Democratic majority opened the door to voiding the Novem ber 2018 voter ID constitutional amendment because lawmakers who agreed to put it on the ballot were elected from districts blem ished by illegal racial gerryman dering. The majority sent the case back to a lower court judge to ac cumulate more evidence. That de cision didn’t moot the voter ID lawsuit that was heard Monday.

A federal lawsuit filed by the state NAACP and several lo cal chapters and challenging the same November 2018 voter ID law still hasn’t gone to trial. The case could become moot if the state Supreme Court agrees with the lower court that the law is un constitutional.

State law allows the justices to convene up to twice annual ly in the courthouse in Edenton, which is a former colonial capital about 115 miles northeast of Ra leigh, the current capital of the state. The proceedings were lives treamed.

wish to expand the scope of Badin Brews’ upcoming event following the taphouse’s first street festival back on Aug. 13.

“With the festival that happened three weeks ago, we’re wanting to do that exact same thing but extend it to the other side of First Street,” Noel said. “And if that plan doesn’t work, we have a backup plan. I’ve been in contact with the NCDOT, and they have approved it as long as we can get the minutes from this council meeting to approve it.”

With a unanimous vote, the council approved the plans to ex pand the road closures that will fa cilitate the festival. While the event in August was on just one side of the road, this weekend’s incarna tion will hold vendors on both side walks.

Any additional vendor appli cants can still sign up to attend the festival with a $100 entrance fee; applications are available at the Badin Brews’ webpage at www. eventeny.com.

“The question before this court is whether that conclusion is supported by findings of fact based on competent evidence.”

Jeff Loperfido

FILE PHOTO

The seven justices of the North Carolina Supreme Court are shown in this file photo.

FURR, DAVA MARIE (W /F/26), FELONY POSSESSION SCH II CS, 10/03/2022, Stanly County Sheriff`S Office

WALLACE, AARON SCOTT (W /M/31), INJURY TO PERSONAL PROPERTY, 10/03/2022, Stanly County Sheriff`S Office

PRESLAR, JOSEPH MICHAEL (W /M/40), REMOVE/TAMPER SEX OFFEN SBM, 09/29/2022, Stanly County Sheriff`S Office

SNAPP, CONNIE LOUISE (W /F/29), MISDEMEANOR

Loretta Lynn, coal miner’s daughter and country queen, dies

The Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Loret ta Lynn, the Kentucky coal min er’s daughter whose frank songs about life and love as a woman in Appalachia pulled her out of pov erty and made her a pillar of coun try music, has died. She was 90.

In a statement provided to The Associated Press, Lynn’s family said she died Tuesday at her home in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee.

“Our precious mom, Loretta Lynn, passed away peacefully this morning, October 4th, in her sleep at home in her beloved ranch in Hurricane Mills,” the family said in a statement. They asked for pri vacy as they grieve and said a me morial will be announced later.

Lynn already had four children before launching her career in the early 1960s, and her songs reflect ed her pride in her rural Kentucky background.

As a songwriter, she crafted a persona of a defiantly tough wom an, a contrast to the stereotypi cal image of most female country singers. The Country Music Hall of Famer wrote fearlessly about sex and love, cheating husbands, di vorce and birth control and some times got in trouble with radio programmers for material from

which even rock performers once shied away.

Her biggest hits came in the 1960s and ‘70s, including “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” “You Ain’t Woman Enough,” “The Pill,” “Don’t Come Home a Drinkin’ (With Lo vin’ on Your Mind),” “Rated X” and “You’re Looking at Country.” She was known for appearing in floorlength, wide gowns with elaborate embroidery or rhinestones, many created by her longtime personal assistant and designer Tim Cobb.

Her honesty and unique place in country music was rewarded. She was the first woman ever named entertainer of the year at the genre’s two major awards shows, first by the Country Music Asso ciation in 1972 and then by the Academy of Country Music three years later.

“It was what I wanted to hear and what I knew other women wanted to hear, too,” Lynn told the AP in 2016. “I didn’t write for the men; I wrote for us women. And the men loved it, too.”

In 1969, she released her auto biographical “Coal Miner’s Daugh ter,” which helped her reach her widest audience yet.

“We were poor but we had love/ That’s the one thing Daddy made sure of/He shoveled coal to make a

poor man’s dollar,” she sang.

“Coal Miner’s Daughter,” also the title of her 1976 book, was made into a 1980 movie of the same name. Sissy Spacek’s por trayal of Lynn won her an Acad emy Award and the film was also nominated for best picture.

Born Loretta Webb, the sec ond of eight children, she claimed her birthplace was Butcher Hol ler, near the coal mining company town of Van Lear in the mountains of east Kentucky. There really wasn’t a Butcher Holler, however. She later told a reporter that she made up the name for the purpos es of the song based on the names of the families that lived there.

Her daddy played the banjo, her mama played the guitar and she grew up on the songs of the Carter Family.

Her husband, whom she called “Doo” or “Doolittle,” urged her to sing professionally and helped pro mote her early career. With his help, she earned a recording con tract with Decca Records, lat er MCA, and performed on the Grand Ole Opry stage. Lynn wrote her first hit single, “I’m a Honky Tonk Girl,” released in 1960.

She also teamed up with sing er Conway Twitty to form one of the most popular duos in country

music with hits such as “Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man” and “Af ter the Fire is Gone,” which earned them a Grammy Award. Their du ets, and her single records, were al ways mainstream country and not crossover or pop-tinged.

The Academy of Country Mu sic chose her as the artist of the decade for the 1970s, and she was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1988.

She moved to Hurricane Mills, Tennessee, outside of Nashville, in the 1990s, where she set up a ranch complete with a replica of her childhood home and a museum that is a popular roadside tourist stop. The dresses she was known for wearing are there, too.

Her younger sister, Crystal Gay le, is also a Grammy-winning pop ular country singer, scoring cross over hits with songs like “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue” and “Half the Way.”

Lynn knew that her songs were trailblazing, especially for country music, but she was just writing the truth that so many rural women like her experienced.

“I could see that other women was goin’ through the same thing, ‘cause I worked the clubs. I wasn’t the only one that was livin’ that life and I’m not the only one that’s gon na be livin’ today what I’m writin’,” she told The AP in 1995.

She and her husband were mar ried nearly 50 years before he died in 1996. They had six children: Betty, Jack, Ernest and Clara, and then twins Patsy and Peggy. She had 17 grandchildren and four step-grandchildren.

The Associated Press

NEW YORK — Former Presi dent Donald Trump on Monday sued CNN, seeking $475 million in damages, saying the network had defamed him in an effort to short-circuit any future political campaign.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. Dis trict Court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, focuses primarily on the term “The Big Lie” about Trump’s election concerns claims of wide spread fraud that he says cost him the 2020 presidential elec tion to Joe Biden.

CNN said it had no comment on the lawsuit.

Trump’s lawsuit claims “The Big Lie,” a phrase with Nazi con notations, has been used in ref erence to him more than 7,700

times on CNN since January 2021.

“It is intended to aggravate, scare and trigger people,” he said.

In a statement Monday, Trump suggested that similar lawsuits would be filed against other news organizations. And he said he may also bring “appro priate action” against the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 protest at the Capitol. The law suit comes as he is weighing a po tential bid for the presidency in 2024.

New CNN chief Chris Licht privately urged his news person nel in a meeting more than three months ago to refrain from using the phrase because it is too close to Democratic efforts to brand the former president, according

Former

Donald Trump

OPINION

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

COLUMN | U.S. REP. RICHARD HUDSON

It’s time to stop kicking the can down the road

LAST WEEK, our state and nation received a dangerous reminder about the importance of being prepared for severe weather.

Due to miscues by President Biden and Washington Democrats, our nation’s economy is in a precarious state with inflation at 8.3% and the price of goods and services remaining skyhigh.

Hurricane Ian has devastated communities across the southeast, and Renee and I continue to pray for everyone impacted by the storm, as well as those affected by Hurricane Fiona in Puerto Rico and beyond. While North Carolina was spared the worst of this latest disaster, we cannot let our guard down. We all remember it was only a few years ago that we had two major storms hit North Carolina that caused flooding and damage across the state. Hurricane season lasts until the end of November, and I urge everyone to be prepared and listen to local emergency officials when severe weather occurs. Visit ReadyNC.gov for tips on how to get prepared and stay safe.

Moving forward, I will continue to work with President Joe Biden and Gov. Roy Cooper to ensure families and businesses in our state and across the country get the resources they need to recover from this latest hurricane.

Unfortunately, in Washington, many of my colleagues spent last week kicking the can down the road on Congress’ most basic responsibility: funding the government.

Last week, Congress passed a last-minute temporary budget resolution to avoid a government shutdown on Friday. However, the measure passed by Washington Democrats will only fund the government through December 16th, at which point lame duck Democrats can develop a longer-term budget matching their progressive agenda without having to answer for it in November’s election.

Due to miscues by President Biden and Washington Democrats, our nation’s economy is in a precarious state, with inflation at 8.3% and the price of goods and services remaining sky-high. Gas is up 25.6%, electricity 15.8%, and eggs 39.8%, to name a few. Our strategic petroleum reserve, critical in times of disasters like hurricanes, has also been depleted by Biden to its lowest level since 1984. Additionally, the Left has compromised the safety and security of families nationwide, as crime rates surge due to soft-on-crime policies and millions of illegal migrants continue to flood across our border.

All the while, liberal lawmakers continue to drag their feet or pursue policies that will make our nation’s challenges worse. Last week, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reported that Biden’s student

| STEPHEN MOORE

neofascists?

IN JUST THE LAST FEW WEEKS, Liz Truss, Britain’s new prime minister, has been denounced by critics as a “fascist.” So has Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s newly elected prime minister. Along with all Republicans in Congress, Texas and Florida GOP Govs. Greg Abbott and Ron DeSantis, and, of course, former President Donald Trump. Every one of the tens of thousands of “MAGA Republicans” who attend Trump rallies, too.

Dangerous fascists, for that matter, all of whom critics say need to be shut up.

loan bailout plan, for example, will cost taxpayers $400 billion. This measure will increase inflation and our national deficit, as well as unfairly force those who never went to college, worked hard to pay loans, or earned education benefits by serving in our military to foot the bill.

One thing is clear: Washington Democrats continue to procrastinate on addressing the issues most important to you and your family because they don’t have a plan. However, Republicans do have a plan.

Our “Commitment to America” plan is a detailed roadmap that aims to set our nation in a new direction and make a better future for you and your family. We will work to build an economy that’s strong by cutting reckless spending, boosting American energy production, and creating an economic environment that fosters growth, increases pay, and lowers costs. Through our plan, Republicans will work to build a nation that’s safe by securing our border, cracking down on crime, and stopping the flow of deadly drugs into the U.S. We will also ensure a nation built on freedom and a government that’s accountable to you by protecting your constitutional rights, providing rigorous oversight over federal agencies, and pursuing policies that give you more control over what is taught in your child’s school.

Our plan also involves personalizing health care to provide more affordable options and better quality. Last week, I moved us in the right direction as the House overwhelmingly passed my bipartisan MOBILE Health Care Act. I look forward to this bill becoming law to help expand health care access in rural and underserved communities in North Carolina and beyond.

This is a common-sense solution that we need more of in Congress. Yet Washington Democrats continue to kick the can down the road, putting off until tomorrow what needs to be done today. My Republican colleagues and I have a plan. I will continue to stay focused on solutions for the most pressing issues facing you and your family and on building a freer, safer, and more prosperous future for all.

Richard Hudson is serving his fifth term representing North Carolina’s 8th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. He currently serves on the Energy and Commerce Committee and in House leadership as the Republican Conference Secretary.

group of politicians who shut down schools, businesses, restaurants, and churches during COVID-19. A government that is now telling us what kind of light bulbs we can put in our homes, what temperature we can set our thermostat in our living rooms, what kind of car we can buy and what kind of drugs we need to be inserted into our arms.

Who is the leader who is vastly supersizing our centralized government? Biden and congressional Democrats have already spent $4 trillion expanding nearly all the power structures of government in Washington.

If this isn’t fascistic, what is?

But here’s the rub. The definition of “fascism” has gradually been evolving over time. Nowadays, according to the Collins Dictionary, fascism “is a set of right-wing political beliefs that includes strong controls of society and the economy by the state” (emphasis added).

Democrats and other leftist parties around the world accuse the Right of wanting to expand government powers when that is precisely the overriding objective of the modern-day American Left

Truss is a fascist because she wants to cut taxes. Meloni is a fascist and is getting banned from several social media platforms because she gave a rousing speech endorsing God, family, and country. What a dangerous tyrant. Republicans in Congress are fascists because they support work for welfare and are trying to block the Green New Deal.

Hillary Clinton said after a recent Trump rally in Ohio, “I remember as a young student ... I’d watch newsreels and I’d see this guy standing up there ranting and raving, and people shouting and raising their arms.” Trump’s defeated 2016 Democratic presidential rival was referring to Hitler.

“You saw the rally in Ohio the other night,” added Clinton, the former first lady, senator, and secretary of state. “Trump is there ranting and raving for more than an hour, and you have these rows of young men with their arms raised.” She didn’t quite say it, but the implied message was clear: These crazy Trump supporters wanted to say, “Heil Hitler.”

At least President Joe Biden doesn’t call his political adversaries fascists. They are only “semifascists.” What a relief.

Aren’t these the same people who have urged raising the level of civil discourse? Wasn’t Biden supposed to “unify” the country with Trump out of the picture?

What is so infuriating about these slurs is that the Left doesn’t even understand what a fascist is. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, fascism is “a political philosophy, movement, or regime that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government.”

The Britannica Dictionary defines fascism as “a way of organizing a society in which a government ruled by a dictator controls the lives of the people and in which people are not allowed to disagree with the government.”

Let all that sink in for a minute. Who are the fascists here? A government that “controls the lives of the people.” Let’s see — we have a

By this definition, leftists can’t be accused of being fascists because they want to use government for virtuous ends, while the Right wants to use government to further enrich the rich, spread racism, and deny science.

What we have here is a clinical case of “projecting.” Democrats and other leftist parties around the world accuse the Right of wanting to expand government powers when that is precisely the overriding objective of the modern-day American Left.

It is prototypically fascistic. Elevate race and skin color into the public debate. Trample civil liberties. Squash those who disagree with the reigning government. Partner up Big Government with Big Business and micromanage the economy through dictates from the central planners. Put your political enemies in handcuffs and jail without a trial. Trample over the traditional guardrails that were installed to protect liberty — by changing voting rules, ending the 60-vote filibuster in the Senate, and discrediting and trying to pack the Supreme Court. Declare everything, including COVID-19 and climate change, an existential threat to justify more power to the politicians.

So what is a fascist really? The Left says it is anyone who opposes what they want to do to expand government.

But the real definition of a fascist is a leader who wants to exploit governmental power to suppress the basic liberties of individuals. It is the partnership of government and private industry for political power and monetary gain. To find it in modern-day America, the folks at the White House may want to look in the mirror.

Stephen Moore is a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation and an economist with FreedomWorks. His latest book is “Govzilla: How the Relentless Growth of Government is Devouring our Economy.”

SIDELINE REPORT

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Wisconsin fires Chryst in 8th season

Madison, Wisc. Wisconsin has fired head coach Paul Chryst after a 2-3 start to his eighth season leading his alma mater. The surprising move comes a day after Wisconsin lost at home 34-10 to Illinois and former Badgers coach Bret Bielema. Chryst is 67-26 since taking over as coach of the Badgers in 2015. Chryst had double-digit win seasons in four of his first five years at Wisconsin and has gone 3319 since, including 15-12 in the last 27 games. Defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard, another former Badgers player, was named interim coach.

NBA

NBA returning briefly to Seattle; questions of future loom

Seattle

The NBA made its latest brief return to Seattle Monday night when the Los Angeles Clippers faced the Portland Trail Blazers. The matchup was the first NBA contest in Seattle since 2018, when the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings played a preseason game that was the last sporting event inside KeyArena before it was gutted and rebuilt into Climate Pledge Arena. The 2018 game was the first in Seattle since the SuperSonics left for Oklahoma City in 2008. Speculation is nonstop about when the NBA will choose to expand, and Seattle and Las Vegas are at the forefront of potential destinations.

NFL Broncos’ RB Williams reportedly out for year Englewood, Colo.

A person with knowledge of the medical results told The Associated Press that Broncos standout running back Javonte Williams is done for the season after tearing his right ACL on Sunday at Las Vegas. Williams got hurt on the first play of the third quarter when he was tackled for a loss on a handoff from Russell Wilson. Williams stayed down and then didn’t put any weight on his right leg as he was helped off the field. He went for an MRI on Monday after returning to Denver.

WNBA Russian court sets appeal date for Griner

Moscow A Russian court has set a date for American basketball star Brittney Griner’s appeal against her nine-year prison sentence for drug possession. It has been scheduled for Oct. 25. Griner is an eighttime all-star center with the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and a two-time Olympic gold medalist. She was convicted Aug. 4 after police said they found vape canisters containing cannabis oil in her luggage at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport. The Moscow region court said Monday it will hear her appeal. Griner’s lawyers argued after the conviction that the punishment was excessive.

Elliott into Round of 8 with Talladega victory

Driver concerns about safety hung over the playoff race

By Jenna Fryer The Associated Press

TALLADEGA, Ala. — As the stars of NASCAR raged over safe ty concerns with the new car, ru mors swirled the drivers would or ganize some sort of protest at one of the most dangerous tracks on the circuit.

Perhaps they’d outright boycott Talladega Superspeedway.

Or maybe they’d send their mes sage to NASCAR by refusing to se riously race on Sunday.

But all 37 drivers showed up at their cars as scheduled. It’s the playoffs, after all, and there’s a championship to be won.

And it was Chase Elliott, NA SCAR’s most popular driver who a day earlier accused series leader ship of taking a step backward in safety, who drove to Victory Lane

and earned the automatic berth into the third round of the playoffs.

Elliott, who typically avoids controversial conversations, joined the growing chorus of veteran drivers who found NASCAR’s slow response to their concerns unac ceptable. Alex Bowman, his team mate at Hendrick Motorsports, and Kurt Busch missed Sunday’s race with concussions, and Cody Shane Ware competed with a bro ken foot. Busch has missed 11 con secutive races.

Rick Hendrick said he wasn’t surprised when his 26-year-old su perstar took a rare public stance.

“I think these guys are con cerned and he sees a teammate hurt, and he’s a young guy with a career ahead of him,” Hendrick said. “I think this has been on Chase’s mind. I’m proud of him. He doesn’t say much, but when he speaks, everybody knows he’s not just popping off. He’s concerned.”

The race was one of the cleanest in memory at Talladega and cer

tainly the least dramatic through the first five races of the playoffs.

NASCAR’s new Next Gen car de veloped a rash of problems in the first four playoff races, and Bow man’s concussion seemed to push the drivers to their breaking point.

NASCAR is scheduled to test this week a potential solution to the stiffness of the cars that drivers claim they’ve complained about all through the development of the Next Gen.

That did little to calm the driv ers leading into Talladega, one of the most unpredictable and chaot ic tracks on the calendar. The driv ers certainly could have deliber ately taken it easy, but they truly raced.

There were 57 lead changes among 17 drivers and of the six cautions, only one was for a mul ticar crash.

“That was a pretty calm Tal ladega race,” Elliott said. “That’s something different.”

Elliott was fifth on the final re start with two laps remaining and claimed control of the outside lane to stalk leader Ryan Blaney. The 2020 Cup champion surged ahead with a push from Erik Jones on the final lap, threw a block on Blaney’s attempt to reclaim the lead and then beat Blaney to the finish line

Abuse in NWSL was systemic, report says

by .046 seconds.

Elliott is the first driver through five playoff races to automatically advance into the next round with a victory, and he reclaimed the lead atop the Cup standings. The first four races were won by drivers not eligible for the championship in a chaotic start to the 10-race post season.

“It gets you through to the next (round) and that’s all you can ask for is just to add more opportuni ties,” Elliott said. “So it’s a big deal and we’re excited for these final handful of events and hopefully we can give it a run.”

Next week’s elimination play off race is Sunday at The Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The field will be trimmed from 12 to eight after the race. Kyle Larson is the defending race winner, while Elliott has two wins on the hybrid course and Blaney won the inau gural 2018 event.

ment. “As the national governing body for our sport, U.S. Soccer is fully committed to doing every thing in its power to ensure that all players — at all levels — have a safe and respectful place to learn, grow and compete.”

By Anne M. Peterson The Associated Press

AN INDEPENDENT investiga tion into the scandals that erupt ed in the National Women’s Soccer League last season found emotion al abuse and sexual misconduct were systemic in the sport, im pacting multiple teams, coaches and players, according to a report released Monday.

“Abuse in the NWSL is rooted in a deeper culture in women’s soccer, beginning in youth leagues, that normalizes verbally abusive coach ing and blurs boundaries between coaches and players,” former act ing U.S. Attorney General Sally Q. Yates wrote in her report on the in vestigation.

U.S. Soccer commissioned the investigation by Yates and the law firm King & Spaulding after for mer NWSL players Sinead Farrel ly and Mana Shim came forward with allegations of harassment and sexual coercion dating back a decade involving former coach Paul Riley. Their account was pub lished by The Athletic in Septem ber 2021.

Riley, who denied the allega tions, was quickly fired as head coach of the North Carolina Cour age, and NWSL Commissioner Lisa Baird stepped down.

But it was clear the problems were widespread.

Five of the 10 head coaches in the NWSL last

season either were fired or stepped down amid allegations of miscon duct.

“The verbal and emotion al abuse players describe in the NWSL is not merely ‘tough’ coach ing. And the players affected are not shrinking violets. They are among the best athletes in the world,” Yates wrote.

More than 200 people were in terviewed by investigators. Some two dozen entities and individu als provided documents. U.S. Soc cer also provided documents and the firm reviewed 89,000 deemed likely to be relevant.

U.S. Soccer President Cindy

Parlow Cone called the findings “heartbreaking and deeply trou bling.”

“The abuse described is inexcus able and has no place on any play ing field, in any training facility or workplace,” she said in a state

The report made numerous rec ommendations to prioritize player health and safety. Among them is the requirement that teams accu rately disclose coach misconduct to the league and the soccer feder ation to ensure coaches aren’t al lowed to move between teams. It also calls for meaningful vetting of coaches and timely investigation into allegations of abuse.

The NWSL said it was in the process of reviewing the report. The league and the NWSL Players Association is also conducting an investigation.

“We recognize the anxiety and mental strain that these pending investigations have caused and the trauma that many — includ ing players and staff — are having to relive. We continue to admire their courage in coming forward to share their stories and influ ence all the changes necessary to keep moving our league forward,” NWSL Commissioner Jessica Ber man said in a statement. “Estab lishing trust and confidence be tween the league, its players and other key stakeholders remains a central focus for the NWSL, and we know that we must learn from and take responsibility for the painful lessons of the past in or der to move the League into a bet ter future.”

The investigation focused on three former coaches, Riley, Chris ty Holly of Racing Louisville and Rory Dames of the Chicago Red Stars.

The investigation looked at several coaches, including former North Carolina Courage coach Paul Riley

“The verbal and emotional abuse players describe in the NWSL is not merely ‘tough’ coaching.”

Sally Q. Yates

“That was a pretty calm Talladega race. That’s something different.”

Chase Elliott

STEVEN SENNE | AP PHOTO

Former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates led an independent investigation into the scandals that erupted in the National Women’s Soccer League last season that showed that emotional abuse and sexual misconduct was systemic in the sport.

BUTCH DILL | AP PHOTO

Chase Elliott celebrates in Victory Lane after winning Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega.

Adam Scott says LIV Golf not ‘pure evil’ for the game

“Maybe because I’m a little less emotive about it, I can be a voice of reason for one side or the other.”

The Associated Press

SYDNEY — Adam Scott says Greg Norman’s association with LIV Golf hasn’t strained his re lationship with his longtime mentor and adds he doesn’t see the new tour as “pure evil” for the sport.

“Definitely not,” Scott said in a conference call from his home in Switzerland when asked if he feels any animosity towards his fellow Australian, who is chief executive of the series.

“This is something he (Nor man) truly believes in, and I don’t begrudge him for going for it one bit at all. Sure, it’s rocked the orders of golf, which has never really happened in this way before. But I’m optimis

tic that people’s (intentions) are still good, and therefore we will come to a better place.”

Scott says his friendships with fellow Australian stars Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman also haven’t changed since their de fection to LIV, which has been criticized as a means by Saudi Arabia to sportswash its image.

“I completely understand anyone doing it,” Scott said of Smith and Leishman. “They’ve been offered an opportunity and it suits them. All power to them. I really want it to work out for them.”

Scott says although he hasn’t seen much friction be tween players on the rival tours, “there’s definitely been some feelings hurt and some friend ships strained.”

“I’m not trying to play a peace maker,” Scott added. “Maybe be cause I’m a little less emotive about it, I can be a voice of rea

son for one side or the other. I don’t necessarily see LIV as pure evil for the game of golf. Hope fully, we can get beyond every one having shots at each other, and each organization can move on.”

Scott has said he has no in tention of joining LIV.

“Why am I still on the PGA Tour is because it suits me best to be on the PGA Tour. It’s as simple as that, really,” Scott said at the recent Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow. “There’s one thing I think I haven’t grasped is giving up my entire professional life of trying to achieve these things here and just leaving it behind. I’m obvi ously not ready to do that.”

Scott reiterated that on Fri day, saying he hoped to add to his 2013 Masters title and win more majors, something he couldn’t do if he joined LIV.

“The one thing that is hap pening is my time is running out,” Scott said while announc ing he’d be returning Down Un der this year to play in the Aus tralian PGA and Australian Open.

“It seems I’m the oldest bloke in the field almost ev ery week these days. While I’m playing good, I’ve got to take advantage.”

Comets start conference play with win over Union Academy

Two other Stanly teams opened their conference schedules with home losses

By Jesse Deal Stanly County Journal

Entering its Yadkin Valley Conference schedule on a two-game winning streak, North Stanly kept the ball roll ing with a 28-12 home win Thursday over Union Academy.

The Comets (4-2, 1-0) struggled at first against the Car dinals (1-6, 0-2), entering halftime with a 6-6 tie. But North Stanly took over in the third quarter with 22 points and limited Union Academy to just six more points the rest of the way.

North quarterback Chance Blake completed 11 of 23 passes for 171 yards while running back Cam Smith con tinued his impressive season by averaging nearly 8 yards per carry and piling up 186 yards on the ground.

The Comets face a tough road test when they face Rob inson (5-1, 1-0) on Oct. 7.

Robinson 48, Albemarle 9

In a battle of Bulldogs, Thursday night’s matchup was close until it wasn’t. Playing on its home field, Albemar le (1-5, 0-1) briefly held a 9-7 lead over Robinson until the road team erupted for 41 unanswered points and a run away 48-9 win.

A lbemarle will look to snap its three-game skid on Oct. 7 when it hosts winless South Stanly (0-6, 0-1).

Mount Pleasant 60, South Stanly 0

After a 60-0 blowout loss in Mount Pleasant (5-2, 2-0), South Stanly (0-6, 0-1) has been shutout in four of their six games this season and outscored 310-23 since their sea son-opening loss at West Stanly on Aug. 19.

The Bulls’ next game with Albemarle could give them their best chance at getting in the win column for the rest of the season, but they will need more help from both sides of the ball. South’s offense has averaged only 47.5 passing yards and 88 rushing yards per game, while its defense has surrendered at least 40 points in all six games this year.

It’s closing in on nearly a full year since the Bulls’ last victory, a 27-18 road win over Union Academy on Oct. 29, 2021.

West Stanly (Bye)

Following a bye week, West Stanly (3-3) has a chance to get back on track as their Rocky River Conference sched ule begins on Oct. 7 with a home game against the Park wood (3-4, 0-1).

The Colts started the season with a 3-0 record but have been outscored 86-33 in a trio of losses since. The Wolf Pack opened its RRC slate of games on Thursday with a 34-19 road loss to undefeated Forest Hills.

North Americans playing in the Russia-based KHL — like Kunlun Red Star’s Ryan Sproul, right, of Canada — have been put in a difficult position amid calls from the U.S and Canadian governments for them to leave the country because of the war in Ukraine.

North Americans in Russia’s

U.S. and Canadian government officials have raised concerns that holding a Russian passport could lead to military service

Associated Press

NORTH AMERICANS play ing in the Russia-based Kontinen tal Hockey League have been put in a difficult position amid calls from the U.S and Canadian governments for them to leave the country be cause of the war in Ukraine.

The Canadian government has advised its citizens to leave Russia while commercial means are still

available, cautioning anyone hold ing a Russian passport could be sub ject to call-up for mandatory mili tary service. Earlier this week, the U.S. Embassy in Moscow issued the same security alert for Americans in Russia, urging them to leave.

The moves come a week after Russian President Vladimir Putin called to mobilize more troops to fight in Ukraine.

According to Elite Prospects, which tracks player movement around hockey, 13 Americans and 43 Canadians have either signed a new contract or re-signed to play in the KHL since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, sparking a war that shows no signs of abating. Not all of them play for teams based in

face difficult decisions

Russia because the KHL also has teams in Belarus and Kazakhstan.

The KHL responded to the U.S. Embassy’s alert by saying anyone who is not a Russian citizen is not subject to military conscription and that mobilization orders do not void any contracts.

Allain Roy, an agent who rep resents eight North American players in the KHL, said he was still processing the latest call for U.S. and Canadian citizens to leave and said it was “definitely a concern.” He added he would be discussing the matter with each client individually.

Ritch Winter, who represents three Canadians in the KHL, de fended his clients’ ability to calcu

late the “risk-reward analysis” that comes with playing there.

“There isn’t a single client that I represent that didn’t wrestle with this decision,” Winter said. “I ha ven’t heard anybody concerned about their safety. ... Nobody that is there now and has been there in the past has noticed any significant difference in the way of life there, so they’re there. They’re playing and they’re comfortable. Now, if the situation changes dramatical ly, I expect some of them potential ly could reconsider, as players did last (spring).”

William E. Pomeranz, director of the Wilson Center’s Kennan In stitute and author of a book about Russian legal evolution, said trouble

could arise out of the blue for Amer icans or Canadians playing in Rus sia. He said the presence of Capitals star Alex Ovechkin and other Rus sians playing in the NHL in North America would not be a deterrent.

“The fact that Ovechkin’s in Washington I don’t think will have any impact on some poor Canadi an hockey player if they decide that they want to make him an exam ple,” Pomeranz said. “I don’t think anyone should think that just be cause they’re a hockey player and there are Russian hockey players in the United States that somehow you can’t get caught up in the Rus sian legal system, because if you get caught up in the Russian legal sys tem, there’s no way out.”

Multiple other agents who rep resent North American players in the KHL declined comment or did not respond to messages seeking comment.

The upstart league has drawn the ire of several PGA players

Adam Scott

ALEXANDER ZEMLIANICHENKO | AP PHOTO

JULIO CORTEZ | AP PHOTO

Adam Scott said he doesn’t see LIV Golf, run by countryman and mentor Greg Norman, as “pure evil” like some of his PGA Tour peers.

In Hurricane Ian’s wake, dangers persist, worsen in parts

By Bobby Caina Calvan The Associated Press

FORT MYERS, Fla. — People kayaking down streets that were passable just a day or two earli er. Hundreds of thousands with out power. National Guard heli copters flying rescue missions to residents still stranded on Flori da’s barrier islands.

Days after Hurricane Ian carved a path of destruction from Florida to the Carolinas, the dan gers persisted, and even worsened in some places. It was clear the road to recovery from this mon ster storm will be long and pain ful.

And Ian was still not done. The storm doused Virginia with rain Sunday, and officials warned of the potential for severe flooding along its coast, beginning over night Monday.

Ian’s remnants moved offshore and formed a nor’easter that is expected to pile even more wa ter into an already inundated Chesapeake Bay and threatened to cause the most significant tid al flooding event in Virginia’s Hampton Roads region in the last 10 to 15 years, said Cody Poche, a National Weather Service meteo rologist.

The island town of Chincote ague declared a state of emergency Sunday and strongly recommend ed that residents in certain areas evacuate. The Eastern Shore and northern portion of North Caroli na’s Outer Banks were also likely to be impacted.

At least 68 people have been confirmed dead: 61 in Florida, four in North Carolina and three in Cuba.

With the death toll rising, Deanne Criswell, administrator of the Federal Emergency Man agement Agency, said the federal government was ready to help in a huge way, focusing first on victims in Florida, which took the brunt of one of the strongest storms to make landfall in the United States. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden plan to visit the state on Wednesday.

Flooded roadways and washed-

out bridges to barrier islands left many people isolated amid lim ited cellphone service and a lack of basic amenities such as water, electricity and the internet. Offi cials warned that the situation in many areas isn’t expected to im prove for several days because the rain that fell has nowhere to go because waterways are overflow ing.

Fewer than 620,000 homes and businesses in Florida were still without electricity by early Monday, down from a peak of 2.6 million.

Criswell told “Fox News Sun day” that the federal govern ment, including the Coast Guard and Department of Defense, had moved into position “the largest

amount of search and rescue as sets that I think we’ve ever put in place before.”

Still, recovery will take time, said Criswell, who visited the state Friday and Saturday to as sess the damage and talk to survi vors. She cautioned that dangers remain with downed power lines in standing water.

More than 1,600 people have been rescued statewide, accord ing to Florida’s emergency man agement agency.

Rescue missions were ongoing, especially to Florida’s barrier is lands, which were cut off from the mainland when storm surges de stroyed causeways and bridges.

The state will build a tempo rary traffic passageway for the

largest one, Pine Island, Flori da Gov. Ron DeSantis said Sun day, adding that an allocation had been approved for Deportment of Transportation to build it this week and construction could start as soon as Monday.

“It’s not going to be a full bridge, you’re going to have to go over it probably at 5 miles an hour or something, but it’ll at least let people get in and off the island with their vehicles,” the governor said at a news conference.

Coast Guard, municipal and private crews have been using he licopters, boats and even jetskis to evacuate people over the past sev eral days.

In rural Seminole Coun ty, north of Orlando, residents

donned waders, boots and bug spray to paddle to their flooded homes Sunday.

Ben Bertat found 4 inches of water in his house by Lake Har ney after kayaking there.

“I think it’s going to get worse because all of this water has to get to the lake” said Bertat, point ing to the water flooding a nearby road. “With ground saturation, all this swamp is full and it just can’t take any more water. It doesn’t look like it’s getting any lower.”

Elsewhere, power remained knocked out to at least half of South Carolina’s Pawleys Island, a beach community roughly 75 miles up the coast from Charles ton. In North Carolina, the storm downed trees and power lines.

McConnell suggests better odds of Republicans taking Senate

By Farnoush Amiri The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sen ate Republican leader Mitch Mc Connell said last week that he be lieves his party now has a “50-50 shot” of getting the chamber back less than six weeks away from the midterm elections.

“We are in a bunch of close races,” McConnell told reporters during a press conference. “It’s go ing to be really, really close either way, in my view.”

The comments reflect a greater degree of optimism from the GOP leader after he drew criticism last month from fellow Republicans when he downplayed the party’s chances in the fall elections, say ing it would be more likely for the party to gain control of the House than the Senate.

“Senate races are just differ ent — they’re statewide, candi date quality has a lot to do with the outcome,” McConnell said at a press conference in Florence, Kentucky, in mid-August.

For the past year, McConnell has been careful about overstat ing any GOP gains in the cham ber, and he previously criticized the “quality” of candidates in key

races like Arizona. Republicans have been pleading with him to help direct money to lift Blake Masters, the GOP candidate for Senate there. So far, McConnell has refused to publicly do so.

But McConnell seemed to sug gest there is a slight chance for the GOP to control House and Sen ate in January — mainly due to

the rising issue of inflation, which his party blames on Democrats’ “reckless spending” in Washing ton.

McConnell and his counterpart in the House, Kevin McCarthy, have pledged to focus on “kitchen table” issues like rising costs and crime.

The political dynamics in the

final six weeks of the midterms are proving volatile and could ul timately help either party in tight races. Democrats have focused much of their message on repro ductive rights for women after the Supreme Court’s decision this summer invalidating a woman’s constitutional right to an abor tion. Republicans, meanwhile, have centered their campaigns on inflation and combatting violent crime.

Democrats are coming out of the summer buoyed by signs that the Supreme Court’s abortion de cision may galvanize voters in the fall. Voters in deeply Republican Kansas overwhelmingly reject ed a ballot measure that would have curtailed abortion rights. And surprise wins for Democrats in special elections from Alaska to upstate New York also signaled notable energy on the issue.

But the challenge for the par ty will be keeping those voters en gaged through November. Mc Connell seemed less worried that abortion would significantly erode GOP gains.

“I think that issue is playing out in different ways in differ ent states,” McConnell said when asked if Republicans were con

cerned about it. “The three big na tional issues that we’re going to be addressing here that people are most concerned about nationally are the ones that I mentioned: in flation, crime and open borders.”

“That’s clearly what we’re go ing to be putting the focus on,” he added.

John Thune, the No. 2 Republi can in the Senate, largely echoed McConnell’s predictions, suggest ing that Democrats were focusing on “shiny objects.”

“My experience through the years, even in years when we’ve been protecting incumbents in a bad environment, is that when the fundamentals of an election lock in and for the voters the issues get clarified, it usually does kind of generate a bit of momentum for one side or the other,” Thune told reporters. “And honestly, I think that happens for us this year. I just think that the pocketbook is sues are going to be paramount and all these other issues Demo crats are trying to shift attention to are kind of shiny objects.”

“But in the end,” he added, “it’s the economy, the cost of food, the cost of gas, security, where people feel safe in their neighborhoods and communities.”

AP PHOTO

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., talks to reporters as the Senate works to pass a stopgap spending bill that would fund the federal government into mid-December, at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022.

GERALD HERBERT | AP PHOTO

Boats operated by resident good Samaritans help evacuate residents who stayed behind on Pine Island, in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Matlacha Fla., Sunday, Oct. 2, 2022.

Charles Tedder

February 1, 1969 ~ September 23, 2022

John Charles Tedder 53 of Mount Gilead died Friday, September 23, 2022 at his home.

Charles was born February 1, 1969 in Moore County to John and Joan McRae Tedder. He was a 1987 graduate of West Montgomery High School and received a degree in Math from UNCC. He was a talented musician and played with the Charlotte Symphony during college. He taught math at CPCC earlier in his career and later was involved in the trucking industry. He was a member of First Presbyterian Church of Mount Gilead.

In addition to his parents Charles is survived by his sister Lynne Tedder of Mount Gilead. His Aunt Margaret Rose McRae Epps (Herby) of San Antonio, Texas. His GreatAunt, Doris McRae Hunsucker of Southern Pines. His McRae cousins, Kevin McRae, Lisa McRae Hurley, Julianne McRae Ingram, Teresa Burdine (Duane), Jason Burdine (Andrea) and John Burdine (Gwen). His Tedder cousins, Stan (Belinda), Carol, Cathay, Mike, Karen, Becky (George), Iris, David, Steve, Russ and Jake (Marcelene)

He was preceded in death by his cousins, Joe McRae III and Eric Epps.

obituaries

Lester Clegg Caudle Jr.

Lester Clegg Caudle Jr, 91, of Albemarle, died peacefully on Wednesday evening, September 28th, 2022, at Trinity Place, in Albemarle, surrounded by family.

Born March 16th, 1931, in Albemarle, he was preceded in death by his father, Lester (Jack) Clegg Caudle Sr, mother Cordelia Caudle Crowell, wife Barbara in 2009 (married for 57 years), son Michael (Mike) in 2021, and infant son William (Bill) in 1958.

He is survived by two sons, Les 3rd and wife Lisa, of Raleigh, NC and David, of Cary, NC; three grandchildren and six great grandchildren: Tyler (husband Ben) VanSteinburgh and Oliver, Hadley, Levi and Sawyer; Brittney (husband Sean) Soderman and Harper and Emery; and Jenna Caudle, all of Raleigh, NC; Mike’s wife, Lynne, of Raleigh, and two step-grandchildren, Morgan (husband David) of Arlington, VA and Benjamin, of Raleigh.

Geraldine "Jerry" Blanche (Buck) Pickler

May 7, 1922 ~ October 3, 2022

Geraldine "Jerry" Blanche Pickler, 100, of Albemarle, passed away Monday, October 3, 2022 at Bethany Woods Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Albemarle.

Jerry was born May 7, 1922 in Missouri to the late L. Clyde Buck and the late Arminta Emmeline Buck.

She was also preceded in death by husband, L.A. Pickler, and brother, Clyde Junior Buck.

Jerry is survived by numerous nieces and nephews, and long-time caregiver, Dianne Morgan.

Jerry liked to Jitterbug and enjoyed quilting. She was a city girl who met a military man and moved to the country becoming a farm wife who canned produce and worked in the field.

Memorials may be made to Kendalls Baptist Church.

Dianne (Morton) Chamley

June 6, 1943 ~ September 30, 2022

Emma Dianne Morton Chamley, 79, of Albemarle, passed away peacefully, surrounded by family, Friday, September 30, 2022 at Trinity Place in Albemarle.

Dianne was born June 6, 1943 in North Carolina to the late Hubert Fetzer Morton and the late Camilla Emma Morton.

Dianne was a loving mother, grandmother and great grandmother. She enjoyed watching softball and baseball, especially the Atlanta Braves. Dianne had a soft heart for animals, particularly her dogs. She was an avid reader, having read thousands of novels in her life time and also enjoyed taking trips to Myrtle Beach. Dianne lived her entire life in Stanly county and retired after many years of working as a programmer for Bank of America. Dianne lived a fulfilling life and will be truly missed by family, friends, and all who knew her.

Survivors include daughter, Charlotte Chamley, son, Todd (Jennifer) Chamley, son, Mark (Coni) Chamley; brother, Steve (Debbie) Morton; sister, Lynn (Kiner) Gibson; Grandchildren, Christopher (Sarah) Chamley, Emily (Sam) Griffin, Madison (TJ Russell) Chamley; great-grandchildren, Brayden Chamley, and Finleigh Chamley.

Donations may be made to Stanly Humane Society.

Hilda Louise (Austin) Thompson

September 27, 1935 ~ September 27, 2022

Hilda Austin Thompson went to be with Jesus on her 87th birthday, Tuesday, September 27, 2022 at Concord Place.

Hilda was born in Oakboro, NC on September 27, 1935 to the late Fred W. & Gatha Howell Austin.

She was also preceded in death by her husband, James "Tommy" Thompson; and sisters, Imogene Jordan and Mary Ellen Huneycutt.

Survivors include her daughters and their husbands, Eva and Chris Coble & Pat and Keith Frick; grandchildren and their spouses, Brooke and Shane Motes, Justin and Rebecca Coble, Bradley and Kylie Hinson, and Lindsey and Jonathan Maulden; and great-grandchildren, McKenzie Snyder, Bailey and Jacob Motes, Easton and Ellie Jo Maulden, and Leo Hinson.

She is also survived by a brother, Ronald Austin and sister, Linda Chitwood.

We would like to thank the staff at Concord Place for the love and care shown to our Mama.

Memorials may be made to Mineral Springs Baptist Church, P.O. Box 478, Oakboro, NC 28129; Alzheimers Association, 3800 Shamrock Drive, Charlotte, NC 28215; or Hospice and Palliative Care of Cabarrus County, 5003 Hospice Lane, Kannapolis, NC 28081.

Ronald Chico Baldwin

September 30, 1954 ~ September 29, 2022

Our beloved, Ronald Baldwin, was born September 30, 1954, in Stanly County, North Carolina. He was the son of the late Rosa Mae Baldwin and Benny James Moss. “Chico”, as he was fondly and lovingly known was loved and embraced by all he encountered.

He was welcomed into God’s kingdom by his parents; siblings: Christopher Ingram, Vanessa Baldwin, Gwendolyn Baldwin, Gary Baldwin, Zander Robinson, and Lucinda B. Burns. We can only imagination what a family reunion our family had when “Chico” received his wings and entered God’s kingdom.

“Chico” will be celebrated and remembered with thanksgiving for his life by his family and friends. He is survived by his son, Marcus Burns; daughter, Shaleka Baldwin; grandchildren: Kordarius Burns and Isaiah Hammonds; sisters: Jannie McDonald, Barbara Joiner, Monica Baldwin, Cynthia Baldwin, Linda Jo Rose, Vanessa Ingram, Victoria Ingram, and Karen Ingram; brothers: Eddie Baldwin, Shawn (Tomeika) Baldwin, Barry Ingram, and Bruce Davis; aunt, Emma Tyson; uncle, Bobby Baldwin; a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives, and many friends.

John Edward Kappius

June

John Edward Kappius, 58, passed away Monday morning, September 19, 2022, at his home in Stanfield.

John was born June 24, 1964, in Greeley, Colorado to Ken and Ruth E Kappius.

He was predeceased by his beloved dog Dillon.

John was a real estate paralegal who loved to fish and restore old cars. He enjoyed wood working and welding. He was an avid sports fan. He never missed an opportunity to perform a random act of kindness or bring a smile to someone’s face. He had a wonderful sense of humor and he passionately loved animals.

He was survived by his life partner, Gabriella Groff; his father, Ken Kappius; his mother, Ruth E Kappius; his brother, Jim Kappius; and five nieces.

A heartfelt thank you to Hospice and all the lovely kind Healthcare workers that helped us through this difficult journey.

In lieu of flowers please make donations to Hospice.

STATE & NATION

Biden signs bill to avert government shutdown, aid Ukraine

By Kevin Freking The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Pres ident Joe Biden signed into law Friday a bill that finances the fed eral government through mid-De cember and provides another infu sion of military and economic aid to Ukraine after lawmakers acted to avert a partial government shut down set to begin after midnight.

The bill passed the House by a vote of 230-201 earlier in the day.

Republicans overwhelmingly op posed the measure. Some wanted to extend government funding into January when, based on the results of the midterm elections, it’s possi ble they’ll have more leverage over setting federal spending for the full fiscal year. Others argued the mea sure needed to do more to address border security.

Democrats said passing the bill was important to helping Ukraine as well as victims of recent natu ral disasters in the U.S., includ ing Hurricane Ian, as it provides a Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster fund with a year’s worth of money up front rather than for two-and-a-half months.

“Turn on the news. Look what’s happening in Florida right now. Look at what happened to Puerto Rico. Look at what’s happening in

Alaska. I mean, people need help,” said Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass. “And look at what’s happening in Ukraine. Do we support helping preserve democracy in Ukraine or not? That’s what’s at stake here.”

But Republicans complained the bill brought to the floor was not subject to bipartisan negotiations in the House and didn’t reflect their

priorities.

“We know we have a crisis on the southern border. You can turn on the television every night. You can look at the fentanyl pouring into the country, You can see the trag edy of human trafficking. Is there anything in this bill that asks us to do anything different, anything new?” said Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla.

“No, you just ask, ‘please allow us to continue the current state of af fairs on the southern border.’ That is a travesty.”

In the end, support for the bill was unanimous among Democrat ic lawmakers. Only 10 Republican lawmakers joined them in voting yes.

The bill finances the federal gov ernment through Dec. 16 and buys lawmakers more time to agree on legislation setting spending lev els for the 2023 fiscal year. The bill generally keeps spending at current levels, though it does pro vide more than $12.3 billion in Ukraine-related aid. The money will go to provide training, equip ment and logistics support for the Ukraine military, help Ukraine’s government provide basic services to its citizens and replenish U.S. weapons systems and munitions.

“This contribution ensures we continue upholding our moral re sponsibility to support the people of Ukraine in the face of a vicious invasion that continues to demand decisive action by us,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the Democratic chair of the House Appropriations Committee.

Disaster assistance was also at tached to the stopgap bill, includ ing $2.5 billion to help New Mex ico communities recover from the

Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire, the largest wildfire in the state’s history; $2 billion for a block grant program that aids the economic re covery of communities impacted by recent disasters; and $20 mil lion for water and wastewater in frastructure improvements pre viously authorized for Jackson, Mississippi.

“We cannot leave communities behind that are still picking up the pieces from disastrous floods, wild fires and hurricane, and even basic water system failures,” said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla.

The bill would provide an addi tional $1 billion for a program that helps low-income households heat their homes. And it would transfer $3 billion from a Pentagon aid pro gram to the State Department for continued Afghan resettlement op erations.

Lawmakers also included a re authorization of the Food and Drug Administration’s user fee agreements for five years, which ensures the agency can continue critical product safety reviews and won’t need to issue pink slips for thousands of employees working on drug and medical device appli cations.

One thing missing from the bill is the billions of dollars in addi tional funding that Biden sought to aid the response to COVID-19 and monkeypox. Republicans criticized the health spending as unneces sary. The White House said the money would have been used to ac celerate the research and develop ment of vaccines and therapeutics, prepare for future COVID variants and support the global response.

Judge denies GOP appeal for signature checks on mail ballots

The Associated Press

RALEIGH — North Carolina’s State Board of Elections directed county election officials on Monday not to engage in signature matching when reviewing absentee ballot en velopes this fall after a judge reject ed the GOP appeal of a state board ruling prohibiting the practice.

According to a directive sent to county election directors from the board’s legal counsel Paul Cox, the judge’s ruling maintains the status quo outlined in state law, which re quires that all absentee voters fill out their ballots in the presence of two witnesses or a notary. Absentee ballot request forms in North Caro lina must also include a date of birth and either a driver’s license number or the last four digits of the voter’s Social Security Number.

The North Carolina Republican Party had filed motions in Wake County Superior Court last week, asking the court to block the state board from enforcing its declara tory ruling that prevented county election officials from comparing signatures on absentee ballot re quest forms and return envelopes with the signatures included in vot er registration records.

Superior Court Judge Stephan Futrell ruled from the bench Mon day afternoon, denying the party’s motion for a temporary restraining order and preventing the use of sig nature matching in the 2022 gener al election, state board spokesper son Pat Gannon said.

“Under state law, absentee voter identity is confirmed via the confi dential personal information pro vided by the voter in requesting a ballot, the voter’s attestation on the

ballot envelope and the attestation of two witnesses or a notary that the voter voted the ballot,” Cox wrote in a directive obtained by The Associ ated Press.

The board’s Democratic majority in July had rejected an initial signa ture matching proposal introduced by Republicans, citing concerns that it could create unequal voting access and allow partisan bias to contaminate the electoral process.

The legal challenge followed the state board’s July rejection of a Re publican Party request to autho rize county officials to compare sig

natures on absentee ballot request forms and container envelopes with the signatures included in voter reg istration records. Citing concerns that the proposal would create un equal voting access, the board de nied the request in a 3-2 party-line vote, with three Democrats voting against signature checks and two Republicans voting in favor.

Republicans, for their part, ar gue signature verification is anoth er necessary element of electoral transparency. In addition to push ing for its adoption, they are also fighting the state board’s proposed

restrictions on party-appointed poll watchers.

“When we have those signatures on file, it is ludicrous not to be able to use them,” said North Carolina GOP Chairman Michael Whatley.

“This is a very common sense tool, and I think it’s inexplicable that the board had instructed not only that the boards don’t have to use it but that they can’t use it.”

The state board had unanimously passed two temporary rule changes in August, prohibiting poll watch ers from standing too close to vot ing machines where they could view

marked ballots and granting elec tions officials greater authority to remove disruptive observers. But af ter the state’s Republican-appoint ed rules review panel shot down the proposed changes, the state board declined to appeal the decision, in stead issuing revised guidance to county officials.

Anticipating several close rac es in November, both major parties spent the summer challenging elec tion laws in court.

Democrats came under fire ear lier this year for their bareknuck le efforts to block the Green Party from fielding a U.S. Senate candi date on the North Carolina ballot, warning that the party’s presence could divide progressive voters and allow a GOP victory. A feder al court ultimately denied Demo crats’ last-ditch legal efforts in Au gust, rejecting their request to block a lower court order prohibiting the state elections board from enforcing a candidate filing deadline.

North Carolina is voting this fall on its entire Legislature, two state supreme court races, all 14 U.S. House seats and a tight U.S. Sen ate contest — one of a handful that could determine which party as sumes control of the narrowly di vided chamber.

Republican state lawmakers are targeting suburban battleground districts where they hope to pick up the few seats they need for ve to-proof margins in the General As sembly. Democrats warn a Republi can supermajority would open the floodgates for a slew of conservative policies, including stricter abortion limits, and leave Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper without power to inter vene.

AP PHOTO

Congress sent the bill avoiding a shutdown to President Biden’s desk, and he signed it into law.

AP PHOTO

Stickers reading “I Voted By Mail” are displayed as the Wayne County Board of Elections prepares absentee ballots, in Goldsboro.

Randolph record

NEWS

Miss Randolph County competition to take this October

The Kiwanis Club of Asheboro is set to present the Miss Randolph County and Outstanding Teen Scholarship competitions on October 15 at Randleman Elementary School at 6 pm. The Miss Randolph County and Miss Randolph County’s Outstanding Teen competitions are part of the Miss America Organization and are a preliminary to the Miss North Carolina Scholarship Competition. Contestants in the event will compete in categories of Interview, Lifestyle and Fitness, Talent, Evening Wear/ Social Impact Statement, and On-Stage Question, which will give them an opportunity to express their own interests in social, community service, or vocational matters. The winners of the 2023 Miss Randolph County Competition will represent Randolph County in the Miss North Carolina and Miss North Carolina’s Outstanding Teen Competitions in June 2023.

Randolph County Association of Fire Chiefs to host annual Firefighter Day

The Randolph County Association of Fire Chiefs will be kicking off the 2022 Fire Prevention Week by hosting an annual Firefighter Day on October 8. This event, which will be held in the Randolph County Courthouse parking lot in Asheboro from 9 am until 4 pm, will offer an array of informational displays, demonstrations, activities, and food trucks. In addition, the Firefighter Combat Challenge will also take place at 2 pm. The majority of the fire departments that serve Randolph County, along with Ash-Rand Rescue Squad and EMS, will be in attendance. Fire prevention materials and three hundred smoke alarms will be given away to attendees. For additional information, contact Public Information Officer Emily Ledwell at firedepartment@ townoframseur.org or at (335)

Power restored after storm punishes county

By Bob Sutton Randolph Record

ASHEBORO — About one-third of the accounts for Randolph Elec tric Membership Corporation ex perienced some sort of power out age stemming from the leftovers from Hurricane Ian.

REMC reported that all power had been restored by early Sun day morning.

“I am proud and appreciative of our line personnel and support team for going the extra mile for our members,” said Dale Lambert, CEO of REMC. “As always, our team worked as safely and efficient ly as possible to repair the damage.”

The cooperative said that crews worked through Saturday night to restore power. All members in

Randolph, Moore, Montgomery, Chatham, and Alamance counties had received power hours later.

As a result of the storm, REMC had 268 separate outages. REMC’s system sustained numerous fall en trees, downed lines, and broken power poles.

Additional line personnel from sister cooperatives Union Pow er and Edgecombe-Martin Coun ty EMC in North Carolina, along with crew members Sumter Util ities in South Carolina, joined REMC line crew and contractors in restoration efforts.

According to information from REMC, there are damaged trees that could fall and cause new out ages in the upcoming days. Mem bers should report any potentially damaging situations.

By early Monday afternoon, ac cording to tracking devices, only three Duke Energy customers were without power in Randolph Coun ty. Duke Energy is the largest pow er provider in the county.

Last Thursday, Randolph Coun ty officials declared a local state of emergency effective at 1 p.m. Fri day. A state of emergency was de clared for all unincorporated areas of the county.

Nixed festivals will have to wait until next year

By Bob Sutton Randolph Record

ASHEBORO — Two major festivals in Randolph County were called off last weekend be cause of weather concerns relat ed to the impact from Hurricane Ian.

The Fall Festival in Asheboro and NASCAR Day Festival in Randleman were wiped off the schedule.

The Randolph Arts Guild, which manages the event in Asheboro, announced the de cision to nix the event. “for the safety of our vendors, enter tainers, attendees, sponsors, and downtown merchants,” ac cording to a statement from the guild.

The group cited an executive order from Gov. Roy Cooper, who declared a state of emergen cy on Wednesday as the path of Hurricane Ian put much of cen tral and eastern North Carolina in line for several days of rain. The state of emergency didn’t prohibit outdoor events.

“The Randolph Arts Guild Board knows that this cancella tion does not come without con sequence,” the guild’s statement said. “The Fall Festival is an es sential economic driver for local non-profits, community groups, small businesses, and vendors. We understand the disappoint ment that this may bring.”

Vendor refunds for registra tion fees will be issued no lat er than Nov. 1, according to the guild.

This marked the third year in a row that the Fall Festival didn’t take place. For the past two years, it was called off because of the pandemic. The first Fall Fes tival was held in 1972.

Up to 60,000 people have at

tended the two-day event in some years. Normally, crowds exceed 40,000.

In Randleman, NASCAR Day Festival was canceled for similar reasons last weekend.

Jeff Reeman, who’s director of the festival and executive direc tor of the Randleman Chamber of Commerce, said it’s not prac tical to find another date.

“It’s hard to reschedule,” he said. “A lot of vendors go to mul tiple shows in the fall, and they have their dates filled.”

Other factors also make it a challenge to reschedule are available policing agencies and approval for street closures.

NASCAR Day Festival was held in 2021 after it was canceled in 2020 because of the pandem ic.

Freeman said the Randleman Chamber of Commerce is orga nizing a downtown candlelight Christmas event. It will have some of the same components from the NASCAR Day Festival but will not nearly be the size of the event slated for last weekend.

“We understand the disappointment that this may bring.” Randolph Arts Guild

PJ WARD-BROWN | NORTH STATE JOURNAL Water levels are on the rise at the Worthville dam the day after Tropical Ian blasted through Randolph County in Randleman, on October 1, 2022.

PJ WARD-BROWN | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

A large tree lays across Sherwood Ave the day after Tropical Ian blasted through Randolph County in Asheboro, on October 1, 2022.

OPINION

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

| U.S. REP. RICHARD HUDSON

It’s time to stop kicking the can down the road

LAST WEEK, our state and nation received a dangerous reminder about the importance of being prepared for severe weather.

Due to miscues by President Biden and Washington Democrats, our nation’s economy is in a precarious state with inflation at 8.3% and the price of goods and services remaining skyhigh.

Hurricane Ian has devastated communities across the southeast, and Renee and I continue to pray for everyone impacted by the storm, as well as those affected by Hurricane Fiona in Puerto Rico and beyond. While North Carolina was spared the worst of this latest disaster, we cannot let our guard down. We all remember it was only a few years ago that we had two major storms hit North Carolina that caused flooding and damage across the state. Hurricane season lasts until the end of November, and I urge everyone to be prepared and listen to local emergency officials when severe weather occurs. Visit ReadyNC.gov for tips on how to get prepared and stay safe.

Moving forward, I will continue to work with President Joe Biden and Gov. Roy Cooper to ensure families and businesses in our state and across the country get the resources they need to recover from this latest hurricane.

Unfortunately, in Washington, many of my colleagues spent last week kicking the can down the road on Congress’ most basic responsibility: funding the government.

Last week, Congress passed a last-minute temporary budget resolution to avoid a government shutdown on Friday. However, the measure passed by Washington Democrats will only fund the government through December 16th, at which point lame duck Democrats can develop a longer-term budget matching their progressive agenda without having to answer for it in November’s election.

Due to miscues by President Biden and Washington Democrats, our nation’s economy is in a precarious state, with inflation at 8.3% and the price of goods and services remaining sky-high. Gas is up 25.6%, electricity 15.8%, and eggs 39.8%, to name a few. Our strategic petroleum reserve, critical in times of disasters like hurricanes, has also been depleted by Biden to its lowest level since 1984. Additionally, the Left has compromised the safety and security of families nationwide, as crime rates surge due to soft-on-crime policies and millions of illegal migrants continue to flood across our border.

All the while, liberal lawmakers continue to drag their feet or pursue policies that will make our nation’s challenges worse. Last week, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reported that Biden’s student

| STEPHEN MOORE

neofascists?

IN JUST THE LAST FEW WEEKS, Liz Truss, Britain’s new prime minister, has been denounced by critics as a “fascist.” So has Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s newly elected prime minister. Along with all Republicans in Congress, Texas and Florida GOP Govs. Greg Abbott and Ron DeSantis, and, of course, former President Donald Trump. Every one of the tens of thousands of “MAGA Republicans” who attend Trump rallies, too.

Dangerous fascists, for that matter, all of whom critics say need to be shut up.

loan bailout plan, for example, will cost taxpayers $400 billion. This measure will increase inflation and our national deficit, as well as unfairly force those who never went to college, worked hard to pay loans, or earned education benefits by serving in our military to foot the bill.

One thing is clear: Washington Democrats continue to procrastinate on addressing the issues most important to you and your family because they don’t have a plan. However, Republicans do have a plan.

Our “Commitment to America” plan is a detailed roadmap that aims to set our nation in a new direction and make a better future for you and your family. We will work to build an economy that’s strong by cutting reckless spending, boosting American energy production, and creating an economic environment that fosters growth, increases pay, and lowers costs. Through our plan, Republicans will work to build a nation that’s safe by securing our border, cracking down on crime, and stopping the flow of deadly drugs into the U.S. We will also ensure a nation built on freedom and a government that’s accountable to you by protecting your constitutional rights, providing rigorous oversight over federal agencies, and pursuing policies that give you more control over what is taught in your child’s school.

Our plan also involves personalizing health care to provide more affordable options and better quality. Last week, I moved us in the right direction as the House overwhelmingly passed my bipartisan MOBILE Health Care Act. I look forward to this bill becoming law to help expand health care access in rural and underserved communities in North Carolina and beyond.

This is a common-sense solution that we need more of in Congress. Yet Washington Democrats continue to kick the can down the road, putting off until tomorrow what needs to be done today. My Republican colleagues and I have a plan. I will continue to stay focused on solutions for the most pressing issues facing you and your family and on building a freer, safer, and more prosperous future for all.

Richard Hudson is serving his fifth term representing North Carolina’s 8th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. He currently serves on the Energy and Commerce Committee and in House leadership as the Republican Conference Secretary.

group of politicians who shut down schools, businesses, restaurants, and churches during COVID-19. A government that is now telling us what kind of light bulbs we can put in our homes, what temperature we can set our thermostat in our living rooms, what kind of car we can buy and what kind of drugs we need to be inserted into our arms.

Who is the leader who is vastly supersizing our centralized government? Biden and congressional Democrats have already spent $4 trillion expanding nearly all the power structures of government in Washington.

If this isn’t fascistic, what is?

But here’s the rub. The definition of “fascism” has gradually been evolving over time. Nowadays, according to the Collins Dictionary, fascism “is a set of right-wing political beliefs that includes strong controls of society and the economy by the state” (emphasis added).

Democrats and other leftist parties around the world accuse the Right of wanting to expand government powers when that is precisely the overriding objective of the modern-day American Left

Truss is a fascist because she wants to cut taxes. Meloni is a fascist and is getting banned from several social media platforms because she gave a rousing speech endorsing God, family, and country. What a dangerous tyrant. Republicans in Congress are fascists because they support work for welfare and are trying to block the Green New Deal.

Hillary Clinton said after a recent Trump rally in Ohio, “I remember as a young student ... I’d watch newsreels and I’d see this guy standing up there ranting and raving, and people shouting and raising their arms.”

Trump’s defeated 2016 Democratic presidential rival was referring to Hitler.

“You saw the rally in Ohio the other night,” added Clinton, the former first lady, senator, and secretary of state. “Trump is there ranting and raving for more than an hour, and you have these rows of young men with their arms raised.” She didn’t quite say it, but the implied message was clear: These crazy Trump supporters wanted to say, “Heil Hitler.”

At least President Joe Biden doesn’t call his political adversaries fascists. They are only “semifascists.” What a relief.

Aren’t these the same people who have urged raising the level of civil discourse? Wasn’t Biden supposed to “unify” the country with Trump out of the picture?

What is so infuriating about these slurs is that the Left doesn’t even understand what a fascist is. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, fascism is “a political philosophy, movement, or regime that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government.”

The Britannica Dictionary defines fascism as “a way of organizing a society in which a government ruled by a dictator controls the lives of the people and in which people are not allowed to disagree with the government.”

Let all that sink in for a minute. Who are the fascists here? A government that “controls the lives of the people.” Let’s see — we have a

By this definition, leftists can’t be accused of being fascists because they want to use government for virtuous ends, while the Right wants to use government to further enrich the rich, spread racism, and deny science.

What we have here is a clinical case of “projecting.” Democrats and other leftist parties around the world accuse the Right of wanting to expand government powers when that is precisely the overriding objective of the modern-day American Left.

It is prototypically fascistic. Elevate race and skin color into the public debate. Trample civil liberties. Squash those who disagree with the reigning government. Partner up Big Government with Big Business and micromanage the economy through dictates from the central planners. Put your political enemies in handcuffs and jail without a trial. Trample over the traditional guardrails that were installed to protect liberty — by changing voting rules, ending the 60-vote filibuster in the Senate, and discrediting and trying to pack the Supreme Court. Declare everything, including COVID-19 and climate change, an existential threat to justify more power to the politicians.

So what is a fascist really? The Left says it is anyone who opposes what they want to do to expand government.

But the real definition of a fascist is a leader who wants to exploit governmental power to suppress the basic liberties of individuals. It is the partnership of government and private industry for political power and monetary gain. To find it in modern-day America, the folks at the White House may want to look in the mirror.

Stephen Moore is a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation and an economist with FreedomWorks.

latest book is “Govzilla: How the

Growth of Government is Devouring our Economy.”

SIDELINE REPORT

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Wisconsin fires Chryst in 8th season

Madison, Wisc. Wisconsin has fired head coach Paul Chryst after a 2-3 start to his eighth season leading his alma mater. The surprising move comes a day after Wisconsin lost at home 34-10 to Illinois and former Badgers coach Bret Bielema. Chryst is 67-26 since taking over as coach of the Badgers in 2015. Chryst had double-digit win seasons in four of his first five years at Wisconsin and has gone 3319 since, including 15-12 in the last 27 games. Defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard, another former Badgers player, was named interim coach.

NBA NBA returning briefly to Seattle; questions of future loom

Seattle

The NBA made its latest brief return to Seattle Monday night when the Los Angeles Clippers faced the Portland Trail Blazers. The matchup was the first NBA contest in Seattle since 2018, when the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings played a preseason game that was the last sporting event inside KeyArena before it was gutted and rebuilt into Climate Pledge Arena. The 2018 game was the first in Seattle since the SuperSonics left for Oklahoma City in 2008. Speculation is nonstop about when the NBA will choose to expand, and Seattle and Las Vegas are at the forefront of potential destinations.

NFL Broncos’ RB Williams reportedly out for year Englewood, Colo. A person with knowledge of the medical results told The Associated Press that Broncos standout running back Javonte Williams is done for the season after tearing his right ACL on Sunday at Las Vegas. Williams got hurt on the first play of the third quarter when he was tackled for a loss on a handoff from Russell Wilson. Williams stayed down and then didn’t put any weight on his right leg as he was helped off the field. He went for an MRI on Monday after returning to Denver.

WNBA Russian court sets appeal date for Griner

Moscow

A Russian court has set a date for American basketball star Brittney Griner’s appeal against her nine-year prison sentence for drug possession. It has been scheduled for Oct. 25. Griner is an eighttime all-star center with the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and a two-time Olympic gold medalist. She was convicted Aug. 4 after police said they found vape canisters containing cannabis oil in her luggage at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport. The Moscow region court said Monday it will hear her appeal. Griner’s lawyers argued after the conviction that the punishment was excessive.

Elliott into Round of 8 with Talladega victory

Driver concerns about safety hung over the playoff race

By Jenna Fryer The Associated Press

TALLADEGA, Ala. — As the stars of NASCAR raged over safe ty concerns with the new car, ru mors swirled the drivers would or ganize some sort of protest at one of the most dangerous tracks on the circuit.

Perhaps they’d outright boycott Talladega Superspeedway.

Or maybe they’d send their mes sage to NASCAR by refusing to se riously race on Sunday.

But all 37 drivers showed up at their cars as scheduled. It’s the playoffs, after all, and there’s a championship to be won.

And it was Chase Elliott, NA SCAR’s most popular driver who a day earlier accused series leader ship of taking a step backward in safety, who drove to Victory Lane

and earned the automatic berth into the third round of the playoffs.

Elliott, who typically avoids controversial conversations, joined the growing chorus of veteran drivers who found NASCAR’s slow response to their concerns unac ceptable. Alex Bowman, his team mate at Hendrick Motorsports, and Kurt Busch missed Sunday’s race with concussions, and Cody Shane Ware competed with a bro ken foot. Busch has missed 11 con secutive races.

Rick Hendrick said he wasn’t surprised when his 26-year-old su perstar took a rare public stance.

“I think these guys are con cerned and he sees a teammate hurt, and he’s a young guy with a career ahead of him,” Hendrick said. “I think this has been on Chase’s mind. I’m proud of him. He doesn’t say much, but when he speaks, everybody knows he’s not just popping off. He’s concerned.”

The race was one of the cleanest in memory at Talladega and cer

tainly the least dramatic through the first five races of the playoffs.

NASCAR’s new Next Gen car de veloped a rash of problems in the first four playoff races, and Bow man’s concussion seemed to push the drivers to their breaking point.

NASCAR is scheduled to test this week a potential solution to the stiffness of the cars that drivers claim they’ve complained about all through the development of the Next Gen.

That did little to calm the driv ers leading into Talladega, one of the most unpredictable and chaot ic tracks on the calendar. The driv ers certainly could have deliber ately taken it easy, but they truly raced.

There were 57 lead changes among 17 drivers and of the six cautions, only one was for a mul ticar crash.

“That was a pretty calm Tal ladega race,” Elliott said. “That’s something different.”

Elliott was fifth on the final re start with two laps remaining and claimed control of the outside lane to stalk leader Ryan Blaney. The 2020 Cup champion surged ahead with a push from Erik Jones on the final lap, threw a block on Blaney’s attempt to reclaim the lead and then beat Blaney to the finish line

Abuse in NWSL was systemic, report says

by .046 seconds. Elliott is the first driver through five playoff races to automatically advance into the next round with a victory, and he reclaimed the lead atop the Cup standings. The first four races were won by drivers not eligible for the championship in a chaotic start to the 10-race post season.

“It gets you through to the next (round) and that’s all you can ask for is just to add more opportuni ties,” Elliott said. “So it’s a big deal and we’re excited for these final handful of events and hopefully we can give it a run.”

Next week’s elimination play off race is Sunday at The Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The field will be trimmed from 12 to eight after the race. Kyle Larson is the defending race winner, while Elliott has two wins on the hybrid course and Blaney won the inau gural 2018 event.

ment. “As the national governing body for our sport, U.S. Soccer is fully committed to doing every thing in its power to ensure that all players — at all levels — have a safe and respectful place to learn, grow and compete.”

By Anne M. Peterson The Associated Press

AN INDEPENDENT investiga tion into the scandals that erupt ed in the National Women’s Soccer League last season found emotion al abuse and sexual misconduct were systemic in the sport, im pacting multiple teams, coaches and players, according to a report released Monday.

“Abuse in the NWSL is rooted in a deeper culture in women’s soccer, beginning in youth leagues, that normalizes verbally abusive coach ing and blurs boundaries between coaches and players,” former act ing U.S. Attorney General Sally Q. Yates wrote in her report on the in vestigation.

U.S. Soccer commissioned the investigation by Yates and the law firm King & Spaulding after for mer NWSL players Sinead Farrel ly and Mana Shim came forward with allegations of harassment and sexual coercion dating back a decade involving former coach Paul Riley.

Their account was pub lished by The Athletic in Septem ber 2021.

Riley, who denied the allega tions, was quickly fired as head coach of the North Carolina Cour age, and NWSL Commissioner Lisa Baird stepped down.

But it was clear the problems were widespread.

Five of the 10 head coaches in the NWSL last

season either were fired or stepped down amid allegations of miscon duct.

“The verbal and emotion al abuse players describe in the NWSL is not merely ‘tough’ coach ing. And the players affected are not shrinking violets. They are among the best athletes in the world,” Yates wrote.

More than 200 people were in terviewed by investigators. Some two dozen entities and individu als provided documents. U.S. Soc cer also provided documents and the firm reviewed 89,000 deemed likely to be relevant.

U.S. Soccer President Cindy

Parlow Cone called the findings “heartbreaking and deeply trou bling.”

“The abuse described is inexcus able and has no place on any play ing field, in any training facility or workplace,” she said in a state

The report made numerous rec ommendations to prioritize player health and safety. Among them is the requirement that teams accu rately disclose coach misconduct to the league and the soccer feder ation to ensure coaches aren’t al lowed to move between teams. It also calls for meaningful vetting of coaches and timely investigation into allegations of abuse.

The NWSL said it was in the process of reviewing the report. The league and the NWSL Players Association is also conducting an investigation.

“We recognize the anxiety and mental strain that these pending investigations have caused and the trauma that many — includ ing players and staff — are having to relive. We continue to admire their courage in coming forward to share their stories and influ ence all the changes necessary to keep moving our league forward,” NWSL Commissioner Jessica Ber man said in a statement. “Estab lishing trust and confidence be tween the league, its players and other key stakeholders remains a central focus for the NWSL, and we know that we must learn from and take responsibility for the painful lessons of the past in or der to move the League into a bet ter future.”

The investigation focused on three former coaches, Riley, Chris ty Holly of Racing Louisville and Rory Dames of the Chicago Red Stars.

The investigation looked at several coaches, including former North Carolina Courage coach Paul Riley

“The verbal and emotional abuse players describe in the NWSL is not merely ‘tough’ coaching.”

Sally Q. Yates

“That was a pretty calm Talladega race. That’s something different.”

Chase Elliott

STEVEN SENNE | AP PHOTO

Former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates led an independent investigation into the scandals that erupted in the National Women’s Soccer League last season that showed that emotional abuse and sexual misconduct was systemic in the sport.

BUTCH DILL | AP PHOTO

Chase Elliott celebrates in Victory Lane after winning Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega.

Wildcats fend off Cougars to capture PAC opener

Randolph Record

ASHEBORO — Davonte Brooks scored three touchdowns, and Eastern Randolph relied on its defense in a 20-12 road victory against Southwestern Randolph in a Piedmont Athletic Conference football opener Thursday night.

“We just all came together and played as one, and that’s how we got the job done,” Brooks said.

Eastern Randolph (5-1), which is the reigning PAC champion, won despite its lowest point total of the season.

“It was not our best game,” East ern Randolph coach Burton Cates said. “Too many mistakes – penal ties at the wrong time.”

Southwestern Randolph (4-2) couldn’t crank up enough offense.

“I thought our kids gave every thing they had,” Southwestern Randolph coach Seth Baxter said.

The Wildcats stuck to a ground attack in the second half after the Cougars intercepted two first-half passes. Cates said windy condi tions impacted the game plan.

“Let’s go with our strength, which is the offensive line and run ning the football,” Cates said.

Brooks gained 160 rushing yards, and teammate Ervodd Cas sady ran for 128 yards.

Brooks scored on a 25-yard run to open the scoring, and later in the first quarter, Southwestern Randolph’s Easton Clapp scored

Friday’s

Randleman at Providence Grove

Trinity at Eastern Randolph

Southwestern Randolph at Wheatmore

Asheboro at Central Davidson

on a 1-yard run.

Adam Cole’s 42-yard punt re turn for a touchdown put the Cou gars on top 12-7 in the third quar ter.

Brooks scored on a 1-yard run later in the third quarter. Brooks scored again from 1 yard out in the fourth quarter.

“I thought in the second half they dominated the line of scrim mage,” Baxter said.

Providence Grove 31, Trinity 0:

At Trinity, Zane Cheek ran for two touchdowns, and Providence Grove (5-1) built a 28-0 halftime lead.

Zander Cheek also scored a touchdown. Brady Collins threw a touchdown pass to Joe Coltrane. Andrew Canter kicked a 37-yard

field goal.

Trinity (4-2) suffered a shutout to the Patriots for the second time in three seasons. Dominic Pay had 57 passing yards and 53 rushing yards.

Randleman 49, Wheatmore 0:

At Randleman, Christian Long threw four touchdown passes –two each to Chesney Welch and Tyshaun Goldston – as the host Ti gers rolled.

Long also ran for a touchdown. Amarion Moton’s 10-yard run opened the scoring in the PAC game.

Randleman (4-2) led 42-0 at halftime. All of Long’s touchdown passes came in the second quarter, hitting Welch for 17 and 10 yards and connecting with Goldston for 9 and 20 yards.

Long finished 11-for-18 for 128 yards. Moton rushed six times for 105 yards.

Wheatmore (1-5) was held to 81 yards of total offense. Jonathan Kelly had 48 rushing yards.

Oak Grove 52, Asheboro 7:

At Asheboro, unbeaten Oak Grove in the road victory to open Mid-Piedmont Conference play for both teams.

The Grizzlies (6-0) were up 28-7 at halftime. Asheboro (1-5) scored early in the second quarter after trailing 21-0.

Dacia

Lowery

Uwharrie Charter Academy, volleyball

Lowery played a role as the Eagles won two matches last week to stay in contention for the top spot in the Piedmont Athletic Conference.

Lowery had 16 kills, and five blocks as UCA topped visiting Providence Grove 21-25, 25-15, 2521, 13-25, 15-9.

That was followed by UCA’s 24-26, 25-18, 25-22, 25-23 victory at Trinity when Lowery provided 11 kills and five blocks.

Entering this month with two weeks in the regular season remaining, UCA held an 11-3 overall record and 6-2 PAC mark.

Randleman pulls volleyball surprise

Coe released from CFL team

By Bob Sutton Randolph Record

ASHEBORO — Former Asheboro High School stand out athlete Nick Coe was re leased from the roster of a Ca nadian Football League team.

The Edmonton Elks re leased Coe, a 25-year-old de fensive lineman, on Sept. 13. He had played in two games this season for the Elks.

After playing for Asheboro during high school, Coe went on to a college career with Au burn before he was undrafted.

The Elks made the move to release Coe when they signed receiver Lucky Johnson.

The two previous years, Coe spent time on reserve units or practice squads with the NFL’s New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins.

Randolph Record

RANDLEMAN — Randle man served up a three-set sweep of Southwestern Randolph last week to hand the Cougars their first loss in Piedmont Athletic Conference volleyball.

The Tigers used 17 digs and six kills from Haley Hinshaw, 23 assists and 14 digs from Kenzie Roach, and 13 digs and 11 kills from Chloe Dixon. Kar li Kennington supplied 29 digs.

It was the first PAC loss of the season for the Cougars.

That result came as part of a challenging week for South western Randolph, which is the reigning Class 2-A state champion. It began with a nonleague loss at McMichael in a rematch of a 2021 match in the state playoffs. The Cougars re covered the next night to beat visiting Trinity in a PAC match before the rare league loss that came in their third match in as many nights.

The outcome gave Randle

man a six-match winning streak and avenged a four-set loss on the road in early September. The Tigers moved within one match of first-place Southwest ern Randolph in the PAC.

Earlier in the week, Randle man topped Wheatmore 27-29, 26-24, 25-11, 25-18, with Roach logging 24 assists and 19 digs and Camryn Vickery provid ing 17 assists to go with Cam den Scott’s 12 kills and Dixon’s 11 kills and 23 digs.

Boys’ soccer

Asheboro started strong in Mid-Piedmont Conference play by defeating Oak Grove 4-0 and Central Davidson 5-1.

Cristian Ortiz scored three goals in the Central Davidson game after posting two goals in the Oak Grove game.

The Blue Comets entered this week with a 12-1 record. They’ve been rated as the topranked Class 3-A team in the state.

PJ WARD-BROWN | NORTH STATE JOURNAL Dacia Lowery of Uwharrie Charter Academy makes a play at the net.

MICHAEL

Auburn linebacker Nick Coe runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020.

SCOTT PELKEY | RANDOLPH RECORD Kenzie Roach of Randleman sets the ball as teammate Mollie Hall looks on during last week’s match against Southwestern Randolph.

SCOTT PELKEY | RANDOLPH RECORD

SCOTT PELKEY | RANDOLPH RECORD

Randleman quarterback Christian Long picks up yards as Wheatmore’s Ethan Roberts, left, tries to make a stop.

Davonte Brooks of Eastern Randolph heads for the end zone against Southwestern Randolph.

In Hurricane Ian’s wake, dangers persist, worsen in parts

By Bobby Caina Calvan The Associated Press

FORT MYERS, Fla. — People kayaking down streets that were passable just a day or two earlier. Hundreds of thousands without power. National Guard helicopters flying rescue missions to residents still stranded on Florida’s barrier islands.

Days after Hurricane Ian carved a path of destruction from Florida to the Carolinas, the dangers per sisted, and even worsened in some places. It was clear the road to re covery from this monster storm will be long and painful.

And Ian was still not done. The storm doused Virginia with rain Sunday, and officials warned of the potential for severe flooding along its coast, beginning overnight Monday.

Ian’s remnants moved offshore and formed a nor’easter that is ex pected to pile even more water into an already inundated Chesa peake Bay and threatened to cause the most significant tidal flood ing event in Virginia’s Hampton Roads region in the last 10 to 15 years, said Cody Poche, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

The island town of Chincote ague declared a state of emergency Sunday and strongly recommend ed that residents in certain areas evacuate. The Eastern Shore and northern portion of North Caroli na’s Outer Banks were also likely to be impacted.

At least 68 people have been con firmed dead: 61 in Florida, four in North Carolina and three in Cuba.

With the death toll rising, Deanne Criswell, administrator

of the Federal Emergency Man agement Agency, said the federal government was ready to help in a huge way, focusing first on victims in Florida, which took the brunt of one of the strongest storms to make landfall in the United States. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden plan to visit the state on Wednesday.

Flooded roadways and washedout bridges to barrier islands left many people isolated amid limit ed cellphone service and a lack of basic amenities such as water, elec

tricity and the internet. Officials warned that the situation in many areas isn’t expected to improve for several days because the rain that fell has nowhere to go because wa terways are overflowing.

Fewer than 620,000 homes and businesses in Florida were still without electricity by early Mon day, down from a peak of 2.6 mil lion.

Criswell told “Fox News Sunday” that the federal government, in cluding the Coast Guard and De partment of Defense, had moved

into position “the largest amount of search and rescue assets that I think we’ve ever put in place be fore.”

Still, recovery will take time, said Criswell, who visited the state Friday and Saturday to assess the damage and talk to survivors. She cautioned that dangers remain with downed power lines in stand ing water.

More than 1,600 people have been rescued statewide, according to Florida’s emergency manage ment agency.

Rescue missions were ongoing, especially to Florida’s barrier is lands, which were cut off from the mainland when storm surges de stroyed causeways and bridges.

The state will build a temporary traffic passageway for the largest one, Pine Island, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Sunday, adding that an allocation had been approved for Deportment of Transportation to build it this week and construc tion could start as soon as Monday.

“It’s not going to be a full bridge, you’re going to have to go over it probably at 5 miles an hour or something, but it’ll at least let peo ple get in and off the island with their vehicles,” the governor said at a news conference.

Coast Guard, municipal and pri vate crews have been using helicop ters, boats and even jetskis to evac uate people over the past several days.

In rural Seminole County, north of Orlando, residents donned wad ers, boots and bug spray to paddle to their flooded homes Sunday.

Ben Bertat found 4 inches of wa ter in his house by Lake Harney af ter kayaking there.

“I think it’s going to get worse because all of this water has to get to the lake” said Bertat, pointing to the water flooding a nearby road.

“With ground saturation, all this swamp is full and it just can’t take any more water. It doesn’t look like it’s getting any lower.”

Elsewhere, power remained knocked out to at least half of South Carolina’s Pawleys Island, a beach community roughly 75 miles up the coast from Charleston. In North Carolina, the storm downed trees and power lines.

McConnell suggests better odds of Republicans taking Senate

By Farnoush Amiri The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senate Republican leader Mitch McCon nell said last week that he believes his party now has a “50-50 shot” of getting the chamber back less than six weeks away from the midterm elections.

“We are in a bunch of close rac es,” McConnell told reporters during a press conference. “It’s go ing to be really, really close either way, in my view.”

The comments reflect a greater degree of optimism from the GOP leader after he drew criticism last month from fellow Republicans when he downplayed the party’s chances in the fall elections, say ing it would be more likely for the party to gain control of the House than the Senate.

“Senate races are just differ ent — they’re statewide, candidate quality has a lot to do with the out come,” McConnell said at a press conference in Florence, Kentucky, in mid-August.

For the past year, McConnell has been careful about overstat ing any GOP gains in the chamber, and he previously criticized the “quality” of candidates in key rac

es like Arizona. Republicans have been pleading with him to help direct money to lift Blake Mas ters, the GOP candidate for Senate there. So far, McConnell has re fused to publicly do so. But McConnell seemed to sug gest there is a slight chance for the GOP to control House and Sen

ate in January — mainly due to the rising issue of inflation, which his party blames on Democrats’ “reck less spending” in Washington.

McConnell and his counterpart in the House, Kevin McCarthy, have pledged to focus on “kitchen table” issues like rising costs and crime.

The political dynamics in the final six weeks of the midterms are proving volatile and could ul timately help either party in tight races. Democrats have focused much of their message on repro ductive rights for women after the Supreme Court’s decision this summer invalidating a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion. Republicans, meanwhile, have centered their campaigns on infla tion and combatting violent crime.

Democrats are coming out of the summer buoyed by signs that the Supreme Court’s abortion de cision may galvanize voters in the fall. Voters in deeply Republican Kansas overwhelmingly rejected a ballot measure that would have curtailed abortion rights. And sur prise wins for Democrats in special elections from Alaska to upstate New York also signaled notable en ergy on the issue.

But the challenge for the par ty will be keeping those voters en gaged through November. Mc Connell seemed less worried that abortion would significantly erode GOP gains.

“I think that issue is playing out in different ways in differ ent states,” McConnell said when asked if Republicans were con

cerned about it. “The three big na tional issues that we’re going to be addressing here that people are most concerned about nationally are the ones that I mentioned: in flation, crime and open borders.”

“That’s clearly what we’re going to be putting the focus on,” he add ed.

John Thune, the No. 2 Repub lican in the Senate, largely echoed McConnell’s predictions, suggest ing that Democrats were focusing on “shiny objects.”

“My experience through the years, even in years when we’ve been protecting incumbents in a bad environment, is that when the fundamentals of an election lock in and for the voters the issues get clarified, it usually does kind of generate a bit of momentum for one side or the other,” Thune told reporters. “And honestly, I think that happens for us this year. I just think that the pocketbook issues are going to be paramount and all these other issues Democrats are trying to shift attention to are kind of shiny objects.”

“But in the end,” he added, “it’s the economy, the cost of food, the cost of gas, security, where people feel safe in their neighborhoods and communities.”

AP PHOTO Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., talks to reporters as the Senate works to pass a stopgap spending bill that would fund the federal government into mid-December, at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022.

GERALD HERBERT | AP PHOTO

oats operated by resident good Samaritans help evacuate residents who stayed behind on Pine Island, in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Matlacha Fla., Sunday, Oct. 2, 2022.

Rosiland Faye Walker

February 24, 1948 — September 27, 2022

Rosiland Faye Wright Walker, age 74, of Asheboro passed away on Tuesday, September 27, 2022 at Randolph Hospital.

Mrs. Walker was born in Asheboro on February 24, 1948 to Marston and Margaret Lambert Wright. She was formerly employed as a Social Worker with the Department of Social Services and was the CAP Coordinator for mental health. Rosiland was a member of Central United Methodist Church and a book club. She was an avid Duke Blue Devils fan. In addition to her parents, Rosiland was preceded in death by her husband, Hal Walker, Jr.

She is survived by her sons, Hal "Hank" Walker, Ill and Matt Walker both of Asheboro; granddaughter, Maggie Walker; and brother, Marty Wright of Charleston, SC.

Andrea Kay Briles Willis

December 8, 1949 — September 24, 2022

Andrea Kay Briles Willis, age 72 of Asheboro passed away on Saturday, September 24, 2022 at Moses Cone Hospital.

Mrs. Willis was born in Randolph County on December 8, 1949 to Joseph and Mozelle Lucas Briles. She was retired from Duke Energy after 25 years of service. In addition to her parents, Andrea was preceded in death by her husband, Richard "Rich" Willis. Andrea loved God and her church, Sunset Avenue Church of God. She loved the beach and animals. Andrea was a very kind, tender hearted, and super organized lady.

She is survived by her brother, Don Briles (Cathy) of Trinity; step children, Melissa Willis of Greensboro, Jessie Willis of Mooresville, Tim Willis (Lisa) of High Point, and Amanda Willis (Adam Fongemin) of Greensboro; 3 step grandchildren; and many loving cousins and close friends.

Larry Staley

July 27, 1943 — October 2, 2022

Larry Eugene Staley, age 79, passed away October 2, 2022 at Randolph Health.

Larry was a native of Randolph County and served in the US Army stationed in Korea . Larry was raised by Walter and Alberta Staley and retired from Hatteras Yacht Company in New Bern, NC. In the early 70's he worked for the Randleman Police Department. He enjoyed bush hogging and watching NASCAR, and Jimmy Johnson is who he pulled for. He collected knives and loved his El Caminos. Larry is preceded in death by his son, Sammy Staley, mother, Hazel Allred, step dad, Wallace Allred, brother, Leonard Allred and son-in-law Billy Rarick.

Larry is survived by his wife of 55 years Betty McAden Staley, daughters, Diana Rarick of Franklinville, Kim Staley of Franklinville and Pam Miller (James) of Asheboro; brothers, David Allred and Howard Allred both of Franklinville; sister, Barbra Ann Gooden (Wayne) of Franklinville; grandchildren: Ashley Cruz, Alicia Matthews, Austin Miller and Jessie "J.J." Miller; 6 great grandchildren.

Judy Smith

May 11, 1948 — October 1, 2022

Judy Allred Smith, age 74, went to her heavenly home on October1, 2022 at her home peacefully surrounded by her family.

Judy was a native of Randolph County and a member of Mt. Lebanon United Methodist Church. She enjoyed working at the family owned car wash in Randleman, adored her family, and loved to dance and listen to music. Judy is preceded in death by her parents, Richard and Minnie Allred and grandson, Derek Church.

Judy is survived by her life long companion, Edward Simpson; daughters: Deanna Smith of Randleman, Renita Craven of Randleman and Renee Smith of Asheboro; grandchildren: Felicia Sopher, Brittney Johnson (Ryan), and Drew Rogers; great grandchildren: Kenzi Church, Noah Johnson, Brooklyn Johnson, Callum Sopher; sister, Hilda Hodgin (Harold); brothers: Craig Allred (Janice) and Rev. Gary Allred (Lou Ann); 3 nieces and 2 nephews.

Sarah Jane Flinchum

September 5, 1931 — October 1, 2022

Sarah Jane Jarrell Flinchum, 91, passed at Brighton Gardens in Greensboro on October 1, 2022. Sarah was born on September 5, 1931 in Asheboro, NC to Claud and Eva Pegram Jarrell.

Ms. Flinchum is a Randolph County Native where she attended New Salem United Methodist Church, when she was still able. She enjoyed watching nature and the birds. Some of her past loves were gardening and cooking. Sarah was preceded in death by her parents, and her sister Mary Jarrell.

She is survived by her son Larry Wood (Angela) of Mt. Airy, her daughter Christine Tedder (Alex) of Randleman, her sister Evelyn Routh of Randleman, 2 grandchildren, Josh Nichols, and Crystal Hand, and 3 great grandchildren, Aubri, Jenna, and Ian Nichols.

Rev. John Ernest Mangum

July 17, 1945 — September 30, 2022

Rev. John Ernest Mangum, age 77, of Randleman, died September 30, 2022, at his residence with family members at his side after a courageous battle with Alzheimer’s Disease.

Rev. Mangum was a native of Rowan County, a US Army Veteran in the Vietnam War, and a retired industrial engineer and minister of over 42 years serving churches in Randolph and Guilford Counties.

Rev. Mangum is preceded in death by his parents, Rev. and Mrs. John C. Mangum. He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Joyce, of the home, son Tim Mangum and his wife Jennifer of Greensboro, daughter Joy Mangum Elkes of Asheboro, grandchildren, Makayla, Hope, and Hollis Elkes of Asheboro, and Grayson and Ethan Mangum of Greensboro. Rev. Mangum is also survived by his sister, Doris M. Palmer of Raleigh, along with numerous brothers and sisters-inlaw and nieces and nephews. The family wishes to thank Stephanie Hernandez for the wonderful, personal care she provided during the past months and to Hospice of the Randolph for their care in the past few weeks.

Nancy Keplinger Cox

December 18, 1952 — September 28, 2022

Nancy Keplinger Cox, age 69, of Pleasant Garden passed away September 28, 2022 at Greenhaven Health & Rehab.

Nancy was a homemaker and enjoyed Knitting, crocheting and cross stitch. She also loved to read and work in her flowers. Nancy had her CDL's and would drive the school bus on field trips and was highly involved in school actives and fund raisers. Nancy is preceded in death by her husband, Joseph Cox.

Nancy is survived by her sons: Christopher "Chris" Cox of Castle Haynes, NC and Carlton Cox (Naomi) of Stoneville; sister, Mary Anderson (Wayne) of Wilmington; niece, Rosemary Perreault (Silas); nephew, Matthew Anderson (Shannon).

Memorials may be made to Ronald McDonald House.

Chuck Hall

April 28, 1965 — September 27, 2022

Charles Raymond "Chuck" Hall, 57, of Randleman, passed away on September 27, 2022, at High Point Hospital.

He was born on April 28, 1965, to Charles Edward and Jessie Marie Duty Hall.

Charles worked as a Master Printer for more than 30 years and loved to golf and tinker on cars.

Charles is survived by his wife: Deborah McAbee Hall; sons: Gary Keith McCraw, Ronald Stewart Hall, William Hall; grandchildren: Trace Lavengood, Sarah Hall, Ziva Hall, Junior Lester and Layla Lester. Chuck is preceded in death by his daughter: Jessica Marie Hall.

No services are planned at this time.

Memorials are suggested to the American Diabetes Foundation.

Carol Gibson Mills

April 26, 1949 — September 29, 2022

Carol Gibson Mills, age 73, of Star, passed away on September 29, 2022, at First Health Moore Regional Hospital.

Carol was born on April 26, 1949 in Montgomery County to Alford Eugene and Cora Parker Gibson.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her brother Douglas Gibson.

She is survived by her daughter Angela Morris of Asheboro; son Samuel "Scott" Mills (Ann) of Asheboro; brother Ronnie Gibson (Coleen) of Norman; sisters Reba Burris (Mike) of Albemarle and Susan Newsom (Eric) of Star.

Grandchildren Danielle Jaimes (Alfredo), Scott Mills Jr., Zach Mills (Morgan Bost), Dakota Morris, and Sierra Morris; great grandchildren Kaylee Jaimes, Isabelle Jaimes, Alexander Jaimes, Elizabeth Jaimes, and David Jaimes.

Leon Greene September 8, 1951 — September 29, 2022

Leon Greene, age 71, of Seagrove, passed away on September 29, 2022. Leon was born in Montgomery County on September 8, 1951, to Roy and Myrtle Williamson Greene.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his son Lonnie Greene.

He is survived by his wife Sandra Greene of the home; daughter Angie Andrews of Star; son Casey Greene of Star; sister Eula Mae Kellam of Star; stepchildren Brian Woodard and Renee Woodard. Twelve grandchildren and five great grandchildren.

STATE & NATION

Biden signs bill to avert government shutdown, aid Ukraine

By Kevin Freking The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Pres ident Joe Biden signed into law Friday a bill that finances the fed eral government through mid-De cember and provides another infu sion of military and economic aid to Ukraine after lawmakers acted to avert a partial government shut down set to begin after midnight.

The bill passed the House by a vote of 230-201 earlier in the day.

Republicans overwhelmingly op posed the measure. Some wanted to extend government funding into January when, based on the results of the midterm elections, it’s possi ble they’ll have more leverage over setting federal spending for the full fiscal year. Others argued the mea sure needed to do more to address border security.

Democrats said passing the bill was important to helping Ukraine as well as victims of recent natu ral disasters in the U.S., includ ing Hurricane Ian, as it provides a Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster fund with a year’s worth of money up front rather than for two-and-a-half months.

“Turn on the news. Look what’s happening in Florida right now. Look at what happened to Puerto Rico. Look at what’s happening in

Alaska. I mean, people need help,” said Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass. “And look at what’s happening in Ukraine. Do we support helping preserve democracy in Ukraine or not? That’s what’s at stake here.”

But Republicans complained the bill brought to the floor was not subject to bipartisan negotiations in the House and didn’t reflect their

priorities.

“We know we have a crisis on the southern border. You can turn on the television every night. You can look at the fentanyl pouring into the country, You can see the trag edy of human trafficking. Is there anything in this bill that asks us to do anything different, anything new?” said Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla.

“No, you just ask, ‘please allow us to continue the current state of af fairs on the southern border.’ That is a travesty.”

In the end, support for the bill was unanimous among Democrat ic lawmakers. Only 10 Republican lawmakers joined them in voting yes.

The bill finances the federal gov ernment through Dec. 16 and buys lawmakers more time to agree on legislation setting spending lev els for the 2023 fiscal year. The bill generally keeps spending at current levels, though it does pro vide more than $12.3 billion in Ukraine-related aid. The money will go to provide training, equip ment and logistics support for the Ukraine military, help Ukraine’s government provide basic services to its citizens and replenish U.S. weapons systems and munitions.

“This contribution ensures we continue upholding our moral re sponsibility to support the people of Ukraine in the face of a vicious invasion that continues to demand decisive action by us,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the Democratic chair of the House Appropriations Committee.

Disaster assistance was also at tached to the stopgap bill, includ ing $2.5 billion to help New Mex ico communities recover from the

Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire, the largest wildfire in the state’s history; $2 billion for a block grant program that aids the economic re covery of communities impacted by recent disasters; and $20 mil lion for water and wastewater in frastructure improvements pre viously authorized for Jackson, Mississippi.

“We cannot leave communities behind that are still picking up the pieces from disastrous floods, wild fires and hurricane, and even basic water system failures,” said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla.

The bill would provide an addi tional $1 billion for a program that helps low-income households heat their homes. And it would transfer $3 billion from a Pentagon aid pro gram to the State Department for continued Afghan resettlement op erations.

Lawmakers also included a re authorization of the Food and Drug Administration’s user fee agreements for five years, which ensures the agency can continue critical product safety reviews and won’t need to issue pink slips for thousands of employees working on drug and medical device appli cations.

One thing missing from the bill is the billions of dollars in addi tional funding that Biden sought to aid the response to COVID-19 and monkeypox. Republicans criticized the health spending as unneces sary. The White House said the money would have been used to ac celerate the research and develop ment of vaccines and therapeutics, prepare for future COVID variants and support the global response.

Judge denies GOP appeal for signature checks on mail ballots

The Associated Press

RALEIGH — North Carolina’s State Board of Elections directed county election officials on Monday not to engage in signature matching when reviewing absentee ballot en velopes this fall after a judge reject ed the GOP appeal of a state board ruling prohibiting the practice.

According to a directive sent to county election directors from the board’s legal counsel Paul Cox, the judge’s ruling maintains the status quo outlined in state law, which re quires that all absentee voters fill out their ballots in the presence of two witnesses or a notary. Absentee ballot request forms in North Caro lina must also include a date of birth and either a driver’s license number or the last four digits of the voter’s Social Security Number.

The North Carolina Republican Party had filed motions in Wake County Superior Court last week, asking the court to block the state board from enforcing its declara tory ruling that prevented county election officials from comparing signatures on absentee ballot re quest forms and return envelopes with the signatures included in vot er registration records.

Superior Court Judge Stephan Futrell ruled from the bench Mon day afternoon, denying the party’s motion for a temporary restraining order and preventing the use of sig nature matching in the 2022 gener al election, state board spokesper son Pat Gannon said.

“Under state law, absentee voter identity is confirmed via the confi dential personal information pro vided by the voter in requesting a ballot, the voter’s attestation on the

ballot envelope and the attestation of two witnesses or a notary that the voter voted the ballot,” Cox wrote in a directive obtained by The Associ ated Press.

The board’s Democratic majority in July had rejected an initial signa ture matching proposal introduced by Republicans, citing concerns that it could create unequal voting access and allow partisan bias to contaminate the electoral process.

The legal challenge followed the state board’s July rejection of a Re publican Party request to autho rize county officials to compare sig

natures on absentee ballot request forms and container envelopes with the signatures included in voter reg istration records. Citing concerns that the proposal would create un equal voting access, the board de nied the request in a 3-2 party-line vote, with three Democrats voting against signature checks and two Republicans voting in favor.

Republicans, for their part, ar gue signature verification is anoth er necessary element of electoral transparency. In addition to push ing for its adoption, they are also fighting the state board’s proposed

restrictions on party-appointed poll watchers.

“When we have those signatures on file, it is ludicrous not to be able to use them,” said North Carolina GOP Chairman Michael Whatley.

“This is a very common sense tool, and I think it’s inexplicable that the board had instructed not only that the boards don’t have to use it but that they can’t use it.”

The state board had unanimously passed two temporary rule changes in August, prohibiting poll watch ers from standing too close to vot ing machines where they could view

marked ballots and granting elec tions officials greater authority to remove disruptive observers. But af ter the state’s Republican-appoint ed rules review panel shot down the proposed changes, the state board declined to appeal the decision, in stead issuing revised guidance to county officials.

Anticipating several close rac es in November, both major parties spent the summer challenging elec tion laws in court.

Democrats came under fire ear lier this year for their bareknuck le efforts to block the Green Party from fielding a U.S. Senate candi date on the North Carolina ballot, warning that the party’s presence could divide progressive voters and allow a GOP victory. A feder al court ultimately denied Demo crats’ last-ditch legal efforts in Au gust, rejecting their request to block a lower court order prohibiting the state elections board from enforcing a candidate filing deadline.

North Carolina is voting this fall on its entire Legislature, two state supreme court races, all 14 U.S. House seats and a tight U.S. Sen ate contest — one of a handful that could determine which party as sumes control of the narrowly di vided chamber.

Republican state lawmakers are targeting suburban battleground districts where they hope to pick up the few seats they need for ve to-proof margins in the General As sembly. Democrats warn a Republi can supermajority would open the floodgates for a slew of conservative policies, including stricter abortion limits, and leave Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper without power to inter vene.

AP PHOTO

Congress sent the bill avoiding a shutdown to President Biden’s desk, and he signed it into law.

AP PHOTO

Stickers reading “I Voted By Mail” are displayed as the Wayne County Board of Elections prepares absentee ballots, in Goldsboro.

HOKE

Grand Old Fundraiser

On Saturday, September 24th, the Hoke County Republican Party hosted a BBQ Chicken plate sale in support of the Stone Wall Fire Department. Firefighters and their families received a free BBQ Chicken plate as a show of gratitude for serving our community. In addition, the party sold 42 plates accepting donations, which resulted in a total of $468.00 given to the Stonewall Fire Department. The Hoke County GOP intends to host another fundraising event in West Hoke later in October. The community is invited to come out and show their support for our local Fire Fighters and First Responders. Presentation of the proceeds to the Stone Wall FD Treasurer, Johnny Boyles.

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Hoke man faces felony gun charges

A Hoke County man was arrested last week after allegedly firing a gun into an occupied vehicle. According to the Hoke County Sheriff’s Office, Glenn Cummings, Jr. is facing felony charges of possession of a firearm by a felon and discharging a firearm into an occupied building or vehicle. Cummings was being held at the Hoke County Detention Center on a $50,000 bond after being picked up by officers executing a search warrant on Wednesday. Fortunately, none of the occupants of the vehicle were injured. If you or anyone you know has additional information about the shooting, please contact Detective Spence at (910) 875-5111.

One suspect in Raeford kidnapping has been caught

On September 13, Hoke County police were informed of an incident that took place at the Lucky Stop gas station near Raeford after two masked individuals hijacked a car and kidnapped two young girls at gunpoint. The two suspects drove a couple of blocks down the road before letting the two girls out at the J+L gas station on Rockfish Road.

Last Monday, one of the male juvenile suspects surrendered to the Hoke County Sheriff’s Office. He has been charged with armed robbery, larceny of a motor vehicle, and assault by pointing a gun and kidnapping. The other suspect, however, is still on the run. Officials have asked that anyone with additional information regarding the second suspect please contact Detective Hoskins at (910) 479-3832 or the sheriff’s office at (910) 875-5111.

DSS employee incentives tabled

Health Department bad-debt written off

By Ryan Henkel North State Journal RAEFORD — The Hoke Coun ty Board of Commissioners met Monday, with the key item on the agenda being a potential employ ee incentive plan for Department of Social Services employees.

After being approved by the Hoke County Board of Health, the board of commissioners ap proved the bad debt write-off for the Hoke County Health Depart ment on all accounts that had no fiscal activity during the FY 20202021, totaling $30,874.22.

“These accounts have had no activity for one year, from 2020 to 2021, July to June. And since there is no activity, we’re asking for them to be written off,” said Hoke County Health Department Director Helene Edwards. “It is an $8,500 reduction from last year’s cost.”

The board also approved the annual Officials Contract with Er nie Fisher for an amount not to

exceed $220,000 for the recruit ment, training, assigning, and su pervising of officiating services for sports contests operated by the county.

The board then approved the Hoke County Sheriff’s Depart ment’s declaration of surplus to dispose of obsolete or inoperable equipment that is no longer need ed by the county and the publish ing of a Request for Qualifications for engineering services in rela tion to the Stream Flow Rehabil itation Program and a request for High-Impact Opioid Abatement Strategies.

The Department of Social Ser vices also made a request to the board for the approval of an Em ployee Incentive Plan from the lapsed salaries of unfilled posi tions.

“As you know, all over the world, there’s issues with maintaining employees, and we need your work to help the citizens of Hoke Coun ty,” said DSS Administrative Of ficer Barbara Mena. “As the bud get officer, we’ve looked at some lapsed salaries. I’ve also calculat ed some of the revenues that we would have gotten had we spent those lapsed salaries so that we could award an incentive to those employees that have committed and dedicated their time to DSS by offering them a $700 pre-tax incentive for the first quarter and second quarter of this fiscal year, which with the revenues that we would have gotten and the expens es the county would have had pri marily, we would have the funds to cover the first and second quarter, just to reward them.”

According to Mena, the crite ria for the bonus include that the recipient must be an employee for the entire quarter and must be an active employee on the first day of the month after a quarter ends. The bonus would be prorated for new employees that start in the middle of a quarter, and new em ployees on a nine-month proba

NC Fall Festival to make full return

2nd

By Ryan Henkel North State Journal

RAEFORD — The North Car olina Fall Festival is returning in all of its glory this year after the last couple of years saw a reduced event due to the pandemic.

The first event on the weeklong festival schedule will be the Homecoming and Turkey Bowl game at Hoke County High School on Friday, October 7, as the Bucks host the Southern Lee High School Cavaliers for an exciting evening.

Following the Friday events, October 8-9 will see the 2nd annu al Marvin Johnson Memorial Golf Tournament at Bayonet at Pup

py Creek Golf Course take place. The two-day event is limited to the first 100 golfers and includes a $150 entry fee which includes cart and green fees, breakfast, lunch, beer, beverages, snacks, door priz es, and tournament prizes. There are cash prizes for the top golfers and a special prize of a Zero Turn Lawn Mower for a hole-in-one.

The festival schedule also in cludes an event special for se niors as Wednesday, October 12, will feature the Melissa Kaye Se nior Day Bingo at the Wright Ag ricultural Building from 10 am to 2 pm. The event will be free to the first 100 seniors and will include lunch, snacks, drinks, and door prizes.

Perhaps one of the most antici pated returns will be the NC Fall Festival Parade which had been canceled the past couple of years. The parade kicks off Thursday,

October 13, at 5:30 pm on Main Street.

And if the parade wasn’t enough to get you excited, the Turkey Din ner also makes its return and will be served Friday, October 14, at West Hoke Middle School from 5 pm to 7:30 pm.

Then on Saturday, October 15, the NC Fall Festival Street Fair will be on Main Street from 9 am to 4 pm with 16 food trucks, arts and crafts, commercial and infor mational vendors, two stages of entertainment, a cornhole tour nament, and a Classic Car and Truck showcase.

tion period would be eligible.

“We want to be at 100% when it comes to our employees working,” said Chairman Allen Thomas Jr. “We’ve reached a point where we have 17 vacancies. That’s the most since I’ve been on the board. It’s to the point where it’s an emergency the same way that when the sher iff came to us, that was an emer gency. Of course, this is a difficult thing to have to look at. You have to look at if you’re treating these employees differently or if you are doing what’s needed to make sure the most vulnerable resi dents are taken care of. The peo ple that walk through the doors at DSS are the most vulnerable peo ple in our county. Our director has said there’s an emergency and we’re just doing this until bud get time when we can take a look at the salaries because we have to have workers working there. DSS is one of the departments that if it shuts down, it’s a critical situation for this county.”

However, due to the matter not being heard by the commissioners prior to the meeting and the fail

COURTESY PHOTO

“We want to be at 100% when it comes to our employees working” Chairman Allen Thomas Jr.

place

ure of the DSS board to have dis closed this need for bonus pay to retain employees during budget ing time, and with DSS Director Terry Stanton being absent from the meeting, and therefore un able to answer these questions the board had, the board decided to remove the matter from the agen da in order to dig more into the situation.

The removal seems to be just a temporary setback for the DSS as the commissioners expressed an understanding of the need for DSS to be staffed to support the community.

“I believe that DSS is coming

CRIME

Thomas, Scotty Ray (W/M/30), Firearm by Felon, 10/03/2022, Hoke County Sheriff’s Office

Fugate, Samantha Marie (W/F/30), Firearm by Felon, 10/03/2022, Hoke County Sheriff’s Office

Purcell, Jerika Danelle (B/F/34), Simple Assault, 10/02/2022, Hoke County Sheriff’s Office

Ibarra, Jose (U/M/33), B&E Felony, 10/02/2022, Hoke County Sheriff’s Office

Cummings, Glenn (I/M/38), Firearm by Felon, 09/28/2022, Hoke County Sheriff’s Office

Sessum, Donny Dwayne (W/M/40), Murder - First Degree, 09/27/2022, Hoke County Sheriff’s Office

Tillman, Paul Wayne (W/M/43), Possess Drug Paraphernalia (Not Marijuana), 09/27/2022, Hoke County Sheriff’s Office

Dockery, Mario Termain (B/M/40), Larceny Auto Accessories, 09/27/2022, Hoke County Sheriff’s Office

before us and saying that because of these 17 vacancies, we need to act in a way to retain and recruit new DSS workers because we’re going to find ourselves in a prob lem when we cannot adminis ter the food stamp program, the Medicaid program, the senior services and things like that and I think we’re going to find our selves in a bind,” said Commis sioner Harry Southerland. “I don’t think we want to wait down the road to try to fix it. I think this is a way to temporarily, at least for two quarters, to stop the bleeding in a sense.”

The Hoke County Board of Commissioners will next meet October 17.

Hoke will have new state senator after ‘22 election

North State Journal

RAEFORD — Following the 2020 Census, the General Assem bly had the job of drawing new federal and state legislative dis tricts to reflect the state’s popula tion changes across all 100 coun ties. After two rounds of redraws, court interventions, and multi ple public hearings, the new state Senate map was approved in Feb ruary.

Hoke County finds itself split from western Cumberland Coun ty for the first time in a decade, joining Robeson County and Scotland County in the new 24th District.

Current state Sen. Ben Clark is running to still represent the county. He is retiring from the legislature and is the Democratic nominee for the 9th Congressio nal District seat.

In the new state Senate dis trict, Robeson County is the larg est county of the three, making up

The candidates for the district are current

Republican state Sen. Danny Britt of Lumberton and Democratic candidate

Darrel “BJ” Gibson of Laurinburg.

57% of the new district’s popula tion. Hoke County makes up 26%, and the remaining 17% is in Scot land County.

The candidates for the district are current Republican state Sen. Danny Britt of Lumberton and Democratic candidate Darrel “BJ” Gibson of Laurinburg, a sitting Scotland County Commissioner.

Britt is running for his fourth term in the state Senate. A na tive of Robeson County, he en listed in the N.C. Army National

Guard after high school and went on to play football at Appalachian State University. An attorney, he became a prosecutor in the Robe son County District Attorney’s Of fice and currently works in private practice.

In his three terms in Raleigh, Britt has quickly become a lead er on criminal justice issues, shep herding criminal justice reforms and chairing the state Senate’s Ju diciary Committee. In the 202122 session, he also was the Senate Transportation Committee chair. Gibson, a minister at Naza reth Missionary Baptist Church, is a Scotland County native. He served ten years on the Scotland County School Board and is cur rently a county commissioner. He is a graduate of Fayetteville Tech nical Community College.

In a Ballotpedia candidate sur vey, he says his goals are to work with communities to keep neigh borhoods and streets safe, ensure racial equality in North Carolina schools, and Medicaid expansion. Gibson says he supports “paying our teachers and other school em ployees what they deserve,” ex panding free Pre-K education, and increasing access to health care services.

David

OPINION

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor COLUMN | U.S. REP. RICHARD HUDSON

It’s time to stop kicking the can down the road

LAST WEEK , our state and nation received a dangerous reminder about the importance of being prepared for severe weather.

Due to miscues by President Biden and Washington Democrats, our nation’s economy is in a precarious state with inflation at 8.3% and the price of goods and services remaining skyhigh.

Hurricane Ian has devastated communities across the southeast, and Renee and I continue to pray for everyone impacted by the storm, as well as those affected by Hurricane Fiona in Puerto Rico and beyond. While North Carolina was spared the worst of this latest disaster, we cannot let our guard down. We all remember it was only a few years ago that we had two major storms hit North Carolina that caused flooding and damage across the state. Hurricane season lasts until the end of November, and I urge everyone to be prepared and listen to local emergency officials when severe weather occurs. Visit ReadyNC.gov for tips on how to get prepared and stay safe.

Moving forward, I will continue to work with President Joe Biden and Gov. Roy Cooper to ensure families and businesses in our state and across the country get the resources they need to recover from this latest hurricane.

Unfortunately, in Washington, many of my colleagues spent last week kicking the can down the road on Congress’ most basic responsibility: funding the government.

Last week, Congress passed a last-minute temporary budget resolution to avoid a government shutdown on Friday. However, the measure passed by Washington Democrats will only fund the government through December 16th, at which point lame duck Democrats can develop a longer-term budget matching their progressive agenda without having to answer for it in November’s election.

Due to miscues by President Biden and Washington Democrats, our nation’s economy is in a precarious state, with inflation at 8.3% and the price of goods and services remaining sky-high. Gas is up 25.6%, electricity 15.8%, and eggs 39.8%, to name a few. Our strategic petroleum reserve, critical in times of disasters like hurricanes, has also been depleted by Biden to its lowest level since 1984. Additionally, the Left has compromised the safety and security of families nationwide, as crime rates surge due to soft-on-crime policies and millions of illegal migrants continue to flood across our border.

All the while, liberal lawmakers continue to drag their feet or pursue policies that will make our nation’s challenges worse. Last week, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reported that Biden’s student

| STEPHEN MOORE

neofascists?

IN JUST THE LAST FEW WEEKS, Liz Truss, Britain’s new prime minister, has been denounced by critics as a “fascist.” So has Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s newly elected prime minister. Along with all Republicans in Congress, Texas and Florida GOP Govs. Greg Abbott and Ron DeSantis, and, of course, former President Donald Trump. Every one of the tens of thousands of “MAGA Republicans” who attend Trump rallies, too. Dangerous fascists, for that matter, all of whom critics say need to be shut up.

loan bailout plan, for example, will cost taxpayers $400 billion. This measure will increase inflation and our national deficit, as well as unfairly force those who never went to college, worked hard to pay loans, or earned education benefits by serving in our military to foot the bill.

One thing is clear: Washington Democrats continue to procrastinate on addressing the issues most important to you and your family because they don’t have a plan. However, Republicans do have a plan.

Our “Commitment to America” plan is a detailed roadmap that aims to set our nation in a new direction and make a better future for you and your family. We will work to build an economy that’s strong by cutting reckless spending, boosting American energy production, and creating an economic environment that fosters growth, increases pay, and lowers costs. Through our plan, Republicans will work to build a nation that’s safe by securing our border, cracking down on crime, and stopping the flow of deadly drugs into the U.S. We will also ensure a nation built on freedom and a government that’s accountable to you by protecting your constitutional rights, providing rigorous oversight over federal agencies, and pursuing policies that give you more control over what is taught in your child’s school.

Our plan also involves personalizing health care to provide more affordable options and better quality. Last week, I moved us in the right direction as the House overwhelmingly passed my bipartisan MOBILE Health Care Act. I look forward to this bill becoming law to help expand health care access in rural and underserved communities in North Carolina and beyond.

This is a common-sense solution that we need more of in Congress. Yet Washington Democrats continue to kick the can down the road, putting off until tomorrow what needs to be done today. My Republican colleagues and I have a plan. I will continue to stay focused on solutions for the most pressing issues facing you and your family and on building a freer, safer, and more prosperous future for all.

Richard Hudson is serving his fifth term representing North Carolina’s 8th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. He currently serves on the Energy and Commerce Committee and in House leadership as the Republican Conference Secretary.

group of politicians who shut down schools, businesses, restaurants, and churches during COVID-19. A government that is now telling us what kind of light bulbs we can put in our homes, what temperature we can set our thermostat in our living rooms, what kind of car we can buy and what kind of drugs we need to be inserted into our arms.

Who is the leader who is vastly supersizing our centralized government? Biden and congressional Democrats have already spent $4 trillion expanding nearly all the power structures of government in Washington.

If this isn’t fascistic, what is?

But here’s the rub. The definition of “fascism” has gradually been evolving over time. Nowadays, according to the Collins Dictionary, fascism “is a set of right-wing political beliefs that includes strong controls of society and the economy by the state” (emphasis added).

Democrats and other leftist parties around the world accuse the Right of wanting to expand government powers when that is precisely the overriding objective of the modern-day American Left

Truss is a fascist because she wants to cut taxes. Meloni is a fascist and is getting banned from several social media platforms because she gave a rousing speech endorsing God, family, and country. What a dangerous tyrant. Republicans in Congress are fascists because they support work for welfare and are trying to block the Green New Deal.

Hillary Clinton said after a recent Trump rally in Ohio, “I remember as a young student ... I’d watch newsreels and I’d see this guy standing up there ranting and raving, and people shouting and raising their arms.” Trump’s defeated 2016 Democratic presidential rival was referring to Hitler.

“You saw the rally in Ohio the other night,” added Clinton, the former first lady, senator, and secretary of state. “Trump is there ranting and raving for more than an hour, and you have these rows of young men with their arms raised.” She didn’t quite say it, but the implied message was clear: These crazy Trump supporters wanted to say, “Heil Hitler.”

At least President Joe Biden doesn’t call his political adversaries fascists. They are only “semifascists.” What a relief.

Aren’t these the same people who have urged raising the level of civil discourse? Wasn’t Biden supposed to “unify” the country with Trump out of the picture?

What is so infuriating about these slurs is that the Left doesn’t even understand what a fascist is. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, fascism is “a political philosophy, movement, or regime that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government.”

The Britannica Dictionary defines fascism as “a way of organizing a society in which a government ruled by a dictator controls the lives of the people and in which people are not allowed to disagree with the government.”

Let all that sink in for a minute. Who are the fascists here? A government that “controls the lives of the people.” Let’s see — we have a

By this definition, leftists can’t be accused of being fascists because they want to use government for virtuous ends, while the Right wants to use government to further enrich the rich, spread racism, and deny science.

What we have here is a clinical case of “projecting.” Democrats and other leftist parties around the world accuse the Right of wanting to expand government powers when that is precisely the overriding objective of the modern-day American Left.

It is prototypically fascistic. Elevate race and skin color into the public debate. Trample civil liberties. Squash those who disagree with the reigning government. Partner up Big Government with Big Business and micromanage the economy through dictates from the central planners. Put your political enemies in handcuffs and jail without a trial. Trample over the traditional guardrails that were installed to protect liberty — by changing voting rules, ending the 60-vote filibuster in the Senate, and discrediting and trying to pack the Supreme Court. Declare everything, including COVID-19 and climate change, an existential threat to justify more power to the politicians.

So what is a fascist really? The Left says it is anyone who opposes what they want to do to expand government.

But the real definition of a fascist is a leader who wants to exploit governmental power to suppress the basic liberties of individuals. It is the partnership of government and private industry for political power and monetary gain. To find it in modern-day America, the folks at the White House may want to look in the mirror.

Stephen Moore is a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation and an economist with FreedomWorks. His latest book is “Govzilla: How the Relentless Growth of Government is Devouring our Economy.”

Wisconsin fires Chryst in 8th season

Madison, Wisc. Wisconsin has fired head coach Paul Chryst after a 2-3 start to his eighth season leading his alma mater. The surprising move comes a day after Wisconsin lost at home 34-10 to Illinois and former Badgers coach Bret Bielema. Chryst is 6726 since taking over as coach of the Badgers in 2015. Chryst had double-digit win seasons in four of his first five years at Wisconsin and has gone 33-19 since, including 15-12 in the last 27 games. Defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard, another former Badgers player, was named interim coach.

NBA NBA returning briefly to Seattle; questions of future loom

Seattle The NBA made its latest brief return to Seattle Monday night when the Los Angeles Clippers faced the Portland Trail Blazers.

The matchup was the first NBA contest in Seattle since 2018, when the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings played a preseason game that was the last sporting event inside KeyArena before it was gutted and rebuilt into Climate Pledge Arena.

The 2018 game was the first in Seattle since the SuperSonics left for Oklahoma City in 2008.

Speculation is nonstop about when the NBA will choose to expand, and Seattle and Las Vegas are at the forefront of potential destinations.

NFL Broncos’ RB Williams reportedly out for year Englewood, Colo.

A person with knowledge of the medical results told The Associated Press that Broncos standout running back Javonte Williams is done for the season after tearing his right ACL on Sunday at Las Vegas. Williams got hurt on the first play of the third quarter when he was tackled for a loss on a handoff from Russell Wilson. Williams stayed down and then didn’t put any weight on his right leg as he was helped off the field. He went for an MRI on Monday after returning to Denver.

Elliott into Round of 8 with Talladega victory

Driver concerns about safety hung over the playoff race

By Jenna Fryer The Associated Press

TALLADEGA, Ala. — As the stars of NASCAR raged over safety concerns with the new car, rumors swirled the drivers would organize some sort of pro test at one of the most dangerous tracks on the circuit.

Perhaps they’d outright boy cott Talladega Superspeedway.

Or maybe they’d send their message to NASCAR by refusing to seriously race on Sunday.

But all 37 drivers showed up at their cars as scheduled. It’s the playoffs, after all, and there’s a championship to be won.

And it was Chase Elliott, NA SCAR’s most popular driver who a day earlier accused series lead ership of taking a step backward in safety, who drove to Victory Lane and earned the automatic

berth into the third round of the playoffs.

Elliott, who typically avoids controversial conversations, joined the growing chorus of veteran drivers who found NA SCAR’s slow response to their concerns unacceptable. Alex Bowman, his teammate at Hen drick Motorsports, and Kurt Busch missed Sunday’s race with concussions, and Cody Shane Ware competed with a broken foot. Busch has missed 11 con secutive races.

Rick Hendrick said he wasn’t surprised when his 26-yearold superstar took a rare public stance.

“I think these guys are con cerned and he sees a teammate hurt, and he’s a young guy with a career ahead of him,” Hendrick said. “I think this has been on Chase’s mind. I’m proud of him. He doesn’t say much, but when he speaks, everybody knows he’s not just popping off. He’s con cerned.”

The race was one of the clean

est in memory at Talladega and certainly the least dramat ic through the first five races of the playoffs.

NASCAR’s new Next Gen car developed a rash of problems in the first four play off races, and Bowman’s concus sion seemed to push the drivers to their breaking point.

NASCAR is scheduled to test this week a potential solution to the stiffness of the cars that driv ers claim they’ve complained about all through the develop ment of the Next Gen.

That did little to calm the drivers leading into Talladega, one of the most unpredictable and chaotic tracks on the calen dar. The drivers certainly could have deliberately taken it easy, but they truly raced.

There were 57 lead changes among 17 drivers and of the six cautions, only one was for a mul ticar crash.

“That was a pretty calm Tal ladega race,” Elliott said. “That’s something different.”

Elliott was fifth on the final restart with two laps remaining and claimed control of the out side lane to stalk leader Ryan Blaney. The 2020 Cup champion surged ahead with a push from Erik Jones on the final lap, threw a block on Blaney’s attempt to reclaim the lead and then beat

“That was a pretty calm Talladega race. That’s something different.”

Blaney to the finish line by .046 seconds.

Elliott is the first driver through five playoff races to au tomatically advance into the next round with a victory, and he reclaimed the lead atop the Cup standings. The first four races were won by drivers not eligible for the championship in a cha otic start to the 10-race postsea son.

“It gets you through to the next (round) and that’s all you can ask for is just to add more opportu nities,” Elliott said. “So it’s a big deal and we’re excited for these final handful of events and hope fully we can give it a run.”

Next week’s elimination play off race is Sunday at The Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The field will be trimmed from 12 to eight after the race. Kyle Lar son is the defending race winner, while Elliott has two wins on the hybrid course and Blaney won the inaugural 2018 event.

Chase Elliott

Hoke prep sports report

have a chance to avoid a threegame losing streak when they host Southern Lee at Raz Autry Stadi um on Friday, October 7.

Varsity Volleyball

Adam Scott says LIV Golf not ‘pure evil’ for the game

“Maybe because I’m a little less emotive about it, I can be a voice of reason for one side or the other.”

SYDNEY — Adam Scott says Greg Norman’s as sociation with LIV Golf hasn’t strained his relation ship with his longtime mentor and adds he doesn’t see the new tour as “pure evil” for the sport.

“Definitely not,” Scott said in a conference call from his home in Switzerland when asked if he feels any animosity towards his fellow Australian, who is chief executive of the series.

“This is something he (Norman) truly believes in, and I don’t begrudge him for going for it one bit at all. Sure, it’s rocked the orders of golf, which has never really happened in this way before. But I’m optimistic that people’s (intentions) are still good, and therefore we will come to a better place.”

Scott says his friendships with fellow Australian stars Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman also ha ven’t changed since their defection to LIV, which has been criticized as a means by Saudi Arabia to sportswash its image.

“I completely understand anyone doing it,” Scott said of Smith and Leishman. “They’ve been offered an opportunity and it suits them. All power to them. I really want it to work out for them.”

Scott says although he hasn’t seen much friction between players on the rival tours, “there’s definite ly been some feelings hurt and some friendships strained.”

“I’m not trying to play a peacemaker,” Scott add ed. “Maybe because I’m a little less emotive about it, I can be a voice of reason for one side or the other. I don’t necessarily see LIV as pure evil for the game of golf. Hopefully, we can get beyond everyone hav ing shots at each other, and each organization can move on.”

Scott has said he has no intention of joining LIV.

“Why am I still on the PGA Tour is because it suits me best to be on the PGA Tour. It’s as simple as that, really,” Scott said at the recent Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow. “There’s one thing I think I haven’t grasped is giving up my entire professional life of trying to achieve these things here and just leaving it behind. I’m obviously not ready to do that.”

Scott reiterated that on Friday, saying he hoped to add to his 2013 Masters title and win more ma jors, something he couldn’t do if he joined LIV.

“The one thing that is happening is my time is running out,” Scott said while announcing he’d be returning Down Under this year to play in the Aus tralian PGA and Australian Open.

“It seems I’m the oldest bloke in the field almost every week these days. While I’m playing good, I’ve got to take advantage.”

Varsity Football

The Hoke County Bucks trav eled to Rockingham this past Fri day for a conference game against the Richmond Raiders. Unfortu nately, after four quarters of play, the Bucks lost to the Raiders, 4021. After last week’s loss, Hoke County now has a season record of 3-4 and is fifth in the conference with a 1-2 record.

The Bucks will

On Thursday, September 28, the Hoke County varsity volleyball team won their home conference match against Richmond with a score of 3-0. This conference win came just a day after losing an away match to Lee County. After last week’s matchups, the team is currently sitting with a 7-10 over all record and 3-6 performance in the conference. The varsity girls will take on two conference teams this week, with an away game at

Southern Lee this Tuesday and a match at home against Union Pines on Thursday, October 6.

Boys Soccer

Despite coming off of a suc cessful win against Jack Britt last week, the Hoke County boys var sity soccer team suffered a dis appointing loss to Lee County on Monday. The final score of the conference game was 4-1. With their most recent loss, the Bucks have a 6-7 record overall, with a 2-5 conference record. The team’s next game is a conference match against Richmond and will take place on home turf at 7 pm on Oc tober 5.

Despite a low scoring first half, Ethan Wallace scored off of an impressive 92-yard kickoff return.

Melissa

Adam Scott

Adam Scott said he doesn’t see LIV Golf, run by countryman and mentor Greg Norman, as

evil” like some of his PGA Tour peers.

Melissa SWARBRICK

DESPITE INCLEMENT weather across the state from Hurricane Ian, all of Hoke County High School’s sporting events took place as scheduled.

Applications open for open positions at HCFSA

North State Journal

THE HOKE COUNTY Farm Ser vice Agency is currently taking ap plications for the following programs with deadlines:

OTECP: The Organic and Tran sitional Education and Certifica tion Program (OTECP) provides cost share for certification costs for or ganic producers and handlers, eligi ble expenses for transitional produc ers, registration fees for educational events, and soil testing. Applications are due by October 31, 2022.

OCCSP: The Organic Certification Cost Share Program (OCCSP) pro vides cost share assistance to pro ducers and handlers of agricultural products who are obtaining or re newing their certification under the National Organic Program. Appli cations are due by October 31, 2022.

LFP: The Livestock Forage Di saster Program (LFP) provides pay ments to eligible livestock owners and contract growers who have cov ered livestock and who are also pro ducers of grazed forage crop acreage that have suffered a loss of grazed forage due to a qualifying drought during the normal grazing period for the county. Applications are due by January 30, 2023.

Give us a call at (910) 875-8111 to set up an appointment. As 2023 crop reporting approaches, let us know if you would like a copy of your maps!

USDA Hoke County Farm Service Agency contributed to this report.

In Hurricane Ian’s wake, dangers persist, worsen in parts

By Bobby Caina Calvan The Associated Press

FORT MYERS, Fla. — People kayaking down streets that were passable just a day or two earli er. Hundreds of thousands with out power. National Guard heli copters flying rescue missions to residents still stranded on Flori da’s barrier islands.

Days after Hurricane Ian carved a path of destruction from Florida to the Carolinas, the dangers persisted, and even worsened in some places. It was clear the road to recovery from this monster storm will be long and painful.

And Ian was still not done. The storm doused Virginia with rain Sunday, and officials warned of the potential for severe flooding along its coast, beginning over night Monday.

Ian’s remnants moved off shore and formed a nor’easter that is expected to pile even more water into an already inundated Chesapeake Bay and threatened to cause the most significant tidal flooding event in Virgin ia’s Hampton Roads region in the last 10 to 15 years, said Cody Poche, a National Weather Ser vice meteorologist.

The island town of Chincote ague declared a state of emer gency Sunday and strongly rec ommended that residents in certain areas evacuate. The East ern Shore and northern portion of North Carolina’s Outer Banks were also likely to be impacted.

At least 68 people have been confirmed dead: 61 in Florida,

four in North Carolina and three in Cuba.

With the death toll rising, Deanne Criswell, administrator of the Federal Emergency Man agement Agency, said the feder al government was ready to help in a huge way, focusing first on victims in Florida, which took the brunt of one of the stron gest storms to make landfall in the United States. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden plan to visit the state on Wednes day.

Flooded roadways and washed-out bridges to barrier islands left many people isolat ed amid limited cellphone ser vice and a lack of basic amenities such as water, electricity and the internet. Officials warned that the situation in many areas isn’t expected to improve for sever

al days because the rain that fell has nowhere to go because wa terways are overflowing.

Fewer than 620,000 homes and businesses in Florida were still without electricity by ear ly Monday, down from a peak of 2.6 million.

Criswell told “Fox News Sun day” that the federal govern ment, including the Coast Guard and Department of Defense, had moved into position “the largest amount of search and rescue as sets that I think we’ve ever put in place before.”

Still, recovery will take time, said Criswell, who visited the state Friday and Saturday to as sess the damage and talk to sur vivors. She cautioned that dan gers remain with downed power lines in standing water.

More than 1,600 people have

been rescued statewide, accord ing to Florida’s emergency man agement agency.

Rescue missions were ongo ing, especially to Florida’s bar rier islands, which were cut off from the mainland when storm surges destroyed causeways and bridges.

The state will build a tempo rary traffic passageway for the largest one, Pine Island, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Sunday, adding that an allocation had been approved for Deportment of Transportation to build it this week and construction could start as soon as Monday.

“It’s not going to be a full bridge, you’re going to have to go over it probably at 5 miles an hour or something, but it’ll at least let people get in and off the island with their vehicles,” the governor said at a news confer ence.

Coast Guard, municipal and private crews have been us ing helicopters, boats and even jetskis to evacuate people over the past several days.

In rural Seminole Coun ty, north of Orlando, residents donned waders, boots and bug spray to paddle to their flooded homes Sunday.

Ben Bertat found 4 inches of water in his house by Lake Har ney after kayaking there.

“I think it’s going to get worse because all of this water has to get to the lake” said Bertat, pointing to the water flooding a nearby road. “With ground satu ration, all this swamp is full and it just can’t take any more water. It doesn’t look like it’s getting any lower.”

Elsewhere, power remained knocked out to at least half of South Carolina’s Pawleys Island, a beach community roughly 75 miles up the coast from Charles ton. In North Carolina, the storm downed trees and power lines.

McConnell suggests better odds of Republicans taking Senate

By Farnoush Amiri The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senate Republican leader Mitch McCon nell said last week that he believes his party now has a “50-50 shot” of getting the chamber back less than six weeks away from the midterm elections.

“We are in a bunch of close rac es,” McConnell told reporters during a press conference. “It’s go ing to be really, really close either way, in my view.”

The comments reflect a greater degree of optimism from the GOP leader after he drew criticism last month from fellow Republicans when he downplayed the party’s chances in the fall elections, say ing it would be more likely for the party to gain control of the House than the Senate.

“Senate races are just differ ent — they’re statewide, candidate quality has a lot to do with the out come,” McConnell said at a press conference in Florence, Kentucky, in mid-August.

For the past year, McConnell has been careful about overstat ing any GOP gains in the chamber, and he previously criticized the “quality” of candidates in key rac es like Arizona. Republicans have been pleading with him to help direct money to lift Blake Mas ters, the GOP candidate for Sen ate there. So far, McConnell has refused to publicly do so.

But McConnell seemed to sug gest there is a slight chance for the GOP to control House and Senate in January — mainly due to the rising issue of inflation, which his party blames on Democrats’ “reck

less spending” in Washington. McConnell and his counterpart in the House, Kevin McCarthy, have pledged to focus on “kitchen table” issues like rising costs and crime.

The political dynamics in the final six weeks of the midterms are proving volatile and could ul timately help either party in tight

races. Democrats have focused much of their message on repro ductive rights for women after the Supreme Court’s decision this summer invalidating a woman’s constitutional right to an abor tion. Republicans, meanwhile, have centered their campaigns on inflation and combatting violent crime.

Democrats are coming out of the summer buoyed by signs that the Supreme Court’s abortion de cision may galvanize voters in the fall. Voters in deeply Republican Kansas overwhelmingly reject ed a ballot measure that would have curtailed abortion rights.

And surprise wins for Democrats in special elections from Alaska

to upstate New York also signaled notable energy on the issue.

But the challenge for the par ty will be keeping those voters en gaged through November. Mc Connell seemed less worried that abortion would significantly erode GOP gains.

“I think that issue is playing out in different ways in differ ent states,” McConnell said when asked if Republicans were con cerned about it. “The three big na tional issues that we’re going to be addressing here that people are most concerned about nationally are the ones that I mentioned: in flation, crime and open borders.”

“That’s clearly what we’re going to be putting the focus on,” he add ed.

John Thune, the No. 2 Republi can in the Senate, largely echoed McConnell’s predictions, suggest ing that Democrats were focusing on “shiny objects.”

“My experience through the years, even in years when we’ve been protecting incumbents in a bad environment, is that when the fundamentals of an election lock in and for the voters the issues get clarified, it usually does kind of generate a bit of momentum for one side or the other,” Thune told reporters. “And honestly, I think that happens for us this year. I just think that the pocketbook issues are going to be paramount and all these other issues Democrats are trying to shift attention to are kind of shiny objects.”

“But in the end,” he added, “it’s the economy, the cost of food, the cost of gas, security, where people feel safe in their neighborhoods and communities.”

Dr. Tony Santangelo, DC,

NC Chiropractic Association

AP PHOTO

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., talks to reporters as the Senate works to pass a stopgap spending bill that would fund the federal government into mid-December, at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022.

GERALD HERBERT | AP PHOTO

Boats operated by resident good Samaritans help evacuate residents who stayed behind on Pine Island, in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Matlacha Fla., Sunday, Oct. 2, 2022.

obituaries

Loretta Lynn, coal miner’s daughter and country queen, dies

The Associated Press

Nettie McDuffie

September 30, 1933 ~ September 30, 2022

Ms. Nettie McDuffie age, 89 went home to rest with her heavenly father on September 30, 2022. She was preceded in death by her husband Cleo McDuffie and son Marvin McDuffie. Nettie leaves to cherish her loving memories her children: Nathaniel Thomas, Charles McDuffie, Betty McDuffie, thirteen grandchildren along with a host of other family and friends. She will be immensely missed.

DEATH NOTICES

♦ Mr. Nathaniel Legrand, born February 1, 1959, age 63, transitioned from earth to glory on September 27, 2022.

♦ Mr. Richard Davenport age, born December 1, 1941, age 80, transitioned from earth to glory on October 2, 2022.

♦ Ms. Artiffany Davis age, born August 22, 1984, age 38, went home to be with her heavenly father on October 2, 2022.

♦ Mr. Theodore R. Jackson Sr., born February 19, 1941, age 81, went home to rest with his heavenly father on October 1, 2022. He was preceded in death by his son Oliver Dwight Jackson. Theodore leaves to cherish his loving memories his wife, Genell Jackson, children: Phyllissenia(Calvin), Michael Jackson, Larissa(John) Love, Sheila Jackson, Sondra Jackson, Theodore R. Jackson Jr., eight grandchildren, five great grandchildren along with a host of other family and friends.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Loret ta Lynn, the Kentucky coal min er’s daughter whose frank songs about life and love as a woman in Appalachia pulled her out of pov erty and made her a pillar of coun try music, has died. She was 90.

In a statement provided to The Associated Press, Lynn’s family said she died Tuesday at her home in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee.

“Our precious mom, Loret ta Lynn, passed away peaceful ly this morning, October 4th, in her sleep at home in her beloved ranch in Hurricane Mills,” the family said in a statement. They asked for privacy as they grieve and said a memorial will be an nounced later.

Lynn already had four children before launching her career in the early 1960s, and her songs reflect ed her pride in her rural Kentucky background.

As a songwriter, she crafted a persona of a defiantly tough wom an, a contrast to the stereotypi cal image of most female country singers. The Country Music Hall of Famer wrote fearlessly about sex and love, cheating husbands, divorce and birth control and sometimes got in trouble with ra dio programmers for material from which even rock performers once shied away.

Her biggest hits came in the 1960s and ‘70s, including “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” “You Ain’t Woman Enough,” “The Pill,” “Don’t Come Home a Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind),”

“Rated X” and “You’re Looking at Country.” She was known for appearing in floor-length, wide gowns with elaborate embroidery

or rhinestones, many created by her longtime personal assistant and designer Tim Cobb.

Her honesty and unique place in country music was reward ed. She was the first woman ever named entertainer of the year at the genre’s two major awards shows, first by the Country Mu sic Association in 1972 and then by the Academy of Country Music three years later.

“It was what I wanted to hear and what I knew other women wanted to hear, too,” Lynn told the AP in 2016. “I didn’t write for the men; I wrote for us women. And the men loved it, too.”

In 1969, she released her au tobiographical “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” which helped her reach her widest audience yet.

“We were poor but we had love/ That’s the one thing Daddy made sure of/He shoveled coal to make

a poor man’s dollar,” she sang.

“Coal Miner’s Daughter,” also the title of her 1976 book, was made into a 1980 movie of the same name. Sissy Spacek’s por trayal of Lynn won her an Acad emy Award and the film was also nominated for best picture.

Born Loretta Webb, the sec ond of eight children, she claimed her birthplace was Butcher Hol ler, near the coal mining company town of Van Lear in the mountains of east Kentucky. There real ly wasn’t a Butcher Holler, howev er. She later told a reporter that she made up the name for the purpos es of the song based on the names of the families that lived there.

Her daddy played the banjo, her mama played the guitar and she grew up on the songs of the Carter Family.

Her husband, whom she called “Doo” or “Doolittle,” urged her to

sing professionally and helped promote her early career. With his help, she earned a record ing contract with Decca Records, later MCA, and performed on the Grand Ole Opry stage. Lynn wrote her first hit single, “I’m a Honky Tonk Girl,” released in 1960.

She also teamed up with singer Conway Twitty to form one of the most popular duos in country mu sic with hits such as “Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man” and “After the Fire is Gone,” which earned them a Grammy Award. Their duets, and her single re cords, were always mainstream country and not crossover or poptinged.

The Academy of Country Mu sic chose her as the artist of the decade for the 1970s, and she was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1988.

She moved to Hurricane Mills, Tennessee, outside of Nashville, in the 1990s, where she set up a ranch complete with a replica of her childhood home and a mu seum that is a popular roadside tourist stop. The dresses she was known for wearing are there, too.

Her younger sister, Crystal Gayle, is also a Grammy-win ning popular country singer, scor ing crossover hits with songs like “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue” and “Half the Way.”

Lynn knew that her songs were trailblazing, especially for coun try music, but she was just writing the truth that so many rural wom en like her experienced.

“I could see that other women was goin’ through the same thing, ‘cause I worked the clubs. I wasn’t the only one that was livin’ that life and I’m not the only one that’s gonna be livin’ today what I’m writin’,” she told The AP in 1995.

She and her husband were mar ried nearly 50 years before he died in 1996. They had six children: Betty, Jack, Ernest and Clara, and then twins Patsy and Peggy. She had 17 grandchildren and four step-grandchildren.

Paradise’ rapper Coolio dies at age 59

The Associated Press

COOLIO, the rapper who was among hip-hop’s biggest names of the 1990s with hits including “Gangsta’s Paradise” and “Fan tastic Voyage,” died Wednesday at age 59, his manager said.

Coolio died at the Los Angeles home of a friend, longtime man ager Jarez Posey told The Associ ated Press.

Coolio won a Grammy for best solo rap performance for “Gang sta’s Paradise,” the 1995 hit from the soundtrack of the Michelle Pfeiffer film “Dangerous Minds” that sampled Stevie Wonder’s 1976 song “Pastime Paradise” and was played constantly on MTV.

The Grammy, and the height of his popularity, came in 1996, amid a fierce feud between the hip-hop communities of the two coasts, which would take the lives of Tupac Shakur and The Notori ous B.I.G. soon after.

Coolio managed to stay mostly above the conflict.

“I’d like to claim this Grammy on behalf of the whole hip-hop na tion, West Coast, East Coast, and

worldwide, united we stand, di vided we fall,” he said from the stage as he accepted the award.

Born Artis Leon Ivey Jr., in Monessen, Pennsylvania south of Pittsburgh, Coolio moved to Compton, California. He spent some time as a teen in Northern California, where his mother sent him because she felt the city was too dangerous.

He said in interviews that he

started rapping at 15 and knew by 18 it was what he wanted to do with his life, but would go to com munity college and work as a vol unteer firefighter and in airport security before devoting himself full-time to the hip-hop scene.

His career took off with the 1994 release of his debut album on Tommy Boy Records, “It Takes a Thief.” It’s opening track, “Fan tastic Voyage,” would reach No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.

A year later, “Gangsta’s Para dise” would become a No. 1 single, with its dark opening lyrics:

“As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I take a look at my life and realize there’s nothin’ left, ‘cause I’ve been blas tin’ and laughin’ so long, that even my mama thinks that my mind is gone.”

Social media lit up with reac tions to the unexpected death.

“This is sad news,” Ice Cube said on Twitter. “I witness first hand this man’s grind to the top of the industry. Rest In Peace, @ Coolio.”

“Weird Al” Yankovic tweeted “RIP Coolio” along with a picture

of the two men hugging. Coolio had said in an interview at the time it was released that he wasn’t cool with Yankovic’s 1996 “Gangsta’s Paradise” parody, “Amish Paradise.” But the two lat er made peace.

The rapper would never again have a song nearly as big as “Gangsta’s Paradise,” but had sub sequent hits with 1996’s “1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin’ New)” (1996), and 1997’s “C U When U Get There.”

His career album sales totaled 4.8 million, with 978 million on-demand streams of his songs, according to Luminate. He would be nominated for six Grammys overall.

And with his distinctive per sona he would become a cultural staple, acting occasionally, star ring in a reality show about par enting called “Coolio’s Rules,” pro viding a voice for an episode of the animated show “Gravity Falls” and providing the theme music for the Nickelodeon sitcom “Ke nan & Kel.”

He was married to Josefa Sali nas from 1996 to 2000. They had four children together.

AP PHOTO

Loretta Lynn waves to the crowd after performing during the Americana Music Honors and Awards show Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2014, in Nashville, Tenn.

AP PHOTO

Coolio appears at the 2015 ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif., on June 25, 2015.

Biden signs bill to avert government shutdown, aid Ukraine

By Kevin Freking The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Pres ident Joe Biden signed into law Friday a bill that finances the fed eral government through mid-De cember and provides another infu sion of military and economic aid to Ukraine after lawmakers acted to avert a partial government shut down set to begin after midnight.

The bill passed the House by a vote of 230-201 earlier in the day.

Republicans overwhelmingly op posed the measure. Some wanted to extend government funding into January when, based on the results of the midterm elections, it’s possi ble they’ll have more leverage over setting federal spending for the full fiscal year. Others argued the mea sure needed to do more to address border security.

Democrats said passing the bill was important to helping Ukraine as well as victims of recent natu ral disasters in the U.S., includ ing Hurricane Ian, as it provides a Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster fund with a year’s worth of money up front rather than for two-and-a-half months.

“Turn on the news. Look what’s happening in Florida right now.

Look at what happened to Puerto Rico. Look at what’s happening in

Alaska. I mean, people need help,” said Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass. “And look at what’s happening in Ukraine. Do we support helping preserve democracy in Ukraine or not? That’s what’s at stake here.”

But Republicans complained the bill brought to the floor was not subject to bipartisan negotiations in the House and didn’t reflect their

priorities.

“We know we have a crisis on the southern border. You can turn on the television every night. You can look at the fentanyl pouring into the country, You can see the trag edy of human trafficking. Is there anything in this bill that asks us to do anything different, anything new?” said Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla.

“No, you just ask, ‘please allow us to continue the current state of af fairs on the southern border.’ That is a travesty.”

In the end, support for the bill was unanimous among Democrat ic lawmakers. Only 10 Republican lawmakers joined them in voting yes.

The bill finances the federal gov ernment through Dec. 16 and buys lawmakers more time to agree on legislation setting spending lev els for the 2023 fiscal year. The bill generally keeps spending at current levels, though it does pro vide more than $12.3 billion in Ukraine-related aid. The money will go to provide training, equip ment and logistics support for the Ukraine military, help Ukraine’s government provide basic services to its citizens and replenish U.S. weapons systems and munitions.

“This contribution ensures we continue upholding our moral re sponsibility to support the people of Ukraine in the face of a vicious invasion that continues to demand decisive action by us,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the Democratic chair of the House Appropriations Committee.

Disaster assistance was also at tached to the stopgap bill, includ ing $2.5 billion to help New Mex ico communities recover from the

Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire, the largest wildfire in the state’s history; $2 billion for a block grant program that aids the economic re covery of communities impacted by recent disasters; and $20 mil lion for water and wastewater in frastructure improvements pre viously authorized for Jackson, Mississippi.

“We cannot leave communities behind that are still picking up the pieces from disastrous floods, wild fires and hurricane, and even basic water system failures,” said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla.

The bill would provide an addi tional $1 billion for a program that helps low-income households heat their homes. And it would transfer $3 billion from a Pentagon aid pro gram to the State Department for continued Afghan resettlement op erations.

Lawmakers also included a re authorization of the Food and Drug Administration’s user fee agreements for five years, which ensures the agency can continue critical product safety reviews and won’t need to issue pink slips for thousands of employees working on drug and medical device appli cations.

One thing missing from the bill is the billions of dollars in addi tional funding that Biden sought to aid the response to COVID-19 and monkeypox. Republicans criticized the health spending as unneces sary. The White House said the money would have been used to ac celerate the research and develop ment of vaccines and therapeutics, prepare for future COVID variants and support the global response.

Judge denies GOP appeal for signature checks on mail ballots

Associated

RALEIGH — North Carolina’s State Board of Elections directed county election officials on Monday not to engage in signature matching when reviewing absentee ballot en velopes this fall after a judge reject ed the GOP appeal of a state board ruling prohibiting the practice.

According to a directive sent to county election directors from the board’s legal counsel Paul Cox, the judge’s ruling maintains the status quo outlined in state law, which re quires that all absentee voters fill out their ballots in the presence of two witnesses or a notary. Absentee ballot request forms in North Caro lina must also include a date of birth and either a driver’s license number or the last four digits of the voter’s Social Security Number.

The North Carolina Republican Party had filed motions in Wake County Superior Court last week, asking the court to block the state board from enforcing its declara tory ruling that prevented county election officials from comparing signatures on absentee ballot re quest forms and return envelopes with the signatures included in vot er registration records.

Superior Court Judge Stephan Futrell ruled from the bench Mon day afternoon, denying the party’s motion for a temporary restraining order and preventing the use of sig nature matching in the 2022 gener

al election, state board spokesper son Pat Gannon said.

“Under state law, absentee voter identity is confirmed via the confi dential personal information pro vided by the voter in requesting a ballot, the voter’s attestation on the ballot envelope and the attestation of two witnesses or a notary that the voter voted the ballot,” Cox wrote in a directive obtained by The Associ

ated Press.

The board’s Democratic majority in July had rejected an initial signa ture matching proposal introduced by Republicans, citing concerns that it could create unequal voting access and allow partisan bias to contaminate the electoral process.

The legal challenge followed the state board’s July rejection of a Re publican Party request to autho

rize county officials to compare sig natures on absentee ballot request forms and container envelopes with the signatures included in voter reg istration records. Citing concerns that the proposal would create un equal voting access, the board de nied the request in a 3-2 party-line vote, with three Democrats voting against signature checks and two Republicans voting in favor.

Republicans, for their part, ar gue signature verification is anoth er necessary element of electoral transparency. In addition to push ing for its adoption, they are also fighting the state board’s proposed restrictions on party-appointed poll watchers.

“When we have those signatures on file, it is ludicrous not to be able to use them,” said North Carolina GOP Chairman Michael Whatley.

“This is a very common sense tool, and I think it’s inexplicable that the board had instructed not only that the boards don’t have to use it but that they can’t use it.”

The state board had unanimously passed two temporary rule changes in August, prohibiting poll watch ers from standing too close to vot ing machines where they could view marked ballots and granting elec tions officials greater authority to remove disruptive observers. But af ter the state’s Republican-appoint ed rules review panel shot down the proposed changes, the state board declined to appeal the decision, in

stead issuing revised guidance to county officials.

Anticipating several close rac es in November, both major parties spent the summer challenging elec tion laws in court.

Democrats came under fire ear lier this year for their bareknuck le efforts to block the Green Party from fielding a U.S. Senate candi date on the North Carolina ballot, warning that the party’s presence could divide progressive voters and allow a GOP victory. A feder al court ultimately denied Demo crats’ last-ditch legal efforts in Au gust, rejecting their request to block a lower court order prohibiting the state elections board from enforcing a candidate filing deadline.

North Carolina is voting this fall on its entire Legislature, two state supreme court races, all 14 U.S. House seats and a tight U.S. Sen ate contest — one of a handful that could determine which party as sumes control of the narrowly di vided chamber.

Republican state lawmakers are targeting suburban battleground districts where they hope to pick up the few seats they need for ve to-proof margins in the General As sembly. Democrats warn a Republi can supermajority would open the floodgates for a slew of conservative policies, including stricter abortion limits, and leave Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper without power to inter vene.

Caring for Seniors

AP PHOTO

Congress sent the bill avoiding a shutdown to President Biden’s desk, and he signed it into law.

AP PHOTO

Stickers reading “I Voted By Mail” are displayed as the Wayne County Board of Elections prepares absentee ballots, in Goldsboro.

In the wake of Hurricane Ian

Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist breaks ground on new care tower

Trinity Moravian purchasing and forgiving medical debt

Trinity Moravian church announced its Debt Jubilee Project, which runs through the end of October. The church hopes to raise $5,000, which would allow it to purchase $500,000 in medical debt. The church will purchase medical debt owed to providers by families in Forsyth County and then forgive that debt. The church says any extra money over the $5,000 that is raised will be applied to medical debt in nearby Davidson County. The chur h is partnering with RIP Medical Debt, which purchases medical debt for a penny on the dollar. A statement from the church pointed out that one in four Americans owes medical debt, and it is a factor behind half of all bankruptcies in the U.S.

TRINITY MORAVIAN

Wake Forest offers hybrid MBA program for professionals

The Wake Forest School of Business unveiled its new hybrid MBA program to help working professionals earn their degrees within their busy schedules.

The part-time program will offer a full range of in person and hybrid courses and offers flexibility for professionals.

It will feature 60% in-person instruction at Wake’s Charlotte Center campus and 40% asynchronous learning that students can complete at any time during the non-classroom weeks. Students can complete the program in as little as 20 months. The program will begin in the Spring semester, 2023.

Twin City Herald

ATRIUM HEALTH leaders broke ground to signify the of ficial beginning of construction on the new $450 million care tower on the campus of Atri um Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

For the past six months, crews have been removing a parking deck, completing the new heli pad and preparing the site for construction.

The care tower will include an upgraded emergency depart ment, state-of-the-art operat ing rooms and enhanced adult intensive care units. In addi tion, larger and brighter rooms with more natural light and in creased privacy, along with new outdoor green space, will help promote wellness and heal ing and reduce stress on pa tients, their families and staff.

The project is the first in a series of significant investments in the

Triad region as a result of Atri um Health Wake Forest Baptist’s strategic combination with Atri um Health.

“Today’s groundbreaking of our new care tower is not just a

brick-and-mortar investment in Winston-Salem, it’s a reflection of our commitment to the entire Triad region and part of a series of investments that will bene fit both patients and the broad

Retention and hiring bonuses approved for detention center staff

Commissioners approve multiple appointments to various boards

By Ryan Henkel North State Journal

WINSTON-SALEM — The Forsyth County Board of Com missioners met Thursday with the key action item being the com missioner’s support of the deten tion center in the way of approval of bonus pay to help with staffing shortages.

The first item on the agenda was a public hearing for a rezon ing request by Novakovich En terprises, Inc, to rezone proper

ty located on the west side of NC 66 South and South of Bunker Hill-Sandy Ridge Road from AG to NO-S.

“This is a rezoning request for a one acre piece of property on the west-side of NC 66 South, south of the Bunker Hill-Sandy Ridge Road intersection to rezone from Agricultural G to Neighborhood Office Special Use,” said Direc tor of City/County Planning Chris Murphy. “The estimated trip gen eration for the proposed use is comparable to that of the exist ing uses of the church, the site is served by a major thoroughfare that does have ample capacity and the request is consistent with the low-intensity commercial and of

fice uses recommended in the Southeast Forsyth County Area Plan Update.”

Following the hearing, the board approved the rezoning and special use request.

In line with Sheriff Bobby Kim brough Jr.’s request from the last meeting, the board approved a re cruitment and retention bonus for law enforcement detention cen ter staff with the Forsyth Coun ty Sheriff’s Office on the condition that a detention center job satis faction analysis is conducted.

“We’re obviously dealing with a really tough labor market and so the Sheriff’s Office and Hu man Resources worked togeth er to develop something that mir

er community,” said Eugene A. Woods, president & CEO of Atrium Health. “Atrium Health is proud to be a member of the Winston-Salem community. And through our $3.4 billion in vestment into the region, we will not only provide excellent clini cal care, but also help drive the local economy by creating more jobs, bringing training to the next generation of medical pro fessionals and reinforcing Win ston-Salem as the destination for care in the country.”

Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center is the region’s only Level I adult trauma center and Lev el I pediatric trauma center and one of only two burn centers in the state. Wake Forest Univer sity School of Medicine is a rec ognized leader in experiential learning and groundbreaking research and is the academic core of Atrium Health.

“As the only academic learning

rors what Guilford County has done,” said County Manager Dud ley Watts. “It has two components, a new-hire bonus at an estimated cost of $523,813 and then a reten tion payment for existing staff at an estimated cost of a little over $1.1 million.”

The payments will be divided among current and new hires for the detention center and help ad dress staffing issues.

The board approved two bud get amendments, one being to the FY 2022-23 Budget Ordinance in order to change the authorized number of register of deeds posi tions to 21 full-time positions – the addition of one more full-time po sition and the second being to the Pandemic Response Special Rev enue Fund in order to appropri ate $298,018 in supplemental nu trition assistance program ARPA funding to the Forsyth County Department of Social Services.

Residents are evacuated by airboat through floodwaters along the Peace River in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Arcadia, Fla., Monday, Oct. 3, 2022.

GERALD

PHOTO COURTESY ATRIUM HEALTH

Local officials break group on the new care tower at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist

♦ Kathy Lynn “MawMaw” Brown Angel, 70, of Forsyth County, died September 30, 2022.

♦ Helen Jackson Benbow, 87, of Winston-Salem, died September 28, 2022.

♦ Donna Bray Chadwick, 90, of Winston-Salem, died October 1, 2022.

♦ Audine Minton Cox, 80, of Rural Hall, died September 29, 2022.

♦ Richard Eugene Cox, 79, died September 29, 2022.

♦ Johnnie Jean Poindexter Curry, 87, of Winston-Salem, died October 2, 2022.

♦ Murphy Ann Stephens Hastings, 90, of Kernersville, died October 1, 2022.

♦ Loraine Hughes Hobson, 90, September 30, 2022.

♦ Tonya Pfaff Hooker, 65, died September 28, 2022.

♦ Jesse Henry James, 92, of Winston-Salem died October 2, 2022.

♦ Lillie Mae Fussell Joyce, 90, of Winston-Salem, died October 2, 2022.

♦ Richard G. Lumley, 77 of Germanton, died September 30, 2022.

♦ Joe Paul Martin, 61, of Lexington, died September 29, 2022.

♦ Marjean Link McMillan, 87, of Caldwell County, died September 29, 2022.

♦ George Robert “Bob” Owen, 90, of Clemmons, died October 2, 2022.

♦ Sammy Dean Parrish, 63, of Stanleyville, died September 30, 2022.

Who are the neofascists?

In just the last few weeks, Liz Truss, Britain’s new prime minister, has been denounced by critics as a “fascist.” So has Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s newly elected prime minister. Along with all Republicans in Congress, Texas and Florida GOP Govs. Greg Abbott and Ron DeSantis, and, of course, former President Donald Trump. Every one of the tens of thousands of “MAGA Republicans” who attend Trump rallies, too.

down schools, businesses, restaurants, and churches during COVID-19. A government that is now telling us what kind of light bulbs we can put in our homes, what temperature we can set our thermostat in our living rooms, what kind of car we can buy and what kind of drugs we need to be inserted into our arms.

Who is the leader who is vastly supersizing our centralized government? Biden and congressional Democrats have already spent $4 trillion expanding nearly all the power structures of government in Washington.

If this isn’t fascistic, what is?

Democrats and other leftist parties around the world accuse the Right of wanting to expand government powers when that is precisely the overriding objective of the modern-day American Left.

Dangerous fascists, for that matter, all of whom critics say need to be shut up.

Truss is a fascist because she wants to cut taxes. Meloni is a fascist and is getting banned from several social media platforms because she gave a rousing speech endorsing God, family, and country. What a dangerous tyrant. Republicans in Congress are fascists because they support work for welfare and are trying to block the Green New Deal.

Hillary Clinton said after a recent Trump rally in Ohio, “I remember as a young student ... I’d watch newsreels and I’d see this guy standing up there ranting and raving, and people shouting and raising their arms.” Trump’s defeated 2016 Democratic presidential rival was referring to Hitler.

“You saw the rally in Ohio the other night,” added Clinton, the former first lady, senator, and secretary of state. “Trump is there ranting and raving for more than an hour, and you have these rows of young men with their arms raised.” She didn’t quite say it, but the implied message was clear: These crazy Trump supporters wanted to say, “Heil Hitler.”

At least President Joe Biden doesn’t call his political adversaries fascists. They are only “semifascists.” What a relief.

Aren’t these the same people who have urged raising the level of civil discourse? Wasn’t Biden supposed to “unify” the country with Trump out of the picture?

What is so infuriating about these slurs is that the Left doesn’t even understand what a fascist is. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, fascism is “a political philosophy, movement, or regime that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government.” The Britannica Dictionary defines fascism as “a way of organizing a society in which a government ruled by a dictator controls the lives of the people and in which people are not allowed to disagree with the government.”

Let all that sink in for a minute. Who are the fascists here? A government that “controls the lives of the people.”

Let’s see — we have a group of politicians who shut

WEEKLY CRIME LOG

♦ ADAMO, ALICE MARY was arrested on a charge of 2ND DEGREE TRESPASS at 4550 KESTER MILL RD on 9/30/2022

♦ ADAMS, ANTONIO ZANVESTER was arrested on a charge of 2ND DEGREE TRESPASS at 780 N MARTIN LUTHER KING JR DR on 10/2/2022

♦ BAILEY, REGINALD MALCOLM was arrested on a charge of 2ND DEGREE TRESPASS at 2101 PETERS CREEK PW on 10/1/2022

♦ BONNER, RICO ANTOINE was arrested on a charge of P/W/I/S/D MARIJUANA at 2800 PIEDMONT CR on 10/2/2022

♦ BRYANT, CHAMARAY DEVON was

arrested on a charge of ASSAULTSIMPLE at 1100 E FOURTEENTH ST on 9/30/2022

♦ CARPENTER, WILLIAM ANTONIO was arrested on a charge of WEAPPOSS BY FELON at WAUGHTOWN ST on 10/2/2022

♦ Clayton, Nicholas Tate (M/22) Arrest on chrg of 1) Breaking/larc-felony (F), 2) Possession Marijuana (M), and 3) Ccw (M), at 4500 Oakley Ct, Walkertown, NC, on 9/28/2022 17:24.

♦ COVINGTON, DUVONTAE DAQUON was arrested on a charge of CCW at 699 N TRADE ST/W SEVENTH ST on 10/2/2022

But here’s the rub. The definition of “fascism” has gradually been evolving over time. Nowadays, according to the Collins Dictionary, fascism “is a set of right-wing political beliefs that includes strong controls of society and the economy by the state” (emphasis added).

By this definition, leftists can’t be accused of being fascists because they want to use government for virtuous ends, while the Right wants to use government to further enrich the rich, spread racism, and deny science.

What we have here is a clinical case of “projecting.” Democrats and other leftist parties around the world accuse the Right of wanting to expand government powers when that is precisely the overriding objective of the modern-day American Left.

It is prototypically fascistic. Elevate race and skin color into the public debate. Trample civil liberties. Squash those who disagree with the reigning government. Partner up Big Government with Big Business and micromanage the economy through dictates from the central planners. Put your political enemies in handcuffs and jail without a trial. Trample over the traditional guardrails that were installed to protect liberty — by changing voting rules, ending the 60-vote filibuster in the Senate, and discrediting and trying to pack the Supreme Court. Declare everything, including COVID-19 and climate change, an existential threat to justify more power to the politicians.

So what is a fascist really? The Left says it is anyone who opposes what they want to do to expand government.

But the real definition of a fascist is a leader who wants to exploit governmental power to suppress the basic liberties of individuals. It is the partnership of government and private industry for political power and monetary gain. To find it in modern-day America, the folks at the White House may want to look in the mirror.

Stephen Moore is a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation and an economist with FreedomWorks. His latest book is “Govzilla: How the Relentless Growth of Government is Devouring our Economy.”

♦ CROSBY, BRANDON DENARD was arrested on a charge of ASSAULT ON FEMALE at 2500 N LIBERTY ST on 10/3/2022

♦ DANZY, SHAQUANA JASMINE was arrested on a charge of 2ND DEGREE TRESPASS at 100 W FIFTH ST on 9/29/2022

♦ Fletcher, Brian Keith (M/51) Arrest on chrg of Aid And Abet Larceny ($1,000 Or Less), M (M), at 9499 Reynolda Rd/ridge Rd, Tobaccoville, NC, on 9/28/2022 15:09.

♦ GAINEY, TYREZ KANARD was arrested on a charge of VIO.

PROTECTIVE ORDER BY COURTS ANOTHER STATE/ INDIAN TRIBE at 3950 SUGARCREEK DR on

10/1/2022

♦ Garcia Contreras, Alys Rosario (F/39) Arrest on chrg of Assault-simple (M), at 831 Hawk Ridge Cr, Winstonsalem, NC, on 9/28/2022 19:49.

♦ GARSIA, PEDRO ALEJOS was arrested on a charge of IMPAIRED DRIVING DWI at 2000 NEW WALKERTOWN RD on 10/1/2022

♦ HAIRSTON, ANTWAN JERMAINE was arrested on a charge of DRUGS-POSS SCHED II at 3810 N PATTERSON AV on 9/29/2022

♦ HARRIS, REGINALD JACK was arrested on a charge of TRESPASS at 2101 PETERS CREEK PW on 9/29/2022

Each year, around 100,000 patients come through the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center emergency department; more than 4,300 injured adults and children are cared for at the Level I trauma center; and more than 500 adults and chil

dren are cared for in the burn center.

“The emergency depart ment, operating room and in tensive care areas are among the most stressful and tense ar eas for patients and teammates alike,” said Cathleen A. Wheat ley, president of Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. “We know that larger, brighter areas for staff, more natural light in patient areas, and access to outdoor green space for teammates and fam ilies help reduce stress and pro mote both wellness and heal ing. Our new facility will offer all of this.”

The general contractor for the project is a joint venture be tween Brasfield & Gorrie and Frank L. Blum Construction Co. and the architects are HKS and CPL. Hundreds of local construction and design work ers are involved in the project.

The care tower project is ex pected to be fully completed in 2026.

The board then dealt with two grant items, the first being the ac ceptance of a Special Appropria tions Grant agreement with Hus tle Winston-Salem and the second being to authorize the execution of necessary documents to apply for and accept, if awarded, a grant from the Winston-Salem Founda tion, Inc. for improvements to The Arboretum at Tanglewood Park.

“The Winston-Salem Founda tion has been a big supporter of that part of the park,” Watts said. “This would provide $15,000 for permanent irrigation to be placed in that area.”

COMMISSIONERS from page 1CARE TOWER from page 1 health system in the region, pa tients come to us from near and far to receive care from some of the most renowned faculty and dedicated staff in the coun try,” said Dr. Julie Ann Freis chlag, CEO of Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, dean of Wake Forest University School of Medicine and chief academic officer at Atrium Health. “This new facility will allow us to en hance our clinical capabilities, build on our expertise, expand our educational and research opportunities and continue to attract the best and brightest learners, who are the next gen eration of health care profes sionals.”

The board also approved three agreements, one between Forsyth County and IntelliChoice Staff ing, LLC, to provide supplemen tal school nurse staffing, one with the University of North Caroli na at Greensboro for the develop ment of the cure violence study and evaluation of gun violence in For syth County and one with I.L. Long Construction Co., Inc., to act as the

design-builder and to provide de sign and preconstruction phase services for the Highland Avenue Center upfit project.

The board approved three prop erty matters, the first being a res olution declaring certain coun ty-owned property as surplus and authorizing its disposition by pub lic electronic auction utilizing Li quidity Services Operations, LLC, the next being the acceptance of a donation of 0.49 acres of real prop erty located at 3309 North Liber ty Street from Oak Summit Asso ciates, LLC and the last being the purchase of 0.4 acres of real prop erty located at 0 Ansonia Street and adjacent to Smith Reynolds Airport, for $5,400.

Finally, the board approved mul tiple volunteer positions to various Forsyth County boards and com mittees.

The board approved Shannon Maloney to the Animal Services Advisory Board for a two-year term, Kim Jackson to the For syth Technical Community Col lege Board of Trustees for a four-

year term, Kaushal Mehta to the Kaleideum Board of Directors for a three-year term, Katherine Lam be and Dominique Walker to the Library Board for two-year terms, David Hiller to the Piedmont Tri ad Regional Workforce Develop ment Board for a two-year term, and Louis Baldwin, John Wise and Daryl Gomersall to the Tourism Development Authority.

The county still has open ap pointments for the Adult Care Home Community Advisory Com mittee, Community Appearance Commission, Community Child Protection Team/Child Fatali ty Prevention Team, Experiment in Self-Reliance, Forsyth County Home and Community Care Block Grant Advisory Council, Forsyth County Juvenile Crime Prevention Council, Industrial Facilities and Pollution Control Financing Au thority, Nursing Home Communi ty Advisory Committee, and Zon ing Board of Adjustment.

The Forsyth County Board of Commissioners will next meet Oc tober 13.

SPORTS

SIDELINE REPORT

FOOTBALL

Wisconsin fires Chryst in 8th season

Madison, Wisc. Wisconsin has fired head coach Paul Chryst after a 2-3 start to his eighth season leading his alma mater. The surprising move comes a day after Wisconsin lost at home 34-10 to Illinois and former Badgers coach Bret Bielema. Chryst is 67-26 since taking over as coach of the Badgers in 2015. Chryst had double-digit win seasons in four of his first five years at Wisconsin and has gone 3319 since, including 15-12 in the last 27 games. Defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard, another former Badgers player, was named interim coach.

NBA NBA returning briefly to Seattle; questions of future loom

Seattle The NBA made its latest brief return to Seattle Monday night when the Los Angeles Clippers faced the Portland Trail Blazers. The matchup was the first NBA contest in Seattle since 2018, when the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings played a preseason game that was the last sporting event inside KeyArena before it was gutted and rebuilt into Climate Pledge Arena. The 2018 game was the first in Seattle since the SuperSonics left for Oklahoma City in 2008. Speculation is nonstop about when the NBA will choose to expand, and Seattle and Las Vegas are at the forefront of potential destinations.

NFL Broncos’ RB Williams reportedly out for year Englewood, Colo. A person with knowledge of the medical results told The Associated Press that Broncos standout running back Javonte Williams is done for the season after tearing his right ACL on Sunday at Las Vegas. Williams got hurt on the first play of the third quarter when he was tackled for a loss on a handoff from Russell Wilson. Williams stayed down and then didn’t put any weight on his right leg as he was helped off the field. He went for an MRI on Monday after returning to Denver.

WNBA Russian court sets appeal date for Griner

Moscow A Russian court has set a date for American basketball star Brittney Griner’s appeal against her nine-year prison sentence for drug possession. It has been scheduled for Oct. 25. Griner is an eighttime all-star center with the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and a two-time Olympic gold medalist. She was convicted Aug. 4 after police said they found vape canisters containing cannabis oil in her luggage at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport. The Moscow region court said Monday it will hear her appeal. Griner’s lawyers argued after the conviction that the punishment was excessive.

Elliott into Round of 8 with Talladega victory

Driver concerns about safety hung over the playoff race

By Jenna Fryer The Associated Press

TALLADEGA, Ala. — As the stars of NASCAR raged over safe ty concerns with the new car, ru mors swirled the drivers would or ganize some sort of protest at one of the most dangerous tracks on the circuit.

Perhaps they’d outright boycott Talladega Superspeedway.

Or maybe they’d send their mes sage to NASCAR by refusing to se riously race on Sunday.

But all 37 drivers showed up at their cars as scheduled. It’s the playoffs, after all, and there’s a championship to be won.

And it was Chase Elliott, NA SCAR’s most popular driver who a day earlier accused series leader ship of taking a step backward in safety, who drove to Victory Lane

and earned the automatic berth into the third round of the playoffs.

Elliott, who typically avoids controversial conversations, joined the growing chorus of veteran drivers who found NASCAR’s slow response to their concerns unac ceptable. Alex Bowman, his team mate at Hendrick Motorsports, and Kurt Busch missed Sunday’s race with concussions, and Cody Shane Ware competed with a bro ken foot. Busch has missed 11 con secutive races.

Rick Hendrick said he wasn’t surprised when his 26-year-old su perstar took a rare public stance.

“I think these guys are con cerned and he sees a teammate hurt, and he’s a young guy with a career ahead of him,” Hendrick said. “I think this has been on Chase’s mind. I’m proud of him. He doesn’t say much, but when he speaks, everybody knows he’s not just popping off. He’s concerned.”

The race was one of the cleanest in memory at Talladega and cer

tainly the least dramatic through the first five races of the playoffs.

NASCAR’s new Next Gen car de veloped a rash of problems in the first four playoff races, and Bow man’s concussion seemed to push the drivers to their breaking point.

NASCAR is scheduled to test this week a potential solution to the stiffness of the cars that drivers claim they’ve complained about all through the development of the Next Gen.

That did little to calm the driv ers leading into Talladega, one of the most unpredictable and chaot ic tracks on the calendar. The driv ers certainly could have deliber ately taken it easy, but they truly raced.

There were 57 lead changes among 17 drivers and of the six cautions, only one was for a mul ticar crash.

“That was a pretty calm Tal ladega race,” Elliott said. “That’s something different.”

Elliott was fifth on the final re start with two laps remaining and claimed control of the outside lane to stalk leader Ryan Blaney. The 2020 Cup champion surged ahead with a push from Erik Jones on the final lap, threw a block on Blaney’s attempt to reclaim the lead and then beat Blaney to the finish line

Abuse in NWSL was systemic, report says

by .046 seconds.

Elliott is the first driver through five playoff races to automatically advance into the next round with a victory, and he reclaimed the lead atop the Cup standings. The first four races were won by drivers not eligible for the championship in a chaotic start to the 10-race post season.

“It gets you through to the next (round) and that’s all you can ask for is just to add more opportuni ties,” Elliott said. “So it’s a big deal and we’re excited for these final handful of events and hopefully we can give it a run.”

Next week’s elimination play off race is Sunday at The Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The field will be trimmed from 12 to eight after the race. Kyle Larson is the defending race winner, while Elliott has two wins on the hybrid course and Blaney won the inau gural 2018 event.

ment. “As the national governing body for our sport, U.S. Soccer is fully committed to doing every thing in its power to ensure that all players — at all levels — have a safe and respectful place to learn, grow and compete.”

By Anne M. Peterson The Associated Press

AN INDEPENDENT investiga tion into the scandals that erupt ed in the National Women’s Soccer League last season found emotion al abuse and sexual misconduct were systemic in the sport, im pacting multiple teams, coaches and players, according to a report released Monday.

“Abuse in the NWSL is rooted in a deeper culture in women’s soccer, beginning in youth leagues, that normalizes verbally abusive coach ing and blurs boundaries between coaches and players,” former act ing U.S. Attorney General Sally Q. Yates wrote in her report on the in vestigation.

U.S. Soccer commissioned the investigation by Yates and the law firm King & Spaulding after for mer NWSL players Sinead Farrel ly and Mana Shim came forward with allegations of harassment and sexual coercion dating back a decade involving former coach Paul Riley. Their account was pub lished by The Athletic in Septem ber 2021.

Riley, who denied the allega tions, was quickly fired as head coach of the North Carolina Cour age, and NWSL Commissioner Lisa Baird stepped down.

season either were fired or stepped down amid allegations of miscon duct.

“The verbal and emotion al abuse players describe in the NWSL is not merely ‘tough’ coach ing. And the players affected are not shrinking violets. They are among the best athletes in the world,” Yates wrote.

The report made numerous rec ommendations to prioritize player health and safety. Among them is the requirement that teams accu rately disclose coach misconduct to the league and the soccer feder ation to ensure coaches aren’t al lowed to move between teams. It also calls for meaningful vetting of coaches and timely investigation into allegations of abuse.

The NWSL said it was in the process of reviewing the report. The league and the NWSL Players Association is also conducting an investigation.

But it was clear the problems were widespread.

Five of the 10 head coaches in the NWSL last

More than 200 people were in terviewed by investigators. Some two dozen entities and individu als provided documents. U.S. Soc cer also provided documents and the firm reviewed 89,000 deemed likely to be relevant.

U.S. Soccer President Cindy

Parlow Cone called the findings “heartbreaking and deeply trou bling.”

“The abuse described is inexcus able and has no place on any play ing field, in any training facility or workplace,” she said in a state

“We recognize the anxiety and mental strain that these pending investigations have caused and the trauma that many — includ ing players and staff — are having to relive. We continue to admire their courage in coming forward to share their stories and influ ence all the changes necessary to keep moving our league forward,” NWSL Commissioner Jessica Ber man said in a statement. “Estab lishing trust and confidence be tween the league, its players and other key stakeholders remains a central focus for the NWSL, and we know that we must learn from and take responsibility for the painful lessons of the past in or der to move the League into a bet ter future.”

The investigation focused on three former coaches, Riley, Chris ty Holly of Racing Louisville and Rory Dames of the Chicago Red Stars.

The investigation looked at several coaches, including former North Carolina Courage coach Paul Riley

“The verbal and emotional abuse players describe in the NWSL is not merely ‘tough’ coaching.”

Sally Q. Yates

“That was a pretty calm Talladega race. That’s something different.”

Chase Elliott

STEVEN SENNE | AP PHOTO

Former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates led an independent investigation into the scandals that erupted in the National Women’s Soccer League last season that showed that emotional abuse and sexual misconduct was systemic in the sport.

BUTCH DILL | AP PHOTO

Chase Elliott celebrates in Victory Lane after winning Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega.

STATE & NATION

Biden signs bill to avert government shutdown, aid Ukraine

By Kevin Freking The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Pres

ident Joe Biden signed into law Friday a bill that finances the fed eral government through mid-De cember and provides another infu sion of military and economic aid to Ukraine after lawmakers acted to avert a partial government shut down set to begin after midnight.

The bill passed the House by a vote of 230-201 earlier in the day.

Republicans overwhelmingly op posed the measure. Some wanted to extend government funding into January when, based on the results of the midterm elections, it’s possi ble they’ll have more leverage over setting federal spending for the full fiscal year. Others argued the mea sure needed to do more to address border security.

Democrats said passing the bill was important to helping Ukraine as well as victims of recent natu ral disasters in the U.S., includ ing Hurricane Ian, as it provides a Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster fund with a year’s worth of money up front rather than for two-and-a-half months.

“Turn on the news. Look what’s happening in Florida right now.

Look at what happened to Puerto Rico. Look at what’s happening in

Alaska. I mean, people need help,” said Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass. “And look at what’s happening in Ukraine. Do we support helping preserve democracy in Ukraine or not? That’s what’s at stake here.”

But Republicans complained the bill brought to the floor was not subject to bipartisan negotiations in the House and didn’t reflect their

priorities.

“We know we have a crisis on the southern border. You can turn on the television every night. You can look at the fentanyl pouring into the country, You can see the trag edy of human trafficking. Is there anything in this bill that asks us to do anything different, anything new?” said Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla.

“No, you just ask, ‘please allow us to continue the current state of af fairs on the southern border.’ That is a travesty.”

In the end, support for the bill was unanimous among Democrat ic lawmakers. Only 10 Republican lawmakers joined them in voting yes.

The bill finances the federal gov ernment through Dec. 16 and buys lawmakers more time to agree on legislation setting spending lev els for the 2023 fiscal year. The bill generally keeps spending at current levels, though it does pro vide more than $12.3 billion in Ukraine-related aid. The money will go to provide training, equip ment and logistics support for the Ukraine military, help Ukraine’s government provide basic services to its citizens and replenish U.S. weapons systems and munitions.

“This contribution ensures we continue upholding our moral re sponsibility to support the people of Ukraine in the face of a vicious invasion that continues to demand decisive action by us,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the Democratic chair of the House Appropriations Committee.

Disaster assistance was also at tached to the stopgap bill, includ ing $2.5 billion to help New Mex ico communities recover from the

Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire, the largest wildfire in the state’s history; $2 billion for a block grant program that aids the economic re covery of communities impacted by recent disasters; and $20 mil lion for water and wastewater in frastructure improvements pre viously authorized for Jackson, Mississippi.

“We cannot leave communities behind that are still picking up the pieces from disastrous floods, wild fires and hurricane, and even basic water system failures,” said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla.

The bill would provide an addi tional $1 billion for a program that helps low-income households heat their homes. And it would transfer $3 billion from a Pentagon aid pro gram to the State Department for continued Afghan resettlement op erations.

Lawmakers also included a re authorization of the Food and Drug Administration’s user fee agreements for five years, which ensures the agency can continue critical product safety reviews and won’t need to issue pink slips for thousands of employees working on drug and medical device appli cations.

One thing missing from the bill is the billions of dollars in addi tional funding that Biden sought to aid the response to COVID-19 and monkeypox. Republicans criticized the health spending as unneces sary. The White House said the money would have been used to ac celerate the research and develop ment of vaccines and therapeutics, prepare for future COVID variants and support the global response.

Judge denies GOP appeal for signature checks on mail ballots

The Associated Press

RALEIGH — North Carolina’s State Board of Elections directed county election officials on Monday not to engage in signature matching when reviewing absentee ballot en velopes this fall after a judge reject ed the GOP appeal of a state board ruling prohibiting the practice.

According to a directive sent to county election directors from the board’s legal counsel Paul Cox, the judge’s ruling maintains the status quo outlined in state law, which re quires that all absentee voters fill out their ballots in the presence of two witnesses or a notary. Absentee ballot request forms in North Caro lina must also include a date of birth and either a driver’s license number or the last four digits of the voter’s Social Security Number.

The North Carolina Republican Party had filed motions in Wake County Superior Court last week, asking the court to block the state board from enforcing its declara tory ruling that prevented county election officials from comparing signatures on absentee ballot re quest forms and return envelopes with the signatures included in vot er registration records.

Superior Court Judge Stephan Futrell ruled from the bench Mon day afternoon, denying the party’s motion for a temporary restraining order and preventing the use of sig nature matching in the 2022 gener al election, state board spokesper son Pat Gannon said.

“Under state law, absentee voter identity is confirmed via the confi dential personal information pro vided by the voter in requesting a ballot, the voter’s attestation on the

ballot envelope and the attestation of two witnesses or a notary that the voter voted the ballot,” Cox wrote in a directive obtained by The Associ ated Press.

The board’s Democratic majority in July had rejected an initial signa ture matching proposal introduced by Republicans, citing concerns that it could create unequal voting access and allow partisan bias to contaminate the electoral process.

The legal challenge followed the state board’s July rejection of a Re publican Party request to autho rize county officials to compare sig

natures on absentee ballot request forms and container envelopes with the signatures included in voter reg istration records. Citing concerns that the proposal would create un equal voting access, the board de nied the request in a 3-2 party-line vote, with three Democrats voting against signature checks and two Republicans voting in favor.

Republicans, for their part, ar gue signature verification is anoth er necessary element of electoral transparency. In addition to push ing for its adoption, they are also fighting the state board’s proposed

restrictions on party-appointed poll watchers.

“When we have those signatures on file, it is ludicrous not to be able to use them,” said North Carolina GOP Chairman Michael Whatley.

“This is a very common sense tool, and I think it’s inexplicable that the board had instructed not only that the boards don’t have to use it but that they can’t use it.”

The state board had unanimously passed two temporary rule changes in August, prohibiting poll watch ers from standing too close to vot ing machines where they could view

marked ballots and granting elec tions officials greater authority to remove disruptive observers. But af ter the state’s Republican-appoint ed rules review panel shot down the proposed changes, the state board declined to appeal the decision, in stead issuing revised guidance to county officials.

Anticipating several close rac es in November, both major parties spent the summer challenging elec tion laws in court.

Democrats came under fire ear lier this year for their bareknuck le efforts to block the Green Party from fielding a U.S. Senate candi date on the North Carolina ballot, warning that the party’s presence could divide progressive voters and allow a GOP victory. A feder al court ultimately denied Demo crats’ last-ditch legal efforts in Au gust, rejecting their request to block a lower court order prohibiting the state elections board from enforcing a candidate filing deadline.

North Carolina is voting this fall on its entire Legislature, two state supreme court races, all 14 U.S. House seats and a tight U.S. Sen ate contest — one of a handful that could determine which party as sumes control of the narrowly di vided chamber.

Republican state lawmakers are targeting suburban battleground districts where they hope to pick up the few seats they need for ve to-proof margins in the General As sembly.

Democrats warn a Republi can supermajority would open the floodgates for a slew of conservative policies, including stricter abortion limits, and leave Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper without power to inter vene.

AP PHOTO

Congress sent the bill avoiding a shutdown to President Biden’s desk, and he signed it into law.

AP PHOTO

Stickers reading “I Voted By Mail” are displayed as the Wayne County Board of Elections prepares absentee ballots, in Goldsboro.

WHAT’S

Moore municipalities to receive over $1.8M in street aid

The North Carolina Department of Transportation is distributing more than $154 million in state street aid to municipalities, known as Powell Bill funds, across the state. Moore County is set to receive $1,819,770 in funding across two allotments; one of which was paid last week and the other due in January. These Powell Bill funds are primarily allocated for resurfacing municipal streets but can also be used to maintain, repair, and construct bridges or drainage areas. In addition, municipalities can also use funds to maintain or construct bike paths, greenways, or sidewalks. The amount each municipality receives is based on a formula established by state law that considers the population of the municipality and the number of maintained street miles. The funds are named after Junius K. Powell, a former state senator and mayor of Whiteville, who was the primary sponsor of a 1951 bill to help the state’s urban road problems.

Piranha caught in Aberdeen Lake

According to social media posts from the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission, a piranha was recently caught in Aberdeen Lake in Moore County. Wildlife officials believe that the fish was likely kept as a pet nearby but was ultimately dumped into the lake by its owners once it outgrew its tank. At this time, fish biologists are not concerned that the species will establish itself in the lake because of the upcoming winter conditions in the state and the warm water requirements piranhas need to survive.

Comments on social media, however, reveal that many members of the public are skeptical about the number of piranhas in the lake and their abilities to survive the winter.

The NC Wildlife Resource Commission also reminded citizens that it is illegal to release piranhas in the state’s public and private waters.

MOORE COUNTY

Miss Moore County crowned

Brittany Putnam was crowned Miss Moore County this past Saturday night at the Bradshaw Performing Arts Center at Sandhills Community College. She thanked her supporters on Facebook saying, “I cannot wait to serve not only Moore County but my state of North Carolina.”

Pinehurst Council hears proposed amendments to PDO for short-term rental regulations

Pinehurst South Small Area plan approved

North State Journal

PINEHURST — The Village of Pinehurst Council met Tuesday, September 27, with a public hear ing on the agenda to hear the pro posed amendments to the Pine hurst Development Ordinance in relation to regulating short-term rentals.

The council held a public hear ing to listen to proposed amend ments to the PDO to establish reg ulations for Short Term Rentals as well as hear public feedback on them.

“Concerns surrounding an un regulated land-use, short-term rentals, and its impacts on the sin gle-family neighborhood’s quali ty of life have been expressed over the past several months to the council,” said Planning and In spections Director Darryn Burich.

REMC restores power to one-third of system after Ian

ASHEBORO — Randolph Electric Membership Corpora tion crews worked through Sat urday night to restore power to members. By the early hours of Sunday morning, all members in Randolph, Moore, Montgomery, Chatham, and Alamance Coun ties had received power.

During the Ian storm event, Randolph Electric experienced a total of 268 separate outages, af fecting 10,736 meters or 32 per cent of REMC’s total accounts served. Ian’s gusty winds, satu rating rains and isolated flooding swept through the REMC service area Friday through Saturday.

REMC’s system sustained nu merous fallen trees, downed lines and broken power poles through out its system.

Additional line personnel from sister cooperatives Union Power and Edgecombe-Martin County EMC in North Carolina, along with crew members Sum ter Utilities in South Carolina, joined REMC line crew and con tractors in restoration efforts.

“I am happy to report that as of 5:19 a.m. today [October 2], 100 percent of our members have power,” said Dale Lambert, CEO. “I am proud and appreciative of

our line personnel and support team for going the extra mile for our members,” said Dale Lam bert, CEO.

“About one-third of our mem bers experienced an outage from this storm. As always, our team worked as safely and efficiently as possible to repair the damage,” continued Lambert.

There are still many trees that were damaged which could fall and cause new outages. In the coming week, REMC asks mem bers to report any issue they see on their property that could po tentially cause an issue.

For more information regard ing REMC updates, please fol low them on social media, view their online outage map, tune into local news stations, or Call 1-877-REMC-OFF (1-877-7362633) to report an outage.

“Responding to these concerns, the council initiated policy chang es to address the concerns over single-family residential neigh borhood’s quality of life. They started with municipal code amendments, which addressed such things as overnight park ing and unruly gatherings. Then we started drafting PDO amend ments with staff which is the sub ject of this public hearing.”

Recommendations from the

Planning and Zoning Board in clude allowing STRs in Single Family Zoned Districts as well as Neighborhood/Commercial, Of fice/Professional, Village Cottage Professional, and Village Residen tial districts, the creation of devel opment standards for STRs, and the requirement for the posting of owner’s contacts and rules within STR units.

According to Burich, “there are also proposed amendments to sec tions of the PDO. The changes are to Section 4, Public Hearings, Per mits, and Approvals, to establish a permit revocation process not just for STR permits but for any per mit that’s been issued; Section 8.5 Table of Permitted and Special Uses and Special Requirements to establish the districts where the STRs may be permitted; Sec tion 8.6 Special Requirements to the Table of Permitted and Special Uses and Special Requirements for the creation of SR-9 ShortTerm Rental, which are the devel

Moore prep sports report

North State Journal

Robbins — North Moore High School

The North Moore tennis team had a match against Jordan-Mat thews on September 26, which ul timately ended in a 7-2 loss. The singles winner was Logan Ma ness, who defeated Clara Rojas in two sets, 6-4 and 7-6. In doubles action, Bailea Marley & Paris Mc Collum defeated Abbey Copeland & Corrine McLaurin 8-6. Their next match is at home against South Davidson on October 4, fol lowed by an away match at Cha tham Central on October 5. Their record is 2-6 and 2-5 in the con ference.

In volleyball, the team had two matches last week going 1-1. The girls lost to O’Neal 3-2 in a non-conference match but de feated Graham in a Conference match 3-0. The Mustang’s record is now 10-9 with a 5-2 Confer ence record. Their next match is against Jordan-Matthews on Oc tober 4, after which they will trav el to Seaforth high school on Oc tober 6.

In football, the Mustangs re main undefeated with a 6-0 re cord and 2-0 conference record. They defeated Jordan-Mattews 67-7 last week, with a total of 329 rushing yards on 36 carries and eight touchdowns. Kolby Ritchie

had six carries for 105 yards and one touchdown. Jakarey Gillis had seven carries for 60 yards and two touchdowns. On defense, the team had two interceptions and 2 Fumble recoveries. Their next game is against Seaforth at Home on October 7 at 7:30 pm.

The boys soccer team has a re cord of 6-1-1 and in conference 1-11. They played Riverside Chris tian Academy on September 26, defeating them 10-1. Their next matches will take place on Octo ber 4 at Cummings and October 5 at Bartlett Yancey. In addition, the boys will play again at home on October 10.

In girls golf last week, the team finished second out of three teams. First place was Chatham Central, with a score of 160. Second place went to North Moore with a score of 162. Third place was Seaforth, with a score of 179. Paige Ritter shot a round of 44, Sierra Garner 57, Elizabeth Johnson 61, Hai ley Robinson 63, Alison Bates 64, and Kameryn Brown 70.

Cameron

The Union Pines football team fell to Scotland 49-14 in a home conference game, and their re cord is now 2-4. Ben Finkelstein threw for 29 yards on four of ten passing attempts, with one touch down. Caleb Milton had 113 of the 215 total rushing yards for the Vi

opment standards that would be in place for all short-term rent als, including things such as spe cial development requirements that apply to STRs where permit ted by right, requiring a Develop ment Permit for existing and new STRs and providing provisions for revocation, amortizing in certain districts, and requiring STRs that are nonconforming, to come into compliance or cease operations by a certain date; and Section 10.2 Definitions which defines shortterm rentals and homestays so they may be regulated by the PDO as defined.”

The new proposed amendment would define a short-term rent al as “a whole house lodging oc cupancy where a dwelling unit is offered or made available by shortterm lease or other financial con sideration for a time period or lease term of less than 30 consec utive days for a cumulative total of

kings. Their next game is against Richmond on October 7 at home.

In boys’ soccer, on the year, they are 6-7-1 overall and 4-3 in conference play. Last week they went 0-2 with a loss to Pinecrest 1-0 and an 8-1 to Lee County; both games were on the road.

DAVID SINCLAIR | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

“As always, our team worked as safely and efficiently as possible to repair the damage.”

Dale Lambert

“We’re going to hear your comments, listen to the staff report, talk amongst ourselves, but we will not be making a final decision tonight.”

John Strickland

more than 14 days in any calen dar year.”

While no action was taken at the meeting, the ground is set for the council to make a decision.

“The Village Council will not be taking a decision on this reg ulation tonight,” said Mayor John Strickland. “We’re going to hear your comments, listen to the staff report, talk amongst ourselves, but we will not be making a final decision tonight. My expectation, however, is that a decision will be made in the month of October.”

The council also held a pub lic hearing for a 120-day mora torium extension for Small Area Plans areas.

“The purpose is to extend the moratorium currently in place in the two Small Area Plan ar eas of Village Place and Pine hurst South,” Burich said. “The ordinance proposes to extend the moratorium an additional 120 days to expire in February 2023.”

The original moratorium was adopted on February 10, 2021, and had been extended two times prior, with the intent to allow for Small Area Plans for Village Place and Pinehurst South to be developed and approved.

“We’ve had several setbacks

along the way,” Burich said. “It hasn’t just been the council not making a decision on certain as pects. We’ve had some issues with not being able to move for ward just because we’ve had a lack of staffing capacity within the department, but we’ve always been moving forward on some aspect of the plan. We’ve just nev er been able to start working on the Pinehurst South plan because we haven’t had a final approval of that plan to allow us to move for ward.”

Following the hearing, the council voted to approve the ex tension, 3-2, with council mem bers Jeff Morgan and Lydia Boesch voting against the exten sion due to how long the projects have dragged on.

However, to alleviate that, the council finally reached unani mous approval to move forward with the Pinehurst South Small Area Plan, which will allow the Planning and Zoning Board to start finalizing codes and plans.

The council then approved an easement request by Duke Ener gy in order to run power across Chicken Plant Road.

“This is a request to extend the utility line from an existing line that is on our West Pinehurst Community Park property to go

across the road to serve a resi dential development,” said Vil lage Manager Jeff Sanborn.

The council also approved the sale of a 2002 KME Predator fire engine since the estimated profit would exceed the $10,000 threshold, which requires prior council approval.

The council then approved a $216,200 budget amendment in order to enhance an NCDOT traffic improvement project in volving traffic signals at two in tersections on Hwy 15-501 from standard wood poles and cross wire to green metal posts and mast arms to better fit the Vil lage’s aesthetic.

The council also approved a $1,352,951 FY23 resurfacing contract with Fred Smith Com pany to resurface approximately four miles of roadway. Along with the approval of the contract, the council also approved a $172,875 budget amendment to cover the costs of the contract since it came out higher than anticipated, ac cording to Sanborn.

Finally, the council accepted the dedication of Winged Foot Road and the associated right-ofway in Villas at Forest Hills from the developer Windjam 7.

The Pinehurst Village Council will next meet October 11.

Their next game is away on Octo ber 5 at 6 pm Scotland and then a home match against Grace Chris tian on October 6. They will also play next Monday at 8 pm against Richmond.

In girls’ golf, they played in The Madyson Scott Memorial in Clay ton, NC placing third out of four teams with a score of 260. Sara Ad ams shot a best round of 42, Jaclyn Mazo 46, Carolyn Coffey 48, Mor gan Pettine 49, and Shawna Mc donald a 53. They do not have any matches left on their schedule and will wait for the regional playoffs to take place later this month.

In volleyball, the team’s record on the year is 10-7 overall and 6-2 in conference play. Last week, the girls traveled to Laurinburg to face Scotland but lost in a 5-set match 3-2. Ellie Everhart and Devyn Cra ven lead the team with ten kills each. Brisi Gonzalez led the team with 24 digs. Allie Bauer and Syd ney Hay each had 14. Their next match at home is October 4 and away at Hoke County on October 6.

Southern Pines

Pinecrest volleyball team is hav ing a wonderful year with a re cord of 16-2 overall and 8-0 in conference. Last week they had commanding wins over Rich mond and Southern Lee, beating both 3-0. Karsen Corbett led the team in the Richmond match with 18 kills and five digs. Lainey Mul lins had 16 digs and seven serving aces. In the Southern Lee match, kills were spread out by Jacey Ol sen with 6, and Caroline Brad ford, Marlee Johnson, Karsen Cor bett, and Brook Emore all having five each. Laiken Christman pro duced 11 digs for the Lady Patri ots. Their next match is October 4 at home against Lee County and away against Scotland on October 6 at 6 pm.

In girls golf, they traveled to Clayton for the Madelyn Scott Me morial Tournament, placing first out of 11 teams with a score of 217. Julia Herzberg shot a round of 71, Kitson O’ Neal shot a 72, BB Ruji ranan shot a 74, Kaitlyn Kruczek shot a 78, and Kate Grantham shot an 84. They will host the Pinecrest Invitational on October 5 at 11 am.

In boys soccer, the team’s re cord is 5-4-1 overall and 4-0-1 in the conference. They hosted Union Pines in 1-0-win last Monday, with the loan goal coming in the 80th minute from Liam Thayer. They are at Richmond on Monday night and host Southern Lee on October 5 at 6 pm.

In Football, the school’s overall record is 4-2 and 2-0 in conference play. Last Friday night, the team traveled to Southern Lee, where they won 45-6. They had a total of 357 offensive yards on 48 plays. Andrew Vandevander was 4 for 11, with 99 passing yards, one touch down, and ten rushing yards. Zy maire Spencer ran the ball for 108 yards on seven carries and two touchdowns. Brandyn Hackett rushed for 71 yards on ten carries. Hunter Neifert had two receptions for 65 yards and one touchdown. Emilio Najm and Jadin Baptist led the defense with eight tackles each. The defense also had five sacks coming from Jaylin Morgan, Ye saya Moler, Marlon Harris, John ny Carlson, Jadin Baptist, and Mi chael Suther. Their next game is October 7 at Lee County.

Neal

publisher

Frank Hill, senior opinion

It’s time to stop kicking the can down the road

LAST WEEK, our state and nation received a dangerous reminder about the importance of being prepared for severe weather.

Due to miscues by President Biden and Washington Democrats, our nation’s economy is in a precarious state with inflation at 8.3% and the price of goods and services remaining skyhigh.

Hurricane Ian has devastated communities across the southeast, and Renee and I continue to pray for everyone impacted by the storm, as well as those affected by Hurricane Fiona in Puerto Rico and beyond. While North Carolina was spared the worst of this latest disaster, we cannot let our guard down. We all remember it was only a few years ago that we had two major storms hit North Carolina that caused flooding and damage across the state. Hurricane season lasts until the end of November, and I urge everyone to be prepared and listen to local emergency officials when severe weather occurs. Visit ReadyNC.gov for tips on how to get prepared and stay safe.

Moving forward, I will continue to work with President Joe Biden and Gov. Roy Cooper to ensure families and businesses in our state and across the country get the resources they need to recover from this latest hurricane.

Unfortunately, in Washington, many of my colleagues spent last week kicking the can down the road on Congress’ most basic responsibility: funding the government.

Last week, Congress passed a last-minute temporary budget resolution to avoid a government shutdown on Friday. However, the measure passed by Washington Democrats will only fund the government through December 16th, at which point lame duck Democrats can develop a longer-term budget matching their progressive agenda without having to answer for it in November’s election.

Due to miscues by President Biden and Washington Democrats, our nation’s economy is in a precarious state, with inflation at 8.3% and the price of goods and services remaining sky-high. Gas is up 25.6%, electricity 15.8%, and eggs 39.8%, to name a few. Our strategic petroleum reserve, critical in times of disasters like hurricanes, has also been depleted by Biden to its lowest level since 1984. Additionally, the Left has compromised the safety and security of families nationwide, as crime rates surge due to soft-on-crime policies and millions of illegal migrants continue to flood across our border.

All the while, liberal lawmakers continue to drag their feet or pursue policies that will make our nation’s challenges worse. Last week, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office

reported that Biden’s student loan bailout plan, for example, will cost taxpayers $400 billion. This measure will increase inflation and our national deficit, as well as unfairly force those who never went to college, worked hard to pay loans, or earned education benefits by serving in our military to foot the bill.

One thing is clear: Washington Democrats continue to procrastinate on addressing the issues most important to you and your family because they don’t have a plan. However, Republicans do have a plan.

Our “Commitment to America” plan is a detailed roadmap that aims to set our nation in a new direction and make a better future for you and your family. We will work to build an economy that’s strong by cutting reckless spending, boosting American energy production, and creating an economic environment that fosters growth, increases pay, and lowers costs. Through our plan, Republicans will work to build a nation that’s safe by securing our border, cracking down on crime, and stopping the flow of deadly drugs into the U.S. We will also ensure a nation built on freedom and a government that’s accountable to you by protecting your constitutional rights, providing rigorous oversight over federal agencies, and pursuing policies that give you more control over what is taught in your child’s school.

Our plan also involves personalizing health care to provide more affordable options and better quality. Last week, I moved us in the right direction as the House overwhelmingly passed my bipartisan MOBILE Health Care Act. I look forward to this bill becoming law to help expand health care access in rural and underserved communities in North Carolina and beyond.

This is a common-sense solution that we need more of in Congress. Yet Washington Democrats continue to kick the can down the road, putting off until tomorrow what needs to be done today. My Republican colleagues and I have a plan. I will continue to stay focused on solutions for the most pressing issues facing you and your family and on building a freer, safer, and more prosperous future for all.

Richard Hudson is serving his fifth term representing North Carolina’s 8th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. He currently serves on the Energy and Commerce Committee and in House leadership as the Republican Conference Secretary.

Francis Joseph Valitutto

June 5, 1923 - September 26, 2022

Francis J. Valitutto, 99, of Pinehurst, passed peacefully at his home on Monday, September 26, 2022.

Born in Bayonne, NJ on June 5, 1923, he was the son of the late Frank and Uliana (Casciano) Valitutto. After his high school graduation, Francis, known to all of his friends as Frank, went on to serve in the U.S. Army Air Corps during WWII. He had served in the Tinian Islands in the South Pacific as a Gunner in the belly of a B-29 Bomber. After his honorable discharge, Frank returned to New Jersey where he connected with his war time pen pal, Ms. Theresa Colasurdo. The two started dating and as the romance blossomed, married in 1947. Frank attended St. Peter’s College on the GI Bill before starting his career as an Auditor at the Bureau of Alcohol for the State of New Jersey, where he worked until his retirement in 1987.

They relocated to Pinehurst in 1992 where he became a faithful member of Sacred Heart Church. He took great pride serving as Usher and Head Usher for 26 years. He was a member of the building committee for the new church.

In addition to his parents, Frank is predeceased by his wife Theresa “Terry” Valitutto, brother Edward (U.S. Army WWII), and sisterin-law Marie Valitutto, brother Edmund (U.S. Navy WWII) and sister-in-law Edna Valitutto, and sister-in-law Lorraine Valitutto.

Frank is survived by his youngest brother Richard J. Valitutto (U.S. Army Korean Conflict) of Greensboro, NC, and brother-inlaw William (Bill) Krenkowitz of Pinehurst, NC. He was the uncle of Edward Valitutto (Pat), Manahawkin, NJ, Linda (Zak) of Linden, NJ, Valerie Taccogna (Ronald) of Harrington Park, NJ, Gloria Fulton (Bob) of Manasquan, NJ, Pat Klalo (Alex) of Whispering Pines, NC, Peggy Ramirez (Bob) of Kenilworth, NJ, Edmund Valitutto (Darlene) of Carthage, NC, Gina Kutokoff (Jeff) of Toms River, NJ, Richard Valitutto (Julene) of Greensboro, NC, and Paul Valitutto of Greensboro, NC. He was the great uncle to E.J., Andrea, Lisa, Andrew, Deena, Erin, Lauren, Frank, Caitlin, Drew, Armand, Stephanie, Robert, Justin, Madison, Richard II, John, Alexander, and Caroline, and their spouses and children.

Jeffrey Austin Pickles

July 29, 1947 - September 29, 2022

On September 29, 2022, Jeffrey Austin Pickles stepped into the loving arms of his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Born July 29, 1947, in Newburgh NY, to Robert A Pickles (Deceased September 1999) and Marian F Pickles (Deceased August 2016), Jeff was a warm, funny, and caring individual that never shrank from challenge or ran from adversity. Neither the worst of the Vietnam War, fighting as a US Marine Sgt E-5 mortarman near the DMZ in Vietnam, nor multiple health challenges were able to dampen his spirit or lessen his passion or care for those around him.

Married to Ann Marie Gallo (Deceased January 1999) in 1968 and living in Beacon NY, Jeff enjoyed a successful career in IBM Manufacturing and was blessed with a son Jonathan and daughter Karen who still live in NY state with their children.

He is survived by his wife Deborah; children Jonathan and Karen; grandchildren Harleigh, Arden, Joren, Amerie; brother Thomas, his children Deanna and Brian, and his fiancé Kim; and brother Mark, his wife Bernadette, and their children Austin and Joshua.

Louise King

December 15, 1933 - September 29, 2022

Louise Deaton King, 88, passed away Thursday, September 29 at her residence.

She was born at home December 15, 1933 to the late Ida Catherine Thomas and David Calvin Deaton Sr. in Candor, NC. She graduated from Candor High School and worked for a short time as a telephone operator. She married Jack Milton Kern Sr. in 1955 and moved to Star where she lived in the same house for the next 67 years. After Jack’s death in 1973, she married William Ronald “Corn” King and they enjoyed life together for 30 years.

She is survived by her daughter, Catherine Kern Haynes (Rich) of Pinehurst; daughter-in-law, Ella Kern of Star; grandchildren Catherine Jacque Harman (Drew) of Aberdeen, Jack Milton Kern III (LeeAnn) of Cashiers, Peter Cameron Davis of Okracoke, and Paige Louise Kern of Star; step grandchildren Justin Hamlett (Breanna) of Trinity and Dalton Hamlett of Seagrove; great grandchildren Kaylee, Jaxon, Millie, JJ, Jaysek, and Jayin.

Louise is predeceased by her first husband Jack Milton Kern Sr (1973), her second husband William Ronald King (2006), son Jack Milton Kern Jr (2021), brothers D.C., Roy, and Paul Deaton, sister Ruth, and sisterin-law Pauline Deaton.

Charles Roy Biggs, Jr.

December 4, 1946 - September 28, 2022

Charles Roy Biggs, Jr 75, Southern Pines, NC

Everyone who enters this world will leave it, but not everyone lives life to the fullest in-between. Charles Roy Biggs, Jr truly pursued life to its full potential until the point Acute Myeloid Leukemia took his earthly life on September, 28 2022.

Left with many priceless memories of gatherings by the lake or on the country estate are his loved ones whom he has intimately touched with his love and wisdom: his bride of 43 years, Sarah Shaw Biggs; three daughters, Kimberly Biggs Fennie (Scott), Shannon Biggs Harris (John), Amy Clark O’Reilly (Patrick) and adored grandchildren, Kathryn & John, Hannah (Robert) & Cole and Jacob, Sami & Daniel; great grandson, Sawyer; foster family, Boojie & Dave Winfree, Karin & Krista; and brother, Frank. Predeceased family include his parents, Charles Roy & Ruby Smith Biggs and brother, William Niles Biggs.

Jean Wagner Conry

January 13, 1937 - September 27, 2022

Jean Carolyn Wagner Conry of Pinehurst, passed away on September 27, 2022.

She was born January 13, 1937 in Salisbury, NC to the late Mr. and Mrs. E.J. Wagner. She attended Boyden High School in Salisbury, NC and Business College. She married Mike Conry of Rockwell, NC on June 2, 1956. They had three children together.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by one son, Trent Conry; and grandson, William Conry.

She is survived by her husband, Mike Conry; three children, Jody Halso and her husband, Scott of Pinehurst, Kyle Conry and his wife, Debbie of Omaha, Nebraska and the late Trent Conry’s wife, Hanife Conry of Washington, D.C.; five grandchildren and one greatgranddaughter; Betsy Conry of Omaha, NE, Enise, and Mikey Conry of Washington, D.C., Jeffrey Mosher and his fiancé Connie & son,Hunter of Albemarle, NC, Morgan Mosher and his wife, Jessica of Salisbury, NC and great granddaughter, Winnie; sisters, Julia Queen of Ashville, NC and Joyce Kluttz and her husband, Bobby of Concord, NC.

Wayne Stuart Hackett

March 3, 1954 - October 1, 2022

Wayne Stuart Hackett, age 68, of Foxfire, North Carolina, passed away at his home on October 01, 2022. He was born in Hudson County, NJ to Donald and Bernice Hackett. He was a beloved father, son, uncle, brother, grandfather and friend. He is survived by his loving wife of 40 years, Joyce Hackett, his mother Bernice Hackett, his daughter Alyssa Cook and her husband Mike Cook, his grandson Parker, his brother Keith Hackett and his wife Tina, his sister Cyndi Henderson and her husband Jim as well as many nieces and nephews.

Wayne loved fishing, hunting, music and spending time with his family. Everyone that knew him knows how special of a person he was and his impact on this world.

As per Wayne’s wishes, services will be private.

Aileen Patricia "Pat" Matson

October 6, 1926 - September 26, 2022

Aileen Patricia “Pat” Matson, 95, of Southern Pines, NC, died Monday, September 26, 2022 at St. Joseph of the Pines Health Center.

She was born October 6, 1926 to Jack and Olivia Flanagan. She was happily married to Gordon N. Matson for 64 years. He preceded her in death in 2014.

She was a graduate of Evanston High School and attended Northwestern University.

She is survived by her daughter, Carey Rausch (Tom); her son Rick Matson (Kris Vilstrup); and four grandchildren, Mark Rausch, Jana Levin, Alex Matson and Karly Matson.

Thomas Francis "Tom" Fagan

May 17, 1948 - September 26, 2022

Thomas Francis “Tom” Fagan, 74 of Pinehurst, passed away on September 26, 2022 at FirstHealth Hospice House.

Born on May 17, 1948 in Maspeth, Queens, NY, to the late Thomas and Catherine Fagan. Tom was a graduate of Brooklyn Technical High School, the iconic symbol of which was the Brooklyn Bridge. He graduated Hunter College of the CCNY University system with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and ultimately earned his CPA.

He is survived by his loving wife of 52 years, Jane Daly Fagan; two children, Austin Fagan (Christine) and Maggie Fagan (Chris Rea); two brothers, Richard and William Fagan; one sister, Sheila Fagan Burnett; also survived by four grandchildren, George Thomas Fagan, Julie Ryan Fagan, Jack Austin Fagan and Francis Dean Rea.

Robert Andrew Hendry

December 1, 1988 - September 21, 2022

Robert Andrew Hendry, age 33, of Los Angeles CA passed away peacefully on September 21, 2022 at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City.

Robert was born on December 1, 1988, in San Antonio TX. He grew up in Southern Pines/Pinehurst NC, as well as Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Florida. He is survived by his mother, Jean S. Hendry of Princeton NJ (formerly of Southern Pines NC), and his father, Andrew D Hendry, and stepmother, Mary L. Hendry, of Pinehurst.

Rob graduated from the O'Neal School in Southern Pines NC in 2007, where he played tennis and ran track. He went on to matriculate as a Freshman at the University of San Diego, eventually earning his Bachelor’s Degree from Arizona State University.