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The RantMonthly
November 2024 | Sanford, North Carolina A product of LPH Media, LLC Vol. 6 | Issue 11 | No. 68
Editorial
Gordon Anderson | gordon@rantnc.com
Billy Liggett | billy@rantnc.com
Jonathan Owens | jonathan@rantnc.com Richard Sullins | richard@rantnc.com
Advertising Nate Ewing | advertising@rantnc.com | (919) 478-0560
Contributors Ben Brown
Editorial Board
Chuck Ramsey, Tony Franklin, Jim Miller, Mike Lansford, Rich Karlis, Paul McFadden, Jeff Wilkins and Ina Garten
Kim Ashby’s story a symbol of Helene’s devastation COLD OPEN
Iwas a newspaper editor in the town of Opelousas, Louisiana — just 137 miles northwest of New Orleans — when Hurricane Katrina tore through the state in September of 2005. We were on the “safe” side of the storm (the west side), and the storm itself did little damage in our area, aside from some flooding and several downed trees.
The real impact came in the days that followed. Katrina killed more than 1,500 Louisianans and displaced more than a million others. Our community was among the first to receive evacuees, and I was able to talk to many of them as they shared their stories of survival and loss. About a week later, I joined a small van of journalists to see the damage in downtown New Orleans firsthand.
The city — with a population of just under 1 million people at the time — was a ghost town. The damage caused by the flooding was unimaginable.
I was 225 miles east of Asheville, North Carolina, when Hurricane Helene made its way to our state on Sept. 27 of this year. The rain in Sanford that day came hard and lasted a good two to three hours. We saw flooding and some tree damage, but Sanford was fortunate. But it didn’t take long before images of the devastation to our neighbors to the west were hitting our televisions and phones. Mountain communities, we learned, aren’t “built” for hurricanes.
I have not been to western North Carolina since Hurricane Helene, though as of this publication, I am scheduled to join a food truck as they deliver meals and supplies to an area outside of Asheville in early November. But the images I’ve seen coming out of Buncombe, Yancey and Avery counties, to name a few, remind me very much of the immense destruction and years-long recovery from Hurricane Katrina, now almost 20 years ago.
And while our city was spared the worst of what Helene brought, many here have
felt the impact. We have friends and families in western N.C. Many of us are alumni of schools like App State or WCU. We vacation in the mountains, and some of our favorite spots are gone or changed forever.
This community’s biggest loss is Kim Ashby. Mrs. Ashby to many of you.
A seventh-grade teacher at SanLee Middle School here in Sanford since 2019, Ashby and her husband Rod were in their mountain home in Elk Park when Helene hit and flooded the river near that home. The two were carried away in the flood — Rod survived, and over a month later, the search continues for Kim.
This edition of The Rant Monthly remembers Kim Ashby through the staff, students and parents at the school she loved. They recall a woman who worked beyond the “required role” of a teacher and went the extra mile to make them feel special and loved. Kim’s story has become a national symbol of the pain and destruction caused by Helene, as news outlets and television stations across the country have told her story.
We hope this story does Kim Ashby’s story justice and reminds us that the damage caused by Helene will take years to full recover from.
— Billy Liggett
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Public records requests still attempting to ‘gum up’ election office
By Richard Sullins richard@rantnc.com
With a week to go before the Nov. 5 election, the number of requests for public records in the Board of Elections office is still at a record-breaking pace.
The Rant filed a request with the county this year, seeking to learn the number of public records requests received in the Board of Elections office from Jan. 2, 2023, through July 31. The county responded to our request on Aug. 19, and we received a total of 88 pages of requests that were contained in 41 separate requests.
A deep dive into these pages reveals a few things about the people asking for these records. A high percentage of the requestors identify themselves as being affiliated with the Republican Party. There were six requests submitted by the Lee County Republican Party’s Chairman, Jim Womack — each of them prepared and submitted on the same day. And there were five requests submitted by a Lee County man and wife in 2023, Bob and Jan Quilty, with Bob Quilty becoming a Republican candidate for Commissioner in 2024.
WHAT ARE THEY ASKING FOR?
The requests submitted through July 31 of this year were similar in nature to those received two years ago during the last national election, though there is a definite uptick in the number of requests being submitted. A few requests submitted locally asked about the judges and chief judges who will be assigned to each polling place. But others, such as Lee County Republican Party Chairman Jim Womack, asked for documentation about the accuracy of Lee County’s voting machines in a test that was scheduled for March 5, as well as a request for the Lee County Voter List Maintenance Records.
INSIDE, PAGE 32
Early voting is shattering records locally for the 2024 election. See the numbers, see how long it will take for us to get results on Election Day (Nov. 5) and find out how to register before the Nov. 2 cutoff.
Only a small handful of requests were received from out-of-state groups or organizations, and most of those received in the grouping this year were submitted by nonprofit organizations that promote voter rights and registrations. Another grouping contained the names of individuals who were said to be “double-registered” in Lee County and in some other county or state, and a final number of pages challenged the registration of a named person without giving information about why their registration was being challenged.
In several cases, the wording contained within the requests are identical, with the requestors giving addresses that are hundreds of miles apart. This suggests that the requestors attended an “election integrity” meeting where templates such as these were either made available or directions provided on how to gain access to them. The types of requests that were submitted in this case can be found in an internet search, which will also turn up a treasure chest of other patterns and templates that are ready to be used by the contributor.
The purpose of all this seems to be the same as it was in the last national election two years ago. In the very heart of their busiest time of the year, the Lee County Elections Office was hit by a snowstorm of records requests that no one saw coming.
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Lee County Elections Director Jane Rae Fawcett told the Board of Elections in September of 2022 that the office was receiving an increasing number of requests for election-related information, many of which seem designed only to throw a wrench into the works. It’s a tactic that has been discussed at many state and local Republican Party meetings since the election of Joe Biden as the nation’s 46th President.
Last year’s requests were about equally divided between in-state and out-of-state. A few asked for only a handful of records, but most sought amounts of documentation that could potentially run to thousands of pages, as well as potentially thousands of staff hours of locating materials relevant to the request, obtaining clearance
for their release, and preparing them for the requester.
Some ask for detailed information on plans for carrying out this fall’s voting and there are some even seeking personal contact information for elections directors and board members. Others broadly ask for every scrap of material that relates to the 2020 and 2022 elections, and planning for 2024, for the purpose of “a lawsuit I am contemplating filing,” or information about the usage of a specific model of polling place ballot scanners, their maintenance records, and information about the purchase by the county of any software updates that may be used in this year’s election.
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FRIENDLY ADVERSARIES
Sanford City Councilwoman Linda Rhodes and Richard Porter voted together on Oct. 23. The two began a friendship during Sanford’s 2023 Municipal election campaign when Rhodes, a Democrat, and Porter, a Republican, ran against one another for one of the council’s open at large seats. During the campaign, the two attended church together to show that political opponents could still respect one another, and upon Rhodes’ victory, Porter went to Rhodes so he could congratulate her in person. Since then, both said their friendship continues despite sometimes differing views, they frequently dine together, and they chose to vote together in 2024 to continue their positive example.
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE YOU VOTE
Roughly 40 percent of you have already voted if you’re picking this up before Election Day. Early voting has drawn record numbers locally and across the nation, but there’s still more than half of you who are waiting for Nov. 5.
The State Board of Elections compiled a list of “things to know” and common misconceptions heading into the big day. Below are a few that we think are the “things you REALLY need to know” ...
Bring your ID: It’s required now, whether you like it or not, and it’s the first thing election workers will ask for when you approach the table. According to the State Board of Elections, many different types of photo ID are accepted, including driver’s licenses and passports. Find a complete list at BringItNC.gov.
A valid ballot: In North Carolina, poll workers often have to write on ballots. This is done for various reasons as required by law. Social media posts suggesting that writing on your ballot will invalidate it have been circulating for years, and they are false. Your ballot will also count if you leave some contests blank. You do not have to make a selection in every contest on your ballot.
No photos: It is illegal in North Carolina to take a selfie with your ballot or photograph your ballot. Voters may use their electronic devices in the voting booth to access candidate information, provided they don’t use the devices to communicate with anyone or take photographs of their ballot or other voters.
Shared booth: Spouses can vote in the same voting booth, if both request to do so. State law allows spouses to choose to vote together in the same voting booth. Poll workers should not encourage this practice; it should be up to both voters to decide.
Vote from your car: It’s an option for voters who are unable to enter the voting place without physical assistance due to age or disability. It is not for voters who do not want to wait in line.
Prepare: The Rant and the internet as a whole has information on local, state and national candidates. Familiarize yourself with those names, especially in the “lesser known” positions.
Most importantly, just vote. It’s your right (and duty) as an American, and it’s the best way to have your voice heard.
OPINION
After Helene: Don’t count my small town out
By Richard Sullins
We have seen them all before, those pictures and video clips of the damage that a strong hurricane can do. Yet, there is something different when a tropical storm strikes an area that rarely has a close encounter with a storm of the magnitude of Hurricane Helene. But it really gets your attention when a hurricane of incredible power strikes your hometown.
I grew up in the small western North Carolina mountain town of Spruce Pine in Mitchell County. Life was simple and happy in those days in the late 50s and early 60s, with subdivisions coming into vogue white picket fences, gardens of lovely red roses and people of good cheer who always had the time to stop and chat for a few minutes, regardless of how young or old you were. It was, in a word, idyllic.
My brother, sisters and I rode the bus from school in the afternoons to downtown Spruce Pine. There were so many things for a young guy like me in his early teens to do. I often took my youngest sister, Nan, for burgers and a soda at The News Center. Sometimes, we would go to Day’s Drug Store or Spruce Pine Pharmacy to look at what new comics we “needed.” Then there were the department stores, like Belk and Peebles. And at the end of the day, we would walk across the Toe River on a steel and pine planked bridge built by railroad workers at the turn of the 20th Century, an enticement for the town to endorse the coming of the railroad in 1903.
On that Friday morning, Sept. 27, the rain here in Sanford was harder than I had ever seen before, but it had stopped by noon and the sun came out by 6 p.m. In my mind, I assumed that all had turned out well in Spruce Pine because I had heard no reports of flooding or damage there. I found out a few days later that cell phone coverage in Mitchell and surrounding counties was gone by sunup Friday morning.
We still had all our utilities, except for a brief period late Friday afternoon. But it became one of those days when I wished those outages had been longer.
Friends and family began sending me pictures and video clips of what was happening in Spruce Pine and Burnsville, a nearby town where I lived for a number of years. All that media allowed me to see the places where I had grown up being destroyed right in front of me, and a sudden wave of nausea struck, strong enough to make me vomit.
As I came back to my laptop, I saw again rivers that were running 15 feet or more over their banks. In them, you could see cars, trucks, construction and farm equipment, barns and even
houses that had floated from their foundations and now heading down a river to their certain destruction. Again, they were places that I remembered from my childhood and often, they were the properties of people that I have known for years.
But, for me, the worst was still to come.
I had begun to grow concerned about my kids by that Saturday afternoon. I have three grown children in their 30s who live in either the western part of North Carolina or in the upstate region of South Carolina, and I couldn’t reach any of them. I tried calling them, I sent text messages and emails – but I got nothing for eight more days. I wasn’t too concerned about my two oldest boys. They could work from home and there was no need for either of them to get out of the house and jump into of what was happening.
It was my daughter that had me about to lose my mind. Kristin is a 34-year-old nurse paramedic (still single, by the way, guys) and works for a fire department just a few miles north of Asheville. She has gone beyond the call of duty more times than anyone there can count. She is the one they call when there is a chance to save a patient who will need a very high level of specialized care on the way to the hospital.
When someone needs help, she is the first to dive in to do all she can, regardless of their station in life, the color of their skin, their criminal record – none of that matters to her. She has seen the worst that one person or nature can do to another person, and sometimes she sees a friend who needs her care, but realizes that there is little she can do except to make those final moments as comforting as she can.
I knew that she would be out doing rescues, taking care of the worst of the injured, trying to comfort the fatally injured and their families in their dying moments. I also knew the terrible toll that it would take on her physical strength, and her mental health. It’s a very high price that rescue workers pay for being part of the work they do.
My telephone didn’t ring for six days, and when it did, it was my oldest son, Patrick. He is a microbiologist who lives in Marion and works for Baxter Laboratories there where they make 60 percent of the IV fluids used in the United States. After being cooped up after Helene hit, he and a small group of others volunteered to go into the manufacturing plant to see how badly the equipment had been damaged.
A couple of days later, my phone rang again. This time, it was my second son, Mitchell, who works as a construction project manager in Greer, South Carolina. They lost their internet connectivity, their phone service and their power for eight days.
Imagine those circumstances, and then add an energetic pre-kindergarten boy and his 2-year-old sister who wants to do everything he does. But Mitch is an ‘outside-the-box’ thinker, and he’s already coming up with ways that he can help from a distance.
But still nothing from Kristin. My boys hadn’t heard from her either. The terrain in the region that her fire station covers is known for rockslides and mudslides. In the first few days following the fury of Helene, the fire chief of a neighboring fire station was killed by a landslide. I was trying to hold it together in front of my wife and friends, but inside, I felt that I was on the edge of a precipice – with nothing to hold on to.
Twelve days passed with no word from her. I couldn’t call her fire station because their telephone lines were down, and it was the same in Buncombe County. It was impossible to expect any help from Asheville, too. This disaster had caught them totally unprepared for something of this magnitude.
My head and my heart were out of patience. They were desperate for some sort
of resolution, and inside my heart, I was terrified that I would receive those words that parent wants to hear. I decided that 12 days was my limit and with my hands shaking, I punched the button on my cell phone to call her again and hope that she was near a place where service had been restored.
After a long pause for the connection to authenticate itself and jump through a bunch of hoops that my friends in internet security tell me are absolutely necessary, a voice came on at the end of the line. A person at the National Guard post in Asheville asked who I wanted to speak to and what business did I have with that person. I gave them the best information I could and about half a minute later, my daughter came on the line. It has been a very long time since I have been that happy on a phone call and the tears flowed from my eyes like the swollen streams now flooding the mountains that I love. For once in my life, I didn’t care who was watching me.
We could only talk a couple of minutes that afternoon, but she assured me that she was safe and doing well. She promised to
call again later when there wasn’t so much traffic on the line, and she told me that she loved me. Call it a tear-jerker if you like, but that was the happiest phone call of my life. She did call again that same night and we talked for nearly an hour. The substance of that call was mostly about people that we both knew, and how well they had weathered the storm. But the last thing she had to tell me was about a man and his wife that I had known and been very close friends with for almost 40 years.
They had decided that their home, high above a creek, would be the safest place for them until the storm had passed. Rain was coming down heavily on Friday morning, but they felt that the worst was over. Just a few minutes later as they were sitting together on the sofa, a mudslide burst through the back of their house and they had only seconds to reach for one another, but the force of the slide pulled them apart. The man was critically injured, but his wife was swept away and never found.
It was one of the hardest gut punches of the storm to hit me.
After a few days, I stopped looking at the videos and pictures that were coming from Spruce Pine, and I gave as much as I could to a charity there that I knew well and had faith in. The pictures and the videos the power and the extent of the damage to the town where I grew up. The bridge built by the railroad company almost 125 years ago, the one that had held up through many strong storms over those years, and had stood strong as countless students used it to cross from the school to the town’s business district – that bridge had been washed away.
Helene has had at least one positive result. It has allowed us to look back at our pasts and those things we have treasured about it, and maybe in so doing, get another perspective on our priorities in life. But four weeks after the billions in damages done by this monster of a storm, the way lives have changed and all that has been lost doesn’t even hold a candle to the lives that were lost and the amount of damage that will require many years and billions of dollars to restore.
o
Email Richard Sullins at richard@rantnc.com.
In the military, yellow ribbons symbolize “continued uncertainty, hope for return and determination to account for” soldiers missing in the line of duty. Yellow ribbons have also become a symbol of support for missing people and their families. SanLee Middle School put up yellow ribbons outside of its main entrance in the days following the disappearnace of teacher Kim Ashby, who has been missing for more than a month following Hurricane Helene.
YELLOW RIBBONS AT SANLEE
MRS. ASHBY’S LEGACY
SANLEE
COMPASSIONATE
MIDDLE
SCHOOL AND THE SANFORD COMMUNITY REMEMBER A DEDICATED,
MATH TEACHER, ONE OF 25 STILL MISSING IN WESTERN N.C. SINCE HURRICANE HELENE
BY BILLY LIGGETT
Brianna Rivera’s first impression of her seventh grade math teacher was that of an “outgoing, intelligent — even a little quirky — teacher.” Kim Ashby had a passion for all things mathematics and taught with a smile. Every day, as her students left for their next class, she sang Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” to send them away on a positive note.
Brianna would soon learn there was more to Mrs. Ashby. In her, she found a teacher who wanted her students to come away with more than math skills. She found a teacher who sought connections with every student — who cared about their well-being as much as their report cards.
“In Mrs. Ashby, I knew I had someone I could talk to. She always knew what to say,” says Brianna, now a student at Southern Lee High School. “When I was stressed about cheerleading or school, she would tell me to slow down and take one step at a time. When it was hard to not get pulled into the wrong things by my friends, she would say it was OK for me to keep my distance sometimes. When I was angry or frustrated, her words helped me stay calm and focused.
“She believed in the students who didn’t believe in themselves. Her encouragement has helped me become a better person.”
and their family has been searching for Kim, a seventh-grade math teacher at SanLee Middle School, for over a month now.
Kim Ashby and her husband Rod Ashby were in their mountain home in Elk Park on Sept. 27 when the home was washed away in flooding caused by Hurricane Helene. Rod Ashby survived,
Photo: Facebook
COVER STORY
Brianna wrote about her teacher and the enormous impact she had on her life for an AVID essay in February of 2023. Her mother, Christian Rivera, re-shared that essay on her Facebook page on Sept. 30, 2024, three days after the heavy rains and torrential flooding from Hurricane Helene swept away Ashby and her husband’s mountain home in Banner Elk, North Carolina.
Kim Ashby is one of more than 25 people still missing from the storm that killed nearly 100 North Carolinians and displaced tens of thousands more. Her story has become a symbol of the destruction and heartache caused by one of the deadliest storms in U.S. history. And her loss has been devastating to the staff and students at SanLee Middle School, where she taught since 2019, and to a Sanford community that became her home over the past five years.
MRS. ASHBY
When Christian Chaney was named principal at SanLee Middle School in July after serving as assistant principal and principal at Greenwood Elementary, he sent out a mass email to his new school’s staff asking if anybody wanted a 30-minute “get to know
the new guy” meeting in his office before the start of the school year.
His first response came from Kim Ashby. Ashby was entering her fifth year teaching seventh-grade math at the school, and along the way she took on other roles like coach of the chess team. Chaney remembers their talk well — a native of Boone, he found a common interest with Ashby almost immediately — their love of the mountains in North Carolina.
“It’s both happy and heartbreaking to think back on it, because our connection was the mountains,” Chaney recalls. “I went to Appalachian State, and she had family who went there as well. And all she wanted to talk about was that mountain house they had just finished. The trips she and her husband were planning. Being active and being outdoors. The beauty of western North Carolina. She joked to me, ‘We’ll be spending a lot of time out there, but I won’t be out too much.’ It’s bittersweet to remember that talk, because, man, it was all such a special thing to her, and she lit up when she talked about it. Knowing what happened, there’s a sadness now.”
Kim Ashby took on the role of “chess coach” during her time at SanLee Middle School, teaching a game that she, herself, was still learning to a new generation of students. Photo: Facebook
Dr. Natalie Kelly preceded Chaney as SanLee Middle School principal before taking on a new role as assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction at Lee County Schools this summer. She says Ashby had a gift of connecting with middle school students — not easy to do with preteens and teens at perhaps the most vulnerable (and awkward) time in adolescence.
“I remember one morning, she was standing outside of her classroom before class and she saw an eighth-grade student walking down the seventh-grade hall,” Kelly says. “And, of course, the way the school is structured and organized, we want everybody in their right hall. Now maybe any other teacher might have given a quick, ‘Get in your hall’ and not think twice about it, Mrs. Ashby smiled at the student and said, ‘Although I love starting my day seeing your face — and although I’m excited that I got to see you this morning — let me escort you to the correct hall.
“That just described her. That’s how she does it. She always tried to love every child like they were her own children, and she tried to talk to them and treat them the way she wanted to be talked to and treated. She was an encourager, more than anything.”
Ashby would even encourage Kelly, whether it was a quick word in the hallway or short emails to tell Kelly she was doing a great job leading the school.
“I told her daughter [Jessica Meidinger] last week, that’s just who she was,” she adds. “She wanted to make an impact, and where else but middle school — at such a pivotal age for a student who’s trying to find themselves — can you make this kind of impact? She cared about the child first and the academics second.”
Rebecca Lynn Johnson had a son in Ashby’s class this year and said she’d go out of her way to make her son — who has ADHD and suffers from anxiety — feel understood.
“My son could often be seen as ‘difficult,’ but Mrs. Ashby never saw him that way,” Johnson says. “She saw him as someone special who has a lot to offer the world, and she wanted to do everything she could to nurture that and make him believe it, too.”
Johnson says a week or so before the storm, she received a message from Ashby about two of her son’s missing assignments. She learned he had been going through “some really challenging stuff” at home,
HOLIDAY CHEER ABOUNDS!
Several upcoming events sure to lift your spirits and add some ‘merry’ to your season
HOLIDAY ON MAIN
NOV. 2
New this year! The Town of Broadway will host Holiday on Main from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Participating businesses will include Pop Heaven, Los Charros Restaurant, Lisa’s Home & Design, Magnolia Boutique, the Beauty Studio, Faith Finds Boutique, Dips N Dawgs, Broadway Family Pharmacy and Brick City Boba.
SANFORD PARADE
DEC. 2
Sanford’s premiere holiday event is the longest-running nighttime parade in North Carolina. Organized by Downtown Sanford, the Sanford Christmas Parade has been a holiday tradition for more than 60 years. Watch the jolly, music-filled procession of marching bands, festive floats and of course, the man of the hour – Santa Claus!
DOWNTOWN OPEN
NOV. 3
HOUSE
‘Tis the season to shop and dine in Downtown Sanford! Make your way over to be entertained as The Temple Theatre Company fills the streets with carolers. What’s more, visitors will get the first glimpse of all things Christmas at local participating businesses. It’s the ideal kickoff for your yuletide season.
TAYLOR PHILLIPS & FRIENDS
DEC. 7
Adding to the goodwill of the holiday season, Taylor Phillips is partnering with Visit Sanford to put on star-studded concert and charitable event at the Dennis A. Wicker Civic & Conference Center. Come enjoy great music for a great cause. All concert proceeds benefit suicide awareness and suicide prevention efforts.
SANTA & TREE LIGHTING
NOV. 24
Join Santa for the annual Train & Tree Lighting in Downtown Sanford! Spend the afternoon and evening enjoying local performances, savoring hot cocoa and other sweet treats and of course, visiting with the big man himself! Make plans now for this exciting experience filled with good tidings of comfort and joy for the entire family!
BROADWAY PARADE
DEC. 14
Make sure you’re Broadway bound to catch another seasonal favorite, the Broadway Christmas Parade. The fun starts at 2 p.m., so grab your spot early for a chance to see Santa as he makes another guest appearance alongside decked-out floats, fire trucks, marching bands, holiday festivities and more.
Johnson says, so Ashby told her she was going to let it slide and work with him to make up the assignments.
“She let me know she was thinking of us and praying for us,” she says, “and to let her know if we needed anything. I just thought that was so sweet.”
In her AVID essay, Brianna Rivera noted that the percentage of Latina women with a doctorate degree is low (less than 1 percent according to one recent study). She wrote that the low number will not be the reason she fails, but the reason she succeeds. And she attributed that mindset to her relationship with Mrs. Ashby.
“She helped me see past the surface,” she wrote. “That I will succeed because of who I am [and not because of] perceptions, titles or cliques. “Mrs. Ashby taught me that if we just stop and have a conversation with someone, we’ll learn we are more alike than we think. When we stop and talk, fewer kids are eating lunch by themselves at school. When we don’t stop and talk, our perceptions divide us.”
“She helped Brianna get through a tough seventh-grade year,” says Brianna’s mother, Christian Rivera. “She was more than a teacher to her. She was easy to talk to and was a great support to my daughter. I was happy to know that Brianna had someone like Mrs. Ashby who cared about her beyond the classroom.”
SWEPT AWAY
Kim and Rod Ashby’s cabin overlooking the Elk River was their dream vacation home. Two two spent the last several years constructing the home and finally hosted a large family gathering there this past summer.
The home sat above the perceived floodplain, Kim’s daughter Jessica told The Washington Post in October, and with heavy rains forecast on Sept. 26, the couple decided to drive from Sanford to make sure the gates of their ground-floor garage were raised and the cabin was secure.
When the family didn’t hear from Rod and Kim the following day, many thought the lack of cell service and communication
after the storm simply kept them from reaching out. According to the Post, Kim’s sister received a Facebook message from one of their neighbors in Elk Park saying they saw Rod running along the opposite riverbank — he yelled to the neighbors that he was OK, but Kim was missing.
Minutes earlier, the Asbys were packing their things and preparing to evacuate the home after water from the nearby river began to spill over the banks. According to the family, debris hit the pillars that supported the house, and before the couple could escape through the window, their house slid into the river, “spinning wildly with the floodwaters.”
Rod and Kim and their three dogs held each other on a mattress in the home as water came up around them. According to the Post, “they were searching for a spot where they could pull themselves to safety when they were struck by a tree. Kim fell from Rod’s arms, and the last he saw of her, she was being carried away in the torrent.”
Rod hiked barefoot nearly 10 miles to another home before he was found. His
survival held out hope that Kim would also be found soon. Thus began the family’s frantic search in an area pummeled by flood waters, debris and downed trees.
As of Oct. 28, Kim Ashby has not been found — only “mud-caked purse, her wallet and driver’s license still inside.”
The story made national headlines and became a symbol of the destruction and loss in western North Carolina caused by Hurricane Helene. Ashby is one of more than 25 in the state still missing as of Oct. 28, while nearly 100 deaths have been confirmed. In all, Hurricane Helene caused nearly $53.6 billion in damage in North Carolina, three times the amount from Hurricane Florence in 2018.
A month since Ashby’s disappearance, the stories from USA Today, CBS News and other major outlets are fewer, but Meidinger and family continue to post daily updates on the search on Facebook and other social media platforms.
On Oct. 27, Meidinger wrote: “Mom is still missing. … We finished digging out the large area that had around six to eight
Eddie S. Winstead III and Susan M. Feindel, Attorneys at Law, are pleased to announce the opening of
feet of sediment as well as fully breaking apart the 300-meter long debris pile. Today focused on the stretch between Poga Road and Lake Watauga along the Elk River. There are still many debris piles, and the teams — along with the same handler and dog we’ve been using all week — worked through these the best they could. Unfortunately, we’re running out of plausible areas to search that we haven’t already searched in depth. We’re not done yet, but we know our odds are not high for ever finding her. That reality is very difficult to swallow, but it is a reality we must face.”
COMMUNITY MOURNS
Chaney first learned of Ashby’s disappearance that Saturday, and much of the SanLee community learned the news before it was made “public” on social media that Sunday afternoon. Before school resumed that Monday, Chaney sent an email to SanLee parents asking them to join him in prayer for her and her family and to recognize that their children may have questions or concerns. The school had counselors, social workers and a mental health team at the ready that Monday to support both students and the staff who grew close to Ashby over the past five years.
There was always hope in the first week that Ashby would be found. But with each passing day, that likelihood grew smaller, and eventually, Chaney and his staff focused on honoring a beloved teacher and keeping her legacy alive.
“Our students had a lot of questions, but with the resources we had ready for them, I think we were able to answer those questions and offer support,” Chaney says. “For the teachers, it’s been difficult. They have come in and done what’s best for the kids, which I think speaks volumes to the environment here, but they’ve had to be resilient. They lost a friend.”
Rod Ashby and Jessica Meidinger visited SanLee Middle School in October to meet with Chaney and talk to the staff. They were presented with the first Ashby Award, which moving forward will be the monthly honor (formerly known as the Stellar Stallion Award) given to staff members who go above and beyond. Plans are also being discussed to dedicate an “outdoor chess area” to honor Ashby and her dedication to the school’s chess club.
“I don’t think Mrs. Ashby would have approved of us making such a big deal about her, because she never wanted any of the spotlight,” says Kelly. “She would say, ‘We are here for the children,’ and she would have told us, ‘Get back in that classroom and teach those children.’
“I think the best way to honor her is to make sure these children continue to learn and get the best math experience possible. We have to provide that. She would be disappointed in us if we did anything else. If SanLee failed, that would not be acceptable to her. So I think we just need to live out her expectations — what she set for herself and what she would have us set for ourselves.”
“There are a lot of us who are just beginning to grieve, while others are holding out hope that she’s still out there, somewhere,” she says. “It’s really hard to just give up hope
when she hasn’t been found. That solid proof, that closure, isn’t there yet for her family, her friends or her students, and that’s what makes this so hard. So you don’t really know what to tell your kids.
“I think my son, in the back of his mind, knows she probably isn’t coming back, but his heart won’t let go yet. He still prays for her and hopes she’ll return, and it just breaks your heart, as a parent, to see the impact this has had on your child. My heart hurts for all of her students trying to process all of this.
“We’ve been devastated over all of this and cannot imagine what her family must be going through. Our thoughts and prayers are with them daily. She was such a beautiful person all around.”
A GoFundMe account has been created to help Rod and Kim Ashby and their family. As of Oct. 28, nearly $60,000 has been raised, with a $100,000 goal.
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CALLED TO HELP
LEE COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE AMONG THE FIRST TO HEAD WEST TO “DO ANYTHING THAT WAS NEEDED” IN THE DAYS FOLLOWING HURRICANE HELENE’S DESTRUCTION
BY GORDON ANDERSON
Even before the North Carolina Sheriff’s Association put out a notice for volunteers to come to mountain counties and help in Helene’s aftermath, Lee County Sheriff Brian Estes knew he wanted to contribute to the effort in any way possible.
Estes and a group of 10 Lee County deputies and one dispatcher made the trip to Mitchell County along North Carolina’s border with Tennessee, leaving on Sept. 29 — two days after the storm — and staying several days. He said he and his companions will never forget what they saw.
“I’ve just never imagined that much widespread devastation,” he said. “I compared it to the (2011) tornado here, where you had miles of devastation, but kind of clustered together. Up there it was just miles and miles of roads washed out, bridges gone. It was hard to get a grasp on just how bad it was.”
Estes said when his group arrived, they checked in and made it known they were there to do anything at all that was needed.
“I think a lot of people thought I would stay in the command center, but I couldn’t do that. I wanted to be out with my people,” he said.
Sheriff’s deputies from Lee County and other agencies help clear debris near a river in western North Carolina following Hurricane Helene. Photos courtesy of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.
COVER STORY
The group stayed in a school’s auditorium, sleeping on couches or futons or cots, and worked up to 14 hours a day doing wellness checks, distributing supplies, and even spending one day in nearby Avery County helping in the search for missing SanLee Middle School teacher Kim Ashby.
They didn’t get to shower until Wednesday, and those showers didn’t include hot water. Much of the sustenance they brought with them — snacks, water, energy drinks — was given away to people in need, and they subsisted on MREs and whatever they could find from Walmart in Spruce Pine (Estes recalled having his first exposure to canned turkey — “I didn’t know that was a thing,” he said with a laugh).
Estes also said he wouldn’t have had it any other way, especially given all the suffering and devastation the group witnessed.
“We’d do wellness checks on various people when we got a request, and it was just crazy how it would take two or three hours to check on one person,” he said. “Because of the damage to all the roads, it was a situation where it might take you an hour to make a trip that would normally take five minutes.”
“I’ve just never imagined that much widespread devastation. It was just miles and miles of roads washed out, bridges gone. It was hard to get a grasp on just how bad it was.” — Lee County Sheriff Brian Estes
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Estes said he was astonished at the evidence left behind of the physical power of the waters that flooded the area, noting that he witnessed entire sections of train tracks that had been twisted completely out of shape and piles of debris compacted so tightly he couldn’t pull out a single item.
“You look at something like that and realize it was water that did that,” he said. “Water.”
He said there were takeaways that were positive as well, though.
“One of the things that amazed me was the way the local people came together,” he said. “They were clearing debris, rebuilding temporary bridges out of rocks or whatever else they had. They were so creative.”
Another example of that resourcefulness came when he visited a Dollar General store that had remained open in spite of not being able to accept debit cards.
“They just wrote down what we purchased, and told us they’d bill us later,” he said.
Because the Mitchell County Sheriff’s Office only has 20 deputies, a contingent of 12
to help with whatever needed was welcomed not just by the mountain authorities, but also the people.
“About 99 percent of the people we met were just happy to see us,” he said. “We were very welcomed by everybody. Sometimes it was a little weird because people would come up and ask a question about a specific place or something, and we’d have to tell them we didn’t know. People aren’t necessarily looking at the patch on your clothes and don’t know you’re here to help, but not from here.”
Estes said there’s a wait list to return to the area, and he’s looking forward to going back and helping with the challenges that arise after the immediate crisis has been addressed. He also said he learned several lessons that he hopes he can employ to keep Lee County safer in the event of a disaster.
“Just little things like having paper maps,” he said. “We had no cell service at times, so we couldn’t use our phones to figure out how to get around. So you learn really quickly how important something as simple as a paper map that’s up to date is.”
“About 99 percent of the people we met were just happy to see us. We were very welcomed by everybody. ... People aren’t necessarily looking at the patch on your clothes and don’t know you’re here to help, but not from here.” — Lee County Sheriff Brian Estes
HURRICANE HELENE BY THE NUMBERS
• In North Carolina alone, estimates of damage and needs approach $53.6 billion across the state, including $41.1 billion of direct damages.
• The damage attributable to Helene is roughly three times the $16.7 billion impact of Hurricane Florence in 2018.
• To date, Helene is the third-deadliest U.S. storm in the 21st century, with nearly 100 confirmed deaths in North Carolina alone and dozens more still missing.
• Helene is expected to have damaged more than 100,000 homes, with many thousands having experienced severe or catastrophic impacts.
• Entire communities lost access to core services and communication. Over 1,000 roads and bridges were damaged and closed for traffic, including I-40. Landslides and flooding cut residents off from outside help and communication.
—
Office of Gov. Roy Cooper
COUNTY GOP CHAIRMAN: VOTERS WITH HISPANIC LAST NAMES ‘SUSPICIOUS’
A CBS News report released on Oct. 21 showed Jim Womack, chairman of the Lee County Republican Party and a North Carolina “election integrity” activist, listing “Hispanic sounding last names” as one of several factors that could make a voter “suspicious” and subject to challenge.
From the CBS report:
In a video obtained by CBS News, the leader of an “election protection” activist group of 1,800 volunteers in North Carolina is seen instructing attendees at a virtual meeting to flag voters with “Hispanic-sounding last names” as one way to identify potentially suspicious registrations as the group combs through voter rolls ahead of the 2024 election.
“If you’ve got folks that you, that were registered, and they’re missing information… and they were registered in the last 90 days before the election, and they’ve got Hispanic-sounding last names, that probably is, is a suspicious voter,” said James Womack, the leader of the effort, who chairs the Republican Party in Lee County, North Carolina.
“It doesn’t mean they’re illegal. It just means they’re suspicious.”
Womack, a former Lee County Commissioner from 2010 to 2014, has long been a source of political controversy locally and has made multiple unsuccessful bids to become chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party. He responded to the video obtained by CBS News that “the Hispanic-sounding last name certainly is not exclusive,” and listed other factors he said could deem a voter “suspicious.”
The CBS piece quotes Jeff Loperfido, chief counsel of voting rights at the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, pushing back against that claim.
“The idea that you combine those things and it equates to a suspicious voter is not true. Anyone targeting voters based on that kind of analysis and Hispanic last names, you are playing with fire,” he said in the story.
Womack’s wife Sherry is on the 2024 ballot seeking a third term on the Lee County Board of Education.
— Gordon Anderson
FORGING AHEAD
Success of locally owned Raven Forge Games evident in move to larger location
By Billy Liggett billy@rantnc.com
Launching any new small business is a gamble, but when Ryan Morgan and Jacob Peterson started Raven Forge Games at the north end of Steele Street in downtown Sanford in late 2021 — on the tail end of the economy-crushing pandemic — they were introducing something new to their city.
A store dedicated to games. Board games, card games, role playing games. And there was no guarantee their idea would be a winner.
Born in a small rented room on Nov. 26, 2021, it took Morgan and Peterson just four months to expand to a larger storefront just across the street. Since then, Raven Forge Games has become your friendly neighborhood game store — a “home away from home” for those seeking like-minded friends who are fans of popular games like Dungeons and Dragons, Pokemon, Magic the Gathering and more.
The community is growing, and on Oct. 10, Morgan and his wife Shauna cele-
brated the next big step for their business — a ribbon-cutting ceremony for an even larger store with more merchandise on the shelves and loads of room for those same friends to gather and get lost in the world of tabletop gaming.
Located at 132 S. Steele St., the new store takes the space formerly occupied by Super 10 and later the Purple Poodle Co. boutique.
The Rant chatted with Ryan Morgan days after the ribbon-cutting to ask about the reasons for the move and what the bigger building will mean for his business going forward.
The Rant: What made this the right move at the right time for you?
Ryan Morgan: We’d been searching for a new space for eight months. We looked all over town at a variety of locations and just lucked out when we found out this space was potentially opening up. We had simply outgrown the old space, both in terms of merchandise and event space for people.
We were looking for something that could attract more walk by traffic, hold more space for products, and allow us to continue to grow our event space. We had to start turning customers away, which was something we didn’t want to continue.
The Rant: What all does the larger space allow you to do that you couldn’t do in your previous location?
Morgan: We can now host much larger events than we could ever have done before, and our customers can come in any day to play in the space without feeling like they’re interfering. Our event space was very limiting before; whatever the scheduled event was, that was the only space available to customers. Now, we can continue to run those same events, and still have a lot of space for a family to grab a game and play.
We are currently working on finishing up our back event space in the next few months, which will open up another 3,000 square feet of space for 100 more people.
A large crowd of local business leaders, elected officials and fans of the store attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony of Raven Forge Games’ new location on Steele Street in downtown Sanford on Oct. 10. Photo courtesy of Sanford Area Growth Alliance
“We’ve seen so many friendships form through our events; they gain a sense of belonging that maybe they didn’t have before.”
— Ryan Morgan, owner, Raven Forge Games —
We think this space will be great for hosting our larger events, private parties, and markets.
Another huge benefit to the new store is the clear separation of the retail and event spaces. Our retail space is now large and open with aisles to peruse through when you come into the store. Previously some of our retail was in the same space as our events which felt a little odd trying to shop right next to a person playing a game.
Our old store also opened right into the event space when you came in, and this was a little shocking to new customers when it was really busy. Our retail space is now five times larger than it previously was and this change has really been a huge improvement to customer comfort.
We also added in a new sitting area for tired shoppers, giving people a space to relax or converse away from our event area.
The Rant: What new merchandise are you able to carry now?
Morgan: We’ve brought in a lot of exciting merchandise to the new store. A few new items to the store are puzzles, Gundam models and local vendors. We also expanded almost every product line we carry.
We’re now carrying classic and familiar favorite board games like Monopoly and Operation, new paint lines and accessories, more Squishables, more card accessories and little fun items like D&D themed candles. Our new space also allows us to showcase merchandise far better than before.
In some areas, we didn’t increase our inventory, but the way we displayed it has increased visibility and made it accessible. For example, our card game playmats were previously in the manufacturers boxes and it was difficult to see the artwork. We’ve opened them up and hung them on hangers so that customers can now see the full artwork and we’ve seen a big uptick in sales because of this.
The Rant: Your schedules seem pretty packed with tournaments and casual gaming -— how often do you have “something” going on and why is that so important for your business?
Morgan: We have events seven days a week. Monday through Friday, we have events in the evenings, and on the weekends we have multiple events throughout the day and evening. These are so important to continue to grow our communities. We carry a lot of different games, and our events help to keep customers interested in the games and find other like-minded people.
We’ve seen so many friendships form through our events; they gain a sense of belonging that maybe they didn’t have before. It’s amazing to see customers who were shy when they first came in now have strong ties to the community and really come out of their shell and become ambassadors to other new people.
You can buy almost any of the products we sell online, and we know that. But what you can’t get is the expertise of our staff to help you pick the right products, or the excitement of opening an awesome pack of cards with others who share your enthusiasm, or a place to play the games you love with others who also care as deeply as you.
Shauna and I have always loved games. I’d always wanted my own store since I opened my first start deck of Magic the Gathering 30 years ago, and Shauna loves connecting with people through a board game. It wasn’t until the past three years that we’ve been able to make that happen with our work schedules changing. Our kids were getting older with one off to college now and our other graduating from high school this year. We had planned to possibly do this after we retired, but we thought with their support we could accomplish something awesome now.
We’re also so proud of our amazing staff for helping to make the business possible. They love what they do, and they are the reason why so many customers continue to come back.
Where can you get a close cut in Sanford?
Head to Jamie’s Barber Shop on Steele Street in Downtown Sanford.
Jamie Norton has been cutting hair in Sanford since 2002. He works hard to provide great customer service and a friendly atmosphere so you can relax while he works on your hair.
Jamie is great with kids and has experience with all types of haircuts, so feel free to stop in and get a trim.
SANFORD STREET FEST
Photos courtesy of Downtown Sanford Inc.
Big crowds took advantage of perfect fall weather and spent a day downtown for Sanford Street Fest and Fireworks.
Q&A: Superintendent Chris Dossenbach
One year in, Lee County Schools’ leader talks teacher shortages, the school board election, population growth, more
By Richard Sullins richard@rantnc.com
The Lee County Board of Education elected Dr. Chris Dossenbach as its new Superintendent of Schools on Nov. 7, 2023, and he was sworn into office two weeks later.
With the first anniversary of those events approaching, The Rant’s Richard Sullins sat down with Dossenbach recently as he reflected on his first year leading the 17-campus district and looked at what’s ahead.
The wide-ranging, unscripted 45-minute interview took place in the second-floor conference room of the Heins Education Building in Sanford.
SULLINS: Let’s start with a question about the intersection between your job and your family. You have a wife and two young children. How have they adjusted to Daddy having to spend more time in meetings, going places, and being away from home?
DOSSENBACH: They have adjusted. You know, I was very clear with myself, very clear with the board, and very clear with my wife that family was number one. We can all get another job, but I can’t go back and relive these moments in my children’s lives. So, it is a job that does keep me away, but I think you have to prioritize, because I think you make time for things that are important and I’m not gonna miss important milestones in their life and I haven’t had to. This job can consume you if you let it. But I also think that’s the importance of surrounding yourself with people that you trust, that are smart, smarter than I am.
Things are going to be OK if I have to step away here and there. So, they’ve adjusted well. I mean, there are times when I’ve had to be away, but they were accustomed to that because of me being a high school principal, with ball games and things like that. That was a schedule that we were all used to, and while I did get away from that for a for a few years, It’s not unmanageable. You just have to prioritize your time, and you have to make time for things that are important to you and family is important to me. And that’s important for everybody that I work with,
that they put their family first too, because the only folks that are gonna remember how late you worked are your spouse and your your kids. So, I try to keep that in mind.
SULLINS: When you started the last previous school year and again this school year, you started with a shortage of teachers. That’s a national trend, it seems. How do you, as the superintendent of schools, address that?
DOSSENBACH: It’s tough, because our colleges and universities are producing fewer and fewer teachers that are even available to us. I think what we do here locally is what we do at a statewide level and nationally. We have got to bring this back to a respected profession. And for whatever reason, whether it’s money or politics or just people’s personal beliefs, teaching is a noble profession.
Teaching is one of the most important, if not the most important, jobs in the world,
and I think we’ve got to get people to understand that again. Money is important, and our teachers and everybody in our school system need to be paid more, but I think a level of respect is something that money can’t buy.
I think people since the pandemic have lost trust in public schools and we’ve got to try to gain trust back. You know, I am a big believer that people don’t leave their jobs. They leave their bosses and people that they don’t work well with.
And so, I think we’ve got to make sure we’re creating an environment that people want to be involved in. We’ve got to make sure we’re creating an environment that’s supportive. We’ve got to continue to fight for more compensation locally and at the state level, which we will continue to do.
But I think it boils down to the environment. But even if you do have the best
environment in the world, North Carolina State produces less than 6 math teachers every year, and that makes the chances of us getting one just one of them is pretty small, so it’s tough. I don’t know if I have a good answer to your question, other than focusing on what we can control.
What we can control are the environments that our teachers work in. What we can control is to come up with some locally provided supplement that’s competitive with our surrounding counties. And we’re going to continue to fight that fight.
SULLINS: The elections are a couple of weeks away, as we are having this conversation, and there are four that are “open seats.” Depending on the turnout, and which party gets more of their supporters to the polls, this year’s voting could end up with a school board that looks very different than the one
Lee County Schools Superintendent Dr. Chris Dossenbach, shown above checking out Bragg Street Academy’s newly refurbished Culinary Arts classroom in October, will hit the one-year milestone since being named to the position on Nov. 7, 2023.
Photo courtesy of Lee County Schools
that exists now. Is that something that is occupying your thoughts much these days as the 2024 Elections get into the home stretch?
DOSSENBACH: Regardless of what seven members are on the board, I’m gonna show up and do the very best I can each day. That’s what they hired me to do, and I’m going to do it as long as I’m allowed to.
As different as our current board members may be as individuals or politically, I think they’ve done a pretty decent job of coming together. Even though they may think differently or believe in different things, they have come together for the sake of kids to do what’s best for the kids.
What I worry about is, obviously, we’re gonna throw one or more new persons into that mix, and that’s gonna take some getting used to, because I think trust is a big issue. So, I do think about it, but I can’t let occupy too much of my time because it distracts us from why we’re here, and that’s to do what’s best for our kids.
SULLINS: Here’s something that I hear a lot in the community that people are talking about. As Sanford, Broadway and
Lee County continue to develop with new housing and new industries coming in, they say these families that are coming in here are bringing their kids in with them and because of that, we’re going to need new schools very soon. From sitting in to listen and to watch what goes on, I know that the school board is very mindful of that and, in fact, they have discussed it several times. Do you have a sense of how this is going to play out over the next five years or so?
DOSSENBACH: Absolutely. We do think about it and behind the scenes, we’re doing a lot of that work right now. But we have to be careful when and how much we talk about it, because there are things that we will need to happen when we get ready to purchase land. That’s not something that we would want to put out there for the world to know ahead of time. So, what I can say now to everyone is that we are having those conversations behind the scenes and that we will speak about them in public when the time is right.
We are working closely together with the county’s GIS division to look at where growth is occurring right now and to look at
permits that are being pulled, you know, to get an idea of how many kids will be coming into each individual school. Each month, we get an updated report on where future developments have been approved. That allows us to have updated numbers ourselves so that we are able to have a better sense of where those schools might need to go. And this summer when the commissioners adopted the county’s budget, they moved the purchase of land for a new school higher up the county’s list of priorities, and we are very grateful for their support there.
Also, as I’m sure you saw at the last board meeting, we talked about redistricting within our elementary, because there are some, especially like Deep River in the northern part and, J. Glenn Edwards, which is more in the Tramway area, that are at capacity or over capacity, but then we have some other schools that have room.
So, I think we need to do our due diligence before we ask the county to spend that kind of money.
We will need to try to balance that out as best we can. We won’t be able to do it perfectly, no redistrict will be perfect. But
before we go down the road of spending that money on a new school, we need to balance things as much as we can. So those are the types of things that we’re working on behind the scenes, but sure, it is on my mind.
SULLINS: When the COVID-19 pandemic came well over four years ago, student achievement and test scores took a steep nosedive on their way to the bottom, even here in Lee County. Things are on the upswing now, it seems. Do you think things are heading in the right direction and are things moving as quickly as you’d like to see them move?
DOSSENBACH: No, I don’t, I don’t think they’ll ever move as quickly as I want to see them move, but I think we are moving in the right direction and we are moving at a faster pace than some of our surrounding districts, which is a good sign.
I think what the pandemic showed is this there’s absolutely nothing that can take the place of a teacher, a good teacher, In front of kids every day. And so, we were proud to see that gain, some of that gain, happen because of some of the changes that we made to the
curriculum that we’re teaching. We’re getting closer to where we were pre-pandemic.
You know, hopefully, if the statistics continue, and hopefully by the end of this year, we’ll be at least where we were pre-pandemic, but we want to be beyond that. Test scores are a measure that show us whether or not our students are learning. So we want to be at or above the state average in every tested area.
I also learned, and part of me already knew this. I know that it’s 2024, and it’s the age of technology, and most every middle and high school student has a phone in their pocket. But I think screen time is not always a good thing. It’s one thing that we’ve tried to cut down on this year. Kids need that human connection. Kids need to hear from a good teacher in the classroom. They don’t need to sit in front of a computer for half a day. I think that that the pandemic forced people to refine their teaching strategies. It forced a lot of people to learn technology, which I think all were good things. But I also think that too much technology and too much screen time can be a bad thing, and we saw the results of that, too.
SULLINS: Let’s talk about facilities just for a moment. At the last school board meeting, Chris Gaster brought up something about deferred maintenance issues. But in looking overall at the facilities inventory of Lee County’s Schools, some of the school buildings here are old and they have stood the test over the years, and some are newer. The county is also facing issues of aging facilities and the growing need to replace them. It’s gonna cost a lot of money to get these buildings that are approaching the ends of their lives replaced. How do you make that sale to the taxpayers?
DOSSENBACH: That’s tough, you know. I have to start first with our maintenance department which does a phenomenal job of keeping our buildings up and running, new and old. There are buildings that I think folks can walk in today and never imagine they’re as old as they are, simply because they’ve been kept so well. Kids operate and function better in an environment that is newer, that is cleaner, and that is up to date, but we don’t have that luxury in every single one of our schools.
I think it takes open communication. I think it takes something that we’re likely getting ready to go do, and that is having a third party come in and assess our facilities. That way it’s not a he said, she said, or we think
or don’t think, result. We would have these hard and fast independent assessments. I’m a big believer in dealing with the facts. And the facts are that we do need some updates to our facilities, but I also know that there’s only so much money to go around.
And so, we have to be strategic in our ask. We have to have the facts to back up why we’re asking for that and show how that’s going to benefit kids. And ultimately, we’ve got to be able to reassure parents that the buildings that our kids are in now are safe. Even though a lot of our buildings are old, they are safe. We wouldn’t have them in those structures otherwise.
You know, the issue with Greenwood, luckily, that’s an issue that only occurs after heavy, heavy rains. So, it’s not something that happens often. But the fact is that it does happen from time to time, so we need to address why it’s happening. Our maintenance department has tried several different things. and we will continue to work on that. We’re not the only department that has old buildings that are asking for money ...
SULLINS: But you’re the biggest.
DOSSENBACH: That’s right. We are the biggest, and unfortunately, we rely on them for a lot, and I know that. They only have
board has said, “Hold on. Not so fast. We need to talk this out and come to an agreement on how this is going to work before we give you that property.” That’s a difficult relationship. It has to be difficult.
DOSSENBACH: It can be, and it’s a delicate dance that both boards have to engage in because at the end of the day, the county commissioners and the school board are both elected locally, and so there’s a fine line there that defines that relationship. And you are right — it is unique, and my job is to be neutral on both sides. I will continue to be, of course, I have my own personal thoughts and feelings that nobody will ever know, because that’s not my job. That’s the job of the board of education; the job of the board of commissioners. It’s my job to advise the board. Luckily, I have a great relationship with the county manager, and I do think that’s important. We talk often. We don’t always agree, and that’s OK. We’re very professional. She clearly understands my point of view and I understand hers.
so much to give. And people sometimes say, “Why don’t you use your lottery funds?” We do have lottery funds, but the law is very specific on what those funds can be used for.
Until getting up here into this role, I didn’t realize just how restrictive those funds are. We don’t get as much as people might think we get in lottery funds. We don’t have just millions and millions sitting around in those funds. In fact, we get less than a million dollars each year to add to those funds, and it’s very specific on what you can use those funds for, so I think we will have to rely a lot on the county commissioners. But I think all we can do in the present is to make the facts known in our case and show why we need it and how this will improve.
SULLINS: The relationship that the school board has with the county commissioners seems to be a hard one to describe for the moment. Over the last four years at budget time, the board has gone to the commissioners to ask for growth money for supplements for the teachers, for funds to support a new salary plan, for equipment replacement, and so on, and each time, the commissioners have said no. Now, the commissioners have come to the school board and said, “Could we use the Jonesboro School property for a joint maintenance facility?” and the school
Last year during the budget process, one of the things that I’ve heard for years and years while I was sort of sitting on the sidelines was that, “We’re not getting enough information.” My team tried very hard last year to come to our board and then to the county commissioners with maybe more information than they wanted, but I didn’t want anybody to feel like we didn’t have the facts. We will continue to do that even if we continue to get denied, because I think there’s no such thing as being too transparent.
But you are right. It is a unique relationship, and we need each other, you know. The county needs our school system to be high performing, but to do that, you’ve got to invest in it.
SULLINS: You were a product of this school system, a former high school principal, an assistant superintendent before you stepped into this role. Were there things that surprised when you were hired as superintendent that you didn’t know already?
DOSSENBACH: Having been a high school principal, I don’t know if it much surprises me anymore, but just the level of politics that are there. I think I knew, but, that reality sort of hits you in the face. You just hadn’t experienced it, and it’s like all these positions you’ve held. After being an assistant principal, you think you know what it’s like to be a principal, but you don’t until you do it. And it was the same thing with
Dr. Chris Dossenbach congratulates the Lee County Schools Principal of the Year, Andrea Cummings from Tramway Elementary. Photo courtesy of Lee County Schools
being an assistant superintendent. You think you know, but until you really get in the role, you don’t.
At the end of the day, it’s my job to do what’s best for kids, and that’s what I was hired to do. My job is also to advise the board on what’s best for the kids, but ultimately, the board Is the voting body that decides what we do and how we do it. It’s just my job to try to advise them as best we can. There are some days when I miss teaching, because it is sometimes difficult to work with adults, you know, especially those that are set in their ways. But it takes us all to make the world go round. So, yeah, there were a few things that surprised me, but, not a whole lot, not a whole lot.
SULLINS: In thinking back over your first year, what do you think has been your biggest success?
DOSSENBACH: One of the most exciting things that I think we’ve been able to do as a district for a long time, and it’s one that may seem small but to me it was huge. It was being able to provide free meals this year for all of our students.
SULLINS: It may be the most important thing done in the past five years.
DOSSENBACH: It really is that big. It’s that huge, because of the impact that it has on all of our students and all of their parents and guardians. I have been blessed my whole life with meals to eat, never having to worry about where my next meal was coming from, but we have so many families where that’s not the case. And it’s easy to forget that when you are blessed with a family that can provide, and so this just lifts the burden right off.
I think that there is definite truth that kids can’t learn when they’re hungry. Kids don’t learn when they are worried about what they are going to eat when they go home tonight, what am I going to eat tomorrow. So far, our numbers are up and, it’s looking good that we will be able to continue. And even if the child nutrition program goes in the red a little bit to make that happen, I think it’s money well spent. So I think that’s the biggest thing that I’m proudest of.
And I’ve said that an organization takes on the personality of its leader, whether you’re a principal or a superintendent or something else, and it’s true. It was important to me to come into a situation like this one that was sometimes divisive and somewhat uncom-
fortable at times and be a calming force. And that’s just who I am. I’m not going to get mad and excited unless it’s really needed.
SULLINS: I’ve often heard you say things about the importance of having a “deep bench.” Some new CEOs will bring in people from outside at the senior level, but you haven’t done that. You have almost always brought people in off your bench and then did the same to fill those vacancies that were created on down the line.
DOSSENBACH: I’m not adverse to hiring outside folks and I certainly would, But I’m always gonna have good people within this district to serve in these roles. They just needed the opportunity. But you’ve got to be strategic in that, and you’ve got to think long term in that, because anytime you pull from within, that means they’re great at what they do. We have tried to build that bench.
I feel like we did a lot of training into teachers. We did a lot of pouring into principals, but when I really started looking at assistant principals, which in my opinion is one of the most difficult jobs in the school district, we didn’t really pour into them as much as we should, and those are on our front lines. We are expecting them to be our next leaders in the district, so it’s important that we started a training program for them. We did a six-month pretty intensive program called Lee Leadership. We selected 10 folks, and it was a combination of elementary, middle and high, and kind of put them through the ringer.
And really, the whole process was twofold. One, it was to pour into them as much as we could and to let them see if they felt ready for the next step. But two, it was for many of them a six-month interview process, one that gave us a chance to see if they had what it takes, and luckily for us, some of them did. Our next step in the process is a program that’s similar, but designed for teacher leaders who might see themselves getting into administration down the road, because obviously if we’ve pulled up these Assistant Principals into Principals roles, we will need some folks to replace them down the road.
SULLINS: Let’s look a bit to the future. What do you see as the next big challenge for Lee County schools over the next five to 10 years?
DOSSENBACH: I think continuing to increase academic performance is going to continue to be a challenge. It’s something that we’re always laser focused on. I think our growth is going to be a big factor. I think that we’re talking now about potentially one new school in the future, I think five to 10 years, it’s gonna be multiple schools. I think that the teacher shortage is gonna continue to be an issue, so we’re going to have to think outside of the box. We will continue to create a positive environment, and we might even be able to pay folks more.
But I think it’s going to go beyond that. I think we’re going have to think in bigger ways with things like housing or a housing allowance, or childcare or childcare allowanc-
es. I know that those aren’t always popular either, because you’d be doing for one group what you can’t do for others in the community. But I think for us to get high quality folks in here and keep them, we’re going to have to look at some of the challenges that prevent them from coming here. And right now, some of the challenges that we hear beyond pay and environment are affordable housing and childcare.
I think that fighting for public education will continue to be an issue. As much as I would love for politics not to be a part of public education, because I don’t think it has a place in it other than in the history books, it will continue to be. You know, whenever I am out speaking to groups or talking to people, I encourage folks to come visit our schools. Come meet some of our students who have gone through our system of public education in Lee County and blossomed. We’re doing great work here, and we are the best option in town.
And I plan to continue to fight that fight. You know, I’m a product of public schools and many of our leaders in this community are products of public schools, and I think we all have a lot to be proud of.
SULLINS: Do you think you made the right career decision by accepting the offer to be Lee County’s new superintendent?
DOSSENBACH: I was sure then, I am sure now, and I haven’t looked back. I keep looking to the horizon, because that’s where we are headed.
Dr. Chris Dossenbach speaks at a recent Community Feedback Meeting of the district’s Strategic Planning process at Southern Lee High School. Photo courtesy of Lee County Schools
LEE EARLY COLLEGE
INSTRUCTOR NAMED LCS’ TOP BEGINNING TEACHER
Fresh out of East Carolina University, an enthusiastic Treshawn Penny returned to his alma mater, Lee Early College, accepting a position to teach physical science. His determination to make a difference and drive to help students in his hometown pushed him to excel, and in October, he was surprised with the news that he was chosen as the 20232024 Beginning Teacher of the Year for Lee County Schools.
“It was certainly a surprise. I just had no words,” said Penny. “My students didn’t know how to respond. I didn’t know how to respond. It just felt amazing to know that I have this huge community of people here to support me.”
Penny is now in his second year teaching at the school. He has shifted from physical science to teaching chemistry. He thrives in teaching difficult topics and helping open the scientific world and method to his students. “People do say that science can be challenging, but I feel like there are so many things in science that I feel are misunderstood,” Penny said.
“I want my students to know that regardless of whether or not they remember all the specifics of quantum mechanics or any other topic we cover in class, they can take scientific practices and apply them anywhere,” he continued. “They need to learn how to develop and use models. They need to understand how to analyze and use critical thinking skills about texts, to critique and evaluate the effectiveness of things in the real world all the time.”
“Teaching is both a science and an art. Treshawn is a master in both aspects,” said LEC Principal Kisha Timberlake. “Watching Mr. Penny teach is like watching Picasso paint. His talent is innate and he is incredibly gifted. It has been a joy watching him grow and discover his passion for teaching.”
— Lee County Schools
Two boards butt heads over possible shared garage
By Richard Sullins richard@rantnc.com
The Lee County Board of Education has tabled any further discussion on the idea of a possible joint maintenance facility with Lee County government until after the November election.
Commission Chairman Kirk Smith came to the school board’s meeting on Oct. 8 to discuss the practicalities of appointing a joint working group that would be charged with crafting recommendations on how turn such an idea into reality.
His appearance was a follow-up to a joint session between the two boards held on July 25, one with a broadly written goal of finding ways to collaborate after several recent years of animosity and distrust between the two.
The commissioners proposed earlier this year that the two work together on the garage facility, saying it could be a springboard to future cooperation. But any optimism for an early agreement slipped away when the commission’s desire to move quickly ran into a concrete wall, one apparently created by the school board’s mistrust of the commission’s motives.
Smith brought a draft resolution passed by the commissioners in mid-September to the school board’s meeting that would create a committee to work on a proposal to outline the details of how a partnership between the two governing bodies could work, but it was obvious almost from the time he finished reading it aloud that the school board was not impressed, making clear that relationships between the two had not improved, and that they were not interested in talking about the nuts and bolts of how to proceed with the project until those same relationships could be healed.
School board Vice Chair Sherry Womack asked for an amendment to the resolution that would place the joint maintenance facility as the second highest priority item
in its current list of capital construction projects, leaving the new auditorium and classrooms for Southern Lee High School as the top priority in the county for new construction. Smith was unmoved by her plea, saying the commissioners have unanimously raised safety concerns about working conditions at the current school bus garage, and that the poor working conditions there could lead to substandard work on buses that potentially could lead to an accident that resulted in serious injuries.
No vote was ever taken on Womack’s proposal, but its substance was included in the school board’s final vote later on.
“I believe that my board was quite clear that this is an issue that we need to take action on soon. Commissioner (Bill) Carver, who is here tonight, and I both visited that (existing) bus garage, and it is inadequate,” Smith said. “The safety of the employees, to include their attitudes, behaviors, and morale, would definitely improve and that would help ensure the safety of our students who ride those buses every day.”
School board member Alan Rummel also pushed for keeping the Southern Lee project as the top priority for new construction, allowing the committee Smith and the county were proposing a full year to consider all the issues and return with a proposal that had thoughtfully been developed.
Another school board member, Patrick Kelly, asked Smith whether the commissioners were recommending that the new maintenance facility be located at the Jonesboro School site. Smith’s response was curt.
“That would be ideal for the taxpayers, unless you want us to go out and buy more property and spend more money,” he said. But Kelly came right back, saying “it’s valuable to us, too, because we could sell that property and use it toward acquiring land for a new school.”
School board member Sandra Bowen, who served as chair until December 2022, told Smith the school board’s focus is on
educating children, raising test scores, creating opportunities, and preparing students for college. The bus garage, she said, was not even on their radar until the commissioners requested it be put on the school board’s list of needed capital projects just six months ago.
“And again, our priorities got pushed to the back burner, so that what you wanted went to the head of the line. Again,” she said. “And that’s the very same trust issue that was brought up at the joint meeting in July. Now, you want us to move forward and start designing something that we don’t even know what it needs to be.”
School board member Chris Gaster rounded out the conversation by speaking to the value of the Jonesboro School property. “Everything is valuable,” he said, “and we don’t need to rush into anything. Our taxpayers need to be assured that they are getting the most bang for their buck.”
He proposed establishing a joint committee to refine the draft proposal Smith had brought to the meeting so the mechanics of how the design and financing of the joint facility could happen.
Gaster, like almost every member of the school board, said he believes the decision on moving forward with the proposed facility is one that would best be made after the election on Nov. 5.
HOW THEY GOT HERE
The Board of Education is the largest unit of county government to receive local funding from the county commissioners. Over the past four years, the Board of Education has gone to the commissioners as the annual budget was being developed to ask for priority funding for things the State of North Carolina will not pay for, like support for salary increases and local supplements for teachers and support staff. In each of those four years (2021-2024), the commissioners chose not to fund those requests, saying it didn’t have money to pay for them.
That left the school board scrambling to find other sources of funding for needs that they had told the commissioners were critical. They were able to do that by using ESSER funds, federal COVID relief dollars approved by the Trump and Biden administrations to provide emergency relief for schools during the pandemic. Since those funds sunset on September 30 of this year and are no longer available, new dollars have to be found.
Several commissioners and school board members, along with staff, visited the only facility known where this type of partnership arrangement has been done successfully, a jointly operated facility in neighboring Chatham County. Returning to Lee County and convinced that it could work here, informal discussions began among the groups before the end of the 2023-24 school year.
HERE’S THE RUB
It was at this July 25 meeting that the county tried several times to pull the scab off a wound inflicted as far back at least as 2021. It was at this very same meeting that the school board cast aside its partisan leanings to stand with one voice, telling Smith and the six other commissioners that it doesn’t appreciate being told something on the one hand, while having something else entirely different done to them with the other.
The county has the money to build this facility that would service not only school buses but also the county’s fleet of vehicles. It is sitting in a fund balance – essentially a government savings account – with a balance today of $25 million or more. No cost estimates have been developed so far, but most expect they will not exceed a few million dollars. But what the county
doesn’t have is available land upon which to build a new garage. A possible answer for that puzzle could lie in the abandoned Jonesboro Elementary School property, which was destroyed by fire in 2023.
The point of contention: The commissioners want the school board to make the property available for the new maintenance facility in a joint endeavor with the county. But the school board’s view is that the commissioners are trying to take advantage of the Board of Education by getting it to transfer ownership to the county so no purchase of land will be necessary.
School board members have tried to make it clear for the past several months to Smith, and by extension to the rest of county leadership, that this kind of treatment leaves them feeling used and manipulated.
Here’s an example from the July 25 meeting, where Bowen tried to make it clear once more to the commissioners that the real impediment to progress was not the proposed maintenance facility, its cost, or where it might be located. For her, it was about being used, and she was loud and clear when she gave voice to what some of her colleagues have expressed privately for months.
“We suddenly have something the county needs — the Jonesboro property — and yet our priorities keep getting pushed down? We are the school board of students, not of garages, and how is this going to help the students that we serve? Are we really going to serve students or are we at the beck and call of the commissioners when they want something?” she said.
PROPOSAL WOULD ADD NEARLY 200 HOMES TO TRAMWAY ROAD AREA
The Sanford-Lee County Planning Department’s Technical Review Committee heard a proposal in late October that would place 184 homes and more than 35,000 square feet of commercial space on Tramway Road.
Proposed on 32.59 acres near Tramway Road’s intersection with Bruce Coggins Road, the development would include 25 single family homes, 135 townhomes, and 24 multifamily units. Lot sizes would range from 1,680 square feet to 3,580 square feet.
The commercial space would face Tramway Road in front of the development.
The TRC is comprised of local officials from various city and county government entities representing Sanford, Lee County and Broadway, and meets monthly to review commercial proposals and major subdivisions for compliance with the codes and policies of various public service providers. Committee approval does not guarantee that projects submitted for review will be developed — only that they fall under compliance.
Several other proposals were on the TRC agenda for October (the meeting was held after press time for this publication). They included:
• A new storage space on Chatham Street,
• An urgent care clinic at the intersection of South Horner Boulevard and Jefferson Street,
• A FirstHealth clinic at Bryan Drive and U.S. 1 in Tramway,
• A new Circle K store on Broadway Road adjacent to the Lee County Athletic Park and the U.S. 421 Bypass, and
• Three warehouse buildings at the intersection of Post Office and Colon roads.
RECORD-SETTING TURNOUT
Through first week of early voting, a third of Lee County’s voters have cast a ballot
By Richard Sullins richard@rantnc.com
A week after early voting began in North Carolina, voter turnout is setting records statewide – and in Lee County — as people try to beat the crowds when Election Day comes on Nov. 5.
As of the closing of the early voting sites at the Bob Hales Center in the downtown business sector of Sanford and the McSwain Center on Tramway Road on Friday, Oct. 25, a total of 14,263 people had cast a ballot. With 41,142 people registered to vote in Lee County, that means that just over 34 percent of all people eligible to vote in the county had done so.
The largest turnout so far was on Oct. 17, the first day of early voting, when 2,369 voters came to be among the first people in the state to cast their ballots.
Lee County Elections Director Jane Rae Fawcett told The Rant she believes that
Early voting in North Carolina ends at 3 p.m. on Nov. 2. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5.
number to be a record, something she will be able to verify after the election process is over.
In 2020, the last presidential election in America, 84 percent of the total votes cast in the United States were made during the
Lee County Board of Education Candidates
early voting periods.
Early voting is happening at only two sites in Lee County — the Hales Center on McIver Street and the McSwain Center on Tramway Road — and will end at 3 p.m. on Nov. 2. Those who haven’t voted by that time can still vote on Election Day, which is Nov. 5. The polls will open that day at 6:30 a.m. and stay open until they close at 7:30 p.m.
When will we know who won?
In 2020, the first election results in North Carolina were reported at 7:42 p.m. and by midnight, 99 percent of all votes that were cast had been counted. In Lee County, look for the results to come in sometime after 10 p.m. The Board of Elections office historically reports results for all ten precincts at once when they have all been reported to the office and properly signed for.
Lee County Board of Commissioners
— Gordon Anderson
At each precinct, the machines are locked after the last vote is cast and then secured and escorted to a vehicle belonging to a member of the elections team, who drives them to the Elections Board office. There, the results from each machine are tabulated and combined into one overall results sheet, and these results are the ones that will be reported to Raleigh and shared with the public that evening or early on Wednesday morning, Nov. 6.
By the numbers
The majority of registered voters in Lee County in 2024 — 15,608 of them — list ‘Unaffiliated’ as their party preference, and that designation has topped all others for the last couple of election cycles. The county had been historically dominated by Democratic voters for most of its first 100 years of history, but a few weeks ago, the Lee County Republican Party passed the local Democratic Party in the number of voters registered to vote.
As of Oct. 19, there were 12,631 voters in the county who listed ‘Republican’ as their party of preference, compared to 12,435 who are registered as Democrats. Six other parties — Libertarian (308), No Labels (138), Green (17), Justice For All (2), We The People (2), and Constitution (0) — make up the remaining 468 voters. Because of same day registration during early voting, those numbers will vary slightly from day to day, but not likely enough to change the balance of power when the votes come in.
Another key demographic this year is gender, with men generally favoring former President Trump and women tending to favor Vice President Harris. In Lee County, the total of registered voters favors women, and that’s a statistic that reflects trends in North Carolina and the nation. Of all registered voters in Lee County, 58 percent of them are women, compared to 42 percent that are men.
Abortion has been an item of discussion across the county since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022 and this is the first presidential election cycle since then to see what impact that decision has on the public.
Ethnicity can sometimes be a factor in how people vote. As of Oct. 19, according to the Board of Elections, 26,186 of the county’s 41,142 registered voters listed
their ethnicity as white, representing 63.6 percent of the total population of registered voters within the county. 7,528, or 18.3 percent, listed their ethnicity as black, with the next largest group, Hispanics, having 3,773 registered voters, or 9.17 percent of the county’s voting bloc.
Register during early voting
Voters who check in at either of the two early voting sites this year may update their name and/or address in the county’s election file, provided they are within Lee County. Those who are not registered to vote and wish to do so for this election, North Carolina law allows for same-day registration during the early voting period. It is not an option for most people on Election Day. Be sure to bring proof of your residence when you come to vote.
Remember also that all voters will be asked to show an approved form of photo ID when they check in to vote this year. If you don’t have a photo ID, you can get one for free this year at the Board of Elections office at 1503 Elm Street in Sanford.
The State Board of Elections in Raleigh has sent out several press releases to each of the 100 counties that all voters should respect the rights of others to participate in the election. Lee County’s election officials have been highly trained to quickly address any incident that might interfere with a voter’s ability to cast their ballot. Intimidating any voter is a crime. Voters who feel harassed or intimidated should notify an election official immediately.
At the same time, the supporters of any candidate or party also have First Amendment rights of freedom of speech to express their support in a designated zone outside the polling place.
Those supporters have the right to approach voters in a practice known as electioneering, which usually consists of a volunteer working on behalf of a candidate or a slate of candidates, offering the voter palm cards or flyers in an identified zone that is typically no less than 25 feet and no more than 50 feet from the entrance to the polling place where voting is taking place.
Those supporters are free to offer voters this information, but any voter who feels that this level of attention has escalated to harassment should seek the attention of a voting official.
EDUCATOR OF EXCELLENCE
Lee County Schools central office and Exceptional Children district staff were able to surprise Shani Whilby with the news that she is the district’s Exceptional Children Educator of Excellence. Whilby has been at B.T. Bullock Elementary as a speech language pathologist since 2010 and is passionate about helping students reach their full potential.
REGIONAL QUALIFIERS
Lee County High School’s girls’ golf team qualified for regionals at Valley Golf Course in Burlington this year after winning their conference championship. Pictured are Kara Savage, Laney Laudate, Sydney Pomeranz, Coach Joan Wicker, Mary Thomas Smith, Lauren Sloan and Savannah Phillips.
HISPANIC HERITAGE
Broadway Elementary School celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month in October with a parade through the school. From the district: “The bright smiles of students displayed a tremendous passion for their culture and their family roots while highlighting that our district’s schools are places where everyone can feel welcome and play an important part in our community.”
PARTNERSHIP BREAKS GROUND ON WATER FACILITY EXPANSION PROJECT
The City of Sanford, the Town of Fuquay-Varina and the Town of Holly Springs gathered at Sanford’s water filtration facility on Oct. 29 to break ground on the facility expansion that will ensure reliable access to water for our communities for the next 20 years.
Through the new regional partnership, Fuquay-Varina and Holly Springs will pay a proportional share of the expansion and operation costs to increase the facility’s treatment capacity from 12 to 30 million gallons per day.
Total cost of the expansion is just over $390 million. Sanford will own 8 million gallons a day at a cost of $185.8 million; Fuquay-Varina will own 6 million gallons at a cost of $122.9 million, and Holly Springs will own 4 million gallons at a cost of $81.9 million. Sanford will manage the facility, retain sole authority over its operation and maintain an ownership stake.
In addition to increased treatment capacity, the expansion project provides an opportunity to add granular activated carbon filters to the water filtration process. Construction began on Oct. 29, and the project is anticipated for completion in 2028.
“This arrangement is a win-win for our region,” said Sanford Mayor Rebecca Wyhof Salmon. “Sanford has used good fiscal stewardship and smart planning to meet our infrastructure needs, reduce some of the cost burden to our water users, and protect the quality of our water into the future.”
PFIZER LAYS OFF ADDITIONAL 75 EMPLOYEES IN SANFORD
Pfizer recently eliminated 75 positions at its Sanford plant three months after laying off 150 workers, according to Fierce Pharma, a news site focusing on the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.
The layoffs follow “a high-profile phase 3 trial failure for its Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) gene therapy candidate,” according to the site. The company said the
new wave of layoffs is related to the DMD trial results.
Additionally, while operations will continue at Pfizer’s main facility in Sanford, the company is trying to sell a newly acquired manufacturing site in the same town. In January 2023, Pfizer picked up the facility for an undisclosed sum from CDMO Abzena in anticipation of gearing up for commercial production of the DMD gene therapy prospect.
Operations at the site, which Pfizer dubbed as Sanford North, were conducted briefly before they were discontinued in July. The company had expected to officially open the facility before the end of this year.
OXIDE GALLERY TO HOST ‘HOLIDAY TREASURES’
Oxide Gallery of Fine Art in downtown Sanford will present Holiday Treasures now through Dec. 28. The Gallery will be open for a First Saturday Public Reception on Nov. 2 from 4 to 7 p.m. to kick off the holiday shopping and gift-giving season.
A portion of proceeds from the sale of all artwork benefits Lee County Fine Arts.
“Holiday Treasures is a two-month event celebrating the spirit of the season in small works,” said gallery director Heath Buckmaster. “We’ve curated a collection of beautiful artwork that will make a great gift for yourself or a loved one. Over 70 paintings [8x8] will be displayed in a grid along with a seasonal-themed collection of pottery, glass and decorative ornaments.”
In addition to the Holiday Treasures collection, the Gallery will include a front window display themed on Historic Downtown Sanford’s Land of Sweets. Above image: Project Santa’s Treasure by Jessica Sloan.
TRAMWAY’S CUMMINGS NAMED LCS PRINCIPAL OF THE YEAR
Andrea Cummings, principal at Tramway Elementary School, was named the Principal of the Year for Lee County Schools. Cummings was selected based on a vote of her peer principals across the district.
“I found something that I loved to do as a little girl – playing school – and made a career out of it,” said Cummings, now serving in her 20th year in education, each of which has been with Lee County Schools. “My younger brother and sister may say that the bossiness finally paid off. But in all seriousness, this is a ministry, and I pray daily for wisdom and boldness to be obedient to serve.”
Cummings started her time with the district teaching Pre-K at Warren Williams School before transitioning to teach Kindergarten at Tramway. Shortly after that, she was tapped to work alongside Tramway’s principal, Anne Beal, serving as assistant principal for six years before Beal’s retirement.
Known for her care and compassion, Cummings’ teams have consistently delivered high quality educational outcomes. Under her leadership, Tramway has met or exceeded growth each year that growth has been measured by the state since 2018.
“Andrea is an outstanding leader who consistently puts students first, demonstrates deep care for her staff, and serves as a mentor to new principals in our district,” said Superintendent Dr. Chris Dossenbach. “One of the most remarkable aspects of this honor is that it is determined by her peers, who overwhelmingly selected her for this recognition.”
LEMON SPRINGS MAN CHARGED WITH MURDER OF GIRLFRIEND
Lee County sheriff’s deputies charged a Lemon Springs man with murder in connection with the death of his partner.
Randall Lee Stark, 66, of River Run Drive in Lee County faces one count of first degree murder. Deputies responded to the residence around 11 p.m. on Oct. 22 and found 76-year-old Joan Collins dead of a gunshot wound.
Stark, who deputies said was in a long term relationship with Collins, was detained at the scene and placed in the Lee County Jail without bond.
“Learning that I had been chosen by colleagues that I admire and have been able to work with for many years brings a humbleness that is inexplicable,” says LCS Principal of the Year Andrea Cummings. “It was truly special to celebrate the news of this honor with not only my current school family but the great group of Elementary Principals who helped me grow exponentially on this leadership journey as well as two of my three amazing assistant principles and my sweet family.”–
EVENT CALENDAR
DECEMBER 5-22
A CHRISTMAS CAROL
Temple Theatre’s musical adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel will have a four-week run throughout the month of December on the main stage. Join Scrooge, Bob Cratchit, Tiny Tim and a host of colorful characters for a remarkable holiday production of the literary classic. “The spirit of the season is wrapped in your favorite yuletide melodies and tied with all the holiday magic and wonder of your childhood reminding us all to honor Christmas in our hearts and try to keep it all the year round.” Visit templeshows.com for ticket information.
SEND YOUR EVENT
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.
NOVEMBER: Oxide Gallery of Fine Art in downtown Sanford will present Holiday Treasures now through Dec. 28. The Gallery will be open for a First Saturday Public Reception on Nov. 2 from 4 to 7 p.m. to kick off the holiday shopping and gift-giving season. A portion of proceeds benefits Lee County Fine Arts.
NOV 1: Downtown Sanford Inc. will kick off the holiday season with Holiday Night Market from 5 to 9 p.m. The market will feature the best local handmade artists, food trucks, games on the lawn, music, winter-themed activities, a holiday photo booth and a visit from Santa.
NOV 1: The Heart of Carolina Jazz Orchestra, directed by Gregg Gelb and featuring guest artist Rahsaan Barber, will perform at 7:30 p.m. at Temple Theatre. Tickets are $25 and $10 for ages 16 and under. Visit templeshows.com for tickets.
NOV 1: Whiskey Pines will perform at Smoke & Barrel in downtown Sanford at 8 p.m.
NOV 2: Temple Theatre hosts Ron Perkinson’s “Circling the Drain III.” Hosted by Leroy Seabrooks and featuring Perkinson, Jeremy Adler and Scott Angrave. Tickets on sale at templeshows.com.
NOV 2: The Town of Broadway will host Holiday on Main from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Participating businesses will include Pop Heaven, Los Charros Restaurant, Lisa’s Home & Design, Magnolia Boutique, the Beauty Studio, Faith Finds Boutique, Dips N Dawgs, Broadway Family Pharmacy and Brick City Boba.
NOV 3: Downtown Sanford will host a Downtown Holiday Open House from noon to 4 p.m. The Temple Theatre Company will fill the streets with carolers as shoppers get a first glimpse of all things Christmas from participating downtown businesses.
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NOV 8: Jason Damico & The new Blue will perform at Smoke & Barrel in downtown Sanford at 8 p.m. Damico blends soulful baritone vocals along with blistering guitar riffs to produce his own high-energy “new blues” in the vein of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jim Morrison and Johnny Cash.
NOV 8: Sanford Parks will host Family Movie Night at 6 p.m. at Kiwanis Family Park (1800 Wicker St.). This month’s movie will be Inside Out 2.
NOV 15: Cory Luetjen & The Traveling Blues Band will perform at Smoke & Barrel in downtown Sanford at 8 p.m. Luetjen is a seasoned guitarist, singer and songwriter teaming up with a blues band to put a charismatic progressive blues, rock and funk inspired sound.
NOV
A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at BatteriesPlus Store in Sanford at 11:30 a.m.
NOV 22: The Mixtapes — a five-piece band from the Triangle area that covers everyone from Fleetwood Mac to the Beatles — will perform at Smoke & Barrel at 8 p.m.
NOV 24: Downtown Sanford presents Sunday with Santa from 3 to 6 p.m. Spend a “snowy” afternoon downtown and you visit with Santa, enjoy treats and decorate crafts with Lee County Library; write a letter to Santa with elves, visit the Wishes Character Co. princesses and the Grinch; train rides, photo opportunities and more.
NOV 26: Temple Theatre presents Christmas with The Embers, featuring Craig Woolard. Tickets are on sale at templeshows.com.
NOV 27: The Simpletones will perform at Smoke & Barrel in downtown Sanford at 8 p.m.
NOV 27: The Pine Sized Pasture will host Family Farm Day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Walk around and visit all the farm animals (large and small), enjoy games for kids, food trucks, and more. Tickets are $7 (free for ages 1 and under).
NOV 29: Big Bump & The Stun Gunz (blues, boogie and classic rock) will perform at Smoke & Barrel in downtown Sanford at 8p.m.
NOV 30: Downtown Sanford Inc. will host Small Business Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Skip the crazy Black Friday crowds and #ShopSmallForSanford. Receive holiday punch cards and get rewards for every $10 you spend at participating businesses.
DEC. 13: “O Blessed Season” candlelight tours will be held at the House in the Horseshoe from 3 to 6:30 p.m. Step back in time and experience an 18th-century Christmas. Interpreters will portray members of the community who have gathered for a festive party during the holiday season among fresh greenery and candlelight. Tickets are required. This event is part of the “Revolutionary NC” theme for America 250 NC.
DEC 14: The Town of Broadway will hold its annual Christmas parade at 2 p.m.
DEC 2: The Sanford Christmas Parade will roll through downtown Sanford at 7 p.m.
MONDAYS: Circle M City in Sanford hosts Monday Music Jam at 7 p.m. every Monday. The town comes alive with pickin’ and singin’ … guitars, mandolins, banjos, fiddles, bass and their players perform inside the Livery Stable. Pull up chairs to listen or join in. Families are welcome. Located at 74 Cowboy Lane.
WEDNESDAYS: Lee County Libraries will host Baby Story Times (0-18 months) and Toddler Story Times (1-3 years) at 10 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. respectively on Wednesdays throughout June at the library in downtown Sanford.
THURSDAYS: Wild Dogs Brewing hosts a “pop-up bookstore and bottle shop” every Thursday from 4 to 10 p.m.
THURSDAYS: Lee County Libraries will host Family Story Times for all ages at 10 a.m. on Thursdays throughout the month of June. The videos will be posted to the library’s YouTube channel on Mondays at 1 p.m. The library is located at 107 Hawkins Ave. in Sanford.
SATURDAYS: The Sanford Farmers Market runs from 8:30 a.m. to noon each Saturday through Nov. 9. The market features locally grown produce, locally raised meats, local vendors and artisans and more. The market is located at 115 Chatham St. in downtown Sanford, across from Yarborough’s.
CROSSWORD: Fill In The Blanks
ACROSS
1. Eight performers
6. Air traffic control controlling org.
9. 100-meter race
13. *Fauna, Merryweather and ____, fairy godmothers
14. Adam’s body part in Bible
15. Stone fruit
16. Type of bulrush, pl.
17. *”Dawn of a new ____”
18. Pertaining to ear
19. *”____ list”
21. *”Your wish is my ____”
23. Actor Danson
24. Pottery oven
25. *Migos: “Look at My ____”
28. Cold cuts counter
30. Inner skin layer, pl.
35. Riyadh native
37. One thousandth of a liter, pl.
39. *”Till _____ do us part”
40. Inconclusive
41. Where there’s trouble?
43. On a cruise, e.g.
44. Man-made stone pile
46. Purse for a formal affair
47. Animal house
48. When a 3rd party holds assets
50. Prefers
52. Desk well content
53. Withdraw gradually
55. Black and white sea bird
57. *”____ up the wrong tree”
61. *”A date which will live in ____”
64. Certain monochromatic cookie, pl.
65. Weary traveler’s destination
67. Robin Hood’s companion Tuck
69. September stone
70. Tolstoy of “War and Peace”
fame
71. Salon file
72. Hurly burly
73. Immeasurable period
74. Raja’s wife
DOWN
1. Oftentimes, poetic abbreviation
2. *”Welcome to the ____”
3. Cough syrup balsam
4. Not slouching
5. Assigned a chore
6. Worry
7. *”I’m walkin’ on ____”
8. Old-time calculators
9. Ringo Starr’s instrument
10. Ambience
11. Bridge, e.g.
12. Kept together
15. *F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Beautiful and the ____”
20. Possible allergic reaction
22. *”What’s ____ is new again”
24. One thousand tons
25. *”____ like no one is watching”
26. La Scala solos
27. Fundamental
29. *”____ is like a box of chocolates”
31. Madrid’s Club de Fútbol
32. Kenyan warrior
33. Dined at home
34. *”Jump the ____,” what Fonzie did
36. 100 cents in Ethiopia
38. *”No ____ for you!”
42. Previously an Oiler
45. In no manner, archaic
49. Skin cyst
51. Bear pain
54. Quick and light on one’s feet
56. Deserved consequence
57. *”You’re gonna need a bigger ____”
58. Jason’s vessel
59. Use a book
60. Japanese zither
61. Involved (2 words)
62. Demeanor
63. Ready and eager
66. New, prefix
68. *J.D. Salinger’s “Catcher in the ____”
