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THOUSANDS OF NEW HOMES. A ‘MEGA SITE’ INDUSTRY. SANFORD’S ABOUT TO GROW LIKE NEVER BEFORE. p yu
2 | April 2022
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The Rant Monthly | 3
The RantMonthly April 2022 | Sanford, North Carolina A product of LPH Media, LLC Vol. 4 | Issue 4 | No. 37
Editorial Gordon Anderson | gordon@rantnc.com Billy Liggett | billy@rantnc.com Jonathan Owens | jonathan@rantnc.com Richard Sullins | richard@rantnc.com
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Editorial Board Pamela Adlon, Johnny Hardwick, Brittany Murphy, Mike Judge, Stephen Root, Kathy Najimy, Ashley Gardner, Toby Huss and Lauren Tom
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THOUSANDS OF NEW HOMES. A ‘MEGA SITE’ INDUSTRY. SANFORD’S ABOUT TO GROW LIKE NEVER BEFORE. p yu
The Rant Monthly is located in beautiful Sanford, North Carolina. Please address all correspondence to LPH Media LLC, 3096 South Horner Boulevard #126, Sanford, NC, 27332. Editorial email: gordon@rantnc.com or billy@rantnc.com. Advertising: brandon@rantnc.com. The Rant Monthly is published monthly (obvs). The Rant Monthly is wholly owned and operated by LPH Media LLC, a North Carolina corporation. Submissions of all kinds are welcome. This publication is free — one per reader, please. Removal of this newspaper from any distribution point for purposes other than reading it constitutes theft, and violators are subject to public flogging and ridicule. Printed by Restoration News Media LLC in Raleigh, NC. Copyright 2021, LPH Media LLC, all rights reserved.
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There’s been talk about significant growth in Sanford and Lee County for over a decade now — BRAC didn’t really bring the families like once thought, and we’ve been waiting for Raleigh’s growth to spill over. But with thousands of new homes set to be built, new job announcements left and right and more affordable real estate compared to our northern neighbors, Sanford seems to be finally primed for a population boom. The question is: are we ready for it?
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PAGE FOUR BOUNTY PLACED ON BRADFORD PEARS Spotify
SISTER HAZEL JOINS WAMPUS CAT LINEUP The 90-plus bands performing at the Wampus Cat Music Festival at Gross Farms II near Sanford May 13-15 will span several genres, from hip hop to country, rock to folk. But the big names scheduled to play will certainly have a 90s alternative flair. Sister Hazel — whose breakout hit “All For You” peaked out No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 list and No. 1 on Billboard’s Adult Top 40 list in 1997 — will join 90s rockers Everclear, Lit and J.R. Richards (former lead singer for Dishwalla) at the three-day event organized by Indie On Air Records and Gross Farms. Other big names set to perform include: •
Country: Thompson Square, the Swon Brothers, the Highway Women and Adam Warner.
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Rock and Indie: Tough on Fridays, Paleface, Nitro Nitra, the Gasoline Gypsies, Native Sons and As We Become Ghosts, Addie Tonic and Drew Angus.
Three-day passes currently cost $96.30, and single-day tickets cost $52.43. Buy tickets, see who’s performing on what days and see the full line-up at wampuscatmusicfestival.com.
The white Bradford pear blossoms have come and gone, and if the North Carolina Forest Service had its way, the trees themselves would be gone forever. The NCFS has partnered with the N.C. Urban Forest Council, the N.C. Wildlife Federation and NC State to place a bounty on these “weak, stinky” invasive trees that they say are harmful to native ecosystems. The state is offering to come cut down your Bradford pears and replace them with native trees that can benefit our natural landscape. Learn more at www.treebountync.com.
FOUR FAMOUS 3-YEAR-OLDS This edition of The Rant Monthly marks the third-year anniversary of our publication. To celebrate — instead of inviting everyone to a raucous party that surely would have been a blast — we’re going to look at some famous 3-year-olds:
DID YOU KNOW? Sister Hazel’s name is drawn from Sister Hazel Williams, manager of a homeless shelter in singer Ken Block’s hometown. Block was impressed with her tireless selflessness and generosity even when he was very young. Block named the band Sister Hazel in an effort to reflect his admiration of this unconditional regard for fellow human beings.
PRINCE GEORGE
SECRETARIAT
GROGU
CHARLES THE ARBOR DAY SCORPION
Future king of England and allegedly a big fan of The Rant
Did more as a 3-year-old than most of us do our entire lives.
Technically, he’s about 50, but he was introduced to the world three years ago
We say he’s 3 years old, and there’s nothing you can do to prove us wrong
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Community Health Survey
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We Want to Learn from You
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FirstHealth Community Health is conducting a survey to learn what we can do to work in partnership with our communities to improve the health and well-being of all individuals. Please take 12-14 minutes to provide your experience and thoughts in the survey by scanning the QR code to the right or going to bit.ly/FHC-CHNA.
6 | April 2022
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on-site camping
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music festival
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Everclear Sister Hazel Thompson Square The Swon Brothers J.R. Richards Stephanie Quayle Lit Adam Warner Maggie Rose Tyler Reese Tritt Brooke McBride The Highway Women Uncle Ben’s Remedy Cliff Wheeler Band John Norris
2Digh4 Danika and theJeb Paige King Johnson Josh Daniel Band Jenny Tolman Tri-County Reunion Stephen Hunley PURE Tan and Sober Gentlemen Paddock Tough On Fridays Amittai Blakk Nitro Nitra Rags & Riches Hanging Cities Paleface Hope Darling The Steepwater Band As We Become Ghosts The Gasoline Gypsies Drew Angus Second Hand Mojo Native Sons Tonal Crush Chasing Fall Seth & Sara Addie Tonic Chaz Kiss The Close Kruiser Skylar Love Whiskey Grin Abyss of Bliss Zenora Television Skies Ashes to Omens Chad Cox What is Broken Pill Box Crashing Atlas Thirsty Curses Rivington The Band The City Limit Rat Rod Onyx & Honey Almost June Band Alma Vertical Crown of Earth Linen Ray Few Miles South Afton Prater The Everyday Losers WEEP Age of Ore
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THE LEAD MORE ON THE ELECTRIC VEHICLES THEY’LL BE MAKING AT VINFAST VinFast, founded in 2017 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup, is a global producer of premium automobiles. Headquartered in Hanoi, Vietnam, VinFast is home to a high-tech vehicle production facility in Hai Phong that will have the capacity to produce 950,000 vehicles per year by 2026. VinFast has established global operations in the U.S., Canada, Germany, France and the Netherlands. The company also provides an ecosystem of electric vehicle products, including e-scooters, electric buses and electric cars, charging station systems and green energy solutions. Last November, VinFast announced the VF 8 and VF 9 at the 2021 Los Angeles Auto Show. The company introduced three new EVs (the VF 5, VF 6 and VF 7) at the 2022 Consumer Electronics Show, which combined with the earlier models allows the company to serve all five major vehicle segments, from small crossover to large SUV. “Having a production facility [in North Carolina] will help VinFast to proactively manage its supply chain, maintain stabilized prices and shorten product supply time, making VinFast’s EVs more accessible to customers, contributing to the realization of local environmental improvement goals,” CEO Le Thi Thu Thuy said. Edmunds (car reviewer) says: “VinFast means business, and the three-row 2023 VinFast VF 9 crossover SUV will be its flagship model on our shores, slotting in above the two-row VF 8. As the EV SUV race ramps up, the VF 9 will definitely be one to watch.”
HUGE FOR REGION’S ECONOMY
VIETNAMESE AUTOMAKER TO INVEST $4B, ADD 7,500 JOBS WITH MONCURE CAMPUS
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ov. Roy Cooper announced on March 29 that Vietnamese electric automaker VinFast will make a $4 billion investment in North Carolina with a new factory at Chatham County’s Triangle Innovation Point, a 2,150-acre advanced manufacturing site formerly known as the Moncure Megasite located roughly 12 miles from downtown Sanford. VinFast will produce both electric automobiles and the batteries that power them at the site just off of U.S. 1 between Pea Ridge Road and Christian Chapel Church Road. Cooper said VinFast will have a ripple effect on the state and local economy — creating opportunities for not only engineers and technicians, but vendors and suppliers “from far and wide.” The site could also transform
the landscape of U.S. 1 between Apex and Sanford. “[VinFast] could have gone anywhere in the world to build a state-of-the-art center, but they chose to build their first North American factory right here in North Carolina,” Cooper said at a well-attended press conference in downtown Raleigh, standing alongside VinFast CEO Le Thi Thu Thuy. “They know about our strong workforce, they know about our high quality of life, they know about our great business climate, and they know about our commitment to clean energy.” That commitment, Cooper said, includes recent legislation to reduce the state’s carbon emissions in the power sector by 70 percent by 2030 and to hit carbon neutrality by
2050. Cooper’s Executive Order 46 calls for more electric vehicles on North Carolina roads. “Now some of them will be made right here in our state,” he said. State Rep. and House Democratic Leader Robert Reives of Chatham County called the announcement “arguably the largest investment in North Carolina history by a private company.” “Over the last year, Gov. Cooper announced 24,000 jobs bringing $10.1 billion of capital investment North Carolina, and that’s an all time high,” he said. “But just today, we are announcing $4 billion in investments and 7,500 jobs. I mean, if that doesn’t give you perspective, I don’t know what does.”
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will officially be executed through a newly formed company, will be facilitated in part by a Transformative Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG) approved by the state’s Economic Investment Committee earlier today. VinFast’s project is estimated to grow the state’s economy by at least $71.59 billion over 32 years, the time period when the grant could be active. Using a formula that takes into account the new tax revenues generated by the new jobs, as well as a company investment of $4 billion, the JDIG agreement authorizes the potential reimbursement to the company of up to $316.1 million, paid over a time period of 32 years.
In addition to being the largest economic development project ever announced in the state, VinFast will be North Carolina’s first OEM (original equipment manufacturer) facility, according to Cooper. VinFast’s factory will create a major manufacturing center on a 1,977 acre plot for Phase 1 with three main areas: electric cars and buses production and assembly, EVs batteries production and ancillary industries for suppliers. Construction for Phase 1 of the factory will start in 2022 after the construction permit is granted, and production is expected to start in July 2024. The capacity of Phase 1 is expected to be 150,000 vehicles per year. Vehicles to be produced at the site include the VinFast VF 9, a seven-passenger all-electric Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) and the VinFast VF 8, a five-passenger, all-electric mid-size SUV. The North Carolina Department of Commerce coordinated the state’s recruitment of VinFast, which also involved state, regional and local organizations. “Automotive assembly plants are incredible engines for economic growth, due to the pos-
Salaries for the new jobs will vary by position, but taken together will average $51,096, increasing the regional payroll by more than $383 million every year. Gov. Roy Cooper and VinFast CEO Le Thi Thu Thuy sit inside a VinFast electric vehicle at the March 29 announcement in Raleigh. Photo by Gordon Anderson itive ripple effects they create across a region’s economy,” said state Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders. “I’m so pleased that VinFast has decided to launch their North America manufacturing operations from our
state, and we’ll work hard to make sure they find the skilled workforce they’ll need to grow and thrive in North Carolina.” VinFast’s project in the state, which
“Today’s announcement is another example of the continuing growth of North Carolina’s economy fueled by low taxes, a strong workforce, and reasonable regulations,” Sen. Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) said. “VinFast’s commitment to North Carolina solidifies our position as a global leader for fostering innovation and supporting businesses.”
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10 | April 2022
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SANFORD
CITY’S ROLE IN WOOING CARMAKER City will earn millions over next 50 years thanks to water deal with Chatham County By Richard Sullins richard@rantnc.com The part Sanford played in helping close the deal on one of the state’s largest-ever economic development projects could be considered as a back story, but it’s one that deserves to be told. Were it not for the vision city leaders showed as far back as four years ago, today’s announcement of Vietnamese electric automaker investing $4 billion and adding 7,500 jobs to the region wouldn’t have happened. Chatham County had lots of available land, but what it didn’t have was easy access to the one natural resource that makes economic development projects sink or swim in the third decade of the 21st Century — water. Chatham officials recognized that a neighboring city had the water capacity needed. So, they reached out to their neighbors in Sanford for help. Water is a critical component for any developing industry, particularly those focused on heavy manufacturing like VinFast, and Sanford has it in abundance. Four years ago, Mayor Chet Mann and the Sanford City Council made a critical decision to build a water line that will help bring service to the site as construction takes place over the next three years, a call that later became one of the determining factors in VinFast’s decision to come to central North Carolina. The northeastern end of Lee County, and just across the Deep River into Chatham County, had long been a desert for water and sewer services, and no water means no development. Building on Mann’s Open for Business platform put forth when he was first elected in 2013, the city leveraged grants from the state, the GoldenLeaf Foundation and a budget allocation of $3.9 million in 2018 to build water and sewer lines from Sanford to Pittsboro, as well as a second loop to provide services to the Raleigh Executive Jetport in Lee County and the Moncure area.
Mann said, “It was a huge leap of faith by the city council, but boy did it ever pay off.” The deal negotiated on behalf of the city by Mann and City Manager Hal Hegwer does more than provide Chatham County with the water they need. In addition to the sale of water and sewer services and in exchange for their provision, Sanford will receive 20 percent of all property taxes that Chatham County collects from every home, business, or industry that connects to the water line. Even better, Sanford will continue to receive those funds for the next 50 years after the line goes into service, meaning millions of dollars that will flow annually into the city’s coffers every year for the next half-century. In a genuine coup for the city, the arrangement negotiated with Chatham County allows for that same money to flow into the city’s general fund. That means it can be used to provide a supplementary level of funding for the next 50 years that the city would otherwise not have had. “That’s one of the many nuggets of gold in this story for Sanford,” Mann told The Rant. “By the time that money stops flowing, I’ll be gone from the scene. But by the time that spigot finally gets turned off, Sanford will have millions of additional dollars coming in. And by going into the general fund, it can be used to address our housing shortage, build and expand our parks and trail systems, we can continue revitalizing our downtown and lifting up neighborhoods, and a whole host of things that will come along to make Sanford a place that people want to call home.” It was Public Works Director Victor Czar who came up with the engineering needed to connect the existing loops and lines, and then extend them to Triangle Innovation Point and on into Pittsboro. It was this kind of thinking that previously brought Sanford to the verge of winning another economic development project that ultimately it didn’t get. “Another company told us that Sanford was the only city that had cracked the code
on how to do this, on how to get the water up to a site like this and back, but other factors led them to choose somewhere else. But it’s one of the implements we are now keeping in our toolkit as future projects come along,” Mann continued. The mayor said just the water and sewer infrastructure needed to connect the new plant site to the city’s system and then over to Pittsboro could exceed $135 million. But the news just keeps getting better, Mann said. The state will pick up the tab for almost all of it - $132 million, leaving the remaining $3 million to be split between Sanford and Pittsboro. Sanford’s share of the entire project could come to be just $1.5 million, itself another huge win for the city. Sanford has been planning for expansion of its water and sewer services for just this moment. Its system today treats about 12 million gallons of water and turns it into drinking water-grade, with an equal amount of sewage treated and returned to the Cape Fear River in a form cleaner than what is drawn from it daily. To accommodate the city’s and the surrounding region’s anticipated growth, it is planning to expand its water treatment capacities, both intake and discharge, to 30 million gallons per day, an increase of 18 million gallons of water every day, through a major engineering project funded in large measure by state grants. “None of (the VinFast announcement) would have happened without the water and sewer capacity that only Sanford could, and was willing, to bring to the table,” Mann said. “Years ago, no one wanted to extend capacities like these. They didn’t want to have to deal with their competitors. But I’ve always believed that collaboration is the best way to get things done. We got in there and got it done and look at the result — good jobs that will provide a living wage, money that will support our communities and our schools and parks, and money to plow back into our budget to build out even bigger.”
A MULTIPLIER EFFECT Mann, who recently decided not to seek a third term as mayor in order to focus on his business and devote more time to his family, believes the VinFast project will have an even greater impact to the region, including Sanford and Lee County, than a BMW plant has meant for Greenville, Greer, and Spartanburg, South Carolina. “Seriously, this will be the most transformative project in our history,” he said. “It will help lift a lot of people out of poverty and create some new and massive opportunities.” When BMW originally located in Spartanburg, S.C., it was expected to bring approximately 2,000 new jobs with it. Today, BMW Manufacturing has 11,000 workers on site in the Upstate and the total economic impact of the company has a multiplier effect of 4.0, meaning that for every new job that BMW itself creates at its Spartanburg plant, three other jobs are created there or elsewhere in the state. A 2017 study done by the University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School of Business found that BMW’s Spartanburg plant had grown to an annual economic output of $16.6 billion since it moved into the state 25 years before and was by then supporting 31,000 jobs. How could an investment of this size impact life in the community, far beyond the gates of the plant? Mann said only the limits of our imagination prevent a definitive answer to that question today. The economic development initiatives of the recent past have, to some degree, left many blue-collar workers behind. VinFast will be looking to hire many of them, as well as students that Central Carolina Community College and other institutions of higher education will train to fill positions that demand highly-trained workers. New training programs, built around new facilities outfitted with the latest equipment, will be a focus of area colleges and universities for the next few decades.
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12 | April 2022 EDITORIAL
IMPORTANT LOCAL ELECTION In a time of big changes for Sanford and Lee County — see this month’s cover story for more information about that — local voters have plenty of opportunities in the coming months to participate in other changes. Specifically, changes in local government. This month, we’ve started featuring candidate questionnaires for the 2022 primary election, a process we’ll continue with general election candidates after May is over with. Due to a bunch of legislative and legal intrigue that’s too confusing to detail here, the 2022 race will not only include county, state and federal matchups, but also municipal contests for the Sanford City Council. And with five contested primaries (two Democratic, three Republican), there promises to be plenty of action. But these races are about more than just “action.” The changes Sanford and Lee County have experienced in the past decade — largely positive, in our view — are actually a product of these political contests. And with the promise of a new mayor, changes to the city council, a new sheriff and potentially as many as three new school board members, the 2022 races look to shape the future of the next decade plus in a county that’s booming like never before. We’ve gotten where we are today thanks in large part to local government. We hope the answers given by candidates in these pages can offer some guidance to voters who want to go to the polls with more information than just a name on a ballot and a campaign sign can in a right of way can offer.
CCCC’S GEM OF A PROGRAM Back in 2014, local Republicans urged voters to speak out against a bond measure that would ultimately expand Central Carolina Community College’s civic center and veterinary medicine building, among othere improvements. Despite GOP objections, the bonds passed. And Sanford is better because of it. Since that time, CCCC has expanded its vet tech program with the addition of a new building with modern equipment, and the program — first launched in 1974 as a first-of-its-kind two-year degree patth — has flourished. The program has not only benefited hundreds of students over the years, but countless pets as well. A little-known sidebar of the program is Cougar Pets, a no-kill, non-profit rescue organization affiliated with CCCC, which rescues dogs and cats from high-kill environments and takes them in so that they can recieve medical care and socialization until they are adopted. We’ve seen the good work Cougar Pets is doing up close, and we encourage others looking to adopt a rescue pet to look their way at www.cougarpets.org.
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OPINION COLUMN | BILLY LIGGETT
FAMOUS SLAPS IN HISTORY
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hris Rock’s joke was out of line, but Will Smith’s reaction to it was 50 times worse. And that’s all you’re getting from me on the Oscar night slap heard around the world, because everybody you know has shared their opinion on this, and frankly, who cares? That said, that swift open palm to Rock’s left cheek got me thinking about slapping in general. As a man who’s only been slapped once in his life — I insulted a guy at a party in college and got swift payback from his girlfriend ... kinda the opposite of the more famous one last week — I’m by no means an expert on the subject.
crossed the room, and slapped Arius in the face (we do not know whether he later told Arius to keep his God out of his *@!&#* mouth). Unlike Will Smith, Nicholas was tossed from the meeting. If television and movies have taught us anything, it’s that duels always began with a slap across the face — often with a removed glove. The idea of the glove slap comes from Medeival times and the practice of “throwing down the gauntlet” as an insult to the person you wish to fight. And while we’re familiar with the act of using a sword to tap the shoulders of a knight during their knighthood, a lesser known part of that ceremony in the Middle Ages involved slapping the knight to test their self-control and discipline. The most famous pre-Oscar modern-day slaps are found on TV or in the movies. The Three Stooges made slapping an art in the 1930s and 40s, teaching a whole generation of young men like me that smacking a man in the face can represent humor in its highest form.
But I’m a curious guy, and I have questions. Why do humans slap other humans? The rest of the animal world uses teeth, horns, stingers and claws to do its fighting, yet we’ve evolved to use our hands, our fists and occasionally our legs to do “The Three Stooges made our dirty work.
My favorite slapping scene in any movie can be found in 1980’s “Airplane!” where actress Lee Bryant slapping an art ... teaching a Amazing the things you can find is slapped by a whole line of doctors, whole generation of young on the internet. A 2015 study by boxers, passengers and even nuns in men like me that smacking a the Journal of Experimental Biology an effort to calm her down after a man in the face can represent suggests human hands evolved over fear-of-flying-induced panic attack. humor in its highest form.” time to better punch competitors. The second favorite (which also Compared to chimps, for example, involves actor Leslie Nielsen) can be humans have shorter palms, shorter found in “The Naked Gun” when fingers and longer thumbs — the better to strike you with, Nielsen blocks two slap attempts by Priscilla Presley only to my dear. The Journal also found that slapping with an open be surprised with a blow from a third hand out of nowhere. palm produces the same force as a clenched fist. Newer generations are likely familiar with the Batman and The word “slap” didn’t officially appear in our lexicon until Robin slap meme — though you may not be familiar with the late 1630s, but the act itself has played an important its origin. A 1965 comic had Batman convinced Superman role in human history. In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus, was responsible for the death of his parents, and when Robin according to the Gospel of Matthew, encouraged the multried to speak some sense into him, he was met with the now titudes to rebuke the idea of “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a famous slap. tooth,” and taught us, “Whosoever shall smite thee on thy We’re a species that loves a good trend, so who knows ... right cheek, turn to him the other also.” we may be slapping each other silly in 2022 since we can’t Nearly 300 years later, St. Nicholas, bishop of Myra, bitch about the pandemic anymore. Just keep my face out of listened at the Council of Nicaea as Arius, from Egypt, spoke it — once in my lifetime is more than enough. before 300 other bishops and suggested “Jesus the Son” was Reach Billy Liggett at billy@rantnc.com not equal to “God the Father.” An agitated Nicholas got up,
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rantnc.com HOUSING OPINIONS The news story in March about two (more) new subdivisions coming to south Sanford near Lowe’s Home Improvement and Walmart led to more than 100 comments from readers of The Rant. Many welcome the deveopments, while many others object to the influx of high-density communities. Some of the comments we got: ________________ Every time a new development is announced, it’s for three times as many houses as it should have. I’m surprised so many people buy houses on a quarter-acre lot and are OK with the lack of space. Brandon Corbin ________________ When my family first moved here, we were told by the agent that Sanford was up and coming. It was part of the appeal of moving here. That was back in 2006. I’m glad to see the growth finally happening. I hope they keep up with the schools, first responders and roads as the need increases. More families will attract the restaurants and stores many of us would love to have. Maybe we
will get some new things for the youth of this town, and draw in better paying jobs. I look forward to what Sanford will become. Jessica Hockaday ________________ Ugh, this sucks. It’s like a Holly Springs repeat 25 years later without the good restaurants and shops. If you think the traffic is bad on Horner and in town, now just wait. Jaimie Clark ________________ Sanford is nowhere near full. We have plenty of room to build more homes and apartments. We have lots of empty land on all of the main roads coming in and out of town. We are the latest town in central North Carolina to see rapid and amazing growth. Just wait until they get that megasite going off U.S. 421 near Liberty. Sanford and Siler City will start to grow together along that highway. If you love the rural setting, it may be time to move out of town. Mike A.
A GOOD COACH LOST Paul Gay was the Lee County High School’s (formerly Sanford Central) football coach from 1960 through the early 80s, leading the team to multiple state championships, including at least two years in which the team was undefeated. Gay died in March at age of 90, leaving behind a winning legacy that spanned generations: ________________ He was a great neighbor, a patient man and an amazing coach. He taught me a lot about football and about how to be a man. Jack Kilbourne ________________ I so very much admired Coach Gay as a coach and a man. When moving from South Carolina to Sanford, playing football for Coach Gay’s program was something I really wanted to be a part of; a winner. Rest in peace, Coach. I will miss you. Andy Ray ________________ Coach Gay did a lot more than win a ton of football games and go to the N.C. Sports
Hall of Fame. He shaped and molded a lot of young men over his career who are far better off having had him as their coach than not. He preached values and hard work. He was tough on us sometimes, but he loved us all, and we knew it. Next to my own dad, I could not have had a better role model, coach and mentor. For some, he was probably their only male role model, and he took that responsibility seriously. Chet Mann ________________ Coach Gay had a rare ability to bring out the best in his players and helped them to be better players and better people. He has been one of Sanford’s and North Carolina’s treasures My cousin, Joe Dawson, thought the world of him and always had the utmost respect for him. I am sure Coach Gay had a profound effect on his life, just as he had on so many peoples’ lives who passed through the halls of Sanford Central High School/Lee County High School. He will be missed by many people. Brenda Sadeghi
14 | April 2022
THE FIRST FRAMES HAVE GONE UP AT THE NEW 78 SOUTH SUBDIVISION ON TRAMWAY ROAD IN SANFORD. PHOTO BY BILLY LIGGETT
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COVER STORY
GROWTH IN LEE COUNTY
BOOM TOWN Thousands of new homes, cheaper existing real estate and regular new job announcements have the experts projecting huge population growth in Sanford/Lee County over the next 10-30 years. The question is: Can we handle what’s coming? By Billy Liggett, Richard Sullins and Gordon Anderson
E
ven before the March 29 announcement that a Vietnamese electric automaker was about to add a giant campus, a $4 billion economic investment and at least 7,500 jobs just 12 miles to the north in Moncure, Sanford was already on the verge of a population boom like it’s never seen before.
Ashby Village, a planned development that will feature single-family homes, apartments and townhomes, in addition to commercial lots, will be located along Horner Boulevard behind Lowe’s Home Improvement and next to the upcoming mult-sports complex. The Village could add 800 additional residential units to Sanford’s fast-growing housing market.
16 | December 2021
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• There are roughly 6,000 single-family home lots either currently under construction, have been approved at some level by city/county government or have been submitted for review by developers. Even if just half of those sites come to fruition, that’s 3,000 new homes and (using the 2.6 person-per-household average provided by the Census) 7,800 people expected in the next five years. The last time Sanford experienced growth like that in a TEN-year span was between 1990 and 2000.
time. Many who have migrated to Sanford from other parts of the country have come here because of lower land and housing costs. • Through March, 56 job projects have been announced in Lee County since 2014, creating 3,563 new jobs with capital announced investments exceeding $1.66 billion. In the last eight years, the county’s tax base has increased by just over a billion dollars, and the average annual wage within the County has grown from $38,000 to $46,000.
• Lee County, with its current population of 63,285 people (roughly double Sanford’s 30,261) is already among the 20 fastest-growing counties in the state in the last 15 months, according to Carolina Demography, a nonprofit arm of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill that works in the numbers that define population trends within the state. That’s a growth rate of 1.3 percent since just the last Census count.
Sanford has been “primed” for growth like this before. Around 2010, the city and Lee County prepared for families expected to move here as part of BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure), which transferred thousands of military personnel and their families to Fort Bragg. While the southwestern edge of Harnett County and the southern portion of Lee County saw residential and commercial growth, Sanford did not experience the big spike some had projected.
• Sanford is finally experiencing the side effects of Raleigh-Durham’s considerable growth. The Triangle area is the nation’s second-fastest growing metropolitan area in the nation, seeing a population spike of 23 percent between 2010-2019, according to Census figures. That’s better growth than Orlando, Houston, Dallas and Phoenix and trails only Austin, Texas, which grew by 29 percent in that
“What we have that cities to the north of us don’t is open land,” said Don Kovasckitz, strategic services planner for the City of Sanford. “Those developments to the north and south and all around Raleigh are all taken up, and we’ve got all this open, affordable property. And it takes very little time to get to Raleigh or Fayetteville from here, which people are beginning to realize.”
This, however, feels different.
Vietnamese auotmaker VinFast will bring a $4 billion investment and at least 7,500 jobs to Moncure in next few years. And while Moncure is located in Chaham County, it’s a mere 12 miles from downtown Sanford and a mile from the county line. The plant’s impact on Lee County will be noticeable. Photo: Vinfast
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@therant905 A good example is Galvin’s Ridge, the large subdivision that could hold up to nearly 1,000 homes off of U.S. 1 and Colon Road in the next five years that has razed hundreds of acres of land and is in the process of building its first 100 structures. That land — which is roughly 15 minutes from Apex, 20 minutes from Cary and 30 minutes from downtown Raleigh — will be a 10-minute drive to the large multi-sports complex the county plans to build near the U.S. 421 bypass and Broadway Road in the next two years. That same bypass will, in the near future, become part of the I-685 extension that will connect Greensboro and the Triad region with I-95 near Fayetteville. Sanford’s going to look very different in the next five to 10 years. The question is: Are we ready to handle what’s coming? IT’S ALREADY BEGUN Alyssa and Evan Riley moved to Sanford from Raleigh in January 2021 after signing a contract to build a home the previous summer. Evan had been working as a process engineer for Pfizer in Sanford for the previous two years while Alyssa attended Campbell University School of Law close to home in downtown Raleigh. Their decision to build a home in Sanford was sparked by the pandemic, as the couple, their dogs and their 7-year-old son was stuck at home and couldn’t enjoy the amenities that made living in a large city so fun. “Ideally, we wanted to be closer to RTP, but Sanford’s home and land prices were so low at the time. We saw moving here as an investment on two fronts,” Alyssa said. “[We knew] this area was going to be wrapped up in Raleigh’s expansion, so home prices would go higher, and it was a good opportunity to move our daughter to a more walkable, suburban area.” Sanford also wasn’t the first choice for Renee and Timothy McRae and their children when they decided to buy a home seven months ago. Timothy worked in Raleigh, but the family was looking for a city that offered a better cost-of-living rate while remaining commutable to his job. Sanford has seen home prices rise considerably in the last year, but at nowhere near the rate of Raleigh and its immediate suburbs. According to a recent WRAL report, as of March 28, only 92 single-family
As of March 28, only 92 single-family homes under $500,000 were on the market in Raleigh’s city limits. homes under $500,000 were on the market in Raleigh’s city limits. To make matters worse, home values and property taxes continue to rise in Wake County — pricing out many middle-class families looking to move to the Triangle area. The McRaes found value in moving to Sanford, and seven months later, they’re happy with the decision. “I love how quiet it is. The traffic is low, but the restaurant selection is horrible,” Renee said with a laugh. “But if you look at the same size home compared to Raleigh, I think I would have ended up paying double for a home had we chosen the city.” Affordability was a big factor in drawing families like the McRaes and Rileys, and it’s a big factor in Sanford’s recent uptick in population with thousands of new single-family homes still months and years away. Carolina Demography’s 2021 report released in March showed a 1.3-percent growth rate for Lee County since the 2020 Census report. That level of growth is something county leaders haven’t seen in years. Granted, 1.3 percent may seem like an unimpressive number, but it’s a percentage that reflects growth that has taken place just over a 12-month time frame. In that same time, 80 more babies were born than the total number of people who died in Lee County, and 773 more people moved into the county than moved out. The “boom” level growth is coming. Carolina Demography projects Lee County will grow by 37 percent between now and 2050. That rate is higher than North Carolina’s projected population growth — 32 percent — over the same period. The 10.4 million people living in North Carolina is projected to become 13.8 million in 2050. The city and county’s current housing situation is in no position to handle 24,000 additional people over the next three decades. That’s why announcements of new large-scale, high-density subdvisions are being made on a regular basis.
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rantnc.com The aforementioned Galvin’s Ridge will be the largest development to come to Sanford since Carolina Trace in the 1970s. Located just off of U.S. 1 and Colon Road — across from Enterprise Park and Astellas Therapeutics and just five minutes from VinFast’s future campus in Moncure — Galvin’s Ridge could hold up to 995 homes should it reach capacity (which alone would mean an 8 percent population increase for the City of Sanford). Laurel Oaks — like Galvin’s Ridge a community of D.R. Horton-built homes — is expected to feature 625 homes on 210 acres in south Sanford along N.C. 87 a few miles north of Carolina Trace. Ashby Village (near Lowe’s Home Improvement) and Adams Village (behind the WalMart SuperCenter) will be mixed-use communities with single-family homes, apartments, townhomes and commercial buildings. The two communities, according to plans provided by Raleigh-based Trademark Properties, would combine to add an additional 1,000 residential lots. Land has been razed for two 100-plus-unit subdivisions, 78 South (on Tramway Road
between Southern Lee High School and Jonesboro Heights) and the Glen at Cool Springs (a controversial development near Westlake Downs that was met with protests by many residents of that community). Further down the road and, if it comes to fruition, potentially as ambitious as Galvin’s Ridge, the Midtown Village South subdivision would add 735 new houses and 170 townhomes on 288 acres along the U.S. 421 bypass between Colon and Lower Moncure roads. Plans for Midtown Village South were first presented to the city at a public hearing on Feb. 15. New housing’s domino effect will be new businesses (retail, restaurants and recreation) — something Alyssa Riley is looking forward to in her new city. “We miss typical suburb shopping like Target, access to higher quality restaurants and having that younger, upbeat vibe. Admittedly, when we go to a fancy dinner or have a date night, we find ourselves driving to Southern Pines or Raleigh … although as a native Californian, Sanford’s taco establishments are excellent,” Riley said. “But I foresee a lot of changes on these fronts.”
NEW TO SANFORD | TESTIMONIALS “We felt like Sanford was a better fit for our family than Pittsboro was. Sanford seems more family friendly. People we knew in the greater Raleigh area also recommended Sanford to us over other locations. My impression is that overall, Sanford is a very friendly community. [Our family] has been quite happy with our choice to move here.” — KerryAnn Foster, who moved to Sanford with her husband and two teenagers in 2020 from Asheville after a job offer in Pittsboro “I was renting in Cary, and living out there was beginning to be too much. And with (at the time) rates being very low, I decided to look for a home. [Sanford] has been great to be honest. The house I bought is a fixer-upper, so I stay busy with that and my kids. The open space out here has been enjoyable. — Steve Coker, who moved to Broadway back in January
“I grew up in Broadway, and I moved back [from Greensboro] because I found a more affordable apartment with more square footage. The timing seemed right. Since I left, I noticed more businesses in Lee County. Parks being renovated. Traffic stops being added. The safety and concerns of the community have been heard, quite frankly. I like the idea of raising my daughter in my hometown.” — Kathy Rivera, who left her hometown back in 2018 and moved back recently with her daughter “It is exciting to see the growth of Sanford. My first impression would be ... this is a nice little town that could grow and become a nice big town. I can see that happening already.” — Kathy Simmel, who left Ocean Isle Beach over a year ago (after living there for 20 years) to be closer to family living in the Buffalo Lakes area
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THERE’S STILL ROOM FOR MORE INDUSTRY, JOBS VinFast’s decision to locate on roughly 2,000 of the Triangle Innovation Point’s 2,500 acre site in Chatham County certainly takes one of the largest locations for economic development off the table locally. Lee County currently has nothing approaching its size, nor the size of the 1,800 acre Chatham Advanced Manufacturing (CAM) site near Siler City. But Sanford Area Growth Alliance CEO Jimmy Randolph said even with just three sites left for potential shell buildings at Lee County’s Central Carolina Enterprise Park, there’s still room for industries to locate in other parts of the county. He pointed to roughly 800 acres of land across Hawkins Avenue from the Lee Brick plant which is suitable for industrial development, if not exactly ready. Another possible location he cited is near the Raleigh Executive Jetport, where there are 600 unused acres controlled by a single owner. “There are various challenges like electric capacity and other things,” he said. “There are plenty of areas around North Carolina that just don’t have the robust infrastructure you need for that kind of development. And if there’s not a need, it’s not as high a priority. But we’ve got land assemblages with willing sellers who have indicated they’re open to industrial development. Together, we’re going to have to answer a lot of questions about what the needs are and the timelines for getting there.” Further, despite there being just a handful of large spaces left at CCEP — currently occupied by shell buildings housing Astellas and Abzena, as well as two build to suit facilities for Pfizer and Liberty Tire — there are at least seven other smaller lots that remain unoccupied. “Lots of space” doesn’t mean unlimited space, though, and Randolph acknowledged there will come a point well into the future at which SAGA needs to get creative. “There are no available buildings right now,” he said. “So for a company with an immediate need — they have existing customers and orders coming in — there are very few options. And a high percentage of the RFIs we get are looking for an existing building. There just aren’t
any. But from a strategic standpoint, we’re interested in community development and entrepreneurship and infill development. So we’re going to need to be creative, for example, by thinking of places downtown or that may be in need of repair.” Meanwhile, Chatham Economic Development Corporation President Michael Smith said he expects the VinFast announcement, while undoubtedly transformational, to be just the first in a series of decisions by large scale private industry to choose the area. “There’s a portion of Triangle Innovation Point that we call TIP West with another 400 acres available for use, and it’s being looked at by a number of projects that are unrelated to VinFast,” he said, noting it’s also likely that companies which are related to VinFast will start looking as well. “One of the reasons lots of communities want to get an automotive manufacturer is because of all the supply chain businesses that come with them.” Smith, was was CEO at SAGA prior to taking the job in Chatham, said the CAM site recently had a situation in which two different entities visited on the same day. “It reminded me of when I was in Sanford and we had two projects in town on the same day. They literally passed each other in the hallway,” he said. “And those two projects became Bharat Forge and Astellas. It’s a reminder that this part of North Carolina is dynamic and growing and good for business.” In any case, the developments in both Lee and Chatham should ensure the counties stay linked in various ways — not the least of which is the water agreement which paved the way for the VinFast deal — for years to come as they change together. Smith said having worked in Lee County before taking the Chatham EDC job featured heavily in VinFast. “The role the city (of Sanford) played was just huge,” he said. “(Public Works Director Vic Czar) and (engineer) Paul Weeks have been exceptionally helpful in getting us there. “And just having that relationship with the group in Sanford has meant so much.”
Central Carolina Academy, a new public charter school scheduled to open in August, has announced it will be located near U.S. 1 and North Horner Boulevard. When the school reaches its goal enrollment, it should serve more than 660 sixth through 12th graders — alleviating at least some short-term concerns of over-crowding in Sanford’s public schools.
She said she’s looking forward to more boutiques, restaurants, breweries and activities in Sanford and is already seeing signs of growth in downtown Sanford. She hopes Sanford’s amenities grow to suit the new population. “We have had friends joke with us about moving all the way out here, but when they come and sit on a quiet patio looking out over a big yard for under $500,000, I think they get it,” she said. “So far, I think this has been a good investment for us. If the area can be built up to support this new population of people, I think we might find ourselves staying here for the indefinite future.” CAN WE HANDLE IT? Sanford, Lee County and the Sanford Area Growth Alliance (SAGA), with the assistance of state officials, have created an economic development engine that is the envy of every other counties in North Carolina. The 56 job projects that have been announced in Lee County since 2014 have created 3,563 new jobs and a capital investment of $1.66 billion.
And in the last eight years, the county’s tax base has increased by just over a billion dollars. The average annual wage within the county has grown from $38,000 to $46,000. Those are the kinds of statistics that city and county leaders have to work with as they plan for the growth that is already here and the growth that is coming. But more than just approving new housing developments and annexations and the idea of new schools, leaders have to know or anticipate where that growth is most likely to occur. And they have to be right — otherwise, millions of dollars in planning and construction will be wasted. Take schools, for example. County Manager John Crumpton said growth patterns for school-age children are becoming harder to predict, and the growth of private and charter schools — in addition to the rising number of home-schooled children — is making it difficult to predict when and where a new school should be built. “From the time a site is chosen until the doors open, it can take up to 36 months to
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MAINTAINING SANFORD’S CHARACTER Marshall Downey, director of Sanford’s Planning & Development Department, keeps a running count of all the housing and commercial projects that have either been approved or are in the queue. He’s been a busy man in the last few years. Today, the city has about 6,200 single-family housing lots either approved or under review. Even if just half of those homes come to fruition, that’s 3,100 lots, multiplied by 2.6 (the average household in the U.S.), and there’s 8,060 new people in new homes living in Sanford very soon. And that’s a conservative number. One benefit of the influx of new homes and people, according to Downey, is that the city and county have the luxury of being more selective in what kind of developments get approval and what features they must include in order to earn approval. “There’s some concern out there that Sanford will grow too much and
lose its character,” Downey said. “So it’s important that we are selective in what we promote — we need to maintain our character and hold on to what makes Sanford unique.” Downey says the city can do that by updating its zoning codes. The city council has directed Planning to “raise the bar” on UDO standards. “More sidewalks, more tree-lined streets,” Downey says. “More open space. More active space. When new projects come in, we can set the bar higher.” Also important is the word “diversity.” When large projects with more than 125 homes come in, the city wants those houses to be diverse in terms of look and design. In other words, fewer “cookie cutter” neighborhood plans. “Diversity, walkability, streetscapes ... these are important moving forward,” he says. “We can set those standards now and maintain our character.”
“What we can do is monitor the rate of growth of ADM [average daily membership, a measure of school usage] in Lee County. ADM growth in the K-12 system determines when we’ll know that we need to move on constructing the next school and at what level,” How does a growhe added. “Based ing county like Lee “We have had friends joke at on the anticipated decide how, where us about moving all the way growth, we estimate and when to pull the out here, but when they come that the school trigger on building a and sit on a quiet patio looksystem will need new school? Crumping out over a big yard [in a capacity in the next ton said it’s not the five years and then home] for under $500,000, I simple task that you moving forward, it think they get it.” might think. will become a more “The schools have regular occurrence capacity at all three — maybe two to levels — elementary, three years in between schools. middle and high,” he said. “Until this year, “The county is building debt capacity to the county’s birth rate was relatively flat, address this growth in the future.” and deaths had outpaced births. That trend Crumpton will be meeting in the is starting to turn, and natural growth is coming months with Lee County Superincreasing. But our growth will be more intendent of Schools Andy Bryan and impacted by people relocating from other local officials to pinpoint areas where the areas.” Crumpton said estimating the number of coming growth is most likely to occur and determine the properties where new children coming to Lee County is a guess. schools might be constructed. build a school,” Crumpton said. “By purchasing and holding the land in advance of the growth, the board of education and county can reduce that building schedule by six to 12 months. This is why purchasing sites now is important.”
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rantnc.com Enrollment in Lee County Schools has dropped by about 800 students since 2015, and both Crumpton and Bryan believe this is a temporary circumstance brought on “by lower birth rates, school choice and the pandemic,” according to Bryan. “We believe student numbers will rebound, and our board has a new elementary school in the Capital Improvement Plan,” he said. “With future growth projections, we also expect that there will probably be a need for a new middle and high school as well.” Where could those new schools go? One possibility is East Sanford, an area that is growing faster than any other area of the city and directly connected to Sanford’s downtown area, where the city has been working for the past several years on a renewal plan. Outgoing Mayor Chet Mann said the next big step for downtown will be the creation of a “Mobility Hub,” a logical step between now and the creation of the S-Line commuter train that will eventually provide daily passenger and freight service between Sanford, Raleigh and as far north as Roanoke Rapids.
Mann said the Mobility Hub would be a place where you could come to rent a bike, ride or share a scooter, or charge your electric car and learn about multimodal transportation. It will serve as a means of introducing Sanford to a form of life that involves a form of transportation other than an automobile when living and working in the downtown area.
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Salmon’s fellow council member and opponent in the mayor’s race, Sam Gaskins, has much the same vision for downtown and East Sanford. “That part of the city already has in place a great sidewalk system and bike lanes,” he said. “And what we ultimately want to get to is having folks see both East Sanford and downtown as places for multimodal transportation, with lots of bikes where people can rent and alternate forms
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@therant905 of transportation like electric automobiles and scooters that visitors can rent as well that will take them that last mile of their journey within the city.” Another area where new schools could potentially be situated is the northern part of Sanford and the county that stretches toward the boundary with Chatham County, where the brunt of new home construction is scheduled to happen in Lee County.
Controversy surrounded approval of the Glen at Cool Springs, a high-density neighborhood being built near established communities in West Sanford. The 53-acre sitee will house at least 130 homes when complete.
The aforementioned developments — in addition to Brookshire, the Village of Cumnock and Hawkins Walk — surround new industries located in the northern part of the city like Bharat Forge, Service Offsite Solutions and the growing numbers of industries located at the Central Carolina Enterprise Park, where thousands of new jobs will be located and where construction on the city’s fifth fire station will begin in January 2023 at a cost of $5.58 million. A third area where growth and expansion are likely to take place lies along the Tramway Road corridor and then south along N.C. 87. There, the new 78 South development is well under way, as well as
Ryder Downs, Ashby Commons on Horner Boulevard, and Laurel Oaks and South Park multi-family homes near Carolina Trace. It’s a safe bet that several schools will be built within the next decade, perhaps within each of these areas, and even more after that. And when it happens, Bryan said the process will be the same.
“Balancing a budget while increasing funding and lowering the tax rate is tricky. We did it last year and believe we can do it again this year. ” “As when W. B. Wicker Elementary School was built, we will work with the county manager and Strategic Services to identify areas of county growth and potential sites for new schools,” he said. “The board of education will determine a priority list of sites and make a recommendation to the board of commissioners that will lead to discussions about next steps. As always, planning for future schools is a collaborative process.”
The city has made a concerted effort, through the efforts of Downtown Sanford, Inc. and its executive director, Kelli Laudate, to train new potential entrepreneurs, give them the skills that they will need to succeed in business and help to fill the empty business spaces in the downtown area. Those efforts have been successful. Laudate told the city council early in March that every single building in the downtown area is now either filled or undergoing renovation for occupation. Mann told the city council how important this achievement is for the downtown area’s continued growth at a recent Council meeting. “Our largest buildings are going under some form of renovation and will be rolling out over the next year or two, depending on the theme or what it is,” Mann said. “I am very pleased to tell you that our downtown is full and if you wanted in, you should have bought earlier, because now you are going to pay more, which is a good thing for all citizens because we did exactly what the revitalization plan was for, which was to turn a ‘C’ space into a ‘B’ space,
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rantnc.com and a ‘B’ space into an ‘A’ space. And we’ve done that.” Speaking on his “Open for Business” platform that he ran on when first elected in 2013, the mayor said, “To see how well the agenda has worked, you can look down Chatham Street and see the Koury Building, which for years had been a very tough situation for the city. I can’t remember how many square feet it is, but it’s several hundred thousand. It’s under new management and ownership from Legacy Homes and they will begin to build cabinets, custom cabinetry, and homes products for their business and also for retail sales.” City and county leaders implement the plans they develop by allocating tax dollars that its residents have paid as part of their fair share of living here. And though long-range plans may have forecast growth for decades at a time, funding that growth is a one year at a time enterprise,
as Crumpton explained. “In this year’s budget, the commissioners’ No. 1 priority is to lower taxes,” he said. “Balancing a budget while increasing funding and lowering the tax rate is tricky. We did it last year and believe we can do it again this year. When we look at our funding partners’ budgets, we look at their other revenue sources, compare our funding levels to other counties that share a similar tax base and population and prioritize the requests. “One thing we know is that when we build new facilities, we will have an increase in operating expenditures. So, the commissioners’ commitments to the community college, library and parks and recreation projects will take priority over other requests for funding at this time. It is a complicated puzzle, and our growth makes it more of a challenge — for us and everyone we fund.”
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26 | April 2022
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LOCAL NEW POTTERY FESTIVAL POSTPONED TO 2023 The return of Sanford’s pottery festival will have to wait for one more year. The Sanford Area Growth Alliance had announced the Sanford Pottery Exhibition and Marketplace, a continuation of the old Sanford Pottery Festival which ran for about a decade beginning in the early 2000s, for April 30 and May 1 at the Dennis A. Wicker Civic Center. But a number of factors converged which made planning more and more difficult as the day approached, and the decision was made to push the event back by a year in order to more adequately prepare. “We started our conversations about this in July (2021), when the average daily COVID rate was something like one case every seven days,” said Jimmy Randolph, SAGA’s CEO. “But then the Delta variant hit, and so we paused. And then just after Thanksgiving, it was Omicron. So our confidence in our ability to have a large scale event where your vendors are going to be sitting there talking to thousands of strangers was low. And there was a justifiable hesitation from our vendors, so we had to make the decision to give ourselves more time.” Randolph said the Sanford Pottery Exhibition and Marketplace is now scheduled for May 5 and 6, 2023 – as always, the weekend before mother’s day. He still anticipates the revamped event to showcase Sanford’s unique pottery heritage, interactive demonstrations and even an “Antiques Road Show” style pottery identification event. “We still see the opportunity to use the craft of pottery to amplify the long tradition we have here as makers,” he said. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/SanfordNCPottery.
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FARMERS MARKET RETURNS
Improvements in store for weekly market, running April 23 through Nov. 12 The Sanford Farmers Market will return on April 23, bringing with it a new member of Lee County’s Cooperative Extension to not only oversee the weekly event, but also cultivate relationships between producers, makers and consumers.Meredith Favre is the Extension’s new local foods coordinator and will be working as manager for the market, which will be held each Saturday morning through Nov. 12 from 8:30 a.m. to noon in the parking lot of the Sanford Buggy Factory. “We are a resource for the whole community,” Favre said. “We want to empower and enrich everyone, so we have to build those relationships with farmers, and I’m also looking forward to getting to know our local chefs and food banks.” Favre said the market’s return will also bring some improvements to an event that’s already considered a growing success. “We’re reorganizing the market, and getting feedback on what’s worked and what didn’t. For this year, we’re working on revamping the rules, expanding the diversity of products and beginning educational programming so we can eventually move into our new home,” she said. That home is the former King Roofing, Heating and Air building on Charlotte Avenue next to the old City Hall building. Pilgrim’s contributed more than $500,000 toward renovating the facility, which will become a permanent location for the market. It’s expected to serve as a multi-functional space for civic events and gath-
The opening of the market on April 23 will also coincide with the start of Lee County’s first ever Agricultural Week. erings, including 4-H meetings, farmer education courses, a food donation hub, bi-lingual classes on food safety, budget planning, cooking and more. The opening of the market on April 23 will also coincide with the start of Lee County’s first ever Agricultural Week, which will include cooking demos, visits to farms and nurseries, hands-on activities on topics like picking, landscaping, bee-
keeping, and even chicken embryology. “We’re all about giving resources to farmers and food producers so they can be successful. We welcome everybody who wants to be there, and we want to attract more people so we can continue to expand,” she said. “We have great potential to have a great local food system, and I’m really excited to be here and be a part of it.”
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rantnc.com OUTDOORS
Sanford native Autrey hiking Appalachian Trail Editor’s Note: This story appeared on The Rant’s website in mid-March. Autrey began his journey on March 26.
L
arry Autrey is no stranger to the outdoors. Near his home in Florida, the Sanford native (Lee County High School Class of 1976) has done plenty of hiking, particularly in the Ocala National Forest. His longest hike there was 72 miles, but Autrey admits even that won’t fully prepare him for his next adventure, which is to hike the Appalachian Trail’s nearly 2,200 miles from the south end at Springer Mountain, Georgia all the way to Mount Katahdin in Maine. “This is going to be a little bit out of my comfort zone. It’s a difficult adventure, and probably 80 percent of it is mental,” Autrey said. “I turn 64 in April. You only have one life, so why not do something cool?” Autrey, who works in real estate, has decided to use his trek – which he’ll undertake with a friend – as a way to raise funds for Alzheimer’s research organization The Longest Day. He has a goal of $50,000, of which he’s already gathered about $4,000. He’ll start his trip on March 26 and expects the journey to take six months.
“I’m part of a networking group, and there’s an Alzheimer’s research nonprofit we support,” he said. “The more I started talking to people, I just saw how it affects everyone. Every single person seemed to have a story. Autrey says he’s gotten a lot of positive feedback, as well as “a lot of ‘you must be out of your mind.’” But even though hiking the trail is no easy task, modern technology in the form of cell signals and even mobile apps has made it a little more user friendly. That being said, he’ll be carrying a backpack weighing 24 pounds every step of the way, and will start with a target pace of eight miles per day in order to develop what he calls “trail legs.” That pace will increase to between 13 and 15 miles each day, and then to as much as 20. “You’re supposed to burn something like 4,000 or 5,000 calories a day,” he said. “I anticipate losing between 20 and 25 pounds.” Autrey will be sharing his progress on his Facebook page (facebook.com/larry.autrey.12), and the Alzheimer’s Association will also be posting updates online. Visit act. alz.org to donate.
Larry Autrey is a 1976 graduate of Lee County High School who’s hiking the Appalachian Trail to raise money for Alzheimer’s research.
28 | April 2022
DORAN NAMED PARTNER AT WRSD LAW FIRM Nathalie Doran has been named a partner at WRSD, formerly known as Wilson, Reives & Silverman, making her the first woman partner at the 45-year-old law firm. “We are very excited to name Nathalie a partner and become Wilson, Reives, Silverman & Doran. She is a strong adDoran vocate in making the legal system accessible to the residents of Sanford and the surrounding area. She is the embodiment of our commitment to stand for the rights of everyday people,” said William T. Wilson, Jr., founding partner of the practice. Doran joined the firm in 2015 and focuses her legal practice on family law. The Campbell University School of Law graduate shares a deep understanding and connection with her clients as a champion for justice. While pursuing her undergraduate degree in psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Doran served as a guardian ad litem in Chatham and Orange counties, representing children involved in abuse and neglect cases. As a volunteer for the Carolina House of Chapel Hill, Doran developed a passion for ensuring the rights of senior citizens while working with those suffering from dementia and Alzheimer’s. “I am incredibly grateful to Bill (Wilson), Robert (Reives), and Jon (Silverman) for their continued support and confidence in my work. To be named partner by three outstanding lawyers whom I deeply respect is an honor,” Doran said. “To be the first woman to lead as a partner for the firm is significant to me both personally and professionally.” Doran plans to continue focusing on her area of expertise, representing families and children in family law court. WRSD was founded in 1977 by Wilson as a solo practice and today has grown to nine attorneys who share over 150 years of combined legal expertise.
@therant905
ELECTION PRIMARY VOTING | MAY 17
MEET THE CANDIDATES
Races for Lee County sheriff, Sanford mayor, city council, school board and state senate make for a competitive local primary this spring LEE COUNTY SHERIFF (R) The race for sheriff of Lee County will be contested in both the general election and the Republican primary, as Tim Smith filed to face incumbent interim Sheriff Brian Estes in March, and Carlton Lyles filed as the lone Democratic candidate. The Rant reached out to the two Republican candidates who will square off in May. QUESTION: Introduce yourself and share what skills and qualifications you believe prepare you to be the Republican nominee for Lee County Sheriff. BRIAN ESTES
My name is Brian Estes, and I’m a Christian, conservative and Republican. I am a lifelong resident of Lee County, where I reside with my wife Ashley and son Corbin. Over the last 20 years, I have worked at the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and have served as a patrol deputy, domestic violence investigator, Estes criminal investigator, narcotic agent, TFO/homeland security, captain of professional standards and now as your sheriff. As the sheriff, I will continue to protect the Constitutional rights of all citizens to liberty, equality and justice. My badge not only identifies me as the sheriff, it also represents the oath of office, serving as a constant reminder of the values and principles I hold very dearly. I have a bachelor’s degree in criminal jus-
tice. I am the first Lee County deputy in the history of the Sheriff’s Office to be accepted and to attend the FBI National Academy. I am a general and specialized physical fitness instructor, and I enjoy teaching in the Basic Law Enforcement Training program. I have the endorsements of Sheriff Billy Bryant and Sheriff Tracy Carter. I am the only certified law enforcement officer running to be your sheriff. I feel that my training and experience best qualify me for the opportunity to ask you for your vote to be your sheriff. TIM SMITH
I will keep this short and sweet. My name is Tim L. Smith, and I’m a candidate for Lee County Sheriff. I am a former Lee County deputy, and I hold a master’s degree in philosophy, specializing in political theory and ethics. I am a published author and have written formaSmith tively on the relationship between American law enforcement and our federal Constitution. QUESTION: What do you see as the biggest threat to public safety in Lee County and how will you leverage the assets of the sheriff’s office to confront it? BRIAN ESTES
The biggest threat that I see on a daily basis, that has somehow affected every family in Lee County, is associated with illegal drugs.
I have personally witnessed the effect of overdoses and addiction destroying families. I will do everything in my ability to ensure justice is brought for the friends, family, and loved ones that are also affected. In addition to our narcotic’s investigators, I plan to have an investigator that solely focuses on overdose cases and investigates the people responsible for the sale of poison to our children. As sheriff, I am also implementing programs in our detention center that will give people a chance to start recovering and help them with mental health issues while incarcerated, to hopefully give them a sense of direction when released. Secondly, Lee County needs to be kept safe from criminals that travel from city to city to destroy towns other than the one they call home. The safety and security of Lee County and all of its people and property are paramount. As your Sheriff, I will guarantee that not only my staff, but myself as well, will be on the front lines to ensure Lee County is served with professional, accountable and effective law enforcement. TIM SMITH
The biggest threat I see to public safety is a rise in political agendas that work against America’s fundamental and foundational principles. Some examples of these agendas are: restrictions upon your speech, the centralizing of government, intrusion of your privacy, the financial exploitation of your property and wealth, the arbitrary restraints on your right to be armed, etc. I would leverage the assets of the sheriff’s office to confront this threat by taking my oath to uphold and defend our constitution very seriously. I just love the
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rantnc.com innovative proposition that Madison fortified in our constitution; that law should, and must, be limited to the rights of the people. QUESTION: Although there is an interim sheriff finishing out Tracy Carter’s unexpired term, the winner of the general election will be a newcomer after nearly 16 years. How will you interface with the community in a way that builds public trust? BRIAN ESTES
I am very fortunate to have been a part of the Sheriff’s Office during Sheriff Carter’s tenure. I have been mentored by Sheriff Carter and witnessed the amazing work that he has done for the community of Lee County. I will continue to lead from the front and to improve our office moving forward. Over the last 20 years, I have developed relationships and partnerships with the citizens by being involved with community events, fundraisers for those in need, and educating our children to make good decisions. I am very blessed to be serving as your sheriff for the remainder of this term. I will continue to be everyone’s sheriff and be available to the community, as Sheriff Carter
always was. I have an open-door policy to the citizens of Lee County and the employees of the Sheriff’s Office. Transparency is key to trust in any relationship. My staff is very important to me and I will ensure that the citizens receive top level professional Law Enforcement. I am 100 percent invested in Lee County and the future of the Sheriff’s Office, and with your support, I will be for many years to come.
.
Economic Development Chamber of Commerce
TIM SMITH
I believe the best way to build public trust in our communities is to improve the relationship between the people and law enforcement. Law enforcement officers are servants of the people and our first line of defense. A strong, positive relationship between the people and law enforcement is essential to securing our American principles, and way of life. Moreover, a sheriff must, sincerely, and continuously, go after those people who criminally cause harm to others and/or to another’s property, no matter who they are in society. For greater depth and detail in the stance I take, who I am, my background, what a Sheriff’s job is, and local issues I aspire to tackle, if elected, please visit Tim4Sheriff.com.
UNPRECEDENTED GROWTH presents
UNPRECEDENTED OPPORTUNITIES Over the past 24 months, the Lee County area has seen growth
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advanced-manufacturing leader Bharat Forge, our community
technology, welding, computer integrated machining and
will see the creation of over 1,700 new jobs, with average wages
more.
well above the county average. All Chatham, Harnett, and Lee County residents who graduate These announcements have created unprecedented
from a public high school, private school, charter school, or
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30 | April 2022 SANFORD MAYOR (D) Shortly after Sanford Mayor Chet Mann announced in February that he won’t seek a third term in this year’s municipal election, two members of the city council announced bids for the office — setting up a Democratic primary on May 17. Ward 1 Councilman Sam Gaskins and Ward 5 Councilwoman Rebecca Wyhof Salmon each announced that they would seek the office of mayor. Both Gaskins and Wyhof Salmon are Democrats, and both indicated they plan to focus on issues including economic development and continuing the revitalization of downtown. Both also cited support for Mann’s “Open for Business” agenda. QUESTION: Introduce yourself and share what skills and qualifications you believe prepare you to be the next mayor of Sanford. SAM GASKINS
I worked 30 years as an industrial scientist and a technology manager with RCA and Pfizer, where for many years, I was responsible for multimillion-dollar budgets. I retired from industry and moved to academia, where I spent 18 years as a chemistry professor including chemical technology and biotechnology. In December 2009, I began representing the City Gaskins Council at the Economic Development Corporation meetings. I was instrumental in transitioning from the EDC to the Sanford Area Growth Alliance, and I have served on the SAGA Board of Directors since its inception. In 2013, I garnered the four votes on council necessary to clean up the construction dump behind the Chatham Street businesses and the Buggy Company to convert the dump to an aesthetically pleasing parking lot with Sanford’s first excursion into public art. At a cost of $400,000, it took some effort to muster those four votes. Also in 2013, I championed the bond referenda, especially for the Streetscape Project as a follow-up to the Chatham Street Parking Lot and as a means to attract new businesses to Downtown Sanford. I have a track record of community service.
@therant905 An extensive list may be found on my website: www.SamGaskins.com. I work, I make things happen, and I am a proven leader in industry, in academia, in community service, and in city government. REBECCA WYHOF SALMON
I have been a member of the City Council since 2011 including two years as Mayor Pro Tem. During my tenure, I have served as a board member and chair of the seven-county Triangle J Council of Governments, as a Director of Foreign Trade Zone #93, and as a gubernatorial appointment to the N.C. Oil and Gas Commission. I hold a master’s degree Salmon in public administration from UNC-Chapel Hill and have over 25 years of diverse public and private sector work experience. During my time on the council, I have been a champion of the positive and successful ‘Open for Business’ agenda. I have always sought to be a problem solver and a coalition builder and have built productive, respectful working relationships with a wide spectrum of stakeholders because I truly believe that building a community is a team effort. I look forward to working with our partners to build on this foundation as we chart the future for our dynamic city. As Sanford looks forward to its next chapter, I feel I have the right experience, acumen, positive energy, and temperament to serve our community well as mayor. QUESTION: Both of you referenced outgoing Mayor Chet Mann’s “Open for Business” agenda when you announced your candidacies. That being said, Mann said he believed the items on that agenda had been completed. What does “Open for Business” mean to you, and how do you propose to carry it forward as mayor? SAM GASKINS
Mayor Mann is correct in that the specific items on his agenda have been accomplished. For example, we have certainly promoted water supply as a unique asset, we have a visual and performance art district, and we have an East Sanford development program.
We cannot simply say that we have accomplished our immediate goals and assume that we are finished. We are in a dynamic situation. We must continue to attract new industry, to retain industry, and replace businesses that do move or fail. We must continue to upgrade the quality of jobs available and our workforce. Higher paying jobs will improve the quality of life for all Sanford residents. If we do not continue our efforts to attract these companies and the higher-paying jobs, someone else will. I have completed a detailed program of work, which is available upon request. REBECCA WYHOF SALMON
‘Open for Business’ has become a mindset that the elected city leadership now incorporates into its agenda setting and decision making. The core tenets of job creation, quality of place, tourism and community pride are never finished — the strategies will evolve over time as the community changes, but in order to keep moving forward in a positive direction, city leaders will need to keep focused on progress in these core areas. As Mayor, I plan to keep strong relationships with our key community partners at the Sanford Area Growth Alliance, Lee County, the School Board and Central Carolina Community College. We will also be increasingly building wider cooperative partnerships as we become a regional provider of water and wastewater services and look towards bringing commuter rail to Sanford to connect our growing industrial and biotech base to the Triangle. My experiences working with our regional partners through the Triangle J Council of Governments will be an asset as we move forward on these community defining endeavors that will keep us ‘Open for Business’ in the years to come. QUESTION: How do you propose to address challenges brought by continued growth and annexation, both in terms of areas the mayor and the city council can control (police, fire, infrastructure) and those which are handled by other policymakers (schools)? SAM GASKINS
My background in industry and engineering, including the startups of new facilities for both RCA and Pfizer, has provided me with an understanding of aspects of expanding infrastruc-
ture, especially in areas such as water and waste treatment. Sanford has an outstanding staff, which has set in motion plans for expansions in both water and waste treatment. Likewise, we are actively working on a fourth fire station with plans for a fifth station to follow. We increased the salaries in the police department to remain competitive with neighboring communities, and our police department has been accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies. I expect to have the SFD similarly accredited. Increasing the percentage of our industrial tax base has provided and will provide the funds necessary to cover the costs of police, fire, infrastructure, and schools. We are already seeing those results with Lee County’s being able to fund the new sports facility with the revenue generated by the Pfizer expansion for gene therapy. Commercial properties have a much higher tax value than residential properties. Commercial properties do not have school children. REBECCA WYHOF SALMON
The city can best address these challenges in two ways. First, I will work with the Council to create policies that encourage infill development into areas that already have access to existing infrastructure. This will allow for the most efficient delivery of services. Second, we can continue to be proactive in our planning for growth. We are working to complete overhauls of our both our residential and commercial codes to streamline the process and provide clear rules and expectations for future development. We are in the design phase of a new fire station and planning to expand our water treatment plant in expectation of future industrial and residential growth. By taking a regional approach and bringing in partner communities into the expansion, Sanford will be the beneficiary of substantial cost savings through economies of scale in construction and operation. Key to the community’s overall success will be continued communication with other policymakers. The expected growth of announced jobs and approved residential developments will not come overnight. As mayor, working together with these stakeholders, we can make sure we are prepared for where and when the growth is coming for schools and other needed infrastructure.
rantnc.com
The Rant Monthly | 31
32 | April 2022
@therant905 CITY COUNCIL WARD 1 (D) Democrats Ken Britton and Mark Akinosho filed for Sanford City Council’s Ward 1 seat in the May primary — the winner will face Republican retired educator and businessman Blaine Sutton in the general election. Ward 1 is centered around west Sanford, including the entirety of the Westlake Downs, West Landing, Carbonton Heights and Owl’s Nest neighborhoods, as well as a large portion of Westlake Valley. The seat is being vacated by Democrat Sam Gaskins, who is running in the Democratic primary for Sanford mayor. QUESTION: Introduce yourself and share what skills and qualifications you believe prepare you to be the Democratic nominee for Ward 1 Sanford City Council. MARK AKINOSHO
Thank you for allowing me to use your platform to answer these questions about balancing growth and development. My name is Reverend Mark Akinosho, and I have been married to my wife, Caroline Akinosho, for almost 40 years! We are blessed with four successful adult children and a grandchild. I am Akinosho an ordained minister of Southern Baptist Convention and have graduate education from Southeastern Baptist Seminary. I have been a pastor in our community for over 25 years and a local small business owner for almost that long also. I have served the people of Lee County for two terms as an elected member of the School Board as the chair and vice chair of that Board. I have also been in community leadership roles including: Lee County Planning Board, Sanford Housing Authority, City Board of Adjustment/Housing, and the Sanford Area Growth Alliance. Finally, I have also dedicated myself to non-profit and community service work and have served on the boards of: Reach Out Crisis Pregnancy Center (ROCPC) (20+ years of service), the local Salvation Army, the local North Carolina Community Foundation Board, and the board of True Bread Ministries.
KEN BRITTON
I’m a proud husband to my lovely and talented wife Erin, and father to four wonderful kids (Grace, Hannah, Connor, & Kenny). Professionally, I will bring 20+ years of global cross-functional and multi-industry experience and expertise. Civically, I will bring extensive experience including eight years of service on the Sanford City Planning Board (which I currently Chair); County-appointed SAGA board member; CCH Governing Board Member; CCCC Foundation Board Member; past YMCA Board Member, and others. My diverse experience, perspectives, and deeply rooted passion for Sanford will allow me to excel as Ward 1’s next City Councilman.
Britton
QUESTION: How should the council balance growth and development with the additional needs with which they come (police, fire, water, etc.)? MARK AKINOSHO
This question is a discussion often had in different forums by concerned citizens, homeowners, and all people that love Lee County. How do I know this? Because I have had the privilege of serving on the Lee County Planning Board and get to see different types of development requests that are presented to the Board. This Board is an advisory board to elected officials, but it allows me to make the following observations: 1) A development that will compliment the existing homes and neighborhoods is important to all citizens; 2) Infrastructure upgrades to existing structures are necessary for moving forward; 3) New schools, city facilities, parks, healthcare, and fire, police, and first responder facilities are all necessary parts of the infrastructure investment and should not be considered as distinct. It is critical that these areas of our infrastructure must grow as our city grows. KEN BRITTON
Communication across all municipal, county, and state entities and critical infrastructure teams are essential; especially as quickly as we are growing!
The Rant Monthly | 33
rantnc.com In the past, we could get away with 5-10 year long-range capital and infrastructure planning cycles supplemented with annual City budget reviews, but with the magnitude of the residential and commercial projects that are coming, we will need more frequent touchpoints and potential revisions to ensure we’re not exceeding our existing infrastructure and emergency support capacities. As your council member, I would lean heavily on our extremely talented staff to determine if our current review and infrastructure investment thresholds are adequate and balance our tax revenues to avoid increases in property and sales tax on our current and new residents of Sanford. QUESTION: The candidate who wins the general election for this seat will be new to the council. How will you, a rookie in a group of seven, go about ensuring your voice and the voice of your constituents will be heard on the council? MARK AKINOSHO
As a former vice chair and chair of the School Board, I feel comfortable walking
into a new board of elected officials, learning the ropes, and working together to get things done. To that end, I feel I have the necessary skills to deliver for my constituents, and all citizens, irrespective of party affiliations. I will thoroughly research and engage citizens in their feedback for every issue that is brought before the board. If I am fortunate to be elected, my voice will continue to be the vehicle for your collective voices, and I look forward to continuing in public service in this new way. KEN BRITTON
Team sports have always been a huge part of my life and I’ve extended many lessons learned being a part of a team into my professional and civic career. I see the City Council as a team where we all have the opportunity to bring our unique perspectives, experiences, and passion together for one common goal which is for Sanford to WIN. I look forward to being the rookie on the Sanford City Council, and I’m confident that with me on the team we will have a higher winning percentage!
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34 | April 2022 SCHOOL BOARD (R) Four newcomers will vie for three spots on the fall ballot in the Republican primary for the Lee County Board of Education. The top vote getters will face off against Democrats Walter Ferguson, Christine Hilliard and Pat McCracken in November. QUESTION: Introduce yourself and share what skills and qualifications you believe prepare you to be one of the Republican nominees for a seat on the Lee County Board of Education. ERIC DAVIDSON
Greetings! My name is Eric Davidson. I was a candidate for School Board in the 2020 election. My wife, Debbie, and I have resided in Lee County for 36 years. I currently own EDJE Consulting Group, a small business serving clients as a consultant, coach, trainer, and speaker. I also have 15 years of experience as a secDavidson
@therant905 ondary school teacher and as an administrator, 13 years as a high school coach and six years as an athletic director. For the past eight years I have served as an adjunct instructor in the Curriculum Department of CCCC. I am a two-time graduate of Campbell University with a BA, summa cum laude, and a MA. CHRIS GASTER
I am Chris Gaster. I am a native of Lee County. I am running for school board because I’m tired of parents not having a voice for their children. I’m for quality teachers who are not promoting politically correct agendas in the classroom. I’m for the unseen in the school system that makes it run. The custodians, clerks, assistant teachers, cafeteria staff, maintenance staff, etc. These good people are overlooked and underpaid. Gaster
I am qualified not by education or
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stature. But because God has placed it in my heart to be a voice for Him and a voice for parents. To communicate that in making decisions for families and their kids who go to school. If people want to know why I’m running, they can visit my social media page. Or show up in person to school board meetings, or watch online. I’m not a politician or full of fluff. I’m fed up with the sinful agendas that are removing innocence from our children, schools that promote an agenda, rather than an education. I’m an ordinary person who loves God, family and this country. ALAN RUMMEL
I’m Alan Rummel, a Lee County area resident for over 20 years. I have two children in Lee County Schools so a well functioning school system is very personal to me. I’ve spent the last 18 years working in industry and bringing that background to the school board, which is composed mostly of people in or retired from academia, will bring much needed diversity of thought and experience.
Throughout my career I’ve been highly-trained to collect and analyze data to make improvement decisions and then track those changes to ensure they have the desired effect. This skillset Rummel is desperately needed on the board to bring continuous improvement to the school system and ensure responsible use of taxpayer dollars. As a former assembly line worker and manager, and through my studies at ECU, I have a good understanding of how to improve work-life to help attract and retain the most talented employees possible. As a member of the board, I’ll bring that experience and focus to the school system to help usher in improvements that will be felt daily by school employees. KENNA WILSON
In 1994, I came to Sanford, stayed, and raised my family. I am a wife and mom with two sons. Both attended Lee County
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The Rant Monthly | 35
rantnc.com Schools. I served as a special education teacher and administrator for over two decades in Lee County. I have two Master’s degrees, one in Special Education and the other in School Wilson Administration, and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership. I taught at J. Glenn Edwards, Tramway, and Floyd Knight and was an assistant principal at East Lee. I opened SanLee Middle as principal where we earned “Head of the Class” at the middle school level for three of the five years I was there. I mentored eight aspiring principals, including the current principal of Lee County High School. I was principal of Lee County High School and Exceptional Children Director under the direction of
our current superintendent. My experiences provide me with a unique perspective that will add value to our school board. I have seen “behind the curtain” in Lee County Schools. It’s time to have board members who work together to make our school district as strong as the hearts of our children, our families, and our educators. I have no tolerance for special interests and those with special interests in Sanford know it. The kind of honesty our district needs to become great is going to be uncomfortable for those in Sanford with special interests. It’s time for them to be uncomfortable. It is the right thing to do for all kids, families, and educators in our community. I have the skills, qualifications, and courage to do it.
QUESTION: Enrollment in Lee County’s public schools has not kept up with population growth. Why do you believe this is, and what, if anything should be done about it? ERIC DAVIDSON
I believe my previous and current experience as an educator and administrator, business owner, and as a substitute teacher in Lee County Schools since Jan. 12, provide me the skills and qualifications necessary to serve as a vital member of the Board of Education. I will be seeking student success through a cooperative effort among students, schools, and society. I will bring to the board a new voice and a new vision that puts students first and focuses on student achievement. Remember, “nothing changes if nothing changes.”
CHRIS GASTER
These two are simple. Poor leadership. Teaching agendas instead of education. Without proper management of anything, loose purse strings and no accountability, a great ship can be sunk. We are taking on water now. Let’s start by fixing the system, then bail out the political nonsense to get this ship back afloat and sailing to academic greatness. ALAN RUMMEL
Many parents who disagreed with lockdowns and mask mandates, or perhaps witnessed questionable educational topics during online learning in their homes, sought other options (private or homeschool) and have never returned their children to public school. With regard to families new to the area, surely
36 | April 2022
@therant905
available school ranking data leads some to never send their kids to public school. Lee County Schools rank in the bottom half of the state currently and have been on a downward trend state-wide over the last 10 years or so.
Communication from the school district leadership has been more like a public relations campaign than a real dialogue with families. Parents who have reached out to me want options.
One clear way to repair confidence in public schools is to show parents that public schools can compete with the alternatives in performance. Transparency in programs and performance would be a big help by itself. Little information is currently shared with the public regarding spending, special programs, and effectiveness of said programs. I’ve met with some administrators and our schools are doing some AMAZING things to help our students, but most people have no idea about any of it because the board and central office don’t talk about it.
Who has reached out to our home school families? Has anyone in the district asked parents who leave for charter schools and private schools why they left?
As a member of the board, ensuring that our parents and community know the status of the school system and special programs will be a high priority. KENNA WILSON
Lee County Schools is on their heels in regards to this issue. Conversations about the matter should have been had long ago.
There is a part of our community that has been ignored for years. The same old players on the school board and those behind them pulling the strings count on the rest of the community to stay in their place. Families are deeply concerned about school performance and hear no one talking about real solutions. They don’t feel heard. Many share examples of their kids not being given the same access to opportunities as others who are connected to power in Sanford. Listening to the needs of all families is a great place to start in dealing with the issue. There are also ways to support home school families while still honoring their choice. Innovative programs to allow these families to access course offerings can be created. These programs exist in other districts.
Choice is not negative for public schools. It is an opportunity to serve families who make a different choice than full time attendance in our schools. These are all of our children and we must work together to create a district that is responsive to all. QUESTION: Test scores among Lee County students are flat, leading to concerns that employers and industries may experience difficulty in recruiting for jobs from our local workforce. What should the Board of Education be doing to address this? ERIC DAVIDSON
As a member of the Sanford Chamber of Commerce Education and Workforce Development Committee, I have a front row seat in discussions related to local workforce readiness in Lee County. During a recent Committee meeting, a representative from an existing Lee County company stated concern over the possibility of this company’s existing location and/or expansion efforts going elsewhere. The corporate office’s concern was the lack of a Lee County workforce to fill the company’s current need for increased production. We must place an ever-increasing educational focus on helping students who don’t have a desire for a four-year college degree. Yes, there will always be a need for workers with advanced college degrees, but there is an equal, if not greater, need for workers who will be educated and trained for jobs in trades and in industries already present and others coming to Lee County. We have a small window of opportunity, and Lee County Schools must address the learning loss created by the pandemic; student and teacher mental health needs; teacher, substitute teacher, school bus driver, cafeteria worker, custodian, and other support staff shortages, just to name a few of the challenges facing our next Lee County Board of Education. CHRIS GASTER
See question 2. ALAN RUMMEL
This question is built on incorrect/misleading information. Test scores among Lee County Students are down 30-50 percent
on average in every subject and every grade since COVID struck, not flat. The scores were flat to down since the current superintendent was hired for the 2013-2014 school year through 2019 (as I noted during public comments in December). I shared some of the COVID lost-learning data at the March school board meeting and it was extremely concerning. One of the board’s primary responsibilities is to hire and hold accountable a superintendent to manage the day to day business of the school system. High-level data from the last several years suggests that this oversight isn’t happening, or at least isn’t effective. As a member of the board, I can use my management and data analysis experience to bolster this oversight and ensure realistic goals are in place and monitored. The board also needs to do a better job of communicating the state of the school system to the public. When state rankings show us as a lagging county, the board should step-up transparency to make clear where we stand and provide updates on the improvement plan. For more detailed information, check out my Youtube page (Rummel for School Board). KENNA WILSON
I acknowledge standardized test scores are only one measure of success for a district, however, the pattern of little to no change across performance measures is significant. We have a school district where the same superintendent has been in place in spite of a pattern of flat test scores since he became superintendent. Every leader must assume accountability for outcomes under the direction of their leadership. As a leader in our community, when necessary, I have accepted accountability for shortcomings. All leaders know that is part of the job no matter what industry they serve. The time for our superintendent to be accountable for the performance of our district is long overdue. A primary responsibility of the Board of Education is to evaluate the superintendent. Simply, the Board of Education should address this by doing what every leader with integrity understands they must do. They need to thank Dr. Andy Bryan for his service to our community and start searching for a new superintendent to lead our district.
The Rant Monthly | 37
rantnc.com STATE SENATE (R) Three candidates are vying for state Senate’s 12th District, which covers Lee, Harnett and part of Sampson County. Incumbent Republican Jim Burgin will face David Buboltz and Ernie Watson. Burgin did not return answers to questions presented by The Rant. QUESTION: Introduce yourself and share what skills and qualifications you believe prepare you to be the Republican nominee for state Senate District 12.
gic analysis, organizational development, and tactical execution to provide resolution and innovation to any situation. Adept at harmonizing operational, financial, personnel, and regulatory constraints Watson when managing programs. Interoperability ambassador with unparalleled experience in dynamic environments. Excellent communication,
organizational and interpersonal skills honed through multi-service and multi-national relations. Skillfully able to detect and analyze emerging requirements then identify and evaluate courses of action for broad-spectrum and innovative success. QUESTION: The first part of 2021 saw a protracted court battle over the legislative and congressional maps for North Carolina. Are you satisfied with the current system in which the party in power draws these maps,
or should districts be created by an independent commission of some type? DAVID BUBOLTZ
First, I think it’s important to recognize that there is no such thing as a truly independent commission. We cannot be fooled by the words “independent commission” just because that is what is claimed. People have opinions, leanings, and causes they believe in, which colors how they act
DAVID BUBOLTZ
I am a Christian, a husband, and father of four (one in the womb). I am an engineer, a business owner, and an 11-year Army officer in the North Carolina National Guard, all by the grace of God. Running a business has showed me the struggles and triumphs of small business America. I saw firsthand how the Buboltz lockdowns and mandates threatened to destroy the middle class. As an Army Officer, I took an oath to support and defend our constitution. We watched as our children were masked and our churches were shut down, a clear violation of our rights. We can never allow this to happen again. As a father I’ve seen the precious blessings that children bring and I am horrified that one quarter of our children are murdered in the womb, the most dangerous place in America. There is a genocide among the most innocent of us that must be taken seriously. We must abolish, not regulate, killing children in the womb. We need repentance, turning to God, and a reliance on Him. We can change the course of this state but must act soon. The time to stand is now. JIM BURGIN
No answer provided ERNIE WATSON
Goal-oriented professional with over twenty years of experience in leading and managing high profile projects resulting in immediate global impact. Able to navigate through strate-
Financial advisors can help reduce anxiety
T
he long-running pandemic has caused many different types of anxieties – including financial anxiety. But even during normal times, many people have fears about meeting their financial goals. You can reduce this stress, though – by getting help from a financial professional. One of the most important things a financial professional can do for you is to help you avoid making choices based on emotions. Instead of letting fear drive your decisions, you’ll be better off sticking with a consistent investment strategy that reflects your
own goals and needs. Also, a financial professional can help you plan for multiple needs, such as saving for retirement for yourself and college for your children. And a financial professional can help you prepared for the unexpected by reviewing your needs for life and disability insurance and recommending ways to meet the potentially huge costs of long-term care. Achieving your financial goals may present challenges, but it doesn’t have to cause you years of worry and distress – as long as you get the help you need.
38 | April 2022
@therant905
Sanford Spinners’ second season starts in June at Tramway Park
A
second season for the Sanford Spinners is now just weeks away and the team’s manager is as excited – if not more – for the club’s sophomore campaign. The team, a reincarnation of the historic minor league Spinners who played in the 1940s and 50s, is a part of the collegiate level Old North State League and missed the organization’s playoffs by a hair in 2021. And with 2022 on the horizon, team Manager Jeremy Palme says local fans should expect an exciting season, especially since he’s had a full year to assemble a team. “The roster is almost set,” he said. “It looks like we’ll have three or four of the same kids coming back, but the rest of them will be new.” Like in 2021, the season will cover June and July and consist of about 30 games played at the county’s Tramway Park adjacent to Southern Lee High School. Unlike 2021, there will be no double header games, giving players more rest time between games. “The report date for players is June 1, and I think the first game is on June 2,” Palme said. According to Palme, the league itself, founded in 2018, is seeing some changes as well. At least one new team will be located
and view the world. There is an agenda and there is a lot at stake. The reality of this is that there is no true neutrality, only feigned neutrality, and we must be cautious of that. Secondly, having independent commissions weakens accountability to the voters. Shifting important matters such as redistricting to an unelected bureaucracy only insulates elected officials who otherwise could be held accountable for their actions. We have seen how unelected officials in the ATF, EPA, Department of Education, etc. have created rules and interpreted laws that they have no authority to do so. This is a large part of the swamp we see today, and we must keep our government as close to the people as possible. Although there is no silver bullet, moving
in Southern Pines, setting up a potential rival for the Spinners, and the league has continued to build its presence in the baseball world — meaning there’s more interest from players, and from bigger leagues and colleges in the ONSL players who perform well. Meanwhile, Palme said there’s again a need for host families for players from out of town (which is most of the roster) and for business sponsors. Those interested in either should check out the league’s website at www.oldnorthstateleague.com. The team is probably at least two seasons away from the chance to use Lee County’s coming multi-sports complex, but County Manager Dr. John Crumpton said that facility should be open by 2024. “We met with the architect and right now we’re in the preliminary planning and design stage where we’re looking at schematics,” he said. “Once we know what’s in the plan, we’ll have a better timeline. Within 30 or 60 days we’ll be meeting with all the key stakeholders – SASL, the peewee football group, the baseball organizations, the Parks and Recreation advisory board — to get a better handle on what everyone expects from each other.”
legislative and congressional redistricting further from accountability to the voters is not the path forward for a representative government. JIM BURGIN
No response. ERNIE WATSON
I believe an independent committee who’s responsibility is devoid of partisan needs and thus fulfills the needs of the geographical location and consideration of the residents & variables therein, would provide a clearer depiction of what district boundaries should be considered.
The Rant Monthly | 39
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