What an Honor
Northwood High School’s basketball standout Drake Powell
PHOTO BY JACKIE HARPHAM
was selected as a McDonald’s All-American on Jan. 23. Drake, a 6-foot-6 forward, is the first player from Chatham County to receive this honor. The UNC recruit will compete at the All-American game in Houston in April.
The Chatham County Sheriff’s Office raised more than $50,000 for Special Olympics North Carolina at its annual Polar Plunge at Jordan Lake State Park in Pittsboro. One-hundred-andtwenty-eight individuals took the plunge to support Special Olympics’ mission of providing sports training and competition to children and adults with intellectual disabilities in Chatham County and throughout North Carolina. National Hall of Fame boxing referee Bill Clancy received the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award on March 22 at the Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts in Raleigh. Bill has refereed for some of 16
C H AT H A M M AG A Z I N E
the biggest names in boxing, including world championship fighters Mike Tyson, Roy Jones Jr. and Manny Pacquiao. The award was presented by Khalilah Camacho Ali, former wife of Muhammad Ali. Central Carolina Community College received a $6.3 million
award from the National Science Foundation’s Division of Advanced Technological Education (NSF ATE) to establish the Environmental and Natural Resources Technology (EARTh) Center. The EARTh Center, one of only nine national centers funded by NSF ATE, will serve as a national hub for supporting technical education and workforce training needs within the environmental technology sector across the United States.
A ceremony to honor the 11 graduates of the Central Carolina Community College Basic Law Enforcement Training program was held Feb. 14 at the CCCC Chatham Main Campus A P R I L / M AY 2 0 2 4
what we've heard around our towns Compiled by SINCLAIR HOLIAN
in Pittsboro. The graduates include April Renee Espinoza, Lexiah Payge Gates, James Kiro Georgevich II, Caitlynn Edith Hill, Ryan John Howard, Jaden Nicole Lowe, Benjamin Patrick McGaughnea, Brandon Montoya, Daniel Keith Palmiter, Samantha Raen Parker and Michael T. Wilson. Several officers were awarded special honors for outstanding achievements.
PHOTO BY MATT RAMEY
noted.
Cafe Root Cellar chef and owner Sera Cuni was awarded the
N.C. Restaurant and Lodging Association’s Ken Conrad Award for Service to the Community in a ceremony at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel in Durham on Feb. 12. The honor acknowledges Sera’s Feed-Well Fridges, a community fridge program that works to eliminate hunger and commercial food waste in Chatham County. Fridges are placed in 24/7 accessible areas where residents lack access to fresh and affordable food options. Chatham County Aging Services
honored six individuals as part of its second annual “6 Over 60” Awards at the Siler City Center for Active Living in February. Christine DeGraffenreidt,