How do you stop the unstoppable? Opponents discuss why Clemson’s DeShaun Watson is so difficult to defend. Sports, B4 & B5 VOLUME 1 ISSUE 24
www.NSJONLINE.com
SUNDAY, August 7, 2016
the Sunday News Briefing
The United States women’s national soccer team celebrates a goal against New Zealand in the first round of matchups at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Tobin Heath, left, and Meghan Klingenberg, far right, are among the numerous UNC Chapel Hill alumnae on the national team.
Appeals court denies NC’s motion to stay decision on voter ID Richmond, Va. A U.S. appeals court issued an order Thursday denying North Carolina’s motion to stay the court’s decision last week striking down the state’s voter ID law. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said staying its ruling now “would only undermine the integrity and efficiency of the upcoming election.” On July 29, the court ruled the law, which required voters to show photo identification when casting ballots, intentionally discriminated against African-American residents. Attorneys for the state in a written motion earlier this week asked the court to put its ruling on hold while the state appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court and seeks to overturn the decision ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November.
SCOTUS blocks transgender bathroom choice for now Washington, D.C. A Virginia school board may temporarily block a student who was born a girl from using the boys’ bathroom while a legal fight over transgender rights proceeds on appeal, the U.S. Supreme Court said Wednesday. The case is the first time the fight over transgender bathroom rights has reached the Supreme Court. In a brief order, the country’s highest court put on hold an order from a lower court that had permitted the high school student to use the bathroom of his choice. The ruling led to CharlotteMecklenburg Schools holding off on new rules that would have allowed transgender students to use the locker room or bathroom of the gender they identify with. North Carolina’s House Bill 2, which was passed in response to a Charlotte ordinance that, among other things, allowed people to use the bathroom of their choice, is also being legally challenged and could be eventually decided by the Supreme Court. Last year, the American Civil Liberties Union sued on behalf of Gavin Grimm, 17, to challenge the Gloucester County School Board’s bathroom policy, which requires transgender students to use alternative restroom facilities.
INSIDE
2016 Olympic schedule and Team USA roster Sports B6
MARIANA BAZO | REUTERS
NORTH
STATE
JOURNaL ELEVATE THE CONVERSATION
US SENATOR
Burr spotlights military, opioid overdoses during Eastern Tour By Laura Ashley Lamm North State Journal NEW BERN — U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, (R-N.C.), completed tours across Eastern North Carolina this week in an effort to focus attention on the armed forces, highlight the opioid abuse health crisis and acknowledge the industries boosting the economy. Starting in Fayetteville, Burr sponsored the 15th Annual North Carolina Defense and Economic Development Trade Show at Fayetteville Technical Community College, which provides networking opportunities and government procurement workshops for both prospective and current federal contractors. “This enables me to go back and tweak legislation in a way that enhances the ability for the Department of Defense, Fort Bragg, Seymour Johnson, Camp Lejeune, Cherry Point, and Dobson, to do more of their procurement locally with North Carolina companies and to
“It goes without saying that every place we have a military footprint we match that with a community that values the military investment there.”
— Sen. Richard Burr
See U.S. SENATOR, page A3
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Kaine, Pence draw on similarities of their home states while rallying voter support By Liz Moomey North State Journal GREENSBORO and RALEIGH — Vice presidential nominees Tim Kaine and Mike Pence called upon their “neighbors” and “friends” to put their support behind them their respective running mates, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. On Wednesday, Kaine, the U.S. senator from Virginia, toured AmeriFab International, which manufactures bedding and window equipment, and
later spoke to a crowd at the Greensboro Transit Authority. The next day Pence, Indiana’s governor, hosted a town hall event at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts. Former president Bill Clinton was in Raleigh Friday campaigning for his wife, but held private fundraisers and meetings that were not open to the public. The two running mates had opposing views of North Carolina. Pence compared the ecoSee CAMPAIGN, page A8 Indiana Gov. Mike Pence and his wife Karen take the stage during a campaign event at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts in Raleigh, Aug. 4.
EAMON QUEENEY | NORTH STATE JOURNAL
COAL ASH
Water fight reveals bureaucratic power struggle RALEIGH — The leaked testimony by DHHS worker Ken Rudo has dredged back up an internal conflict over Rudo’s authority in the department which insiders say allowed him to send “do not drink” notices to North Carolinians based on arbitrary water testing thresholds. For 30 years Rudo has been tasked with notifying property owners of testing results in public water. However, when it came time to test wells around coal ash ponds, his co-workers say he set a “back of the envelope” notice threshold for
contaminants at a level that most say even bottled water and municipal water systems couldn’t meet. The result was 400 families getting “do not drink” notices that were later rescinded. This political football kicked off two years ago when Duke Energy’s Eden plant spilled coal ash into the Dan River. Fears about contamination near coal ash ponds intensified, and the legislature mandated testing of private wells near the ponds, which are scattered from Asheville to Wilmington across the state. Coal ash is left over when coal is burned to produce electricSee COAL ASH, page A8
EAMON QUEENEY | NORTH STATE JOURNAL
Sen. Richard Burr takes questions from reporters after speaking in support of a brand new prescription medication disposal receptacle at a Walgreens pharmacy in New Bern, Tuesday, Aug. 2.
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VP candidates stump in North Carolina
By Donna King North State Journal
Join us in the treetops in Bertie County for a new way to vacation on the Cashie River C1 We talk with JeanPierre Bonnefoux, of The Charlotte Ballet on his vision, a special summer project, and the future. C3 the good life
Presidential campaign
More DNC resignations over email scandal, NC connections revealed On Murphy to Manteo, page A5
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NS J datebook
Aug. 9, 2 p.m.- 3:30 p.m. Funding Your Business UNC-Charlotte PORTAL Bldg, Ste 242 Charlotte NC
Aug. 9, 2 p.m.- 4 p.m. Government Contracting and Exporting Workshop Western Carolina University at Biltmore Park (Room 335) Asheville NC
Aug. 10, 3 p.m.- 5 p.m. How to Start a Business ECU Willis Building Greenville NC
Aug. 11, 10 a.m.- 12 p.m. Starting a Better Business AB Tech – South Campus Arden NC
North State Journal ISSN: 2471-1365 Neal Robbins Publisher Donna King Managing Editor Drew Elliot Opinion Editor Will Brinson Sports Editor Jennifer Wood Features Editor Published each Sunday by North State Media, LLC 819 W. Hargett Street, Raleigh, N.C. 27603 Inquiries: 866-458-7184 Annual Subscription Price: $250.00 Periodicals Postage Paid at Raleigh, N.C. and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to North State Journal, 819 W. Hargett St., Raleigh, N.C. 27603.
THE BACKSTORY By the numbers: NC 19th in national school system ranking By Josh Hyatt North State Journal RALEIGH — North Carolina has broken into the top 20 of WalletHub’s annual ranking of the best and worst school systems in the United States. N.C. comes in at 19th in the nation for 2016 — an improvement from 37th in 2014 — based on WalletHub’s composite scoring of 17 key metrics — including areas such as student teacher ratios, average SAT and ACT scores, as well as dropout rates — with an overall total score of 54.57. The national average total score is 50.85, ranging from top-ranked Massachusetts at 73.65 to No. 51 Louisiana at 30.33. North Carolina ranks the highest in the country for ACT and/or SAT completion rates of high school graduates, at nearly 164 percent, meaning more than half of graduates take both tests. N.C. is currently tied with Mississippi for having the second-lowest ACT scores in the country, with an average score of 19 (out of 36). Catherine Truitt, Gov. McCrory’s senior education policy adviser, attributes the low-ranking latter metric to a difference in educational requirements from state to state. “We are one of 11 states that requires all kids to take the ACT,” Truitt said. “So we are being compared, when you look at those rankings ... to states that don’t require kids to take the ACTs.” “It’s not surprising to me that we’ve moved up so high in the rankings from all the work that’s been done in the last couple of years,” Truitt said. “We’ve really made strategic investments in teacher pay and digital learning in particular, and also in reducing class size and putting reading coaches in those
“It’s not surprising to me that we’ve moved up so high in the rankings from all the work that’s been done in the last couple of years.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF GOV. PAT MCCRORY’S OFFICE
— Catherine Truitt, senior education policy adviser
Catherine Truitt, the senior education policy adviser for the governor’s office, coordinates policy for all facets of public education.
early primary grades, K-3, to help fourth grade reading scores continue to rise.” A WalletHub representative noted 2016 featured revamped methodology and did not advise a direct comparison between the two rankings. “We strive to better our methodology whenever we can. This year, academic experts weighted in on some areas that would benefit our study and make our numbers even more telling,” said Jill Gonzalez, a WalletHub analyst. “Thus, we newly included the high school graduation rates for low income students, and North Carolina ranked quite well, 15th with a graduation rate of
78 percent. “We also analyzed the percentage of public elementary and secondary school teachers who met licensing/certification requirements — 98 percent in North Carolina. When it comes to safety we decided to also look at the rate of discipline incidents per 100,000 students. Note that, of course, where North Carolina falls in the overall rankings also depends on the other states’ rankings.” A few metrics were carried over from the 2014 study that played a role in the 2016 results that N.C. has seen progress in. For example, North Carolina Improved its high school dropout rate from 20 per-
cent to 16.1 percent in the last two years, and has the third-lowest rate of bullying incidents in the country, reducing bullying incidents on school property from 19 percent in 2014/15 to 15.6 percent in 2016. Of further areas to improve, Truitt noted, “I think that we will start to see things go up, because there is more of an emphasis now with those standards with reading nonfiction texts, which is really what is tested on the standardized exams,” she said. “The same with the critical thinking skills and math ... I am hopeful that that is going to start making a dent in our standardized test scores on the high school level.”
98 % of ALL Farms
are Family Farms ncfb.org
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BUSINESS & ECONOMY the DASHBOARD for Hickory, N.C.
7,000
JEFF MOORE
Markets climb wall of worry further into record territory he S&P 500 index pushed its high watermark T even higher on Friday, as a
better than expected U.S. jobs report spurred buying interest that led the index further into record-setting territory. In fact, even seemingly negative developments at home and abroad — disappointing GDP reports, stagnant or falling yearover-year earnings, attempted coups, and signs of trouble in China — were met with little more than a shrug from investors in what has become a wall of worry that traders are evidently eager to climb. Most companies having reported earnings for the second quarter of 2016, there have been more “beats” than “misses” when compared to expectations. However, that’s not exactly the whole story.
Recent investor trends have placed less importance on company earnings than the supportive actions of central banks. According to S&P Capital IQ, annualized earnings growth for the benchmark index is on track to register negative year-overyear earnings growth for the fourth quarter in a row. Still the market marched higher as many companies’ results were not as bad as feared. Caterpillar, with manufacturing facilities in Clayton and Sanford, N.C. and thousands of employees in the state, was not one of those companies. The heavy machinery giant, often serving as a barometer for industrial activity, reported 16 percent declines in sales versus the same period last year, saying in its release that, “World economic growth remains subdued and is not sufficient to drive improvement in most of the industries and markets we serve.” Recent investor trends have placed less importance on company earnings than the supportive actions of central banks, and the dog days of summer have produced plenty of monetary policy to strengthen the easy money foundation under construction since late 2008. The Federal Reserve kept primary interest rates the same. The Bank of Japan doubled its ETF purchase program, while the Bank of England cut rates to 0.25 percent and increased planned purchases of government and corporate bonds over Brexit-related economic concerns. U.S. GDP reports were lackluster, bringing annualized growth for the first half of 2016 to a tepid 1 percent. Oil has also faced recent pressure, briefly dipping below $40 a barrel as it dipped more than 20 percent from early June highs before retracing some of the extended losses by week’s end. Still, the July employment report released on Friday morning yielded an estimated 255,000 new jobs versus an expected 185,000 and gave the eternally optimistic market some logical reasons to cheer. However, such strong numbers and lofty markets also raise the specter of a 2016 Fed rate hike that could cut the party short when many traders return from summer vacations in the coming weeks.
job openings in Hickory metro area
4.9%
jobless rate down from high of 15 percent in 2009
6%
rise in area wages compared to 2.6 percent nationally SOURCE: CATAWBA COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
New college program offers financial help Single Stop, springboarded by Manhattan’s Robin Hood Foundation, offers financial services to four North Carolina community colleges By Laura Ashley Lamm North State Journal RALEIGH — Four community colleges are joining forces to help North Carolina students bridge the gap between poverty and the workforce. Single Stop is a new program designed to give people with limited financial resources a college education — and a leg up. Nash Community College, Wake Technical Community College, James Sprunt Community College and Central Piedmont Community College see a bright future for the schools and the students through the program. “In 1972, when I began in the community college system, students were facing issues of hunger, homelessness and lack of financial security. Students are facing these same issues 44 years later,” said Dr. Stephen Scott, president of Wake Technical Community College. Single Stop began in 2001 as a project of the Robin Hood Foundation in Manhattan and is now independent in North Carolina,
serving as a one-stop shop to empower individuals to break the cycle of poverty in their communities. “Forty-eight million people live in poverty,” said Sarah Crawford, regional director of the Southern Region of Single Stop. “The social services network can be difficult to navigate. Our goal is to connect people in poverty with resources to get out of poverty.” Having a Single Stop program on campuses allows for a coordinated effort by the institution to create better access to resources for students. These resources and efforts can ultimately lead to students obtaining higher education degrees, becoming strong members of the workforce, and achieving financial self-sufficiency. “We are one of four participating community colleges, but we are located in a rural area where our students have a difficult time finding resources they need,” said Dr. Lawrence Rouse, president of James Sprunt Community College in Kenansville. “Ninety percent of our stu-
dents receive some type of financial aid,” added Rouse. “All of our students are eligible for assistance for Single Stop. Single Stop is helping our students overcome those barriers that may prevent them from receiving an education.” Community college services to students include benefits access, tax preparation, legal counseling, financial education and case management. “Since September, 731 students received assistance with their tax returns while 709 received assistance in other ways, which included discounts on city bus passes and grocery store gift cards as well as establishing a closer relationship to the Department of Social Services,” said Dr. Tony Zeiss, president of Central Piedmont Community College. “The challenge of the program is the ability to sustain and expand the program to our six campuses as well as cover the addition of staff,” he added. The John M. Belk Endowment allowed for the Single Stop program to expand into North Car-
olina with an $8 million grant. The grant provided all four participating community college institutions with $75,000 each to implement the components of Single Stop over a two-year period. The Belk Foundation, a private, family foundation, invests $2 million annually in public education. The Belk Endowment enabled Single Stop to strengthen its technology platform to include federal, state and local resources; create a Yelp-style map for the navigation of resources; to provide grants to colleges to subsidize the costs of licensing fees, implementation and monitoring the support of the participating schools. “Our technology can be a useful tool in community colleges by helping students remain persistent toward education and a college graduation,” said Crawford. In 2007 Single Step branched out on its own from the Robin Hood Foundation, and in 2009 it began joining with community colleges across the nation. “Education is a pathway out of poverty,” Crawford said. “We see ourselves helping harness America’s most effective anti-poverty tools.”
UK to open trade office in NC following Brexit By Jeff Moore North State Journal RALEIGH — The United Kingdom has selected Raleigh as the site of one of three new trade offices in the United States in an effort to bolster cross-Atlantic trade relationships after their June vote to leave the European Union. “Our ambitious vision for an open and outward-looking U.K. economy includes growing our footprint in the most important markets around the world, and these three cities offer exciting opportunities to boost trade and investment,” said U.K. International Trade Secretary Liam Fox.
U.S. SENATOR from page A1 understand better the direction of those that make the business decisions at these bases so hopefully we can enhance what is the second largest contributor to our state economy,” said Burr. Burr touted North Carolina as the model for the rest of the country, praising the state’s strong partnership between the armed forces and the educational system. “Some states are trying to replicate what we do primarily because of our ability to integrate the educational system into our active duty force — it is as simple as the ability for a spouse to get a degree while their spouse is active duty stationed in North Carolina,” said Burr. “It goes without saying that every place we have a military footprint, we match that with a community that values the military investment there. It is as much about the communities as it is the state,” he added. Burr’s tour also joined State Health Director Dr. Randall Williams and representatives from Walgreens in New Bern to unveil a new prescription drop box where unused pills can be safely
“The opening of an office here should have a tangible effect on trade and investment between N.C. and the U.K. in the very short term.” — John Loyack, VP of global business services for the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina Minneapolis and San Diego were also selected for the expansion. John Loyack, vice president of global business services for the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina said he believes the announcement confirms North Carolina’s international economic appeal. “This is a significant milestone
discarded, a program designed to join the national battle against opioid overdoses. “This is the No. 1 public health crisis we are facing. There are 91,000 prescriptions for narcotics for every 100,000 North Carolinians. We think about twothirds of those prescriptions have leftover drugs. Our great realization is one out of four of deaths are from overdoses. More people are dying in North Carolina from overdoses than automobile accidents, AIDS and guns,” said Williams. Safe medication disposal kiosks are located in 22 Walgreens throughout North Carolina. These coincide with the state’s passing of a bill allowing anyone to purchase the opioid-reversing drug naloxone at the counter in efforts to decrease overdose deaths. Law enforcement agencies across the state also carry naloxone. “The governor feels we have a duty as a government to put discussion about opioid abuse out in the forefront. For a United States senator to do the same and saying, ‘we are going to talk about this,’ it is incredibly powerful,” said Williams. Burr addressed the effects of
and one that acknowledges the tremendous growth that is currently occurring here in North Carolina,” said Loyack. “This decision acknowledges the Raleigh area as an important market globally and one that offers tremendous opportunity to boost trade and investment. The opening of an office here should have
a tangible effect on trade and investment between N.C. and the U.K. in the very short term.” According to EDPNC, since 2005 U.K. companies have invested nearly $1 billion in North Carolina and announced more than 4,200 new jobs in a variety of industries, from pharmaceuticals to automotive to aerospace and aviation. “Increasing the ties between the U.K. and North Carolina will allow us to increase exports of North Carolina manufactured goods and further develop business relationships that lead to increased investment in N.C.,” said Loyack.
EAMON QUEENEY | NORTH STATE JOURNAL
Sen. Richard Burr, right, jokes with Brett Prestia, left, a Campbell University student doctor, after speaking in support of a brand new prescription medication disposal receptacle at a Walgreens pharmacy Aug. 2 in New Bern, N.C.
the statistics that show 80 percent of all oral narcotics in the world are consumed in the U.S. “The epidemic of prescription drugs and illegal drugs is an epidemic America has never seen before. Between the years of 2000 and 2014, over a half-million Americans died over a drug overdose. Today, from opioid overdoses, 73 Americans will
die,” said Burr. North Carolinians with questions about opioid overdoses and the use of Naloxone can visit naloxonesaves.org. Additional visits during Burr’s Eastern Tour included stops at small businesses and large industries including Bitty and Beau’s Coffee Shop in Port City and Electrolux in Kinston.
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Jones& Blount jonesandblount.com @JonesandBlount
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SCOTT AUDETTE | REUTERS
Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz speaks at a rally on July 23, before the arrival of Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and her vice presidential running mate U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, in Miami.
Columbus
Three more high-ranking DNC staffers step down amid leaked emails
WEST Business owners to offer wagon rides in West Jefferson
Former Sequoyah Fund director embezzled about $1 million
Ashe County Business owners plan to open a horse drawn carriage service to provide wagon rides on Jefferson Avenue. Debbie and James Pucci requested permission to start their service at the West Jefferson Board of Aldermen meeting on Monday. The Puccis opened a store recently called the Rabbit Trails. The town manager expressed concerns that the carriages could affect the flow of traffic, but an alderman replied that if it is viable in New York, it could work in West Jefferson. James Pucci’s parents started a horse drawn carriage business 30 years ago in Wilmington.
Swain County The former director of Sequoyah Fund pleaded guilty to embezzling nearly $1 million. Nell Leatherwood, who led the institution in 20062013, will be sentenced for 50 federal counts for the embezzlement that began around January 2010. The investigation found Leatherwood misused a corporate credit card for personal expenses totaling about $900,000, which includes purchases made by her and an unnamed individual. She also embezzled $65,000 through writing checks to herself. Sequoyah Funds is an independent small business lender in seven far-western North Carolina counties, which offers business loans, training and business counseling.
ASHE MOUNTAIN TIMES
SMOKY MOUNTAIN NEWS
Rapper The Game raises funds for 3-year-old shot in face Buncombe County Rapper The Game raised more than $5,000 for a 3-year-old boy who was shot in the face in May. The boy, Zachaeus Waters, and his pregnant mother were allegedly shot by 24-year-old Nathaniel Elijah Dixon. Candace Elaine Pickens, who was reportedly in a relationship with Dixon, was killed in the shooting. The Game contacted the boy’s father and started a fundraising drive, which was shared by hip-hop star Snoop Dogg. After meeting the fundraising goal, the rapper donated an extra $5,000 to the family. Dixon was charged with murder and other counts for the Asheville attack. BLUE RIDGE NOW
By Donna King North State Journal
PIEDMONT
INFOGRAPHIC BY LAUREN ROSE
DMV late fees take effect Wake County If your car registration expired this week, be prepared to pay a late fee. Last session, the General Assembly eliminated the fee-free grace period for drivers late on renewing their car registrations. Under the old law drivers could renew two weeks after the expiration without paying a penalty, but the new law establishes a graduated late fee ranging from $15 to $25 applying as soon as the registration expires. However, drivers do still have until the Aug. 15 to renew without getting a ticket from police officers. THE SAMPSON INDEPENDENT
Apple festival will be as scheduled despite cold weather, hail Henderson County The North Carolina Apple Festival on Sept. 2-5 will have a “good” apple crop, even though county growers said there was some damage caused by low temperatures and hail. The County Extension Director Marvin Owings said there will be plenty of fruit for next month’s festival, including the popular honey crisp variety. Last year, apple growers had a similar problem when frost and freeze damage, hail and a week of rain affected pollination during full bloom. BLUE RIDGE NOW
27 Carowinds employees fired, will be kicked out of U.S. for underage drinking Mecklenburg County Twenty-seven Carowinds employees, who are all foreign workers, were fired and will be kicked out of the country after they were accused of underage drinking and running from police in a hotel parking lot. The employees were in the United States on work visas, and without employment, they will have to leave the country. Carowinds employs 4,000 people and 3.3 percent, or 132 people, are on exchange visas. WSOC TV
One confirmed case of measles in Wake County Wake County The Wake County Human Services Division of Public Health confirmed a case of measles in the county on Tuesday. The patient showed symptoms of measles after returning from a trip overseas. Wake County Government released a list of places the patient visited — including NC State Lee Resident Hall and Hunter Street Park in Apex — from July 24 to July 31 when the patient was admitted to WakeMed. According to the Wake County Human Services Division of Public Health, people who receive two doses of the vaccine are protected for their lifetime, but people who are not vaccinated are at risk for catching the very contagious disease. WAKE COUNTY GOVERNMENT
Duke Energy set usage record during heat wave Mecklenburg County Duke Energy customers in North Carolina and South Carolina set a summertime record for electricity usage in July. The company hit 20,671 megawatts per hour, breaking the August 2007 record of 20,628 megawatts per hour. The temperature was above 90 degrees in 29 of the 31 days in July, with July 27 as the hottest day at 99 degrees. TWC NEWS
EAST Boy dies after being struck by lightning on Carova beach Currituck County A 5-year-old boy was struck by lightning and killed July 31 while his family tried to get out of a storm on the beach at Carova in Currituck County. Stephen Little and his family were vacationing in North Carolina from Landsdowne, Pa., when he was struck around 4 p.m. in the afternoon. EMS first responders took him to Sentara Princess Anne Hospital where he later died. WITN-TV
City seeks funding for Havens Gardens bulkhead Beaufort County The city of Washington is seeking funding to help with the cost of repairing the bulkhead at Havens Gardens as part of the municipality’s Capital Improvement Plan. With an estimated cost of $430,000, the City Council is hoping to provide $100,000 and seek grants to meet the other projected costs. The city is looking to build a new fishing pier, loop a walking trail, build a shelter overlooking the Pamlico River, establish a fenced-in play area for children and create a splash park, bocce and beach volleyball area. THE WASHINGTON DAILY NEWS
Nine arrested in staged auto accident ring Pitt County According to the North Carolina Department of Insurance, nine people were arrested in connection with an alleged staged auto accident ring. Investigators accused them of staging seven car crashes in April to August 2015 to defraud about $25,000. The insurance companies include Farmers, Nationwide, GEICO, Allstate, National General, State Farm and MetLife. Investigators are asking for help to find 41-year-old John Overton, who is wanted on two related charges. NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE
Whiteville High School seeks public input for redesign Columbus County Officials with the Whiteville school system are in the process of hosting public forums to gain suggestions, support or opposition in deciding how to update Whiteville High School via redesign or the construction of a new building. Officials say security, space utilization, academic excellence, collaboration, athletics and extra curricular activities are all top objectives that would influence the final decision which is to be made in the coming months. THE NEWS REPORTER
RALEIGH — Three more top level employees of the Democratic National Committee have stepped down in the wake of the 20,000 leaked emails. Party CEO Amy Dacey, CFO Brad Marshall and communications director Luis Miranda have all resigned after private emails from the DNC hit WikiLeaks last month. The resignations follow that of the party’s executive director, Debbie Wasserman Schultz. According to the leaked emails, Miranda was heavily involved in approving N.C. Democratic Party messaging on House Bill 2. The email leak revealed the political gamesmanship that is driving away so many voters on both sides of the aisle. The emails’ biggest scandal was news the DNC was actively stamping out the Bernie Sanders campaign in favor of Clinton, leading to protests in Philadelphia, where the Democrats held their convention in July, and the rise of the #demexit as supporters switch their voter registrations to “independent.” Beyond Sanders, among the 20,000 emails, miles of coding and thousands of lunch plans, there were some tidbits for North Carolinians. In addition to regularly giving the New York-based party’s approval on statements regarding the House Bill 2 saga, among the interesting trends was the focus of a DNC effort on the campaign of Attorney General Roy Cooper as he tries to unseat N.C. Gov. Pat McCrory, a Republican. According to the emails, DNC staffers coordinated and communicated about Cooper fundraisers and donors. Details of a Cooper fundraiser organized by Zach Allen, the New York, TriState Finance Director for the DNC, also surfaced in the leaks. Word of the fundraisers has added fuel to Republican attacks that accuse
Cooper of spending too much time raising money outside the state for his gubernatorial campaign while rejecting calls to defend N.C. in lawsuits over H.B. 2 and voter ID as the state’s attorney general. Another N.C. fundraiser featured Wasserman Schultz, referred to in emails as “DWS.” Based on the emails, Wasserman Schultz spoke at a private fundraiser for Deborah Ross in May of this year. Ross is the former N.C. ACLU executive director and current Democratic Senate candidate challenging incumbent Sen. Richard Burr, a Republican. Emails that criticized McCrory and also seemingly celebrated canceled performances in the state drew criticism from the right. “I wonder, do the transgender folks know how they were intended to be a cash cow for the Democrats?” said Dallas Woodhouse, the executive director of the state’s Republican party in a press conference in late July. “These emails have clearly shown that something we suspected all along — and that is that the state of North Carolina and the city of Charlotte and especially small businesses were being used as a pawn by Roy Cooper, by the mayor of Charlotte, and by the Democratic Party on an issue that was made up purely for political purposes and to raise money,” he said. “And big money, at that, at the expense of hard-working men and women in North Carolina.” Since the leaked emails became public, some private Democratic party donors in N.C. whose names appeared in the emails aren’t taking media calls, and accusations of using economic loss for political gain have permeated the statewide political conversation. While the DNC tries to regain footing, party Vice Chairwoman Donna Brazile is serving as interim chairwoman.
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north STATEment Neal Robbins, publisher | Drew Elliot, opinion editor | Ray Nothstine, deputy opinion editor EDITORIALS | DREW ELLIOT
The war America is winning It is quite difficult to consume something in the American household that does not have the price of oil or natural gas baked into the purchase price.
WE HEAR PLENTY about the wars America is losing — ISIS, the war on drugs, the war on poverty, getting the Kardashians off television, etc. But there’s also a war America is winning. Although it is being largely ignored in the presidential campaigns, the United States is winning a very important war, one that affects all of us, every day of our lives, and will for generations. America is winning the energy war. We are winning against the steepest odds and against the most powerful adversaries. We are winning it with a technology, hydraulic fracturing, that has unleashed previously unavailable reserves of oil and natural gas from shale deposits, making the U.S. the world’s leader for both fuels. It is a turnaround so dramatic that it is rightly called the “shale revolution.” The most powerful adversaries against us are the legacy oilproducing countries around the globe, especially the OPEC cartel. The biggest competitor, Saudi Arabia, developed a high-risk strategy almost two years ago to deal with America’s oil resurgence: flood the market to depress oil prices and drive American producers out of business. It was a gamble, and initially it worked: the number of U.S. rigs in production plummeted; many smaller producers left the field. But the ones who remained have made existing wells more productive. In the past, the take from U.S. wells declined by about 90 percent after just four months. Now that figure is 18 percent. Other production costs are falling as well; North American producers can be profitable at far lower prices than just three years ago. Like a Major League Baseball strike, this “war” may sound like a contest between millionaires and billionaires. But in reality the winners are diverse and significant. The most important winners of the shale revolution have been American consumers and workers. Everyone buys gasoline at the pump and buys food, medicine, and other goods that were transported by diesel-powered trains, trucks, or ships. It is exceedingly difficult to consume something in the American household that does not have the price of oil or natural gas baked into the purchase price. Why aren’t Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton talking about it? For Trump, it doesn’t fit into his narrative of America needing his help to be “great again.” In fact, when Trump does talk about energy, he says he will “unleash” America from the Obama administration’s “energy restrictions.” Here Trump means coal, not oil and gas. His focus is on coal for two reasons. First, coal has been hit hard by plunging natural gas prices and Obama’s attacks from an environmental angle. And second, Trump’s attention is on coal workers because when your opponent says politically stupid things like “we’re going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business,” it becomes really, really easy to switch those former Obama voters to Trump. For Clinton, she won’t talk about the energy revolution because, like President Obama, she likes to take credit for the benefits without mentioning the source. Gasoline under $2 a gallon, lower home energy bills, boosts to domestic manufacturing — those are all things that have kept the economy out of the disaster zone. But Clinton’s environmentalist base hates “fracking,” so the Obama administration takes high-profile stands such as opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline while basking in the benefits of the energy boom. Regardless of whether it’s a political talking point on the campaign trail, all of us should know about the century’s signature accomplishment. Our fellow Americans — unaided by a centrally planned economy or even a NASA-like driving agency — have changed our lives for the better. From the gas pump to geopolitics, the energy revolution has turned the world on its head, and America has come out on top.
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EDITORIALS | RAY NOTHSTINE
Show me your papers — except when voting Despite frequent claims to the contrary, voter fraud is real and a sad part of the American tradition.
VOTING IS FAST becoming the last sacred realm of privacy and protection that many progressive overseers offer citizens. Virtually every other government interaction requires identification and or cumbersome compliance and paperwork. Individual state efforts to shape common sense laws and guidelines in matters pertaining to the vote, on behalf of their citizens by the way, is of little relevance to judicial activists. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is almost universally praised for profoundly reversing the disenfranchisement of many Southern black voters. The latest ruling against the voter identification law in North Carolina overturns an impressive 485-page district court opinion, choosing instead to bend civil rights legislation for partisan purposes. Last week, measures in North Dakota, Wisconsin, and Texas met a similar fate. North Carolina lawmakers crafted the legislation with “discriminatory intent,” judges declared. (The legal importance of “intent” was resurrected after taking a leave of absence to clear Hillary Clinton of federal charges.) Despite frequent claims to the contrary, voter fraud is real and a sad part of the American tradition. It’s possible Lyndon Johnson would not be a household name in America if not for
ballot stuffing. Richard Nixon probably would have been elected president in 1960 if not for rampant voter fraud in Chicago, which tipped Illinois and the election to John F. Kennedy. In 2004, Washington certified its Democrat governor after a third recount by a little over a hundred votes. Except that King County, which includes Seattle, had more votes cast in the election than registered voters. The Seattle PostIntelligencer uncovered evidence of dead people who had their votes counted. In Louisiana, former governor Earl Long made a joke of voter fraud in his state, saying, “When I die I want to be buried in Louisiana so I can stay active in politics.” Accusations of election fraud, sometimes from the right, are often wildly exaggerated. Donald Trump declared on the campaign trail this week that the rulings against voter ID laws would cause some to vote as many as 10 times and said that the election might be “rigged.” While problems exist, there’s no evidence of a rigged election. The integrity of elections is a legitimate concern, however. Over 30 states require some kind of identification to vote. There is no credible evidence of voter suppression under existing ID laws. After a similar ID law in Indiana passed in 2006, minority voters
surged in the next election. In North Carolina, state Rep. David Lewis artfully took down an NBC reporter in June who penned a story about a man who complained of not being able to vote because of the new law in North Carolina. He dismantled a litany of complaints against voter ID on his website, but the true indictment against the seemingly sympathetic story came when Lewis unveiled that the man “has yet to vote in any election held in our state,” despite being registered for 18 years. Surely, Lewis asked, he could have voted without ID in any of the 20 or so elections since 1998? Under the North Carolina voter ID law the man, of course, could still vote with a provisional ballot. When the decision was announced, North Carolina Republican Party chairman Dallas Woodhouse said “there are absolutely no winners in this today.” He was right to point out that the losers were North Carolinians, but wrong about the winners. The winners are partisans who benefit from the judicial engineering that is hollowing out self-government and democracy.
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GUEST OPINION | AISHA DEW
CLARENCE PAGE
Donald Trump’s big favor to Hillary Clinton T IS NOT ENOUGH to succeed, Gore Vidal once said; others must fail. As Ipresidential nominee Hillary Clinton enjoys
XXX
Philadelphia was democracy in action
I We had over 1,500 super volunteers who were Republicans, independents and unregistered believers who decided that Sanders was right on the issues. They joined the movement and then the party.
ATTENDED the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia as a Bernie Sanders delegate after serving as his state director for North Carolina. The historic week was democracy in action. There were conversations about ideas and protests about issues in and out of the hall. It was invigorating and irritating. First let me acknowledge that we made history by being the first major party to nominate the first woman presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton. It’s the moment for which so many have waited. There were women who were my seniors who were in tears all night. It was meaningful and powerful. They thought this moment would never come. Then there were the protesters, many of whom were Sanders delegates. You have to understand their background. Many were people who were new to the political process and the party. We had over 1,500 super volunteers who were Republicans, independents and unregistered believers who decided that Sanders was right on the issues. They joined the movement and then the party. I am a life-long Democrat and was chair of the Mecklenburg County Democratic Party when Charlotte hosted the last Democratic Convention. I am a progressive who is dedicated to the party because it’s the best shot we have. I believe in this cause, but I am not new to the process. Our delegation and volunteers are fresh and passionate. It’s fair to say that they inspired me. They arrived at the convention with all of those who have been involved with the party for years. The were still hopeful that Sen. Sanders could win somehow. They arrived with an idea that their voices mattered. They arrived with the idea that they could effect change. So they raised their voices in the convention hall, in the hallway and in the streets. And this is what democracy looks like. I want to be clear that I do not condone interrupting speakers in the hall, which is why I was never one of them. I consider it disrespectful.
And I was glad to hear that many people apologized to Rep. Elijah Cummings, who has been a leader for this country and the civil rights movement. I clearly stand on his shoulders. I do, however, appreciate that there are so many people who care and are paying attention. I am glad that they are Democrats. I hope they will stay and work, because we need them and their energy. I appreciate that they are awake. On the other side, there are those who are awake, but many who are asleep. There are people who have told me the Donald Trump’s racist statements are not real. They have told me that he doesn’t really mean it. Well, I am afraid that he means it, along with many of his supporters. I have seen shirts that say “Make America White Again.” I have seen hatred spewed from his supporters on social media. It’s terrifying. There are people who will support him simply because he’s not Hillary. They will excuse his lack of knowledge, poor business acumen, hateful words and racist remarks. They have chosen to go to sleep. I do a lot of work in the movement for social justice or Black Lives Matter. The term “Stay Woke” is often used. It is somewhat selfexplanatory, referring to staying informed, paying attention to details, and making the connection with structural racism. I will say that for those who were the protesters last week that they “Stay Woke” and helped to wake up America starting with Ferguson up until Philando Castile. More people have paid attention to the Democratic Party platform that ever before. So to my fellow Democrats, lets all stay woke, continue the conversation and dialogue and work together for a common goal. This is what Democracy looks like. Aisha Dew is a political strategist, former chair of the Mecklenburg County Democratic Party and former state director for Bernie Sanders.
COLUMNIST | BRADLEY BETHEL
Trump is not a reasonable choice for conservatives VERALL, LIFE IS BETTER for the average American today than when Barack Obama was O elected president eight years ago. Unemployment
Reasonable conservatives cannot, in good conscience, vote for the Republican nominee this election.
has been cut in half. Retirement accounts have been replenished. Health insurance is more affordable. Gas prices are at their lowest in over a decade. Of course, conservatives may argue that the economy would be even stronger if John McCain had been elected in 2008, or Mitt Romney in 2012. Regardless, the fact is that the American economy is not the wasteland that conservatives often portend under a Democratic president. Therefore, if conservatives are being honest, the worst they can predict for a Hillary Clinton presidency is that the economy wouldn’t grow as much as it would with a conservative in office. Typically, that would be enough for conservatives to justify voting Republican. However, this election isn’t typical. As the Republican nominee for president, Donald Trump poses an unprecedented danger to the American economy. Economists agree that his proposed trade policies are ludicrous, and finance experts warn that his tax plan would add trillions to the deficit. Contrary to his claim that he would be the “greatest jobs president that God ever created,” Trump would more likely be one of the country’s worst-ever presidents for the economy. Furthermore, on foreign policy, Trump’s proposals are so uninformed that even advisers to his own party have denounced his claims. Trump, nevertheless, seems undeterred. Unlike previous candidates lacking foreign policy experience, he has failed to surround himself with experts who can advise him appropriately. Considering how discrepant his notions of world politics are with reality, one has to wonder whether he could even recruit qualified advisers to his staff. An egotistical
bully who asserts himself without sound counsel is the last person who should have access to the nuclear launch codes, and yet such a person is who Republicans nominated to be our commander-inchief. We shouldn’t be surprised that a PolitiFact analysis reveals that 70 percent of Trump’s campaign claims are mostly or entirely false. Two people can examine the facts of the world and reasonably come to different conclusions on political issues, but neither could reasonably conclude that Trump is the best option for president. That’s because Trump’s campaign is based not on the facts of the world but on irrational fears over imaginary threats to a racially romanticized America. Reasonable conservatives cannot, in good conscience, vote for the Republican nominee this election. Even from a conservative perspective, Trump is a worse option than Clinton. By nominating Trump, the Republican Party has failed to offer a political vision that emphasizes fiscal conservatism while embracing an increasingly diverse citizenry. One need not identify as a conservative to recognize the value of such a vision, and we should all lament its absence in the current political discourse. Perhaps the time has come for the Libertarian Party. Gary Johnson, the Libertarian nominee and former governor of New Mexico, is polling at over 10 percent. In previous elections, conservatives may have argued that voting Libertarian was effectively voting Democrat. In this election, however, conservatives should realize that voting Libertarian is voting for the future of the conservative movement. Bradley Bethel is a a documentary filmmaker and former teacher who lives in Carrboro.
a bump in her polls after the Democratic National Convention, she’s getting a boost from Donald Trump’s epic fails. First, there was his ugly and selfdestructive denigration of Khizr and Ghazala Khan, the parents of a fallen American military hero. Their son, Capt. Humayun Khan, who was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart, sacrificed his life to save the lives of his fellow soldiers from a car bomb in Iraq. Yet, as his father Khizr Khan said, standing with his wife before the Democratic National Convention on its final night, “if it was up to Donald Trump, he never would have been in America.” The most bracing moment came when the grieving father offered to lend his own pocket Constitution to Trump, invited him to visit Arlington National Cemetery and declared in a halting but clear voice, “You have sacrificed nothing and no one.” We know by now that Trump, who denies having a thin skin, actually has a very thin skin, too thin to let him express the simple and sympathetic reactions of such previous presidents as George W. Bush and Barack Obama when they were criticized by Gold Star parents. They expressed sympathy and gratitude for those families’ sacrifices and grief. But Trump, the man who openly shuns “political correctness,” saying it “takes too much time,” apparently didn’t have time to think twice before claiming that he was “viciously attacked” by the Khans, which only gave the controversy more legs through the weekend. In an ABC interview Sunday, he also equated his “sacrifices” as a billionaire businessman to those made by the Khans and suggested that Mrs. Khan had not spoken because her Muslim faith forbids it. In fact, as she later explained in interviews and a Washington Post op-ed, she felt unable to speak in front of her son’s photo without crying. All of this, by way, ended a week in which the Grand Old Party’s nominee looked like an arrogant simpleton in three other examples of self-inflicted wounds: He invited Russian hackers to uncover and release Clinton’s private emails. He sounded as confident, yet confused and ignorant, about the turmoil in Ukraine as a student who was trying to bulljive his way through an oral exam for which he had not studied. He also mocked another Democratic convention speaker, who happens to be a retired four-star general, as a failure. But at least those Trumpian attacks, like most of his previous jabs, involved public figures. His decision to pick on the grieving parents of a slain war hero is enough to raise concerns about his mental and emotional health. After all, if Trump goes this nuclear over criticism from grieving Gold Star parents, one wonders how he would deal with, say, Kim Jong Un? I, for one, hope we never have to find out. Most frustrating to other Republicans, the calls for GOP leaders to repudiate Trump for his growing list of offenses distract from their efforts to undermine Clinton. On Sunday, for example, Clinton undermined her own efforts to improve her shaky poll numbers for trustworthiness. During a Fox News interview, she uttered a serious whopper. She said in part that FBI Director James “Comey said my answers were truthful, and what I’ve said is consistent with what I have told the American people....” Washington Post factchecker columnist Glenn Kessler wrote that she was “cherry-picking statements by Comey to preserve her narrative about the unusual setup of a private email server” and “skate past the more disturbing findings of the FBI investigation.” Yet, after Trump tweeted about it, Kessler responded, “Both amusing & irritating to see @realDonaldTrump tout a 4-P fact check on HRC when his staff almost never responds to fact check queries.” Indeed, in this contest between two candidates with unusually low public approval ratings, neither can afford to make too many mistakes. But Trump has made enough unforced errors lately to qualify as a non-cash contribution to Clinton’s campaign. Clarence Page is a nationally syndicated columnist and a member of the Chicago Tribune’s editorial board.
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NATION& WORLD Obama urges Zika funding vote as reserves run low
NEWS IN IMAGES
Democratic senators who filibustered funding in July now want special session By Ayesha Rascoe Reuters
JOSHUA ROBERTS | REUTERS
The grave of Army Captain Humayun Khan lies at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., Aug. 1.
RUPAK DE CHOWDHURI | REUTERS
A worker fills bottles with Alta, a red dye which Hindu women apply with cotton on the border of their feet during marriages and religious festivals, at a workshop in Kolkata, India, Aug. 2.
MAXIM SHEMETOV | REUTERS
Sukhoi Su-30SM jet fighters of the Sokoly Rossii (Falcons of Russia) aerobatic team fly in formation during the International Army Games 2016, in Dubrovichi outside Ryazan, Russia, Aug. 5.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Barack Obama on Thursday said it was time for Congress to lay aside politics and to act to provide additional money to combat the Zika virus before government funding dries up. “Our experts at the CDC, the folks on the front lines, have been doing their best in making due by moving funds from other areas, but now the money we need to fight Zika is rapidly running out,” Obama said at a press conference at the Pentagon. He warned that development of a vaccine for the virus could be delayed if Congress does not provide any more money and urged Americans to contact lawmakers to pressure them to take up the issue. Concern over the threat from Zika, which can cause a birth defect called microcephaly marked by small head size that can lead to severe developmental problems in babies, has risen since Florida authorities last week detected the first signs of local transmission in the continental United States. Zika funding remains stalled six months after Obama asked the Republican-led Congress to approve $1.9 billion in emergency funds. Forty-one Democratic U.S. senators on Thursday sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan urging them to summon lawmakers back from their summer recess to vote on emergency funding to fight the virus. But Ryan accused Democrats of obstructing the funding and said the Obama administration has failed to spend existing funds to prevent the spread of the mosquito-borne virus. Congress has interrupted its own recesses at least eight times since 1998, most recently in 2013 when lawmakers returned early to debate the use of military force in Syria, according to congressional records. The latest round of finger-pointing indicated there was little chance lawmakers would cut short their seven-week summer break to vote on
COAL ASH 1 from page A1
Mosquitos are bred inside Sun Yat-Sen University-Michigan State University Joint Center of Vector Control for Tropical Disease, the world’s largest “mosquito factory” which breeds millions of bacteria-infected mosquitoes, in the fight against the spread of viruses such as dengue and Zika, in Guangzhou, China, July 28.
Zika funding. A $1.1 billion compromise failed after House Republicans attached language that would place restrictions on abortion and defund part of Obama’s signature 2010 healthcare law. “I am deeply disappointed that Democratic leaders continue to play political games with American lives,” said Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) in a July 20 statement. “We know that the Zika virus can cause devastating birth defects and that it is spread by mosquitoes that can be found in large portions of the country, including North Carolina. The American people expect the government to take appropriate steps to keep pregnant women and their children safe from this serious disease. Mothers and their families who are most likely to be impacted by Zika don’t have
Coal, which is burned to generate electricity, is stored at Duke Energy’s Mayo Plant on May 1 in Roxboro.
ity.
Once two rounds of test results from contract labs came in, DEQ passed the results to DHHS where Rudo’s job was to determine whether residents’ well water was safe to drink. While most of the well water tested met federal standards, Rudo’s group issued notices to 89 percent of the 476 wells tested, telling residents not to drink their well water, causing confusion and a drop in property values. In January DEQ researchers testified to the Environmental Review Commission that the confusion may have been damaging and unnecessary, while DHHS admitted that the property owners’ water may actually be safer than water provided by many large cities in North Carolina. In a January hearing of the ERC, DEQ Assistant Secretary Tom Reeder said the levels DHHS used for chromium and vanadium are so stringent that users of 70 percent of public water systems in the country would be told not to drink their water if DHHS’s standards were used. The level DHHS used for chromium is more than 1,400 times more stringent than the federal standard, and there is no state or federal standard for vanadium. “Most of the major cities in the United States, including all major metropolitan areas in North Carolina, provide water every day to their customers that would technically receive a ‘do not drink’ notification from the Department of Health and Human Services,” Reeder said in January. “That’s because we have so much metal in our groundwater, and so much metal naturally occurring in our water here in North Carolina.
BOBBY YIP | REUTERS
CHRISTINE T. NGUYEN | NORTH STATE JOURNAL
All the major metropolitan areas have it.” Since the “do not drink” orders were issued, property owners have been connected to municipal water systems or in some cases provided with bottled water. But representatives from both state agencies point out it is highly likely the municipal water or bottled water would fail to consistently meet the extremely tight DHHS thresholds. Data provided by the Division of Water Resources, the state agency that regulates public water systems, show that 92 of the state’s 131 public water systems would fail one of the two thresholds set by Rudo. “Something just doesn’t seem right at all about that,” said Robert Massengill, director of the Public Utilities department for the city of Raleigh following the January hearing. “We are trying to get clarification to find out where they came up with those numbers, what assumptions they’ve made, and what the implications are for public drinking water standards because right now we don’t have a standard for that and we are at a non-detect level anyway.” DHHS officials admitted in the January testimony that the levels found in the well water were
most likely caused by naturally occurring levels of vanadium and chromium, levels data show are exceeded by many wells and most large public water systems in North Carolina. The high threshold caused Sen. Stan Bingham (R-Denton), a member of the ERC, to raise doubts about the usefulness of the levels chosen by DHHS. “If we’re not testing bottled water, then we may have given some of these folks water that they’re drinking that has more pollutants in it than what they’re drinking from the well that y’all say is unsafe to begin with. Is that correct?” “Yes sir, that is a possibility,” answered Dr. Megan Davies, the acting state health director. Since the January hearing, work to get information to residents and ensure a safe water supply faced some internal heat. In an argument several weeks ago, Rudo reportedly threatened to a co-worker that he would lay the ‘do not drink’ story at the feet of McCrory, facing re-election in November, by testifying that McCrory initiated meetings and intervention through staff. That testimony was then leaked to several news outlets Tuesday.
months to wait—they are anxious for action now. Repeated attempts to block Zika funding to score political points are dangerous and unacceptable.” Senate Democrats, who blocked the measure twice before Congress left Washington last month, want Republicans to agree on a new funding measure that drops those provisions, a step Republicans reject. Ryan agreed with Burr. “We need the White House and Senate Democrats to drop politics and put the public’s health first. We hope for a change of heart, and soon,” Ryan wrote in an opinion piece in USA Today. McConnell spokesman Don Stewart invited Democrats to allow the current bill to pass by unanimous consent at a perfunctory session on Friday.
CAMPAIGN from page A1 nomic progress to Indiana’s, giving credit to Republican Gov. Pat McCrory for putting in place conservative laws. “In the state of Indiana, just like here in North Carolina, we have been putting common sense conservative principles in practice,” Pence said. “Your good governor, Pat McCrory, needs to be re-elected and he has been doing the same thing.” Kaine took time in his speech to lend his support to the state’s Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Attorney General Roy Cooper, who spoke before him at the Greensboro rally, and explain recent legislation was not in line with North Carolina’s values. “This is not who North Carolina is,” Kaine said. “These are not our values. And that’s one of the reasons why North Carolina is so intensely focused on this race is — Roy Cooper said to me when he walked in, ‘We don’t want people around the country thinking that we’re fighting to go backward rather than forward.” Some of the controversial legislation Kaine addressed were the passage of H.B. 2, voter ID laws and tuition costs for historically black colleges and universities. On July 29, North Carolina’s voter ID laws were ruled unconstitutional. The courts said requiring voters to show ID was discriminatory to minority voters. Kaine explained to supporters if their vote didn’t matter, Republicans would not pass voter ID legislation. “If you ever talk to anybody who’s a friend or family or neighbor or anybody and they tell you that they think their vote doesn’t
matter, then what you tell them is this: If your vote doesn’t matter, why is the other side working so hard to keep you from being able to vote?” Kaine said. At the town hall meeting, Dallas Woodhouse, the North Carolina Republican Party executive director, asked Pence what “horrible things” have happened in Indiana with the passing of voter ID laws there. “The integrity of the vote is the foundation of the integrity of a democracy,” Pence responded. “In the state of Indiana, what I can tell you we helped lead the nation in voter ID, and it has not been a barrier to access to the ballot place. That protects everyone’s viewpoint.” One question at the town hall that received attention was from 11-year-old Matthew Schricker, who took the microphone after Woodhouse to ask Pence if his role as vice president would be “softening up” Trump’s policies and rhetoric. “What I’ve learned, Matthew, and you’ll learn when you’re governor of North Carolina, is sometimes things don’t always come out like you mean,” Pence said. “Donald Trump and I are absolutely determined to work together. We have different styles, you might have noticed that … But differences in style should never be confused with differences in conviction. I will tell you right now: Donald Tump has the right vision for America.” Kaine told his audience that if they worked together they would win North Carolina in November. “We’re all on the field,” Kaine said. “Are you on the field with us? We will make history on Nov. 8 with North Carolina the wind in our sails.”
SUNDAY, AUGUST 7, 2016
the Sunday Sideline report 1. North Carolina responded to NCAA’s Notice of Allegations, prepared to fight back. 2. The 2016 Rio games began, with more than 30 North Carolinians competing for Team USA. 3. Skateboarding, Surfing, Karate and Sport Climbing added as Olympic sports for 2020. Baseball and softball return as well. 4. UNC ranked No. 20 overall in 2016 USA Today Preseason Coach’s Poll, ACC features four teams in poll. 5. Noel Gillispie hired by Greensboro Swarm as first head coach of Hornets NBA D League team.
SPORTS
INSIDE: The 2016 Olympics in Rio began with much fanfare Friday. More than 20 sports and multiple events are scheduled per day. We have a full schedule and breakdown of North Carolinians on Team USA. B6
One to watch
acc football
Exploring why no one can manage to stop Deshaun Watson
@Earl_Thomas: Congrats to the lil bro @Mathieu_ Era on getting that money! Well deserved! @AdamJahns: #Bears QB Jay Cutler on Martellus Bennett’s comments : “Hopefully, Tom, I guess, can do a better job of finding him than I did.” @GrantWahl: Brazilian fans are likely booing Hope Solo due to her posts of photos wearing mosquitonet headgear for Zika. (Solo did apologize here.)
Olympics
Team USA staying on luxury cruise liner Team USA Men’s Basketball team planned to avoid the health issues surrounding the Rio Olympics by staying on a luxury cruise liner. Such is the life of professional basketball players.
College Football
AP unveils Top 100 The Associated Press released its first Top 100, a ranking of all college football programs since 1936. Ohio State was considered the top team, but multiple teams of local interest were represented. Florida State (9), Clemson (22), Virginia Tech (31), North Carolina (38), South Carolina (48), Virginia (52), Duke (53), NC State (56), Wake Forest (80) and East Carolina (88) all made the list.
NFL
Honey Badger gets big contract extension The Arizona Cardinals signed the former LSU standout to a five-year, $62.5 million contract that will make Mathieu the highest-paid safety in the NFL. The man known as the “Honey Badger” is a remarkable story — he was kicked out of LSU by Les Miles, only to turn himself into one of the best defensive players in the league.
Golf
Nike cancels golf equipment production The Swoosh got out of the golf equipment business, announcing this week it would cease production of golf clubs, golf balls and golf bags. Instead Nike will focus on the apparel business.
By R. Cory Smith and Brooke Pryor North State Journal
TT
he Clemson Tigers came tantilizingly close to winning a national championship in 2015, and it was not difficult to pinpoint why. Deshaun Watson, the Tigers’ do-everything quarterback and Heisman Trophy finalist, was arguably the best player in college football and nearly led Clemson to the pinnacle of college football. Watson and the Tigers fell to Alabama in the championship game, but they still managed to send a message to the rest of college football: this is a team to be reckoned with in 2016. There are many standout players on the Clemson roster, but the reason the Tigers have a chance to hoist a trophy at the end of the season is Watson. He should have won the Heisman Trophy given his production — more than 4,000 yards passing
“Everything.” NC State’s Dave Doeren on what makes Watson dangerous
“He’s a problem.” UNC corner Des Lawrence
and more than 1,000 yards rushing — but voters are often infatuated with November, and the Tigers merely cast aside their opponents late in the season, rather than laying waste to them. Watson improving in 2016 would make him the prohibitive favorite for college football’s most prestigious award, and it’s not difficult to grasp given everything he is capable of doing on (and off) the field. We wanted to examine Watson’s candidacy and his ability to take Clemson to the next level, so we spoke with players who tried to stop Watson in 2015, coaches who tried to defend him, teammates who work with him on a regular basis and the mentors who influence him. The result is a stunning profile of a player who is immensely talented from a physical standpoint, but also someone who is more mentally prepared than anyone else in the game. Find out why DeShaun Watson is unstoppable on B4 & B5.
rio 2016 Olympics
Bulls broadcaster pinch hits in Rio By Shawn Krest North State Journal he Durham Bulls were in first place in the International T League South, but the standings
weren’t what captured Patrick Kinas’ attention before his last broadcast of July. Kinas, the Bulls’ play-byplay broadcaster for the last five years, sat at a table in the team’s club, with an inch-high stack of swimming stories, printed from the Internet. His pregame hot dog and flavored water sat nearby, ignored, as Kinas paged through the prep material. “I’m learning, but it just keeps coming,” he said of the Olympic swimming news. “Every time I think I know it, something new comes out.” While the team he broadcasts was moving into position for its third divisional title since Kinas took the microphone, his sights were set farther south.
Rob Schumacher | USA TODAY SPORTS images
Michael Phelps during a training section at the Olympic Aquatics Centre prior to the start of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games on Tuesday.
Kinas left the team on July 30 to travel to Rio, where he will be the poolside radio announcer for all 32 of the men’s and women’s Olympic swimming events
for the Westwood One radio network. It’s the first Olympic assignment of his broadcasting career. Kinas jumped at the opportunity, even though it meant
leaving the Bulls for much of the final month of their stretch run. “While it’s unfortunate I have to miss three weeks of Bulls baseball, having the chance to broadcast the Olympic Games has been a dream of mine since I was a little kid,” Kinas said when the assignment was first announced by the team. “And one no one wanted to see me pass up.” Kinas will work with 12-time Olympic medalist Dara Torres on the broadcasts. Torres will handle the swimming analysis while Kinas does the stroke-bystroke call of the races. “I’ll basically introduce the race and set things up for Dara,” Kinas said. Still, he needs to be an expert in a sport that, until recently, was a foreign one to him. When Westwood One first approached him with the possibility of working the Games, at the start of the year, Kinas has a See Kinas, page B8
North State Journal for Sunday, August 7, 2016
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NS J beyond the box score
08.07.16
Derek Fisher: Former Los Angeles Lakers guard and New York Knicks coach considered coming out of retirement to either play in the NBA or the Chinese professional league. Fisher later added he would listen if a team called. Joey Votto: Reds first baseman grabbed the shirt of a fan who interfered with him catching a foul ball (he was expressing his disgust that the patron was a Reds fan) but later signed a ball for the gentleman. Rolando McClain: Cowboys linebacker reportedly gained 40 pounds while dealing with an addiction to codeine. McClain is suspended four games and could see an increase to 10 games because of another substanceabuse violation. Hope Solo: Brazilian soccer fans booed the U.S. Women’s National Team goalkeeper during a Wednesday USWNT soccer match in Rio after Solo previously wore headgear designed to combat Zika. Trent Richardson: Baltimore Ravens released the one-time first-round pick one week into training camp, likely ending his career in the NFL after being cut or traded by a fourth NFL team. Clayton Kershaw: Dodgers pitcher moved to the 60-day disabled list after not progressing from back injury.
POTENT QUOTABLES
nfl/madden
EA Sports released its annual “Madden” rankings this week, and Panthers quarterback Cam Newton got the second-highest score of any QB in the game, behind only Aaron Rodgers. Newton’s score of 94 is, oddly, the same score given to new Redskins corner Josh Norman.
Edgardo Garrido | reuters
“Don’t put your head underwater.” Dr. Valerie Harwood, providing advice to Olympic athletes based on the results of an Associated Press study showing stunningly high levels — up to 90 percent — of infected water ahead of the games in Rio.
CFB
8
EA Sports | Twitter
College football
Alabama was No. 1 and Clemson No. 2 in the first USA Today Coaches’ Poll of the 2016 season, released on Thursday. Alabama received 55 first-place votes to Clemson’s seven, and the Tigers were followed by Oklahoma, Florida State and Ohio State in the top five.
Number of first-place votes given to ACC teams in the first USA Today Coaches’ poll of 2016. Clemson, with quarterback Deshaun Watson (see more of him on B4) received seven first-place votes. Florida State also netted a vote, showing the strength of the Atlantic Division.
nascar
41 Sneakily old age of Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who called a press conference on Friday to let the world know he would not be returning despite health issues causing him to miss five races during the 2016 year.
Mark J. Rebilas | USA TODAY SPORTS images
mlb
We cover the whole state.
Clint Frazier | Twitter
New York Yankees prospect Clint Frazier (part of the Andrew Miller trade with the Indians) loved his curly, long, red locks quite a bit. But the problem for playing is the Yankees is the organization’s requirement for semi-short hair. Get out the scissors.
North State Journal for Sunday, August 7, 2016
B3
acc
Geoff Burke | USA TODAY SPORTS images
Florida State Seminoles guard Dwayne Bacon (4) speaks with official Brian Kersey against the Virginia Tech Hokies in the second half during day two of the ACC conference tournament at Verizon Center.
Bryan Kersey on his new ACC job
and basketball officiating alliances
By Shawn Krest North State Journal
move them in. I just think we’ve got to develop other guys. We’ve got a great pool nationally of highend referees, but I think our younger pool is lacking. I think we can take those young guys and get them moving, so that when the older guys move out, they’ll be ready to move in. I think that’s going to be one of my greatest assets is training and developing these guys. I’ve got great teachers on our staff. I’ve got guys that are willing to help these younger guys out. I’ve got guys that are willing to work with these guys and make them better. I think that’s what’s going to set us apart.
n April, the ACC named Bryan Kersey the conference’s ICoordinator of Men’s Basketball Officiating, replacing John Clougherty, who retired after last season. The move means Kersey will be spending his first season in 30 years doing something other than refereeing college basketball. He’s been an ACC official for 27 years, working 20 NCAA Tournaments, 21 ACC Tournaments, seven ACC title games and the 2015 Final Four. In a wide-ranging, exclusive interview, the North State Journal spoke to Kersey from the ACC offices in Greensboro about his vision for the job, the ACC’s new officiating alliance with several other conferences and how he’s adjusting to life off the court. North State Journal: How has the job been so far? Brian Kersey: It’s been good. I’ve been on the road going to different people’s camps. We’re looking at people. It’s been fun. It’s been a long month, but now it’s time to get the roster together and figure out who’s going to work where. But it’s all been good. The response has been great. The number of referees wanting to work for us has been good. The alliance is going to be great. I think it’s going to work out great for all of our schools and for all of the referees. Now it’s getting that time to put everything together. What has your schedule been like? How often are you in Greensboro? I usually come in here a couple days. I usually come in on a Monday and leave Tuesday afternoon. I was out the last three weeks with camps, so I wasn’t in at all, but usually I’m coming in one day and leaving the end of the next day. I’m sure it’ll get more frequent as we get closer to the season and start doing all of the scheduling. Take me through your hiring. Did you apply for the job or did they come to you? They kind of hinted at it to me and asked what my interest would be. There was no application or anything like that. They asked if I’d be interested. I said we could talk about it—I’d love to talk about it. Then they
Bryan Kersey Age: 53 Hometown: Newport News, VA Years officiating: 27 ACC Tournaments: 21 ACC Championships: 7 Final Fours: 1 (2015) Replaces: John Cloughtery Father: Jess Kersey, former longtime NBA official
kind of went to it quick. The NCAA tournament got going, and once it ended, we met twice. I was offered during the second meeting and on April 19, it got released to the world. And then my phone started ringing. Coach Mike Krzyzewski said of you, “He’s current. He had one of his best years this year. He could still officiate.” Was it hard to make the decision to hang up the whistle? I guess I’ll know more on November 11, the first time that they throw it up. I’m going to miss it. I love refereeing. It’s the greatest thing that I ever got to experience — standing midcourt and throwing it up in front of 20,000. But this job is as good a job as it gets in any profession, much less college basketball. It was something — I didn’t know if it was ever going to be offered again. I think I can do a lot with it. I think I can help
officiating, not that it’s broken or anything like that, but I think I can be a good advocate for college basketball referees, and I think the ACC and I are a good mix. Like I said, this job? It may never be offered again. So I had to jump on it, and I hope to be here 15 to 20 years and then ride off into the sunset. Was there a temptation to try to do both, maybe with a reduced schedule of games? Oh, no. You cannot do both. There’s no way. You cannot do both. You said you can help officiating. What’s your vision? What can you do in this job? I think the number one priority is helping with officials’ travel. I think we can work together as coordinators in different leagues and assist, so you’re not going from Syracuse to Miami, when there’s 100 schools in between that are easier to travel to. I think communication between officials and coaches has to get better. I think I was very good at that, and I think we can take our officials to the next step in communicating with them. I think the training of younger guys can be a whole lot better, and I think we can identify younger guys and get them in systems to work their way up. I think we can identify them at a younger age, move them from league to league and then, when we think they’re ready, we can
When the alliance was announced, it was said that you and [his equivalent in the Big East] John Cahill would manage operations. Have you two figured out how you’ll divide up roles and responsibilities yet? Not really. I think we’re both in it equally. We’re going to sit down together and do all the scheduling. We’re going to sit down together and do the clinics. We’re going to each get out to games and see the referees work. We’ll both meet with coaches in the preseason. We’re going to meet with schools to make sure that all the ACC, Big East, Atlantic 10 and Colonial Athletic Association schools are on the same page as far as rules and what players can do on the floor. We’re going to be giving all of our staff the exact same message about how games are going to be called. So I don’t think we’re going to divide up any roles. As far as roles, I think we’re going to be equal in all roles that we do. I lean on him a lot. I leaned on him when I refereed. I leaned on him when he was my boss in the Big East. Now we’re talking about everything right now, and it’s been a good marriage. I expect it to continue. Any concern about the first time you have to call up one of the guys you refereed with just last year and be the boss — yell at them for something they did wrong? No, I don’t think so. I think all our guys are buying in. All our guys are excited. I’ve been with them at different camps, really, for the last six weeks, because some of our guys hold their own camps and I went to all of theirs,
too. They understand that I’m their boss. They understand that I’m going to get on them. But they also understand that once we have that conversation, it’s their responsibility to move on to the next game and keep doing what they’ve done all these years. They may have one little blip or a couple plays we need to talk about, but they understand and I understand that’s going to happen. I’ve done it as a crew chief in this league. for the last seven or eight … maybe it’s nine or 10 years now. How much of a resource has your father [33-year NBA referee Jess Kersey] been as you move into this supervisory role? He helped me a lot. Right after the first meeting I had with Commissioner [John] Swofford and [ACC Senior Associate Commissioner for Men’s Basketball Operations] Paul Brazeau, I called him, and we talked for two hours. Then I went to his house. He told me, “Write down everything you’re thinking, and let’s talk about it.” He basically did the exact same thing, too. At the end of the day, there was nothing out there that told me not to take it. He helped me to see there was no reason not to take this job. I lean on him a tremendous amount. I’m going to lean on him tremendously. He’s going to watch a lot of games that my guys work. He’ll be very honest in his opinions. He was always very honest in his opinions of me, when I worked. I know if he can tell me when I did something wrong, he can certainly tell me about Jamie Luckie or Les Jones or Mike Eades or Roger Ayers when they do something wrong. Do you think the conference has been supportive of your vision so far? The great thing about this is the ACC has not said no to anything. From the media people, the people that do all our videos, to the travel aspect, to going to look at younger guys. We had our referee tryout in Charlotte, and Paul Brazeau was there the whole time, watching the guys with me. He was there, having dinner with my staff, hanging out with them. They have given me every single thing I asked for. I don’t think, coming into this position, I could ask for anything else from them.
North State Journal for Sunday, August 7, 2016
B4
North State Journal for Sunday, August 7, 2016
UNSTOPPABLE TT
he arm is the calling card for most quarterbacks. Deadly accuracy and a cannon will take a quarterback a long way, but so much more is necessary to achieve the heights already found by Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Watson’s ability to stretch the defense in multiple ways made it impossible for UNC to keep pace. It was his final showing before the Heisman Trophy ceremony, but wasn’t enough to overtake Derrick Henry. Watson ultimately finished third in Heisman voting, but returns this season as one of the top favorites alongside running backs Christian McCaffrey, Leonard Fournette and Dalvin Cook. In order to take down the trio of backs in 2016, Watson’s arm will be a crucial component. Imagine a world where Watson improves in 2016. It’s not at all difficult to see him ripping off a 70 percent completion season, simply because of how well he can control his passes. “It’s almost impossible to stop him because he pinpoints the ball right where he wants it,” Boston College linebacker Matt Milano said. “If you’re right on his receiver, he’ll throw it over his other shoulder so you can’t get to it. I love playing him, though, because I like the challenge and I like playing against the best.” Dabo Swinney’s done a tremendous job surrounding Watson with weapons to become an elite passer over the last
2015 STATISTICS Passing 4,104 yds 67.8% completion percentage 35 touchdowns, 13 interceptions
Rushing
By R. Cory Smith and Brooke Pryor | North State Journal
The Brain WW
atson’s brain — his command center, a finely-tuned football machine and a product of years of grooming and practice — is what puts the quarterback over the top. It takes meticulous preparation to become the player that thwarted nearly every defense he faced last season. Hours on the field, hours in the film room, hours with the playbook all combine to make him one of college football’s most lethal weapons. “He doesn’t hurt himself,” Syracuse linebacker Zaire Franklin said. “A lot of quarterbacks, specifically at the college level, they can be really good, but you know, one or two times, they’ll do something really stupid. It’s like, ‘Why did you do that?’ He’s not perfect, but at the same time, he doesn’t hurt himself more times than he does. He usually makes the right choices, throw it out or run. He’s very efficient in that sense.” Watson’s knack for efficiency extends far beyond the gridiron. By completing 17 hours through two summer school sessions before his junior season, Watson is only a handful of credits away from earning his degree in three years after beginning his collegiate academic career in January 2014. And he’s not just scraping by to earn his diploma in communication studies by December 2016 — he’s flourishing. Even with a monster 19-hour course load, he was named to the Dean’s List for the Spring 2016 semester. According to The Charleston Post and Courier, Watson will be taking an eight-hour
The Arm atson’s howitzer alone was lethal enough to make him statistically better than nearly every quarterback in the nation last season. His 4,104 passing yards were ninth-best in the country and his 35 passing touchdowns ranked eighth. Only two quarterbacks who ranked ahead of him in both categories — Brandon Doughty and Luke Falk — had a better completion percentage than Watson’s 67.8 mark. Defensive players who faced off against Watson know exactly what kind of damage the Clemson quarterback is capable of with his arm from the pocket. “He’s a problem,” North Carolina cornerback Des Lawrence said. “He finds ways to make plays. Coming into the game you say you’ve got him like, ‘Everybody’s hollering about him, but we’re going to show the world.’ No, he showed us. He got a lot of respect from me in that game. He’s the best quarterback in the country.” Lawrence should know — Watson passed for 289 yards and three touchdowns against the Tar Heels in the ACC Championship Game. While he also made a massive impact with 131 yards and two touchdowns on the ground,
Players, teammates weigh in on what makes Deshaun Watson college football’s difficult player to defend.
“Everything,” Doeren said. “He’s the best deep ball completion in the country. He can run. He’s got great talent around him and he’s smart.”
Doeren’s had his fill of Watson, with the Clemson star throwing for 650 yards, rushing for 116 He is not just one of the best yards and accounting for 10 total passers in the country, but also touchdowns the last two years one of the smartest and quickest against NC State. It doesn’t make quarterbacks in the country. him any different from most ACC NC State coach Dave Doeren coaches and defenders, many summed up what makes Watson of whom we talked to in order to so dangerous best, using just a figure out why Watson is nearly single word. impossible to stop.
WW
B5
few years as well. Clemson’s 2016 arsenal includes All-ACC Preseason Team picks Artavis Scott and Jordan Leggett. And standing between Watson and the opposing defense is one of the best offensive lines in the conference. In Jay Guillermo, Tyrone Crowder and Mitch Hyatt, Watson has an All-ACC Preseason center, guard and tackle blocking for him on any given play. Recruiting big-time talent at various positions is huge, but Swinney understands how big of a difference it is to have the best quarterback in the country lining up under center for him on Saturdays. “That’s about as big of as an advantage as you can have,” Swinney said of Watson. “He’s an incredible player and a great leader who’s committed to everything right that you could possibly want in a young man. So that’s a huge advantage when you have a guy like him who can run and throw and is as smart as he is. He loves to prepare, loves to prepare, and loves the grind. “Everybody wants that type of advantage, that’s for sure.”
course load this fall, a light schedule compared to his 18-hour average. “That’s really all you need to know about Deshaun Watson,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “He’s five hours short of graduating from a top-20 public institution in two-and-a-half years. That’s insane. That’s the type of focus and drive and that’s how he grinds. He just doesn’t get distracted. But that doesn’t get a headline … That’s all you need to know. He’s a great human being that just happens to be a good football player.” By completing his undergraduate work by the end of this year, it’s a virtual no-brainer Watson will declare for the NFL draft. With a diploma in hand and more than 39 school records to his name, it makes too much sense not to pursue professional football after his junior season. But Watson knows football can be fickle and fleeting, and it’s why he’s so determined to leave Death Valley with a degree, an escape route in case his primary plan collapses. “It’s very important to have a background in something that you can fall back on,” Watson said. “Football, you can’t play football for the rest of your life. You’ve got to always have a backup plan. It’s something that no one can take away from you. You can’t take away college or anything like that. You can take away football in a heartbeat. Knowledge other than football, just education is something that you can’t take away unless you have some sickness or something, other than that, you can take the degree away from you.” That realistic grasp of a football career’s longevity captures Watson’s unmatched maturity and poise. He’s as even-keeled as they come, calmly answering an hour’s worth of
questions about himself, his team and his future at the ACC Kickoff. He’s the same way on the field. “I’ve never seen him mad, honestly,” teammate Ben Boulware said. “I’ve never seen him get uneasy or stressed on the field. He’s very calm and a cool person. That’s what’s allowed him to make big plays in big games and big plays in regular games because he’s so calm, cool and collected regardless of the situation.” So how is it possible for Watson to balance football and academics all while maintaining maturity that extends well beyond that of most 20 year olds? What is it that separates him from other 20-something college quarterbacks? “[It’s his] DNA, his mom, how he’s been raised,” Swinney said. “That’s who he is. That’s been nurtured and enhanced even more through his experience in Clemson. It’s just who he is. That’s the nice thing, everybody’s had a part in his development.” That unique convergence of factors has molded Watson into a true triple-threat quarterback: he can run, he can throw, and most importantly, he can think quickly. “He’s very intelligent,” Boulware said. “He’s able to pick apart defenses. He’s able to tell, he knows his reads, really quick. He can read what your alignment is. He’s just a very intelligent individual. He understands how quick and how fragile a football career is and he understands how good he is. He’s trying to make the most out of his football career and that’s why he invests so much time into it. “I think that’s what allows him to be so good. He’s focused on football, and he just knows the defense in and out. He’s just a gifted individual.”
The Legs WW AWARDS 2015 Davey O’Brien Award winner,
atson came in fifth in the conference — for any position — with 1,105 rushing yards in 2015, finishing almost 150 yards ahead of the next-best quarterback. He also found the end zone 12 times with his legs, including five total combined against rival South Carolina and then North Carolina in the ACC Championship Game. Watson’s dynamic speed and agility make it difficult to for anyone to game plan against in just a single week. Georgia Tech had the most success slowin down Watson last season, limiting him to just 16 rushing yards. Of course, the Yellow Jackets were essentially stomped into submission at halftime, down 33-10 at the break. “You never know
2015 ACC Player of the Year winner, 2016 North State Journal Preseason ACC Player of the Year, 2015 Heisman Trophy finalist 2015 Manning Award winner
1,105 yds 5.3 yds/carry 12 touchdowns
Photo Illustration by Cece Pascual
what you’re going to get on Saturday, but one thing I can say about him is that he’s an explosive player,” Georgia Tech defensive lineman Patrick Gamble said. “When it’s time to play Deshaun Watson, I’ll get myself ready and the defense will get themselves ready.” Watson hasn’t just terrorized ACC defenders, though. Despite losing the National Championship Game against Alabama, Watson still scampered for 73 yards on the ground to go along with his 405 passing yards and four scores. Alabama defensive lineman Jonathan Allen remembers that game, calling Watson “easily the best player, quarterback-wise, I’ve played,” during SEC Media Days. The praise didn’t stop there as Allen broke down exactly how Watson dissected the Bama defense. “Man, just his ability to elude pressure. His accuracy on the run,” said Allen. “I’ve never seen anything like that. That’s no shot at any other quarterback. He was just an outstanding talent and I have to give him credit. “That was very disappointing as a defense. You want to win, but you want to win a 10-7 game. We’re happy we won, but that’s one of the things I’m disappointed about.” While Wayne Gallman led the Tigers with 109.1 rushing yards per game, Watson was a close second at 73.7 ground yards per game. Watson topping 1,000 rushing yards made him the first FBS player to rush for 1,000 yards and throw for 4,000 yards in a season. The multi-dimensional attack he represents consistently puts defensive players on their heels regardless of the scheme. “You can’t get worried about the pass with him, though, because he might come right in
front of you and run it,” Boston College linebacker Matt Milano said. “Everyone has to do their job against him. If one guy’s slacking, he’ll bust right through the middle and go for a first down or touchdown.” Clemson’s scheme is designed to utilize both his arm and his legs. Winning football games is about out-leveraging the other side. Syracuse defensive lineman Zaire Franklin saw Watson run for 105 yards on the ground and a rushing touchdown, and credited the Clemson coaching staff for his rise to Heisman contender. “I think going against Clemson, they definitely put him in the best position to be successful,” Franklin said. “They definitely understand his strengths and weaknesses and they definitely play to him. He’s definitely a very dynamic player, his ability to run and throw. He’s very smart. He’s very precise in the things that he does. Clemson showcases that with the way they play.” How imperative is Watson to Clemson’s national title hopes? All quarterbacks are protected during offseason workouts, but touch Watson during practice and even an preseason All-ACC linebacker can start to worry about his job. “I wish I could do it in practice but he’s got a glass ball around him,” Clemson linebacker Ben Boulware said. “We can’t touch Deshaun. I would give it to him a little bit if I could, but coach Flynn would probably pull my scholarship if I touched him.” It’s well worth Boulware’s patience. Keep Watson healthy, allow him to destroy defenses in dynamic fashion and the entire team could end up hoisting a title trophy in January.
North State Journal for Sunday, August 7, 2016
B6
2016 rio OLYMPICS
Baseball among Olympic sports back for 2020 By R. Cory Smith North State Journal
F
ive sports, including baseball, skateboarding and surfing, will be added to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after the IOC voted them in on Wednesday in an attempt to revamp the Games schedule, with a slate designed to attract a younger audience. The Committee unanimously rubber-stamped its executive board’s June decision, approving the inclusion of skateboarding, surfing, sports climbing, karate and a joint baseball/softball bid, which is expected to significantly boost local support for the Olympics. “This will help make the Tokyo Games one of the most innovative Games in history,” IOC VP John Coates said. Baseball and softball, proposed to be staged in Yokohama, will each have a competition involving six teams. They were last featured at the Olympics in Beijing in 2008 before being taken off the program and skipping the 2012 and the 2016 Games. It is unclear, however, if baseball will feature the world’s best players from the MLB in the United States. “Today’s historic decision by the IOC is a ‘home run’ for the Olympics, our sport and the Tokyo 2020 Games,” World Baseball and Softball Confederation President Riccardo Fraccari said. The move to bring baseball back to the Olympics stage is a huge boon for North Carolina, as USA Baseball gets back into the fold on the international stage. While teams like the 18U and National Collegiate Teams have traveled the world each summer, being thrust into the Olympic spotlight adds more prestige for the USA Baseball programs based in Cary. “USA Baseball is thrilled that baseball and softball have been reinstated onto the Olympic Programme,” Paul Seiler, Executive Director and CEO of USA Baseball said. “We believe that baseball and softball add tremendous value to the Olympic Movement and we are excited to validate this show of support at the Olympic Games in 2020. “We appreciate the work done by the International Olympic Committee Executive Board and the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee in supporting this endeavor.” Olympic host countries are allowed to bring in sports that are popular in their countries to boost ratings and attract greater sponsorship as well as a younger generation of fans. “I am so happy and so thrilled ... I may have lost some of my composure,” Tokyo Games chief Yoshiro Mori said. “This was an epoch-making decision today.” Reuters contributed to this report
Team USA Olympians with North Carolina ties Name
Event
Age
NC Rooting Interest
Cammile Adams
Swimming (200m Fly)
24
Currently based in Charlotte
Tavis Bailey
Track and Field (Discus)
24
Raised in Kannapolis
Kathleen Baker
Swimming (100m Back)
19
Born and raised in Winston-Salem
Harrison Barnes
Basketball
24
North Carolina Tar Heels
Greg Billington
Triathlon
27
Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Brent Bookwalter
Cycling (Road Race)
32
Based in Asheville
Morgan Brian
Soccer
23
Born in Kinston
Jackie Briggs
Field Hockey
28
North Carolina Tar Heels
Paul Chelimo
Track and Field (5,000m)
25
UNCG Spartans
Lauren Crandall
Field Hockey
31
Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Rachel Dawson
Field Hockey
30
North Carolina Tar Heels
Crystal Dunn
Soccer
24
North Carolina Tar Heels
Casey Eichfeld
Canoe (slalom)
26
Based in Mount Holly
Whitney Engen
Soccer
28
North Carolina Tar Heels
Katelyn Falgowski
Field Hockey
27
North Carolina Tar Heels
Stefanie Fee
Field Hockey
26
Duke Blue Devils
Jimmy Feigen
Swimming (4x100 Free)
26
Based in Charlotte
Shalane Flanagan
Track and Field (Marathon)
35
North Carolina Tar Heels
Sean Furey
Track and Field (Javelin)
33
Born in Greenville
Tobin Heath
Soccer
28
North Carolina Tar Heels
Ryan Held
Swimming (4x100 Free)
21
NC State Wolfpack
Kyrie Irving
Baskerball
24
Duke Blue Devils
Abby Johnston
Diving (3m individual)
26
Duke Blue Devils
Michelle Kasold
Field Hockey
29
Wake Forest Demon Deacon
Meghan Klingenberg
Soccer
28
North Carolina Tar Heels
Kelsey Kolojejchick
Field Hockey
24
North Carolina Tar Heels
Lucas Kozeniesky
Shooting
21
NC State Wolfpack
Ryan Lochte
Swimming (200m, IM, 4x200)
31
Based in Charlotte
Allie Long
Soccer
28
North Carolina Tar Heels
Katie Meili
Swimming (100m Breast)
25
Based in Charlotte
LaShawn Merritt
Track and Field (200m, 400m, 4x100)
30
East Carolina Pirates
Ibtihaj Muhammed
Fencing
30
Duke Blue Devils
Shannon Rowbury
Track and Field
31
Duke Blue Devils
Michal Smolen
Canoe (Slalom)
22
Based in Gastonia, Queens University
Caitlin Van Sickle
Field Hockey
26
North Carolina Tar Heels
rio in images
Olympic events calendar Event
Aug. 7
Aug.8
Aug. 9 Aug. 10 Aug. 11 Aug. 12 Aug. 13
Archery
M
E
E
E
M
Artistic Gymnastics
E
M
M
M
M
Athletics Badminton
M
M
M
E
E
E
Basketball
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
Beach Volleyball
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
Boxing
E
E
E
E
E
M
M
Canoe Slalom
E
E
M
M
M
Cycling Road
M
M
M
E
E
M
Cycling Track
M
Diving
M
M
M
M
Equestrian
E
E
M
E
E
M
Fencing
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
E
E
E
Golf Handball
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
Hockey
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
Judo
M
M
M
M
M
M
Rowing
E
E
E
M
M
M
M
Rugby Sevens
E
M
E
E
M
E
E
E
E
E
E
M
M
M
M
M
M
E
E
E
E
Sailing Shooting
M
Soccer
E
Swimming
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
Table Tennis
E
E
E
M
M
E
E
Tennis
E
E
E
E
E
M
M
M
M
Trampoline Gymnastics Volleyball
E
Water Polo Weightlifting
M
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
M
M
M
M
M
Stefan Wermuth | Reuters
Athletes train in the Olympic Aquatics Stadium on Thursday.
Yves Herman | Reuters
Bombayla Devi Laishram (IND) of India trains on Wednesday.
Events not taking place this week are not listed above: Canoe sprint, Cycling BMX, Cycling Mountain Bike, Marathon Swimming, Modern Pentathlon, Rythmic Gymnastics, Synchronzed Swimming, Taekwondo, Triathlon, Wrestling WOLFGANG RATTAY | Reuters
Jesus Christ The Redeemer is seen during sunrise on Tuesday.
North State Journal for Sunday, August 7, 2016
B7
acc football
NCSU tailback sets lofty goals for final season Matt Dayes prepared to lead Wolfpack in every category his senior year By R. Cory Smith North State Journal ALEIGH — Heading into a Halloween showdown with R Clemson, NC State was riding
high with a 5-2 record and a well-oiled offensive machine. The Wolfpack was down 26-20 to the No. 3 team in the country at the half with an upset bid brewing. Then Matt Dayes got hurt. His foot injury triggered a 2-4 finish down the stretch, including twostraight losses to close out the season against UNC and Mississippi State. “He’s one of our best players,” NC State coach Dave Doeren said. “If your best player isn’t playing, that doesn’t help your football team. If Florida State doesn’t have Dalvin Cook, they’re a different team. If Clemson doesn’t have Deshaun Watson, they’re a different team. Matt Dayes makes us a different team.” Prior to his injury, Dayes was leading NC State in several categories, and he also topped the conference with 12 total touchdowns. Dayes was also one of only three ACC players at the time averaging over 100 yards per game (108.1) and was well on his way to another 100-yard game with 72 at the half against Clemson. Dayes admitted the most crushing part of missing the final five games was sitting on the sidelines, feeling helpless as his team struggled down the stretch. “It was rough because I wasn’t able to get 1,000 yards for the of-
fensive line,” Dayes said. “But I’m back this season and ready to do my best to get that 1,000 yards for them.” Games that are won in the trenches often have the bellcow back as the deciding factor. Dayes was that deciding factor during five wins last season, amassing 100-plus yards in every victory before he went down for the year. Over the offseason, however, Dayes hasn’t limited himself to just being the same bruising back he appeared to be as a junior. After being just 135 rushing yards short of 1,000 through eight games in 2015, Dayes is planning to break out in the passing game under new offensive coordinator Eli Drinkwitz. “I always want 1,000 rushing and 1,000 receiving,” Dayes said. “That’s always my goal. If I don’t get it, oh well. But that’s my goal. If that helps the team win, I’m happy with it.” Those ambitious goals would have sounded ridiculous before last season, but with Drinkwitz calling the plays Dayes has a chance to be the centerpiece of a high-powered offense. Not only is Dayes the top returning rusher, he’s also in a fastpaced system with an unproven quarterback (whether it’s Jalen McClendon, Jakobi Meyers or Ryan Finley). The next step in becoming the Pack’s bellcow back again? Getting more acquainted with the system before the seasons starts on Sept. 1 against William & Mary. “We’ve definitely got a better grasp of the offense now,” Dayes said. “Even when we were running plays, we were seeing stuff we’ve never seen before. We had to tell [Drinkwitz], ‘We’re just babies in
North Carolina State Wolfpack running back Matthew Dayes speaks with the media during the ACC Football Kickoff at Westin Charlotte on June 22. Jeremy Brevard | USA TODAY SPORTS images
“If your best player isn’t playing, that doesn’t help your football team. If Florida State doesn’t have Dalvin Cook, they’re a different team. If Clemson doesn’t have Deshaun Watson, they’re a different team. Matt Dayes makes us a different team.” Dave Doeren, NCSU head football coach
this offense. You’ve got to take it slow with us.’ “He definitely understands the offense a lot better than we do, but we’re getting there.” He may still be new to Drinkwitz’s scheme, but Dayes has no plans of regressing after a hot start last fall. And with a schedule that Athletics Director Debbie Yow called
the ”toughest in the ACC, bar none,” having Dayes in the backfield is another weapon the Pack can roll out in the treacherous Atlantic Division. Joining Dayes in the backfield are Reggie Gallaspy and Johnny Frasier with Nyheim Hines expected to move from running back to receiver on any given Saturday. With the uptick in tempo
and a healthy rotation of backs, Dayes would theoretically have a lighter load. That idea doesn’t sit well with the senior back. “Honestly, I’m not planning on getting off the field,” Dayes said. “I’m 100 percent and I can do everything. “I know I’m going to be a starter and I’m not coming off that field.”
wake forest
syracuse
Wake Forest captain is more than just a great head of hair
Storytime with ‘Cuse’s Dino Babers
Tyler Hayworth learns ‘a whole new level of commitment’ during offseason
What’s new Syracuse head coach Dino Babers like? It’s a long story. Actually, it’s several. “He’s got a story for everything,” linebacker Zaire Franklin said. “Have you talked to him? If you sat down and interviewed him, I guarantee you he’d hit you with at least two stories. He tells us like five a day.” With so many Babers stories, surely Franklin has a favorite. “Ask him about the cars,” he suggests. “He says he’s only owned two cars in his life, which I feel is ridiculous. I mean, you’re a head football coach. But I don’t know.” Babers smirks when asked for the car story. “Zaire’s spilling the beans,” he says. “He’s going to get it when we get back.” So, the story? “I do not own a car,” Babers begins. “Now my wife owns two cars. And I’ve got four daughters and they own three cars. So I’ve got five cars that I’m either paying for or I’ve paid for, but I do not own a car.” “The last car that I owned was a 1986 Cutlass Supreme,” Babers continues. It was the second car he owned in his life. “I bought it in 1987 from Ken Diepholz Chevrolet in Charleston, Ill. I bought the car, and I kept that 1986 Cutlass — custom rims. It was sweet. All-black vinyl top — I kept it until I sold it to my oldest brother in, my God, what was that? The year 2000-something. That was the last car I ever owned.” Then there’s the story about Babers and his father. “He just told that one,” Franklin says. “Ask him who he’s going to vote for, and he’ll tell you about his dad.” “I don’t want to talk politics. If that’s the only question I don’t answer, so be it,” Babers says. Voting aside, Babers did share a story about his father. “I was born in Honolulu, Hawaii,” Babers says. “I graduated high school in San Diego, Cal. I lived everywhere in between. I had an opportunity to play up in British Columbia, in Canada. My dad was 20 years military. We used to drive down the road and say, ‘That’s a good box [by the side of the road]’ and stop, because we could use that for moving.” Needless to say, Babers is giving Syracuse’s football team a bold new direction. He’s ready for the challenge of competing with the Florida States and Clemsons in the Atlantic Division. “Are you a ‘Game of Thrones’ guy?” Babers asks. “Do you watch ‘Game of Thrones?’ What is it Snow, Lord of the North? Sometimes I feel like Syracuse is Jon Snow in ‘Game of Thrones.’ We’ve got that whole thing up there. We’re keeping the ice people out. All the guys down south are living it up and eating grapes in all those other kingdoms, and we’re freezing our tails off up there. And we’re holding it down, so they can all have that lifestyle.” “A slingshot and a rock, man,” Babers continues. “Just give me a slingshot and a rock.” And maybe a few well-timed stories, for good measure.
Wake Forest Demon Deacons center Tyler Hayworth speaks with the media during the ACC Football Kickoff at Westin Charlotte.
By R. Cory Smith North State Journal HARLOTTE — Tyler Hayworth sat behind a table at the ACC Kickoff C event constantly spinning a black ring
on his left finger. Two and a half months earlier, Hayworth was at the altar marrying Kelsie, his girlfriend since their freshman year of high school. Being a married man still hasn’t quite set in for the 22-year-old senior. “She’s now officially Kelsie Hayworth,” he said with a huge grin. “It’s really cool to say that.” After meeting in Kingsport, Tenn., Tyler and Kelsie went through a longdistance relationship when Tyler left for Winston-Salem. While Tyler was carving out a starting role on Wake’s offensive line, Kelsie stayed close to home, forcing them to only see each other once a month over the last four years. Heading into his redshirt senior campaign, their connection remains just as close as before Hayworth headed to Winston-Salem under head coach Jim Grobe. The Wake Forest offensive tackle knows he’s young to be a married man, but he never thought twice about taking Kelsie’s hand in marriage. “I grew up with the love of my life and it worked out that way,” Hayworth said. “We made it long distance in college and at this point in time, we knew that was the best decision for the rest of our lives.” Teammate Marquel Lee, on the other hand, couldn’t imagine tying the knot while he’s still in college. “I never thought I’d see one of my teammates getting married that early,” Lee said with a laugh. “There’s no way I’m doing that just yet. I’m only 20 years old, I still haven’t lived my life yet.” His wedding ring isn’t the only commodity setting Hayworth apart from his teammates. At 325 pounds, Hayworth is the biggest player on the team and looks straight out of “Game of Thrones” with his long, flowing mane and grizzled beard. Don’t try touching his luscious locks,
Jeremy Brevard | USA TODAY SPORTS images
though. Hayworth said the only person he listens when it comes to cutting his hair is Kelsie. In fact, he goes to the same hair stylist as his wife to get a few inches cut off his mane. “She has a hair stylist that does her hair,” Hayworth explained, “Now they’re the only ones that touch my hair. She takes off a few inches or so, because apparently that helps it grow better and healthier. I don’t know as much about that, but I just know I’ve got good hair now.” Getting married wasn’t the only huge accomplishment for Hayworth in the offseason. Just 10 days after his receiving his wedding ring on May 6, Tyler earned his diploma as a communications major. Hayworth also heads into his senior season as the offensive captain, a title he learned about two weeks prior to his wedding. Each of those new titles — husband, captain and graduate — forced Tyler to grow as a man during the offseason. “It’s been big because it’s a whole new level of commitment,” Hayworth said. “I have to be committed to my teammates. I have to be committed to my wife. ... That all at the exact same time has helped me be a better person, a better man and a better leader to my teammates as well.” Among the people in attendance for his wedding were a portion of the football team, many of whom brought other players. While he wanted every player
there, the logistics for a full roster of mammoth football players didn’t make sense. Instead, he invited the offensive line, which averages a whopping 295 pounds between 17 players. “I had 150 people at my wedding and we have like 100 guys on the team,” Hayworth said. “There was no way that I was going to be able to have them all there.” Hayworth wouldn’t comment on the amount spent on the food, but it’s a safe bet there was an enormous buffet line. One does not simply invite an entire offensive line without planning well ahead on food. With just one season remaining to play alongside that offensive line, the Wake captain comes into the year with a ring on his finger and no classes to juggle in the fall. As his family grows, Hayworth isn’t quite ready to step away from his brotherhood in Winston-Salem. “Wake Forest gave me an opportunity coming out of high school,” Hayworth said. “I love the school. I love the academics. I love the family vibe that I got from the school, just how everything is so close, togetherness. “I made that decision. It probably was the best decision I ever made in my life because Wake Forest has changed me, made me a man, just let me grow up and be the person I knew I could be. From that and football, I’ve grown even more because I’ve had some incredible coaches.”
By Shawn Krest North State Journal
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North State Journal for Sunday, August 7, 2016
ncaa allegations
What to know about UNC’s latest response to the NCAA By Brooke Pryor North State Journal On Tuesday, North Carolina’s protracted battle with the NCAA over alleged violations took another step forward in what has become one of the most drawnout processes in the institution’s history. Here’s everything you need to know about the latest response from the university to the regulatory body, in handy question-and-answer form. What was UNC’s response to the amended notice of allegations? Let me sum up 73 pages in three words: stick to sports. How about four more: mind your own business. That’s the very, very simplified version, but essentially, UNC is fighting the NCAA’s two most severe charges of lack of institutional control and failure to monitor because it believes punishing the university for the bogus classes is not under the NCAA’s jurisdiction. OK, but why isn’t this an NCAA issue? In prior rulings and notices of allegations, the NCAA admitted that, while UNC’s decades-long AFAM scandal of bogus classes is unethical, the existence of these classes isn’t an NCAA violation. Essentially, while the NCAA is involved in making sure student-athletes are working toward a degree and staying eligible, it isn’t involved in the nuts and bolts of the how they get their degrees or stay eligible. And if that isn’t enough, UNC also said the NCAA looked into the “anomalous” AFAM classes during the 2011 NCAA investigation but did nothing, even when details of the grading practices and class rigor was uncovered. According to UNC’s response, because the NCAA found those classes didn’t violate NCAA bylaws then, there’s no valid basis to punish UNC for the same thing now. UNC’s argument amounts to something similar to double jeopardy in the real-life court system. Is this policy changing in the future? Yes. Before the NCAA updated its academic misconduct policy in April 2016, the NCAA had no jurisdiction to investigate course instruction or class rigor. The new academic misconduct policy mandates the university must have an academic integrity policy that applies to all students, and if a student-athlete violates this policy, he or she will be held
Bob Donnan | USA TODAY SPORTS images
NCAA president Mark Emmert speaks to the media during a press conference at NRG Stadium.
to the standards of the schoolwide policy. The new rules also further define impermissible academic assistance as “substantial assistance” not provided to the general student body to keep a player eligible and/or an academic exception not available to most students that results in a grade change or academic credit to keep a player eligible. But, because those rules weren’t in play during the timeframe of UNC’s violations, they cannot be charged using those guidelines. What constitutes lack of institutional control? Great question — and one that doesn’t quite have a clear definition. The NCAA says you’ll know it when you see it, and the enforcement staff thinks it’s seen it at UNC. But UNC says that since the AFAM coursework isn’t the NCAA’s problem, then the only violations are actions of three rogue former employees, specifically one former academic counselor and professor. That isn’t a lack of institutional control. UNC said the charge doesn’t stick in this specific passage: “The University disagrees with this allegation. Issues related to UNC–Chapel Hill’s academic irregularities are the proper subject of review by SACSCOC,
its accrediting agency — not the NCAA, its athletic association. Accordingly, though conduct related to the anomalous courses presents serious institutional issues, it should not and cannot support a lack of institutional control allegation under the NCAA constitution and bylaws absent an underlying rules violation.” What is SACSCOC? It’s an acronym for The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. But what does it do? According to its website, it’s “the regional body for the accreditation of degree-granting higher education institutions in the Southern states,” and the accrediting agency’s mission statement is “to assure the educational quality and improve the effectiveness of its member institutions.” Therefore, while the NCAA regulates and monitors the quality of athletics at a university, SACSCOC is responsible for keeping tabs on the academic side of things. Did SACSCOC punish the university? Can that agency take down banners? No, they’re not going to take down banners, but they can strip the university of its accredita-
tion, which would be much more harmful to the overall livelihood of the school than losing a couple national championships. Depending on how you look at it, the good news is that the organization already weighed in and levied their punishment: one year of probation. After being notified in 2014 it had violated standards in 18 categories, UNC was put on probation from June 2015-2016. UNC improved in 11 of those categories in the next year, but when it failed to improve in the remaining seven, it was put on probation. Because UNC showed improvement during its year of probation, it wasn’t further punished and isn’t at risk for losing its accreditation — again, a consequence far more serious than vacating wins. Is UNC going to punish itself? Probably not. UNC Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham wasn’t willing to speculate on possible punishments, self-inflicted or otherwise, on his teleconference last week. So far, UNC hasn’t self imposed any punishments NCAA wise because quite frankly, they don’t think they’ve done anything wrong — as it pertains to the NCAA.
Not even women’s basketball? Not even women’s basketball — for now. Cunningham recognizes the optics aren’t great. Most of the allegations that stick are against Jan Boxill for providing impermissible academic assistance to members of the women’s basketball program from 20032011. But Cunningham took time at the end of his teleconference to voice his confidence in head coach Sylvia Hatchell and the rest of the women’s basketball program. None of the coaches were named in the ANOA or the response, so their jobs seem safe. Could wins be invalidated? Possibly. The university admits Boxill is guilty of 15 of 18 charges and that extra assistance could’ve kept a couple players eligible who wouldn’t be otherwise. What’s next? The NCAA Enforcement now has 60 days to respond to UNC’s response and set a date for UNC’s hearing in front of the Committee on Infractions. Once that hearing takes place, then UNC will have a better idea about any potential penalties. There’s a pretty good chance the whole case won’t be resolved until 2017, so sit tight and stay calm. There’s (kind of) an end in sight.
Michael Dalder | reuters
Simone Biles of USA trains on the beam on Thursday.
Missy Franklin (USA) of USA and Hang Yu Sze (HKG) of Hong Kong during training.
kinas from page B1 relatively short history of calling swimming. He broadcasted some high school swimming and covered the ACC championships for the ACC Network. When it came to international swimming, however, he was a rookie. Since getting the job in mid-February, Kinas has been giving himself a crash course in the more than 700 swimmers who will see time in the pool in Rio. In addition to learning the athletes, Kinas will also need to adjust to storylines that move much faster than he’s used to. As a play-by-play announcer for nearly two decades, first with the Carolina Mudcats, before mov-
ing to the Bulls, Kinas is used to having most of the evening to tell the story of the game. That won’t be the case in Rio. “It’s not like a three-hour baseball game,” he said. “The studio host will throw it to me a few minutes before the race. I’ll set it up. A few minutes later, the race will be over, and we’ll send it back to the studio. Then we have a half hour until it’s time for the next race. So I’ll be preparing, maybe trying to get audio from the swimmers, before we’re on the air again.” The Bulls have lined up a long list of fill-ins to cover the 22 games Kinas will miss. Duke basketball and football announcer Bob Harris covered the game on July
Dylan Martinez | reuters
31 while Kinas was on a plane to South America. Harris had filled in on occasion in previous seasons when Kinas was forced to miss games for the odd football broadcast or other conflict. Harris’ counterpart at NC State, Gary Hahn, will cover a pair of games, on August 12 and 13. He also pinch hit for Kinas last year. “I was supposed to do one game,” he recalled. “But it rained the night before and they only got in about three innings. So they finished that game the day I was there and then the regularly-scheduled game went to extra innings. So I got the full doubleheader experience.”
WRAL anchor David Crabtree, 99.9 host Adam Gold and UNC announcer Dave Nathan will also help with the home schedule, as will Greensboro radio host Chris Kelly and former Mudcats announcer Joe Bourdow. On the road, the team will turn to former Midwest League announcers Rick Berkey and Greg Hofer for the late-August trip to Columbus. For East Coast trips to Norfolk and Pawtucket, the Bulls’ Director of Communications, Matt Sutor, will accompany the team to call the games. Once the swimming events are finished, Kinas will spend
the rest of the Olympics filling in on a variety of roles. He expects to conduct long-form interviews for radio features on athletes, as well as shorter, post-event reaction interviews. He’ll also host hourly updates for the network. Kinas expects to put in long days — perhaps up to 20 hours. He’s ready for it, however. Similarly, while several athletes have chosen to pass up the chance to represent their country in Rio, due to concerns over security, Kinas has no worries. “My mother has called me three times in the last day though,” he said. “She’s worried for me.”
old haunts North Carolinians debate many things— especially barbecue style. What we can agree on is it should include slow-cooked pork. This Bertie County restaurant has been doing it that way since 1938. See page C4
the good life IN A NORTH STATE OF MIND
frolic
NS J SUNDAY
8.7.16
playlist August 9-13 The 10th Annual Laugh Your Asheville Off Comedy Festival Asheville The Laugh Your Asheville Off festival has become one of the largest and most respected stand-up comedy events in the country. The event attracts top comedy producers and representatives that will be in attendance to scout the hottest new comedic talent. laughyourashevilleoff.com
August 10 Centennial Campfire Celebration Chimney Rock Grab your ingredients and celebrate National S’mores Day and the parks centennial with a campfire, free s’mores, and ghost stories at Chimney Rock State Park. ncparks.gov
August 13 Festival X Charlotte The U.S. National Whitewater Center celebrates 10 years with this one-day festival. Featuring live music, craft beer, yoga, a cornhole competition, a bike challenge, and plenty of outdoor adventure. usnwc.org
August 12-13 Historic Valdese Waldensian Festival Valdese
PHOTOS BY CHRISTINE T. NGUYEN | NORTH STATE JOURNAL
Two of the Cashie Treehouse Village treehouses are expected to open this fall in Windsor, N.C. The outdoor accommodations sit 13-and-a-half feet off the swamp floor.
Building new memories Billy Smithwick knows the beauty of the Cashie River and the power of spending time outdoors—he set out to share that gift by creating a treehouse village in Bertie County.
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See FROLIC, page C6
Inside
August 13-14 Sneads Ferry Shrimp Festival Sneads Ferry As the official shrimp festival of North Carolina, this twoday festival includes a parade, music, shrimp heading contest, fireworks, beer and wine tent, car show, military exhibits, arts and crafts, lots of food, and of course, shrimp! Be sure to bring your lawn chairs or blankets for the entertainment areas. sneadsferryshrimpfestival.org
By Laura Ashley Lamm North State Journal
HE SOUNDS OF NATURE echoing in the night, the sparkle of the stars above, and the reflection of the moon on the river bring residents back to their childhood memories of sleeping in a backyard treehouse. The Cashie Treehouse Village in the town of Windsor allows visitors to “be a kid again, sleep in a tree” as the Village’s saying goes. Made of cyprus wood and perched 13-and-a-half feet off the swamp floor, the treehouses are a project that began out of a desire from community members to create something unique that would utilize the beautiful Cashie River which pro-
Since 1976, on the second Saturday in August, Valdese hosts an annual festival to celebrate the “Glorious Return” of the Waldenses from exile in Switzerland to their native valleys in the Cottian Alps of Italy in 1689. The festival will feature unique crafts, great food, and top-quality entertainment. townofvaldese.com
“The treehouses provide a unique feeling and brings people closer to nature,” said Billy Smithwick, a member of the Interested Citizens for the Development of Windsor Committee.
IN STEP WITH
“I was crazy enough to say, ‘You know, that sounds exciting. We’re going to save that company,’” Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux, artistic director of the Charlotte Ballet. See page C3
North State Journal for Sunday, August 7, 2016
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necessities thrive!
history marked
Three Keys to Gold Medal Health
August 8, 1740
By Alton Skinner For the North State Journal
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HE Summer Olympics are in full swing in Rio. Watching the world’s greatest athletes gather to compete in peak physical conditioning may inspire you to upgrade your health and fitness program. While you may never swim like Michael Phelps or run like Usain Bolt, you can eat like them today. The secret of superb performance for the Olympics or at home is a proper diet. When researchers examined the diets of Olympic athletes from more than 120 countries, they found the diets of these elite athletes all had three things in common: • The athletes ate a wide variety of whole natural foods in order to take in a full spectrum of nutrients. • They ate a ton of lean sources of protein. This is protein that is low in fat, such as fish, chicken, and high-quality beef or pork. Some of the athletes were vegetarians so they ate soy-based foods, but they all avoided fatty foods. • They drank lots of water. Lots. You need to have one gallon of clean water each day to remove the toxins from your body and keep it functioning at its peak. The key to an excellent diet is fairly simple: • Eat more fruits and vegetables. • Eat lean sources of protein. • Eat plenty of low glycemic carbohydrates and leafy greens. • Drink your water—at least one 8-ounce glass per hour. • Avoid sugar, salt, and white flour products to reduce inflammation in your body. Adopt these habits during the games and by the time the closing ceremonies roll around you’ll be on your way to a gold medal body with Olympic level health and energy. Alton Skinner is a health and fitness expert with over two decades of experience training athletes and author of “The Golfer’s Stroke Saver Workout.”
Politician and zealous advocate for the Patriot cause Abner Nash was born. From 1774 to 1776 Nash was a delegate to each of North Carolina’s five provincial congresses, while also serving as a member of the Provincial Council.
August 9, 1953
Clyde McPhatter and the Drifters recorded “Money Honey” at Atlantic Studios in New York City. The song was a huge success, remaining on the rhythm and blues charts for 23 weeks and peaking at #1. Rolling Stone ranked it as 252nd greatest song of all time in 2010.
August 10, 1866
Acclaimed fish biologist Eugene Willis Gudger was born in Waynesville. His ancestors were some of the earliest settlers west of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
just a pinch going Three reasons to choose native plants for your landscaping and one to think about adding to your own garden: 1. Native plants provide food and shelter for wildlife like birds, mammals, and insects. 2. Because they are native to the local environment they require less than exotic species — less pesticide, fertilizer, water, and less overall maintenance. 3. Exotic species can become invasive— have you ever heard of kudzu? Native plants do not become invasive, so you can plant them knowing you’ve made your landscape more beautiful and you’ve provided a new habitat and sustenance for local wildlife. Consider the Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis), a red bird friendly perennial wildflower that blooms from July-October. Information courtesy of The North Carolina Native Plant Society.
Information courtesy of N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
the plate turn the page
Pickled Vegetables
From time to time, it’s nice to get your hands a little dirty or try to take on a new project all on your own. Thanks to Firestorm Cafe & Books in Asheville, we have a great list of DIY books to read and get inspired by in order to start that next project.
Block & Grinder, Mooresville Start to finish: 10 minutes, plus 3+ days to pickle Makes: 3 quarts pickling liquid
“The Big Book of Kombucha”
by Hannah Crum, Alex LaGory released March 8, 2016
“Canning for a New Generation: Updated and Expanded Edition” by Liana Krissoff
released July 5, 2016
“DIY for Your Dog: 30 Toys, Treats, and Treasures to Make” by Rachelle Blondel
released March 8, 2016
“The Do It Yourself Homestead” by Tessa Zundel
released June 21, 2016
“Food Swap: Specialty Recipes for Bartering, Sharing, and Giving” by Emily Paster
released May 17, 2016
PHOTO COURTESY OF BLOCK & GRINDER
Block & Grinder pickled vegetables
“We pickle all kinds of local vegetables—baby carrots and beets, onions, cauliflower, shishito peppers, jalapeños, habaneros. We have a jar of pickled vegetables on our menu, but we also use them as flavor vehicles for things like mayonnaise, mustard, and aioli. We try to make sure that almost every item on the menu is accessible in our retail butcher shop, so we sell our pickled vegetables there, too. Pickling is just one of our staple techniques. Our motto is, ‘When in doubt, pickle it.’ It usually yields us a very rewarding product.”
2 quarts apple cider vinegar 1 quart white vinegar 2 cloves garlic ½ carrot, peeled and quartered ½ celery stalk, quartered ½ yellow onion, quartered 1 pod star anise 1 tablespoon toasted coriander seed ½ tablespoon celery seed ½ tablespoon cumin Juice from half an orange, lemon, and lime
Combine ingredients and boil for 5 minutes. Cool completely, strain, then pour over your choice of vegetables in sealable containers. Seal tightly and refrigerate for at least three days.
— Ethan Moyer, Chef Du Cuisine
JOHN DAVID MERCER | REUTERS
accolades
Marbles Kids Museum makes room for more play
Voices Contributors to this section this week include: Emily Dreifuss Samantha Gratton Laura Ashley Lamm Ally Levine Alison Miller Sarah Riley Alton Skinner
Tell us Know a North Carolina story that needs telling? Drop us a line at features@nsjonline.com.
By Samantha Gratton North State Journal MARBLES KIDS MUSEUM in downtown Raleigh will be celebrating its 9th birthday this September. Known as one of the top places in North Carolina for families, it has reached capacity a number of days this past year which means it’s time to expand! Much of 2015 was spent working on expansion plans as the museum leadership and staff identified new opportunities for growth. As a part of that expansion, the museum purchased the service station on the corner of Blount Street and Morgan Street located directly behind the museum. While there are several potential long-term plans for the space, the first step is knocking down the wall that currently stands there before embarking on the beginning of the beautification process for the project they are calling “Corner Play.” Marbles raised $25,000 over the course of the last week of June
through individual donations as a part of the “Knock It Down” campaign. The plan is to have the wall down and a brighter space installed by the end of 2016. The Museum is seeking additional grant support, which will determine the scale of the project. National nonprofit, KaBOOM! is one of the potential grant supporters as Marbles has been chosen among 200 finalists. Included in that list of finalists are 11 other projects in North Carolina to promote play everywhere. “Marbles is working on ways to expand to create more space for play and serve more people in our community,” said Sally Edwards, Marbles Kids Museum CEO. “We see the benefits of play each and every day at Marbles, and we are eager to get the ball rolling on expansion with this exciting Corner Play project.” To celebrate, Marbles plans to have a “Knock It Down” party later this fall to coincide with the start of the construction on the space.
EAMON QUEENEY | NORTH STATE JOURNAL
Kids of all ages explore a pirate ship inside the Splash! exhibit of Marbles Kids Museum in Raleigh, Wednesday, August 3. The nonprofit children’s museum and popular Raleigh attraction will be expanding soon to accommodate the yearly flood of children and families.
North State Journal for Sunday, August 7, 2016
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in step with The Charlotte Ballet | Charlotte Bonnefoux instructs former Charlotte Ballet company members Melissa Anduiza and David Morse at the Patricia McBride & Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux Center for Dance in Charlotte.
By Ally Levine North State Journal
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JEFF CROVATA | COURTESY OF CHARLOTTE BALLET
formances for an audience. “The mentality at the time was that, in the summer, you don’t have enough time to give them classes plus rehearsals, and the dancers cannot learn enough and cannot be good enough to be seen on stage,” Bonnefoux said. “Many teachers worry that if they show their students after just a few weeks of work, they will not look good, and they, the teachers and their school, will not look good,” he said. “But I didn’t mind at all because I felt that dancers are really bright, and they can really learn fast.” Now, it’s standard practice that summer ballet intensives include performances, in part due to his influence on the industry. His vision for the Charlotte Ballet was similar to his thoughts for the Chautauqua Summer Intensive—he wanted it to be small but powerful. He found further inspiration from Ballets U.S.A. With his prior experience at the Paris Opera Ballet, which consists of almost 150 dancers, Bonnefoux had never seen a company as small as Ballets U.S.A’s 20 dancer company. “Each of them was an interesting dancer, with their own way of moving,” said Bonnefoux. “I wanted a place where there was no corps de ballet.” When he came to Charlotte, he said there was no tradition of dance. Since 1996, Bonnefoux
MARTHA SWOPE | COURTESY OF CHARLOTTE BALLET
Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux and his wife, Patricia McBride, dance together in Theme and Variations for the New York City Ballet in the 1970s.
has fortified the Charlotte Ballet as a company of 25 members that performs an annual season of five performance series. During the off-season in the summer the dancers join Bonnefoux back in Chautauqua as the company in residence. The Charlotte Ballet was recognized for its progress in 1999 when the Arts & Science Council awarded the company the “Advancement of Excellence Grant.” In 2000 Bonnefoux creat-
ed a second ballet company called Charlotte Ballet II. Then in 2010, the company was one of nine selected to perform at the Kennedy Center’s Ballet Across America in Washington, D.C. “Things have changed, but it has been slow,” he said. The Charlotte Ballet still can’t afford to perform with the symphony, which is a luxury of larger companies like the Paris Opera Ballet and NYCB. Despite these challenges, Bonne-
© Disney
WENTY YEARS AGO, the Charlotte Ballet was in bad shape. It was only five years old, and the artistic director had just died. Its survival depended on the next director, a visionary who could convince the people of Charlotte to care about ballet. “I was crazy enough to say, ‘You know, that sounds exciting. We’re going to save that company,’” said Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux, the current artistic director of the Charlotte Ballet. Bonnefoux, born in France, and his wife, Patricia McBride, from New Jersey, moved to Charlotte in 1996 to save the Charlotte Ballet. When Bonnefoux assumed the role of artistic director his wife came on as the associate artistic director. “We chose Charlotte because it was very dynamic, a small city, but very ambitious, also,” he said. His greatest challenge was that there was no established ballet culture in Charlotte. Bonnefoux added, “I didn’t realize how hard it would be.” At the time, many people didn’t think of ballet as a profession. When he told someone he was the artistic director of a ballet company they would often ask what else he did. More than just his career, ballet has been his life. He first joined the Paris Opera Ballet when he was 14 years old and rose to the highest ranks of the company when he was only 21. In 1970, at 27, he became a principal dancer at the New York City Ballet. One summer, he and his wife, also a dancer for the NYCB, were invited to perform at Chautauqua Institution in upstate New York. While it is now known for its professional musicians, artists, singers, actors, and dancers and offering summer intensives, in the 1970s there was no official dance program. When Bonnefoux was asked to work as the artistic director in 1983 in order to build a new ballet summer program he wanted to do something different. At the time, many summer intensives had class sizes of 50 or more students and they were all solely focused on being instructional. “I wanted a small group of dancers,” Bonnefoux said. “That was very important to me because I feel that if there are more than 20 in a group, you don’t get enough attention from the teacher.” Besides creating an unconventionally small program, Bonnefoux also revolutionized the definition of the typical summer intensive by incorporating his students in per-
AUGUST 16-21
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foux still sees more opportunity for dance in the city. He plans to step down as the artistic director in June 2017 to pursue a new dance opportunity. “I’m 73, and so I thought that I still have time to have another phase in my life,” said Bonnefoux. “And, I guess if you’re optimistic about things like that, then age doesn’t matter that much.” Bonnefoux hopes to use the next phase of his life to organize workshops for classical ballet dancers to be trained in contemporary ballet, targeting students from less established dance schools because they often don’t have the resources to educate on contemporary ballet. He wants to equip these dancers with the skills needed for a better chance at landing a job as a professional dancer. “Not that long ago, classical was just enough,” Bonnefoux said. “Now it’s not. And contemporary is going to get even more important.” The workshops will be held in Charlotte but attract dancers, ages 15 to 19, from all over the country. Like his program in Chautauqua and also the Charlotte Ballet, he wants the workshop to remain small and intentional. “I love the idea of being a scout and finding talent, discovering talent. That’s my thing,” says Bonnefoux. “I have a reputation, I think, I hope, that I care about the dancers.”
North State Journal for Sunday, August 7, 2016
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old haunts Bunn’s Barbecue | Windsor
North State Journal for Sunday, August 7, 2016
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Bunn's is ours — it's delicious, it's historic, it's our homegrown jewel.” — Verna Gillam,
lifelong Bertie County resident
The cornbread barbecue sandwich is one of the popular items on the Bunn's Barbecue menu.
By Jennifer Wood North State Journal
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P AND RUNNING since 1938, a little rain hasn’t stopped them yet. The Russell family knows flooding, barbecue, and community. Located in an old service station in historic downtown Windsor, Bunn’s Barbecue serves up downhome, Eastern style barbecue—they are the real deal. The customers that file through, many times lined up out the door, are drawn by the simple perfection of their signature sandwich that features barbecue on a split cornbread bun topped with coleslaw. Legend has it a sandwich whose origins began with a customer driven request, “I was small at the time, so it’s my brother who tells the story,” said co-owner Randy Russell. “but in the afternoons, in the mid1970’s Mrs. Nancy Rascoe would come in after tennis, and one day she just gave instructions on how she wanted the cornbread split, with some barbecue and coleslaw piled on there.” A sandwich creation that has stood the test of time and keeps customers coming back from near and far. Many of those customers are taking a detour and ignoring the directions their phones are barking at them because their stomachs feel the lure of Bunn’s, but the majority of them are Bertie County regulars—neighbors and friends. The same regulars whose hands help Bunn’s bail out the water each time a hurricane comes calling. In North Carolina hurricanes have a habit of paying a visit every few years, but to flood a business multiple times seems remarkably unfair. Between 1999 to 2011 tropical storms and hurricanes overflowed the Cashie River, flooding Bunn’s Barbecue six times. Owner Randy Russell doesn’t bellyache over it, choosing instead to remember, and mark the line of high water on the wall—and pray. Pray this year does not bring a hurricane to North Carolina, not to Northeastern North Carolina, not to Windsor. Pray a prayer of gratitude for neighbors and friends that show up with buckets and elbow grease to help their favorite old haunt continue to share their delicious Eastern N.C. barbecue. Because there is nothing like a small town to lift you up when the waters rise.
CHRISTINE T. NGUYEN | NORTH STATE JOURNAL
Patrons, including Dick Leach of Washington, N.C. (center), eat lunch at Bun's Barbecue in Windsor on Wednesday, August 3. Bunn's has been open since 1938 and owned by the Russell family since 1969. Left, Janice James, right, packs up barbecue for Jill and Doug Sessoms Wednesday, August 3 at Bunn's Barbecue. James has worked at Bunn's for nearly 20 years.. Right, Bunn's Barbecue coowner Randy Russell packs up an order of barbecue.
North State Journal for Sunday, August 7, 2016
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the maker
Penland School of Crafts | Bakersville By Sarah Riley For the North State Journal
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THE FIRST TIME I rounded the corner of Penland Road, I was inspired before getting out of the car as the beautiful campus, framed by lush green and blue mountains, sprawled out in front of me. That was three years ago when I visited Penland School of Crafts with my coworkers from Montreat, N.C. We spent the afternoon touring the studio spaces, speaking with talented artists, eating delicious food, and taking in the gorgeous mountain views. As I left Penland that evening and drove back down the mountain, I dreamed of one day returning, not just for a visit, but as an actual student, fully immersed in the creative community. Much to my surprise, I was fortunate enough to be able to attend as a work-study student in a clay class, just one week after I graduated from Elon University this year. Penland School of Crafts is a fascinating and unique environment, one that aims to help people live creative lives and encourages individual and artistic growth. The school is based on an educational philosophy that encourages close interaction with others so that ideas can be easily exchanged. They definitely held true to that mission and vision in my two-week experience as my days were full of new learning experiences and total immersion in the creative community. As a work-study student, I spent my time at Penland washing dishes, making pots, firing the wood kiln, hiking, visiting
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Sarah Riley at the Penland School of Crafts with her hand hewn pottery.
studios in the surrounding community, rocking on the craft house porch, swimming in the local river, practicing yoga, stargazing on the knoll, visiting resident artist studios, eating late night cereal, participating in a wine tasting, chop-
ping and stacking wood, grinding kiln shelves, bidding in the silent auction, jogging up and down the mountain, doing research in the reading room, dancing at a superstition-themed party, and making new friends every step of the way.
I took a class on reduction cool wood fire clay taught by Lindsay Oesteritter that was full of characters ranging from experienced artists seeking their master’s degrees to curious individuals wanting to explore a new medium. Also in attendance was an 86-year-old wine connoisseur and avid potter, a former naval officer searching for wabi-sabi, a woman processing her new identity as middle-aged, and me: a 22-year-old college graduate trying to figure out what the next chapter of life is supposed to look like. One of the most amazing things about Penland is all of the open-minded people from different walks of life coming together to share ideas and learn from one another. My experience at the School of Crafts was so important and informative in understanding myself as a new college graduate. I was able to be in community with so many different types of people living creative lives, which really opened up my perception of the different ways my life could look. I arrived at Penland feeling anxious, intimidated, curious, and excited. I left with many of the same feelings, along with a new creative energy and inspiration to continue to pursue a career in the arts. I met people from diverse backgrounds who were communing together to explore the arts and learn from one another. My time at Penland was transformative, because it allowed me to view myself and the world around me from different points of view. I plan to continue to pursue environments and experiences that encourage curiosity, creativity, and exploration in the way that Penland does.
FROLIC from page C1 vides a backdrop to the town. “The model behind the concepts are old fish camps. As a kid, you’d travel a mile down the river and see a little house on the side of the river where people would cookout and have a fish fry,” said Billy Smithwick, a member of the Interested Citizens for the Development of Windsor Committee. Windsor was founded as a port on the Cashie River in the mid1700s. The River, which rises and falls in Bertie County, flows into the Roanoke River and the Albemarle Sound. For a community which thrived in the agricultural and timber industry due to the use of the port, it’s only fitting the town celebrates its connection to the river. “We purchased five acres of land to build a village in trees,” he added. A total of seven treehouses will be constructed over the next three years. The first two treehouses are nearing completion and set to open this fall. Treehouses are 14 feet by 14 feet with a 5-foot porch and set 40 to 50 feet off the river. Two different versions of the treehouses are complete – one with a full size tree in the middle of the house and the other built between two grown trees. “These are very rustic, outdoor accommodations,” said Smithwick. “The houses use solar power and have screened in doors. The sleeping platform fits a queen-sized air mattress and the treehouses can easily accommodate eight people.” The treehouses were crafted to be accessible to everyone and meet OSHA regulations. A 430-foot long platform was built between the treehouses, so any rising of the river wouldn’t carry them away. They were built at an estimated cost of $200,000 including funds from grants, the Town of Windsor, and the DIY Network which featured the treehouse construction on a television program this summer. “The treehouses provide a unique feeling and brings people closer to nature,” said Smithwick. “Sitting on the porch they can listen to the crickets, bullfrogs, and birds. It’s definitely a unique experience
CHRISTINE T. NGUYEN | NORTH STATE JOURNAL
The Cashie Treehouse Village treehouses feature a sleeping platform, a lofted sleeping area, and front porches.
for people.” Rental fees are estimated to range between $50-$55 a night, and the Town of Windsor will post updates to their social media pages to announce when reservations will begin. Construction will begin in January 2017 for two more treehouses, and in January 2018 the final three will be built for a total of seven in the village. “We want this to be an economic boost for the community and a benefit to the town. Those visiting will pick up supplies at the local stores, eat a dinner at one of the local restaurants, and ultimately bring more activities to our downtown,” said Smithwick. Visitors can find their way to the Livermon Park and Mini-Zoo where the buffalo, llamas, and alpacas graze, stop by the historic 1840 Freeman Hotel, or grab a bite to eat in Windsor, all while enjoying a night among the trees on the scenic river in Eastern Carolina.
“The model behind the concepts are old fish camps. As a kid, you’d travel a mile down the river and see a little house on the side of the river where people would cookout and have a fish fry.” — Billy Smithwick
North State Journal for Sunday, August 7, 2016
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Sunday Story MEREDITH COLLEGE YOUNG WRITERS SERIES
EDITOR’S NOTE
The second entry in our Sunday Story series from our visit to Raleigh’s Meredith College, young writers camp. Every summer for the past decade Meredith College has hosted rising 6th, 7th, and 8th grade young women on their campus for a week of imagination, creativity, and fun with director Ashley Hogan at the helm guiding writing exercises led by published faculty teaching fiction, poetry, drama, and creative nonfiction. We are excited to highlight the emerging talent of these young writers as they polish their craft.
The Infamous Cat of Rome: Manx By Emily Dreifuss (age 12)
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ILLUSTRATION FOR THE NORTH STATE JOURNAL | ALLY LEVINE
YOUNG CAT scampered through the busy house, dancing through the legs of cooks, dodging the family members, and avoiding furniture. She had been mistreated all day, once even being thrown into another room by an annoyed master (he had a rather repulsive temper). Now she would do almost anything for attention, and maybe food. She, the cat, was light gray, with dark spots and bright yellow eyes. Around her, the house was bustling with activity. Mistress shouted orders to the cook for the elaborate feast to be held that night. The young lovers flirted. Outside could be heard the commotion of the chaotic
marketplace. Steadily the afternoon wore on. The cat watched everything. Friends waved goodbye, promising to soon meet again. Many people spoke of wonderful things to come. Something rumbled. Inside, the table was being set with truly mouthwatering foods. She couldn’t resist. The cat jumped and tried to snatch a roasted bird for her own dinner. Sadly, before she could, mistress slapped her and tossed her from the table. It really had looked tasty. Another rumble, and another, louder. The house shook. Mistress shrieked, “Earthquake!” The cat hurried outside to see. It was no earthquake. On top of the previously
peaceful hill they had always known it to be, Mount Vesuvius spewed black smoke. Chunks of rock pummeled the city. People ran and screamed in the streets. The cat ran for her life, but choked on the debris-filled air. She had to escape. Then came the lava – scorching hot, with a consistency like pudding but other than that completely different. She leaped up onto a stone pedestal, thinking it was safe. On the contrary, it soon toppled, flinging the poor, doomed pet into the liquid flames. It burned more than words, consuming her all at once. So was the tragic end of innocent, ignorant Manx. If it makes you feel any better, a lot of humans died, too.
COMING UP in the good life With the band
As football season kicks off join us across the state as we visit with high school and college bands getting ready to play their hearts out for the fans.
Can it
Crops are coming in and it’s time to put them up. The N.C. Master Gardener’s have tips for making canning and preserving a pinch.
Pollinators
We visited the Waynesville Mountain Research Station to learn about their planning and management of wildflowers through the N.C. Department of Agriculture’s pollinator program.
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North State Journal for Sunday, August 7, 2016
pen & Paper pursuits
JANRIC CLASSIC SUDOKU
SOLUTIONS FROM 7.31.16
I reckon . . .
Your guide to what’s what, where, why, and how to say it.
Scuppernong In 2001 the North Carolina General Assembly made the scuppernong our official state fruit. This wandering vined and sweet tasting grape is a variety of muscadine and holds status as the first grape ever actively cultivated in the United States. The vine is named for the Scuppernong River that runs from Washington County to the Albemarle Sound. So the story goes that as far back as 1524 explorers such as Giovanni de Verrazano noticed the vine.
THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE JUDICIAL BRANCH NH CIRCUIT COURT 9th Circuit – Family Division – Manchester, 35 Amherst St. Manchester NH 03101-1801 Telephone: 1-855-212-1234, TTY/TDD Relay: (800) 735-2964, http://www.courts.state.nh.us CITATION FOR PUBLICATION Case Name: In the Matter of Stephanie Medina and Hector Medina Case Number: 656-2016-DM-00334 On April 05, 2016, Stephanie Media of Manchester, NH filed in this Court a Petition for Divorce with requests concerning: The original pleading is available for inspection at the office of the Clerk at the above Family Division location. UNTIL FURTHER ORDER OF THE COURT, EACH PARTY IS RESTRAINED FROM SELLING, TRANSFERRING, ENCUMBERING, HYPOTHECATING, CONCEALING OR IN ANY MANNER WHATSOEVER DISPOSING OF ANY PROPERTY, REAL OR PERSONAL, BELONGING TO EITHER OR BOTH PARTIES EXCEPT (1) BY WRITTEN AGREEMENT OF BOTH PARTIES, OR (2) FOR REASONABLE AND NECESSARY LIVING EXPENSES OR (3) IN THE ORDINARY AND USUAL CAUSE OF BUSINESS. The Court has entered the following Order(s): Hector Medina shall file a written Appearance Form with the Clerk of the Family Division at the above location on or before September 08, 2016 or be found in DEFAULT. Hector Medina shall also file by October 08, 2016 a Response to the Petition and by October 08, 2016 deliver a copy to the Petitioner’s Attorney or the Petitioner, if unrepresented. Failure to do so will result in issuance of Orders in this matter, which may affect you without your input. BY ORDER OF THE COURT, Mary A. Barton, Clerk of Court, July 08, 2016