Chatham News & Record Vol. 147, Issue 17

After 14 years as athletic director at Northwood, then Seaforth, Jason Amy saw his girls’ soccer team take the state title on his very last day as AD.

Take a look back in our exclusive interview, Page B1

the BRIEF this week

Chatham water rates to rise by 15%

Chatham County is increasing the water rate for its 11,200 water utility customers beginning July 1, the start of the new scal year.

A county press release points out that there has not been a rate increase since 2007, and the higher rates are necessary to cover rising costs and to pay for needed capital improvements.

The average water bill of $43 would increase to $49.45.

The increased rate will be re ected in quarterly water bills beginning in September.

Siler City Elementary gets new principal

Sarah Estes will be the new principal at Siler City Elementary, e ective July 1, the school district announced this week. She will be replacing Tania Poston, who is retiring.

Estes has been principal of Virginia Cross Elementary in Siler City for the past six years, having previously spent six years as assistant principal at North Chatham Elementary and one year in the same position at Pittsboro Elementary.

She began her career in Granville County, teaching fourth and fth grade.

NCDOT seeks feedback on EV charging stations

The Department of Transportation will host a webinar to gather public feedback on where to deploy the second round of public electric vehicle charging stations.

The public will be able to give feedback to NCDOT on the federally funded NEVI charging station program, and to learn more about the program and how it works.

NEVI, or National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure, is a federal program that set aside $5 billion to build a network of publicly funded electric car chargers around the country — though the rollout has been slow, with only a handful of chargers built in the two years since the program was approved. North Carolina received $109 million to build its portion of the network.

The webinar will be from 3- 4:30 p.m. on June 26. Interested parties can register for the program on NCDOT.gov, and a recording will be posted to the NCDOT YouTube page.

The rst NEVI stations in North Carolina should open sometime in 2025.

A good walk spoiled

Pinehurst No. 2 was a formidable challenge for U.S. Open competitors last week, with everyone spending time in a bunker or the course’s countless native areas at some point. Above, 2013 U.S. Open winner Justin Rose considers his lie during the second round on Friday.

Siler City PD to hire new clerk for tra c records partnership

“It’s going to bring revenue in to us, and these are items that these guys are going to have to have.”

Andrea Smith, records supervisor

By Morgan Matthews For Chatham News & Record

The agreement with iTicket.law, a tra c ticket- ghting legal service, could bring in $200,000 a year

By Ryan Henkel Chatham News & Record

SILER CITY — The Board of Commissioners has approved a new agreement between the po-

—

suggests,

lice department and iTicket.law to ful ll requests for driving records in exchange for a small fee.

iTicket.law is an online service that connects individuals who have received tra c tickets with legal representation. The rm’s attorneys, in turn, submit requests for driving and ticket records to help with the defense.

The agreement, approved at the June 3 Commissioners meeting, will see the Siler City police

department hire a new records clerk to help with the expected in ux of driver’s license record requests from iTicket.law.

“They currently have an agreement with Orange County Sheri ’s O ce where they have an employee that runs their driver’s license checks, and they have an average between 3,500 to 4,000 requests a month,” said Siler City Police Chief Brian Regan. Orange County, the chief said, currently gets around $5 per records request.

“There’s an opportunity for us at the police department to take this on. It would require us to hire a full-time records clerk, and then this person would be run-

See SILER CITY, page A2

are disengaged. Both parties want to change that

By Makiya Seminera The Associated Press

PITTSBORO, page A7 See VOTERS, page A10

STAN GILLILAND FOR CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD

PJ WARD-BROWN / CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD

“Join the conversation”

Hunting, shing permit costs going up July 1

The in ation-indexed increase will see prices rise by almost 20%

Chatham News & Record sta

THE COST of North Carolina hunting and shing permits are going up this year, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) announced this week.

The license fees, which make up about a quarter of the agency’s revenue, are rising around 20%, with the costs indexed to the rise in in ation since the last fee increase in January 2020. The revenue will go toward the NCWRC’s own rising costs, which have also been a ected by in ation.

The price adjustments are based on the Consumer Price

Index (CPI-U) changes, with all licenses, permits, stamps and certi cations rising by 18.75% rounded up to the nearest whole dollar.

The agency says its costs of employee salaries and bene ts alone have risen by around $5.6 million per year (or 6.28%) since 2020.

SPONSORED BY

ning 3,500 to 4,000 requests,” the chief told the board. “This is legal. We have all the capabilities through (Division of Criminal Information). We’re set up for this process. It takes about ve hours a day to accomplish all of this, and we’re working on some processes as far as how we would get these record checks to them. There are a lot of options on the table, but we think we can make a smooth transition with that.”

Regan also mentioned that another goal would be to hire a “second shift” clerk, allowing the police department to stay open later on weekdays. The existing records clerk would receive a title bump and pay raise for supervising the new clerk.

“I’m all for it because it’s going to bring revenue into us, and these are items that these guys are going to have to have,” said records supervisor Andrea Smith’s said.

Regan estimates it could bring in some $200,000 in yearly revenue for the department.

“Procedurally, it just makes sense to me,” said Mayor Pro Tem Lewis Fadely. “I think it’s a win-win.”

The Siler City Board of Commissioners will next meet on July 15.

COMMERCIAL

Here’s a quick look at what’s coming up in Chatham County:

June 21

Siler City Downtown Music Series

6:30 p.m.

The N.C. Arts Incubator and Chatham Rabbit host the Siler City Downtown Music Series every third Friday from April to October. Their free downtown outdoor concert series features a broad range of local musicians who showcase various genres representative of North Carolina.

June 21

8:30 p.m.

Friday Night Movie + Car Show: Cars 3

MOSAIC hosts its Friday night event this week. Car Show starts at 7:30 p.m. and the movie, “Cars 3,” starts at 8:30 p.m. Food and beverage by:Mr. Dowdy’s Popcorn, Hops & Berry, Tacos Paraiso #1 and HAVOC Brewery. Philip H. Kohl MOSAIC Family Commons, 367 Freedom Parkway in Pittsboro.

June 22

Chatham Mills Farmers Market 8 a.m. – noon

The Chatham Mills Farmers is a growers-only market featuring fresh veggies, fruits, meats, eggs, baked goods, preserved foods, perennial plants, garden starters and handmade crafts. 480 Hillsboro St. in Pittsboro.

June 22

Music of the Circle with Eric Bannan

2 p.m.

Chatham Community Library will host “Music of the Circle” featuring songwriter and storyteller Eric Bannan on Saturday, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Holmes Family Meeting Room. This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required. Register at tiny.cc/cclmotc or call 919-545-8084.

June 28

Friday Night Concerts: Jim Quick & Coastline

6 p.m.

North Carolina beach music, soul and R&B band Jim Quick & Coastline will play MOSAIC’s summer Friday night concert.

Chatham County’s BSA Troop 93 has two new Eagle Scouts following a Court of Honor ceremony at Saint Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church in Pittsboro on June 1.

For their Eagle Projects, 17-year-old Ethan King created a beautiful picnic area by constructing two benches and landscaping at the Habitat for Humanity Restore on West Street in Pittsboro, while William Schollee, also 17, cleaned all the headstones in the church’s historic graveyard and built a pathway between the church and the cemetery.

Benjamin Rogers of Pittsboro was named to The University of Alabama Dean’s List for spring semester 2024.

A total of 13,103 undergraduate students enrolled during Spring Semester 2024 at The University of Alabama were named to the dean’s list with an academic record of 3.5 (or above).

Man drowns at Jordan Lake over Father’s Day weekend

Emergency services were called just before midnight Saturday night

Chatham News & Record sta

A CHARLOTTE MAN died at Jordan Lake late Saturday night, says the Chatham County Sheri ’s O ce. According to a press release, 25-year-old Pradip Kumar Bjujel was reportedly shing with

friends when “he waded into the water and disappeared from view.” His friends contacted emergency services at 11:43 p.m.. His body was recovered by rst responders, but he was unable to be revived.

“Our team is thoroughly investigating … the circumstances that led to this tragic event,” said Chatham County Sheri Mike Roberson in a statement. “We extend our deepest sympathies to the family

Durham power outage caused by gun re to equipment

Duke Energy did not share what was damaged

By Makiya Seminera

The Associated Press

RALEIGH — Damage to a utility’s power equipment by gun re found in Durham was associated with an outage that left hundreds of people without power last week, said Duke Energy.

About 730 people experienced a power outage for about two hours last Monday after reports of “a re and equipment failure” on Duke Energy’s power distribution grid, spokesperson Je Brooks said in an email.

A day later, the Durham Police Department, with assistance from the FBI, responded to an area in southeast Durham after receiving a call about the damaged power equipment, according to a police statement.

The company’s workers told ofcers that the equipment had been damaged by gun re within the past week.

Damage from the gun re caused a “slow oil leak” from

the power equipment, which ultimately led to a re breaking out, police said. The incident is under investigation and no one had been arrested as of Thursday. While Duke Energy veri ed the damage was associated with the outage, Brooks said the company hasn’t conrmed what ultimately led to the equipment failing and is waiting until the investigation is completed.

“We have been working to strengthen our electric grid to make it more resistant to extended outages from severe weather, as well as physical and cyber threats,” Brooks said. “We are also improving the resiliency of the grid to help restore power faster when a disruption occurs.”

O cials didn’t immediately specify what kind of equipment was damaged.

The incident comes as North Carolina lawmakers have advanced legislation to toughen penalties for people who carry out attacks on infrastructure such as public water sites and manufacturing facilities. Property damage to utility

and friends of Pradip.”

In addition to Chatham Sheri ’s deputies, o cials from Chatham County Emergency Management, North Chatham Volunteer Fire Department, FirstHealth EMS and the Medical Examiner’s O ce responded to the scene. It’s at least the second drowning at Jordan Lake this year after 16-year-old Bryan Guzman of Winston-Salem drowned there in late May.

services has gotten attention since two power substations were shot at in Moore County in December 2022. The incident left thousands of residents without power in frigid temperatures for days. Arrests still have not been made.

In response, Gov. Roy Cooper signed a bill unanimously passed by state legislators last year that increased penalties for people who purposefully damage energy facilities and telephone and broadband equipment.

Now, the state legislature is looking to expand punishments for intentionally damaging a wider variety of infrastructure services, including public water systems, wastewater treatment facilities, public utilities and manufacturing facilities. The penalty for damaging those areas on purpose would be a felony, according to the bill.

It also allows for people who su er harm as a result of infrastructure property damage to sue the person who committed the crime or aided it.

“This is just an extension of our critical infrastructure protection in our state,” Senate Majority Leader Paul Newton said in the Senate Agriculture, Energy, and Environment Committee last week.

The bill has since been referred to another committee since its approval in the agriculture committee, but it has yet to be scheduled for a hearing.

ROCKY RIVER BAPTIST CHURCH

Hindsight Bluegrass Band with Stan and Julie Brown will be At Rocky River Baptist Church Siler City – Snow Camp Rd. On Sunday, June 23 at 6 p.m.

Everyone Is Welcome!

A Love O ering will be taken

NEW BEGINNINGS MINISTRIES CHURCH

17TH PASTOR’S ANNIVERSARY FOR PHYLLIS M. RICHARDSON

When: June 21-23

Where: New Beginnings Ministries Church

129 South 2nd Ave.

Siler City, NC 27344

Friday Night – June 21 at 7:30 p.m.

Special Guest: Bishop/Pastor David Bing from Destiny Church of God in Goldston

Sunday Morning: June 23 at 11:30 a.m.

Special Guest: Rev. Anissa Little from Mitchell Chapel AMEZ Church in Pittsboro

Sunday Afternoon: June 23 at 3 p.m.

Special Guest: Apostle Mable Weaver from Seed Time and Harvest Fellowship in Durham

PRAISE CHURCH OF DELIVERANCE MINISTRIES

PASTOR CALLIE – 984-368-2942

PASTOR JAMES – 984-270-3011

Our Youth Services are at 4 p.m. every fourth Sunday at World Outreach Ministries, Bellevue Street in Goldston

On June 23, we will be selling Ra e Tickets for $1 to give away a microwave and a blender.

This is for our Building Fund.

JUNE 12

• Carlos Leonel Archila-Escalante, 21, of Siler City, was arrested for possession of a firearm by a felon, crime against nature, seconddegree forcible sex offense, and second-degree kidnapping.

JUNE 14

• Joseph Wiley Beal, 43, of Goldston, was arrested for possession of methamphetamine, simple possession of a Schedule IV controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

• Steven Thomas Phillips, 49, of Magnolia, was arrested for a domestic violence protective order violation.

in memory

Dedication of The Pavilion Honoring the late James Larry Cheek Saturday June 22 at 10:30 a.m. | Boling Lane Park 302 South Fir Ave. | Siler City

THE CONVERSATION

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

Celebrating Juneteenth

The Book of Leviticus refers to this divinely commanded manumission as “the trumpet blast of freedom.”

WHILE JUNETEENTH commemorates the events of June 19, 1845, in which the Union troops declared freedom for the enslaved people in Texas, its spirit of joyful liberty is far older. The newly freed African American communities celebrated by evoking the Old Testament idea of jubilee, which emancipated slaves and canceled debts every 50 years in ancient Israel. The Book of Leviticus refers to this divinely commanded manumission as “the trumpet blast of freedom.”

Growing up in North Carolina, I knew about Abraham Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation as well as Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights victories. But I don’t recall ever hearing about Juneteenth, much less attending a celebration. My children will not say the same.

Last weekend, my family was out of town for the Juneteenth festivities on Saturday in Chatham, but we attended the gathering in Carrboro on Sunday. As was true in previous years during the Juneteenth celebrations in Chatham, there were marching bands with plenty of trumpet blasts and lots of dancing. My kids also grooved on funnel cakes and sodas, had their faces painted, and picked out colorful handmade bracelets from vendors. These are tangible things that I gladly purchased for them. The intangibles were priceless: the friendly smiles

Chainsaw man cut to

what’s

WE LAID CHARLIE BROOKS to rest last week.

I think that’s the key to life. It was for him. Charlie knew two things: God is, and he’s not Him. Charlie knew that was a mystery but it didn’t stop him from believing it and proclaiming it.

It was hot by the time we got to the grave site in the cemetery of the Pittsboro Baptist Church. We didn’t tarry; the preacher said what needed to be said there and we went into the church fellowship hall.

Thank you, Mr. Carrier.

Truth be told, what needed to be said and sung had already been done so by the time we left the sanctuary en route to Charlie’s nal resting place.

It was somewhere around 1958, give or take a childhood or two, when I rst met Charlie. He and one of my brothers were in the same class at school, and he was my bus driver. We lived along busy U.S. Highway 64, east of Pittsboro, long before there was a bypass. Charlie would come along and pull half onto the shoulder, ing open the bus door and wait for me to make the 30-yard dash across the front yard. Always had a big grin and a hearty welcome when I got there.

Somewhere along the line, we both nished growing up, at least physically. One day, I don’t and can’t remember when, I went with my dad to Charlie’s small engine shop south of town. There, Pa, the man I remember so well, the one who was sharper than I thought he was when I was a boy, introduced me to the world of chainsaws. Pa was already dancing with Arthur Ritus, and eventually, he would turn that song over to me. But, for the moment, he could wield a chainsaw saw so he made a deal with Charlie. At the time, it was a Poulan. Even today folks will debate or even argue with you about how to pronounce that word. Is it “Polan”(kind of like the country) or “Poolan?” Probably the latter, since that’s how the fellow who started the company pronounced his last name.

Anyway, one came home with us, and it lived a good life. Eventually, Mr. Ritus took over more and more of the dance until Pa nally cut o the music. It was then I started feeling my oats and took that saw to Charlie and traded it in on a big ’un. I loved that thing. Could cut a tree, saw the lengths, split and stack the wood quicker than you could say “Here comes Peter Cottontail.” Today, unfortunately for me, I’m looking for all the words to that song.

That was the rst of I-don’t-know-how-many saws that came from Charlie showed up at my place. And for years and years afterward, every chain saw, lawn mower, garden tiller, leaf blower, string trimmer, you name it — if it had

and warm greetings, the youth and elderly engaging one another, the joy that was as thick in the air as brass music. Seemingly everywhere I turned, there were peals of laughter.

At one point, I purchased two wa e cones, one for myself and the other for my daughter. She, however, was too excited to wait for me to pay and scampered o to ogle the beautiful merchandise from the vendors. As I searched for her among the crowd, the ice cream began to melt, running rivulets down each cone. What was I going to do except lick each one?

I passed a tent where recruiters passed out information about serving as mentors to elementary school students. A woman sitting there caught me swiping tastes from both cones. She beamed at me. “Double- sting! I love it.” It crossed my mind to explain my situation, but instead I threw back my head and laughed with her.

Jubilee is meant to be shared. It is like a trumpet blast of freedom, or an ice cream cone for each hand, or, most precious of all, a new friend.

Andrew Taylor-Troutman is pastor of Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian Church as well as a writer, pizza maker, co ee drinker and student of joy.

important in life

a 2-cycle engine or even a gasoline one, it had lived with Charlie for a while before it came to my house. I’ve been known to go to Charlie’s to get some engine mix oil and come back with a new saw.

I loved Chalie and loved going to his shop. Somebody referred to him as a “Pittsboro icon.” I think that’s probably true, although he wouldn’t profess to be so. He’d be the rst to say he was far from that, far from perfect, far from being a role model. He, like all of us, had his quirks and rough spots around the edges. He could be stubborn, bullheaded even. And if you look up the word “opinionated” in the dictionary, you’ll see his picture there.

But he never did it with an evil or mean heart, and I think that’s the key to life. It was for him. Charlie knew two things: God is, and he’s not Him. Charlie knew that was a mystery, but it didn’t stop him from believing it and proclaiming it.

For you see, in that shop, in addition to equipment — new, used and being repaired — and the parts and products for them all and the best wood stove in the free world, the one I’ve more than one nap in front of, Charlie had a keyboard over in a back corner. What he didn’t have was the rst music lesson ever, but he didn’t need it. Played by ear and could make that thing talk. Charlie could play it all — country, old standards, early rock ’n’ roll — but mostly the great old hymns of the faith. His faith.

It didn’t matter to Charlie if it was just me or another friend and him in the shop or if the place was full, he’d give a Gossel presentation at the drop of a hat. I thought about all that the other day, as it was my privilege to say a word at his funeral. And I thought about how he used his talents in the right way despite his humanity.

The shop is long closed. Charlie wasn’t able to do much in the last period of time. He left home last Dec. 28 and never got to go back. Now, I wonder if folks run chainsaws in Heaven. I know the Book says there’s lots of singing that goes on. But if there’s wood to be cut and chains to be sharpened and carburetors to be adjusted, they’ve got a good man on the job.

And likewise if there’s a keyboard to be played.

Bob Wachs is a native of Chatham County and emeritus editor at Chatham News & Record. He serves as pastor of Bear Creek Baptist Church.

COLUMN | ANDREW TAYLOR-TROUTMAN

COLUMN | BOB WACHS

Take no prisoners

Somewhere within the vaunted pharmaceutical industry, there must be “grow up and become magnanimous” pills. Wouldn’t you think?

I TUSSLE WITH constantly perceiving imperfections in others. I appear to possess no known immunity to my continual noticing of pesky human imperfections. Do you?

So, OK, who or what constitutes my population of “you have imperfections!”

Everyone.

Loved ones, friends, colleagues, dogs, cats, gerbils, whatever. Any random human who crosses my path ends up in the province of my “you’ve got imperfections” template. Human aws, blind spots and contradictions, the basic qualities of, well, being human. That terrain. Peering through my bias prism, I, often unconsciously, back away from the judged one, tiptoeing as I go.

So human but still embarrassing to admit. See what I mean about “taking no prisoners?”

Somewhere within the vaunted pharmaceutical industry, there must be “grow up and become magnanimous” pills. Wouldn’t you think? Perhaps I’m being misled by the gauntlet of TV commercials advising us to discuss a plethora of advertised medications with our MDs. For some reason, however, “imperfection busting” drug research seems to lack nancial backing. A real puzzler, that one. Deep sigh. Guess I’m on my own in rehabbing my serious judging proclivities. Wow, incredibly daunting. Oh, wait, do I hear a murmuring from life’s peanut gallery?

A collective and hopeful murmuring with regard to remediating my embedded “you’re imperfect!” re ex? The murmuring seems to be growing stronger, as I hopefully cup my hand to my ear. Listening, listening… Curiosity? Is that what I’m hearing? Curiosity?

COLUMN | SHAWN KREST

It is! Be curious. You’re kidding, right? Curiosity as a panacea for a re exively judging nature? A one-stop shopping solution? Like “we just need peace to heal the world?” Or, hey, like the old Beatles song lyric, “Love is all you need?” That’s it? Get me some curiosity, peace and love, and I’m done. Neatly wrapped, single-stop shopping, for universal personal challenges? Like my malady of being in judgment overdrive toward other humans? Oh well, another pipe dream…

Um, is it possible I’m overlooking the individual jigsaw puzzle pieces that constitute creating curiosity about someone? The “someone” who may, quite unfairly, become yet another recipient of my imperfections malady. Any chance at all?

Voila! Puzzle pieces! That’s the ticket, reminding me of learning to ride a two-wheel bike. I started with training wheels which readied me for progressing to the actual two -wheeler. So how ’bout looking at various curiosity components as my training wheels? A brand new (freeing) prism!

In my imagination, I’m going to become Sherlock Holmes on a training bike. When I feel the imminence of an imperfection judgment creeping up, I’ll pull out my putative magnifying glass (a la Sherlock) and query myself. What do I know about the possible judge-ee’s background and backstory? Or, wow, even imagine (clues, you know) possible life occurrences leading up to their behavior or current appearance that have triggered me. The basics of possible judgment busting.

I so like having a plan! I really do. Care to join me? You might come up with some better self-querying questions than mine.

Jan Hutton, a resident of Chatham County and retired hospice social worker, lives life with heart and humor.

The most important election of our lifetime

“This November, you will decide whether we pay a little more in income tax or a little less.”—Doesn’t have quite the same “get to the polls” pressure, does it?

THIS NOVEMBER, Americans will go to the polls in what everyone seems to agree is “The Most Important Election of Our Lifetime!” Democracy? Personal liberty? Capitalism? The future of Europe? It’s all on the ballot.

And you thought it was just going to be Trump or Biden.

Of course, this isn’t the rst time we’ve been told that about an election. In 1936, voters were told:

“America is in peril. The welfare of American men and women and the future of our youth are at stake. We dedicate ourselves to the preservation of their political liberty, their individual opportunity and their character as free citizens, which today for the rst time are threatened by Government itself.

“The powers of Congress have been usurped by the President.

“The integrity and authority of the Supreme Court have been outed.

“The rights and liberties of American citizens have been violated. … To a free people these actions are insu erable.”

There were certainly some important issues in 1936. FDR had served two terms and was ignoring 150 years of precedent to run for a third term. He was defending his New Deal, which either helped begin to lead us out of the Depression or had been an enormous government overreach that went against the fabric of our nation. War was brewing in Europe, and, though it wasn’t known at the time, ve seats on the Supreme Court were about to come open over the next four years.

That’s an important election. Maybe *The* Most Important one.

According to Slate, we’ve been holding “The Most Important Election” since at least the 1805 Pennsylvania governor’s race, when the phrase was rst used. In the 219 years since, we’ve had a constantly increasing level of urgency, with each subsequent election taking the title as TMIEOOL (The Most Important Election Of Our Lifetime).

There are a couple of simple reasons why we feel this way. One is that creating urgency, whether merited or manufactured, is a good way to get your supporters to turn out.

“This November, you will decide whether we pay a little more in income tax or a little less” doesn’t have quite the same “get to the polls” pressure, does it?

The other big reason each election seems TMIE is an obvious but important fact about human nature: We don’t know what’s going to happen.

BE IN TOUCH

We do know what happened in all those other TMIEOOLs, though: All the disasters — natural and man-made — and how they were handled. We know about the economy, the wars and the ga es.

So, let’s take a look back to gure out which election was really “The Most Important”?

The three clear-cut choices for Most Important Election are:

1. 1944: We were about to elect the person who would be presented with the atomic bomb and have to weigh the merits of using it.

2. 1940: War raged in Europe and the U.S. would be attacked 13 months after Election Day.

3. 1860: The election would determine if states seceded from the Union and, soon after, went to war with it. It doesn’t get much more Most Important than that.

There are other candidates in the honorable mention section. 1796 was the rst election not involving George Washington. 1800 was referred to as “the Revolution of 1800.” There were the post-Lincoln elections as the country tried to recover from the Civil War, with 1876 perhaps being the most consequential. It turns out presidential elections have always been fairly important in our country.

Who knew?

But what about the end of that phrase: Of Our Lifetime. Here are the rankings:

1. 1980: The outcome of the election would determine if the American hostages in Iran would be freed. Plus, growing tensions with the Soviet Union, an economic recession and the emerging HIV pandemic were all on the horizon. The contrast between the candidates — mild-mannered incumbent Jimmy Carter and smooth-talking cowboy Ronald Reagan — also underscored the di erent paths the election could take us.

2. 2016: Again, the contrast between the two candidates — Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump — added to the importance of the choice. We didn’t know it, but the winner would be hit with a worldwide pandemic, and three Supreme Court seats, enough to sway the court far in one direction, were about to come open.

3. 2000: Vice President and climate activist Al Gore vs. another cowboy in George W. Bush. Clearly, the candidates had vastly di erent priorities, presenting us with two divergent paths, intersected by an unprecedented attack on American soil eight months into their term.

In hindsight, those elections were more important than all the others. Unless you count this November, which, of course, will be TMIEOOL.

Letters addressed to the editor may be sent to letters@nsjonline.com or 1201 Edwards Mill Rd., Suite 300, Raleigh, NC 27607. Letters must be signed; include the writer’s phone number, city and state; and be no longer than 300 words. Letters may be edited for style, length or clarity when necessary. Ideas for op-eds should be sent to opinion@nsjonline.com.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

JAMES PRIDGEN

Thankful for the helpers

LAST TUESDAY, I was en route to Goldston on the Goldston-Carbonton road, about 10 yards from Robert’s Chapel Road, when my car’s engine died. I pulled o the road as best I could, albeit with approximately half my car still in the driving lane.

When I contacted AAA to send a tow truck, I was told it would be about 90 minutes before one could arrive. Not wanting to stay in the vehicle with it on the road, I stood o the road where I felt safe, especially with the gravel trucks coming by as if they were on a racetrack.

I want to sincerely thank the many people who stopped and asked if there was anything they could do to help me. One lady asked if she could go to her house and bring me a chair so I wouldn’t have to stand while waiting. After about an hour, a gentleman stopped, asking if there was anything he could do and if I could use some water.

When I told him I would take a bottle of water if he had one, he got out of his car, opened the back door, got a bottle out of a cooler and handed it to me. I didn’t realize how much I needed that water until I opened it and started drinking.

These people are the epitome of the good Samaritan Jesus talked about in Luke 10. I thank God for people like these, may He bless them each one in a special way.

James Pridgen lives in Goldston.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

JAMES CRAWFORD

VinFast is good for Chatham County

FIRST, WHEN IT VOTED to purchase an option on the Chatham Advanced Manufacturing (later Wolfspeed) site in Siler City, the board gained a guiding interest in that project on behalf of the public. This $500,000 buy-in on that land allowed the county to almost immediately secure $4 million from the Golden LEAF Foundation for wastewater connection to the site and upgrades to the Siler municipal system. Moreover, the board’s commitment to industrial development in the west prompted the developers of the Moncure site to make the public, through the county, an option partner for only one dollar. This led to $4 million to link the Moncure parcels to the Sanford treatment plant.

The people of Chatham got $8 million of infrastructure for $500,001.

Second, the Chatham commissioners have developed a strong partnership with Lee County and Sanford. Some of the funds from the Duke coal ash settlement have been used to enlarge and expedite the Moncure sewer line connections. It must also be noted that our county Economic Development Corporation wisely hired Mark Smith, who previously did the same job in Lee County, to be its leader. His commitment and knowledge of our community allows him to deal with potential investors, local governments and state leaders with great skill and familiarity. Going forward, developing our economy will be an increasingly regional e ort.

Third, the Central Carolina Community College is crucial for job growth in our area. When the board of commissioners approved funding the Chatham Promise, the program that guarantees two years of free CCCC tuition for any high school graduate, it made a solid commitment to the rising generation. The college has an established track record of training workers for many businesses and industries. An entire factory is being reborn as the E. Eugene Moore Manufacturing and Biotech Solutions Center, where many thousands more will gain skills certi cation. It is the shop oor where wizard-like instructors shape the craftspeople whose work will lift the region.

Finally, county tax incentives are scaled to the value of the plant itself (VinFast’s investment) and the number of auto workers whom they actually employ. They must rst pay the tax obligation in full, then Chatham County determines the incentives return payments. And these phase out quickly. After ve years VinFast’s full obligation must be paid in full, henceforth. This is important. Chatham needs a diverse tax base because it is precarious to rely almost solely on residential values. VinFast gives us more scal ballast, as does Wolfspeed (which has similar incentives). Even if the edgling automaker doesn’t realize its vision, the county will not lose money. The considerable improvements to the site so far have increased site value and subsequent revenue.

So, neighbors, the good news is that there is no need to panic because VinFast is trimming its initial footprint. The bad news is that there are many other things to worry about.

James G. Crawford lives in Chatham County.

obituaries

Roy Glen Stinson

Oct. 13th, 1951 – June 16th, 2024

Roy Glen Stinson, 72, of Siler City, went home to be with the Lord Sunday, June 16th, 2024, at home surrounded by family.

Roy was born October 13th, 1951, in Chatham County to Glen Howard and Luttie Mae Gunter Stinson.

He is preceded in death by his parents and stepson, Steven Brown.

Roy was retired from United Fire & Safety and previously employed with Miller Heating & Air, Goldkist Hatchery, and Townsends Farms. He was a member of Siler City Pentecostal Holiness Church. He

Charlie Franklin Brooks Jr.

Jan. 19th, 1941 – June 10th, 2024

Charlie Franklin Brooks, Jr. age 83, of Moncure, died Monday, June 10, 2024, at Central Carolina Hospital in Sanford.

Charlie was born in Chatham County on January 19, 1941, to the late Charlie Franklin Brooks, Sr. and Pearl Mason Brooks. He was also

Robert Lynn “Bo” Clegg

May 8th, 1936 – June 14th, 2024

Robert Lynn “Bo” Clegg, age 88, of Pittsboro passed away on Friday, June 14, 2024, at the SECU UNC Hospice Home of Pittsboro.

Bo was born in Chatham County on May 8, 1936, to the late Henry and Flossie Beard Clegg. He was also preceded in death by six brothers: Bud, Bynum, Henry, Hoyt, William and Horace, and one sister, Mary Margaret Gri n.

Bo worked with Carolina Telephone for 33 years and enjoyed 33 years of retirement camping, woodworking, gol ng, hunting, shing, and working at Chatham United Methodist Church. Surviving relatives include his wife of 64 wonderful years Rose Duncan

loved gol ng, mowing, playing rook, shing, and playing cornhole. Roy loved his grandchildren and great grandchildren. He also loved his church family. Roy also enjoyed being a foster parent. Roy is survived by his wife of 26 years, Jeanette Ray Stinson, two daughters, Sherry Stinson (Johnny Person) & Jennifer Stinson, both of Siler City; one stepson, Randy Creason (Joy); eleven grandchildren and six great grandchildren; nieces, Angel Van Asch (Keith), Leisa Phillips (Je ), and Gayla Williamson (Frankie); one sister, JoAnn W. Johnson; and his special friend, Pop Gaines. Memorials can be made to Siler City Pentecostal Holiness Church, 17475 US-64, Siler City, NC 27344, or UNC Hospice, 100 Roundtree Way, Pittsboro, NC, 27312. Funeral service will be held at Siler City Pentecostal Holiness Church on Thursday, June 20th, 2024, at 3 pm. Visitation will be at the church from 1-3 pm. Burial will follow service at Chatham Memorial Park. Services will be o ciated by Pastor Rick Haug. Smith & Buckner funeral home will be assisting the Stinson family. Online condolences can be made at www.smithbucknerfh.com

preceded in death by one daughter, Linda Brooks Kidd, and three sisters: Frances Williams, Hazel Dixon, and JoAnn Kirkman. Surviving relatives include his wife, Rachel Ogburn Brooks and two daughters, Amy Brooks of Moncure and Rhonda Brooks of Pittsboro.

A funeral service will be held Friday, June 14, 2024, at 2:00PM at Pittsboro Baptist Church with Rev. Peter McDonald, Rev. Bob Wachs and Rev. Val Chadwick presiding. Burial will follow in the church cemetery. Immediately following the committal service, the family will receive friends in the church fellowship hall. In lieu of owers the family asks for donations to be made in Charlie’s memory to Pittsboro Baptist Church Cemetery Fund P.O. Box 696 Pittsboro, NC 27312. Condolences may be made at www.donaldsonfunerals.com Donaldson Funeral Home & Crematory is honored to serve the Brooks family.

Clegg, and two sons: Robert “Bobby” Lynn Clegg, Jr. of Pittsboro and Mark Clegg and wife Tracy of Pittsboro, ve grandchildren, Jessica, Amber (Rob), Allison, Heather (Anthony), Shannon, nine great grandchildren, Tyler, Harper, Keira, Jamiah, Austin, Bryson, Jaythen, Zakiya, and Desiah., along with many nieces, nephews, and several long-time friends.

A memorial service will be held Saturday, June 22, 2024, at 11AM at Chatham United Methodist Church with Pastor Danny Berrier and Pastor Tim Caudle presiding. Immediately following the service, the family will receive friends in the church fellowship hall.

The family would like to give a special thank you to: Duke Cancer Center and the SECU UNC Hospice Home of Pittsboro. In lieu of owers the family asks for donations to be made in Bo’s memory to Chatham United Methodist Church, Building and Maintenance Fund c/o Jackie Williams P.O. Box 1533 Pittsboro, NC 27312 or the SECU UNC Hospice Home of Pittsboro payable to UNC Health Foundation ATTN: Tina 123 W. Franklin St. Chapel Hill, NC 27516. Condolences may be made at www. donaldsonfunerals.com

Donaldson Funeral Home & Crematory is honored to serve the Clegg family.

LORENA EASTRIDGE WICKER

JAN. 21ST, 1937 – JUNE 15TH, 2024

Lorena Eastridge Wicker, 87, of Siler City, went home to be with the Lord on Saturday, June 15th, 2024, at UNC Medical in Chapel Hill, surrounded by family.

Lorena was born January 21st, 1937, in Meadowview, VA, to Tommy and Deal O’Quinn Eastridge. She is preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Roy V. Wicker, Jr.; and her brother, John Eastridge.

Lorena was retired from CrossRoads Grill where she worked as a cook and a cashier. She also worked as a private duty nursing aide. She was a member and pillar of the Graham Full Gospel Tabernacle Church. She loved coloring in her adult coloring books and taking care of others.

Lorena is survived by her son, Maurice Wicker and his wife, Shawna of Siler City, and her grandson, Joseph Wicker and his ancé, Isabella Felder of Pleasant Garden.

Funeral services will be Thursday, June 20th, 2024, at 2 pm, at Smith & Buckner Funeral Home Chapel. Visitation will be at Smith & Buckner Funeral Home, Wednesday, June 19th, 2024, from 5 – 7 pm. Burial will follow service Thursday at Flint Ridge Church, 2956 Flint Ridge Church Rd., Siler City, NC 27344. O ciating service will be Pastor Kevin Barbour.

Memorials can be made to Graham Full Gospel Tabernacle Church for the Flint Ridge Project, 109 Webster Rd., Graham, NC 27253.

Duke University radio broadcaster Bob Harris poses at Cameron Indoor Stadium in July 2016.

Bob Harris, former radio play-by-play voice of Duke athletics, dies at 81

He called 1,392 men’s basketball games, 13 Final Fours and ve championships

The Associated Press

DURHAM — Retired Duke sports radio play-by-play announcer Bob Harris died last Wednesday, June 12. He was 81.

Former radio analyst Wes Chesson announced Harris’ death in an update on a GoFundMe page that had been created to raise money for Harris’ care. He had been previously diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and been in hospice care, and the site had raised more than $101,000 from more than 500 donations since its launch in early 2023.

Chesson posted that Harris passed away with his wife, Phyllis, “at his side, holding his hand.” Duke also released statements of condolences from retired Hall of Fame men’s basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski and athletics director Nina King.

Harris spent 41 years as the Blue Devils’ radio voice for men’s basketball and football before retiring in 2017.

That tenure included calling 1,392 men’s basketball games, 13 Final Fours and all ve of the Blue Devils’ NCAA championships (1991, 1992, 2001, 2010 and 2015) under Krzyzewski.

Harris closed his tenure calling football games in November 2016 with 471 straight games, as well as six bowl games and Duke’s trip to the 2013 Atlantic Coast Conference football championship game.

“For decades as our radio play-by-play broadcaster, Bob told the story of Duke Athletics better than anyone,” Krzyzewski said. “He was much more than an announcer to all of us. He was a family member who absolutely loved Duke and everything it stands for.

“We are so thankful that it was his voice that shared our journey each season with so many Duke fans around the world. He was adored by so many of them. The Krzyzewski family o ers our deepest condolences to Phyllis and their loved ones. It was my honor to call Bob my friend.”

In addition to his wife, Harris is survived by daughter, Bobbi Harris-McCoy; son-in-law, Ron McCoy; and two grandchildren.

Harris spent 41 years as the Blue Devils’ radio voice for men’s basketball and football before retiring in 2017.

KAITLIN MCKEOWN / THE HERALD-SUN VIA AP

Teachers, get your applications in for a Bright Ideas education grant!

Teachers, are you looking for new opportunities to fund projects for your classroom? Central Electric is awarding up to $15,000 in Bright Ideas education grants to local educators in K-12 classrooms for the 2024-2025 school year.

e nal deadline for all grant applications is Sept. 15, but don’t wait to apply. Applications submitted prior to the early-bird deadline on Aug. 15 will be entered to win one of ve $100 Visa gi cards. Scan the QR code or visit NCBrightIdeas.com for more information or to apply!

Princess of Wales says she’s making ‘good progress’ in cancer treatment

The mother of three will attend the king’s birthday parade Saturday

By Jill Lawless and Danica Kirka The Associated Press

LONDON — The Princess of Wales said Friday she is “making good progress” in her cancer treatment and will attend King Charles III’s ceremonial birthday parade on Saturday, Kate’s rst public appearance since her diagnosis.

The 42-year-old wife of Prince William has not made any public appearances this year. She announced in March that she was undergoing chemotherapy for an unspecied form of cancer.

“I am making good progress, but as anyone going through chemotherapy will know, there are good days and bad days,” Kate said in a statement released Friday, adding that she faces “a few more months” of treatment.

“I’m looking forward to attending The King’s Birthday Parade this weekend with my family and hope to join a few public engagements over the summer, but equally knowing I am not out of the woods yet,” Kate said.

The announcement is a signi cant milestone but does not mark a return to full-time public duties for Kate. The palace issued a new photo of Kate, taken in Windsor earlier this week, showing her next to a tree, dressed casually in jeans and a blazer.

The palace said the king was “delighted” that Kate will attend Trooping the Color, also known as the King’s Birthday Parade. It is an annual military parade that marks the monarch’s ocial birthday in June. Charles, who also is being treated for an undisclosed form of cancer, is due to oversee the ceremony, in which troops in full dress uniform parade past the king with their ceremonial ag, or “color.”

Kate is expected to travel in a horse-drawn carriage from Buckingham Palace with

the couple’s children — Prince George, 10; Princess Charlotte, 9; and Prince Louis, who is 6 — before watching the ceremony from a building beside the parade ground. She may also join other royals for a traditional Buckingham Palace balcony appearance.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the princess’ statement was “wonderful news.”

“I thought it was brave, I thought it was honest and I’m sure it will bring an enormous amount of comfort to so many other people who are grappling with similar health challenges,” Sunak said at a Group of Seven summit in Italy.

Kate’s announcement in March came after speculation proliferated on social media about her well-being and absence from public view. She has revealed few details about her illness, which was discovered after what she described as major abdominal surgery in January.

In a March video message, Kate said the diagnosis had come as “a huge shock, and William and I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family.”

On Friday, Kate thanked members of the public, saying she had been “blown away by all the kind messages of support and encouragement.”

“I am learning how to be patient, especially with uncertainty. Taking each day as it comes, listening to my body, and allowing myself to take this much needed time to heal,” she said. “Thank you so much for your continued understanding, and to all of you who have so bravely shared your stories with me.” Charles, 75, disclosed his cancer in February and has recently eased back into public duties. He attended commemorations this week for the 80th anniversary of D-Day, the invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe on June 6, 1944.

Charles is likely to travel to Saturday’s event by carriage with Queen Camilla and is expected to watch the ceremony seated on a dais, rather than on horseback as he did last year.

See PITTSBORO, page A1

board is looking to smooth out the transitions between Pittsboro’s more modern and historic areas. This includes increasing vegetation in the zone between East and West Pittsboro, and changing the limitations on what types of businesses should be allowed. The board seems likely to approve more modern businesses like drive-thru car washes and food trucks.

Food trucks are becoming increasingly popular, and the commissioners want to encourage them while ensuring they don’t get too out of control. A fee for food truck permits is being considered, as are inspections to help ensure the food meets safety standards and is safe for consumption.

Fees for parking food trucks and a requirement that they be at least 150 feet from standing restaurants could also be

implemented. This is intended to address concerns from locals and business owners that food trucks are taking too much business away from existing establishments.

Final food truck and lot size changes will be voted on at a later meeting. Improvements to the sidewalks in downtown are on the way as well, thanks to a local donation. The bricks of Hillsborough Street will be replaced in sections to allow for continued access to businesses throughout the process. Additional parking will also be added to compensate for the limited walkways during construction. Those affected by the construction will be noti ed beforehand.

Rounding out the downtown business, the commissioners appointed four new members to the Downtown Advisory Board: Samantha Rashard Stevens, Ed Henry, Eric Andrews and Mary Kate Badil.

ALASTAIR GRANT / AP PHOTO

From left, Princess Anne, Prince George, Kate, Princess of Wales, Prince Louis, Prince William, Princess Charlotte, King Charles III and Queen Camilla greet the crowd from the balcony of Buckingham Palace after the Trooping The Colour parade on June 17, 2023.

REAL ESTATE

LEARN ABOUT LANDChatham Land Experts, www. learnaboutland.com - 919-3626999.

FOR RENT

TOWNHOUSE FOR RENT – 3

bedrooms, large living room, kitchen, dining room area, laundry hook-up, enclosed yard and garage. – lease 12 months$1,100 rent per month, security deposit $1,650. Credit score, Experian, needs to be 600 or above. Email: furndi@hotmail. com. Please submit phone number and copy of credit score. Please call 201-232-7918.

Senior lady wanted, to share a 3 BR house with a family. Room and board. Must be a Christian and be independent. $600 a month. Call 919-542-8520.

POWELL SPRINGS APTS.

Evergreen Construction introduces its newest independent living community for adults 55 years or older, 1 and 2 bedroom applications now being accepted. O ce hours: Tuesday and Thursday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call 919-533-6319 for more information, TDD #1-800-7352962, Equal housing opportunity, Handicapped accessible.

Oak View at Siler City - Now accepting applications for multifamily community w/ 1-, 2-, & 3-bedroom apts. Amenities include a playground, computer center, on-site laundry facilities, community garden, and much more! A ordable housing: applicants must meet income requirements. Come apply at 224 Campus Drive, Siler City, NC 27344 from 9:00 to 5:00pm or call 336-895-1128 or email: oakview@partnershippm.com Credit & criminal background check required. Handicap accessible units subject to availability. Equal Housing Opportunity. Professionally managed by Partnership Property Management.

ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS now for one-bedroom apartments, adults 55 years or older. Water included, appliances furnished, on-site laundry, elevator, keyless entry. Section 8 accepted. No security deposit. Application fee $25 per adult. Call Braxton Manor, 919663-1877. Handicap accessible. Equal Housing Opportunity.

FOR SALE

RV FOR SALE - RV for sale, Damen Daybreak 2000, 75,000 miles, runs great, good tires, good air conditioner, good generator. $10,000, Financing available, 919-828-4247.

AUCTIONS

RICKY ELLINGTON

AUCTIONEERS - Equipment, business, liquidation, estates, land, houses, antiques, personal property, coins, furniture, consignments, bene ts, etc., NCAL #7706, 919-548-3684, 919-663-3556, rickyellingtonauctions@yahoo. com,

SERVICES

REFINISHING FURNITURERe nishing all types of furniture - New and OldRepairing also – FREE ESTIMATES – NELSON REFINISHING – 919-663-2117, 919-930-4616.

RAINBOW WATER FILTERED

VACUUMS, Alice Cox, Cox’s Distributing - Rainbow - Cell: 919-548-4314, Sales, Services, Supplies. Serving public for 35 years. Rada Cutlery is also available.

JUNK CARS PICKED UP

Free of charge. Due to many months of low steel prices and unstable steel markets, we cannot pay for cars at this time. Cars, trucks, and machinery will be transported and environmentally correctly recycled at no charge. 919-5422803.

LETT’S TREE SERVICE - tree removal, stump grinding, lot clearing. Visa & Master Card accepted. Timber. Free estimates. 919-258-3594.

DIGGING AND DEMO-Land improvements, mini-excavating, stump removal, mobile home and building tear-down, all digging. French Drains, All your digging needs. Call John Hayes, 919-548-0474.

ROOF WASHING – Softwash roof – Cleans ALL black streaks o roofs to make them look new again And to prolong the life of the shingles. Call John Hayes –919-548-0474.

WANTED

Song writer needs music written to great lyrics, good vocals and connections to publisher. I live in Siler City. 702-449-0250Whitney Carter.

HELP WANTED

CHATHAM MONUMENT COMPANY has an immediate job opening. This is a full-time position and involves placing monuments in the cemetery in Chatham and surrounding counties.

Job requirements are: Must have a valid NC driver’s license, must be able to lift 75 pounds if necessary. Must have a good attitude, the ability to work well with others and be willing to learn. Also needs reliable transportation to and from work. Pay will be based on the individual and their ability to do the work.

Apply in Person to 227 N. 2nd Ave. Siler City, NC 27344

FOOD SERVICES STAFF, Pittsboro Christian Village is accepting applications for Server, Pantry Cook, and Cook. Apply in person 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday – Friday, at 1825 East St. in Pittsboro.

Industrial Engineer (Siler City, NC): Spprt equipment installations, factory layout dsgn, & capacity planning for NC locations. Commute to HQ in Durham up to 20%. Telecommute option up to 40%. No overnight trvl. Bachelor’s in Industrial or Mfg Engg or rltd + 5 years’ exp in the job or rltd, or a Master’s in Industrial or Mfg Engg or rltd + 3 years’ exp in the job or rltd, or any suitable combo of edu, trng, or exp req. Resumes: Wolfspeed, Inc., resumes@wolfspeed.com

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA

CHATHAM COUNTY

ESTATE OF LILLIAN KAREN PETERSON

FILE NO. 24E001284-180

All persons, rms and corporations having claims against Lillian Karen Peterson, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, are noti ed to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before the 30th day of August, 2024, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment. This is the 30th day of May, 2024. Timothy Wayne Peterson, Executor c/o Chad M. Friesen Monroe, Wallace, Morden & Sherrill, P.A. 3225 Blue Ridge Road, Suite 117 Raleigh, NC 27612 Published May 30, 2024, June 6, 2024, June 13, 2024, and June 20, 2024.

CREDITOR’S NOTICE

Having quali ed on the 22nd day of May 2024, as Administrator of the Estate of Emma Craven, deceased, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the decedent to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before the 30 th day of August , 2024, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, rms and corporations indebted to the estate should make immediate payment.

This is the 24th day May 2024. W. Woods Doster, Administrator of the Estate of Emma Craven 206 Hawkins Avenue Sanford, NC 27330

Attorneys:

Law O ces of Doster & Brown, P.A. 206 Hawkins Avenue Sanford, NC 27330

Publish On: May 30th, June 6th, 13th and 20th, 2024.

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

All persons, rms and corporations having claims against Frances G. Spaeder a/k/a Frances Grzejka Spaeder, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, are noti ed to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before September 3, 2024 or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment.

This 30th day of May, 2024.

Je rey A. Spaeder, Co-Executor Estate of Frances G. Spaeder a/k/a Frances Grzejka Spaeder 5209 Jeanne Street Wake Forest, NC 27587

Timothy A. Spaeder, Co-Executor Estate of Frances G. Spaeder a/k/a Frances Grzejka Spaeder 1334 Padstone Drive Apex, NC 27502

Publication dates: 5/30/24; 6/6/24, 6/13/24 and 6/20/24.

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA

CHATHAM COUNTY NOTICE TO CREDITORS

The undersigned, having quali ed on the 17th day of May 2024 as Executor of the Estate of Judith Gay Hallman, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them to the undersigned on or before the 30th day of August 2024, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned.

David L. Huntoon

Executor of the Estate of Judith Gay Hallman C/o Gwendolyn C. Brooks Kennon Craver, PLLC 4011 University Drive, Suite 300 Durham, North Carolina 27707 Published: 5/30; 6/6; 6/13; 6/20

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

ESTATE OF DAVID ANDREW MCKAY

FILE NO: 2024 E 001295-180 ALL PERSONS, rms and corporations having claims against David Andrew McKay, deceased of Chatham County, N.C., are noti ed to exhibit the same to the undersigned Torlen Laut Wade, Executor on or before September 6, 2024, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the Decedent are asked to make immediate payment. This 6th day of June 2024. Torlen Laut Wade, Executor C/O Jones, Branz & Whitaker LLP, 4030 Wake Forest Rd., Ste. 300, Raleigh, NC 27609.

NOTICE

State of North Carolina County of Chatham

IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION BEFORE THE CLERK FILE NO.: 23 E 000547-180

In the Matter of the Estate of CATHERINE LUCILLE GUNTER, Deceased. NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Mary G. Marlowe, having quali ed as Ancillary Executor of the Estate of Catherine Lucille Gunter, deceased, hereby noti es all persons, rms or corporations having claims against the decedent to exhibit same to the said Mary G. Marlowe at the address below on or before September 6, 2024, or this Notice may be pleaded in bar of any payment or recovery of same. All persons indebted to said decedent will please make immediate payment to the undersigned at the address set out below.

This is the 6th day of June, 2024. Mary G. Marlowe, Ancillary Executor Estate of Catherine Lucille Gunter c/o Susan K. Hill, Esq. PO Box 2161 Carolina Beach, NC 28428

Run Date: 6/6, 6/13, 6/20, 6/27/2024

NOTICE OF HEARINGS

Town of Siler City

The following item will be considered by the Siler City Planning Board as a legislative hearing. The hearing will be conducted during the Planning Board’s regular meeting on July 8, 2024, beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the court room located in the Siler City Town Hall at 311 N. 2nd Ave.

The Town of Siler City Planning Board will consider and move to recommend a text amendment to the Town’s Uni ed Development Ordinance (UDO). The proposed text amendment, to Article XI “Supplementary Use Regulations”; Section 162 – Noise, will provide for updated noise regulations compatible with the uses allowed by-right in Light Industrial (L-I) and Heavy Industrial (H-I) zoning districts.

Legislative Hearing

The proposed item is available for review by contacting Timothy Mack at tmack@silercity.org or 919-7268626. All persons interested in the outcome of this item are invited to attend the legislative hearing and present comments, testimony, and exhibits on the above referenced item.

Interested parties may also submit written comments. Written comments can be submitted by email to tmack@silercity.org. Individuals desiring to speak may sign up by registering their name and information on the sign-up sheet, located outside the entry doors to the court room.

The Town of Siler City will make appropriate arrangements to ensure that disabled persons are provided other accommodations, such arrangements may include, but are not limited to, providing interpreters for the deaf, providing taped cassettes of materials for the blind, or assuring a barrier-free location for the proceedings.

This information is available in Spanish or any other language upon request. Please contact Kimberly Pickard at 919-726-8620, 311 North Second Avenue, Siler City, North Carolina 27344, or kpickard@ silercity.org for accommodations for this request. Esta información está disponible en español o en cualquier otro idioma bajo petición. Por favor, póngase en contacto con Kimberly Pickard al kpickard@silercity. org o 919-726-8625 o en 311 North Second Avenue, Siler City, North Carolina 27344 de alojamiento para esta solicitud.

NOTICE

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION COUNTY OF CHATHAM BEFORE THE CLERK FILE NO. 19SP000083-180 BOOKER T. FRANKS, ) Petitioner, ) ) vs. ) NOTICE OF SALE ) SHEMIKA SKILLINGS, ) Respondent. ) Under and by virtue of an Order of Sale of the Clerk of the Superior Court of Chatham County, North Carolina, made in this Special Proceeding, the undersigned Commissioner will on June 28, 2024 at 2:00 o’clock P.M. at the Chatham County Judicial Center, Pittsboro, North Carolina, o er for sale to the highest bidder for cash, the following described real estate located in Hadley Township, Chatham County, North Carolina: BEING all of Lot #90, containing 4.505 acres, more or less, as shown on a plat entitled “Survey for Bobcat Point Subdivision – Phase IV; Lots 89, 90, 102 and 103,” prepared by Van R. Finch – Land Surveys, PA, dated November 14, 2003, revised November 2, 2003 and revised December 1, 2003, and recorded in Plat Slide 2003-438, Chatham County Registry, reference to which is hereby made for a more particular description.

The street address of the property is 120 Elsa Jane Lane, Pittsboro, North Carolina.

The highest bidder will be required to deposit $750.00 or ten percent (10%) of the bid price, whichever is greater, with the undersigned Commissioner on the day of sale. The bid will remain open for ten (10) days for an upset bid as by law provided. Said property is being o ered for sale in its “as is” condition. The undersigned Commissioner makes no representation or warranty as to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety condition existing in, on, or relating to the property being o ered for sale, and any and all responsibilities or liabilities arising out of or in any way relating to such conditions are expressly disclaimed.

The purchaser shall pay the costs of $0.30 per $100.00 of the purchase price (up to maximum of $200.00) required by NCGS §7A-306(a)(2). The purchaser shall also pay, in addition to the price bid, the tax imposed by NCGS §105-228.30 and any other transfer tax.

This 23rd day of May, 2024. Paul S. Messick, Jr., Commissioner N.C. State Bar No. 2979 Post O ce Box 880 Pittsboro, North Carolina 27312 Telephone: (919) 542-3253 Facsimile: (919) 542-0257 Email: pm@gunnmessick.com

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of Larry Winston Ryan, File No.: 24E115 Having quali ed as executor of the estate of Larry Winston Ryan, deceased, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, the undersigned does hereby notify all persons, rms, and corporations having claims against the estate of said decedent to exhibit them to the undersigned at the address below on or before the 6 day of September 2024, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, rms, and corporations indebted to said estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This 6th day of June 2024. Dwight Ryan c/o Munson Law Firm, PLLC 894 Sparksford Drive Russellville, AR 72802

LEGAL NOTICE

Noti cation is hereby given that JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., 1111 Polaris Parkway, Columbus, Ohio 43240 has led an application with the O ce of the Comptroller of the Currency (the “OCC”) on or about June 20, 2024, as speci ed in 12 CFR Part 5, for permission to establish a domestic branch at the southwest corner of the intersection of Northwood High School Road (aka Russet Run) and Chapel Hill Road (aka East Highway 501, aka US 15), Pittsboro, Chatham County, NC 27312. If you have any additional comments, you can send them to the Director for Large Bank Licensing, O ce of the Comptroller of the Currency, 7 Times Square, 10th Floor Mailroom, New York, New York 10036 or LicensingPublicComments@ occ.treas.gov., within 30 days of the date of this publication. The public portion of the ling is available upon request from the OCC. The public may nd information about the ling (including the closing date of the comment period) in the OCC’s Weekly Bulletin available at www.occ.gov.

IN

THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION BEFORE THE CLERK FILE # 22 SP 64

NORTH CAROLINA

CHATHAM COUNTY W. Woods Doster, Administrator D.B.N. of the Estate of Odessa Person, Petitioner, vs. Eddie Wayne Person Respondent. NOTICE OF PUBLIC SALE

281 JONES ROAD Pursuant to the Order for Possession, Custody, Control, and Sale of Real Property led on June 15, 2022, in the above captioned proceeding, NOTICE is hereby given that the subject property described below will be put up for public sale on June 27, 2024 at 10:00 a.m.; the sale will be held at the Chatham County Courthouse in the designated area for sale. The subject property is commonly referred to as 281 Jones Road, Siler City, North Carolina 27344, PIN 8760-0035-7016, and more particularly described as follows: BEGINNING at an iron stake on the West side of a road in Bill Gaines’ line about 100 feet west of Bill Gaines’ Southeast corner; thence with West side of said road, South 45 degrees East 210 feet to an iron stake, Ross Siler’s new corner; thence with Ross Siler’s new line North 85 degrees West 210 feet to an iron stake in another new corner with Ross Siler; thence on with Ross Siler’s new line North 45 degrees West 210 feet to an iron stake in Bill Gaines’ line; thence South 85 degrees East 210 feet to a point of BEGINNING, CONTAINING 1 ACRE, more or less. A cash deposit from the highest bidder equal to ten percent (10%) of the amount of the bid is required at the time of public sale. Said bid shall be reported to the Court and will remain open for the requisite upset bid period as required by law. The Court reserves the right to approve and reject all bids. THE PROPERTY IS SOLD AS-IS, WHERE-IS, WITH ALL FAULTS. This the _____ day of ________________, 2024.

J. Grant Brown, Attorney for Administrator Law O ces of Doster & Brown, P.A. 206 Hawkins Avenue Sanford, NC 27330 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

The undersigned Commissioner certi es that he has this day served upon the below listed persons, a copy of the Notice of Sale for 281 Jones Road, Siler City, NC 27344 by depositing a copy in a postpaid wrapper in the United States Postal O ce, properly addressed to each part as follows: Eddie Wayne Person 281 Jones Road Siler City, North Carolina 27344

This the _____ day of ________________, 2024.

J. Grant Brown, Attorney for Commissioner Law O ces of Doster & Brown, P.A. 206 Hawkins Avenue Sanford, NC 27330

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY

FILE#24E001263-180

The undersigned, CHRIS GRAY, having quali ed on the 10TH day of MAY 2024, as ADMINISTRATOR of the Estate of KAYETTA GRAY, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them to the undersigned on or before the 11TH Day of SEPTEMBER 2024, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This is the 13th Day of JUNE 2024.

CHRIS GRAY, ADMINISTRATOR 1106 GRACE ST. RALEIGH, NC 27604

Run dates: J13,20,27,Jy4

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA NOTICE TO CREDITORS CHATHAM COUNTY

HAVING QUALIFIED as Administrator of the Estate of William Edward Gunter, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the estate of said deceased to present them to the undersigned on or before the 29th day of August, 2024, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. This the 21st day of May, 2024. Herbert Burns Gunter, Administrator of the Estate of William Edward Gunter 224 Asbury Church Road Sanford, North Carolina 27330 MOODY, WILLIAMS, ATWATER & LEE

ATTORNEYS AT LAW BOX 629 SILER CITY, NORTH CAROLINA 27344 (919) 663-2850

4tp

EXECUTOR’S NOTICE

GENERAL NOTICE TO CREDITORS COURT FILE: 24E001242-180

EXECUTOR’S NOTICE

Having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Jean J. Williams, Deceased, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, rms, and corporations having claims against the Estate to present them, duly veri ed, to the undersigned at P.O. Drawer 2958, Burlington, North Carolina 27216 on or before September 9, 2024, or this Notice will be pled in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to the said Estate should please make immediate payment. This the 6th day of June, 2024.

BENJAMIN D. OVERBY

Executor

ATTORNEY FOR THE ESTATE:

Benjamin D. Overby, Esquire

THE VERNON LAW FIRM, P.A. P.O. Drawer 2958 Burlington, NC 27216-2958

Publish: June 6, 2024 June 13, 2024 June 20, 2024 June 27, 2024

AMENDED NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE 23 SP 150

Under and by virtue of the power of sale contained in a certain Deed of Trust made by Legacy of Tas, Inc., a Delaware Corporation (PRESENT RECORD OWNER(S): Legacy of Tas, Inc., a Delaware Corporation) to The Law O ce of Alonso & Ali, P.A., Trustee(s), dated August 23, 2019, and recorded in Book No. 02067, at Page 0042 in Chatham County Registry, North Carolina, default having been made in the payment of the promissory note secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Substitute Trustee Services, Inc. having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust by an instrument duly recorded in the O ce of the Register of Deeds Chatham County, North Carolina and the holder of the note evidencing said indebtedness having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA NOTICE TO CREDITORS CHATHAM COUNTY

HAVING QUALIFIED as Administrator of the Estate of Robert Jordan, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the estate of said deceased to present them to the undersigned on or before the 5th day of September, 2024, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. This the 29th day of May, 2024. Phillip Douglas Jordan, Administrator of the Estate of Robert Jordan 16127 Bowridge Lane Houston, Texas 77053

MOODY, WILLIAMS, ATWATER & LEE

ATTORNEYS AT LAW BOX 629 SILER CITY, NORTH CAROLINA 27344 (919) 663-2850 4tp

NOTICE TO CREDITORS:

ALL PERSONS, rms and corporations having claims against Richard Elsom Paddock, deceased, of Chatham County, N.C. are noti ed to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before September 4, 2024,

27 2024

NOTICE TO CREDITORS NORTH CAROLINA NOTICE TO CREDITORS CHATHAM COUNTY

HAVING QUALIFIED as Co-Administrators of the Estate of Genie Lucille Coble, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, rms and corporations

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS

Town of Siler City Water Transmission System Improvements

Section I - Introduction

The Town is requesting statements of quali cation from quali ed rms to provide design services for water improvements to connect the proposed Asheboro water transmission main to the proposed CAM site elevated storage tank.

This project will be required to be completed in a compressed schedule. Additionally, the selected consultant should have experience with grant administration.

Engineering services include all aspects of design through construction.

Section II- Statement Submittal

The following information is to be submitted as part of the Statement of Quali cation. The Statement of Quali cation is not to be more than ten pages in length, double sided or twenty pages in length, single sided.

Three hard copies and one digital copy of the Statement of Quali cation are to be provided. A cover letter will not be considered as part of the page limit.

The proposal shall be organized as follows:

Approach to the Project - Describe your overall understanding of the requirements of the project and your approach to the project including a discussion on how your rm will meet the accelerated schedule.

Firm Experience - List and provide a description of projects completed by your rm in the last 10 years that meet the following criteria: Similar size and scale Accelerated schedule

Team Organization and ExperienceProvide an organizational chart for the project, including all personnel assigned to this project, including all subconsultants. Provide resumes of each key team member.

Schedule - Describe your plan and schedule for completing the work within the proposed schedule as noted above.

Additional Information - Provide any additional information that you feel makes your rm the most quali ed for this project.

Section III – Evaluation Criteria

of the Estate of Genie Lucille Coble 6258 Airport Road Bear Creek, North Carolina 27207 MOODY, WILLIAMS, ATWATER & LEE

ATTORNEYS AT LAW BOX 629 SILER CITY, NORTH CAROLINA 27344 (919) 663-2850

estate of said Sandi Barbara Rose aka Sandi B. Rose to exhibit them to the undersigned: Bill Ehrlich, Executor c/o Burt Langley, P.C. 149 S Lexington Ave Asheville, NC 28801 on or before September 9, 2024, or this Notice will be

Rose Chatham County Estate File 24 E 235 April M. Burt Attorney for Executor, Bill Ehrlich Burt Langley, PC 149 S Lexington Ave Asheville, NC 28801 (For Publication: Thursdays, June 6, 13, 20, and 27, 2024)

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA NOTICE TO CREDITORS CHATHAM COUNTY

HAVING QUALIFIED as Co-Administrators of the Estate of Grady Ray Coble, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the estate of said deceased to present them to the undersigned on or before the 12th day of September, 2024, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. This the 4th day of June, 2024. Steven Ray Coble and Annette Coble Willett, Co-Administrators of the Estate of Grady Ray Coble 6258 Airport Road Bear Creek, North Carolina 27207 MOODY, WILLIAMS, ATWATER & LEE ATTORNEYS AT LAW BOX 629 SILER CITY, NORTH CAROLINA 27344 (919) 663-2850 4tp

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY FILE#24E001298-180

The undersigned, DAVID BYNUM RANKIN, having quali ed on the 10TH day of JUNE 2024, as EXECUTOR of the Estate of PHYLLIS JEAN RANKIN, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them to the undersigned on or before the 18TH Day of SEPTEMBER 2024, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This is the 20th Day of JUNE 2024. DAVID BYNUM RANKIN, EXECUTOR

Pretty, productive, tomato-like

Good for perfectionists and procrastinators alike

By Erika Ho man For Chatham News & Record

BECAUSE I WRITE, I’m always looking for hints to improve the quality or quantity of my writing. I also want to convey helpful, writerly guidelines to students I teach, such as those in OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute).

In one week, I received two emails with similar messages. The rst had bullet points attributed to R.L. Stine. No. 6 was: “Set a timer for 13 minutes. Write something — anything until the timer goes o . When it dings, if the writing is going well, set it for another 13 minutes. If it’s not going well, leave and do something else for the next 13 minutes, then return.” I contemplated using a timer and thought about how I needed one — not for writing but for chores. It’s di cult for me to make myself vacuum, dust or clean commodes — even for ve minutes.

who’ll start kindergarten. Both kids seem precocious (all grandparents say that). My granddaughter was intrigued by my playing Wordle; therefore, I showed her how it worked, and we did multiple ones until her dad said, “No more. Go to bed.” She pled for 10 more minutes. VOILA! I pulled out a pomodoro that had just arrived at our garage door that afternoon. She smiled, delighted by the ticking timer. I handed one, which was still in the box, to my grandson. He glanced dismissively at the red plastic tomato in Georgia’s hand and waved it away. “Nah.”

“That’s ne, Zane,” I said. “It’s not been opened. Georgia can take it home tomorrow and give it to her younger brother, who’s also starting school in the fall.”

The next day, the parents and grandkids packed to leave. Georgia carried her ticking pomodoro in her hand. I told her to put it in her suitcase or backpack. I had her take a pomodoro for her brother, too. She slid it in, near her three-ring binder of Pokémon cards.

The best-laid plans of mice and men … well, parents and grandparents know how that goes.

daughter had a meltdown.”

“Oh my.” My mind raced, thinking about why they were plucked out of line to have their belongings searched.

“Awful.”

“What caused it? What was suspicious?” I asked as I formulated my theory about why the TSA swooped in on a little girl’s backpack.

“I told Georgia it was a random check. They do that sometimes,” my daughter said.

“Uh. Huh. You’re right. Sometimes, they even pick the least likely suspicious person to pat down.” I thought about telling her how the TSA often wants to pat down my back because they claim they see something on the X-ray machine. “There’s nothing there but back fat!” I’ve told TSA in airports around the world.

The Town sta will perform evaluation of the proposals. The proposals will be evaluated based on the rm’s ability to meet the requirements of this RFQ. The following, equally weighted, criteria shall be used in the evaluation process:

Understanding and approach to the project

Firm and Team Experience Experience with the Town and the Town’s water distribution system Experience with grant administration Familiarity with the locality

Section IV - Submittal Information and Requirements

SUBMITTAL DEADLINE JULY 23, 2024 AT 10:00 AM

Statements of Quali cation should be mailed or delivered to:

Chris McCorquodale

Public Utilities Director Town of Siler City 311 N. Second Street PO Box 769 Siler City, NC 27344 919-742-4733 cmccorquodale@silercity.org

Envelopes should be marked “Town of Siler City RFQ – Siler City Water Transmission System Improvements.”

The Town of Siler City is an Equal Opportunity employer. The Town reserves the right to disqualify from consideration statements received after the date and time speci ed above. Any statements may be withdrawn or modi ed by written request prior to the date and time of receipt provided above. In submitting these quali cations, it is understood by respondent that the Town of Siler City reserves the right to 1) reject any and all proposals and to be the sole judge of the value and merit of the statements o ered; and 2) eliminate from consideration any statement deemed substantially or materially unresponsive to the requests provided herein.

All statements become the property of the Town of Siler City upon submission. The cost of preparing, submitting and presenting a statement is the sole expense of the rm. The Town of Siler City reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to use without limitation any and all information, concepts, and data submitted in response to this RFQ, or derived from further investigation of such proposals. The Town further reserves the right at any time and for any reason, to cancel this solicitation, to reject any and all proposals, to supplement, add to, delete from, or otherwise change this RFQ as determined in the sole and absolute discretion of the Town. The Town may seek clari cations from a respondent regarding his or her statement at any time and failure to respond promptly may be cause for rejection. The Town also reserves the right to interview only those respondents it determines shall provide the most advantageous services and to negotiate with one or more respondents to contract terms acceptable to the Town of Siler City. Firms shall be licensed in the State of North Carolina.

In the event that the Town of Siler City is unable to reach an agreement with the selected rm regarding the scope of work, and/or cost, one of the other consultants may be selected.

After pondering Stine’s advice, I ran across a blog from an author’s webpage advocating the bene ts of using a pomodoro. A pomodoro is a little “tomato-looking” timer. So, I googled “pomodoro” on Amazon. This kitchen timer is shaped like a cute little red tomato device. It breaks work into segments of 25 minutes. Then, there’s a pause. Pomodoro is the Italian word for “tomato,” and this timer method was named after Francesco Cirillo, who used it while a university student. He coined the phrase “Pomodoro technique.” Good for perfectionists and procrastinators alike.

I ordered ve. I was thinking about my young grandchildren, who could use it to time their chores, tablet viewing or homework completion. Anyway, two grandkids were coming soon, and one parent each was coming to visit us for a long weekend. I’d give them each this inexpensive, practical gadget, which I think is a better souvenir than the usual junk I waste money on.

My son ew from New York with his 71⁄2-year-old daughter, nishing rst grade. My daughter ew in from Michigan with her almost 5-year-old son,

VOTERS from page A10

president is. When Purvis, the 31-year-old chair of the Democratic Party in Granville County, tells her that a White House rematch looms between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, Cynthia lets out a laugh, then an expletive.

Such is the state of the 2024 election, as seen at the ground level. In this rural county in one of the states expected to help decide the presidency, the nuts-and-bolts e orts of party activists to generate election enthusiasm are sometimes met with indi erence and even disgust from people who could be positioned to play an outsize role in determining the nation’s course.

For now, Cynthia and many others aren’t paying much attention to elections at all.

‘More hopeful in general’

About 4 in 10 Americans in a Pew Research Center poll conducted in April said they are not following news about candidates in the presidential election, closely or at all. And many in the United States already nd the election exhausting, even if they are not tuned in. About 6 in 10 U.S. adults in the poll said they are worn out by so much campaign and candidate coverage.

Purvis, accompanied by an Associated Press reporter on a recent canvassing trip, was near downtown Oxford, the seat of a county of about 62,000 people wedged between Raleigh and the Virginia border. By the time she got to Cynthia, who declined to give her last name to maintain her privacy, she had knocked on ve doors without an answer.

By the end of a sweltering, breezeless Saturday, Granville County Democrats had knocked

We zoomed down I-40 to the airport. I assured them we seldom had lengthy delays in Raleigh-Durham and repeated how all the TSA folks are pleasant here in North Carolina, unlike other airports.

I kissed my two grandkids goodbye and hugged my children. I told them to give my best to their spouses and the rest of their young kids. I departed, proud of myself for the fun time I showed these older grandchildren and their parents on this ve-day fun vacation. That night, my daughter called to tell me she was back in Michigan. Their ight was ne.

“I hope your brother and Georgia had an easy ight to New York City.”

“He didn’t phone you?”

“No.”

“Georgia put her backpack on the conveyor belt at the security gate, and they agged it and took it o to inspect it.”

“Huh?” I gulped.

“Georgia started bawling. She thought they were messing with her Pokémon cards.”

“What?”

“She kept screaming at her dad that it was his fault.”

“How’s that?”

“I don’t know. The TSA kept staring at Henry while his

“Henry didn’t think it was random.”

“Oh no,” I said, feeling nauseated and thinking about the ticking tomato tracker in my granddaughter’s backpack.

“Henry thought the Pokémon cards caused them to search the bags.”

‘Hmm,” I sighed too loudly. “Who knows? A mystery, indeed.” I exhaled. “Maybe it was the cards. They are shiny. Bye!” I said quickly.

DANG! This happens when grandmas think they’ve produced an innovative idea, an inspired notion for a souvenir with a purpose. The bestlaid plans of mice and men … well, parents and grandparents know how that goes.

Who’d guess a writing aid could cause such a ruckus? In Ecclesiastes 3:2-4 we read, “A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to grieve, and a time to dance.” That airport scuttlebutt was, well, a time of grief. Years later, when the trauma of the pomodoro catastrophe has faded, I’ll share my ruminations about my guilt in the TSA snafu. Maybe I’ll save it for Georgia’s wedding toast? By then, we can all have a good laugh.

on 320 doors in their Memorial Day weekend canvassing campaign, the highest number by any Democratic county party in the state that day.

As of June 7, Democrats had outspent Republicans on advertising in North Carolina by a nearly 4-to-1 margin, according to AdImpact data, and they have far more slots reserved between now and November. They also appear to have dedicated more resources to ground-level e orts such as door-knocking.

That leaves party activists like Purvis feeling optimistic about a state where Trump prevailed twice, though his margin narrowed between 2016 and 2020.

The Biden campaign clearly sees an opportunity there and the president already has made three trips to the Tarheel State this year.

“I’m more hopeful for North Carolina in general than I have been in years past,” Purvis said.

“I think Granville County has great potential to be part of that.”

Both presidential campaigns are prioritizing rural voters, and North Carolina has the second highest rural population behind Texas. In 2020, only 14 rural North Carolina counties voted for Biden; the state’s 64 others backed Trump. Almost 53% of the Granville County vote went to Trump, slightly more than in 2016. Democrat Barack Obama

Jaime Harrison, chair of the Democratic National Committee, speaks at a meeting of the Democratic Committee of North Carolina in Rocky Mount last month.

carried the county in his 2008 and 2012 campaigns.

Only six North Carolina counties pivoted from Obama to Trump.

Granville County sits on the outskirts of Raleigh and Durham, and some residents drive on Interstate 85 or twolane roads that wind through the countryside to commute to work in the Triangle. Granville has ve municipalities and manufacturing plants for Revlon, Bridgestone and others. Further down the ballot, county voters could help determine whether the GOP maintains its state legislative supermajority.

“Is it a teeter-totter back and forth, or is it just that we happened to catch it at the moment where it was going Republican anyway? We don’t know yet, right?” said Western Carolina political science professor Chris Cooper. “That’s what we’re going to learn after November.”

Cooper isn’t sure Biden will win in such places, but he thinks the margins matter. That’s because they will determine what he needs in the state’s urban areas, which tend to favor Democrats.

“It’s not realistic to think that the Democrats will win rural North Carolina. They won’t, they’ll lose,” Cooper said. “The question is: How big do they lose?”

KARL B. DEBLAKER / AP PHOTO

CHATHAM SPORTS

team celebrates their rst state championship. The win in the title

director.

Positivity:

Jason Amy re ects on his time as Seaforth’s athletic director

Jason Amy

his 14-year run as a high school athletic director, with the last three coming at Seaforth.

Post 292 gets 4 straight wins over Randolph County Juniors 16U in Heroes League action

Chatham County improved to 6-1 after last week’s wins

By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record

CHATHAM COUNTY Post

292 19U rolled to four straight victories over Randolph County Juniors 16U in USA Softball Heroes League action last week. Post 292 got the series started with a 12-0 win on June 10. Chatham County found success from the plate immediately, knocking in six runs in the bottom of the rst inning. Post 292 scored three more runs each in the second and third inning, but with the help of stellar

pitching from Dakota Redmon, the game ended after the top of the fourth inning. Redmon pitched all four innings and struck out seven batters. Sophia Murchison led Post 292 at the plate, going 2-for-2 with four RBIs. It took longer for Chatham County to get going in the second game of that day’s double header. Up 1-0 going into the top of the third inning, Chatham County bene ted from dropped pitches and errors by Randolph County that allowed Post 292 to get on base and send four runners home. A sacri ce y by Avery Kiger in the top of the fourth sent in Peyton Williams for one more score, and

Amy will remain at Seaforth and teach physical education

By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record

ALTHOUGH FRIDAY was

o cially his nal day, Jason Amy’s 14-year run as an athletic director, 11 at Northwood and three at Seaforth, made its nal dance in a state championship match.

As the young yet fast and dominant Seaforth girls’ soccer team fought tooth and nail in a 0-0 battle with Pine Lake Prep for the 2024 2A state title, Amy, who had often seen these types of games go the wrong way for his programs, had no doubt that this stage of his life would go out with a bang.

“The furthest thing from

my mind was us not winning,”

Amy, the 2020-21 North Carolina High School Athletic Association Athletic Director of the Year, said.

That was also the case when he led the start of Seaforth’s athletic program three years ago, when his peers told him it would take two to three years to start seeing success. Just a few months after opening its doors, Seaforth started sending teams to the state playo s, and a year later, athletes started winning state championships.

The girls’ soccer team even sent Amy o with a sweet victory as he envisioned. And as he re ected on his journey as Seaforth’s athletic director, Amy found that the key to the eventful ride was the positivity that didn’t fear doubt or the reality of failure.

“I think the biggest thing was

having the con dence in myself, making sure that we focused on just being positive to the kids, working hard and not worrying about winning, but worrying about being our best.” Amy said. Amy developed that mindset in his ve years of serving in the Marine Corps.

“It was kind of that life-altering experience where I was just trained to understand that there’s only one way to accomplish a mission, and that’s through teamwork and through positivity,” Amy said.

When starting Seaforth’s athletic program in 2021, Amy wanted the entire school to share the same vision in regard to school pride and creating an athletic experience that everyone, even the non-athletes, could enjoy. While work-

Seaforth’s girls’ soccer

game marked the last game of Jason Amy’s tenure as the school’s athletic

nished

NC public high school athletes banned from making pro t from name, image

The State BOE adopted the new policy on June 6

By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record

DUE TO A NEW policy adopted by the North Carolina State Board of Education, student athletes at the state’s public high schools will not be able to pro t from their name, image and likeness.

The new policy was adopted during a vote on June 6.

According to the new policy, student athletes at public schools cannot enter any agreement to use their NIL in any of the following ways: public appearances or commercials, autograph signings, athletic camps and clinics, sale of nonfungible tokens (NFTs), product or service endorsements and promotional activities, including in-person events and social media advertisements.

The ban comes just months after the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association, an organization consisting of nearly 100 nonpublic member schools, announced in February that its athletes will be able to pro t from NIL while maintaining eligibility to play prep sports. That policy will go into e ect in the 2024-25 school year.

In May 2023, the North Carolina High School Athletic Association, the governing body of high school sports at the state’s public schools, passed a policy allowing its athletes to pro t o NIL, and that was supposed to go into e ect in July of that year. On the same day, state legislature spoke out against the move and amended Senate Bill 636, a bill aimed to strip the NCHSAA of some of its powers, to require the Board of Education to determine amateur rules, including those dealing with NIL. With the new policy adopted by the Board of Education earlier this month, North Carolina’s public school athletes are now part of the minority of other states that don’t allow high school student athletes to par-

the game ended after the fth inning with Post 292 on top, 6-0. In that game, Jaylee Williams went 3-for-3 at the plate and scored two runs.

Things got a lot closer in the double header on June 12 between the two teams as Chatham County won the third game, 6-4. Post 292’s Lindsay Redmon turned out to be the di erence as she went 3-for-3 with three RBIs. With Chatham County down 2-1 going into the top of the fourth inning, Redmon hit a solo home run to center eld to tie the game. In the top of the fth inning after a double, sac y and single from Kiger, Murchison and Emma Burke, respectively, put Post 292 up 5-3, Redmon extended the lead even more with a double to center eld that sent Burke home.

6Post 292 ripped o ve hits in the bottom of the rst to build a 5-1 lead. Lilli Hicks’ single in the bottom of the second inning sent home the other two runs, and the combination of Lindsay Redmon and Chloe Brewer took care of business on the mound.

Post 292 has scored at least six runs in all of its wins as of Sunday.

In the nal game of the series, another hot start for Chatham County gave all the momentum needed for the 7-3 win. After giving up a run in the top of the rst inning,

The two pitchers allowed just one earned run and six total hits. Redmon threw 23 strikes out of 33 total pitches. Hicks ended up with the best day at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

As of Sunday, Chatham County is still having a highly successful inaugural season, boasting a 6-1 record. Following a 6-2 season-opening loss to North Wake on May 29, Chatham County has won six straight games while scoring at least six runs in all of its victories. After Monday and Wednesday’s home games against Post 11 19U and South Wake 19U, respectively, Post 292 will travel to Wayne (Monday) and North Wake 16U (Wednesday) to end the month of June. Both of those games will start at 7 p.m.

ticipate in NIL deals. According to Business of College Sports, it’s clear in 37 states, including North Carolina’s private schools, and the District of Columbia that high school student athletes can monetize their NIL. In those states, NIL deals can be allowed while playing sanctioned sports or limited to nonsanctioned sports, teaching sports or after being accepted by a state college.

Nick Stevens of HighSchoolOT reported that the NCHSAA’s NIL Committee conducted research in 2023 on how NIL worked in other states and found that the average NIL deal for a high school athlete fell between $60-$120.

For the biggest high school names in the country, the deals and earnings could be much greater. According to On3’s high school basketball NIL rankings, Bryce James, a rising senior at Sierra Canyon High School in California and son of NBA star LeBron James, has an NIL valuation of $1.2 million. In March 2023, On3 also reported his older brother, Bronny James, made $7.2 million from deals with Nike, Beats by Dre and PSD Underwear before attending USC in the fall.

Financial Tips for Widows and Widowers

Financial Tips for Widows and Widowers

Losing a spouse is one of the most painful experiences anyone can have. Unfortunately, widows and widowers have to deal with more than just the emotional trauma — they also must you’ve recently been widowed, what For starters, don’t rush into any major process, you are unlikely to be in the best

But once you feel ready to look at your situation objectively and make appropriate choices, consider the following steps:

• Look at your and your spouse had communicated well sions, you hopefully won’t encounter any big surprises. But if your spouse was cial matters, you may need to get up to speed quickly on what you have and what you owe. And if your spouse had provided a large amount of your household income, you will also need to determine what changes you may need to make to your lifestyle.

• spouse’s insurance policy, what will you ful in funding your own retirement or also want to be clear about what other might receive. And while you’re looking at insurance, you also might want to look at your own policies — do you need to

• married at least nine months, you may be entitled to Social Security survivor

you typically cannot receive survivor subsequent marriage ends.) The amount your age and the age of your deceased spouse. You can’t claim your deceased

receive the larger amount. Depending on your situation, you might come out ahead ing them the chance to grow, while you visit the Social Security Administration’s website at www.ssa.gov.

• The death of a spouse can certainly affect your family’s estate plans. So, it’s a good idea to review these plans to see what changes, if any, need to be made. When conducting

Finally, keep in mind that you don’t

you aren’t currently working with one, now might be the time to start. By looking

provide guidance that can help ease the stress you are naturally feeling.

Few events are as sad as losing a spouse. But when you feel ready, start taking the steps necessary to continue forward on your life’s journey.

ASHEEBO ROJAS / CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD

Avery Kiger, pictured hitting earlier this season, drove in runs at key moments last week.

GREGORY PAYAN / AP PHOTO

Sierra Canyon’s Bryce James, pictured at the Hoophall Classic in January 2023, is a rising senior in high school who has an NIL valuation in the seven gures.

Powell and Stevenson to face o in SEC/ACC Challenge

UNC will host Alabama on Dec. 4

By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record

TWO OF Chatham County’s most decorated former athletes will put their own version of the Battle of Pittsboro in front of a national audience later this year.

Drake Powell, a North Carolina forward out of Northwood High School, and Jarin Stevenson, an Alabama forward out of Seaforth High School, will face o when the Tar Heels host the Crimson Tide in the SEC/ACC Challenge on Dec. 4.

Including just sanctioned high school and collegiate competition, this will be the second time that the local stars play against each other. Powell and the Chargers got the best of Stevenson and the Hawks on Nov. 23, 2021, when Northwood beat Seaforth 72-42. In that game, Powell led the Chargers with 26 points and eight steals while Stevenson recorded 13 points and four rebounds while shooting 63% from the oor.

Before that game and the opening of Seaforth, Powell and Stevenson played together at Northwood in their 202021 freshman campaigns, helping lead the Chargers to a 14-3 overall record and a 3A state runner-up nish. That year, Stevenson and Powell led the team in scoring, pouring in 13.7 and 11.4 points per game, respectively.

Both Powell and Stevenson have accomplished a lot in their careers leading up to December’s meeting.

According to 247 Sports, Stevenson, a four-star recruit, was ranked the No. 2 class of 2023 prospect in North Carolina after reclassifying out of the 2024 class. After averaging 21.5 points, 11.6 rebounds and 3.7 blocks per game in his nal high school season, Stevenson was named the 2022 -23 Gatorade Boys Basketball Player of the Year for North Carolina.

Sophia Murchison

Stevenson enrolled at Alabama shortly after leaving Seaforth, and he made a signi cant impact as a freshman. He played in all 37 games and made ve starts in SEC play. Stevenson’s most memorable moment came in Alabama’s 2024 Final Four run when which he made a career-high ve 3s for a career-best 19 points to help the Crimson Tide take down Clemson in the Elite Eight.

Against North Carolina in last year’s NCAA Tournament, Stevenson grabbed four boards and made some key defensive plays in Alabama’s win.

Powell was a ve-star recruit, the No. 2 class of 2024 prospect in North Carolina and the No. 3 2024 small forward in the country, per 247Sports. He helped lead the Chargers to another 3A state runner-up nish in 2023 and deep playo runs in each of his four seasons. After averaging 17.7 points, 7.9 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game in his se -

nior year, Powell earned McDonald’s All-American honors. Other than the McDonald’s All-American Game, Powell participated in the Jordan Brand Classic and the Josh Level Classic before reporting to UNC earlier this month.

For the matchup between UNC and Alabama, the hype goes deeper than Powell and Stevenson facing o . On Nov. 27, 2022, just months removed from North Carolina’s run to the title game, Alabama beat North Carolina 103-101 after a four-overtime battle in the Phil Knight Invitational. The Crimson Tide then beat the Tar Heels again that o season after signing Stevenson away from his hometown program, and in the following season, Alabama pulled out a close 89-87 win over UNC in the Sweet 16.

So, while Powell and Stevenson look to represent Chatham County in the college basketball world, North Carolina will be looking for payback.

Chatham County Heroes League team

Sophia Murchison, a member of the Chatham County Heroes League softball team, earns athlete of the week honors for the week of June 20. Murchison, a rising senior at Jordan-Matthews who plays for the softball, basketball and volleyball teams, had a perfect day at the plate in Chatham County’s 12-0 win over Randolph County on June 10. She went 2-for-2 with four RBIs, and two runs scored. In each of Chatham County’s four games against Randolph County last week, Murchison produced at least one run by RBI or as a base runner. In the nal game on June 12 in which Chatham County won, 7-3, Murchison went 2-3 from the plate and scored two runs.

GENE GALIN FOR CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD

BRYNN ANDERSON / AP PHOTO

Alabama forward Jarin Stevenson at a practice prior to the Crimson Tide’s Final Four game. Alabama beat UNC on the way to the Final Four. The two teams will play a rematch this year, matching up two of the best local basketball stars in recent memory.

Former longtime Georgia Tech athletic director, NFL coach Homer Rice dies at 97

The administrator helped the Yellow Jackets get up to speed shortly after joining the ACC

The Associated Press

ATLANTA — Homer Rice, who as athletic director hired some of Georgia Tech’s most successful coaches and implemented the school’s Total Person Program, has died. He was 97.

Rice died last Monday, Georgia Tech announced.

Rice was Georgia Tech’s athletic director from 1980-97. Among his notable hires were basketball coach Bobby Cremins, football coaches Bobby Ross and George O’Leary, and baseball coaches Jim Morris and Danny Hall. Georgia Tech won a share of the 1990 football championship and its rst Atlantic Coast Conference basketball championship in 1985 while advancing

SEAFORTH AD from page B1

ing with the new sta to get things underway, Amy operated by a quote from Henry Ford that read, “Coming together is the beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.”

“I told all the coaches our vision of Seaforth athletics is (to) provide all student athletes quality leadership, fellowship, (and) sel ess service to make athletics a positive experience,” Amy said.

Fostering that kind of environment at Northwood, with the help of Cameron Vernon, Northwood’s current athletic director, at his side for a few years, worked well for Amy, especially with certain standards already set solid relationships already built in the community.

But for a blank canvas of a school, building a successful culture from the ground up was much more of a daunting task.

Colin Fegeley, the rst and current athletic director at Green Level High School, told Amy that “the most fun (he would) never want to do is starting a new school.”

“It was so true because you go through so many di erent evolutions of success,” Amy said. “Just getting a coaching sta together, to me, was a huge

to the Final Four in 1990.

The Yellow Jackets won 16 ACC championships in ve sports during Rice’s time leading the athletic department.

Rice was a high school, college and NFL football coach before beginning his career as an administrator. He coached the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals in 1979-79 before beginning his time at Georgia Tech.

Rice was a college assistant at Kentucky (1962-65) and Oklahoma (1966) and was the coach at Cincinnati (1967-68) before leaving to serve six years as UNC’s athletic director. He was hired in 1976 as athletic director and football coach at Rice and held those positions for two years.

Rice’s Total Person Program is regarded as the model for the NCAA’s Life Skills Program. The Homer Rice Award is presented annually to a FBS athletic director in recognition for signi cant

success and getting all these students to actually say, ‘You know what? I want to go to this brand-new school of freshmen and sophomores and compete at varsity levels.’”

The other small successes, including handling the in ux of equipment and putting bleachers together — more fun he was told he wouldn’t want to do — very quickly turned into the fruits that almost every athletic director would want out of a rst year, especially at a school full of underclassmen.

The boys’ and girls’ basketball, girls’ and boys’ tennis, boys’ lacrosse, wrestling and girls’ soccer teams all made the playo s in their rst year of competition. With the highly touted basketball recruit Jarin Stevenson making the move from Northwood to Seaforth in 2021 and his dad, Jarod, starting the basketball program as the head coach, the school even received some national attention in the college basketball world.

“Having the whole entire Stevenson family be a part of our startup contributed to a lot of the fact that we’re even being known in the whole state,” Amy said. “It was tough that he made the decision to reclassify, but it was also a proud moment. It was a rst ever. That was the rst-ev-

COURTESY GEORGIA TECH ATHLETICS

In Homer Rice’s 17 years as Georgia Tech athletic director, he hired basketball coach Bobby Cremins and football coaches Bobby Ross and George O’Leary.

contributions to college athletics.

“Homer has reminded us throughout his career that the ultimate goal of intercollegiate

er (Seaforth) student athlete to graduate early and go o to Alabama. It was nothing I’ve ever experienced before in my life.”

Following Stevenson’s de

parture in 2023, Seaforth dove even further into being a household name in the realm of North Carolina prep sports because it wasn’t just about athletes signing to big schools or teams just making the playo s anymore, Seaforth began to compete for state titles.

By year three, Amy’s program had built budding powerhouses in girls’ basketball, girls’ soccer, wrestling, track and eld, and volleyball — all teams with talented young cores. Track and eld and cross country picked up some individual champions, girls’ basketball had already made a state title appearance, wrestling broke through for its rst individual team title and its rst two individual state champions, and volleyball made it to the fourth round of the playo s all by spring. The baseball team also had a breakout year in 2024 with a youthful squad that made it to the third round of the playo s.

“Watching team success is probably the highest admiration that I have in regard to (me helping) cultivate and manifest some of the things that trans-

athletics is to help student-athletes grow fully as people,” Georgia Tech President Ángel Cabrera said in a statement released by the school. “At a time of profound changes in athletics, Homer’s message and legacy of excellence is more important than ever.”

ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said in a statement Rice’s Total Person Program “was ahead of its time and paved the way for NCAA programming by preparing student-athletes for life beyond collegiate athletics. Each of the seven pillars of the Total Person program continue to resonate with not only myself, but every one of Dr. Rice’s peers, colleagues, and former student-athletes.”

Phillips said Rice, a native of Bellevue, Kentucky, “was incredibly in uential in the development of student-athletes, not only at UNC and Georgia Tech, but throughout college athletics.”

pired in that group,” Amy said. “I feel like as an athletic director, we nd the best coaches and the best people that can kind of cultivate a positive culture, and success will take care of itself.”

Said Amy, “And for each coach, what can I do? Is there anything I can take o (their) plate so (they) can just focus on the game, focus on practices (and) focus on the little things because there’s so many distractions.”

Despite all that Seaforth athletics achieved in its rst three years, Amy was never meant to be the athletic director for long, though.

Amy was nearing the year requirement for state retirement after leaving Northwood, and in his interview process with Tripp Crayton, Seaforth’s rst principal, Amy made it clear he only had three years left as an athletic director.

“I want to learn how to deescalate, take a little bit more time for my family and reprogram myself because it’s been a 14-year run of waking up really early and staying really late,” Amy said. “Now, I want to just learn how to spend my time a little bit di erent.”

Said Amy, “It was tough because we never want to leave anything, especially when

Former ACC commissioner and UNC athletic director John Swo ord said Rice, AD with the Tar Heels when he graduated in 1971, was his inspiration to pursue a career in athletic administration.

“He was my mentor then, and has been throughout my adult life,” Swo ord said in a statement. “I had the privilege of serving for 17 years as an A.D. with him in the ACC while he was at Georgia Tech and I was at UNC. Simply put, he was the best Athletic Director that I ever observed during my half century in college sports. He was the best leader, the most organized, the best motivator, the best innovator. He was full of integrity, decency and class.”

Rice taught a leadership class at Georgia Tech until recent years and wrote a number of books on leadership success.

Georgia Tech dedicated a statue of Rice outside of Bobby Dodd Stadium in 2021. Dodd and John Heisman are the only other in Georgia Tech athletics to be commemorated with a statue.

Rice’s wife of 64 years, Phyllis, died in 2013. He married his second wife, Karen, in 2015.

things are going so well. But I’m not technically leaving.”

Amy will still be a Hawk, teaching physical education at Seaforth. Jared Worley, one of Amy’s former student athletes from his days at Northwood, will take over as Seaforth’s new athletic director and try to ll in the big shoes that Amy left behind.

“(Worley) has hit the ground running,” Amy said. “He is so motivated about seeing things even better than what I’m leaving it. … I told him you have to continue doing who you are, and that’s being the hardest-working person you can. Just keep making those positive impacts.”

As the door closes on Amy’s time as an athletic director, the sadness of the nality still doesn’t overshadow his gratitude and excitement for the ride it was.

“I’m extremely happy, but it’s a sad time because of all of the success, everything that comes with it, the relationships and just having that ability of getting everybody involved and buying into a philosophy which is ‘We are Seaforth,’” Amy said. “(That was) a huge commitment for me and my family and everyone involved. There’s so many thank yous to be shared for making things happen. … It’s a community involvement.”

Blaney wins inaugural Cup Series race at Iowa, earns playo spot

The defending champion won in front of 80 friends and family members

By John Bohnenkamp

The Associated Press

NEWTON, Iowa — Ryan Blaney had his concerns heading into the nal laps Sunday night in the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway. The problem was he didn’t hear his crew chief’s reassurance. There was no need to worry, though, with the defending series champion holding on for his

rst victory of the season and a spot in the playo s.

Blaney seemed in control of the race, but was worried about fuel a couple of weeks after running out on the nal lap while leading at World Wide Technology Raceway. It’s why crew chief Jonathan Hassler came on the radio with less than 10 laps to go in this race to let him know he was good on fuel.

“I don’t even remember him saying that,” Blaney said. “I gured we were (OK). But I don’t remember him saying that.”

“I wanted to make sure he knew the whole situation,” Hassler said. “Sometimes I forget he doesn’t know what I know.

So I just try to communicate as much as I can so he knows what’s going on.”

Blaney led four times for a career-high 201 laps, nishing 0.716 seconds ahead of William Byron for his 11th Cup victory.

“Ryan and those guys were really good,” Byron said. “He had a really good car. He was up front, contending a lot.”

Blaney regained the lead on Lap 263 after taking just two tires on a caution- ag pit stop. He led the rest of the way, getting through lapped tra c as Byron tried to close.

It was the decision to take two tires, on a weekend when tire wear was a concern for the

Cup Series and X nity Series cars, that worried Hassler.

“There were not a lot of guys on two tires,” Hassler said. “At some point those guys are going to be a little bit better than you are. So, yeah, really nervous.”

Blaney, whose mother, Lisa, is from Chariton, Iowa, won in front of a sellout crowd of an estimated 40,000 fans that included 80 of his friends and family.

It was tting the rst Cup Series race at the 0.875-mile track would go to a Team Penske driver — Penske cars have won seven IndyCar Series races and three NASCAR X nity Series races at the track.

Ryan Blaney does a burnout after winning Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway. The win clinched him a spot in the playo s.

“I think, as a whole company, we do a good job of these places we go to for the rst time,” said Blaney, who also has wins at the track in the X nity and Truck series.

But Blaney, who started on the outside of the front row, admitted he had concerns about how good his car would be for the race.

“Friday, I didn’t feel very good,” he said. “I wasn’t very con dent in the speed in our car. And we really went to work — we got a lot better qualifying to the race and got better through the night tonight. And I think we’re great at some points of the night. The last few runs were phenomenal. ” Chase Elliott was third. Christopher Bell, who had to start from the back of the eld in a backup car after crashing during practice Friday, was fourth. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who like Blaney took two tires on the nal pit stop, nished fth.

CHARLIE NEIBERGALL / AP PHOTO

The biography adds to the growing chorus restoring Elaine May to her rightful place as a — however reluctant — Hollywood icon

By Mae Anderson The Associated Press

GROUNDBREAKING comedian, writer and lmmaker

Elaine May charted her own fearlessly original path in Hollywood and the theater world over the decades. Shunning the spotlight and reluctant to talk to reporters, her name might not be as well known as her comedy partner, Mike Nichols, but Carrie Courogen’s engaging biography aims to correct that.

Courogen did not score an interview with May, who is 92 and lives in New York, but interviewed dozens of her friends and colleagues who all give valuable insight into her life and career.

Born in 1932, May had an unconventional upbringing, traveling around the country as her father, a Yiddish theater actor,

performed vaudeville. She never nished high school and was devastated by the death of her father at age 12.

Whip-smart and ercely witted, May found herself at the University of Chicago in the 1950s and broke into the emerging comedy scene there, helping pioneer “improv,” a style of comedy based on improvisation still prevalent today. Teaming up with her comedy soul mate, Nichols, the duo of “Nichols and May” recorded several hit comedy records and had a successful Broadway show before separating to pursue solo careers in 1961.

Rail thin, endlessly smoking cigars and cigarettes, and known for an unkempt appearance, May brought exacting perfectionism to every project, for better or worse, from acting to directing to writing plays. She worked on the screenplay for 1978’s “Heaven Can Wait” and the 1996 Nichols lm “The Birdcage.” She was a highly sought-after script doctor, brought in to punch up screenplays for lms including 1981’s “Reds” and 1982’s “Tootsie,” though she usually refused to be credited.

But while her successes may have gone under the radar, her failures were legendary. Her commitment to nding the “truth” in every scene, often through improvisation, led to arduous lm shoots. Directing the 1976 crime caper “Mikey and Nicky,” she shot 1.4 million feet of lm — 259 hours of raw footage — and then edited it for a year. Paramount eventually sued her to turn over the lm.

Her next directing debacle was 1987’s high-pro le op “Ishtar,” a comedy lmed in Morocco. Deserved or not, Courogen writes, “Ishtar” became a punchline and shorthand for box o ce disaster.

“If all the people who hate ‘Ishtar’ had seen it, I would be a rich woman today,” May quipped 20 years after the release.

May never directed a feature lm again, though she kept busy with other projects, including winning a Tony in 2019 for “The Waverly Gallery.” In recent years, May has been recognized by newer generations as the maverick she is, a director of movies who stayed true to her vision even if it meant being labeled a “di cult” woman director.

this week in history

Sally Ride blasts o , Napoleon defeated at Waterloo, Lady

The Associated Press

“This Week” looks back at the key events from this week in history.

JUNE 13

1865: Nobel Prize-winning poet-playwright William Butler Yeats was born in Dublin, Ireland.

1967: President Lyndon B. Johnson nominated Solicitor-General Thurgood Marshall to become the rst black justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

JUNE 14

1777: The Second Continental Congress approved the design of the original American ag.

1846: A group of U.S. settlers in Sonoma proclaimed the Republic of California.

1919, John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown embarked on the rst nonstop ight across the Atlantic Ocean.

1940: German troops entered Paris during World

Liberty arrives

War II; the same day, the Nazis began transporting prisoners to the Auschwitz concentration camp in German-occupied Poland.

1954: President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a measure adding the phrase “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance.

1993: President Bill Clinton nominated Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.

JUNE 15

1215, England’s King John put his seal on the Magna Carta (“the Great Charter”) at Runnymede.

1775: The Second Continental Congress unanimously appointed George Washington as head of the Continental Army.

1864: Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton signed an order establishing a military burial ground, which became Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

1904: More than 1,000 people died when a re erupted

aboard the steamboat General Slocum in New York’s East River.

1934: President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an act making the National Guard part of the U.S. Army in the event of war or national emergency.

JUNE 16

1858: Accepting the Illinois Republican Party’s nomination for the U.S. Senate, Abraham Lincoln said the slavery issue had to be resolved, declaring, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

1903: Ford Motor Co. was incorporated.

JUNE 17

1775: Revolutionary War Battle of Bunker Hill resulted in a costly victory for the British.

1885: The Statue of Liberty arrived in New York Harbor aboard the French ship Isere (eeSEHR’).

1963: U.S. Supreme Court, in Abington (Pa.) School District v. Schempp, struck down, 8-1, rules

requiring the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer or reading of Biblical verses in public schools.

1967: China successfully tested its rst thermonuclear (hydrogen) bomb.

1972: President Richard Nixon’s eventual downfall began with the arrest of ve burglars inside the Democratic headquarters in Washington, D.C.’s Watergate complex.

JUNE 18

1778: American forces entered Philadelphia as the British withdrew during the Revolutionary War.

1812: The War of 1812 began when the United States Congress approved it, and President James Madison declared war against Britain.

1815: Napoleon Bonaparte met defeat at Waterloo, where British and Prussian troops overcame the French in Belgium.

1940: During World War II, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill urged his countrymen to conduct themselves in a manner that would prompt future generations to say, “This was their nest hour.”

1983: Astronaut Sally K. Ride became America’s rst woman in space, and she and four colleagues blasted o aboard the space shuttle Challenger.

Singer Timberlake charged with DWI in Hamptons

The pop star refused a breath test, according to court papers

By Philip Marcelo and Jennifer Peltz The Associated Press

SAG HARBOR, N.Y. — Pop star Justin Timberlake was charged early Tuesday with drunken driving in a village in New York’s Hamptons after police said he ran a stop sign and veered out of his lane in the posh seaside summer retreat.

The boy band singer-turned-solo star and actor was driving a 2025 BMW in Sag Harbor around 12:30 a.m. when an o cer stopped him and determined he was intoxicated, according to a court document.

“His eyes were bloodshot and glassy, a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage was emanating from his breath, he was unable to divide attention, he had slowed speech, he was unsteady afoot and he performed poorly on all standardized eld sobriety tests,” the court papers said.

“Cry Me A River,” “SexyBack,” “What Goes Around...Comes Around” and “Can’t Stop The Feeling!” He has performed at Super Bowl halftime shows multiple times, including the infamous 2004 “wardrobe malfunction” moment when he ripped o a piece of Janet Jackson’s clothing and revealed her bare nipple.

The episode led to Jackson’s exclusion from the Grammy telecast a week later. She said in a 2022 documentary that what happened was an accident and that she and Timberlake remained good friends.

Timberlake also built an acting career, garnering acclaim in movies including “The Social Network” and “Friends With Bene ts” and winning four Primetime Emmy Awards.

Timberlake, 43, told the ocer he had one martini and was following some friends home, according to the documents. After being arrested and taken to a police station in nearby East Hampton, he refused a breath test, said the court papers, which listed his occupation as “professional” and said he’s “self-employed.”

for July 26, the Su olk County district attorney’s o ce said.

The 10-time Grammy winner was released without bond later Tuesday morning after being arraigned in Sag Harbor. He was charged with a driving-while-intoxicated misdemeanor, and his next court date was scheduled

solutions

Timberlake’s lawyer and representatives did not immediately return requests for comment from The Associated Press.

A young Timberlake began performing as a Disney Mouseketeer, where his castmates included future girlfriend Britney

Spears (he’s now married to actress Jessica Biel). He rose to fame in the behemoth boy band NSYNC, embarked on a solo recording career in 2002 and was one of pop’s most in uential gures in the early 2000s. Fluent in the in ections of pop and R&B, he’s known for such Grammy-winning hits as

Last year, Timberlake was in the headlines when Spears released her memoir, “The Woman in Me.” Several chapters were devoted to their relationship, including deeply personal details about a pregnancy, abortion and painful breakup. In March, he released his rst new album in six years, the nostalgic “Everything I Thought It Was,” a return to his familiar future funk sound.

Timberlake has two upcoming shows in Chicago on Friday and Saturday, then is scheduled for New York’s Madison Square Garden on June 25 and 26.

JORDAN STRAUSS / INVISION VIA AP

Pop star Justin Timberlake was arrested early Tuesday morning in New York’s Hamptons on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.

famous birthdays this week

The Associated Press

June 16

Actor Eileen Atkins (“The Crown,” “Doc Martin”) is 90.

Actor Bill Cobbs is 90. Actor Laurie Metcalf (“Roseanne,” “JFK”) is 69.

June 17

Singer Barry Manilow is 81. Comedian Joe Piscopo is 73. Director Bobby Farrelly (“There’s Something About Mary”) is 66.

Actor Thomas Haden Church (“Sideways,” “Wings”) is 64. Actor Greg Kinnear is 61. Actor/ comedian Will Forte (“Saturday Night Live”) is 54.

June 18

Musician Paul McCartney is 82. Actor Carol Kane is 72.

Actor Isabella Rossellini is 72. Country singer Blake Shelton is 48.

June 19

Actor Phylicia Rashad is 76. Singer Ann Wilson of Heart is 74. Actor Kathleen Turner is 70. Singer/dancer Paula Abdul is 62. Actor Mia Sara (“Ferris Bueller’s Day O ”) is 57.

June 20

June 21

Musician Ray Davies of The Kinks is 80. Guitarist Nils Lofgren is 73. Actor Juliette Lewis is 51. Actor Chris Pratt is 45.

June 22

Kris Kristo erson is 88. Journalist Brit Hume is 81. Singer Todd Rundgren is 76. Singer Alan Osmond of The Osmonds is 75. Actor Meryl Streep is 75. Singer Cyndi Lauper is 71. TV personality Carson Daly is 51.

Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys is 82. Singer Anne Murray is 79. Home repair show host Bob Vila is 78. Singer

Meryl Streep, left,who turns 75 on Saturday, and Nicole Kidman, who will be 57 on Thursday, share the

Lionel Richie is 75. Actor John Goodman is 72. Actor Nicole Kidman is 57.

JOEL C RYAN / AP PHOTO

Paul McCartney, pictured at Glastonbury Festival, turned 82 on Tuesday.

CHRIS PIZZELLO / AP PHOTO

stage at the 49th AFI Life Achievement Awards.

the stream

E-Street/Soprano’s Van Zandt doc comes to MAX, ‘Kung Fu Panda 4’ chops

Hulu is delving into the wild true story of Sherri Papini, the California woman who faked her kidnapping in 2016

The Associated Press

THIS WEEK PROMISES a variety of streaming entertainment including an album from R&B-pop artist Kehlani, a fourth season of Kevin Hart’s “Hart to Hart” on Peacock, and Jack Black lends his voice to “Kung Fu Panda 4.” PBS gets its groove on with a “Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution.” There’s also the debut of “Echoes,” a sequel series to “Orphan Black,” and Paul Mescal starring in “Aftersun” over at Net ix.

MOVIES TO STREAM

Jack Black returns to the world of Kung Fu Panda for the fourth installment in the series, coming to Peacock on Friday. In “Kung Fu Panda 4,” his character Po has been asked to depart the position of Dragon Warrior and pick a successor. Critic Mark Kennedy wrote in his review for The Associated Press, “The series’ rst new installment in eight years is a reliably funny, sweet and wonderfully realized passing of the torch, with a paw in the past and another into the future — an elegant goodbye and a hello.” The lm also features the voices of Awkwa na, Bryan Cranston, Viola Davis, Ke Huy Quan and James Hong.

If those “Gladiator II” set photos have you craving more Paul Mescal before that lm is out in November, you’re in luck: “Aftersun” is coming to Net ix on Friday. His poignant performance as a single father on vacation in Turkey with his 11-year-old daughter scored him an Oscar nomination in 2023 (the award that year went to Brendan Fraser for “The Whale”). The lm, from writer-director Charlotte Wells, topped the AP’s list of the best movies of 2023. Film writer Jake Coyle wrote that it is “such a keenly observed accumulation of detail and feeling that you hardly notice the undertow of heartache that will, in the end, absolutely oor you.” For something completely di erent, you can watch Jessica Alba as a Special Forces commando in “Trigger Warning,” which is also streaming on Friday.

The documentary “Bread & Roses” looks at how three Afghan women’s lives were impacted after Kabul fell to the Taliban in 2021. Filmmaker and producer Sahra Mani explained that “Closing girls’ schools in Af-

ghanistan is not just a matter of feminist concern; rather, it is a matter of international security. … The Taliban recognizes that the children of educated mothers are di cult to indoctrinate and are less susceptible to becoming their future soldiers.”

Produced by Jennifer Lawrence and Justine Ciarrocchi and executive produced by Malala Yousafzai, “Bread & Roses” will be available on Apple TV+ on Friday.

MUSIC TO STREAM

The Grammy-award-winning R&B-pop artist Kehlani will soon return with her fourth stu-

dio album, “Crash,” a follow-up to 2022’s critically acclaimed “Blue Water Road.” (That one, AP Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy described as showcasing her “e ortless ability to move from pop, R&B, rap, trance and dance.”) Disco, for many, is the sound of resilience and joy — which makes it so odd to consider that its history is, many decades from its inception, still overlooked and under-celebrated. On Tuesday, PBS looked to challenge any leftover vintage biases with a three-part documentary series titled “Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution.” It features disco greats from the past and pres-

ent: Labelle’s Nona Hendryx, Sylvester’s Jeanie Tracy, Kim Petras and Jessie Ware.

On Saturday, HBO and MAX will debut a new documentary chronicling the life of Stevie Van Zandt, beloved actor, musician and member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, titled “Stevie Van Zandt: Disciple.” It promises to deliver a treasure trove of never-before-seen footage — from “The Sopranos” to early days in Jersey clubs, headlining stadiums and everything in between. And, yes, Springsteen is featured — with other talking heads, including Paul McCartney, Bono and Darlene Love.

SHOWS TO STREAM

Kevin Hart’s interview show

“Hart to Hart” returned for a fourth season on Peacock on Wednesday. This season, the actor and comedian will sit down for one-on-one chats with Ben A eck, George Lopez, Cynthia Erivo, Andy Samberg, Judd Apatow and Niecy Nash. Hulu is delving into the wild true story of Sherri Papini, the California woman who faked her kidnapping in 2016. Her claims were so bizarre that it took investigators six years to piece together what happened. All three episodes of “Perfect Wife: The Mysterious Disappearance of Sherri Papini” drop Thursday. Echoes,” a sequel series to “Orphan Black,” debuts Sunday on AMC and BBC America. The show, executive produced by and starring Krysten Ritter, takes place nearly in 2052, almost 40 years after the events of the original. Ritter plays Lucy, a woman we meet after she has had a medical procedure that she can’t remember. Her wife is Kira, the now adult daughter of Sarah Manning. “Orphan Black” fans may remember Manning (played by Tatiana Maslany) was the protagonist of the original show. At the recent premiere, Ritter told The Associated Press that “Echoes” is different than its predecessor, saying, “How we’re approaching the clones is di erent actresses play my character at di erent ages.” Episodes will also stream on AMC+.

Erin French, the TV personality, chef and owner of the famous Maine restaurant Lost Kitchen, has a new nonscripted series on Magnolia Network called “Getting Lost with Erin French.” In the series, she travels around the country in an Airstream with her husband, Michael, looking for recipe ideas. The series debuts on Magnolia Network on Sunday. It streams on Max and Discovery+ on the same day.

VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY

It’s December 1975 and you’re stuck on an oil rig o the coast of Scotland. To make this Christmas even bluer, you’re all alone — except for some mysterious entity that seems to have wiped out the rest of the crew. That’s the setup for Still Wakes the Deep, the latest mystery from U.K. studio The Chinese Room. The developers are known for o -kilter interactive tales like Dear Esther and Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture. Take a deep breath and dive in on Xbox X/S, PlayStation 5 or PC.

SOPHIE GIRAUD / AMC VIA AP

August Winter and Krysten Ritter star in “Orphan Black: Echoes.”

CHARLES SYKES / AP PHOTO

Stevie Van Zandt attends the “Stevie Van Zandt: Disciple” premiere during the Tribeca Festival.

“Aftersun,” “Kung Fu Panda 4 and “Perfect Wife” are all streaming this week.