September 2023 | Sanford, North Carolina
A product of LPH Media, LLC
Vol. 5 | Issue 9 | No. 54
Editorial
Gordon Anderson | gordon@rantnc.com
Billy Liggett | billy@rantnc.com
Jonathan Owens | jonathan@rantnc.com
Richard Sullins | richard@rantnc.com
Advertising Brandon Allred | brandon@rantnc.com
(919) 605-1479
Contributors
Ben Brown, Jimmy Randolph, Matt Ramey, Mike Thomas
Editorial Board
Mark Holton, E.G. Daily, Diane Salinger, Judd Omen, Lynne Marie Stewart, Alice Nunn, Jan Hooks, Jason Hervey, Dee Snider and Morgan Fairchild
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119 Wicker Street Downtown Sanford
Iwas in the small town of Pittsburg, Texas, visiting my dad a few months ago when lunch options came up. I hadn’t had a “real” Texas-sized chicken fried steak in ages, so my vote went toward whichever restaurant could honor my request. That brought us to an even smaller town — roughly 300 people — and a true hole-in-the-wall restaurant with a great chicken fried steak reputation.
The meal didn’t disappoint. But that’s not the point of all this. While waiting for our table, I noticed a small plaque in honor of Carroll Shelby, the racing legend best known for his involvement in Ford’s Mustang and Cobra in the 1960s and for winning the 24 Hours of Lemans in 1959.
I have two boys who are absolutely nuts about “super cars” and F1 racing and just about anything with an engine, four wheels and a net worth of more than I make in a year. They weren’t with me on this trip, but I made a point to make the half-mile trek from the restaurant to a small rural graveyard to see Shelby’s resting place and get a photo of a headstone that had been lined with little HotWheels Shelbys. My youngest was impressed — the Shelby is his dream car.
Our cover story this month — about the Triple Crown Charity Car Show coming to Sanford on Sept. 9 — has two purposes. First and foremost, to promote a big “first-ever” event coming to Sanford that could draw lots of people and become a popular annual thing. Second, it’s for the
many of you out there who love cars. Those who love the words “custom build,” and those whose idea of a weekend well spent is walking through a “cruise-in” and talking shop with fellow auto enthusiasts.
There’s many of you out there. I was never one of them. But I see how it excites my boys, and I’m starting to “get it” now. Here’s hoping this edition and the upcoming show
a passion in more young people.
— Billy Liggett
CAROLINA INDIE FEST | SEPT. 29-30
Now in its third year, Carolina Indie Fest has become a twice annual event at Hugger Mugger Brewing in downtown Sanford.
The free event, set for Sept. 29 and 30, features 10 artists across a variety of genres playing hour-long sets of original music over two days on a special stage set up for the festival, as well as an array of craft vendors and food trucks.
Here’s a rundown of the artists, in order of their appearance:
Friday, September 29
5 p.m. Jeremiah McKinley Band “Stop what you’re doing and listen. Jeremiah
McKinley is a band of two brothers telling stories through a mix of Folk and newer Rock and Roll. With a lo-fi sound they give the listener a real grungy sound, mixed with really raw and gritty vocals.”
Visit: www.jeremiahmckinley.com
6:15 p.m Heat Preacher Coming out of Chapel Hill, Heat Preacher blends the musical styles of alternative rock, soul, and indie, to create their own brand of modern music. Up to this point, the guys have agreed that their time together is akin to being “a winning team in the local bowling league.” While the team has the drive and talent to take Heat Preacher to the big leagues, they agree that they want to do that on their own
terms and in their own time, especially since they are all very family-oriented.
Visit: www.heatpreacher.com
7:30 p.m. Gooseberry Jam The Gooseberry Jam is a force of melodic honesty and integrity to be reckoned with. It’s roots rockn-roll with an acoustic edge, leaning towards Americana. It really depends on the night and the mood. This band squeezes the gooseberry “juice of truth” out of each and every note.
Visit: www.n1m.com/thegooseberryjam
8:45 p.m. Cliff Wheeler Band The Cliff Wheeler Band is self-described “outlaw country” and “multi-genre” but we prefer the term “roadhouse country” to describe
their brand of sometimes dark themes and rough-and-ready sound. A North Carolina native, Cliff credits the band’s sound to a variety of musical influences growing up, including Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, The Doors, Eric Clapton, AC/DC, Dwight Yoakam, Blackfoot and Led Zeppelin. You can hear threads of all of these greats, woven throughout the bands music.
Visit: www.facebook.com/cliffwheelerband
Saturday, September 30
3 p.m. Oort Patrol A band’s where is less important than its when. When Oort Patrol is from matters less than when they are –which is now. The temporally ambivalent band claims their compositions, fuzzy pop punk jams with a nod toward the titans of the science fiction genre, are each gigantic hits in other timelines. Our timeline, fraught as it is with war, strife and celebrity trials, has never been more in need of some hits. So here, and now, they are.
Visit: www.oortpatrol.bandcamp.com
4:15 p.m. Shirlette Ammons Shirlette
Ammons is a Black queer southern truth teller. She is a poet and musician who has also served as producer on Emmy and Peabody award-winning TV and film projects. An award-winning poet, Shirlette was a Cave Canem Fellow whose body of work includes two collections of poetry. Expect a compelling spoken word/rap performance that defies easy categorization.
Visit: www.shirletteammons.com
5:30 p.m. Farewell Friend Farewell
Friend is an indie folk rock band based in Greensboro, North Carolina, known for their unique instrumentation and poetic songwriting. Tom Troyer, leads the band as singer-songwriter and guitarist bringing a distinct touch to the band’s sound.
The live band performance lineup may vary, but Evan Campfield on upright bass has been a consistent presence since 2016, while Zac Covington and Caleb Baer contribute their skills for live performances and as session musicians in the studio. Farewell Friend’s music resonates with authenticity,
vulnerability, and an unwavering commitment to the power of storytelling.
Visit: www.farewellfriendband.com
6:45 p.m. Kara Grainger Kara’s music career began in a small suburban town near Sydney, Australia and since then has taken her on an incredible journey throughout the globe. Combining slide guitar, soulful vocals and a heartfelt approach to songwriting, Kara’s truly unique sound will leave you uplifted, inspired and always wanting more.
Visit: www.karagrainger.com
8 p.m. Reese McHenry Reese McHenry came up swinging in northern Minnesota and she didn’t sit still for very long. A true troubadour, her powerful voice has driven her from the fresh greens of Eau Claire to the dusty motels of Albuquerque and everywhere in between. Since settling in North Carolina, this prolific songwriter and jagged performer has lent her fire and talent to a number of recording projects and now turns her attention to her own damn show.
Her songs defy genre and, though one could still categorize them as straight-shooting “rock,” the real thread connecting these songs is a wry brand of humor mixed with an ability to catch a hook at just the right moment.
Visit: www.reesemchenry.com
9:15 p.m. Skylar Gudasz With her luminous voice and captivating songcraft, Skylar Gudasz has won the admiration of some of the most distinguished artists in music.
In the past few years alone, the Durhambased singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist has shared stages with the likes of Ray Davies, Cat Power and Sharon Van Etten as part of the Big Star’s Third tribute concerts, opened for Television and toured from the US with Teenage Fanclub to Europe with the Mountain Goats, and appeared as a background vocalist on albums by Superchunk and Hiss Golden Messenger, making her TV debut with the latter on Late Night with Seth Meyers.
Visit: www.skylargudasz.com
YOU DON’T HAVE TO LIVE INSIDE THE GATES TO BECOME A MEMBER OR HOST AN EVENT!
Judging by the comments is usually a bad idea for any number of reasons, but we’re going to try it here for a second as a thought experiment. Judging by the comments, a whole lot of our readers are unhappy with your city government. On virtually every story we publish about new developments, whether that’s commercial (see our story on the plans for Riverbirch) or residential (see any of our stories on new housing or apartments), the naysayers come out in full force, finding any and every reason, real or completely made up, to decry “the city” for this or that.
Now let’s judge by something else. Based on the number of contested races in both Sanford and Broadway’s 2023 municipal elections — a total of one between them — most of you are actually pretty happy with your city government. Incumbent Sanford City Councilman
Byron Buckels, who represents Ward 4, is facing a challenge from Tamekia Dowdy in the Democratic primary for which early voting began in late August. That’s it.
We don’t think the council (or Broadway’s Town Board) has done a bad job and needs to be changed, but we’re also big believers in the idea that contested races are important because they give us a chance to debate our future and keep politicians on their toes. We’re not saying anybody with an opinion needs to run for office, but a lack of candidates reflects to some extent a lack of civic engagement.
As of this writing, just 22 people in Ward 4 had cast early votes. Predicting the future is notoriously difficult, but we don’t think that number will get a whole lot bigger before the primary between Buckels and Dowdy is decided on Sept. 12. And with zero contested races in the general election in November, a proportionally small percentage of Lee County’s municipal population will have decided a big part of its future.
Remember that the next time you read the comments.
Our August edition focused on the expected permanent closure of the Prince Motel, a downtown blight that has caused problems for police for years and has been the center for drug and other illegal activity. As it did four years earlier, our Prince story led to several reader opinions:
There should be options for less fortunate humans (like the elderly and disabled people here), however this place has been utilized for criminal activity ,and the owners apparently turned a blind eye to the situation. I hope the place gets demolished as a consequence for harboring criminal activity and allowing it. If they tried to put a stop to this, then I hope they get effective aid. Either way, no one wants a gathering spot for drugs, mental illness and destitute people to grow so out of control that it creates trouble/problems for the majority that are trying to do good.
Cynthia DoneganFingers crossed that we actually see something akin to that “Complete Streets” vision. Building one or two stand-alone businesses on such a core downtown area would be a waste of potential, especially with the coming road improvements.
Daniel LewisThe August story on the foreclosure of Spring Lane Cinemas drew the most comments for the month (nearly 200 of them). Here are but a few:
Great things are coming! I’ve been [at Spring Lane Cinemas] for 12 years. Just because we’re older doesn’t mean we’re dirty. I take pride in my business and will continue to do so until I leave this earth. Can’t help the fact we’ve been picking up the debt from Frank Theatres for the last
“Sure, we’re short on teachers, but look at the bright side. More coffee for us.”
five years. We aren’t the best theater, but we are the most sincere.
Jared CampbellSanford is pretty pitiful when it comes to entertainment for young people. There is absolutely nothing. So with all these new homes and apartments being built the people will have to take their money out of town for entertainment. Very sad! Whoever is running the show needs to get on the ball.
Linda McArthurIts a decent little theater, and I am glad we don’t have to book seats to get in. People are looking for fancy reclining chairs and such, but when the cost jumps, the complaining will refocus on that.
Elissa CannonOur theater is staffed by great folks who love the movies. They can’t help who owns them and who controls the money. But we can help by going to the movies, getting some popcorn and a drink. Don’t let COVID fallout take away our theater. Come see a flick and help our theater become new again.
Matt MillerWe went to a film on a Tuesday evening a few months back, and the theater had drinks still in cup holders and half the bathroom stalls were out of order. I wish Frank theaters would fund a remodel/ facelift of this place. It is weird to see concrete floors in a theater, but I understand you have to work with what you are given.
Peyton SprouseIn June, I presented a session on “Generative AI in Higher Education” at a conference for marketing and communications professionals in the Carolinas, and in October, I’ll be presenting on the subject again for North Carolina’s community college system. This boastful opening sentence is presented not to impress you, but to set up the fantastic (near) failure that comes next.
I almost fell for an online scam involving Taylor Swift tickets. It’s even more embarrassing to see that sentence in print.
What comes next, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, is my defense, presented to not only clear my name but also to serve as a warning that if someone like me — a middle-aged know-it-all in emerging technologies and a man who has been baffled by those who’ve fallen for similar scams in the past — can (again, almost) fall for something like this, then you can, too.
Or maybe you would have sniffed this out from a mile away. You be the judge (and jury).
A little backstory: I have a 13-year-old daughter. For some of you, no further explanation is needed. For the rest — she’s a Swifty. I’ve had to listen to it so much over the past five years, that I’m practically a Swifty, too. Not in the sense that I’m ready to dress up in my favorite Taylor era cosplay and drop a few hundreds to thousands on a ticket, but I dig a few of her songs.
My daughter and her friends, on the other hand, would do anything to see her perform in Miami, New Orleans or Indianapolis in 2024. So when a cousin of mine — a third cousin whom I’ve met on a few occasions in the past — posted on Facebook in August that she was selling four tickets for the Miami shows in October of next year for “a good price,” I was blinded by the opportunity to be a hero.
The cousin is a few years older than me. She’s vice president of a bank. And, most importantly, she lives in Miami. The Facebook page she posted from was hers — it wasn’t created last
week — and contained photos that dated back 12 to 15 years. The language in her post was casual and even had a “hand wave” emoji. The image associated with her post had a Ticketmaster screenshot of where the tickets would be — very good seats, but not “front row, dead center” or anything. All of the typical “this is a hoax” or “she’s been hacked” red flags were missing from the post. And, I noticed, I happened to be online a few minutes after she posted.
I was first. So I messaged her: “Hey … distant relative here. How much are you asking?”
I didn’t want to seem desperate. Within a few minutes, she responded with a price that was drastically below what these tickets were going for on the open market, but still a bit out of my reach. I countered. She met me in between. I only needed two of the four, so I reached out to a friend with a daughter the same age to see if they were interested in the other two. They were. We had something going here.
Then the first red flag. “If you use Venmo, I don’t have an account, but you can use my cousin’s,” my “cousin” messaged me. My heart sank. I replied that I’d need to call her to make sure this was all legit, joking that you can’t even trust relatives these days. I went a step further and messaged her sister and asked if the ticket post was legitimate.
My request to talk by phone was met with an “of course!” but I never received another message after that. The sister messaged me later that night to warn me that she’d been hacked — which was clear to me even before the reply, but still heartbreaking. I had to inform the friend that I almost got us both scammed, and the promise of the best birthday/Christmas presents ever flew out the door.
I didn’t lose any money, I didn’t share an email address and no private information was shared. But I was embarrassed, nonetheless. Someone who’s had to warn moms and dads and grandparents of these online tricks almost dived headfirst into the deep end on this one. Let this be a warning to all of you. Or, at least, take this opportunity to call me an idiot. I deserve it.
I began this column with a quote from one of my favorite musicians on trusting your gut, but perhaps I should have listened to Taylor herself: “You play stupid games, you win stupid prizes.”
Nigerian princes and other scammers can reach me at billy@rantnc.com
“If there’s any doubt, then there is no doubt. The gut don’t never lie.”
— Sturgill Simpson, “Keep it Between the Lines”
Anywhere between 200 and 400 cars are expected at the first Triple Crown Charity Car Show on Sept. 9 at the Dennis A. Wicker Civic Center. Admission to the outdoor portion of the show is free for spectators, and those wishing to enter a car for judging on the day of the show will pay $20. Those who want to see the 30-plus car “Legends Display” inside the civic center will be charged $5 a person. Proceeds from the show, which will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., will benefit the Lee County Education Foundation, the Christian United Outreach Center of Lee County and Central Carolina Community College’s Automotive Restoration program. Photo by Mike Thomas
By Billy LiggettOn the first Saturday of every month in a large parking lot at the corner of Page Road and South Miami Boulevard in Morrisville, North Carolina, car enthusiasts from all over the state — and the Southeast — gather to show off their pride and joy, to see in person some of the fastest and most well-built cars around and to “talk shop” with strangers who share their passion. On a smaller scale, nearly 40 miles to the south in Sanford, a similar gathering takes place on the last Saturday of the month in the parking lot in front of Camelback Brewing off of Spring Lane.
The people behind the state’s largest monthly show are bringing legends and rarities to Sanford’s inaugural Triple Crown event
“It’s a community,” says Jonathon Nowell, who noticed a growing interest in and around Sanford and launched the Facebook group Sanford Car News in 2019 to bring that community together. “We’re amazed at how far people will drive to come hang out and talk cars. We knew there was interest here, but it’s just blown up.”
The consistent success and growth of Morrisville’s Cars and Coffee — which averages more than 3,000 cars and thousands more people — and Sanford’s monthly Cruise’N Camelback events have paved the way for the biggest and most ambitious gathering yet in the Triple Crown Charity Car Show slated for Sept. 9 at the Dennis A. Wicker Civic Center in Sanford. Anywhere between 200 and 400 judge-worthy cars are expected to pack the civic center’s outdoor parking area (this part is free to spectators), and 30-plus additional cars will make up the indoor “Legends Display,” which will cost $5 a person for entry (fee is waived for those who enter a car).
Organizers have asked that the identity of the “legends” stay under wraps, but the combined estimated worth of the showcase will be roughly $15 million. Think “supercars” and rarities. A collector’s dream.
The people behind the inaugural show not only know a thing or two about cars; they know about putting together a show, too. Attorney and Sanford native Harrison Wicker, the son of the man whose name adorns the civic center, sits on the board of Morrisville’s popular event. Car enthusiast and professional photographer Mike Thomas has built an impressive portfolio shooting the Cars and Coffee event for the past few years. Nowell and Sanford Car News partner Graham Maxwell have had their finger on the car community pulse in Sanford for four years. And local enthusiast John Jinnings has a collection that could fill its own car show.
They — with the backing of sponsors like Wilkinson Chevrolet and friends from Morrisville — have brought enormous validity and high expectations for
The Cars and Coffee Morrisville event held on the first Saturday of each month just south of Durham draws more than 3,000 cars (and thousands more spectators) at each event. Cars and Coffee’s founder, Rob Ayers, has supported the group looking to launch Triple Crown Charity Car Show in Sanford this month. That association has lent the new event credibility in its inaugural year. Photo by Mike Thomas
this first-year event.
“It’s already a success,” says Thomas, owner of Maximum Performance Productions, which specializes in event photography and video production. “I say that because we’ve already raised thousands for these charities, and that’s the main reason we’re doing this. As for expectations, if we get 400 cars out there, that’s a 10 out of 10 for me. I know a lot of people are interested in what we’re doing, and I’d love to see it take off and become a yearly thing.”
It was Thomas who first brought up the idea that would become Triple Crown last year. A car enthusiast who lovingly calls his 2017 Chevy SS Sedan “Red,” Thomas says the idea to start an annual show that blended the fun of a “cruise in” with the competitiveness of a judged “show” (as well as a showroom for the high-end vehicles) came to him after the last few years of attending events across the state. Having people who could take that idea and make
it a reality didn’t hurt, either.
“It was a great idea,” says Wicker, a Sanford native and current partner of Wicker Law Firm PLLC in Raleigh. “And Sanford has the perfect venue for it. My dad [former North Carolina Lt. Gov. Dennis Wicker] is a car collector, and we know people with great collections. We had everything we needed to get this off the ground.”
One of those collectors is Jinnings, an Indiana native who only recently moved to North Carolina and brought with him a “massive collection” of rare Fords and Shelbys. Wicker says Jinnings was heavily involved in big shows in Fort Wayne, Indiana and has been huge in planning Triple Crown. Another big influence has been Rob Ayers, organizer of Cars and Coffee whose backing has lent credibility to a first-time event.
“Have you ever looked around a room and said to yourself, ‘We’ve got the perfect group here to get things done?’ That’s how I felt about this,” says Wicker.
The group went over things they liked and didn’t like about other shows — such
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We’re not allowed to say what vehicles will be part of the 30-car indoor “Legends Display” at the Sept. 9 Triple Crown Charity Car Show, but it’s a safe bet that whether it’s inside, outside in the 30-car “select” area or among the hundreds of cars and trucks brought in for the cruise-in portion, spectators will see several supercars, including Ferrari (above), Lamborghini and more. Photo by Mike Thomas
as unqualified judges and, thus, inconsistent scores — while planning this one. They also reached out to their friends and got 80 percent of their Legends Display filled before ever reaching out to the public. A partnership with Southern Integrity Auto Transport cut down on costs to bring those vehicles to Sanford, and with over a week remaining until the big day, already nearly $20,000 has been raised to benefit the three big beneficiaries of the car show — the Lee County Education Foundation, the Christian United Outreach Center and Central Carolina Community College’s Automotive Restoration program.
Months of planning has led to what they’re calling a “four-part show.” In addition to the 30 “finest legend cars” inside, there will be 30 hand-picked “selects” parked out front. There will be a Top 30 judged car show open to all makes and models (which requires the $20 registration) and an open-class cruise-in open to all makes and models of cars, trucks, motorcycles, vans, etc. Food trucks, a DJ, door prizes, raffles and all the other event trimmings will be there, too. Security will be on hand, and they’re asking that incoming vehicles
refrain from “tire spinning” to keep things safe and to respect the property.
The official temperature on this late August Saturday afternoon in Sanford is 100 degrees, but in the dark paved parking lot in front of Camelback Brewing, it feels more like 115. Walking just a few minutes on the asphalt heats the bottoms of shoes. In other words, it’s hot.
That doesn’t stop Nowell, Maxwell and their neon green shirt-sporting team from Sanford Car News from putting on another Cruise’N event. On most end-of-the-month Saturdays, this lot is packed with new Camaros, Corvettes and Mustangs, classic Chevy and Ford trucks and the occasional hot rod or classic 50s-era cruiser. On this day, the lot is about 75 percent full — still impressive considering the conditions.
Whether it’s their passion or just their hobby, Nowell says the crowds keep coming because of a shared love for cars. Nowell lowers his hand toward his right knee and says he was that tall when his passion for anything on four wheels was ignited.
“My dad always restored cars, and so I’ve always just kind of been around it and naturally fell in love with it,” he says. His pride and joy is restored 1987 square-bodied C10 Chevy Silverado. Maxwell owns a ’67 blown Chevy Camaro with the engine coming out of the hood. Both are often seen in the Camelback lot, and both are sure-fired conversation starters.
“The drive for us is being able to start something and have this many people here because they love being here,” Nowell adds. “There’ve been a lot of people come up to me and say how much they enjoy this and how, for some, it’s a family thing. There’s one father and son in particular who live nearby and said that since they started attending these, they’ve bought two cars and restored them together, because they fell in love with what we’re doing and they wanted to bring that home. I feel like it’s touched a lot of people.”
For Wicker, the love of cars also began at a young age. His father was a big race fan, and his uncle owned a classic Corvette, which Wicker first took a ride in when he was 4 (he still remembers the experience). But he was forever hooked the following
year at the Coco-Cola 600 NASCAR race in Concord — a race with a Hall of Fame top 6 finishers in Jeff Burton, Bobby Labonte, Mark Martin, Tony Stewart, Dale Jarrett and Dale Earnhardt.
“When they fired those motors, and I heard and felt the cackling of the camshafts, it captivated me,” Wicker says.
A lot of work has gone into putting the Triple Crown show together, and according to Wicker, the wheels are already turning, so to speak, to plan a bigger and better event in 2024.
When the day does hit, Thomas says he hopes to get a chance to pause and take it all in.
“If it’s anything close to what I think or hope it can be, it’ll be awesome,” he says. “We wanted to bring something like this to Sanford, because we know for many of the kids — and even the adults — they’ll be seeing cars like this for the first time ever. They’re like art to me, and I see beauty in it. I hope others, when they see this show, see the same thing.”
The automotive industry has been at the heart of America’s economy since before the turn of the 20th Century, and for more than a half-century has been a significant component of Sanford and Lee County’s economy as well.
My childhood memories contain many a vivid recollection of classic American “muscle cars” and the friends and relatives who drove them, and I still love to check out those powerful and flamboyant emblems of American technological innovation and manufacturing excellence whenever an antique car show comes to town.
While Sanford’s heritage as a regional manufacturing and commercial center was taking root as early as the late 19th Century, automotive supply chain manufacturers were a significant part of the broad and diverse influx of advanced manufacturers leading Sanford and Lee County’s manufacturing
renaissance in the 1970’s. Carter/Weber (later Magneti Marelli) and GKN brought an international flavor to Sanford’s dramatically expanding employer base, as the reputation of Lee County’s manufacturing community and its skilled and reliable workforce grew.
But this major economic expansion did not happen by accident.
The Sanford Area Chamber of Commerce, under the steady leadership of legendary economic developer Hal Siler, successfully recruited more than 50 new businesses to Sanford during the quarter-century ending in the early 1990’s. Mr. Siler’s strategic thinking, diplomatic talents and salesmanship notwithstanding, Sanford’s business and political leaders made critical decisions to invest in a significant expansion of its water and wastewater capacity and industrial training facilities. This timely and visionary investment in infrastructure not only attracted automotive suppliers, but enabled other major consumer products manufacturers like Coty, Herman Miller and Stanadyne (now Moen)
to relocate their manufacturing facilities to a still largely rural part of North Carolina. Despite Lee County’s broad and diverse manufacturing base and a strong tradition of economic development leadership, the dramatic economic crisis of 2008 hit our local economy, and recovery was slower for our community than many of our neighbors. The causes were many and complex, but the lingering impacts reminded local leaders that complacency is simply not an option in modern economic development. Magneti Marelli and GKN made adjustments but ultimately took the difficult decision to eliminate or dramatically reduce their local automotive manufacturing operations. The community, on the other hand, used the lessons of the great recession to forge the extraordinary community partnership known as the Sanford Area Growth Alliance (SAGA), and the dramatic tax base expansion and influx of good new jobs recently achieved through SAGA is a testament to the necessity and the wisdom of that approach.
Economic development is a continuous, long-term process, and it requires an unfaltering long-term commitment if it is to succeed. With significant assistance from SAGA, Lee County, the City of Sanford, CCCC and many other community partners, Bharat Forge Aluminum, USA has invested more than $100 million in its automotive industry-leading factory in Sanford and created hundreds of good new jobs to replace those lost with Marelli’s departure.
With the massive global endeavor currently underway to electrify and further modernize the world’s automotive fleet, and names like Toyota and VinFast joining Bharat Forge, our area is once again positioned to capitalize on the automotive manufacturing industry to bring good new jobs and increased prosperity for decades to come.
And, for those of us with a strong affinity for our automotive past, it’s cool to know you can still pick up a brand new Edelbrock carburetor, still being made right here in Sanford and Lee County.
Investigators in Harnett County announced that a body found on Aug. 24 belonged to a teen who had been missing for two days.
James Devon Snipes, 17, was reported missing after deputies in Lee County received a call that his vehicle had been stolen. He had been last seen at home on Aug. 22.
Deputies in Lee County and officers with the Sanford Police Department reported finding the vehicle, a 2023 Hyundai Tucson, being driven by someone else. After a chase, the driver of the vehicle and their passengers — none of whose names were released — were all detained. At that time, deputies said Snipes’ whereabouts remained unknown. Investigators did locate firearms inside of the vehicle, one of which was stolen from Harnett County.
Deputies continued the investigation and obtained a lead to search a wooded area off of Buffalo Lakes Road south of Sanford. During the search, deputies discovered a body that was soon identified as Snipes. The young man was a recent Central Carolina YouthBuild graduate who was in the process of enrolling at Central Carolina Community College’s barber program.
Registered voters in Lee County who do not have an acceptable identification card for voting in North Carolina can now go to Lee County Board of Elections office, 1503 Elm St. in Sanford, to get a free ID.
No special documents are needed. Voters will simply provide their name, date of birth, and the last four digits of their Social Security number, and have their photo taken. The county boards of elections can issue cards at any time during regular business hours, except for the period following the last day of early voting through Election Day.
By Billy Liggett billy@rantnc.com
The blue neon sign behind the cash register at the front of Sanford’s newest restaurant is symbolic of owner Jahaira Aguirra Ramos’ “dream big” approach to business. The truth is, A Toda Madre is anything but a dream — the 23-year-old recent UNC Wilmington graduate’s “leap of faith” is already a success in the fourth short months since its opening, thanks to word of mouth and a menu filled with authentic Mexican food dishes she fell in love with growing up.
A Toda Madre, located in the former Crossroads Grill on East Main Street not far from Lee County High School, follows a local trend set by new restaurants like Fonda Lupita (which earned national attention after its opening), Lilly’s Restaurant, La Esperanza and Mariscos No. Juan that forgo the traditional “tacos and burritos” Mexican restaurant items for dishes you’d more likely find in restaurants located in Mexico.
Not that you won’t find a giant burrito or a plate of tacos at A Toda Madre, but there’s joy in discovering chicharron (pork belly) en salsa verde, menudo (a traditional Mexican soup) or a plate of guisos (a hearty stewed beef dish).
“This is a menu of my favorite foods,” says Ramos. “I’d call it ‘authentic,’ but more than that, we hope to keep introducing things people in Sanford have never tried before. I want the experience and the food to feel like a meal you’d have in Mexico.”
“This is a menu of my favorite foods,” says Ramos. “I’d call it ‘authentic,’ but more than that, we hope to keep introducing things people in Sanford have never tried before. I want the experience and the food to feel like a meal you’d have in Mexico.”
Ramos was born and raised in Sanford, but she and her three younger siblings are first-generation Americans; their parents immigrated from Mexico and worked hard to provide for their family. That work ethic made an impression on Ramos, but being the oldest meant she had to “grow up” sooner than most kids. She recalls being called on to help out around the house and watch over younger children, and even when she made it to college in Wilmington, she had to make the two-and-a-halfhour drive back home every weekend to help with the family’s food truck, which started around 2019.
Ramos was born and raised in Sanford, but she and her three younger siblings are first-generation Americans; their parents immigrated from Mexico and worked hard to provide for their growing family. That work ethic made an impression on Ramos, but being the oldest meant she had to “grow up” sooner than most kids. She recalls being called on to help out around the house and watch over younger children, and even when she made it to college in Wilmington, she had to make the two-and-a-half-hour drive back home every weekend to help with the family’s food truck, which started around 2019.
“My friends in college would ask me, ‘Why are you always driving home? Don’t you want to have a real college experience?’” she says. “And looking back, there’s a little regret that I didn’t get to enjoy college as much as I wanted to, but I still wouldn’t trade any of it for anything. I’ve
“My friends in college would ask me, ‘Why are you always driving home? Don’t you want to have a real college experience?’” she says. “And looking back, there’s a little regret that I didn’t get to enjoy college as much as I wanted to, but I still wouldn’t trade any of it for anything. I’ve
learned a lot from all the hard work. It’s made me who I am today.”
learned a lot from all the hard work. It’s made me who I am today.”
Her education also prepared her to be a business owner. She also passed on a traditional “high school experience” to attend Lee Early College, graduating with about two years worth of college credits before she ever stepped foot in a classroom in Wilmington. At UNCW, she majored in international studies (globalization) and minored in business, earning her undergraduate degree in April 2022.
Her education also prepared her to be a business owner. She passed on a traditional “high school experience” to attend Lee Early College, graduating with about two years worth of college credits before she ever stepped foot in a classroom in Wilmington. At UNCW, she majored in international studies (globalization) and minored in business, earning her undergraduate degree in April 2022.
That December, she posted her first “coming soon” teaser for A Toda Madre on Facebook. The following April — exactly one year after her graduation — her restaurant held its soft opening to the public. On a warm Friday evening in August, the dining area was full, and there was a wait outside. A lot has happened in a short time.
That December, she posted her first “coming soon” teaser for A Toda Madre on Facebook. The following April — exactly one year after her graduation — her restaurant held its soft opening to the public. On a warm Friday evening in August, the dining area was full, and there was a wait outside. A lot has happened in a short time.
“You know, when I was younger and I had to help other family members who had small restaurants or when I had to help my parents with the food truck, I hated it,” Ramos says. “It was just so much work, but the more I did it, the more I appreciated
“You know, when I was younger and I had to help other family members who had small restaurants or when I had to help my parents with the food truck, I hated it,” Ramos says. “It was just so much work, but the more I did it, the more I appreciated
what they were doing. When the food is good and the service is great, the community is appreciative, and it’s like you’re serving your community. That positive feedback gives you a lot of confidence and gratitude.
“We’re experiencing that now. We’re meeting new people every day. Some of our customers knew us from the food truck, but most are new. Our plan is to become a big part of this community and stay and grow here as a business.”
Positive customer feedback is what inspired the name of Ramos’ restaurant. “A Toda Madre,” despite its literal translation (you can look it up, too), has nothing to do with Ramos’ mother or any mother, actually.
The term is slang for “It was awesome,” “You hit it out of the park” or “That was freaking great.”
“For example, I’d say, ‘How was your food?’” Ramos explains, “And they’d say, ‘Es a toda madre’ … which means they loved it. That’s what we’re hoping for.”
Plans for the complete renovation of the Riverbirch Shopping Center in Sanford call for the demolition of all but a few buildings (the existing Belk department store), more trees, more open space and buildings that will include both commercial and residential space. The plans were presented to the Lee County Board of Commissioners on Aug. 31.
By Gordon Andreson gordon@rantnc.com
Nine months after the sale of the Riverbirch Corner shopping center to Ohio-based real estate holding company CASTO, the wait to find out what the new owners plan to do with the property may be over.
An agenda for an Aug. 31 meeting of the Sanford-Lee County Planning Department’s Technical Review Committee showed a proposal to redevelop the property, “including the demolition and replacement of most structures to establish a completely redesigned mixed-use space including retail, offices, multi-family, and integrated first-floor commercial/multi-family structures and associated public and private open spaces and recreational areas, nature trails, and landscaping.”
The meeting was held prior to press time for this publication.
The proposal included drawings that show the two buildings currently housing Belk would be the only remaining structures after the redevelopment, which would also include a new gas station, four new commercial buildings, a mixed commercial/residential building, a mixed
commercial/office building and two multi-family residential buildings with an estimated 253 units.
Riverbich has anchored west Sanford since the late 1980s, but has largely fallen into decline in recent years. The 2022 sale brought with it hopes for redevelopment, which seems to be in the early stages of moving forward.
The Technical Review Committee is comprised of local officials from various city and county government entities representing Sanford, Lee County and Broadway. The committee meets monthly to review commercial projects and major subdivisions for compliance with the codes and policies of various local departments. Committee members make no guarantee that the projects submitted for review will be developed — only that they fall under compliance.
CASTO owns dozens of shopping center properties in several states – many of them anchored by large retailers like Kroger, Target, Kohl’s, Stein Mart and others. Is North Carolina properties include Stone Creek Village in Cary, Shoppes at Wakefield Park in Raleigh, Park West Village in Morrisville, Adams Farm Shopping Center and the Shoppes at Battleground North in Greensboro (among others).
Communities along the S-Line rail corridor in central North Carolina now have plans and strategies to prepare for Transit Oriented Development, or TOD, thanks to a study released in August by the North Carolina Department of Transportation.
The study explores the potential commercial development along the S-Line rail corridor, described as a missing link between Raleigh and Richmond, Va. The S-Line, the study states, will better connect the Southeast to Washington D.C. and places further north.
The nearly 300-page study is available at NCDOT.gov.
“The study is the result of a close partnership between NCDOT and the S-Line communities to understand how passenger rail can help each community achieve their goals,” said Julie White, NCDOT deputy secretary for Multimodal Transportation. “From more affordable housing to more walkable vibrant town centers,
the study provides guidance to the towns for how to make the most of the future passenger rail opportunity.”
Through the TOD study, communities along the S-Line would leverage the future benefits of rail to plan for “improved mobility and access, increased housing, downtown vibrancy, higher quality of life and economic vitality.”
The S-Line TOD study evaluated market conditions, affordable housing considerations, multimodal transportation opportunities and regulatory conditions in several central North Carolina communities. The study proposes transportation improvements that would meet a vision responsive to each communities’ needs.
Two NCDOT divisions (Integrated Mobility and Rail) partnered with seven North Carolina communities – Sanford, Apex, Raleigh, Wake Forest, Youngsville, Franklinton, Henderson and Norlina – to complete the study.
In what was hailed as an historic day in Sanford, the city council in August approved an agreement with Pittsboro to merge the water systems of the two municipalities into a single unit that will be owned and controlled by Sanford.
Negotiations to arrive at a mutually beneficial agreement were more than 10 years in the making, according to the city’s public works director, Victor Czar.
Chet Mann sat in the mayor’s chair for almost all of that decade and he continued to press for the project’s approval until the day his term expired in 2022, and it seemed fitting to many who attended the meeting that the former mayor was also there to witness the culmination of many meetings, phone calls, emails, and engineering studies in the final 28-page document that spells out how the merger will take place.
Current Sanford Mayor Rebecca Wyhof Salmon spoke about the long road that came to an end after the city council approved the agreement.
“This process — from end to end — has been a really amazing piece of governing,” she said. “It has been a very complicated process to wrap our heads around at times, but the council has shown us that we can learn to put our concerns aside for the moment and learn something by diving deeply into it.”
Indeed, the process did get complicated at times. Four separate votes were required at the meeting to ultimately express Sanford’s approval of the plan and the city’s willingness to be a participant in the process.
Czar said the agreement approved by the council “is something we’ve been working on for a long time, but I think that it will benefit the whole region for years to come.”
He told the council that mergers of water systems are commonplace across the country, with larger cities absorbing the water and sewer services of smaller towns that they surround.
But having a mid-sized city like Sanford to merge its water systems with a neighboring town the size of Pittsboro has rarely been tried before, and if all goes according to plan, as Czar believes it will, the agreement could become a model for other mid-sized cities.
Mac McCarley, an attorney with the Parker Poe law firm in Charlotte who has been working to facilitate the arrangement, said, “Nothing being agreed to between the two municipalities is designed or intended to be a burden on existing Sanford utility customers.”
The obligations being imposed by the interlocal agreement will be upon the Pittsboro service area. McCarley explained that the rates presently charged for water and sewer services by Pittsboro are today significantly higher than rates for the same services in
Sanford. Over the next few years, Pittsboro’s goal will be to achieve rate parity – meaning the rates for their services will be brought down to meet what Sanford is charging, and that will be done largely through economies of scale and an expected explosion of growth in the Chatham Park area.
But McCarley sought to drive home a point about rates, repeating it several times during his presentation.
“The goal of this merger,” he said, “is not to raise anyone’s water bill or anyone’s sewer bill. The goal here is to reduce everyone’s costs through economies of scale. For example, having a single water treatment facility that is large enough to care for both locations will much cheaper to operate in the long run than the two smaller ones that are in operation now.”
The agreement provides for Sanford to assume ownership of all the Pittsboro’s existing water treatment infrastructure no later than the date when the merger is completed on June 30, 2024. Full story at rantnc.com
From an early age, all Taylor Waters can remember wanting to be was a teacher. Eight years into her career at B.T. Bullock Elementary School, Waters has been named Lee County Schools’ Teacher of the Year for 2023-2024.
To honor the district’s top educator, Wilkinson Chevrolet Buick GMC in Sanford gifted a new Buick Enclave for Waters to drive for the next 12 months, and 3D Community Church awarded Waters a $500 gift card.
Waters’ grandmother, Kathryn Waters — a longtime Lee County educator and former principal of Greenwood Elementary School — was on hand for the award presentation at B.T. Bullock.
“I distinctly remember being pre-school age in the Greenwood counselor’s office
not remember seeing students, it must have been a workday, but I remember the teachers. I remember them making me feel special. I remember them lighting up with passion and joy as they spoke to my grandma.”
From those early days, Waters viewed school as a somewhat magical place, able to create feelings of passion, joy and drive. Bullock Principal Stefanie Clarke said those characteristics are evident in Waters and her approach to her students.
“It is evident that Ms. Waters is following her heart as an educator,” Clarke said. “She is passionate about all that she does. She is an exemplary teacher who has always been focused on building positive relationships with her students and she is adored by them all.”
Joy is one of the most evident traits in
Waters said she has seen students’ eyes light up when they master a math skill that has troubled them for weeks, then go on to win a school math award the next year. She remembers a student telling her they hated reading at the beginning of the year and then begging for more time to stick their nose in a chapter book by the end of the year. That same students went on to join the Battle of the Books, volunteering to read 15 books in eight months.
“My most joyous moments are of student growth,” she said. “Growth looks different for each student, and it is such a joy to facilitate their progression through tenets like relationships and differentiation. Then I get to watch them flourish.”
Flourishing is something that Waters has done in her professional life. She received her undergraduate education at East Carolina University, earning a Bachelor of Science in elementary education
and a Bachelor of Arts in English. In 2019-2020, she took part in the North Carolina Kenan Fellow Program and returned to the program in 2022-2023 as Kenan Fellow Faculty. Waters is National Board Certified and has assisted in facilitation, planning and mentoring through Lee County Schools’ summer enrichment program “Project Lift Off.”
Always looking to mentor and encourage fellow teachers, Waters said, “I would advise new educators to hold on to the positive, learn from the negative, and remember to meet students where they are.”
Clarke added, “She always goes above and beyond every day to meet students where they are and provides a fun, engaging learning experience for her students every day. Ms. Waters is so deserving of this honor and will be an excellent representative of B.T. Bullock Elementary and Lee County Schools.”
The only contested race in Lee County’s 2023 municipal election is the Ward 4 Democratic primary for Sanford City Council. Early voting began in August and Election Day is Sept. 12.
Registered Democrats and unaffiliated voters in Ward 4 are eligible to vote. Voter ID is required for this election.
Two term incumbent Byron Buckels faces a challenge from Tamekia Dowdy. The Rant presented each candidate with questions about the race and published full, unedited responses at rantnc.com. Below is a sample of some of those questions.
Q: 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, etc.)?
Byron Buckels: To address growth and annexation demands, we must prioritize our police and fire departments by maintaining staffing levels, providing necessary equipment, and offering comprehensive training. Ongoing assessments will determine the need for additional police and fire stations in expanded areas, ensuring community safety and well-being.
Furthermore, it is important to make investments in our infrastructure. This includes expanding our water and wastewater systems as we are in the process of merg-
ing with Pittsboro,\ and in partnership with Holly Springs and Fuquay-Varina. Additionally, we must improve roads, parks and public spaces, as they are essential for our daily lives, and we must invest in their maintenance and improvement.
We have to continually engage in discussions with other policymakers responsible for schools and healthcare through our inter-local meetings to influence policies that align with the needs of the community. I am committed to advocating for policies that prioritize education, healthcare accessibility, and overall quality of life.
Tamekia Dowdy: I believe having spoken with various citizens and stakeholders that it’s important to have open and transparent communication channels to include public forums, meetings and workshops to address any and all challenges faced in our city. It is important to hear all perspectives in decision making processes for any thriv-
ing municipality. I believe it is important to develop a comprehensive growth and annexation plan that takes into account the social, economic and environmental impacts of such development.
This plan should consider factors such as growth rates, infrastructure requirements, public services, transportation, zoning regulations and environmental sustainability aligned with long term goals and vision for the community. It is imperative to collaborate with neighboring thriving municipalities, regional planning authorities, and other relevant entities to address similar challenges that can also benefit our municipality.
Growth and annexation should be continuously monitored and evaluated to adjust strategies and plans as needed to address any concerns that may arise to continue understanding while promoting sustainable development as a whole.
Q: What challenges are unique to Ward 4, and what will you do specifically to see that the council enacts solutions to those challenges?
Buckels: Public safety (criminal activity), removing blight from neighborhoods and improving infrastructure.
As a Ward 4 representative, I have specific plans to address community challenges. Here are my intended actions:
• To address concerns about criminal activity, I will prioritize additional community policing initiatives. This means allocating resources to increase police presence in high-crime neighborhoods. By doing so, we can enhance the safety and security of law-abiding residents, allowing them to enjoy their homes without fear of criminal behavior from nearby individuals.
• Advocate for a Community Violence Intervention Program.
• Propose ordinances and policies to address vacant or abandoned properties.
• Advocate for increased funding for infrastructure projects, including road repairs, sidewalk improvements and utility upgrades.
• Collaborate with council members to secure support and successfully implement solutions.
Dowdy: Some of the challenges that are unique to Ward 4 are repeated cycles of community trauma, poverty, mental health issues, homelessness, drug, and crime. As a councilwoman, I will enact permanent solutions such as early prevention and intervention by investing in working programs to address the underlying factors that contribute to these issues. This may include initiatives such as rehabilitative and permanent affordable housing programs, low income housing self sufficiency assistance partnerships, community based substance abuse prevention and recovery programs/housing, mental health awareness services and youth development and intervention programs to help individuals and families avoid the cycles of homelessness, poverty, drug abuse, and violent crimes.
It is imperative to collaborate with neighboring municipalities and possibly duplicate similar working programs to meet the needs of our citizenry.
Your goals. His priority.
It’s how Brian Mathis was named a 2022 Forbes Best-in-State Wealth Advisor and continues to make a difference in clients’
Edward Jones Financial Advisor
Three months after leaving the position he had held with Lee County Schools for a decade, former Superintendent of Schools Andy Bryan was hired in August as the new superintendent in the Edgecombe County system, based in Tarboro.
Bryan was hired on a 5-1 vote of the Edgecombe County Board of Education.
Bryan will succeed the retiring Valerie Bridges, who became the first woman to serve as superintendent in Edgecombe County when she was selected for the job in 2017. She was named North Carolina Superintendent of the Year in 2022.
After being taken to a police station to be arraigned for the crime, Brower asserted his constitutional right for a trial by jury. The case moved through the judicial system for two and a half years until April of this year, when Brower changed his plea to guilty to the charge of unlawful entry to public property.
Judge Erik Christian sentenced Brower to 180 days in jail for being on the Capitol grounds unlawfully and then suspended all but 45 of those days, which he ordered Brower to serve behind bars. Christian also sentenced Brower to two years of supervised probation.
Christian’s sentence will also require Brower to perform 100 hours of community service, pay a $100 fine under the Victims of Violent Crime Act, and abide by an order requiring that he stay at least 100 yards away from persons who are unnamed in the public portion of the court record. He must make payment of the VVCA fine no later than one month after his release from jail.
503 Carthage Street, Suite 200 Sanford, NC 27330
(919) 775-4443
brian.mathis@edwardjones.com
You may already own mutual funds. But you also might want to consider another type of fund — and exchange-traded fund, or ETF. Like mutual funds, ETFs can own a variety of investments, such as stocks, bonds and other securities. Unlike mutual funds, ETFs are traded throughout the day, similar to individual stocks. For some investors, the main attraction of ETFs is their tax advantages. Because many ETFs simply track a particular index, such as the S&P 500, they don’t do much buying or selling, generating fewer capital gains taxes to pass along to investors.
And since less active management is needed to run many ETFs, their costs and fees may be lower than those of many mutual funds.
The terms of Bryan’s hiring package approved by the Edgecombe board include an annual salary of $138,012, plus an annual local supplement of $45,000. He will receive the usual benefits of retirement and health insurance offered to all employees, making the total value of his contract in excess of $225,000. Edgecombe, a system with 15 schools, is slightly smaller than the 18 campuses that make up Lee County Schools, but the number of students served is quite different. Edgecombe has approximately 5,400 students, roughly half the size of Lee County Schools, which today serves around 9,400 kids.
The new president of the North Carolina Community College System, Dr. Jeff Cox, has reached into Lee County to make his first key appointment as he assembles a new leadership team for the 58-college system.
Dr. Phillip Price, executive vice president and chief financial officer at Central Carolina Community College, agreed to join Cox’s team as the new vice president and chief financial officer for the system. His first day on the job in Raleigh was July 24. Price came to CCCC ten years ago and served first as the college’s vice president of administrative services.
ETFs do carry some risk. Your principal and investment returns will fluctuate in value, so, when you redeem your ETF, it may be worth more or less than your original investment. Also, some ETFS may be more difficult to sell than other investments.
A financial professional can evaluate your situation and help you determine if ETFs are suitable for your needs. They may represent another opportunity to help you move toward your goals.
Ranking Methodology: Data provided by SHOOK Research, LLC. Data as of 6/30/21. Source: Forbes.com (April 2022). Forbes Best-in-State Wealth Advisors ranking was developed by SHOOK Research and is based on in-person, virtual, and telephone due diligence meetings to measure best practices, client retention, industry experience, credentials, review of compliance records, firm nominations; and quantitative criteria, such as: assets under management and revenue generated for their firms. Investment performance is not a criterion because client objectives and risk tolerances vary, and advisors rarely have audited performance reports. SHOOK’s research and rankings provide opinions intended to help investors choose the right financial advisor and are not indicative of future performance or representative of any one client’s experience. Past performance is not an indication of future results. Neither Forbes nor SHOOK Research receive compensation in exchange for placement on the ranking. For more information, please see www.SHOOKresearch.com.SHOOK is a registered trademark of SHOOK Research, LLC.
Member SIPC
A Sanford man was sentenced to serve 45 days in a U.S. District of Columbia jail in connection with his arrest on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington, D.C. following the riot at the United States Capitol, in addition to other sanctions.
Forbes Best-in-State Wealth Advisor and continues to make a difference in clients’ lives.
TAL-13149A-A-AD
Jere Dement Brower of Sanford was arrested along with several other persons on the grounds of the Capitol at 7:20 p.m. that evening for violating a curfew that had been imposed by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser. A statement from an officer of the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia said that the group had been warned three times to leave the Capitol campus or face arrest.
In announcing Price’s appointment, Cox said “with his strong background in financial management and leadership at the local college level and his great reputation across the state, he is going to be a tremendous asset for our team.”
Price’s new position is often considered the most difficult within the community college system. As CFO, he will be responsible for how its $1.5 billion budget gets spent, from the system’s largest school (Wake Tech in Raleigh) to its smallest (Tri-County Tech in Murphy).
The Sanford Fire Department was awarded the largest grant in the state so far in the current federal fiscal year that ends Sept. 30, a total of $338,176.19 in the form of an Assistance to Firefighters Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Administration.
AFG grants are targeted to projects that will enhance the safety of firefighters and the communities they serve, and these dollars will pay for the purchase of 40
new Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus units, commonly known as air packs, that will replace other aging units in the city’s inventory.
“Air packs are absolutely critical to our ability to protect our residents while also keeping our firefighters safe,” Arnold said.
Since coming to Sanford as its fire chief just one year ago, Arnold made replacing the older air packs a high priority. At a cost of nearly $8,750 per unit, purchasing 40 of them at once could put a real strain on a city’s budget.
But city leaders wanted to do everything they could to protect the lives of their firefighters and having the best
equipment was seen as one of the easiest ways to accomplish that goal. So, a decision was made to apply for grant funding to help with the purchase.
It was a bit of a risky strategy, because almost every fire department in the country is eligible to apply for these dollars and the grant proposals are scored against one another on a competitive basis.
Additionally, the city had to keep hoping that the older packs would keep working until FEMA made its funding decisions for the current round. But it paid off, and with about six weeks to go before the program year ends for 2022, no city or town in North Carolina has
been named the recipient of a larger AFG award this year than Sanford.
As a condition of being awarded the grant, the city had to pay for 5 percent of the total costs of replacing the 40 air packs, or $16,908.81.
That brings the total project cost for the air pack replacements to $355,085, meaning that the city’s 31,000 residents will be able to replace all 40 of the older units with new ones for about 55 cents per person.
“I think by about anyone’s standard of measurement, that’s a good deal,” said City Manager Hal Hegwer.
All smiles on the first day of classes at J. Glen Edwards Elementary School in Sanford.
Lee County Schools recognized eight students from the district as Advanced Placement (AP) Scholars, as recognized by the College Board. Five students from Lee County High School and three students from Southern Lee High School were presented with their awards at the Lee County Board of Education’s August meeting. They were Kambell Beasley, Caroline Cummings, Silvia Gama Rios, Logan Finney, Gillian Garrison, Ryan Gregory, Leah Page and Nya South. Photo: Lee County Schools
The Rant’s series of stories involving a proposed “Dream Center” in Sanford and the eventual fallout from the Lee County Board of Commissioners’ approval (and eventual repeal) of a $500,000 grant to a nonprofit run by a local church earned a second place award in “general news” from the North Carolina Press Association.
The Rant received three awards in all — the others in headline writing and serious columns — and received them during the NCPA’s annual banquet in Raleigh. After earning six awards in 2022, The Rant now has nine state awards for its news coverage since joining the NCPA in 2021.
Richard Sullins led The Rant’s coverage of the Dream Center series, which included roughly 15 stories on Life Springs Church’s attempt expand its Dream Center program — which is focused on preventing human trafficking, providing education and therapeutic activities — and build an $800,00 community center, much of which would have been funded by the grant. The commissioners’ approval of the grant despite no public feedback or event internal discussion raised eyebrows, and
the board earned criticism when it was learned the Life Springs Foundation didn’t have the proper IRS approval as a nonprofit agency and that its director was facing federal Medicare fraud charges from 2021 (of which he pleaded guilty to in January).
Rant co-founders and writers Gordon Anderson and Billy Liggett also contributed to the Dream Center coverage.
The Rant faced several statewide online news organizations in its category. The award in the coveted “general news” category was much appreciated, according Anderson: “It’s always an honor to be recognized for our peers for our work. Richard, in particular, over the last year did an excellent job documenting an important story in Lee County that absolutely deserved the acclaim it received. San Dimas High School football rules.”
Liggett earned a second place and third place award for headline writing and serious column writing, respectively.
“I write headlines not because I feel like a story needs them, but because I want to win more awards,” he said. “Don’t print that.”
Carolina Indie Fest returns to Hugger Mugger Brewing in downtown Sanford. The fourth Indie Fest brings 10 indie bands on stage performing all original music over two days. Bands include Jeremiah McKinley Band, Heat Preacher, Gooseberry Jam, Cliff Wheeler Band, Oort Patrol, Shirlette Ammons, Farewell Friend, Kara Grainger, Reese McHenry and Skylar Gudasz. Even includes food trucks, vendors and more.
The Rant Monthly's community calendar has returned, and we're doing our best to track down everything going on in Sanford and Lee County. Send us your events by email at billy@rantnc.com and include the date, time, location and a brief description.
SEPT. 2: Millie’s Mama Bakes will celebrate its second anniversary from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with giveaways, first-in-lin freebies and your favorite cookies from the the past year.
SEPT. 3: Yoga at Hugger Mugger Brewing is held every first Sunday of the month from 11 a.m. to noon. Cost is $20 and includes a drink of choice. Drop by or register on the Sanford Yoga app.
SEPT. 7: The Downtown Alive! Fall Concert Series, presented by Downtown Sanford Inc., will feature Legacy Motown Revue from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Horner Square parking lot. Event is free.
SEPT. 8: Johnny Rambo, a singer-songwriter from eastern Kentucky whose music is described as “a dirty bluegrass
blend of country and folk music,” will perform at The Smoke and Barrel in downtown Sanford at 8 p.m.
SEPT. 9: The Triple Crown Charity Car Show is coming to the Dennis A. Wicker Civic Center from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Presented by Wilkinson Chevrolet Cadillac Buick GMC, the event is a special partnership between a group of automotive enthusiasts, Cars and Coffee Morrisville, Inc, and Sanford Car News. This new show features three unique automotive categories, plus a cruise-in. The Automotive Legends Exhibit will feature 30 legendary vehicles displayed inside of the climate-controlled main hall of the civic center. Entry is $5 for the legends display. The outdoor shows are free for spectators.
SEPT. 9: Free Movie Night at Kiwanis Family Park will feature the Super Mario Bros. Movie. Showtime is 7:30 p.m., and snacks will be available for purchase.
SEPT. 13: Hugger Mugger Brewing will host its Book Club, held every second Wednesday of the month, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. September’s book is “Where Lost Girls Go” by B.R. Spangler. Expect a fun-filled evening with fellow book lovers sharing ideas and thoughts.
SEPT. 14: The Downtown Alive! Fall Concert Series, presented by Downtown Sanford Inc., will feature the Magic Pipers from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Horner Square parking lot.
SEPT. 15: Tuesday Night Music Club will return to Smoke and Barrel performing a variety of classic rock, country and bluegrass at 8 p.m.
SEPT. 16: Country artist Paige King Johnson will perform at Smoke and Barrel starting at 7:30 p.m.
SEPT. 21: The Downtown Alive! Fall Concert Series, presented by Downtown Sanford Inc., will feature Captain and the Keels from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Horner Square parking lot.
SEPT. 22: Trio Du Jour will perform at Smoke and Barrel at 8 p.m. The band “taps into some of their New Orleans roots with a lively and innovative mix of blues, swing, samba, funk soul and swing.
SEPT. 28: The Downtown Alive! Fall Concert Series, presented by Downtown Sanford Inc., will feature The Magnificents from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Horner Square parking lot.
SEPT. 29: The Simpletones will play a wide mix of popular rock and pop covers at 8:30 p.m. at Smoke and Barrel.
OCT. 5-7: The Mann Center will host Student Arts Show, a showcase of talented Lee County juniors and senior is a curated and juried art competition.
OCT. 12-28: The Boo & Brew Ghost Tour returns to downtown Sanford. Experience a frighteningly awesome fall experience during this pub crawl and self-guided audio tour, which pairs local shops, restaurants and bars with a bone-chilling ghost story.
OCT. 12-29: Temple Theatre’s production of Ken Ludwig’s “Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes’ Mystery” will run Thursdays through Sundays, Oct. 12-29. Tickets and showtimes at templeshows.com.
OCT. 14: The Downtown Sanford StreetFest & Fireworks show will be a day-long celebration with music, art, entertainment, food trucks and fireworks on the streets of downtown Sanford.
OCT. 14-21: The 58th annual Art Show, a family-friendly annual event that celebrates the diverse artwork of visual artists in Sanford and Lee County, will run throughout the week beginning Oct. 14. The show receives support from the North Carolina Arts Council and the Lee County Arts Council.
OCT. 20-21: The 2023 Quilt Show comes to the Dennis A. Wicker Civic Center from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Oct. 20 and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Oct. 21. Admission is $7 and free for children 12 and under. Come celebrate the beauty and comfort that can be found in a quilt.
Temple Theatre’s first mainstage production of the 2023-24 season is a family favorite —”Annie,” the determined young redhead who sets out to find the parents who abandoned her years ago on the doorstep of a New York City Orphanage that is run by Miss Hannigan. The musical will run Thursdays-Sundays, Sept. 7-24. Tickets and showtimes at templeshows.com.
OCT. 28: Downtown Sanford family-friendly trick or treating will be held on Oct. 28. Visit participating businesses that have a paper pumpkin in their window.
OCT. 28: HAVEN of Lee County presents the 22nd annual No Scare Fair at the Dennis A. Wicker Civic Center from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. More details coming in October.
MONDAYS: Circle M City hosts its Monday Bluegrass Music Jam each Monday at 6 p.m. at 74 Cowboy Lane in Sanford.
WEDNESDAYS: Join Raven Forge Games in Sanford for Dungeons & Dragons Adventures League.
SATURDAYS: The Sanford Farmers’ Market will run through Nov. 11 from 8:30 to noon each Saturday in downtown Sanford (behind the Buggy Building).
ACROSS
1. Brainchild
5. Gravestone wish
8. Paleozoic one
11. Pressing tool
12. Senegal’s neighbor
13. Literary theme
15. Scissors sound
16. Final notice
17. *Notre Dame’s Fighting ____
18. *Home of the first Super Bowl winners
20. National League Pennant series, acr.
21. Steer clear
22. “Glee” actress ____ Michele
23. Befuddled
26. *One of 4 NFL teams sharing a home field
29. Fish story
30. Stockings
33. “Doggone it!”
35. Rand McNally book
37. Mozart’s “L’____ del Cairo”
38. Whiskey drinks?
39. Comedy act
40. Be more of a fox
42. Dead or Black, e.g.
43. Obliquely
45. Roof supporter
47. High or low card
48. Employer’s good news
50. Hyperbolic tangent
52. *College player not using eligibility
55. Beastly person
56. Double-reed instrument
57. *Nike Pegasus 39
59. Smidgeons
60. Paddleboarding acronym, pl.
61. Seaside bird
62. *Thirty-____ teams in NFL
63. *Ravens’ or Lions’ time, acr.
64. *Rushing unit
1. “____ Now or Never”
2. “Shoot!”
3. Arabian bigwig
4. Fund-raising letter
5. Torah teacher
6. Homer’s famous poem
7. Feel for
8. Larger-than-life
9. A Supreme singer
10. Emerald ____ borer
12. Poet’s death lament
13. Fungal skin infection
14. *Home of the Citrus Bowl in Florida
19. Not odds
22. Lily, in French
23. Unfortunately, exclamation
24. *a.k.a. Iron Mike
25. Charcuterie stores
26. Nibble away
27. Have faith
28. Ranee’s wrap
31. Lummox
32. Calendar abbr.
34. Russian autocrat
36. *Home to College Football Hall of Fame
38. Secret supply 40. *Extra point 41. Van Gogh flowers
44. Partners of pains 46. Spirited 48. Puzzle with pictures and letters 49. Take as one’s own
Think, archaic
Grand theft target 52. *The oldest college football
53. Actress Perlman
