VOLUME 2 ISSUE 59
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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2018
Inside Cup season gears up with Daytona 500, Sports
PHOTO COURTESY OF ATLANTIC COAST PIPELINE
An existing pipeline marker is shown in Virginia. The 600-mile natural gas pipeline will run through West Virginia, Virginia and eight counties in N.C., ending in Robeson County. Approval of permits allowing the project to move forward in N.C. was announced by the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality earlier this month, as N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper announced a $57.8 million fund for environmental impact mitigation, economic development, and promotion of renewable energy.
the Wednesday
NEWS BRIEFING
White powder in envelope sends 3 to hospital as a precaution New York Vanessa Trump, the wife of Donald Trump Jr., and two other people were taken to a New York hospital on Monday after she opened a piece of mail containing an unidentified white powder that was later determined to be cornstarch, officials said. The daughterin-law of President Donald Trump was hospitalized after she complained of nausea following her exposure, New York officials said. Authorities have been on alert for mail with white powder in it since 2001, when envelopes laced with anthrax were sent to media outlets and lawmakers, killing five people.
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Ford issues “do not drive” warnings for some trucks Washington, D.C. Ford on Monday warned an additional 33,000 owners of some older pickup trucks in the U.S. to stop driving them until potentially defective Takata air bag inflators can be repaired. The expanded warning was prompted by additional testing and now covers a broader time frame of production. Mazda said it was issuing a similar expansion for about 1,800 2006 Mazda B-Series trucks. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said the vehicles pose “an immediate risk to safety” and urged owners to immediately schedule a free repair. For more information visit www.nhtsa.gov
Justice Department seeks $2.175B for new FBI headquarters in 2018 Washington, D.C. The Trump administration is asking Congress for $2.175 billion up front to pay for a new FBI headquarters in 2018, U.S. Justice Department officials said on Monday. The officials said they are requesting all the money at once. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is housed in a 1970s-era building that has nets rigged to catch falling stone and is too small to contain its burgeoning workforce.
AARON P. BERNSTEIN | REUTERS
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, accompanied by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), speaks with reporters following the weekly policy luncheons at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 13.
U.S. Senate launches free-for-all immigration debate ahead of deadline Sen. Thom Tillis’ (R-N.C.) immigration proposal is playing a key role in a rare debate with a wide range of ideas in play
of ideas and proposals, but also an open debate that members of both parties have called for. "Whoever gets to 60 wins," McConnell told reporters at a news conference. "There's no secret plan here to try to push this in any direction. The Senate is going to work its By Donna King will, and I hope that we will end up North State Journal passing something." On Monday, Senator John WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Senate began a major, Cornyn, the No. 2 Republican, put free-wheeling immigration debate tight time constraints on the northis week, its first in nearly five mally slow-moving Senate. "It's this week or not at all," years. The structure of the discussion was what made news, with Cornyn said of the need for quick some calling it a “jump ball.” The Senate action. Speaking to reportsenate members voted 97 to 1 to ers, he warned that the debate had begin the debate with only Sen. Ted to be "wrapped up" by Thursday, Cruz (R-Texas) voting against it. before next week's congressional Majority Leader Mitch McConnell recess. Democratic Senator Dick started by introducing an unrelated bill and opened the floor to amend- Durbin, Cornyn's counterpart, told ments on immigration; any that got reporters he hoped a combination 60 votes becomes a part of the bill. The result is becoming a patchwork See IMMIGRATION, page A2
Origin of Cooper’s deal raises questions among lawmakers Lawmakers direct “mitigation about the fund’s management, orfund” money to eastern igin and whether the money from energy companies was truly “volunN.C. schools By Donna King North State Journal RALEIGH, N.C. — The N.C. House of Representatives passed legislation Tuesday by a vote of 10412 requiring that the $57.8 million dollars from energy companies building the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) go to the eight public school systems directly impacted by the project. The measure, S.B. 90, passed the N.C. Senate on Monday and now goes to Gov. Roy Cooper. The $57.8 million would come from Duke Energy and Dominion Energy, with whom Cooper negotiated a deal creating a discretionary fund. The deal was signed by the governor’s general counsel one day before his Department of Environmental Quality approved permits that allowed the ACP to move forward. News of the fund was presented to the public and lawmakers simultaneously, in a “Memo of Understanding” (MOU). It highlights the intention of the fund — to pay for mitigating any damage to wildlife and natural resources caused by the project, economic development along its path and renewable energy projects. It also says that the governor would later appoint a board to dole out the money to projects fitting the MOU’s description, and he would issue a more detailed executive order with “directives.” The fund is in addition to mitigation costs ACP must pay by rule in N.C. However, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have been questioning the deal, with some calling it a “slush fund.” In a committee meeting last week after S.B. 90 was introduced, lawmakers grilled the governor’s new legislative director Lee Lilley, a former lobbyist for Dominion Energy, with questions
INSIDE The N.C. General Assembly adjourned until May on Tuesday. Find out who decided not to run for re-election Jones & Blount
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tary,” as described by Lilley in the meeting. “Do you know whether the governor has ever asked private parties for a voluntary contribution in connection with environmental permitting in the past?” asked Sen. Paul Newton (R-Cabarrus) in the meeting. Just a week on the job, Lilley had few answers but agreed to take the questions from lawmakers in writing. While several Democrats on the committee objected to the line of questioning, Democratic Rep. Pricey Harrison (D-Guilford) told television station WRAL, “It wasn’t that they (the energy companies) were paying $57 million or whatever it was to get the permit. It was just that that was a condition of getting the permit granted.” Lawmakers delivered the questions on Tuesday with directions that they be answered by 4 p.m. on Thursday. The 15 questions range from requesting information about how the fund came about, what other companies the governor has received contributions from and whether the arrangement violates ethics laws and constitutional separation of powers. “Gov. Cooper’s deal looks like a payment-for-permit and doesn’t pass the smell test, and the right thing to do is to take this ‘voluntary contribution’ to the state and use it to fund the educational needs of children in the poor, rural communities impacted by the Atlantic Coast Pipeline,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Brown (R-Onslow), chair of the Senate Appropriations/Base Budget Committee. Also at issue, the MOU says that the governor of N.C. will return part of the money to energy companies if the project is canceled, even for denial of or loss of approvals and See COOPER, page A2
North State Journal for Wednesday, February 14, 2018
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New cancer center to open in Pitt County
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$50 million of the $174 million price tag for the new facility came from grants and donations
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North State Journal (USPS 20451) (ISSN 2471-1365) Neal Robbins Publisher Donna King Editor Cory Lavalette Managing/Sports Editor Frank Hill Senior Opinion Editor
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COOPER from page A1 permits. Lawmakers wanted to know how that could affect future state budgets or energy ratepayers. The bill that now sits on Cooper’s desk, sponsored by Rep. Craig Horn (R-Union) and Sen. Chad Barefoot (R-Wake), directs the fund to the eight counties along the Atlantic Coast Pipeline as it carries natural gas through some poor areas of eastern N.C. On that list are North Hampton, Halifax, Nash, Wilson, Johnston, Sampson, Cumberland and Robeson counties. Cooper is from Nash County. “Legislative Republicans have set a new low for partisan hypocrisy this week,” said Cooper spokesman Ford Porter. “Nearly every Republican legislator claims to support the Atlantic Coast Pipeline yet they wanted to stop counties in its path from getting resources to ensure this project is a success. While meeting our energy needs, it is vital that we take steps to grow the economy and protect our environment in the counties
IMMIGRATION from page A1 of the Senate's 49 Democrats and independents, coupled with 11 Republicans, could get behind a final bill, propelling it to passage. But Cornyn also warned against that strategy. “If they think ... they can cobble together a handful of Republicans to go along with a majority of Democrats and somehow get it past the House and get the president to sign it, I think that's a pipedream." The final product may offer a solution to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, due to sunset March 5, by Trump’s executive order in September. The program protects at least 700,000 illegal immigrants from deportation because they were brought to the U.S. as children. DACA was enacted under executive order by Pres. Barack Obama. Some Republicans argue that
By Laura Ashley Lamm North State Journal
PHOTO COURTESY OF O’NEILL COMMUNICATIONS
N.C. Department of Health and Human Services secretary Mandy Cohen announces EveryBody Works NC, a program aimed at getting people with disabilities to work.
DHHS launches campaign to boost employment among people with disabilities EveryBody Works NC program addresses “untapped pool of talent” By Liz Moomey North State Journal KILL DEVIL HILLS — Getting the disabled community to work benefits everyone, according to N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. Mandy Cohen, the N.C. DHHS secretary, announced earlier this month to local and regional business owners in the Outer Banks the EveryBody Works NC, a program aimed at reducing the unemployment gap between working-age people with disabilities and those without. “It’s a win-win for our disability community,” Cohen said. “It’s a place where they can be going, they can be proud, they can be working and show purpose in their life.” According to the North Carolina Council on Development Disabilities (NCCDD), 40 percent of businesses can’t find talent to meet their workforce needs. EveryBody Works will provide resources — including help with recruiting, the prescreening process, job training and job coaching — for potential
employees with disabilities. The program will also provide modifications that the candidates need so they do not require an investment for the employer. “There are a lot of businesses that are looking for good workers, looking for workers who are going to be long-time employees, that are going to be loyal, that are going to be able to do the jobs that are in front of them,” Cohen said. According to the NCCDD, people with disabilities are rated equally or more productive than co-workers and achieve equal or better job performance ratings. One out of three employers reported people with disabilities stay in jobs longer. EveryBody Works encouraged business leaders to hire people with disabilities, including people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities, mental health and substance abuse. “There’s an untapped labor market in our disability community,” Cohen said. “If you’re looking for good workers, we can help identify those folks.” Businesses who hire people with disabilities are eligible for various tax credits. The EveryBody Works campaign is led by the NCCDD, the North Carolina Business Leadership Network and North Carolina Vocational Rehabilitation.
6,000 candidates placed in NC Vocational Rehabiltation in 2016
57
percent had a high school diploma or equivalent
25
percent had some postsecondary education
14
percent earned a license, certificate or degree
this pipeline will cross. The ACP has provided similar funds in Virginia and engaged in negotiations with all three states where construction is to occur.” However, Virginia’s $57.8 million deal is different. Virginia’s plan is signed by the secretary of the Virginia Department of Natural Resources with specific amounts directed to “mitigation partners,” including the Virginia Outdoors Foundation and the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities who will develop selection criteria for the projects. The measure also carries some key elements that educators statewide want addressed. It phases in a requirement that schools have fewer than 16 to 18 children per classroom in grades K through 3 and provides a separate $60 million funding stream for public schools to hire “specials” teachers for classes like art, music, P.E. and languages. After the Republican-led General Assembly passed the smaller class size initiative in 2015, objections from school districts revealed
a problem. Special subject teachers, or “program enhancement” teachers like art, music and P.E., were being included in the teacher headcount for schools, throwing off the “per child” ratio. “What we did not know is how many program enhancement teachers there were in the state of N.C. That is part of what has created the problem,” said Barefoot. “In the 1990s there was a classroom teacher allotment and there was a program enhancement allotment. Those allotments were combined giving the appearance that those schools had lower student-to-teacher ratios, by simply calling all program enhancement teachers, classroom teachers. So then when we were lowering those down, as we went into classrooms, the classes weren’t getting any smaller.” If this bill is signed into law, schools will not have to make any teacher-student ratio changes for the 2018-19 school year. Schools will still get the $70 million each year to cover the expense of hiring additional K-3 teachers over
the next four years, but they will also get the money for special subject teachers immediately, with more available as data shows what schools need. Lawmakers estimate that over the next four years schools will have $250 million in recurring state dollars for the special subject teachers. The bill also increases funds to make Pre-K available to all kids currently on the waiting list for the program, which provides assistance for at-risk kids below kindergarten age. “We know we have a lot of kids coming to school not prepared to be in school,” said Horn. “We have committed in this bill to move to a statutory funding of North Carolina pre-K, and we’ve put enough money in it so that every eligible child can have access to N.C. pre-K.” The General Assembly adjourned on Tuesday afternoon to reconvene May 16, 2018, for the short session. Cooper has 30 days to sign or veto the bill and has not indicated publicly what he plans to do.
the deadline on that date has lost its force since a federal court blocked Trump from ending DACA, sending the matter before the Supreme Court. The nine justices are due to meet on Friday to discuss how to handle the administration's appeal. If the court decides to hear the case, an announcement could come as soon as Friday afternoon and a decision by late June. The debate process is also including votes on a wide range of proposals that are in President Trump’s immigration proposal released in January. The framework is in a bill called the Secure and Succeed Act being introduced by Tillis, along with Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa; John Cornyn, R-Texas; and others. It includes many elements of Tillis’ original Succeed Act, including the merit-based system to allow DACA recipients to remain in the U.S. and
build toward a decade-long path to citizenship. It also includes building a U.S.-Mexico border wall and sharply curtailing chain migration by limiting visas to spouses and children. “Even among those who’ve never supported a path to citizenship before, there’s broad consensus that this is a workable, viable, compassionate framework,” said Tillis on the floor of the Senate on Monday. McConnell threw his support behind that outline on Tuesday, calling it the “best chance” for agreement because it already has the support of President Trump. "This proposal has my support and during this week of fair debate I believe it deserves support of every senator who's ready to move beyond making points and actually making a law," McConnell, a Republican, said in a speech on the Senate floor Tuesday. House Speaker Paul Ryan said
last week the House would take up the Senate’s measure if they knew it had the green-light from Trump. “Let’s produce a result. Let’s not get up here and talk about and say ‘well, I tried,” said Tillis. “Let’s provide certainty for those waiting for us to act, those DACA recipients. Let’s secure our border and modernize our broken immigration system and if we do that, we’ve done a great thing.” On Tuesday, additional plans are under consideration including one co-sponsored by Sen. Christopher A. Coons (D-Del.) and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) that would grant legal status to dreamers in the country since 2013 but not immediately authorize money to build out southern border wall. Coons told reporters he may add border security money to bring in more Republican support. Lawmakers are due to take a scheduled recess next week.
GREENVILLE — Disparities in rural areas have long created health care challenges for people living in eastern North Carolina. Hospitals, health organizations and nonprofits are diligently working to fill the gaps and provide access to affordable and superior care. In eastern North Carolina, more than 7,500 new cancer cases are diagnosed each year, giving that part of the state a significantly higher mortality rate for cancer diagnosis than the national average. Vidant Health Systems in Greenville is slated to open a new cancer center and bed tower in March 2018 to help provide extensive treatment options for those diagnosed with cancer. “Vidant Health has recognized that the numbers are not improving, so we have dedicated significant resources to build a premier cancer program, focusing on developing a sustainable, regionally connected system-of-care,” said Dr. Michael Waldrum, CEO of Vidant Health. The new 418,000-square-foot cancer center and bed tower is located adjacent to the East Carolina Heart Institute. The six-story, 96-bed facility will include intermediate and general level medical and surgical care for inpatients, with the capability for intensive care in the future. In addition, the center features an outpatient cancer clinic, radiation oncology, infusion services, patient support, pharmacy, lab and administration office space. The Golden LEAF Foundation has awarded a $10.8 million grant to Vidant Health to fund the purchasing of major equipment within the cancer center and bed tower.
7,500
new cancer cases diagnosed each year in the eastern part of N.C. “The Golden LEAF Foundation is proud to partner with Vidant Health to provide important and needed specialty health care services to rural eastern North Carolina,” said Dan Gerlach, president of Golden LEAF. “The increased health care service in Pitt County and other eastern North Carolina counties will also create 197 new jobs at the cancer center and train 3,500 new health care professionals annually,” he added. “This grant will result in multiple wins for eastern North Carolina — improved rural health care access as well as jobs in the region.” The mission of Golden LEAF is to increase economic opportunities in North Carolina’s rural and tobacco-dependent communities through the funding of projects affecting critical issues in rural communities. The grant will allow Vidant Health to purchase a 3 Tesla Magnetic Resonance Imaging system; a Positron Emission Tomography and Computed Tomography scanner; mammography, bone density and ultrasound equipment; and video conferencing equipment. The estimated cost of construction and equipping the cancer center and bed tower is $174 million. Approximately $50 million will be funded through philanthropy.
PHOTO COURTESY OF VIDANT HEALTH SYSTEMS
Vidant Health Systems in Greenville is slated to open a new cancer center and bed tower in March 2018. Vidant Medical Center in Greenville, pictured above, is one of the eight hospitals in the Vidant network.
North State Journal for Wednesday, February 14, 2018
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BUSINESS
KEVIN LAMARQUE | REUTERS
President Donald Trump speaks to attendees as he departs his infrastructure initiative meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 12.
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Last month, Governor Roy Cooper presented five North Carolina companies with 2017 Governor’s Export Awards during a ceremony today at the Executive Mansion. The awards recognize the companies’ dedication to growing their businesses through exporting, a practice which supports thousands of jobs across the state. North Carolina’s export of goods and services supports more than 370,000 jobs in the state, according to the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. “Exporting our goods and services into the global marketplace plays an important role in growing jobs and our economy,” Gov. Cooper said. “This year’s Export Awards honor companies whose products and ideas represent North Carolina’s strong business reputation around the world.” The Governor’s Office developed the export award program in collaboration with the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina (EDPNC) and the North Carolina Department of Commerce. The state’s international trade development team is based at EDPNC. Five companies were recognized for 2017, representing companies of various size and international experience:
Trump unveils plan to stimulate infrastructure improvements Plan would lift regulations and encourage private investment in the nation’s structural systems By David Shepardson and Valerie Volcovici Reuters
Approved Logos
• Therafirm, Richmond County • Blue Ridge Chair Works, Buncombe County • Frontier Spinning Mills, Lee County • Tri-Tech Forensics, Brunswick County • New Growth Designs, Pitt County SOURCE: NC DEPT. OF COMMERCE
WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump unveiled a long-awaited infrastructure plan on Monday that asks the U.S. Congress to authorize $200 billion over 10 years to stimulate $1.5 trillion in improvements paid for by states, localities and private investors. It would expand the use of tax-exempt private activity bonds (PABs), while lifting a cap on issuance of the debt. The plan, which administration officials acknowledge faces a tough path ahead, would reshape how the federal government funds roads, bridges, highways and other infrastructure projects. In remarks at the White House, Trump cited "the critical need to rebuild America's crumbling infrastructure" and said his proposal would "spur the biggest and boldest infrastructure investment in American history." U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao told reporters that the government should lift hurdles to private sector infrastructure funding and encourage state and local participation. The federal government cannot do it alone, she said. "Unfortunately, there's not enough money to be able to pay for all the infrastructure needs of our country," Chao said. The plan does not offer nearly as much new federal funding as Democrats wanted nor does it directly address how the federal government will find the money it does call for. The administration called the proposal a starting point for negotiations. The PABs provision is aimed at increasing the leveraging of feder-
al funds to allow for more efficient infrastructure improvements, according to the president's legislative outline for rebuilding infrastructure. New uses for PABs would include construction of hydroelectric power generating facilities and environmental remediation for brownfield and superfund sites, as well as facilities for rural broadband, flood control, and storm water. The current use of PABs for airports, water ports, mass transit, water and sewer and surface transportation facilities would be expanded to allow more privately financed infrastructure projects to benefit from tax-exemption. PABs would also no longer be subject to the alternative minimum tax in an effort to lower borrowing costs and increase their use, under Trump's proposal. In addition, a federal population-based, per-state annual cap on the issuance of certain types of PABs would be lifted. Tim Fisher, government affairs manager at the Council of Development Finance Agencies, said the proposal creates new PAB categories, while modifying others. "It'll take some time for us to evaluate the package as a whole, but I'm very pleased by the PAB improvements outlined in the proposal," he said. N.C. Department Transportation Secretary James Trogdon said that while it’s too early to comment on the specifics, the conversation is needed. “We are encouraged that infrastructure funding is getting the public attention the proposal will bring in terms of the importance for additional transportation funding. We look forward to following the measure as it goes through the legislative process and to see the final details of the plan,” a statement from Trogdon’s office read. The proposal would speed up the issuance of water permits and natural gas pipelines, saying environmental reviews for major proj-
n.c.
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“We are encouraged that infrastructure funding is getting the public attention the proposal will bring in terms of the importance for additional transportation funding. We look forward to following the measure as it goes through the legislative process and to see the final details of the plan.” — Office of NC DOT Sec. Steve Trogdon ects should take no longer than 21 months — instead of years - and directs one federal agency rather than several different agencies to conduct the review. "The problem the states have and local leaders have with funding the infrastructure is horrendous," Trump said at the White House. The interior secretary would have approval authority for natural gas pipelines that cross the country’s national parks, changing the requirement that Congress authorize such projects. The proposal fits into the president’s broader plan to boost oil and gas development by slashing red tape, something that has cheered small-government advocates and industry but raised concerns among environmentalists and Democratic lawmakers. "Trump's plan is just another giveaway to corporations and wealthy developers at the expense of American workers, and it fails to address some of the most pressing infrastructure needs our country faces," the Democratic National Committee said. Trump is scheduled to visit the Orlando, Florida area on Friday to try to sell the plan to the public.
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Providing the Power to Grow in NC What do a wood products manufacturing facility in Lexington and a cold storage facility in Tarboro have in common? They’re both businesses that recently chose to put down roots in NC Public Power communities, investing nearly $723 million and creating 500 jobs. They’re not alone. In the past year, public power communities in North Carolina added close to 4,000 new jobs and attracted more than $827 million in new investments. Public power cities and towns own and operate their electric systems. That local ownership means they have the flexibility and agility to provide businesses with exceptional reliability and superior service. “Public power providers have the local community’s best interest at heart with everything they do,” explains Roy Jones, CEO of ElectriCities, a nonprofit organization that serves public power communities in North Carolina. “Local crews can quickly respond to power outages to get the lights back on, and local customer service representatives provide the type of personal attention that comes from being part of your community.” Exceptional reliability, superior service and local control mean you’ll find the power to grow in North Carolina’s public power communities.
North State Journal for Wednesday, February 14, 2018
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North State Journal for Wednesday, February 14, 2018
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The candidate filing period for N.C.’s legislative, congressional and most other races began Monday and runs through Feb. 28. On the state legislative maps, the U.S. Supreme Court last week partly stayed a lower court decision, blocking the “special master” redrawn districts in Wake and Mecklenburg counties, but not in others. The ruling came after Republican lawmakers filed an emergency petition claiming the legislative maps redrawn by Stanford professor Nathaniel Persily amounted to a “hostile takeover” of the state’s redistricting process. For N.C.’s congressional maps, shown here, it is not likely that district boundaries will have to be redrawn for 2018 since the high court denied a motion to speed up an appeal of the state’s congressional maps.
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Who’s in, who’s out? Lawmakers make changes as candidate filing period opens
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RALEIGH — As the N.C. General Assembly returned to Raleigh for special session, several lawmakers have announced they will not be running again. Reps. Larry Bell (D-Duplin), Bert Jones (R-Caswell), Susan Martin (R-Pitt) and Mickey Michaux (D-Durham) are all House members who say they are not going to seek another term. Michaux is the longest serving House member ever, having been in office for 40 years and 20 elections. Michaux played a historic role in the state legislature during the civil rights movement and was a personal friend of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Bell has served in the legislature since 2001 and announced his retirement in the spring. He is reportedly writing his autobiography. Jones, a Republican and a dentist, announced his retirement in December saying he did not intend to make politics a career. Martin announced her decision late last year. Martin would have faced long-time incumbent Democrat Jean Farmer-Butterfield, but said she was proud of her accomplishments and that she brought a fresh perspective to the body. She said it was time for more new voices. Rep. John Blust
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The primaries will be held May 8.
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CHARLOTTE FAYETTEVILLE N.C. Congressional Districts
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(R-Guilford) and Rep. Jeff Collins (R-Franklin) also will not seek re-election. Rep. Carl Ford (R-Cabarrus) also said he would not seek re-election to his seat representing House District 76 but will run for the redrawn District 33 Senate seat, representing Rowan and Stanly counties. Rep. Bob Steinberg, a Republican currently representing House District 1 in the eastern part of the state, said he will not seek re-election, but said he plans to run for the redrawn District 1 Senate seat. Sen. Bill Cook, who represented the old District 1 area, had already announced that he will not run again. Rep. Sam Watford (R-Davidson) who serves in the House representing the 80th District, announced in November that he will instead run for the N.C. Senate’s 33rd District, which covers Davidson and Montgomery counties. That seat is held by Republican Sen. Cathy Dunn, who announced her retirement last year, citing health reasons. In the state Senate, Senators Ron Rabin (R-Harnett) and Angela Bryant (D-Halifax) announced that they will not seek another term. Also, Tommy Tucker (R-Union) won’t seek re-election next year after playing a key role in re-writing the state’s tax policy since 2011.
Senate passes GenX funding bill NSJ Staff
WEST Man charged after fatal shooting, police chase Buncombe County Sheriff’s deputies have charged a man with first-degree murder and felony fleeing to elude arrest after a fatal shooting and a police chase on Interstate 40 on Sunday. The Buncombe Sheriff’s Office charged Cameron Ellis McElrath, 20, of Swannanoa for the death of 23-yearold Robert Jacob Stewart. McElrath is being held in Buncombe County jail without bond.
PIEDMONT
2 cases of whooping cough confirmed
City spending close to $500K on special events
Watauga County One case of pertussis, or whooping cough, was confirmed last week in a Watauga High School student. AppHealthCare, a local health care department, confirmed a second case in a Cove Creek Elementary School student on Saturday. Both individuals diagnosed with pertussis are being treated and are following isolation instructions.
Guilford County Years of High Point subsidizing festivals, fun runs and other community events have come with significant financial and manpower costs, city department representatives told a City Council committee last week. It cost the city about $441,000 to provide services such as security, traffic direction, supplies and equipment, as well as salaries and overtime paid to employees, to cosponsor or assist with about 75 “special events” during the 2017 budget year.
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Cherokee Tribe will hold alcohol sales vote Haywood County The Cherokee Tribal Council will ask voters during a referendum election if a tribally-owned package store and ABC store should be opened on tribal land. The discussion began in October 2017 when a councilmember introduced a resolution asking for a vote on expanding alcohol sales outside of casino property. Within the casino, alcohol sales currently bring $20 million to the tribe annually.
Endowment fund created to honor late community leader
EAST
Raleigh building damaged by fire reopens Wake County One of ten buildings damaged in a dramatic downtown Raleigh fire in March last year is welcoming new residents back to completed apartment units this week. Tenants of The Link in downtown Raleigh are filling the last 59 units repaired after the fire. Grubb Properties, who owns the building, said most of the units damaged were repaired within two weeks, but the total cost of repairs added up to $1.1 million. Investigators say the cause of the five-alarm fire has still not been determined, despite hundreds of interviews. The total damage is estimated to be around $50 million. WRAL
Asheboro prepares for high school expansion
Burke County The Community Foundation of Burke County announced the Marilyn Malone Gordon Endowment Fund, which will use funds from Gordon’s personal finances. The fund will go to support Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church deaf community outreach, Burke United Christian Ministries, the Burke Council on Alcoholism and Chemical Dependency, Options, Inc., youth development at First Presbyterian Church of Morganton and CFBC. The recipients are organizations Gordon participated in.
SMOKY MOUNTAIN NEWS THE NEWS HERALD
Randolph County The Asheboro City Board of Education hosted a combined meeting with Randolph County commissioners to discuss the Asheboro High School renovation, expansion and addition project. The high school’s common spaces currently accommodate 950 students, but the proposed addition will expand that area to allow for 1,450 students. The new proposed addition will include a multi-use commons space, 18 new classrooms, expanded band and cafeteria areas, and several landscaped courtyard spaces for students to study and work in groups. The project will be ready to begin in the summer of 2018.
County waiting to buy out flooded properties Lenoir County Lenoir County has been approved for $9 million in flood mitigation grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to purchase properties damaged by flooding in 2016 from Hurricane Matthew. While 214 property owners applied for such buyouts, only about 83 are expected to be purchased this year. Letters informing property owners they were approved or denied for a buyout were mailed in June 2017. In order to be approved, properties had to be homeowner occupied, in the flood plain and be considered at least 50 percent damaged by flooding.
Wilmington landmark closes its doors New Hanover County Long-time restaurant Riverboat Landing, which sits on the riverfront at 2 Market St., has permanently closed. Town and County Real Estate confirmed the building is now available for lease. A team of workers were outside the restaurant last week to begin replacing windows, doors, painting the exterior and furnishing a new roof. The building went on the market in November for $1.5 million after it had been on and off the market for the last six years. Owned and operated by Steven Kohlstedt, the three-story building has been home to Riverboat Landing for the past 35 years. WILMINGTON SUN JOURNAL
KINSTON FREE PRESS
Charlotte in top 30 deadliest cities
Former New Bern leader honored with endowment
Equipment stolen from wastewater treatment facility
Mecklenburg County A violent crime survey issued by the Major Cities Chiefs Association shows Charlotte-Mecklenburg fell in the Top 30, tied at No. 28 with Houston, Texas, and Dekalb County near Atlanta, with a murder rate of 5.6 per 100,000. The data comes from first half of 2017. According to the survey more people were killed in Charlotte in 2017 than any year since 1995. The top ten cities on the list are Las Vegas, Cincinnati, Chicago, Memphis, Kansas City (Kansas), Cleveland, Detroit, New Orleans, Baltimore, and St. Louis.
Craven County The late New Bern community leader Greg Smith will be honored with a Craven Community College Foundation scholarship endowment. Smith, a Craven CC Foundation board member and owner of the popular Mitchell Hardware, passed away suddenly on Jan. 29. The Gregory Fitzgerald Smith Scholarship Endowment will provide financial assistance for parttime students who reside in Craven County. According to Craven CC, the scholarship will be the first in the school’s history to provide assistance exclusively for part-time students.
Wayne County The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office is investigating after someone stole several thousand dollars worth of equipment from a wastewater treatment plant at 347 Old Mount Olive Highway Tuesday. According to the report, an unknown person cut the chain to the Genoa Waste Water Treatment Plant gate, then tried unsuccessfully to pry open the windows to the shop on the premises. From there, the suspect cut the lock off the garage door, and stole a 6-by-10-foot landscape trailer and an array of major landscaping equipment. The total value of the items stolen was about $15,710.
CHARLOTTE OBSERVER THE COURIER-TRIBUNE
NEW BERN SUN JOURNAL
GOLDSBORO NEWS ARGUS
RALEIGH — Last week the N.C. Senate passed a bill that directs the state to tap into a network of scientific resources with the UNC system for investigating water quality and implications of the GenX contamination of the Cape Fear River, discovered this summer. Sens. Michael Lee (R-New Hanover), Bill Rabon (R-Brunswick), Wesley Meredith (R-Cumberland), Trudy Wade (R-Guilford) and Andy Wells (R-Catawba) introduced the measure, which highlights, among other things, the availability of mass spectrometers within the state, as opposed to buying one, which was funded in a N.C. House version of the bill. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) office at Research Triangle Park, just outside of the state capital, has already offered the state access to a mass spectrometer and analysis at no cost. The bill also provides $2.4 million for the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and dedicates $2 million already in the budget of a policy research program at UNC Chapel Hill to carry out its provisions. The bill also requires agencies like the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services to link up with the federal Centers for Disease Control and the UNC system to set health goals for GenX and similar chemicals. It also requires that the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality coordinate with peer agencies in
neighboring states, West Virginia and Georgia about contaminants in surface and ground water. “Water quality is not a political issue — it is a public health issue, and a deeply personal issue to me,” said Lee. “The health of my constituents in southeast North Carolina, neighbors and family depend on what we do, and I am pleased this bill will leverage the expertise of our university system’s world-renowned scientists and utilize state-of-the-art equipment that already belongs to our taxpayers to research ways to improve and protect our drinking water.” The bill is the second such measure intended to help address the GenX crisis in the eastern part of the state. In the fall, the General Assembly passed a bill that send funds to UNC Wilmington and the Cape Fear Public Utilities Authority to study the effects of GenX and to help study how to filter it out of the water supply. “This legislation provides another incremental step forward as we continue to search for answers as to how GenX has been in our water supply for over 35 years and why we continue to hear there are further discharges of GenX and other compounds with no enforcement action on the part of DEQ,” Lee added. The General Assembly is in a special session and is scheduled to officially convene for the short session in May.
House speaker’s adviser moves to private practice NSJ Staff RALEIGH — Nelson Freeman, adviser to the N.C. House leadership on tax policy and economic business development, is leaving his post to join Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton. Freeman will be working in the firm’s Raleigh office on the Government Relations Team. Freeman played a key role in negotiating tax cut bills that formed the centerpiece of the Republican campaign messages in 2016 and likely in 2018. Prior to his work in the House, Freeman worked as a legislative liaison for the N.C. Department of Revenue,
The
98 % of ALL Farms Truth are Family Farms
About Ag
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working to reduce identity fraud, but also on the base expansion for sales tax that represented the largest shift in state sales tax collections. “Nelson is an incredibly smart and talented individual and has been a valued advisor to the Speaker,” said Ches McDowell, senior government relations advisor for Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton. “We look forward to having him with us as we grow our government relations practice.” Freeman received his bachelor’s degree in political science and government from Wake Forest University.
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North State Journal for Wednesday, February 14, 2018
north STATEment Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor | Troy Kickler, deputy opinion editor
VISUAL VOICES
EDITORIAL | FRANK HILL
A Parade of Debt
$2.7 trillion of new debt has been loaded up on the backs of our children, grandchildren and great-tothe-nth degree grandchildren in just the last 6 weeks.
THE TWO EASIEST THINGS a politician can do while in elected office are the following: cut taxes and raise spending. No Republican is afraid to let voters keep more of their hard-earned money. No Democrat is afraid to spend more tax money on federal domestic programs. Their core constituencies will love them even more for doing so. On December 22, 2017, President Donald Trump and the Republicans in Congress cut taxes without any Democrat votes at all. On February 8, 2018, a substantial bipartisan majority in both the U.S. House and Senate passed a massive budget bill that increases domestic spending, which includes military spending, by $1.7 trillion over the next decade. One can almost hear Congress singing “I Love A Parade!” in unison. A parade of debt, that is. $2.7 trillion of new debt has been loaded up on the backs of our children, grandchildren and great-to-the-nth degree grandchildren in just the last 6 weeks. President Donald Trump signed both bills. Republicans are 100% responsible for at least $1.07 trillion in new debt from the tax bill. Democrats and Republicans who voted for the budget deal are now on the hook for an additional $1.7 trillion in new debt. Both tonnages of debt come on top of the additional debt of $10 trillion that was already-baked-in-cake in budget baseline before President Trump was even elected in 2016. Adding $2.7 trillion in new debt on top of what CBO already anticipated to be incurred by 2027 means U.S. debt held by the public will exceed 100% of GDP 10 years from now. Unless, that is, everything works out perfectly with higher economic growth and employment with hardly a centimeter to spare in terms of margin of error with respect to inflation and interest rate projections. In 2016, the Congressional Budget Office published a document stating one of their ‘rules of thumb’ for estimation purposes was that if U.S. economic growth exceeded their current projections by 0.3% per year for a decade, our federal deficits at the time could be essentially reduced to zero by 2026. Assuming no other changes to inflation expectations, interest rate shocks or terrorist attacks on domestic soil. Now that number might have to be 0.4% excess GDP growth annually. Or 0.5%. The most direct way to get our fiscal house in order rather than hope and pray for higher-than-expected growth rates is for our president and Congress to control and curtail federal spending at every cost and turn. President ‘Silent Cal’ Coolidge and Republicans in Congress proved the efficacy of spending cuts, followed by tax cuts, followed by economic growth, followed by reduction in federal debt from 1924-1928 when debt was reduced by 25%.
BASELINE BUDGET PROJECTIONS 2016
2027
Total revenue
$3.268 bil
$5.158 bil
Total outlays
$3.853 bil
$6.621 bil
Deficit
-$585 mil
-$1.463 bil
Debt held by public
$14.168 bil
$25.524 bil SOURCE: CBO
Maybe history will repeat itself. But Congress and the president have to want to seriously control spending first. In 1993, I was part of a team on the Republican side of the House Budget Committee that produced a proposed budget which reduced projected federal spending by $500 billion over 5 years, about 5% in total, from a base budget of $1.38 trillion in FY 1992. We were about laughed out of Congress by the then-Republican leadership and caucus members, plus the Democrats and the national media. Four years later, the core of that document, ‘Cutting Spending First’ was passed as the base legislative language of the Balanced Budget Agreement of 1997 which produced the first, and only, four balanced budgets since the 1950s. There were heroic Republicans and Democrats who came together over those 5 years to do something great for this nation at the time which, quite honestly, most people thought would last for decades. The euphoria lasted until 9/11/2001. It is time for another crop of heroic Americans to do the same now. Who will they be in Washington this time around?
EDITORIAL | TROY KICKLER
Here’s to down home
For its slumbering economy, outsiders gave N.C. an unflattering moniker: the Rip Van Winkle State. ... Something had to be done to improve the economy and to change opinions.
NORTH CAROLINA has a nickname and North Carolina has a state song: “The Old North State.” Although “The Old North State” by William Gaston had been a popular and de facto state song for almost a century, the General Assembly made it official on February 18, 1927. Almost a century prior, a combination of a state inferiority complex, a sense of being disrespected, and a desire to emphasize the state’s role during the United States’ founding prompted the writing of “The Old North State” in 1835. Here is a little context. North Carolina’s slower economy did not rival its northern neighbor, Virginia, or its southern neighbor, South Carolina. Why? In part, North Carolina had some geographical challenges that other states did not. Hurricanes rearranged some of what we call the Outer Banks, and some ports became more difficult to reach. So, some bustling entrepots became less important on a macro scale. During the 1830s, railroads were not yet an important means of transportation. Plank roads were not widespread. In particular, the 129mile plank road from Salem to Fayetteville that provided access to the Atlantic Ocean via the Cape Fear River, had not been built. Over land, transportation was slow and difficult, and North Carolina had fewer ports. The political divide between western and eastern North Carolina also contributed to the slow economy. Up until 1836, there had been 24
governors (6 from western counties and 18 from eastern counties). The western part of the state’s population was increasing, yet representatives from the eastern part of the state were reluctant to create new counties. No matter the population, each county had two members in the lower house and one in the upper house. As a result, the vast majority of legislators were from the small eastern counties. In short, the 1820s and 1830s politics favored the economic interests of the eastern part of the state. For its slumbering economy, outsiders gave N.C. an unflattering moniker: the Rip Van Winkle State. This condescending attitude irked many North Carolinians. Something had to be done to improve the economy and to change opinions. Dovetailing this concern was the concern that North Carolina was purposefully slighted in historical accounts regarding the founding of the United States. During the 1830s, a concerted effort was made to emphasize North Carolina’s contributions and create a sense of North Carolina pride. No doubt the state’s promoters then would approve of our “First in Freedom” car license plates and state flag that commemorates the Halifax Resolves and the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. According to historian Samuel A. Ashe, Joseph Seawell Jones of Shocco, N.C. was “probably the first person to apply the term ‘Old North State’ to North Carolina.” In 1834, the ever-entertaining Jones penned “A Defence of
the Revolutionary History of North Carolina from the Aspersion of Mr. Jefferson.” He starts off the work: “Everything appertaining to the dignity of the old North State is carefully kept out of sight.” He goes on to claim that Virginians distorted Revolutionary War history by ignoring North Carolina’s role so that Virginia could be preeminent. At times, his dislike for Virginia in general and Thomas Jefferson in particular clouded his logic. But North Carolina from then on had a nickname. A year later, William Gaston of New Bern, a NC Supreme Court justice, heard a catchy tune while in Raleigh. He later penned lyrics to the tune. On the heels of Jones’ popularizing the phrase “The Old North State, “ Gaston rhapsodized: “Tho’ the scorner may sneer at, and witling defame her, Our hearts swell with gladness whenever we name her.” “Tho’ she envies not others merited glory, Say, whose name stands the foremost in Liberty’s story!” North Carolina had an official state song ninety-two years later.
North State Journal for Wednesday, February 14, 2018
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GUEST OPINION | LUKE BROWN
Let’s put students and educational goals first In a traditional school setting ... schools simply cannot complete the content needed to maximize student testing success before the winter break.
IN JANUARY, N.C. experienced a significant winter storm. For high school students and staffs, these snow days landed in the middle of the exam calendar for first semester. Many may ask why in the world we would come back from winter break for a week, then take exams. Why would we subject our students to a two week break and then follow that up with an almost immediate round of high stakes testing. The answer, money. Money drives the decisionmaking process across the world. The state has taken a close look at tourism dollars and deemed that the first two weeks in August are much more lucrative than the first two weeks in June. In 2012, state law that declared schools have a, “start date no earlier than the Monday closest to August 26 and end date no later than the Friday closest to June 11.” There are weather waivers that can be applied for in counties that see significant snow. Even if approved, those districts still couldn’t start earlier than the Monday closest to August 19th. In a traditional school setting (semesters of approximately 90 days), schools simply cannot complete the content needed to maximize student testing success before the winter break. Thus, instruction is cut off for two weeks then picked back up for a few days in January, followed by a short review, then, high stakes testing. With such a huge emphasis on student achievement as defined by test scores, it would only make sense for students to receive instruction up to test time without a delay. It’s been argued that if a student knows the material in December, they should remember it in January. While from the surface that makes sense, this winter break is much more than a two-week hiatus from optimized education for students. The Thanksgiving Holiday presents two or three days of break, followed by the bombardment of commercialized holiday material which works together to excite students of the upcoming winter break and take their focus off of school. Educators struggle during these three weeks to keep students engaged on school content. Add that time with the
NORTH STATE JOURNAL | FILE
impending break and what you have is a recipe for lowered student achievement. Some schools and districts with low performing achievement will now have the option through the N.C. Department of Public Instruction’s District and School Transformation initiatives to develop a plan that allows some discretion in school design. This model is known as “Restart” and will allow schools and districts to alter the school calendar allowing those schools affected to begin school at an early enough date that fall semester exams could be completed before the winter break. It is very likely that the schools that participate in this restart program will see immediate improvements in the areas of student growth and achievement. Our education system is the middle of
a great transformation. We have to think differently and accept changes to prepare students for their future. It is for that very reason that the time is now for us to put politics and financial benefit aside to do what is right for our students — including taking a look out our calendars and schedules. Most schools are still set up in a very industrial model where the emphasis is on informational distribution. Technology has afforded our students the opportunity to access this information without educators as the sole providers of that distribution. But the role of an educator has never been more important. Luke Brown is the Principal at Salisbury High School in Rowan County.
SOCIAL SPIN
COLUMN | WALTER E. WILLIAMS
Black History Month
The Social Spin is a new element of the North State Journal opinion page that recognizes the impact of social media channels on our collective conversation. If you have a favorite tweet or post, let us know using #SocialSpin and we may include it in a future issue.
CARTER G. WOODSON, noted scholar, historian and
Putting greater emphasis on black successes in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds is far superior to focusing on grievances and victimhood.
educator, created “Negro History Week” in 1926, which became Black History Month in 1976. Woodson chose February because it coincided with the birthdays of black abolitionist Frederick Douglass and President Abraham Lincoln. Americans should be proud of the tremendous gains made since emancipation. Black Americans, as a group, have made the greatest gains, over some of the highest hurdles, in a shorter span of time than any other racial group in mankind’s history. What’s the evidence? If one totaled black income and thought of us as a separate nation with our own gross domestic product, black Americans would rank among the world’s 20 richest nations. It was a black American, Colin Powell, who, as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, headed the world’s mightiest military. There are a few black Americans who are among the world’s richest and most famous personalities. The significance of these achievements is that in 1865, neither a former slave nor a former slave owner would have believed that such gains would be possible in a little over a century. As such, it speaks well of the intestinal fortitude of a people. Just as importantly, it speaks well of a nation in which such gains were possible. Those gains would have been impossible anywhere other than the U.S. Putting greater emphasis on black successes in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds is far superior to focusing on grievances and victimhood. Doing so might teach us some things that could help us today. Black education today is a major problem. Let’s look at some islands of success from yesteryear, when there was far greater racial discrimination and blacks were much poorer. From the late 1800s to 1950, some black schools were models of academic achievement. Black students at Washington’s racially segregated Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, as early as 1899, outscored white students in the District of Columbia schools on citywide tests. Dr. Thomas Sowell’s research in “Education: Assumptions Versus History” documents similar excellence at Baltimore’s Frederick Douglass High School, Atlanta’s Booker T. Washington High School, Brooklyn’s Albany Avenue School, New Orleans’ McDonogh 35 High School and others. These excelling students weren’t solely members of the black elite; most had parents who were manual laborers, domestic servants, porters and maintenance men. Academic excellence was obtained with skimpy school budgets, run-down buildings, handme-down textbooks and often 40 or 50 students in a class. Alumni of these schools include: Thurgood Marshall, the first black Supreme Court justice (Frederick Douglass); Gen. Benjamin Davis; Dr. Charles Drew, a blood plasma innovator; Robert C. Weaver, the first black Cabinet member; Sen. Edward Brooke; William
Beth Moore
@BethMooreLPM 2/12/2018
“It’s our elitism that makes us miserable people who don’t get along with anyone who’s not our mirror image. Ick. What a lame way to live.” N.C. ARCHIVES
Martin Luther King, Jr. at a speech in Durham, N.C.
Donald J. Trump Hastie, the first black federal judge (Dunbar); and Nobel laureate Martin Luther King Jr. (Booker T. Washington). These examples of pioneering success raise questions about today’s arguments about what’s needed for black academic success. Education experts and civil rights advocates argue that for black academic excellence to occur, there must be racial integration, small classes, big budgets and modern facilities. But earlier black academic successes put a lie to that argument. In contrast with yesteryear, at today’s Frederick Douglass High School, only 9 percent of students test proficient in English, and only 3 percent do in math. At Paul Laurence Dunbar, 12 percent of pupils are proficient in reading, and 5 percent are proficient in math. At Booker T. Washington, the percentages are 20 in English and 18 in math. In addition to low academic achievement, there’s a level of violence and disrespect to teachers and staff that could not have been imagined, much less tolerated, at these schools during the late 1800s and the first half of the 20th century. Many black political leaders are around my age, 81, such as Rep. Maxine Waters, delgate Eleanor Holmes Norton and Jesse Jackson. Their parents and other authorities would have never accepted the grossly disrespectful, violent behavior that has become the norm at many black schools. Their silence and support of the status quo makes a mockery of black history celebrations and represents a betrayal of epic proportions to the blood, sweat and tears of our ancestors in their struggle to make today’s educational opportunities available.
@realDonaldTrump 2/12/2018
“This will be a big week for Infrastructure. After so stupidly spending $7 trillion in the Middle East, it is now time to start investing in OUR Country!” John Pavlovitz @johnpavlovitz 2/12/2018
“You cannot be both For God so loved the world—and America First. You cannot preach the Gospel, while despising refugees and foreigners and immigrants. You can’t claim that “all lives matter”, while protecting only your own kind.”
Walter E. Williams is a professor of economics at George Mason University.
BE IN TOUCH Letters addressed to the editor may be sent to letters@nsjonline.com or 509 W. North St. Raleigh, N.C. 27603. Letters must be signed; include the writer’s phone number, city and state; and be no longer than 300 words. Letters may be edited for style, length or clarity when necessary. Ideas for op-eds should be sent to opinion@nsjonline.com.
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North State Journal for Wednesday, February 14, 2018
Nation & WORLD
NEWS IN IMAGES
VINCENT WEST | REUTERS
Townswomen dressed as Lamia, with their faces painted white and eyes darkened, sing and dance on Carnival Sunday, in the Basque coastal town of Mundaka, northern Spain, on Feb. 11.
After Porter scandal, White House leaves clearance changes up to FBI Washington, D.C. Grappling with the fallout over a former aide accused of domestic abuse, the White House on Monday said any changes in how security clearance investigations are conducted on President Donald Trump’s team would be up to the FBI and intelligence agencies. Former White House staff secretary Rob Porter, who resigned under pressure on Wednesday, had been operating under a temporary clearance that gave him access to classified information, in the absence of a final security clearance.
20 years after kidnapping newborn, Florida woman pleads guilty Jacksonville, Fla. A Florida woman on Monday pleaded guilty to abducting a newborn from a Jacksonville hospital in 1998 and will be sentenced to more than 20 years in prison, according to court proceedings. The woman, Gloria Williams, was arrested in January 2017 after Kamiyah Mobley, then 18, was located in Walterboro, S.C. Mobley was found, apparently unharmed according to police, after more than 2,500 tips on the case to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Justice Department charges “straw purchaser” in Ohio police shooting Washington, D.C. The U.S. Justice Department said Monday it has charged an Ohio man with acting as a “straw purchaser” of a gun used by a man accused of shooting and killing two police officers on Saturday. Gerald A. Lawson III, 30, of Warrensville Heights, Ohio, was charged with aiding and abetting the possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, the department said.
Syrian government rejects U.N.-led committee to alter constitution New York Syria’s government on Tuesday rejected efforts led by the United Nations to form a committee to rewrite Syria’s constitution, the main result of a peace congress among Syrian groups in Russia last month. “As a state, we are not bound by, nor have any relation with, any committee that is not Syrian formed, led and constituted,” said Ayman Soussan, an assistant to the Syrian Foreign Minister, in Damascus.
Food allergy sufferers win apology over “Peter Rabbit” Los Angeles Movie studio Sony Pictures apologized on Monday for a scene in its “Peter Rabbit” children’s film after an online outcry from sufferers of food allergies. The scene in question portrays rabbit archenemy Mr. McGregor, who is allergic to blackberries, being pelted with the berries by a gang of bunnies. He ultimately has an allergic reaction that requires the use of epinephrine.
RICARDO MORAES | REUTERS
SHANNON STAPLETON | REUTERS
Jambo, a Briard breed, is groomed in the benching area on Day One of competition at the Westminster Kennel Club 142nd Annual Dog Show in New York, on Feb. 12.
A reveller from Mocidade samba school performs during the first night of the Carnival parade at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, on Feb. 12.
North Korea’s Kim Yo Jong gets positive press despite sanctions for human rights abuses North Korea nominal head of state Kim Long Nam (left) and Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un greet the women’s hockey team from Korea after women’s ice hockey Group B play against Switzerland in the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic Winter Games at Kwandong Hockey Centre in Gangneung, on Feb. 10.
Critics call media coverage of Un’s sister “weaponsgrade gullibility” By NSJ Staff SEOUL — A prim, young woman with a high forehead and hair half swept back captured a lot of attention early during the Winter Olympics games, but she was far from an athlete. Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, holds the title of Propaganda and Agitation Department of the Workers’ Party of Korea. She has been sanctioned by the U.S. government for human rights abuses. Still, she received positive U.S. media coverage of her appearance on behalf of North Korea at the games, sparking widespread criticism. CNN said she was “stealing the show,” while The Washington Post called her the “Ivanka Trump of North Korea” in one headline. The New York Times said she “turned on the charm” and took “Pence’s spotlight,” referring to the American vice president who attended with the father of Otto Warmbier, the University of Virginia student who died from injuries sustained while imprisoned in North Korea. David French, senior fellow at the National Review Institute, said North Korea’s effort to use Kim Yo Jong for propaganda highlighted media’s “weapons-grade gullibility.” “A media fail this large displays all the press’ faults at once — partisanship, ideology, and clickbait culture come together to create a perfect storm of stupidity,” said French in a editorial published by National Review. With so little known about her (even her age of 28 is unconfirmed), scrutiny on Kim Yo Jong was intense, dominating local media and
ANDREW NELLES | USA TODAY SPORTS
internet chatrooms. Reportedly schooled in Switzerland and the youngest daughter of former leader Kim Jong Il, Kim Yo Jong holds a senior role in a regime accused by a United Nations inquiry of systematic torture, starvation and killings comparable to Nazi-era atrocities. Last January, the U.S. Treasury Department blacklisted her along with six other North Korean officials for “severe human rights abuses” and censorship that concealed the regime’s “inhumane and oppressive behavior.” “Among the upper class in Pyongyang, she is a frightening presence” because of her relationship with her brother, said An Chan-il, a former North Korean military officer who now runs a think tank in Seoul. “She has been thought of as royalty since she was born, and she sees herself that way as well.” Crowds applauded as she stood for the South Korean anthem
during the opening ceremony, but Kim Yo Jong’s aloof expression and high-tilted chin when she wasn’t meeting with high-ranking South Korean government officials prompted scorn from many South Koreans. “Her neck is straight, and her head is skewed to the right, automatically sending her gaze down. I think this comes from her thinking she is above everyone else,” said Bae Sang-hoon, professor of police science at Seoul Digital University and a former criminal profiler at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. Kim Yo Jong’s visit to South Korea, the first by a member of the North’s ruling bloodline since their 1950-53 war, could hardly have come at a more acute time. While the United States has appeared to endorse deeper post-Olympics engagement between the two Koreas, it has also stressed the need to ramp up sanctions to force North Korea to
Netanyahu says Israel undeterred after Syria shoots down F-16 By Jeffrey Heller and Lisa Barrington Reuters JERUSALEM/BEIRUT — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israeli forces would press ahead with Syria operations despite their loss of an advanced warplane to enemy fire for the first time in 36 years. Syrian anti-aircraft fire downed the F-16 as it returned from a bombing raid on Iran-backed positions in Syria early on Saturday. The Iran-backed forces are supporting President Bashar al-Assad in Syria’s near seven-year civil war. Israel then launched a second and more intensive air raid, hitting what it said were 12 Iranian and Syrian targets in Syria, including Syrian air defense systems. “Yesterday we landed hard blows on the forces of Iran and Syria. We made unequivocally clear to everyone that our modus operandi has not changed one bit,” he said. Iran’s involvement in Syria, including the deployment of Iranbacked forces near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, has
ALAA AL-FAQIR | REUTERS
A tractor pulls a part of a missilein Quneitra, Syria, on Feb. 10.
alarmed Israel, which has said it would counter any threat. Israel also has accused Iran of planning to build precision-guided missile factories in Lebanon. The downing of the F-16 over northern Israel — as the air force struck back for what it said was an incursion by an Iranian drone launched from Syria — was a rare setback for a country that relies on regional military supremacy. Security cabinet minister Yuval Steinitz told Israel Radio the
Iranian drone was modeled on the U.S. RQ-170 drone that was downed in Iran in 2011. The U.S. Embassy did not immediately comment. The jet’s two-man crew survived with injuries, and Israeli generals insisted they had inflicted much greater damage in Syria — even as Damascus claimed a strategic gain in the decades-old standoff with its old foe to the south. Israel said it had destroyed
give up development of nuclear missiles capable of hitting the United States. On Tuesday, the U.S. director of national intelligence, Dan Coats, said North Korea presented “a potentially existential” threat to the United States and said time was running out to act on the threat. “Decision time is becoming ever closer in terms of how we respond to this,” Coats told a hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee. “Our goal is a peaceful settlement. We are using maximum pressure on North Korea in various ways.” CIA Director Mike Pompeo told the same hearing there was “no indication there’s any strategic change” in Kim’s desire to retain a nuclear threat to the United States. He said last month that North Korea could be only “a handful of months” away from being able wage a nuclear attack on the U.S. Reuters News Service contributed to this report.
three Syrian anti-aircraft batteries and four targets “that are part of Iran’s military establishment” in Syria during Saturday’s raids. “This is the broadest attack on Syria’s defense systems since (Operation) Peace for the Galilee,” air force Brig. Gen. Amnon Ein Dar told Army Radio, referring to Israel’s 1982 Lebanon offensive, in which it battled Syrian forces. It was also the first downing of an Israeli warplane by enemy fire since that conflict. In Syria, the pro-government al-Watan newspaper said the country’s air defenses had “destroyed the myth of Israeli air superiority in the region.” Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group spoke of the “start of a new strategic phase” that would limit Israel’s activity in Syrian airspace, where Israeli planes have regularly attacked suspected weapons shipments to the Islamist movement. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was due to begin a previously scheduled visit to the region on Sunday, expecting what a State Department official said would be “tough conversations.” He is due to travel to Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt and Kuwait during the Feb 11-16 trip. In a telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday, Netanyahu affirmed Israel’s right to self-defense and pledged continued cooperation with Moscow to avoid inadvertent clashes with Russian forces in Syria.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2018
SPORTS
Why does Carolina give up so many threes? B3
2018 WINTER OLYMPICS
COUNTRY
Apex’s Randi Griffin (No. 37) battles for the puck in Korea’s game against Switzerland during women’s hockey group play on Saturday at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The unified Korean team has lost both its games by an 8-0 score, but it has been one of the early feel-good stories of the Games because the team is made up of players from the both the North and South. Griffin, who is working on her doctorate at Duke, joined Team Korea when the unified team sought out players with Korean ancestry to compete in the Olympics.
TOTAL
5 2 2 9 4 4 2 10 3 5 3 11 3 4 3 10 3 1 2 6
BRIAN SNYDER | REUTERS
the Wednesday SIDELINE REPORT
Tobacco Road’s wild week alters expectations
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Virginia No. 1 for first time since ’82; Duke 12th, North Carolina 14th New York Virginia is No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 poll for the first time since 1982. Coach Tony Bennett's Cavaliers earned 30 of 65 firstplace votes from the national media panel in the latest AP poll released Monday, despite suffering an overtime home loss to Virginia Tech on Saturday. Virginia (23-2) outdistanced No. 2 Michigan State in the poll shakeup that included last week's top three teams all losing. The Cavaliers climbed one spot to No. 1 for the first time since December 1982. North Carolina climbed to 14th, just two spots behind No. 12 Duke.
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N.C. native Heath leaving Kansas State to transfer “closer to home” Manhattan, Kan. Junior wide receiver Dominique Heath announced he will be transferring from Kansas State “to continue my football career closer to home.” Heath, a graduate transfer from Huntersville who would be eligible to play for his new school on the fall, leaves the Wildcats with 95 receptions for 947 yards and seven touchdowns. In 2017, he had career lows in catches (22), yards (196) and touchdowns (one).
GOLF
St. Andrews to host 150th Open Championship St. Andrews, Scotland The Old Course at St. Andrews will be the site of the 150th Open Championship to be played in 2021, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club announced Monday. The British Open is the world's oldest major golf tournament. It will also mark the 30th time the tournament has been held on the Old Course, and the first since Zach Johnson won the Claret Jug for his second career major title.
Pivotal week shuffles fortunes of Triangle ACC teams By Shawn Krest North State Journal
start. Thursday’s two 150-mile Can-Am Duels (broadcast on FS1, starting with the first qualifying race at 7 p.m., followed by the second around 8:30 p.m.) will determine the starting order of the rest of the field — and perhaps tip off the drivers, crews and fans as to which teams are the ones to beat over the weekend.
SO, WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED? Last week was a pivotal week for the three Triangle teams. North Carolina was reeling, barely clinging to a spot in the Top 25 and facing a brutal portion of the schedule. Duke was the undisputed best of the three teams, and NC State had played itself onto the NCAA bubble. Five games over six days changed all of that. Or did it? The UNC-Duke game is a sweeps month event, with two of the top programs in basketball history clashing in the best rivalry in sports. What it isn’t, however, is a season-defining game. Over the last seven years, the winner of the first Duke-Carolina game has gone 29-7 afterward, leading up to the season-ending rematch between the two teams. That’s an .805 winning percentage. The loser of that game has gone 30-4, .882. Only once in that seven-year span has the winner had a better post-game record than the loser over the next month. So, there’s still plenty of season left for all three area teams. Still, all three teams exit last week’s gauntlet with very different trajectories than they entered.
N.C. born and bred
North Carolina
Six drivers from North Carolina will compete in the Can-Am Duels for a spot in the 500: High Point’s Ryan Blaney, Charlotte’s William Byron, Lewisville’s Austin and Ty Dillon, Mooresville’s Jeffrey Earnhardt and Concord’s Corey LaJoie. If those last names — with the exception of Byron — sound familiar, they should: All are legacy drivers. Blaney is the son of former Ohio-born Cup driver Dave Blaney, who has literally been oneupped by Ryan (a winner last year at Pocono) since he never won in 473 Cup races. The Dillon brothers are the children of Mike Dillon (he had one Cup race, a 35th-place finish at Fontana in 1998) and grandchildren of legendary car owner Richard Childress. Mike Dillon is general manager at RCR.
The Tar Heels entered the week in the worst spot and had the toughest task. So, of course, they came out looking the best. Carolina knocked off Duke in another classic game, upsetting the Blue Devils at the Smith Center. The Heels then went to PNC Arena and won the rematch with NC State in another wild, back-and-forth game. Two days later, Carolina finished off the run by grinding out a win over Notre Dame. The Heels have played themselves into a top-four spot in the ACC, which would give them one of the double-byes into the quarterfinals of the tournament in Brooklyn. More importantly, they seem to have tightened up their perimeter defense, at least a little bit, and discovered some reliable scorers outside of Luke Maye and Joel Berry II.
See RACING, page B3
See BASKETBALL, page B4
JASEN VINLOVE | USA TODAY SPORTS
The No. 24 car of Charlotte NASCAR Cup Series driver William Bryon sits on pit road during qualifying for the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.
Cup racing is back with the Daytona 500 13
of the 62 drivers who have ever won a Cup race at Daytona International Speedway will compete in this year’s 500
Former winners, past champions and six North Carolinians will compete Sunday in NASCAR’s biggest event By Cory Lavalette North State Journal NO ONE KNOWS how to wave the green flag on a sports season quite like the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, which holds its marquee event — the Daytona 500 — as the first stop on its 36race schedule. Martin Truex Jr. dominated the 2017 regular season and then came out on top during the playoffs for his first Cup title. He will look to carry that momentum into Daytona, where he has one regular season win — back in 2005 when in the then-Busch (now Xfinity) Series. NASCAR’s biggest day, however, has seen a different driver in Victory Lane frequently in recent years. Here’s a tale of the tape for Sunday’s Daytona 500 (2:30 p.m., Fox). On the front row All that’s guaranteed so far is Alex Bowman and Joey Logano will be up front come Sunday’s
NC State The Wolfpack were riding a three-game winning streak and had a legitimate argument that their resume was worthy of an NCAA bid, with wins over Arizona, Duke and the Tar Heels. They had a chance to wrap up the “state title” in the rematch
North State Journal for Wednesday, February 14, 2018
B2 WEDNESDAY
2.14.18
TRENDING
Eric McClure: The former NASCAR driver was arrested in Virginia on Sunday on a misdemeanor charge of assault and battery in a domestic incident. McClure, 39, was released on an unsecured bond of $2,500, according to the clerk’s office of the Smyth County (Virginia) Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court. He was arrested at his home by Smyth County deputies following an altercation with his wife, according to an affidavit obtained by ESPN. McClure made 288 career starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series from 2003 to 2016. His career-best finish was eighth in the 2013 season-opening Xfinity race at Daytona. He made three career starts in Cup Series. Mirai Nagasu: The U.S, women’s figure skater, whose Japanese immigrant parents run a sushi restaurant and mother handsewed her costumes, made skating history by becoming the first American woman — and only the third woman overall — to land a triple axel jump at an Olympics. Esteban Loaiza: The former major league pitcher was arrested in San Diego on three felony charges, including possession of more than 44 pounds of drugs.Loaiza, 46, is being held on $200,000 bail by the San Diego Sheriff’s office after Friday’s arrest for possession of heroin and cocaine over 20 kilograms, and the possession and transportation of narcotics with the intent to sell. Loaiza, a native of Tijuana, Mexico, is due to appear in court Wednesday, according to records obtained by USA Today on Monday.
beyond the box score POTENT QUOTABLES
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Point guard Jose Alvarado, Georgia Tech’s second leading scorer, will miss the remainder of the season with a fractured left elbow, coach Josh Pastner announced Monday. Alvarado suffered the injury when he fell on his arm during Sunday’s 80-69 loss to Duke. It was initially described as a dislocated elbow, but Pastner said Monday that X-rays revealed the fracture. Alvarado will undergo surgery and will need six to eight weeks to recover. Alvarado averaged 12.1 points, three assists and 3.7 rebounds this season.
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“The game means nothing tonight if you don’t win tomorrow.” Hurricanes forward Justin Williams after Carolina’s 4-1 win Friday over Vancouver. Carolina beat Colorado 3-1 on Saturday.
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NBA
NASCAR
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“I’ve seen this in practice a couple of times. Y’all are in trouble.” UNC’s Theo Pinson on Luke Maye’s dominant 33-point performance in the Tar Heels’ 96-89 win at NC State. COLLEGE FOOTBALL
23 The Tar Heels’ national ranking for its 2018 football recruiting class following last week’s signing day, according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings. UNC had six four-star recruits, the same as NC State, which was 26th in the rankings. Rankings for some other in-state programs were: Wake Forest (60th), Duke (61st), ECU (92nd) and App State (112th).
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Brad Keselowski won the exhibition Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona International Speedway, leading Team Penske to a 1-2-4 finish. Keselowski, who led 41 of the 75 laps, bested teammate Joey Logano, last year’s Clash winner. Kurt Busch finished third and Team Penske newbie Ryan Blaney fourth. Ford drivers swept the top four positions.
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The Boston Celtics retired Paul Pierce’s No. 34 on Sunday and also dubbed the entryway from the locker room to the playing floor the “Paul Pierce Players’ Tunnel” in a ceremony at TD Garden in Boston. Pierce’s number is the 22nd number retired by the Celtics. Pierce, who played college basketball at Kansas, won a title with Boston in 2008.
OLYMPICS
PHIL NOBLE | REUTERS
U.S. speedskater Heather Richardson Bergsma finished eighth in the 1,500-meter women’s event, finishing nearly two seconds slower than that of gold medalist Ireen Wust of the Netherlands. It was Bergsma’s first race in these Games. She will also take part in the 1,000 meters, her best event, on Wednesday, and two other events.
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North State Journal for Wednesday, February 14, 2018
NC football coaches make landing in-state recruits a priority The state’s best high school talent is still often leaving, but the gap is closing By Brett Friedlander North State Journal For the longest time, tobacco was the most sought-after commodity produced by the state of North Carolina. These days, it’s football talent. The problem is, so much of that football talent has been exported to other states that there hasn’t always been enough to go around for schools here at home. It’s a situation coaches Larry Fedora of UNC and Dave Doeren of NC State addressed directly and vowed to change from the day they were hired in 2012 and 2013, respectively. To their credit, both have begun making inroads toward keeping the best high school recruits closer to home. Although the consensus No. 1 prospect, Scotland County running back Zamir White, is headed to Georgia, five of the top 10 players in the Class of 2018 as ranked by 247Sports and five of the top 12 according to Rivals.com signed with either the Wolfpack or Tar Heels. And one other ended up at Wake Forest. In all, Doeren added 10 new players from the Old North State while Fedora landed six during the new December early signing period and last week’s traditional date for signing NCAA Letters of Intent. “The importance of local and in-state talent staying home, to me, is critical,” Doeren said. “At my opening press conference, I talked about building a championship program and doing it with in-state kids and trying to get as many of them to understand the benefits of being home. “We’ve been able to explain,
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Green Hope’s Jordyn Adams, rated the No. 2 player in N.C. and the son of UNC defensive line coach Deke Adams, signed with North Carolina. educate and sell those things to recruits and families, and they’re hitting home with them. That’s great, because there’s incredible talent in our state and we don’t want them to leave.” Doeren’s Wolfpack was able to attract outside linebacker Payton Wilson of Orange High School, the state’s No. 4-rated prospect who originally committed to UNC; No. 5 prospect Ricky Wilson, a running back from Heritage High; and No. 8 Alim McNeill, the defensive tackle from Sanderson High. Wide receiver Devin Carter of Clayton, the state’s 19th-ranked player, is also a member of the Wolfpack’s incoming class.
“The importance of local and in-state talent staying home, to me, is critical.” — Dave Doeren, NC State coach Fedora’s local haul included No. 2-rated wide receiver Jordyn Adams of Green Hope, the son of Tar Heels defensive line coach Deke Adams; No. 9 Avery Jones, an offensive guard from Havelock; and a a pair of top 25 recruits — “athlete” Dyami Brown of West Mecklenburg (No. 13) and running back Davon Lawrence of Wake
Struggles from way downtown A closer look at the strategy behind UNC’s 3-point defense By Shawn Krest North State Journal CHAPEL HILL — Much has been made of North Carolina’s struggles to defend the 3-pointer this season. The Tar Heels have given up 276 threes. That’s already 10thmost in ACC history, with a month to go before the start of the NCAA Tournament. While raw totals of threes allowed may not be the best measure of a team’s perimeter defense, the other stats aren’t any better. Carolina is giving up 10.22 threes per game, which would break the all-time ACC record by more than half a three per contest. Opponents are hitting at a .384 percentage, which would be Carolina’s worst season in 26 years. “I have no answers, guys,” coach Roy Williams said after Clemson hit 15 of 30 treys to upset Carolina. “I’ve never emphasized something as much in my entire life, but you’ve got to congratulate them. They stepped up and made it.” Clearly, the Tar Heels’ defense could be better, but a closer look reveals that there may be more to the numbers than just sheer futility. Yes, the 276 threes allowed are the 10th-most in ACC history, but eight of the nine teams ahead of Carolina are previous UNC teams. It includes two national champions — 2017 UNC allowed 319, and the 2005 team allowed 299. It includes two teams coached by Dean Smith and one coached by Bill Guthridge. Also, the threes-per-game record UNC is threatening was set by Smith’s 1996 Heels, with his 1995 Final Four team in second place. The issue appears to be more complicated than just bad defense at the 3-point line. Instead, it’s a matter of how — or who — Carolina defends. Williams’ comment about having to congratulate the other team smacks of Smith, who frequently said, “Sometimes you’ve just got to shake the other guy’s hand,” after an opponent had a particularly good day against the Heels. He said it after Fred Vinson hit 8 of 12 from three in 1994. Williams also said something
Forest (No. 22). UNC’s in-state recruiting effort could have been even more successful, but it missed out on two other top players when linebacker Dax Hollifield of Shelby signed with Virginia Tech and defensive tackle Rick Standridge of Concord announced for Clemson on signing day last Wednesday. “We’re always going to work hard on the guys in the state of North Carolina,” Fedora said. “We recruited two guys in the state this last signing period and unfortunately we didn’t get either one of them.” Fedora is hoping the hiring of former Tar Heel player and Tennessee assistant coach Tommy
RACING from page B1 Earnhardt is the son of Kerry Earnhardt (a veteran of seven Cup races from 2000-05), and grandson of Dale Earnhardt Sr. and nephew of Dale Earnhardt Jr. LaJoie is the son of Randy LaJoie, a Connecticut-born racer who made one Daytona 500 start (for Bill Davis Racing in 1995, finishing 29th) but had most of his success in the Busch Series, winning back-to-back titles in 1996 and 1997. Victory lane’s frequent visitors
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Pittsburgh guard Jared Wilson-Frame shoots a 3-pointer over Tar Heels forward Theo Pinson at Smith Center.
276 3-pointers made by North Carolina’s opponents this season similar in 2012, when Florida State’s Deividas Dulkys hit 8 of 10. “It was a great performance shooting the basketball,” he said. Both games have something in common: Vinson was an outside threat on a star-laden Tech team that included ACC Tournament MVP James Forrest, Travis Best and Drew Berry. Dulkys was FSU’s seventh scoring option. In each case, as in many games this season, Carolina focuses on shutting down the biggest threats on an opponent, preferring to let a lesser talent beat them. In the two games against NC State, for instance, Allerik Freeman and Torin Dorn combined to hit 14 of 19 threes. The four Wolfpack players likely identified as bigger threats from outside — Braxton Beverly, Markell Johnson, Omer Yurtseven and Sam Hunt — shot 8 of 21. “I think we closed on better to take away some of the threes, which is what we wanted to do,” Williams said after the second game with the Pack, “I think Braxton had three threes in the first half and didn’t get any in the second half. I think we did a better job trying to run him off.” Against Notre Dame, outside
threats T.J. Gibbs, Matt Farrell, Rex Pflueger and D.J. Harvey shot 8 of 33, 140 percentage points lower than in all other games this season. Meanwhile, John Mooney and Nikola Djoko hit 11 of 16 from three, 327 percentage points higher. Similarly, Duke’s Gary Trent Jr. shot just 2 of 5 against the Heels, 55 points lower than in other games, and the nation’s leading 3-point shooter, Wofford’s Fletcher Magee, shot 4 of 12, 134 points lower. Williams admitted that Magee was a focus of the Carolina defense in that game. “He was 0 for 3 or 0 for 4, I think, at the half,” he said. “I said, ‘Guys, he’s the leading 3-point shooter in the nation. He had made 90 threes coming into the game, shooting 57.8 percent. He’s gonna come after you.’ And he did. But those were good shots for him. Kenny (Williams) I think, did a nice job on him.” Looking at the nine games against NC State, Notre Dame, Duke, Virginia Tech, Clemson and Wofford, the main outside threats for each team shot .356 from three against the Tar Heels, compared to .403 in all other games. The afterthoughts on those teams shot .506 from three, compared to .360 in all other games. Clearly, the UNC defense as a whole needs to tighten up, but just as clearly, the Tar Heels are capable of stopping the 3-pointer. As has been the case since the days of Dean Smith, however, it’s just a question of whose 3-pointers they choose to stop.
The retirement of Earnhardt Jr. (four wins) and Matt Kenseth (two) thins the herd of drivers who have had continued success at Daytona’s two annual Cup events. Only three active drivers have won multiple points races at the track: Jimmie Johnson (three), Kevin Harvick (two) and Jamie McMurray (two). A different driver has won in the last eight Daytona 500s, and all of them except Earnhardt Jr. and
B3 Thigpen, noted as one of the nation’s top recruiters, will help prevent more of those big fish from getting away in the future. There are certain factors, however, that even the best of recruiters can’t overcome. They include conference and national championships, high-profile coaches and a history of sending players to the NFL. Among the programs that poached top 25 North Carolina talent are Georgia, Clemson, South Carolina, Missouri, Oregon, Northwestern, Stanford and Notre Dame. Virginia Tech did the most damage with four instate stars. Buoyed by a successful ninewin season, signature wins against Florida State and rival UNC, and seven players invited to participate in this month’s NFL Combine, Doeren believes the gap between his program and the national name brands is rapidly shrinking. “We have something to sell right now,” he said, “and we have to keep working to make that a reality every year.” Though most schools wrapped up the majority of their 2018 recruiting classes during the December signing period, there were at least a few new additions among local schools last Wednesday. UNC was the most active with seven signees: DeAndre Hollins, a three-star cornerback from Tampa, Fla.; three-star linebacker Matthew Flint from Gurley, Ala.; Georgia three-star offensive tackle Joshua Ezeudu; offensive linemen Ed Montilus and William Barnes from Apopka, Fla.; threestar defensive lineman Gavin Lewis from Madison, Ala.; and four-star wide receiver Antoine Green from Rockledge, Fla. State signed two players, Southern Cal transfer tight end Cary Angeline and JUCO defensive tackle Val Martin. Duke picked up three-star cornerback Ken Torain, a former UCLA commit, while East Carolina got four-star defensive end Dorian Hardy, who was headed to Penn State before being involved in an off-the-field altercation at his high school in New Jersey.
Kenseth will be in the field. That includes 2017 winner Kurt Busch. No. 1 with a bullet While quite a few drivers have won from the pole at Daytona’s July event (five in the last 14 years, to be exact), Dale Jarrett was the last to do so at the 500 when he won in 2000. Bowman, who takes over the No. 24 Hendrick Ford this season with Chase Elliott moving to the team’s reborn No. 9 car, is still looking for his first Cup top five, but don’t rule him out — who can forget Trevor Bayne’s win in 2011, when the 20-years-andone-day-old took the checkered flag in his second Cup race. We are the champions Six former Cup winners will be in the field, led by Truex — the defending champ — and Johnson, who is looking for a record-breaking eighth title. The others are Kyle Busch, Harvick, Brad Keselowski and Kurt Busch, all one-time winners.
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Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon (No. 3), of Lewisville, pursues Chase Elliott (No. 9) during the Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona International Speedway. Dillon is one of six drivers from North Carolina set to compete in Sunday’s Daytona 500.
North State Journal for Wednesday, February 14, 2018
B4
State schools look for another big year on the diamond With college baseball season about to start, here’s a look at what to expect from N.C.’s teams By Brett Friedlander North State Journal
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East Carolina coach Scottie Montgomery and the Pirates face a difficult 2018 schedule.
ECU’s 2018 football schedule will test Pirates Seven bowl teams — including two that went undefeated — highlight a difficult slate for embattled coach Scottie Montgomery By Brett Friedlander North State Journal EAST CAROLINA football coach Scottie Montgomery knew he was going to face an uphill battle in his effort to improve from two straight 3-9 seasons and do enough to keep his job in 2018. With the announcement of next season’s schedule Tuesday, he learned just how high of a mountain he and his Pirates will have to climb. The good news is that ECU will play seven home games at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium for the second year in a row. The bad news — and there’s plenty of it — is that the Pirates will face seven bowl teams from a year ago, two teams that went undefeated, four teams that were ranked in the final AP poll and all four defending American Athletic Association Players of the Year. The gauntlet begins on Sept. 1 with a home date against defending HBCU national champion NC A&T, followed by back-to-back tests against ACC
foes — at home against North Carolina on Sept. 8 and on the road against Virginia Tech the following Saturday. The Pirates will begin conference play on the road for the third time in five AAC seasons at South Florida on Sept. 22. Among the highlights of an attractive, but difficult home schedule are appearances by 2017 AAC Offensive Player of the Year McKenzie Milton of Central Florida for homecoming on Oct. 20, Defensive Player of the Year Ed Oliver of Houston on Oct. 13 and the duo or Special Teams Player of the Year Tony Pollard and Rookie of the Year T.J. Carter of Memphis on Nov. 17. The other home dates are against nonconference foe Old Dominion on Sept. 29, and UConn on Nov. 17. “Our 2018 schedule offers both a tremendous challenge and opportunity,” Montgomery said in a release announcing the dates. “We again look forward to being in a position to play at least seven games at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium and I know everyone is excited about continuing our homeand-home series’ with the Tar Heels and Hokies. “Our American Conference schedule is set up in a fair manner and, although it presents familiarity with the same divisional format as a year ago, it remains as demanding as ever.”
South Florida, which went 10-2 last season and beat the Pirates 61‑31, is one of several difficult opponents on ECU’s schedule.
Sept. 1 NORTH CAROLINA A&T Sept. 8 NORTH CAROLINA Sept. 15 at Virginia Tech Sept. 22 *at USF Sept. 29 OLD DOMINION Oct. 6 *at Temple Oct. 13 *HOUSTON Oct. 20 *UCF Oct. 27 bye Nov. 3 *MEMPHIS Nov. 10 *at Tulane Nov. 17 *CONNECTICUT Nov. 23 (Fri.) *at Cincinnati Dec. 1 AAC Championship Game (highest-seed campus site) ABC/ESPN Home games in ALL CAPS; *American Athletics Conference game
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BASKETBALL from page B1 with the Heels. Instead, the Pack lost at Virginia Tech on Wednesday, allowing the Hokies to shoot .635 from the floor. Then State allowed the hated Heels to shoot .781 in the second half and suffered a second straight defeat. Afterward, coach Kevin Keatts didn’t quite deliver an NCAA concession speech, but he did speak about the team needing to “change expectations.”
NORTH CAROLINA has carved out a reputation for being one of the nation’s foremost hotbeds for college basketball. But when it comes to rabid fans, intense competition and teams with NCAA tournament aspirations, there’s even more quality and depth on baseball diamonds around the state than on its college hardwoods. With the season officially scheduled to begin this weekend, here’s a look at what to expect from some of North Carolina’s best and highest-profile Division I programs. UNC The Tar Heels’ 2017 season came to a disappointing end with a stunning NCAA regional upset at the hands of Davidson. But even with the loss of ACC Pitcher of the Year J.B. Bukauskas and several key bats, coach Mike Fox’s team shouldn’t stay down for long. UNC has been picked as the preseason favorite to win the ACC’s Coastal Division and is ranked among the top six in the nation in most of the early polls thanks to the return of talented sophomore Gianluca Dalatri on the mound and last year’s ACC Rookie of the Year Ashton McGee at the plate. Other returning veteran bats include outfielder Brandon Riley and first baseman Michael Busch and others. NC State Projections are mixed for a Wolfpack team that has been ranked as high as 13th in some preseason polls and not at all in others while being picked by the ACC’s coaches to finish fourth in the Atlantic Division. There are some questions — particularly on the mound and the left side of the infield, where shortstop Joe Dunand and third baseman Evan Mendoza were both high round MLB draft picks — but coach Elliott Avent always seems to find ways to piece together a winner. The success of this year’s team will hinge on the health and consistency of starting pitchers Johnny Piedmonte and Brian Brown. The lineup should still be formidable with the return of center fielder Josh McClain, second baseman Will Wilson, DH Brad Debo and left fielder Brett Kinneman. Duke The Blue Devils took a step back last year after making the NCAA tournament in 2016, but have high hopes this season thanks to the return of virtually every key player in their lineup and on the mound — including projected first-round draft pick Griffin Conine. The son of former major leaguer Jeff Conine, the junior right fielder hit 13 homers and drove in 56 runs last season and is protected in the batting order by .300 hitters Jimmy Herron, Kenie Taylor and Michael Smicklas. Though the pitching staff has some questions at the front end, closer Jack Labosky is as solid as they come in the late innings if the starters can consistently get games to him. Labosky is also Duke’s everyday third baseman and has shown some
power at the plate. Wake Forest The Deacons came one win away from eliminating eventual national champion Florida and earning their own trip to Omaha last spring, but lost the bulk of that team to graduation and the draft. Though some retooling will be necessary to replace sluggers Gavin Sheets, Stuart Fairchild and Ben Breazeale in a lineup that led the nation in homers, along with Friday starter Parker Dunshee, the cupboard is hardly bare. Hard-throwing right-hander Griffin Roberts passed up the draft to return to school, where he will move from the closer’s role into the starting rotation. Offensively, the top returner is third baseman Johnny Aiello, a preseason All-American who pounded out 20 of Wake’s 106 homers in 2017. ECU Injuries, bad luck and a 10game losing streak to start the AAC schedule derailed the Pirates postseason hopes last spring, but the healthy return of outfielder Dwanya Williams-Sutton and the further development of first baseman Spencer Brickhouse — a freshman All-American last year — provide hope for a quick bounce back. The pitching staff is loaded with live young arms, led by the lefty-righty starting combo of Jake Agnos and Trey Benton. Charlotte The 49ers are picked to finish sixth in Conference USA this season, but that shouldn’t discourage them. They were also picked to finish sixth last year and they went on to win 34 games, placing third during the regular season. Charlotte returns 16 players from last season, including third baseman Jackson Mims, who hit .319 and led the team with 20 doubles as a freshman. Best of the rest • Despite having to replace seven position players, perennial power UNC Wilmington was again picked as the team to beat in the CAA, thanks to a talented pitching staff led by reigning CAA Pitcher of the Year Alex Royalty and hard-throwing sophomore Zarion Sharpe. • UNC Greensboro is the preseason pick to win the Southern Conference for the second straight season on the strength of five first-team preseason allleague picks — led by last year’s conference Rookie of the Year Caleb Webster. Western Carolina placed fourth in the coaches poll. • Davidson will have a hard time topping the best season in school history, in which it won its first-ever conference title while advancing to an NCAA Super Regional. The Wildcats were picked to finish fifth in this season’s Atlantic 10 preseason poll. • Appalachian State’s hopes for a successful season are bolstered by the addition of eight junior college transfers, nine freshmen and one Division I transfer. • In the Big South, High Point is picked to finish third, with Campbell placing fifth, Gardner-Webb seventh and UNC Asheville ninth in the preseason poll.
Duke The Blue Devils entered the week with a top-10 ranking and hoping to use a shocking loss to St. John’s as a wake-up call. Instead, Duke exits the week with far more questions than answers. The loss to the Heels would have been a tough blow, but the way the Blue Devils lost was particularly troubling. As usual, the rivalry game came down to which team wanted it more, and, for the first time in recent memory, that team wasn’t Duke. The Devils were outhustled and out-toughed by the Heels and appeared to be lacking leadership on the court. That was enough for coach Mike Krzyzewski to begin making adjustments. After using the same starting lineup for the first 24 games of the season — the longest Duke has gone with one lineup since Johnny Dawkins, Mark Alarie, Jay Bilas, Daniel Meagher and
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Brandon Robinson and the Tar Heels stepped over both NC State and Duke in the Tobacco Road pecking order after beating both in a span of less than 48 hours. Tommy Amaker started the first 29 games of 1983-84 — the Blue Devils had two new starters for Sunday’s game at Georgia Tech. Marvin Bagley III sat out with a sore knee. In his place was Marques Bolden, who is working his way back from his own knee injury. Assuming Bagley’s night off was, as reported, just a precaution, the far more significant change was freshman point guard Trevon Duval sitting out, replaced by Alex O’Connell. Duval earned criticism after the UNC loss for tweeting out video of his own highlights. As the
point guard, Duval was also largely responsible for Coach K’s criticism that Duke, wasn’t “running what we wrote up during the time outs.” Duke will need a reliable point guard in order to make a deep tournament run and, at the moment, there doesn’t appear to be one on the roster. With a month to go in the regular season, the Blue Devils are still attempting to build depth and find a lineup that works. The good news is that there’s still a month to go and, as last week demonstrated, a lot can change in a very short time.
CHRISTINE T. NGUYEN | NORTH STATE JOURNAL | FILE
NC State coach Elliott Avent has found a way to make the Wolfpack competitive year after year.
This Valentine’s treat floats, Page 6
WEDNESDAY
2.14.18
NORTH
STATE
JOURNaL
the good life IN A NORTH STATE OF MIND
play list
Feb. 14 6th Valentine’s Day Gala: Love’s Journey Brick & Mortar Events, Clayton Celebrate Valentine’s Day with the Clayton Piano Festival at the 6th annual Valentine’s Day Gala. Guests will enjoy a variety of bluegrass to classical opera love songs performed by acclaimed musicians Curtis Bannister, Christin Danchi and Jonathan Levin. The Gala begins at 6:30 p.m. and tickets include a full course meal, concert and reception.
Feb. 15 Triad Jewish Film Festival Red Cinema, Greensboro Enjoy the annual Triad Jewish Film Festival — a series of six films throughout February. The film festival is presented by the Greensboro Jewish Federation and showcases Jewish films.
Feb. 17-18 For the Love of Wine & Chocolate South Creek Winery, Nebo Delight in delicious wine and chocolate pairings at South Creek Winery and taste South Creek’s newest rosé — Diva Rosé. Wine baskets are available for visitors to purchase and the event is open from 1-5 p.m. both days.
Feb. 17 Run Oak Island E. Dolphin Drive, Oak Island Whether an experienced runner or causal walker, Run Oak Island has an event for you, including a full marathon, half marathon, 5K or 1-mile fun run/walk. Participants will enjoy water views during the race as well as post-race events featuring a DJ, food and beer. Outhouse Races Sapphire Valley Road, Sapphire PHOTO COURTESY OF KEITH ISAACS PHOTO
Coleem Speaks, the owner of PoshNosh Catering, smiles as she makes a drink at Hummingbird, a new bar and café in Raleigh.
New Raleigh hot spot offers food, drink and the pursuit of happiness By Laura Ashley Lamm North State Journal RALEIGH – Chef and entrepreneur Coleen Speaks has set out to make the world a happier place. “Happiness should be the underlying principle in everyone’s mind. Happy employees. Happy guests. This creates an awesome energy you can’t fake. It’s a real thing. And finding your happy place, that is my thing,” said Speaks. Speaks, as owner of PoshNosh Catering, has been helping people find happiness through culinary creations for more than a decade. And, with her recent opening of Hummingbird, a neighborhood bar and café, she’s brining happiness to a whole new level. “With Hummingbird, I tried to create this really beautiful space that is happy. You can feel it in there. It has its own aura for sure,” said Speaks. Hummingbird, located on Whitaker Mill Road in Raleigh, is open for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and late night, Monday through Saturday, providing guests with signature cocktails such as Big Willy Style and Stamen it all on Love in addition to edible delights
such as Lamb Meatballs and Buttermilk Fried Quail. The mint green tiled walls and yellow-topped bar stools create a soft atmosphere in what was once a 1950s era warehouse that has been delicately transformed into the neighborhood hot spot. “The Hummingbird name came first. The flower essence to our cocktails came because hummingbirds love flowers and it gives a subtle hint of femininity and the female ownership of the bar,” said Speaks. “I had many names I was running through, but before we started construction, I went by there by myself one Saturday morning. The bar itself used to be an old 1950s warehouse bathroom. It was still a bathroom with sinks and toilets, and I was sitting in the corner on the floor looking at it and trying to envision how it was going to be on opening day. I thought, “it’s really tiny, efficient and beautiful. What is all of that? A hummingbird.” Hummingbird, in addition to PoshNosh Catering, has a flair for New Orleans, a homage to where Speaks spent years fine-tuning her craft. She entered the service industry at the age of 15, when she began waiting tables in her home-
town of St. Louis, Missouri. Her career began at Emeril Lagasse’s NOLA Restaurant, and locally at Bloomsbury Bistro and Enoteca Vin with Chef Ashley Christensen. As PoshNosh was born, she began cooking out of her house and catering small parties, growing and building her business through word-of-mouth. “I found there was a lot of opportunity for people to do really interesting things with food here in Raleigh. I thought I would capitalize on that and never intended to have a big business. I always wanted a small boutique, custom operation which is still what we are,” added Speaks. The attention to detail is what continues to drive her business. Catering menus are all custom and she plays host to weddings and other celebrations in the attached event space, Whitaker & Atlantic. Renovated to preserve the urban roots of its warehouse past, the 5,500 square foot space has a unique character and comfort, providing a fitting backdrop to Speaks' culinary whimsy. “Food brings people together and makes them feel good,” said Speaks. “Each guest should be made to feel special.”
Calling teams of three for the Outhouse Race in Sapphire Valley where homemade outhouses are secured to snow skies and equipped with a seat and roll of toilet paper. One team member sits inside the outhouse navigating the course as the other team members provide a running start push. The United States Air Force Heritage Brass in Concert High Point Theatre, High Point Honor the men and women of the United States Air Force with musical ensemble Heritage Brass. These professional Airmanmusicians will celebrate Air Force Core Values through jazz, orchestral transcriptions and patriotic sounds. International Championship of Collegiate A Capella South Quarterfinal The Carolina Theatre, Durham Discover the one of a kind a cappella showcase featuring both The Varsity Vocals International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) and The Varsity Vocals International Championship of High School A Cappella (ICHSA). These talented vocalist groups will perform before audiences and judges for a chance to advance to the ICCA South Semifinal.
North State Journal for Wednesday, February 14, 2018
B6
NeCessities! stir it up
history marked Feb. 17, 1945
Medal of Honor winner Rufus Herring of Sampson County
with Soyer au Champagne
Roseboro native Rufus G. Herring captained Gunboat 449 into the bay at Iwo Jima two days before the American invasion of the Japanese-held island. Herring’s mission, along with that of six other landing craft infantry units, was to provide covering fire for an Underwater Demolition Team as they conducted reconnaissance of the beach. On entering the bay, Herring’s ship bore the brunt of the Japanese artillery fire, and two “serious fires” temporarily disabled it. All officers on board except the engineer were killed, wounded or missing. Herring himself was seriously wounded and began losing strength due to severe bleeding. Despite his critical condition, he continued to maintain command of the ship, providing cover for the recon team and eventually steering the crippled ship back to safety. For “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty,” Herring was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in September 1945. Life magazine later reported that Herring fell in love with his nurse while recuperating in a naval hospital. The couple married and returned to Roseboro where he ran a farm and lumber business.
An ounce of this and a splash of that, top this Valentine’s Day with a special cocktail from Chef Coleen Speaks of Hummingbird, the quaint cocktail bar and restaurant on Whitaker Mill Road in Raleigh. Perfect for a festive night or a quiet toast for two, this cocktail is the adult take on an ice cream float.
Ingredients:
1 oz. Good quality vanilla ice cream 1/4 oz. Copper & Kings Brandy 1/4 oz. Luxardo 1/4 oz. Cointreau Pour Prosecco to top Add a brandied cherry to garnish
Place ice cream scoop in chilled coupe glass. Add booze. Top with bubbles and cherry. Enjoy!
Feb. 17, 1963
Basketball superstar Michael Jordan born American basketball superstar Michael Jeffrey Jordan was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. Before his first birthday, Jordan’s parents moved to Wilmington, where he played three sports at Laney High School and was named to the McDonald’s All-American team. As a UNC Chapel Hill freshman, Jordan scored the winning basket in the 1982 NCAA title game. In 1984, he was named College Player of the Year and won the first of two Olympic gold medals (the other was in 1992) with the U.S. men’s basketball team. After his junior year at Carolina, Jordan entered the NBA Draft and was picked by the Chicago Bulls. His highCHRIS KEANE | REUTERS scoring, high-flying antics quickly made “Air Jordan” an international sports celebrity and marketing marvel. After leading the Bulls to three consecutive NBA championships, Jordan unexpectedly retired in 1993 to pursue a career in baseball. He rejoined the Bulls in 1995 and led them to three more NBA titles before retiring again in 1999. After a two-year hiatus, Jordan returned to basketball, playing with the Washington Wizards. He retired for the final time in 2003. Now the primary owner of the Charlotte Hornets, Jordan is still widely regarded as the best basketball player of all time.
PHOTO COURTESY OF KEITH ISAACS PHOTO
Fasting or champagne? Valentine’s Day, Ash Wednesday in rare confluence
People sell balloons for Valentine’s Day in Los Angeles,on Feb. 14, 2017.
By Reuters Staff BOSTON — Chocolates and champagne or ashes and fasting? That's the question many Christians will face on Wednesday, when Valentine's Day and the Ash Wednesday holiday marking the start of Lent fall on the same day for the first time since World War Two. "Can't wait for Wednesday. I'm going to tell everyone: 'You are loved and you are going to die,'" Christopher James, a professor at the Presbyterian University of Dubuque Theological Seminary, said on Twitter. Christian denominations call on their members to make various sacrifices during the 40-day Lenten season that leads up to Easter Sunday, including fasting from food, reflecting and carrying out extra acts of charity. Heavily Irish-American Roman Cath-
LUCY NICHOLSON | REUTERS | FILE
olic dioceses in the United States often make an exception when St. Patrick's Day falls on a Lenten Friday, allowing for the traditional corned beef and cabbage on a day when church members would normally be asked to avoid meat. But church leaders around the country said no such exception would be forthcoming when Ash Wednesday and Valentine's Day overlap for the first time since 1945. "Ash Wednesday and Good
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Friday are the only two days of the whole year on which fasting and abstinence are required," Bishop Richard Malone of Buffalo, New York, told church members in a video posted online Friday. "Those who are accustomed to celebrating Valentine's Day might do so the day before. Join it up with Mardis Gras." Christians will face a similar holiday overlap again in a few weeks' time, when April Fool's Day and Easter both fall on April 1.
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North State Journal for Wednesday, February 14, 2018
pen & paper pursuits
B7
comic relief sudoku
SOLUTIONS FROM 02.07.18
TAKE NOTICE RANDOLPH NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE 17 SP 455 Under and by virtue of the power of sale contained in a certain Deed of Trust made by Richard Dale Culbreth and Emily P. Culbreth, (Richard Dale Culbreth, Deceased) (Heirs of Richard Dale Culbreth: Emily P. Culbreth, Leigh Moser, Janie Truelove and Unknown Heirs of Richard Dale Culbreth) (PRESENT RECORD OWNER(S): Richard Dale Culbreth) to William R. Echols, Trustee(s), dated the 19th day of April, 2005, and recorded in Book RE 1918, Page 743, in Randolph County Registry, North Carolina, default having been made in the payment of the note thereby secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Substitute Trustee Services, Inc. having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust by an instrument duly recorded in the Office of the Register of Deeds of Randolph County, North Carolina and the holder of the note evidencing said indebtedness having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will offer for sale at the courthouse door in the City of Asheboro, Randolph County, North Carolina, or the customary location designated for foreclosure sales, at 1:30 PM on February 20, 2018 and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following real estate situated in the Township of Asheboro, in the County of Randolph, North Carolina, and being more particularly described as follows: Asheboro Township, Randolph County, North Carolina: Beginning at an existing iron pipe in the eastern right of way line of Maple Avenue (now or formerly Dwain Curtis’ southwest corner); thence from said beginning point South 87 degrees 53 minutes 00 seconds East 148.59 feet to an existing iron pipe; thence South 01 degree 08 minutes 08 seconds East 126.32 feet to an existing iron pipe in the northern right of way line of Trollinger Road; thence along said right of way line, South 89 degrees 45 minutes 52 seconds West 140.88 feet; thence along the curve of the northeast intersection of Trollinger Road and Maple Avenue as it curves to the right, (said curve having a radius of 25.39 feet and a tangent of 35.74 feet) and arc distance 48.40 feet; thence along the eastern right of way line of Maple Avenue as it curves to the left (said curve having a radius of 237.78 feet and a chord distance of 76.56 feet) an arc distance of 76.89 feet; thence containing along said right of way line, North 00 degrees 45 minutes 00 seconds East 23.05 feet to the beginning. Together with improvements located thereon; said property being located at 650 Maple Avenue, Asheboro, North Carolina. Trustee may, in the Trustee’s sole discretion, delay the sale for up to one hour as provided in NCGS §4521.23. Should the property be purchased by a third party, that party must pay the excise tax, as well as the court costs of Forty-Five Cents ($0.45) per One Hun-
dred Dollars ($100.00) required by NCGS §7A-308(a) (1). The property to be offered pursuant to this notice of sale is being offered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS, WHERE IS.” Neither the Trustee nor the holder of the note secured by the deed of trust/ security agreement, or both, being foreclosed, nor the officers, directors, attorneys, employees, agents or authorized representative of either the Trustee or the holder of the note make any representation or warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at or relating to the property being offered for sale, and any and all responsibilities or liabilities arising out of or in any way relating to any such condition expressly are disclaimed. Also, this property is being sold subject to all taxes, special assessments, and prior liens or encumbrances of record and any recorded releases. Said property is also being sold subject to applicable Federal and State laws. A deposit of five percent (5%) of the purchase price, or seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, is required and must be tendered in the form of certified funds at the time of the sale. If the trustee is unable to convey title to this property for any reason, the sole remedy of the purchaser is the return of the deposit. Reasons of such inability to convey include, but are not limited to, the filing of a bankruptcy petition prior to the confirmation of the sale and reinstatement of the loan without the knowledge of the trustee. If the validity of the sale is challenged by any party, the trustee, in their sole discretion, if they believe the challenge to have merit, may request the court to declare the sale to be void and return the deposit. The purchaser will have no further remedy. Additional Notice for Residential Property with Less than 15 rental units, including Single-Family Residential Real Property An order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 45-21.29 in favor of the purchaser and against the party or parties in possession by the clerk of superior court of the county in which the property is sold. Any person who occupies the property pursuant to a rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2007, may after receiving the notice of foreclosure sale, terminate the rental agreement by providing written notice of termination to the landlord, to be effective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 10 days but not more than 90 days, after the sale date contained in this notice of sale, provided that the mortgagor has not cured the default at the time the tenant provides the notice of termination. Upon termination of a rental agreement, the tenant is liable for rent due under the rental agreement prorated to the effective date of the termination. SUBSTITUTE TRUSTEE SERVICES, INC. SUBSTITUTE TRUSTEE. c/o Hutchens Law Firm P.O. Box 1028 4317 Ramsey Street Fayetteville, North Carolina 28311 Phone No: (910) 864-3068
https://sales.hutchenslawfirm.com Case No: 1226603 (FC.FAY) PUBLICATION DATES: February 7, 2018 and February 14, 2018
17 CVS 479 NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE Under and by virtue of the power and authority contained in a judgment bearing the caption “Violet Portfolio Alpha, LLC, Plaintiff vs. Alton Wayne Oldham d/b/a Oldham House Moving; and wife, Jeanette R. Oldham and Substitute Trustee Services, Inc., Substitute Trustee Defendants” 17 CVS 479 Chatham County and pursuant to the terms of the judgment, the undersigned Commissioner will offer for sale that certain property as described below. Said sale will be held in the City of Asheboro, Randolph County, North Carolina at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 22, 2018 at the courthouse door and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following real estate situated in the Counties of Chatham and Randolph North Carolina, and being more particularly described as follows: a. 921A, 921B, 923, 925 & 927 Cottage Grove Avenue, Siler City, North Carolina 27344 more specifically described as follows: Lying and Being in Matthews Township, Chatham County, North Carolina and BEING all of Parcel “B” containing 0.488 acres, more or less, as described on a Plat entitled “Survey for Apple & Smith,” dated January 6, 1994, prepared by James D. Hunter, RLS, and recorded in Plat Slide 94-18, Chatham County Registry, to which Plat reference is hereby made for greater certainty of description. Lying and being in the Town of Siler City, Matthews Township, Chatham County, North Carolina and more particularly described as follows: BEING at an iron stake located in the Western right-of-way of Cottage Grove Avenue in Kearney A. Smith’s Southeastern corner and running thence with Smith’s Southern line North 83 degrees 18 minutes West 154.22 feet to an iron stake, Smith’s corner, thence South 5 degrees 10 minutes East 197.38 feet to an iron stake located in Leonard Kelly’s Northeastern corner and Ernest T. Bottoms Northwestern corner; thence with Bottom’s Northern line South 85 degrees 12 minutes East 180.5 feet to an iron stake located in the Western right-of-way of Cottage Grove Avenue and Bottom’s Northeastern corner; thence with the Wester right-of-way of Cottage Grove Avenue North 12 degrees 50 minutes West 198.70 feet to an iron stake located in Smith’s Southeastern corner and being the point and place of BEGINNING, and being all of that lot contained between points 2, 1, 4, 5 and 2 as per Plat herein referenced. Reference is hereby made to Plat dated December 12, 1973, drawn by James D. Hunter, RLS entitled “Portion of Town of Siler City”, recorded in Plat Book 15 at Page 76, Chatham County Registry for more accuracy and certainty of description
b. A sixteen acre tract of unimproved land located on Herring Path, Bear Creek North Carolina 27207 more specifically described as follows: BEING Tract 5, containing 16.001 acres, more or less, according to a survey entitled Survey & Division of property “Hancock-Phillips Tract” Division Map One, prepared by James L. Haines & Associates, RLS and recorded in Plat Book 2001, Page 353 Chatham County Registry. There is also conveyed herewith a non-exclusive right of way from SR 1006 to the Northwest corner of the above referred Tract 6. The right of ways shall provide ingress, egress and regress and utility service. The aforesaid right of way is 30 feet in width at SR 1006 and increases to a width of 60 feet as it passes the Southern line of the Alton Wayne Oldham property in Book 377, Page 508, Chatham County Registry and runs to the Northeast corner of Tract 5 and the Northwest corner of Tract 6 and benefits Tracts 5, 6 and 7. Reference is made to Plat Book 2001, Page 354, Chatham County Registry. The above right of way shall be appurtenant to and run with the land. This conveyance is subject to the rights of others to use the right of way including the rights described in Book 396, Page 312 Chatham County Registry. By the acceptance and recordation of this deed the grantee and his successors and assigns agree to join the owners of Tract 6 and 7 to maintain the above described right of way in a safe and passable condition for all types of weather and in good state of repair. c. A ten acre tract of unimproved land located on Herring Path, Bear Creek, North Carolina 27207 more specifically described as follows: BEING Tract 6, containing 10.148 acres, more or less, according to a survey entitled, Survey & Division of property “Hancock-Phillips Tract” Division Map Two, prepared by James L. Haines & Associates, RLS, and recorded in Plat Book 2001, Page 354 Chatham County Registry. There is also conveyed herewith a non-exclusive right of way from SR 1006 to the Northwest corner of the above referred Tract 6. The right of ways shall provide ingress, egress and regress and utility service. The aforesaid right of way is 30 feet in width at SR 1006 and increases to a width of 60 feet as it passes the Southern line of the Alton Wayne Oldham property in Book 377, Page 508, Chatham County Registry and runs to the Northeast corner of Tract 5 and the Northwest corner of Tract 6 and benefits Tracts 5, 6 and 7. Reference is made to Plat Book 2001, Page 354 Chatham County Registry. This conveyance is subject to the rights of others to use the right of way including the rights described in Book 396, Page 312 Chatham County Registry. By the acceptance and recordation of this deed the grantee and his successors and assigns agree to join the owners of Tract 5&7 to maintain the above described right of way in a safe and passable condition for all types of weather and in good state of repair. d. 12585 Siler City-Glendon Road, Bear Creek, North Carolina 27207 more specifically described as follows: Lying and Being in Bear Creek Township, Cha-
tham County North Carolina and being all of Lot #1, containing 22.836 acres, as shown on Plat dated September 18, 2001, recorded in Plat Slide 2001-353 Chatham County Registry drawn by James K. Haines and Associates, RLS, entitled “Survey and Division of Property: Edward Land & Timber, LLC Property, Hancock-Phillips Tract Division, Map I”. Reference is hereby made to said Plat for more accuracy and certainty of description. e. 2022 Brooklyn Avenue, Ramseur, North Carolina 27316 more specifically described as follows: LYING and BEING in Colombia township, Ramsuer, Randolph County, North Carolina and BEGINNING at a new iron rod in the Northern right of way line of State Road 2615, and running thence N 11 degrees 05 minutes East 390.92 feet to an existing iron rod, a common line with the Ramsuer Wesleyan Church property thence South 88 degrees 10 minutes East 157.97 feet to a new iron rod; thence South 11 degrees 05 minutes West 361.50 feet to a new iron rod in the Northern right of way line of said State Road 2615; thence South 68 degrees 23 minutes West 178.26 feet to the point and place of the BEGINNING, comprising 1.369 acres more or less, as shown by survey dated 18 August 1982 by Roger Clarence Cagle RLS for Jeffrey Schwarz. The property is being sold “as is”, without warranties, subject to all taxes, special assessments and prior liens or encumbrances of record and any recorded releases. Any assessments, costs or fees resulting from the sale will be due and payable from the purchaser at the sale. A cash deposit or certified check (no personal check) in the amount of ten percent (10%) of the high bid will be required at the time of the sale. The sale will be held open for ten days for upset bids as required by law. THIS IS A COMMUNICATION FROM A DEBT COLLECTOR. THE PURPOSE OF THIS COMMUNICATION IS TO COLLECT A DEBT AND ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED WILL BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE, EXCEPT AS STATED BELOW IN THE INSTANCE OF BANKRUPTCY PROTECTION. IF YOU ARE UNDER THE PROTECTION OF THE BANKRUPTCY COURT OR HAVE BEEN DISCHARGED AS A RESULT OF A BANKRUPTCY PROCEEDING, THIS NOTICE IS GIVEN TO YOU PURSUANT TO STATUTORY REQUIREMENT AND FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES AND IS NOT INTENDED AS AN ATTEMPT TO COLLECT A DEBT OR AS AN ACT TO COLLECT, ASSESS, OR RECOVER ALL OR ANY PORTION OF THE DEBT FROM YOU PERSONALLY. This the 17th day of January, 2018. BY: _____________________________ Susan R. Benoit, Commissioner Post Office Box 2505 Fayetteville, NC 28302 (910) 864-6888 CMS# 1178504 PUBLICATION DATES: February 7, 2018 and February 14, 2018.
THANK YOU for Supporting The Duck Hunters Organization
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Delta Waterfowl founded and continues to run First Hunt, North America’s largest waterfowl-specific hunter recruitment program. Delta uses a variety of events to introduce all ages of budding hunters to the traditions of waterfowling. Events range from one-day educational workshops to week-long immersion courses, and weekend waterfowl education culminating in a mentored duck or goose hunt. Through the delivery of First Hunt, Delta is working to secure the future of waterfowl hunting throughout North America. A big thank you goes out to the businesses listed below for supporting Delta’s mission. If you would like to learn more about Delta Waterfowl, The Duck Hunters Organization, visit www.deltawaterfowl.org.
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