North State Journal — Vol. 2., Issue 34

VOLUME 2 ISSUE 34

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WWW.NSJONLINE.COM |

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2017

the good life Eva Shockey’s outdoor family tradition, B5

Eclipse viewers react while they watch as the moon creeps across the sun on the Wayah Bald along the Appalachian Trail outside of Franklin, N.C.

the Wednesday

NORTH

NEWS BRIEFING

STATE

N.C. unemployment drops to 4.1 percent The state’s unemployment rate dropped again to 4.1 percent in July 2017, remaining below the national average of 4.3 percent. According to the state Department of Commerce, N.C.’s July 2017 unemployment rate is 0.8 of a percentage point lower than a year ago. The number of people unemployed dropped 7,005 over the month and 39,162 over the year. Adjusted for seasonal factors, total “nonfarm” industry employment increased by 8,800 over last July.

JOURNaL ELEVATE THE CONVERSATION

House and Senate redistricting maps unveiled

Former Durham election worker indicted A Durham County grand jury returned indictments Monday against Richard Robert Rawling, 59, of Cary, on counts of obstruction of justice, a felony, and failure to discharge a duty of his office, a misdemeanor. Investigators say he ran provisional ballots through tabulators more than once and made manual changes to the ballot count so the results of the provisional canvass would match the number of approved provisional ballots. Officials said his actions did not affect any contest outcome or support one political party.

Several incumbents will face off under the new map proposals, which are due

by Sept. 1, but Republican majorities look assured going into 2018 based upon election data inputs used in drawing the new districts

By Jeff Moore North State Journal RALEIGH — In the past several days the initial legislative redistricting maps for the N.C. House and Senate were released to the public, after having soliciting public input and holding a four-hour meeting of the Joint Redistricting Committee to finalize the criteria used to draft the maps in recent weeks.

“All in all, I think we’ve done a good job on the map for the first pass and we’ll just have to hope it gets some good input and continue to make it better,” said co-chairman of the committee Rep. David Lewis (R-Harnett) in an interview with the North State Journal.

Another public hearing was held Tuesday afternoon for the committee to receive feedback on the maps.

The new maps did not consider race of voters in their construction in an appeal to satisfy court orders that ruled 28 districts in the current maps were racially gerrymandered unconstitutionally.

Instead, the new mapmakers were instructed by

Commuter train slams into parked train car near Philadelphia A commuter train slammed into a parked train car at a station near Philadelphia, injuring 42 passengers early on Tuesday, according to train officials. The train hit the vacant parked car at the 69th Street Terminal in Upper Darby, 10 miles west of Philadelphia, around 12:15 a.m. as it pulled into the station.

The injuries are non-life threatening for all passengers and the operator.

“I’d like to be done by the 31st but we’ll take the time that’s needed to get it done.”

See REDISTRICTING, page A12

$2.00

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Eclipse captivates viewers from near and far

By Mollie Young North State Journal BREVARD — The sky went dark at 2:36pm on Monday, but advanced planning by local officials and cooperative onlookers made sure the “event of a lifetime” was a bright spot in North Carolina’s history.

Lisa Brandon, in charge of communications for the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina, moved between mileposts 408 and 468 on the southern end of the scenic bypass throughout the day.

She estimates about 10,000 visitors parked at various overlooks for clear views of the first coast-to-coast total solar eclipse in 99 years.

“We had a really strong turnout of visitors that came early and set up for the day,” she said from her post on Tuesday. “And once the process started at 1 o’clock, you could hear cheers from different overlooks — it was really a fun day on the parkway.”

The parkway staffed 20 of the nearly 60 overlooks that fell within the eclipse’s path of totality. The overlook parking spaces were quickly filled early in the day. Brandon says that the overflow of visitors — including out-of-towners from Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia — were cooperative as rangers directed them to park on medians and grassy areas.

Although she contends that there were many great

“Two planes, a drive, and getting here at 2 in the morning was so worth it.”

— Alison Neeley, who came to Asheville for the eclipse from California

See ECLIPSE, page A2

JONATHAN DRAKE | REUTERS

A statue of a Confederate soldier nicknamed Silent Sam stands on the campus of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Gov. Cooper gives UNC green light to remove ‘Silent Sam,’ school holds off, citing 2015 law Governor has called for removal of all Confederate statues across the state

N.C. Sen. Chad Barefoot (center) says he won’t run again. His seat is one of several shuffled in the new Senate maps.

Jones & Blount

20177 52016

Western NC shines on eclipse day

— Rep. David Lewis

INSIDE

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EAMON QUEENEY | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

By Jeff Moore North State Journal

CHRISTINE T. NGUYEN | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

RALEIGH — Amid the furor in reaction to the Aug. 12 Charlottesville, Va., rally in support of confederate monuments that devolved into wanton violence between “antifa” counterprotesters and white nationalist event sponsors, and

ultimately culminated in a deadly terrorist attack by an alleged white supremacist, Gov. Roy Cooper has called for the removal of monuments honoring confederate soldiers and generals across the Old North State.

The governor’s latest move was to advise the University of North Carolina system that they had the authority to remove a statue honoring the confederate dead who attended the school, despite a 2015 See STATUES, page A2

North State Journal for Wednesday, August 23, 2017

A2 WEDNESDAY

08.23.17 #90

“Elevate the conversation” Visit North State Journal online! nsjonline.com jonesandblount.com nsjsports.com carolinabrewreview.com chickenbonealley.com PHOTOS BY EAMON QUEENEY | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

We stand corrected

ECLIPSE from page A1

To report an error or a suspected error, please email: corrections@nsjonline.com with “Correction request” in the subject line.

spots to watch the eclipse, the parkway was extra special.

“With its panoramic views and a lot of these overlook locations — it is a beautiful setting anyway, to layer in that celestial, natural phenomenon was pretty extraordinary.”

The N.C. Department of Transportation, which put out public service announcements to travelers in the months and weeks ahead of the Aug. 21 event, echoed Brandon’s statements on the cooperation of visitors to the western part of the state.

“All the planning that DOT did across the state and locally via state highway patrol and with county officials and agencies, all paid off,” said David Uchiyama, who was stationed at the Jackson County Emergency Management Center near Dillsboro. “The work was worth it.”

Reviewing data from toll roads and traffic cameras, DOT will release an estimate of the number of visitors to the area by next week; though early reports from the

North State Journal (USPS PP 166) (ISSN 2471-1365) Neal Robbins Publisher Donna King Managing Editor Ray Nothstine Opinion Editor Published each Wednesday

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eclipse estimated up to 63,000 visited in the small sliver from Murphy to Brevard.

Most visitors trickled in over the weekend and at various times on Monday morning. The drive from Asheville into nearby total eclipse towns like Sylva and Rosman had pretty standard travel times, but drivers met heavy congestion when the cosmic event ended.

On-ramps to the Interstate 40 were jammed for several hours, with heavy congestion near Balsam — north of the eclipse path — and Mills River onto Interstate 26.

Prepared for the worse, DOT had supplies on hand in service trucks parked across western North Carolina, and workers passed out bottles of water to cars stuck in traffic.

David Adams, the chief of police in Franklin, N.C., said mountain expressways are simply not designed for the influx of traffic they saw Monday. But even with a long commute home, most travelers were in good spirits.

“We had massive crowds — but everything ran very smoothly,” said Adams, who said there were

no accidents within the town. “It was a very pleasant event.”

Coates and Trish Carter from Richmond, Va., got caught in some of that traffic around 4 p.m. on I-26. With four daughters in tow, the family stayed overnight Sunday and Monday in Spruce Pine.

And while they expected some road congestion, the weather is what interrupted their perfect trip.

Hoping to watch the eclipse from Black Balsam Knob in Nantahala National Forest, the family of six decided to change course at the last minute.

“It was a little cloudy, and we weren’t expecting that,” said Coates from a pit stop just outside of Mills River. “So we ended up chasing a hole in the sky and we went down in South Carolina.

“We saw the eclipse for maybe three seconds,” he laughed, “but it was worth it.”

Viewers throughout the path in N.C. were met with some intermittent cloud coverage. Most locations got a decent view of totality during the two minutes and 17 seconds that the moon completely covered the sun.

For Asheville natives Rob and Sarah Wergin, it didn’t matter about physically seeing the total eclipse, but rather taking advantage of the energy that it gave off.

A transformational healer, Rob Wergin attracted 72 people from across the country for a special eclipse healing session in Flat Rock. Ben Roberts and Alison Neeley flew in from California.

“Two planes, a drive, and getting here at 2 in the morning was so worth it,” said Neeley, standing outside the Grand Bohemian Hotel in Asheville.

“The solar eclipse brings in a new paradigm, allowing us to transform energetically. It’s like being born again,” said Roberts.

Whether visitors were in N.C. for the perfect view or a new beginning, the eclipse brought a calm and coolness to those in the path.

And with heavy anticipation, the event supplied memories to last a lifetime.

The next U.S.-based solar eclipse will occur in April 2024, with the path of totality moving from the south of Texas to the northern Atlantic coast of Maine.

Left top, clouds pass over the sun as the moon begins to cover the sun during the solar eclipse as seen from the Wayah Bald along the Appalachian Trail outside of Franklin, N.C. Thousands ventured into the Nantahala National Forest in southwestern North Carolina to view the two and half minutes of totality during this year’s solar eclipse.

Left center, a man tries to use a book to shield his lens as he photographs the solar eclipse on the Wayah Bald along the Appalachian Trail.

Left bottom, the sun’s rays peak out from behind the moon during the totality phase of the solar eclipse.

Right, the Milky Way stretches through the sky as seen from the Wayah Bald.

North State Journal for Wednesday, August 23, 2017

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Lawmakers travel to Wilmington for hearing on GenX in Cape Fear River 20 legislators will hear from officials and the public as concern rises and the public utility works to filter GenX out of the water

By Donna King North State Journal WILMINGTON – On Wednesday, a special meeting of the legislative Environmental Review Commission will be held in Wilmington to learn more about the unregulated compound chemical GenX in the Cape Fear River, the area’s primary drinking water source.

Lawmakers at the N.C. General Assembly called the meeting last week, inviting public officials from the lower Cape Fear region along with the secretaries of the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality and the Department of Health and Human Services. Also on the invitee list are officials from Chemours, the company that has been releasing GenX, a perfluorinated compound that is a byproduct of manufacturing nonstick coatings, for 37 years.

“It’ll be a tough room. I’ll applaud them if they do show up, but we’ll see,” said Mike Brown, chairman of the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority, in an interview with North State Journal.

The meeting comes after weeks of controversy over GenX, what it is, what it can do to public health, and how it ended up unregulated in the river in the first place.

That’s a difficult conversation to have with 200,000 people in a community.” said Brown. “It’s so complex that if people don’t have all the answers they tend to speculate, they talk to a neighbor or a physician, and they speculate, then they put it on Facebook and the story takes on a life if its own,” said Brown.

“What is helpful is to strate-

STATUES from page A1 state law that specifically addresses the issue. Cooper was rebuffed when UNC announced the governor’s legal interpretation was not sufficient enough to constitute “clear legal authority to act unilaterally.”

“Some people cling to the belief that the Civil War was fought over states’ rights. But history is not on their side,” wrote Cooper in a statement released last week. “We cannot continue to glorify a war against the United States of America fought in the defense of slavery.

These monuments should come down.”

One of those monuments, honoring the confederate dead, resides on the grounds of the Old State Capitol building, which is utilized as an office by the governor and a portion of his staff.

“Our Civil War history is im-

The Cape Fear Public Utility Authority is testing a pilot program at the Sweeny Water Treatment Plant in Wilmington that uses Granular Activated Carbon, above, to see if it will remove perfluorinated compound chemicals like GenX.

gically go through the path of connecting the dots to figure out what’s safe, what’s not safe and what do we need to do to reach definitive answers that everyone wants as quickly as possible,” he added.

Over the weekend, environmental activist Erin Brockovich visited Wilmington, invited by a group called Stop GenX in our Water for a forum at UNCW. “I know you’re fearful. I know you’re confused, and I know you don’t know who to believe, who to trust, where to go. We want you to know you are not alone,” Brockovich told the packed Lumina Theater.

Brockovich brought more than a dozen people with her; most were part of a film crew recording her visit for a potential documentary. The trip was criticized by some as long on self-promotion and a bit short on actual science, but residents in Wilmington said they were glad for her visit as they weigh whether to drink the water or whether to let their children drink it.

Chemours Fayetteville Work plant, north of Wilmington, had a federal consent order to release GenX in the Cape Fear. However, GenX is not listed on their state permit. The state is required by the federal Clean Water Act to regulate any chemical in the water that it deems toxic. Taking steps toward figuring out how much the state knew and when is one of the goals of Wednesday’s meeting.

“The Clean Water Act is real clear about how it protects the drinking waters of the U.S.,” said Brown. “What was the regulatory process and how did Chemours and these regulators interact, what information was shared back and forth that led us to this point? ... We’ve been asking those questions since early June.

“A lot of those questions, quite frankly, haven’t been answered yet, which is curious,” he added.

Before the Wednesday meet-

ing, CFPUA will take lawmakers on a tour of the Sweeney Water Treatment plant, originally built in the late 1800s. In 2010 a $65 million renovation wrapped on the now state-of-the-art plant, featuring UV and ozone technology to purify water. Calling it the “Stealth Bomber” of water treatment plants, Brown says they are currently running pilot programs to learn how to filter GenX out of the water.

“A compound like GenX is hard to treat for presently,” said Brown.

“A lot of people talk about reverse osmosis, which might capture GenX, but then you have the byproduct. … Another drawback is

that reverse osmosis is very water intensive. In order to get a gallon of water out, you may have to put a gallon and a half of water in.”

Their pilot program instead uses Granular Activated Carbon, or GAC. They are studying whether the GAC removes these new perfluorinated compounds, like GenX, from the water.

“We’re running a small simulated test board with filters in it to see how they are working,” said Brown. “If they prove successful we can take that methodology and implement it in the larger plant.”

Gov. Roy Cooper has asked the N.C. legislature for millions more in funding for state agencies to

deal with GenX. However, last week the conservative think tank Civitas requested than any additional funds for come from the $2 billion Connect NC bond, passed last year, and be directed to the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority through the state treasurer’s office.

Both Civitas and CFPUA have filed separate legal actions over the GenX issue. In early August CFPUA sent a notice of Intent to Bring Citizen Suit letter to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of N.C., indicating that the utility plans to sue to Chemours to enforce the Clean Water Act.

portant, but it belongs in textbooks and museums — not a place of allegiance on our Capitol grounds,” continued Cooper.

While protesters, led by an avowed communist and pro-North Korea Marxist, have already unlawfully torn down a confederate statue in front of the Durham County Courthouse, a 2015 law passed by the North Carolina General Assembly stipulates that local officials or state agencies cannot unilaterally remove memorials or monuments that “commemorates an event, a person, or military service that is part of North Carolina’s history.” Instead, approval for removals or locations of such monuments on public property must gain approval of the N.C. Historical Commission.

The law passed the N.C. Senate with unanimous approval of Democrats in that chamber, including former state senator and current

N.C. Attorney General Josh Stein.

It received just short of a supermajority in the N.C. House of Representatives.

After expressing concern for the “likelihood of protesters being injured or worse as they may try to topple any one of the hundreds of monuments in our state,” Cooper called for the repeal of the 2015 law.

“First, the North Carolina legislature must repeal a 2015 law that prevents removal or relocation of monuments,” said Cooper. “Cities, counties and the state must have the authority and opportunity to make these decisions.”

Despite the law Cooper penned a letter to UNC System President Margaret Spellings this week giving the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill permission to remove a statue of a confederate soldier on its campus for reasons of public safety.

The statue, named Silent Sam,

was donated to the university by alumni and the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1913 to commemorate the 321 alumni who lost their lives in the Civil War. It has been a source of controversy for decades and has been vandalized multiple times, including recently.

Cooper’s letter was reportedly in response to an appeal from university administrators, including Spellings, that voiced public safety concerns due to their belief protesters would tear the statue down.

The letter, also signed by local law enforcement, stated, “that it is only a matter of time before an attempt is made to pull down Silent Sam in much the same manner we saw in Durham. Based on our interactions with state and local law enforcement, including the State Bureau of Investigation, an attempt may occur at any time.”

Several of the more than 100 Confederate monuments across

the state have been vandalized or pulled down by protesters. A statue of Robert E. Lee displayed in the Duke Chapel at Duke University was damaged by protesters and subsequently removed by the university.

“If the university and its leadership believe such a dangerous condition is on campus, then the law gives it the authority to address those concerns. State law enforcement and emergency officials remain available to help and support the university as it navigates this process,” wrote Cooper in the letter.

UNC announced late Tuesday that, upon the advice of counsel, it lacked the clear legal authority to remove the statue despite Cooper’s broad interpretation of the law.

The statue was surrounded by concentric barricades as rumors of a planned evening protest swirled around social media Tuesday.

PHOTO COURTESY OF CAPE FEAR PUBLIC UTILITY AUTHORITY

Want to learn more about North Carolina Agriculture?

The First Furrow www.FirstFurrow.com

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Despite losing terrain, ISIS attacks rose in 2016 Washington, D.C. Although ISIS is losing fighters and territory, it remained the world’s deadliest militant organization, according to a report from the University of Maryland. ISIS operatives carried out more than 1,400 attacks last year and killed more than 7,000 people, a roughly 20 percent increase over 2015, according to the university’s Global Terrorism Database.

Senior U.S. counterterrorism officials said the latest attacks fit a pattern in which the group adapted to significant battlefield setbacks in Syria and Iraq by intensifying calls for attacks by individuals. In addition to violence tied to ISIS’ core group in Iraq and Syria, other groups affiliated with it carried out more than 950 attacks last year that killed nearly 3,000 people.

GOP pollster legend dies at 72 Longtime Republican strategist, Arthur Finkelstein, passed away over the weekend. He helped elect two U.S. presidents, working for Richard Nixon and Ronald Regan. He also worked for other successful Senate candidates, including former Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.). His work with Helms securing N.C. for Ronald Regan in the 1976 presidential primaries, is credited with clearing the way for Regan’s White House win in 1980. Finkelstein also worked for conservatives Benjamin Netanyahu and Ariel Sharon in Israel. He mentored a generation of GOP strategists who are running successful campaigns today. He is survived by his partner, Donald, of fifty years and their two daughters.

U.S. digital rights group slams tech firms for barring neo-Nazis San Francisco A digital rights group based in San Francisco on Thursday criticized several internet companies for removing neoNazi groups from servers and services, saying the actions were “dangerous” and threatened free expression online. GoDaddy, Alphabet’s Google, security firm Cloudflare and other technology companies moved this week to block hate groups after weekend violence in Charlottesville, Va., where white nationalists had gathered to protest removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from a park.

Britain’s Big Ben falls silent for four years of renovation work London The “Big Ben” bell in the British parliament’s famous clock tower tolled for the last time on Monday before it ceased its regular bongs for four years while renovation work is carried out. The bongs will sound for events such as New Year’s Eve celebrations but the four-year length of the outage has caused consternation among British politicians. Prime Minister Theresa May has said the length of the absence “can’t be right.”

U.S. drone crashes in southeast Turkey Istanbul A U.S. drone crashed in southeast Turkey on Monday and the cause of the crash was being investigated. The drone, an MQ-1 Predator, was being remotely piloted when it crashed in southeast Turkey at around 11:50 a.m. Incirlik, in southern Turkey, is home to U.S. Air Force troops involved in NATO missions and the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State in the region. Turkey’s mainly Kurdish southeast has been scorched by fighting between the state and members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the E.U.

North State Journal for Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Nation & WORLD Trump commits 4,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan war Taliban warns Afghanistan will be “graveyard” of U.S. empire

By Steven Holland and Hamid Shaliz Reuters WASHINGTON, D.C./KABUL, Afghanistan — President Donald Trump committed U.S. troops to an open-ended war in Afghanistan, a decision the Afghan government welcomed on Tuesday but which Taliban insurgents warned would make the country a “graveyard for the American empire.”

Trump offered few specifics in a speech on Monday but promised a stepped-up military campaign against the Taliban who have gained ground against U.S.backed Afghan government forces. He also singled out Pakistan for harboring militants in safe havens on its soil, an accusation it denies.

While U.S. officials said on Monday Trump had signed off on Defense Secretary James Mattis’ plans to send about 4,000 more troops to Afghanistan, Mattis said Tuesday morning that a decision on the number of new troops going to Afghanistan was still being determined.

Trump said “my original instinct was to pull out” all American troops but he was convinced by his military advisers after a lengthy review of the United States’ longest war.

“The consequences of a rapid exit are both predictable and unacceptable,” he said. “A hasty withdrawal would create a vacuum that terrorists, including ISIS and al-Qaida, would instantly fill.”

While Trump said “our troops will fight to win,” he also stressed that ultimately Afghanistan’s police and army must do most of the fighting to defeat the Taliban and allied Islamist militants.

“The stronger the Afghan security forces become, the less we will have to do. ... We want them to succeed,” he said.

Most of the approximately 8,400 U.S. troops in Afghanistan work with a NATO-led training and advising mission, with the rest part of a counterterrorism force that mostly targets pock-

JOSHUA ROBERTS | REUTERS

U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with military officers as he departs after announcing his strategy for the war in Afghanistan during an address to the nation from Fort Myer, Va.

“I am grateful to President Trump and the American people for this affirmation of support ... for our joint struggle to rid the region from the threat of terrorism.”

— Ashraf Ghani, Afgan President ets of al-Qaida and Islamic State fighters.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani welcomed the strategy saying it would expand the training mission for Afghan forces, which includes building its fledgling air force and doubling the size of the Afghan special forces.

“I am grateful to President Trump and the American people for this affirmation of support ... for our joint struggle to rid the region from the threat of terrorism,” Ghani said in a statement.

The Taliban swiftly condemned Trump’s decision.

“If the U.S. does not pull all its forces out of Afghanistan, we will make this country the 21st century graveyard for the American empire,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement.

U.S.-backed Afghan forces overthrew the Taliban’s hard-line Islamist government in late 2001 over its sheltering of al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden, architect of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in U.S. cities that killed nearly 2,000 people.

But U.S. forces have been bogged down ever since in a war that has vexed three presidents.

About 2,400 U.S. troops have died in Afghanistan.

Trump, who had criticized his predecessor for setting deadlines for drawing down troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, declined to put a timeline on expanded U.S. operations in Afghanistan.

Former President Barack Obama’s deadlines for troop decreases brought the U.S. military footprint from about 100,000 in

2011 to 8,400.

“Our future presence will be based on conditions and not arbitrary timelines,” the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. John Nicholson, said in a statement.

Trump warned on Monday that U.S. support “is not a blank check” for Afghanistan’s often-divided and corruption-plagued government and insisted he would not engage in “nation-building,” a practice he has accused his predecessors of doing at huge cost.

Trump insisted in his speech that the Afghan government, Pakistan, India and NATO allies step up their own commitment to resolving the 16-year conflict.

“We can no longer be silent about Pakistan’s safe havens,” he said, referring to complaints that Taliban and other militants move freely in Pakistan.

Pakistan’s foreign ministry did not respond to requests for comment, but on Monday Pakistani army spokesman Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor said: “There are no terrorist hideouts in Pakistan.”

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence told Fox News the rules of engagement were being changed “so that American commanders on the ground can make real-time decisions” and the United States would continue to target militants’ safe havens in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

“Pakistan has much to gain from partnering with our effort in Afghanistan. It has much more to lose by supporting terrorists. The president has put them on notice,” Pence said in an editorial in USA Today.

Trump also said he had expanded the U.S. military’s authority for its forces to target militant and criminal networks, warning “that no place is beyond the reach of American arms.”

U.S. Air Force Maj. Daniel Lindsey, an F-16 pilot who watched Trump’s speech at the sprawling Bagram Air Field outside Kabul, said he and his colleagues were now waiting for details of the changes.

“It’s obviously going to have some effects on us,” he said.

Trump’s speech came after a months-long review of U.S. policy in which the president frequently tangled with his top advisers.

Among the options were a complete withdrawal, a modest troop increase, keeping the status quo or a small reduction to focus only on counterterrorism and not training Afghan forces.

Barcelona cell planned big bomb attack, suspect tells court

By Adrian Croft Reuters BARCELONA — An alleged member of an Islamist group that carried out the Barcelona van attack told a Spanish court on Tuesday that the group had been planning a much bigger strike using explosives, a judicial source said.

The testimony to a closed hearing at Spain’s High Court came from Mohamed Houli Chemlal, one of four detained suspects brought to Madrid to testify for the first time in court about the plot.

Chemlal was arrested after being hurt in a blast at a house in Alcanar, southwest of Barcelona, a day before Thursday’s van attack on the crowded Las Ramblas boulevard in Barcelona which killed 13 people and injured 120 people from 34 countries.

Tuesday’s court hearing was the first in a long legal process, and it could be months or even years before the case is brought to a full trial.

The four are the only alleged members of the group still alive after the driver of the van in Barcelona, 22-year-old Younes Abouyaaqoub, was shot and killed by police on Monday. After the attack, Abouyaaqoub escaped on foot, stabbing to death a man who was parking his car and fleeing in the vehicle.

The group, were brought from Barcelona to Madrid and arrived at the High Court, which deals with terrorism cases, in a convoy of police vehicles with sirens wailing.

Islamic State claimed responsi-

bility for the attack and a separate deadly assault, hours later, in the coastal resort of Cambrils, south of Barcelona.

In Cambrils, a car rammed passers-by and its occupants got out and tried to stab people. The five assailants, who were wearing what turned out to be fake explosive belts, were shot dead by police, while a Spanish woman died in the attack.

Police believe two other members of the cell died in Wednesday’s explosion at the house in Alcanar, where police found 120 butane canisters they believed the group may have been planning to use for a big bomb attack.

The accidental explosion led them to change tactics, the police believe.

One of those who appeared before investigating magistrate Fernando Andreu was Driss Oukabir, whose passport was found in the abandoned van after the Barcelona attack.

He turned himself in to police, protesting his innocence and saying his younger brother Moussa Oukabir, 17, who was killed in Cambrils, had stolen his documents.

Also in court was Mohammed Aalla, owner of the Audi car used in the Cambrils attack. One of his brothers, Said, was killed in Cambrils and a second, Youssef, is believed by police to have died in an explosion at a house used by the plotters at Alcanar, southwest of Barcelona, the day before the Barcelona attack.

Chemlal, arrested after being hurt in the blast at Alcanar, also

JUAN MEDINA | REUTERS

An impromptu memorial for the victims of the Barcelona attack is seen at Blanquerna Cultural Centre in Madrid.

appeared in court as did Salah el Karib, who ran an internet cafe in Ripoll that, according to La Vanguardia newspaper, was used to send money to Morocco.

At Tuesday’s closed-door hearing, Andreu planned to read out charges against the men expected to include counts of terrorism, murder and weapons possession.

Andreu was then to ask the accused if they wish to testify, in which case he would question them.

In little more than a year, Islamist militants have used vehicles as weapons to kill nearly 130 people in France, Germany, Britain, Sweden and Spain.

Most of the 12 suspects from the Spain attacks lived in the town of Ripoll and are young men of Moroccan descent. A Ripoll imam who police suspect may have radicalized the young men, Abdelbaki Es Satty, is believed to have died in the explosion in Alcanar. The

imam’s landlord told investigators he left Ripoll two days before the attack.

“Those boys can’t even read Arabic,” said Fatima Abouyaaqoub, an aunt of Abouyaaqoub, the van driver. She said he moved to Spain around 1999, a year after his father, Omar Abouyaaqoub, traveled there from Morocco by boat. “Whatever changed them happened in Europe, not here.”

Spanish police said the international investigation was still open and have sought information on a visit the imam made to Belgium last year, said Thierry Werts, spokesman for the Belgian federal prosecutor’s office.

Hans Bonte, mayor of the Belgian town of Vilvoorde, near Brussels, told VRT television at the weekend the imam had been there looking for work. Belgium has suffered several Islamist attacks and Vilvoorde has been a center of Islamic radicalism.

North State Journal for Wednesday, August 23, 2017

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U.S. divers find body remains in hull of damaged destroyer

NEWS IN IMAGES

Warship docked in Singapore for assessment

By Karishma Singh and Fathin Ungku Reuters

KHAM | REUTERS

Vietnamese Buddhists monks recite during the afternoon session in front of an image of Buddha and his assistants at Giang pagoda in Quang Lang village outside Hanoi, Vietnam.

ANUWAR HAZARIKA | REUTERS

JOSHUA ROBERTS | REUTERS

President Donald Trump participates in a tour of U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility Aug. 22 in Yuma, Ariz.

A boy uses a banana raft to transport his books in Jakhalabandha area in Nagaon district, in the northeastern state of Assam, India.

United States, South Korea begin computer-simulated drills North says exercises are preparation for war

By Christine Kim Reuters SOUTH KOREAN and U.S. forces began computer-simulated military exercises this week amid tension over North Korea’s weapons programs. South Korean President Moon Jae-in said the joint drills, called Ulchi Freedom Guardian, were purely defensive and did not aim to increase tension on the peninsula, but North Korea denounced the exercises as preparation for war.

“There is no intent at all to heighten military tension on the Korean peninsula as these drills are held annually and are of a defensive nature,” Moon told cabinet ministers.

“North Korea should not exag-

gerate our efforts to keep peace nor should they engage in provocations that would worsen the situation, using [the exercise] as an excuse,” he said.

The joint U.S.-South Korean drills last until Aug. 31 and involve computer simulations designed to prepare for war with a nuclear-capable North Korea.

The U.S. also describes them as “defensive in nature,” a term North Korean state media has dismissed as a “deceptive mask.”

“It’s to prepare if something big were to occur and we needed to protect ROK,” said Michelle Thomas, a U.S. military spokeswoman, referring to South Korea by its official name, the Republic of Korea.

North Korea views such exercises as preparations for invasion and has fired missiles and taken other actions to show its anger over military drills in the past.

“This is aimed to ignite a nuclear war on the Korean peninsula at any cost,” the North’s KCNA news agency said. “The situation on the Korean peninsula has plunged into a critical phase due to the reckless north-targeted war racket of the war maniacs.”

North and South Korea are technically still at war after the 1950-53 Korean War ended with a truce, not a peace treaty.

North Korea’s rapid progress in developing nuclear weapons and missiles capable of reaching the U.S. mainland has fueled a surge in regional tension and U.N.-led sanctions appear to have failed to bite deeply enough to change its behavior.

China, North Korea’s main ally and trading partner, has urged the U.S. and South Korea to scrap the exercises. Russia has also asked for the drills to stop but the U.S. has not backed down.

“We think that South Korea and the United States holding joint drills is not beneficial to easing current tensions or efforts by all sides to promote talks,” she told a daily news briefing.

A confidential U.N. report, seen by Reuters on Monday, found North Korea evaded U.N. sanctions by “deliberately using indirect channels” to export banned commodities and had generated $270 million since February.

The U.N. Security Council unanimously imposed new sanctions on North Korea on Aug. 5 that could slash its $3 billion annual export revenue by a third. The latest sanctions were imposed after North Korea tested two intercontinental ballistic missiles in July.

There will be no field training during the current exercise, according to U.S. Forces Korea.

The United States has about 28,000 troops in South Korea.

About 17,500 U.S. service members are participating in the exercise this month, down from 25,000 last year, according to the Pentagon.

SINGAPORE — U.S. Navy and Marine Corps divers on Tuesday found some human remains inside sections of a U.S. guided-missile destroyer that collided with a merchant vessel near Singapore, the commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet said.

The USS John S. McCain and the tanker Alnic MC collided on Monday while the ship was approaching Singapore on a routine port call. The impact tore a hole in the warship’s port side at the waterline, flooding compartments that included a crew sleeping area.

U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander Adm. Scott Swift said an international search-and-rescue operation had found some remains and that the wider search for 10 sailors missing from the accident would continue until all hope was exhausted.

“The divers were able to locate some remains in those sealed compartments during their search,” Swift told reporters at Singapore’s Changi Naval Base where the USS John S McCain is docked for damage assessment.

“Additionally, the Malaysian authorities have reported that they have located potential remains. They are working to confirm and identify those remains.”

The Malaysian navy said in a statement it had found a body eight nautical miles northwest of the collision site and it would transfer it to the U.S. Navy on Wednesday.

Swift also said Monday’s collision — the fourth major accident in the U.S. Pacific fleet this year — could not be viewed in isolation from other incidents and that investigations were seeking to find a “common cause at the root of these events.”

The John S. McCain’s sister ship, the Fitzgerald, almost sank off the coast of Japan after colliding with a Philippine container ship on June 17. The bodies of seven U.S. sailors were found in a flooded berthing area after that collision.

Vice President Mike Pence said to have sailors killed in two collisions this year was disconcerting.

“It’s just unacceptable and we’ll get to the bottom of it,” Pence told Fox News. “But right now our hearts are with the families of those that are lost and we honor them.”

Ships, aircraft and divers from an international search-and-rescue operation have been looking for the missing U.S. sailors to the east of Singapore and peninsula Malaysia, near where the accident happened.

Unidentified U.S. Navy officials, said early indications suggested the collision was caused by a steering malfunction as the warship approached the Strait of Malacca.

On Monday, U.S. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson said he was asking his fleet commanders worldwide for a one-to-two-day, staggered “operational pause” to discuss action to ensure safe and effective operations.

He also said a comprehensive review would examine the training of U.S. forces deployed to Japan.

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North State Journal for Wednesday, August 23, 2017

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North State Journal for Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Murphy to Manteo

North Carolina wineries

Mount Airy

Jones & Blount jonesandblount.com @JonesandBlount

Senate shuffles GOPers from home turf

Roanoke Rapids

Boone

Winston-Salem

Greensboro Manteo

Asheville

Charlotte Murphy

Fayetteville

Jacksonville

LEGEND Upper Hiwassee Highlands AVA Appalachian High Country AVA Yadkin Valley AVA Swan Creek AVA Haw River AVA

WEST BBB warns consumers of Apple phone scam Buncombe County BBB Scam Tracker has received numerous reports of robocalls claiming to be from Apple Support informing Apple customers that their iCloud account has been hacked and prompts them to speak to a “technician.” The con artist offers to fix the account via remote access to your computer where they can install malware that records your passwords or hunts for personal information to steal your identity from your computer. Read more on BB Scam Tips at bbb.org/scamtips.

Mountain Winery Piedmont Winery Coastal Winery

PIEDMONT

Moon tree planed as part of eclipse festivities Transylvania County A crowd gathered at Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute in Rosman, N.C., had a unique experience to not only view the solar eclipse, but to witness a tree planting of a second-generation moon tree. The sycamore was grown from seeds taken on board the Apollo 14 mission to the moon by astronaut Stuart Roosa.

His daughter, Rosemary, attended the planting and presentation.

WLOS

American Legion building barred as future voting location Stokes County The State Board of Elections & Ethics Enforcement barred use of the American Legion building in King, N.C., to be used as a polling site. Last week, the Stokes County elections board voted to keep the building as a voting location despite the fact that King City Council candidate Steven Hewitt is banned from the property. State and federal law prohibits a site being used for voting if a person has been banned from the site.

WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL

MOUNTAIN XPRESS

American Idol hosting open auditions in Asheville Buncombe County The American Idol “bus” will host open auditions in Asheville on Sunday, Aug. 27 at 68 Haywood St. This year participants can audition online or in person. Those interested in auditioning online can register by creating a profile on American Idol’s website and submit a video or text introduction describing who they are and why they should be the next American Idol. Entrants must be legal U.S. residents between the ages of 15 and 28.

ASU student plans to run for N.C. House Watauga County Robert Block, a 20-year-old Appalachian State University student, announced that he will run for the Republican nomination for District 93 (Watauga and Ashe counties) in the N.C. House. He will challenge Jonathan Jordan (R-Jefferson), a four-term incumbent, for the seat in the party’s primary election on May 8. Block will be 21 by the election, making him eligible by law to run for public office in North Carolina.

WATAUGA DEMOCRAT

New turnpike technology drops prices of NC Quick Pass Wake County The N.C. Turnpike Authority is lowering the prices of the NC Quick Pass transponders for toll road drivers after introducing a new system that integrates with units across the U.S. Currently, the NC Quick Pass transponders work in Florida and Georgia whereas the E-ZPass transponders work in 18 states. North Carolina will be the first state in the nation to use new technology for national interoperability. Starting Aug. 30, the NC Quick Pass transponder will be free (formally $5) and the NC Quick Pass E-ZPass transponders will drop from $20 to $7.40.

TrIAD BUSINESS JOURNAl

NC detention center officer fired after allegedly selling drugs to inmates Wake County Andrew Richard Byrd, 25, faces charges of possession of controlled substance on jail premises and providing drugs to inmate, heroin possession and conspiracy to sell/deliver schedule I controlled substance. Byrd was terminated from his position on Saturday and arrested on Sunday on a $500,000 bond and appeared in court on Monday.

County commissioner helps deliver son in driveway Mecklenburg County Mecklenburg County Commissioner Matthew Ridenhour was quickly packing his car to take his pregnant wife to the hospital, but their new son had different plans. Ridenhour, a Marine veteran, knew there wasn’t enough time to make it to the hospital and delivered his son in the family’s driveway. Both mom and baby are healthy.

WNCN-CBS MOUNTAIN TIMES

WNCN-CBS

EAST Bergdahl chooses trial heard by judge, not military jury Cumberland County Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl is choosing to be tried by judge alone — not a military jury — on charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy for endangering fellow comrades by walking off his post in Afghanistan in 2009. Defense attorneys have questioned whether Bergdahl could get a fair trial by jury. His trial scheduled for late October at Fort Bragg.

U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT

N.C. soars in aerospace manufacturing attractiveness ranking Lenoir County PricewaterhouseCooper released their fourth annual Aerospace Manufacturing Attractiveness Rankings for 2017 naming North Carolina as the fourth-most attractive — up 14 spots from last year.

According to the study, the birthplace of aviation had the fifth-best economy, the sixth-best industry and above average tax policy metrics. The ranking could be important for the state-owned Global TransPark in Kinston to lure aerospace manufacturers to eastern N.C. TRIANGLE BUSINESS JOURNAL

Hemp Inc. set to grow 3,000 acres of industrial hemp in N.C. Nash County Industrial Hemp Manufacturing, LLC (IHM) in Spring Hope, N.C., has signed a letter of intent with Mullen View Farms and John Finch Farms to purchase more than a thousand acres of raw hemp to be harvested throughout eastern N.C. this year.

Mullen View Farms currently stores kenaf bales for IHM and wants to grow an additional 30,000 acres of industrial hemp in the future. John Finch Farms has grown 200 acres of kenaf (a cousin to industrial hemp) for IHM. The signed LOI stipulates IHM will purchase 1,000 acres from Mullen View Farms and 500 acres from John Finch Farms.

THE BUSINESS JOURNALS

By Donna King North State Journal IN THE NEWLY REDRAWN district maps that the N.C. Senate released last week, several Republicans find themselves without the reliable voter base they enjoyed in 2016. Among those are Sen. Jim Cook, of Beaufort, Dare, Currituck and surrounding counties, who now overlaps with Democrat Sen. Erica Smith-Ingram in what would now be considered a left-leaning district.

Cook is the vice chair of the Senate’s Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resource Committee.

Sens. John Alexander and Chad Barefoot, both Republicans who represent parts of Wake County, would now go headto-head for the Republican nomination.

However, Barefoot announced his decision not run again over the weekend.

Barefoot co-chairs the Senate Education/ Higher Education Committee and the Appropriations Subcommittee on Education/Higher Education.

“In less than three terms, Sen. Barefoot has made a lasting positive impact on public education in North Carolina,” said Senate Leader Phil Berger in a statement Monday. “He helped guide the implementation of Read to Achieve, to ensure more children are reading proficiently by the end of third grade, brought back the Teaching Fellows program, to recruit the best and brightest teachers to our classrooms, and helped expand school choice, to give families

Raleigh

Hickory

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St. Louis school superintendent arrested over fraud charges in N.C. Washington County Joseph Davis, superintendent of the Ferguson-Florissant School District in St. Louis, has been arrested in relation to a felony fraud warrant from North Carolina. Davis previously worked for Washington County school district from 2012 to 2015 before starting his current position with the Ferguson-Florissant district in July 2015. Davis faced allegations of possible misuse of funds more than $100,000 over a 33-month period after a 2016 audit. The FergusonFlorissant district granted Davis a leave of absence.

across the state more options to help their students succeed.”

Barefoot started at the N.C. General Assembly as an intern in the minority leader’s office in 2009. He was first elected in 2012. He has three young children with his wife, Paige, and said that he plans to spend more time with them, but will continue to work in the community and the state in the future.

“I’m proud of the ways we’ve come together to solve problems many didn’t think we could solve — from securing the expansion of Highway 401, to bringing back Franklin County’s hospital, to stopping a major interstate from disrupting communities in Southern Wake, to giving a voice to eastern Wake County,” said Barefoot in his statement announcing his retirement from the legislature.

Two more pairs of Republican senators will vie for the same seat; Deanna Ballard and Shirley Randleman would run for the same seat in the west, and in Davie County, Republican Joyce Krawiec will face new Republican and former Davie County Commissioner Dan Barrett, who was appointed in June to fill Andrew Brock’s seat when Brock left for a position on the State Board of Review.

There are two districts in the Senate map that do not have incumbents; one that includes Iredell County and one that includes Rowan and Stanly County.

Already, some senators are rumored to be considering relocating to one of those districts.

More than 100,000 REAL IDs issued in NC

By Donna King North State Journal RALEIGH — The N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles announced this week that it has issued more than 100,000 REAL IDs since May. The N.C. REAL ID is a new form of identification that meets new federal security requirements for boarding a commercial airplane or visiting a military base or other federal facility.

“We are glad North Carolinians are getting ahead of the deadline,” DMV Commissioner Torre J. Jessup said.

“Traveling by air will be much easier with a REAL ID when the Transportation Security Administration begins enforcing tougher identification requirements at the airport on Oct. 1, 2020.”

In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Congress passed the REAL ID Act in 2005 in an effort to set minimum security standards for state-issued driver’s licenses

and to battle production of fraudulent identification. Starting in 2020, airline travelers will have to provide additional identification, like a passport, to board a commercial flight and visit federal facilities.

According to the DMV, the N.C. REAL ID is just like a traditional North Carolina license or ID, but has a gold star endorsement from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security at the top. The federal REAL ID Act established the requirements of the program. Standard licenses and ID cards are now marked “Not for Federal Identification.”

N.C. DMV officials say residents should obtain a REAL ID when renewing their driver’s license or ID card well in advance of their next flight. To obtain their first REAL ID, residents must bring documents to a local driver’s license office to verify their birthdate, Social Security number and legal residency.

KSDK-TV

With more than 180 wineries statewide, there is a wine for every taste.

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2017

BUSINESS

PHOTO COURTESY OF EDGECOMBE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

n.c.

FAST FACTS Sponsored by

Focused on improving the economic well-being and quality of life for all North Carolinians, a collaborative team of regional partners and allies represents the economic interests of businesses and towns from across the state.

Edgecombe Community College president proud to shine national spotlight on NC Dr. Deborah Lamm receives 2017 regional award for innovative programming and leadership; now in the running for national recognition

This week, NSJ highlights the Research Triangle Regional Partnership The Research Triangle Regional Partnership is an association of area economic development agencies dedicated to keeping the Research Triangle Region economically strong by collectively marketing the region’s competitive advantages and providing support to and facilitating collaboration among its member institutions and a wide range of partners. RTRP leads development of the regional economic-development strategy to promote economic and job growth in the Research Triangle Region. RTRP’s board of directors comprises representatives from each of the counties and The Research Triangle Park.

The board advises and oversees RTRP initiatives.

An Economic Development Advisory Committee of county economic developers and partners meet monthly to plan and implement strategic marketing efforts.

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT Sponsored by

What IS the Value of Public Power?

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By Laura Ashley Lamm North State Journal TARBORO — There are more than 1,200 community colleges throughout the United States with 58 located in North Carolina. But the national spotlight is turning to one college in eastern North Carolina, ranking its president among the best of the best.

Dr. Deborah Lamm, president of Edgecombe Community College, has received the 2017 Southern Regional Chief Executive Officer Award from the Association of Community College Trustees.

Lamm is the eighth North Carolinian to win the honor in the association’s long-standing history; however, she is the only North Carolina president from a small- to medium-size community college.

“I am deeply humbled by this recognition. To be recognized by those who govern community colleges is a privilege and honor that I never imagined. I am equally grateful that this award allows Edgecombe Community College and the work of community colleges in North Carolina to be showcased at the national level,” said Lamm.

The Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) is a non-profit educational organization of governing boards representing more than 6,500 elected and appointed trustees who govern more than 1,200 community, technical, and junior colleges in the United States and beyond.

Based in Washington, DC, the ACCT annually recognizes outstanding leaders in each of ACCT’s five regions. The Southern Region, for which Lamm was recognized, consists of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina,

n.c.

PHOTO COURTESY OF EDGECOMBE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Edgecombe Community College President Dr. Deborah Lamm with students on campus.

“All 58 community colleges in North Carolina contribute to the economic development of the communities they serve.

We are vital partners in recruiting and training industries, in preparing nurses and technicians for healthcare fields, and in creating skilled workers in a variety of other fields.”

— Dr. Deborah Lamm Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Bermuda, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.

The CEO Award is based on the nominee’s impact on innovative programming at the institution,

service to two-year postsecondary education, recognition of leadership, commitment to a collegial learning environment, and published professional articles.

“Edgecombe Community College has grown in the local, state, and national spotlight for its commitment to strengthening the workforce, providing a strong academic foundation, establishing state-of-the-art programs, and effectively collaborating with communities and corporations in North Carolina,” said Lamm.

Lamm, a 38-year veteran of the North Carolina Community College System, began her current post as president of Edgecombe Community College in 2004 after serving in administrative positions at Southeastern Community College in Whiteville and Lenoir Community College in Kinston.

A leader among North Carolina educators, she served as president of the N.C. Association of Community College Presidents for See DR. LAMM, page A9

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You tell me. That’s exactly what ElectriCities asked some of its members in a recent customer satisfaction survey, where they engaged with more than 3,000 residential customers and 300 commercial customers.

The results that came back were shocking, in a good way.

From the small-town shops to the local gas station and the neighborhood grocery store, they all rely on electricity to open the doors to their customers. The results from the ElectriCities survey are depicted below, and they speak to the value that public power provides to the great State of North Carolina. The survey was conducted by GreatBlue Research in 10 public power communities across the state.

7 OUT OF 10 WOULD CHOOSE

PUBLIC POWER When polled, NC Public Power customers were very pleased with the services they were provided. The highest marks received were for reliable service, which came in at 93 percent. Reliability has always been a trademark of public power.

85.7%

NC PUBLIC POWER CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

North State Journal for Wednesday, August 23, 2017

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THE BRIEF Yahoo owes millions for busting NCAA tournament bracket deal-court

MIKE BLAKE | REUTERS

Solar panels are shown on top of a Multifamily Affordable Solar Housing-funded (MASH) housing complex in National City, Calif.

Beyond rooftops: states move to encourage community solar Opening solar markets to private companies, nonprofits creates opportunities and conflicts

By Jon Frandsen Stateline The number of U.S. homeowners who have their own solar panels has been growing steadily since 2000. But as that market slows, the industry’s focus is shifting to the huge swath of customers who can’t put panels on their own roofs.

Among them are renters, people who live in places where installation isn’t allowed or isn’t feasible, and those who simply cannot afford their own panels.

For these would-be solar customers, the only option is to draw the power from panels set up elsewhere.

Traditional utility companies have until now driven much of the growth in these community solar, or shared solar, efforts.

But while states have little control over whether utilities set up shared solar projects, many have been moving to open up the market to enable private companies, nonprofits, homeowners associations and others to develop and run community solar projects.

Across the U.S., lawmakers and regulators are determining

the size and locations of projects, what types of organizations can promote and run them, and how best to ensure lower-income customers can participate.

The thorniest question states face, perhaps, is how to value the excess energy that is sold back to utilities — an issue dogging efforts to encourage the use of solar power and incorporate it into the power grid.

Fourteen states and Washington, D.C., have laws enabling third-party community solar.

And some 90 percent of the explosive growth in the sector in the next five years will take place in five of them that have taken early steps to encourage the industry: Colorado, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota and New York, according to GTM Research, which studies solar power and other renewable energy.

Nevada nearly became the latest state to enable a community solar program, but Gov. Brian Sandoval, a Republican, vetoed legislation in June that he said could conflict with other solar-related laws, a point disputed by the solar industry and its advocates.

Lawmakers, regulators and solar advocates in a number of other states are interested in enacting legislation to spur their own community solar industries. But community solar is a new business model in a heavily regulated industry, and it can be

A 10 kw solar panel installation is equivalent to: • the greenhouse gas emissions of approximately 2.3 cars in a year.

• CO2 emissions from burning 27.3 barrels of oil • CO2 emissions from the annual energy use of a house painstaking.

Oregon, for example, enacted community solar legislation in March 2016, but utility regulators just finished writing rules codifying that legislation in June.

And the state is still working out how to value solar credits for community solar customers.

“We’re talking about an open market for energy that, by and large, doesn’t exist yet,” said Jeff Cramer, executive director of the Coalition for Community Solar Access, a trade association. “It’s really a disruptive model.”

Economy of Scale Community solar projects rely on solar panels that can be placed in many locations — vacant lots and brownfields; rooftops of parking lots, apartment complexes and other large buildings; even

on out-of-use landfills.

And they are very small: no bigger than 1 or 2 megawatts, and often much smaller. By comparison, a typical coal plant has a capacity of 547 MW. One MW of solar energy can power 164 homes, according to industry estimates.

The projects are located within or very near the area they serve.

Their customers, generally a mix of residential, industrial and commercial users, buy or lease part of the project and are usually credited through their bills for any electricity that is generated but unused.

Community solar offers an economy of scale that rooftop panels on residences do not, and as the costs of solar systems keeps dropping and the residential solar market slows in many states, it has become a focus for solar companies.

Third-party-led solar added about 85 MW in 2016, more than double what was added the previous year, and is expected to add 1.8 gigawatts between 2017 and 2021, according to a forecast by GTM Research.

“While utility-led community solar has been a significant driver so far, third-party or legislatively driven community solar is beginning to outpace utility-led initiatives” and ultimately will make up the bulk of community solar projects, said Austin Perea, a GTM analyst.

DR. LAMM from page A8 the 2016-2017 term. During her tenure, she created Community College Day in the North Carolina General Assembly, which recognized the vital role the institutions play in the success of the State.

“All 58 community colleges in North Carolina contribute to the economic development of the communities they serve. We are vital partners in recruiting and training industries, in preparing nurses and technicians for healthcare fields, and in creating skilled workers in a variety of other fields,” said Lamm.

At Edgecombe, Lamm provided leadership in the development of approaches to healthcare education, student success, historic preservation, and technological innovation – noteworthy for community colleges in the State of North Carolina.

Last year, Edgecombe opened the Biotechnology and Medical Simulation Center, a state-ofthe-art building dedicated to providing students in the health profession with a simulated hospital experience, complete with mannequins, to provide life-like training. In addition, the college partnered with Vidant Edgecombe Hospital to provide the first Mobile Medical Simulation Lab, a trailer designed to provide students with emergency simulated scenarios.

“Dr. Lamm is unmatched in her drive to improve the lives of Edgecombe residents. She is an innovative and effective leader as well as a thoughtful and sincere individual,” Wick Baker, president of Vidant Edgecombe Hospital. “She is the ideal college president and no other president is more deserving of this honor.”

Other programs at Edgecombe, which began under Lamm’s leadership, include the

New Orleans Yahoo Inc owes a prize promoter $5.5 million for backing out of a contract to pay $1 billion for predicting every winner in the 2014 NCAA men’s basketball tournament, and entering a similar contract with Quicken Loans Inc and Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc, a court decided on Monday. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans said SCA Promotions Inc was entitled to half of its $11 million contract with Yahoo as a cancellation penalty. It rejected Yahoo’s claim that Dallasbased SCA improperly leaked the promotion to Buffett and Berkshire, while trying to line up insurance coverage for the grand prize. Berkshire is well-known for insuring against potentially costly events with long odds, such as picking a perfect “March Madness” bracket.”

Rural communities receive state grants attracting 429 new jobs and $367 million Raleigh The North Carolina Rural Infrastructure Authority (RIA) approved 22 grant requests totaling $15,802,945, N.C. Commerce Secretary Anthony M. Copeland announced last week. The requests include commitments to create a total of 429 new jobs. Secretary Copeland previously announced an additional 368 new jobs associated with these grants. The public investment in these projects is attracting $367 million in private investment. “These investments will help our rural communities prepare for and win business,” said Secretary Copeland. “The Rural Infrastructure Authority’s work supports necessary infrastructure improvements and projects that will help communities prepare and compete for jobs.”

A team of rural economic development specialists at the N.C. Department of Commerce support the Authority’s work.

Authority members review and approve funding requests from local communities. Funding comes from a variety of specialized grant and loan programs offered and managed by N.C. Commerce’s Rural Economic Development Division, led by Assistant Secretary for Rural Development Napoleon Wallace.

Grants can support a variety of activities, including infrastructure development, building renovation, expansion and demolition, and site improvements. “Each of these 22 projects will make a difference in individuals’ lives and the communities they live in,” said Assistant Secretary Wallace.

“These investments are critical, and our rural communities are committed to helping each project succeed.”

Infosys reaffirms intent to bring jobs to NC after CEO resigns

PHOTO COURTESY OF EDGECOMBE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Dr. Deborah Lamm speaks at an Edgecombe Community College event.

establishments of Student Success Centers on the college’s Tarboro and Rocky Mount campuses; the Edge Scholarship Program, which fully funds the education of qualified students; the Center for Innovation, an advanced manufacturing facility which will break ground in October; and the Historic Preservation Technology program, a curriculum designed to help with the preservation of historic North Carolina homes, graveyards, buildings and sites.

“Community colleges are designed to meet the needs of the communities in which they serve.

I’m proud that Edgecombe Community College has served our residents by providing carefully crafted healthcare training op-

portunities, affordable means by which to attend college, a place where innovation can thrive, and a way to help preserve the cultural heritage that is unique to Eastern North Carolina,” said Lamm.

“Dr. Lamm has always been a pioneer and innovative force within our 58-college System; while we are not surprised that she won, we congratulate her on receiving the 2017 ACCT Southern Regional Chief Executive Officer Award. The System is proud to have Dr. Lamm as part of our team,” said Jennifer Haygood, chief of staff for the N.C. Community College System.

The last North Carolina recipient of the ACCT CEO Award was in 2008, when Patricia Skinner,

president of Gaston College, was honored.

In 2007, Lamm was named one of 100 Incredible Women by East Carolina University. In 2011, she received the I.E. Ready Distinguished Leader Award from NC State University’s College of Education; and in 2015, she received the Eastern Council’s Boy Scouts of America’s Distinguished Citizen Award.

The CEO Award will be presented during the ACCT conference set for September 25-28.

As the regional award recipient, Lamm is a nominee for the prestigious Marie Y. Martin CEO Award, with a national winner being selected from among the five regional winners.

Research Triangle Park Infosys, the India-based high-tech firm that recently announced plans to bring 2,000 jobs to Wake County, has reaffirmed its commitment to expansion in N.C. following the resignation of its CEO on Friday. The company issued a statement via email hours after Vishal Sikka, managing director and CEO of Infosys, resigned during a board of directors meeting. “The Infosys Management team and Board are deeply committed to the company’s existing U.S. innovation strategy and investment in helping our clients tackle the challenges of a digital future. We reaffirm our commitment to hiring 10,000 American workers over the next two years and opening technology and innovation hubs to better serve our clients in key industries across the U.S.,” the statement read. Infosys announced in July its plan to bring 2,000 jobs to Wake County that average a starting salary above $72,000, according to previous reports. State officials said the deal includes some $25 million in state grants and other supports. Sikka cited among his reasons for leaving, “the distractions that we have seen, the constant drumbeat of the same issues over and over again, while ignoring and undermining the good work that has been done, take the excitement and passion out of this amazing journey.”

North State Journal for Wednesday, August 23, 2017

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north STATEment Neal Robbins, publisher | Ray Nothstine, opinion editor

VISUAL VOICES

EDITORIAL | RAY NOTHSTINE

Shutting out the media noise The need to create constant drama only fuels the anxiety and anger of a heart not at rest.

THE FRIDAY “ANTI-HATE” protests in Durham should serve as a lesson for the nation to take a step back from media induced hysteria and controversies. While many protestors can be lauded for acting out of good intentions by taking to the streets to protest possible white supremacists, it was the rumor mill that led to confrontation with the police and a portion of the city being shut down. Whether it’s the 24-hour news cycle or incessant social media debates, Americans of all kinds would be wise to tamp down on their consumption of divisive media narratives.

Durham Mayor Bill Bell noted in news interviews that there was no verification of the presence of armed white supremacists, which was ginned up on social media by attorney Scott Holmes and Durham Council Member Jillian Johnson. Holmes is the attorney representing the eight defendants arrested for toppling a Confederate statue on August 14. Bell softly chided public officials for spreading the rumors in the absence of facts. At any rate, it’s hard to fathom even white supremacists being stupid enough to attempt a meaningful show of force at noon in downtown Durham.

These past few weeks, Americans were supposed to be debating important topics like spending ($20 trillion federal debt) and tax cuts, but instead devoted way too much time to the largely non-controversial topic of the evils of Nazis and white supremacists. According to a recent Marist poll, 94 percent of Americans disagree with the views of the Klu Klux Klan. Yes, it should be even higher but it’s uncertain if the wording of the poll is to blame or maybe our current identity politics and divisive media is driving a minority on both sides toward hatred.

Thankfully, the vast majority of Americans are neither consumed or participating in the appeal to hysteria. And, why should they? It has little to do with the rhythms of their daily lives, a life already steeped in tolerance, living within the largest cultural melting pot in all the world. Fewer Americans today than ever, probably even know a white supremacist.

Neil Postman, author of the brilliant book “Amusing Ourselves to Death” noted, “Where people once sought information to manage the real contexts of their lives, now

they had to invent contexts in which otherwise useless information might be put to some apparent use.”

In the past, many Americans looked to news anchors and pundits to help explain current events. More importantly, national media figures often served as a stabilizing force within the daily life. It was Walter Cronkite’s infamous monologue during his 1968 assessment of the Tet Offensive and the Battle of Hue that began to turn the tide of the popularity of the Vietnam War across middle America. Now the perpetual noise is more about the need for constant calamity, angst, and national strife.

That kind of reporting and digesting of news plays into the progressive desire for national division and upheaval. For many media moguls, chaos creates more coverage and ratings.

The need to create constant drama only fuels the anxiety and anger of a heart not at rest.

However, the opposite of chaos and upheaval is a well ordered and morally balanced life. This requires discernment and most importantly, virtue and wisdom. This is one reason why the American framers believed so deeply that virtue was a requirement for self-government.

Those that advocate for limited government and ordered liberty should take a step back from the noise. The left has a strong propensity to overreach and the perpetual grievance culture is tiresome for many hard-working Americans who have little time for the antics constantly bombarding their devices. No industry is probably in need of creative destruction more so than cable news. But unfortunately, it will only get worse before it gets better.

The 20th Century philosopher Eric Voegelin declared, “No one is obliged to take part in the spiritual crises of society; on the contrary, everyone is obliged to avoid the folly and live his life in order.” That’s sound advice.

EDITORIAL | FRANK HILL

Fake news about taxes Don’t get distracted by the “fake news” difference between tax “rates” and taxes actually “paid.”

THERE IS NOTHING MORE disturbing in all of American politics than the misunderstanding and deliberate deception when it comes to the progressive income tax code of the United States.

People vote for pocketbook issues that are important to their family. Reforming and simplifying the tax code is about as important as it gets to the average American family every day, especially when compared to the obsessive media coverage about Russia since the election.

President Barack Obama said this about taxes in a September, 2011 speech on the economy: “Middle-class families shouldn’t pay higher taxes than millionaires and billionaires....Warren Buffett’s secretary shouldn’t pay a higher tax rate than Warren Buffett.”

Conflating “taxes paid” and “tax rates” is inherently a dishonest political way to confuse the voting public. In a world of reason, anyone who pays millions of dollars in taxes in cold hard cash is shouldering far more of a tax burden to support our government activities than an average person who might be paying a higher “tax rate” at any level of income.

A secretary working for Mr. Buffett who makes $37,950 per year after all personal deductions are included on his

or her tax form, would owe $5226.25 in taxes for 2017.

Assume that this secretary makes $1 more somehow in a teeny, tiny bonus let’s call it. Their income becomes $37,951 instead of $37,950.

That $1 will be taxed at a 25 percent tax rate according to current law. An additional 25 cents will be added to their taxes paid so that their total bill to the federal government will be $5226.50 instead of $5226.25.

Very small amount in pennies paid but 10 percentage points higher than the 15 percent marginal tax rate paid on the amount between $9325 and $37,950 in taxable income.

Consider a very wealthy person such as Mr. Buffett coming along and filing his taxes behind the secretary at the local accountant office in Omaha, Nebraska. Many wealthy people make the vast majority of their income from appreciated long-term gains in their stock or real estate portfolios which are taxed at a 15 percent rate to recognize the long-term commitment it takes to make such growth happen in the first place.

Long-term asset appreciation is taxed at a lower rate since it is inherently risky to keep assets deployed in any long-term investment, many times which winds up being worthless and not taxable at all, in

which case the wealthy person and the federal treasury gets nothing in taxes either.

Mr. Buffett makes $100 million in long-term capital gains profits from his investment and then pays 15 percent of that gain to the federal government and writes a check for $15 million to Uncle Sam. “But he has paid a lower tax RATE than his secretary!” people on the left will scream.

So what? He has paid $15 MILLION in cold hard cash to the federal government whereas his secretary paid a total of 25 cents at the higher marginal tax rate. Which would you rather see if you want your government to continue to operate?

Hopefully as this troubled summer ends, we will see Congress start to address the critical issue of comprehensive tax reform. Don’t get distracted by the “fake news” difference between tax “rates” and taxes actually “paid.”

The battle cry of “tax the rich more!” sounds good and resonates well in a speech designed to rouse the understandable human passions of fairness and equity. It fails as sound fiscal policy if it ignores basic arithmetic we all should have learned in elementary school.

North State Journal for Wednesday, August 23, 2017

A11

GUEST OPINION | JOHN T. MCNABB

Restore the American Dream

Our dulyelected President Donald Trump is doing his part to create a better country for all Americans.

THE POLITICAL PROCESS has been high-jacked by media and political elites, political profiteers and extremists on the left and some on the right.

Hard working Americans of every race, color and creed are paying the price for this greed, political correctness and folly. This sentiment fueled a major political realignment that sent Donald Trump to Washington.

As I watched the President’s press conference last week, I did not see a media savvy politician dodging the tough issues raised by the violence and murder in Charlottesville. Rather, I saw a leader drawing the clear lines necessary to maintain the moral center while protecting a core principle of freedom — the First Amendment.

President Trump condemned white nationalists, Nazis and racists stating, “We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry, and violence. It has no place in America.” He also rightfully criticized the use of violence by both sides. However repugnant racism, bigotry and the ignorance of Nazism, we must never sanction violence as an acceptable response in the public debate. By design, the First Amendment applies equally to fools and the wise. Fools so they can display their ignorance for all to see. The wise so that we may all be lifted up by the power their ideas.

I fought a war to defend our freedom and share with all my brothers in arms a unique understanding of the steep price of liberty.

For decades, everyday Americans have paid an ever-higher price for the relentless growth in the size, power and cost of government. As the media, the elites and politicians feathered their beds, hardworking Americans have seen the American dream slowly slip away. The evidence of neglect is all around us. Nowhere is this more on display than with the scourge of opioid addiction ravaging every corner of our society from the inner city to the suburbs to our industrial cities and country towns.

Hopelessness gives way to despair, which gives way to resignation. This is the way our freedom will be stolen from us if we do not fight back.

Wherever President Trump can constitutionally act he has done so. He has restored a conservative balance to the Supreme Court. He has placed a moratorium on new regulations and has already saved our citizens almost $90 billion by eradicating unnecessary job-killing regulations forced on us

by the Obama administration. President Trump has ordered a government-wide, comprehensive regulatory review requiring a true cost/benefit analysis and that rulemaking be based on science and not any political agenda. The President has taken steps to unleash American energy production, guaranteeing energy independence and energy security and declared America’s opioid crisis a national emergency. He has begun to wrench America out of international treaties and trade agreements that sacrifice the best interests of the American people at the altar of internationalism.

Still, our Republican-led Congress, inexplicably, has failed to answer the call of duty.

The agenda is clear. Healthcare and tax reform, transportation and infrastructure investment, and banking reform to ease the cost and access to credit for average Americans and small businesses that are, and always have been, the true engines of our economic growth. GOP leaders could deliver on the promise of healthcare and tax reform with simple majorities. That means conservative and moderate Republicans must check their ideological puritanism and compromise for the greater good. But, our GOP leaders in Congress have thus far failed our citizens and our country. Democrats facing election in 2018 in states where voters sent Donald Trump to Washington could demonstrate political courage (and wisdom) by crossing party lines. Our dulyelected President Donald Trump is doing his part to create a better country for all Americans.

In 2016, I co-chaired the Trump Leadership Council, a group of business leaders committed to putting America first by advocating for reform.

Now I have joined other patriots to help form the American Leadership Council (ALC). The ALC is mobilizing business leaders from all corners of the American economy to demand elected officials deliver on critical economic reforms. I hope you will join me in this fight to restore power to the American people and in the process, restore the greatest common denominator among Americans — the simple dream that working together we can guarantee our children have a better life than ours.

John T. McNabb is vice chairman, American Leadership Council. co-founder, Trump Leadership Council and Former Chairman and CEO, Willbros Group.

U.S. President Donald Trump waves while boarding Air Force One before departing for Arizona from Joint Base Andrews, Md.

JONAH GOLDBERG

With Trump, the abnormal is the new normal OU HEAR IT constantly these days: “This can’t go on.” “Something’s got to Y give.” The hope that impeachment is around

the corner is an unspoken assumption in much media coverage. “Trump Is Just Six Senate Votes Away From Impeachment” blared a recent Newsweek headline. (News flash: He’s not.)

The Los Angeles Times ran a forceful — and largely persuasive — editorial titled “Enough is Enough.” It began, “These are not normal times,” and then followed with a blistering indictment of elected Republicans who refuse to stand up and speak out about the damage the president is doing to the country and his own party.

But maybe the new abnormal is the new normal, as the last line of the piece suggests: “This is the seventh in a series.”

Part of the problem is that President Trump, in terms of both his personality and his behavior, is like a magnet next to a compass, making it very difficult to get accurate bearings. Just as his candidacy was a symptom of larger forces — the triumph of entertainment culture, the breakdown in confidence in elites and their institutions, etc.

— his presidency may likewise be masking more permanent changes to politics.

We won’t know if things will return to “normal” until we separate the magnet and the compass. Until then, all of the proposed remedies for the problem of political chaos only promise more chaos.

Consider the departure of Stephen Bannon from the White House. Contrary to a lot of punditry, it is unlikely that the White House will become less gonzo with his absence. (The president sets the tempo for this administration.) But it is almost surely true that the climate outside of the White House will get more absurd with Bannon back at Breitbart.com.

It may indeed be the right thing for Republicans to stand up to Trump more. But that won’t restore order either.

JOSHUA ROBERTS | REUTERS

COLUMN | CAL THOMAS

Historical hysteria “The only thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history.”— Friedrich Hegel

Part of this chaos comes from government’s inability, or unwillingness, to solve, or even address, major challenges.

WE WILL LEARN even less from history if we wipe it clean, as some are trying to do by removing statues of Confederate leaders whose beliefs about slavery and race most, including me, find offensive. Conversation beats censorship.

Rev. Al Sharpton, who has been in relative obscurity since the loss of his MSNBC program, vaulted back into this three-ring political circus recently when he suggested to Charlie Rose that federal subsidies for the Thomas Jefferson Memorial should end, because Jefferson owned slaves.

People like Sharpton fan the flames they claim need extinguishing. Some even start the fires, like those characters from a bad B-movie who confronted each other in Charlottesville, Virginia, causing death and destruction, not only to individuals and property, but to the links that have traditionally held us together as a nation, in spite of our differences.

As usual, the media have contributed to the cultural fracturing by elevating tiny groups of bigots and leftists to center stage. Drivers slow down and pay attention to car wrecks and cultural collisions.

Part of this chaos comes from government’s inability, or unwillingness, to solve, or even address, major challenges.

We aren’t winning wars in Afghanistan, or against ISIS, which has taken credit for the vehicle attack in Barcelona that killed 14 people and wounded scores more.

We aren’t winning battles over health care, or taxes, or much else in Washington, where gridlocked rush-hour traffic could serve as a metaphor for a gridlocked Congress. President Trump promised during the campaign he would win so much the rest of us would grow tired of winning. We have yet to reach anything approaching exhaustion.

There is an effort by some on the left, not just to rewrite history, which would be bad enough, but to expunge it, as happens in totalitarian states.

George Orwell foresaw the danger in such an approach when he created the “memory hole” in his classic novel, “1984.”

For those who never read the book, the memory hole was for destroying all historical documents that could remind, or inform, citizens of the way things were in a time before they were born. History would then be rewritten to match the evolving propaganda of the state.

An agency with the euphemistic

name “The Ministry of Truth” handled such things.

A similar effort to delete history was the Nazi’s public book burning in Berlin in 1933.

The focus on statues by people whose education level likely wouldn’t pass the “Jeopardy” test is a distraction designed to keep our minds on things other than solving real problems and to pit us against each other for the cultural, political and fundraising benefit and goals of various groups on the left and right.

I like what former NBA star and current sports commentator Charles Barkley said about the removal of Confederate statues: “I’m not going to waste my time worrying about these Confederate statues — that’s wasted energy. You know what I’m gonna do? I’m gonna keep doing great things.

I’m gonna keep trying to make a difference — number one, in the black community because I’m black — but I’m also going to try to do good things in the world.”

Barkley has the right attitude and if more of us followed his example we might actually achieve something of value for ourselves and the nation. Future generations would then find a history worth studying and emulating.

Cal Thomas is a nationally syndicated columnist.

Bannon has boasted that he is a “Leninist.”

Like so much of what Bannon says, that’s hyperbole, but he does share with the Soviet revolutionary a worldview of “the worse, the better.” Bannon believes that racial anxiety, populist fervor and widespread resentment help his cause.

It may indeed be the right thing for Republicans to stand up to Trump more. But that won’t restore order either. It will infuriate the president and his biggest supporters and further split the Republican Party.

Likewise the widespread call for Republican legislators to stop voting with the president even when they agree with him. This is insane advice on the merits.

Voting against Trump out of spite would be political malpractice. It would also be a gift to the Bannons and Sean Hannitys who are desperate to craft a “stabbed in the back” explanation for the president’s failures.

Republicans are stuck in a Trump-22 for as far as the eye can see. They cannot afford to alienate the core Trump base by being too critical of the president, and they cannot afford to alienate the Trumpcritical elements in the party by being too supportive. So, like House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, they have no choice but to focus on the policies that unite both constituencies.

The problem, of course, is that absent a president who knows how to move an agenda through Congress, Congress is left looking both ineffectual and opportunistic at the same time.

There’s a similar problem with the calls for mass resignations from the White House.

There are still good people there. If they quit, they’ll all be replaced with members of the “let Trump be Trump” school.

Meanwhile the Democrats, who have their own populist challenges, see GOP dysfunction as an excuse not to remedy their own shortcomings — many of which made Trump’s victory possible.

Then there’s impeachment If Democrats win the House — a big “if” right now —they will probably get to work on impeachment hearings. If they succeeded, they’d still need roughly half of the Republicans to vote to remove him.

How reserved and sober-minded would you expect the president — or his supporters — to be during that process? How about after the Senate fails to remove him?

Face it: It’s gonna be weird for a very long time.

Jonah Goldberg is a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a senior editor of National Review.

North State Journal for Wednesday, August 23, 2017

A12

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Printed by the NC General Assembly, August 20, 2017.

NC SENATE 2017 Aug 20

REDISTRICTING from pageA1 the committee to follow the criteria of simplified county groupings, contiguity, compactness while allowing for consideration of election data, and efforts to reduce the occurrence of incumbent versus incumbent districts.

The election data used to construct the maps was released Monday and shows a majority of districts leaning Republican.

“Republican leaders continue to show they are more concerned with maintaining their supermajority than fairly representing North Carolina,” said North Carolina Democratic Party Executive Director Kimberly Reynolds in a statement.

Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, called the new maps “rigged” in a campaign fundraising letter.

Despite calls by Democrats to also combat such partisan considerations, the reality of redistricting responsibilities by the legislative majority is “inherently political” according to Lewis.

Even so, the senior chairman

said the maps make significant changes in districts that will lead to disruptions that vary geographically.

“Certainly areas east of Raleigh are more changed in general than areas west of Raleigh,” said Lewis.

“Within the major metropolitan centers I think people will see that the districts are a little more compact, and frankly some of them may even be a little bit more competitive than they’ve been in the past.”

Even with criterion to avoid incumbent on incumbent races wherever feasible, the new maps make competitors out of several incumbent lawmakers.

On the House side, more than half a dozen representatives will face off based on new districts.

Some districts will pit Republicans against Republicans, while others will result in election battles between an incumbent Democrat and incumbent Republican.

For instance, in the new Wilson centered House district proposal, Democrat Rep. Jean Farmer-Butterfield and Republican Rep. Susan

Martin are slated to compete for the seat in 2018. In another district that stretches from Richmond County in the south to Davie County in the north, incumbent Republican Reps. Larry Pittman and Carl Ford will likely face off.

Other conservative House Republicans will encounter disadvantages under new maps, too. Rep. Chris Millis (R-Pender) will face the loss of the Onslow County portion of that district, while picking up a portion of Columbus County that leans Democratic according to recent election data.

“If the proposed map is ratified as currently drawn I will most certainly miss the opportunity to represent the citizens of western Onslow, while welcoming the privilege to be the voice and vote for citizens of Columbus,” said Millis in an interview. He said he understands the changes to be necessary due to “required changes of the northeastern part of the state combined with alterations required in districts directly west of Pender [County].”

Millis’ deskmate in the House,

Rep. Jeff Collins (R-Nash), another conservative stalwart, is unsure of his future in the House because he may not reside in the new district after having sold his home in Nash County.

Some conservative Republicans in N.C. Senate will also encounter double-bunking headwinds or were even drawn out of their district altogether, leading some, such as Sen. Chad Barefoot (R-Wake), to resign.

Though Democrats have been critical of the process, especially the criteria adopted by the committee to draw the maps, Lewis contends that Democrats have not fully engaged in affecting the final product.

“I don’t know that there’s anything that can get the majority of the Democrats to vote for it, which is unfortunate,” said Lewis. “I just think they have almost checked out of the legislative process for it just to go to the courts. I hope that’s not the case; I hope they prove me wrong. I’d be ecstatic if they would engage, but when we had to redraw

the maps in 2016, they offered no suggestions, they only voted ‘No’ and I’m hoping that won’t be the case this time.”

Lewis said Republicans would be welcoming of amendments that were consistent with the adopted criteria.

At the public hearing late Tuesday afternoon, the committee naturally heard public comments from citizens that skewed toward displeasure with the new maps, saying “It feels like a sham,” and, “Don’t act like Nazis.”

After considering input, committee chairs hope to bring the maps to the House and Senate floors later this week.

“I hope we can have the second reading on Friday of this week, and the third reading on Monday and the bill would pass over to the other chamber, they would send us theirs and we would repeat the process,” said Lewis. “I’d like to be done by the 31st but we’ll take the time that’s needed to get it done.”

The court mandated deadline is Sept. 1.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2017

Gate City glory Henrik Stenson (left) receives the Sam Snead Trophy after winning the Wyndham Championship golf tournament at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro on Aug. 20. More on Page B4.

the Wednesday SIDELINE REPORT

SPORTS

BOXING

McGregor must stick to what he knows, says former sparring partner Conor McGregor should rely on the skills that have made him a two-weight UFC champ and not try to out-box unbeaten Floyd Mayweather when the two clash in Las Vegas on Saturday, former sparring partner Steve Collins Jr. said.

The Irish mixed martial arts fighter turned up at the Dublin gym run by Collins’ uncle about two years ago looking to hone his boxing skills, and the 27-year-old light heavyweight was happy to go toe-to-toe with him.

WR Boldin retires after brief stint with Bills

MLB

NBA investigates Lakers for alleged tampering with George The NBA is investigating the Los Angeles Lakers for alleged tampering involving Paul George after the Indiana Pacers filed a formal complaint. “At the request of the Indiana Pacers, the NBA opened an investigation into alleged tampering by the Los Angeles Lakers,” an NBA statement said. Peter Vecsey reported Saturday that Lakers president Magic Johnson, general manager Rob Pelinka and owner Jeanie Buss were contacted by an investigator for the NBA and asked to provide “any correspondence pertaining to” George, his agent and his parents. George, who is from Palmdale, Calif., previously mentioned his admiration of Lakers legends Johnson and Kobe Bryant. Within an hour of an initial report about George’s intentions to leave the Pacers, Johnson tweeted “God is good!”

Johnson also acknowledged in a late-night TV interview in April that he would welcome George as a Laker.

Greenville hurls back-to-back no-hitters at Little League World Series

By Brett Friedlander North State Journal

NFL

Wide receiver Anquan Boldin announced his retirement from the NFL on Sunday, less than two weeks after signing with the Buffalo Bills. Boldin was expected to bring a veteran presence to the offense after signing a one-year contract with the Bills on Aug. 7. The 36-year-old made one catch for 5 yards Thursday in a preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Boldin began his career with the Arizona Cardinals as a 2003 second-round draft pick out of Florida State. The 6-foot-1, 218-pounder played 14 seasons, including seven years with the Cardinals that included a Super Bowl XLIII appearance, a 2723 loss to Pittsburgh.

PHOTO CREDIT | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

ROB GOLDBERG | COURTESY OF ECU

Graduate transfer Tyshon Dye carries the ball during a practice at ECU last week.

Transfers Dye, Wiggins bring championship pedigree to ECU football Newcomers’ most significant contributions could turn out to be the national championship experience they gained at their former school

By Brett Friedlander North State Journal GREENVILLE — Scottie Montgomery and his staff have a championship vision for the East Carolina football program.

It’s a vision that, for a majority of those on the Pirates’ roster, requires a certain amount of imagination to see.

Tyshon Dye and Korrin Wiggins aren’t among that group.

The two graduate transfers know exactly what it takes to get to the top of the college football mountain, having been there in each of the past two seasons at their former school, Clemson.

Though both figure to play major roles on the field in their only season at ECU — Dye in the offensive backfield and Wiggins on defense — their most significant contributions could turn out to be their national championship experience.

It’s an asset that could go a long way toward turning Montgomery’s vision for the Pirates into a reality.

“We want to take people that have won,” Montgomery said recently. “I think that’s very important when you’re going after graduates at certain positions. You want people that have led teams and you want

people with a background and a history of being great people away from the field.”

Dye and Wiggins check all those boxes, more so than the other three graduate transfers Montgomery brought in to help improve from last year’s 3-9 disappointment, primarily because of the winning. Both made contributions, albeit modest, to Clemson’s national championship team in 2016.

Dye carried the ball 21 times for 109 yards and a touchdown as a backup to All-ACC running back Wayne Gallman while Wiggins, once a starter earlier in his career, made 13 tackles in seven games in his first season back from ACL surgery.

Although the surroundings and expectations are vastly different from those at their former school, the feeling that comes from strapping on their pads, heading out to ECU’s practice field and playing the game they love is therapeutically familiar to the former Tigers.

“Football is football and there are great programs all across the country,” Wiggins said. “I feel like East Carolina and Coach Mo have a great foundation here. It’s not that much of a transition. Tyshon is my roommate, so it’s cool that we can bring our culture and add it to what they have here.”

At the same time, both Wiggins and Dye have eagerly embraced the new culture they’ve joined and are anxious to do what they can to get the Pirates headed back in the right See ECU, page B4

RALEIGH — Greenville’s North State All-Stars found a perfect way to get started at the Little League World Series. Then it put together an even more dominant performance in establishing itself as the team to beat on the U.S. side of the bracket in Williamsport, Pa. Chase Anderson, Matthew Matthijs and Carson Hardee combined to retire all 18 batters they faced Friday to lead the state team to a 6-0 victory against Sioux Falls, S.D., in its opening game before a crowd of 9,923 at Lamade Stadium. The masterpiece was the first perfect game thrown at the Little League World Series since 2008 and put Greenville into the winner’s bracket of the double elimination tournament.

Two days later, Anderson and Matthijs combined for a second straight no-hitter while Greenville’s hitters pounded out 18 hits and a pair of homers in a 16-0 shellacking of West representative Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.

It marked the first time in the tournament’s 70year history that an American team posted backto-back no-hitters.

The Southeast Region champions will next take on Southwest Region representative Lufkin, Texas — the only other U.S. team to win its first two games — Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. for a spot in the national championship bracket final. The game will be televised live on ESPN. “You can’t write it any better than that,” Greenville coach Brian Fields said at a press conference following Sunday’s lopsided win. “You talk about peaking at the right time, we had everything working. We’ve been riding that pitching and defense all summer. It was just a matter of time before the bats started waking up.”

They certainly came alive against California, with 12 different players contributing at least one hit to the victory.

The barrage started early, with a Matthijs double and Thomas Barrett single combining to

“You talk about peaking at the right time, we had everything working.

— Brian Fields, Greenville baseball coach

See LITTLE LEAGUE, page B4

INSIDE

RANDY SARTIN | USA TODAY SPORTS

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the man of the hour before Saturday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race in Bristol, Tenn., but it was Kyle Busch that stole the spotlight once the checkered flag came down. Busch won the race by finishing 1.422 seconds ahead of Rookie of the Year contender Erik Jones to complete a three-race sweep of the weekend action at Bristol. Dale Jr. finished 23rd, three laps down. B4

North State Journal for Wednesday, August 23, 2017

B2 WEDNESDAY

08.23.17

TRENDING

Cam Newton: Carolina Panthers starting quarterback is on track to start the team’s upcoming preseason game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, coach Ron Rivera told reporters on Tuesday.

Seth DeValve: Browns tight end is believed to be the first white NFL player to kneel during the national anthem when he joined his teammates in what he referred to as a prayer group prior to Monday’s preseason game against the New York Giants.

Ric Flair: “After an incredibly hard week, my dad is getting better. There is still a long road to go and he’s not out of the woods just yet, but I want to again thank everyone for their support on behalf of myself and my family.” — Charlotte Flair Dwight Howard: All-star center Dwight Howard will join the Charlotte Hornets and reunite with coach Steve Clifford, who was an coached Howard as an assistant with the Magic and the Lakers.

Kimi Raikkonen: Ferrari has extended the former world champion’s Formula 1 contract until the end of the 2018 season.

Odell Beckham Jr.: The New York Giants’ star receiver was injured after taking a controversial hit to the knee in the second quarter of the Giants’ preseason game against the Browns.

Leon Draisaitl: A month after signing Hart Trophy winner Connor McDavid to an eight-year, $100 million deal, the Edmonton Oilers signed Draisaitl to his own eight-year extension worth $68 million.

beyond the box score POTENT QUOTABLES

NFL

NC State’s Bradley Chubb and Jaylen Samuels, Boston College’s Harold Landry (Fayetteville) and Clemson’s Dexter Lawrence (Wake Forest) were named Tuesday to the Associated Press preseason college football AllAmerica team. Chubb, Landry and Lawrence made the first team, while Samuels made the second team. Eleven ACC players made the two teams.

BRIAN SPURLOCK | USA TODAY SPORTS

“I’m so glad that I came out and played my game and didn’t let any other noise bother me. I just have had such a great week.”

Golfer Paula Creamer, who went 3-1 after being added to the team as an alternate because of injury, to help the U.S. beat Europe in the Solheim Cup competition this weekend.

JEREMY BREVARD | USA TODAY SPORTS

MLB

NFL

SCOTT R. GALVIN | USA TODAY SPORTS

“You know what’s crazy? Even after looking at the eclipse, I still can see all these haters.”

Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr. on what he saw while looking at Monday’s eclipse without protective glasses

RON CHENOY | USA TODAY SPORTS

AARON DOSTER | USA TODAY SPORTS

The NFL is close to finalizing a deal that would extend the tenure of Commissioner Roger Goodell through the 2024 season, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported Monday, citing a person informed of the talks. Goodell, 58, has been commissioner since 2006.

MLB umpires wore white wristbands during games Saturday in protest of “abusive player behavior” after Detroit second baseman Ian Kinsler was fined but not suspended for his recent verbal tirade against ump Angel Hernandez.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

2 Players dismissed and three more suspended from the NC State football team, according to a Tuesday press release from the school. All five players — Antoine Thompson and Kevince Brown, who were dismissed, and Isaiah Moore, Erin Collins and Xavier Lyas, who were suspended — are freshman.

NFL

Mike Glennon isn’t ready to give up his spot as Chicago’s starting quarterback to rookie Mitchell Trubisky just yet. Bouncing back from a poor opening preseason performance last week, the former NC State star completed 13 of 18 passes for 89 yards and a touchdown in the Bears’ 24-23 win over Arizona on Saturday. Trubisky, the UNC grad who was picked second in this year’s NFL draft, completed 6 of 8 passes for 60 yards and a touchdown.

JOE CAMPOREALE | USA TODAY SPORTS IMAGES

Always Dry. Always Comfortable.

introducing the NEW 29 Express

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North State Journal for Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Familiarity with teammates gives Wolfpack QB a leg up Ryan Finley won the starting job in 2016 and threw 18 touchdowns to just eight interceptions

By Shawn Krest North State Journal RALEIGH — If anyone knows the value of experience at the quarterback position, it’s NC State’s Ryan Finley.

Finley, a redshirt junior, returns as the Wolfpack’s starter, giving the Pack a leg up on teams breaking in new quarterbacks, including recent ACC Championship Game participants Clemson, UNC and Virginia Tech.

Finley started every game for the Pack last season after arriving as a graduate transfer from Boise State in May. The late arrival meant that Finley missed spring practice, giving him extremely limited time to get to know his teammates.

Despite the late start, Finley won the starting job and performed well, completing 60 percent of his passes, breaking the 3,000-yard mark and throwing 18 touchdowns to just eight interceptions.

“I can adapt to whatever environment I’m in,” Finley explained.

Still, it’s much easier to be able to skip the adaptation step.

“It’s honestly been great to be here for a full spring and fall,” he said. “It’s great to get to know the guys. Our team is closer than ever, and our chemistry as a team is going to correlate to our success on the field.”

Finley downplays his own role in the chemistry, crediting his teammates for the team’s tightness.

“Guys from different position groups are bonding and hanging out with other guys,” he said. “I’m really excited about the bond we’ve made as a team.”

Building a rapport with the team was just one of the areas of focus for Finley during the offseason.

“I think Ryan worked really

hard this summer on a couple of things, and we’re seeing it now, in camp,” coach Dave Doeren said.

“No. 1 was his relationship with his teammates. Showing up last year, he didn’t really have a chance to have one,” Doeren added. “Now, after 12 months, you can tell he has a totally different vibe with the guys. They respect him and like him. He jokes around with them on both sides of the ball as well as the coaching staff.”

Finley isn’t the most outwardly expressive person, but Doeren said the quarterback has a “dry sense of humor.”

“He’s a funny guy,” Doeren adds.

“I think it’s important to be yourself,” Finley said. “I think when you’re around family — and we consider ourselves family — it’s important to be yourself.”

There were plenty of other areas of improvement for Finley during the offseason months. He bulked up, adding more than 20 pounds of muscle to help improve his durability.

“He was under 190 when he got here,” Doeren said. “Now he’s over 210, and he’s carrying it well.”

The final area of improvement is one that may be a bit surprising. Last season, Finley had 18 completions of 30 yards or more, including bombs of 80, 79, 70 and 68 yards.

Finley, however, tends to focus on the long balls that weren’t caught.

“His deep ball accuracy is something he was hard on himself about last year,” Doeren said. “He’s been really good in camp.”

“That’s definitely one of the things I needed to work on, coming out of the season,” Finley agreed. “We did a good job attacking what we wanted to get better at throughout the summer.”

“That’s what summer is for,” Finley added.

That, and getting to know the guys who were all but strangers last year.

B3

Randolph Co. team falls short in American Legion World Series bid Post 45’s run ended with a 3-1 loss last Tuesday

By Brett Friedlander North State Journal SHELBY, N.C. — Even though his team was down to its final three outs, trailing by two, coach Ronnie Pugh had a good feeling about Randolph County Post 45’s chances in the American Legion World Series semifinals last Tuesday.

The bases were loaded with nobody out in the top of the seventh and the middle of the batting order was coming up.

“I’m sitting there thinking we’re going to win this game,” Pugh said.

“I’m thinking ‘We’re not just going to tie this game, we’re going ahead.’”

Three swings of the bat later, that optimism turned to disappointment when two straight infield popups and a grounder to second ended the promising threat and sent Randolph County to a 3-1 loss to a team from Omaha, Neb., at Keeter Stadium in Shelby.

The setback ended a magical run that saw Pugh and his team of high school-aged players from around the Asheboro area sweep their way to a regional championship, then win their first two World Series games before falling one victory shy of a national title opportunity.

Despite the unhappy outcome, Pugh said he is proud of what his team accomplished and how it represented itself on the national stage.

“It was a great experience,” Pugh said. “Even losing that close to the championship, you still can’t take away anything negative.”

The fact that Post 45 had such a large following of fans in Shelby, giving it a decided home field advantage, only made the four games it played there more special.

“The first night, they announced an opening night record crowd of 8,056,” Pugh said. “New Jersey probably felt like 7,800 of them were pulling for us. We seemed to be the featured game every time we played and it was great all the way through.

“And you know, we played some great baseball. We didn’t hit that well the last two games, but defensive and pitching-wise, it couldn’t have been better.”

Randolph County got off to a fast

MATT ROTH | THE AMERICAN LEGION

Randolph County’s Parker Clayton slides back into first base during the Aug. 15 American Legion World Series semifinal against Omaha, Neb.

“Even losing that close to the championship, you still can’t take away anything negative.”

— Ronnie Pugh, coach of American Legion Post 45 start in its World Series opener by scoring five runs in the top of the first while cruising to a 6-3 win against Hopewell, N.J. Dalton Hammer led the game off with a double and Dawson Painter followed with a single before Cam Morrison drove both home with a double before scoring himself on an RBI single from second baseman Peyton Williams. Parker Clayton also drove in a run while another scored on an error to complete the first inning rally.

The top three hitters in the Randolph County lineup — Hammer, Painter and Morrison — combined to go 7 for 15 with three runs and three RBI. Two nights later, Post 45 managed only five hits from its entire lineup, but remained undefeated in pool play with a 4-1 victory against Lewiston, Idaho, thanks to the pitching of Ryan Webb and Cam Reid.

Randolph County still advanced to the single elimination semifinals despite losing its final pool play

game 5-0 to Bryant, Ark., on Sunday.

All games in the tournament after the opening night were shortened to seven innings because of concern over the weather. Those concerns came into play when Monday’s semifinal game was suspended by a torrential downpour after one inning with Randolph County trailing 2-1.

Omaha added another run in the sixth to set the stage for Post 45’s dramatic, though unsuccessful rally in its final at bat.

While Pugh was happy with the way his team continued to battle until its final out, he also wondered what might have happened had the game gone nine innings as originally scheduled.

Omaha was later beaten 2-1 by Henderson, Nev., in the national championship game.

“Everybody was playing under the same rules,” Pugh said. “But our team, the one thing it did all year better than any opponent was running pitch counts up and getting into people’s bullpens. The flip side of that, we developed a strong bullpen and going from nine to seven innings took some of my guys out of play for the entire tournament.

“You have to play it differently than a nine-inning game. You just never know if those extra two at bats would have made a difference.

At the same time, we could have given up 10 in those last two innings. But I really would have liked our chances.”

PANTHERS BREAKDOWN

What we learned from second preseason game Two draft picks find the end zone while stars sit out

Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey (22) dives into the end zone for a touchdown during the first half against the Tennessee Titans Aug. 19 at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.

By Shawn Krest North State Journal CHARLOTTE — The Carolina Panthers dropped to 1-1 in the preseason with a loss at the Tennessee Titans, 34-27, on Saturday.

The Carolina offense struggled in the first quarter, turning the ball over twice in the first five offensive snaps. The Panthers had just nine first-quarter plays as Tennessee jumped out to a 17-0 lead.

Carolina battled back to tie the score at 27 in the fourth quarter, before another Panthers fumble set up a three-yard game-winning touchdown drive for the Titans.

Here’s what you need to know about the team’s preseason progress in the second game.

How did the stars look?

Cam Newton, battling injury all preseason, didn’t dress for the second straight game. Linebacker Luke Kuechly was also held out as a precaution.

Among participating starters, running back Jonathan Stewart had four carries for eight yards.

Receiver Kelvin Benjamin had two catches for 31, including another acrobatic grab.

Tight end Greg Olson was targeted just once, and the ball was tipped by a linebacker for an interception.

How did the draft picks look?

Running back Christian McCaffrey scored his first Panthers touchdown on a 17-yard run. McCaffrey was much more decisive than in the preseason opener and hit the holes with a burst. He had 33 yards on his three carries and 39 yards on two catches.

For the second straight week, receiver Curtis Samuel and DB Corn Elder were forced to sit out with injuries.

Offensive lineman Taylor Mo-

the field on punt coverage, picking up a pair of block-in-the-back penalties on Tennessee. McCray still was able to make the tackle on one of the plays, despite getting hit from behind. On defense, he had a miscommunication with a cornerback, leaving a receiver wide open in the end zone. He also got bowled over at the goal line on the game-winning touchdown run.

Colin Jones missed a pair of tackles, including one at the line of scrimmage that allowed a 53-yard run.

Dezmen Southward also missed a tackle, allowing a back to get a first down. Other than that, he appeared to be around the ball most of the game.

How did the local college guys do?

CHRISTOPHER HANEWINCKEL | USA TODAY SPORTS IMAGES

ton, who played two positions in the opener, played exclusively at right tackle, starting in the second half.

Again, he showed an impressive ability to control the line of scrimmage and neutralize opposing pass rushers. He was only beaten once, when a defensive end pushed him backward enough to flush the quarterback from the pocket. Late in the game, Moton also pointed out a blitzer to the running back before the snap on a key fourth-down play.

Moton also saw time on the kickoff return team.

Defensive end Daeshon Hall entered the game in the second quarter and played left defensive end most of the rest of the way. As in the opener, he had trouble getting by blockers and was twice blocked off his feet. He had two negative plays: Hall was flagged for holding on a kickoff return, and he went too far outside, allowing a running back to go for a 53-yard gain. Hall did have one strong play, when he shed a block to tackle a running back at the line of scrimmage late in the fourth quarter.

Sixth-round fullback Alex Armah didn’t get many snaps, and the team looked at several combinations

of tight ends and running backs as lead blockers before turning to him, none of which is a good sign for his roster prospects. He made the most of his time, however, catching a 20yard screen pass for a touchdown on one of his first times on the field. He also cleared the path for a short gain for the tailback on one of his other limited opportunities. The team also tried him on kickoff return team late in the game.

Kicker Harrison Butker continued to impress. He had a PAT and a 46-yard field goal. On kickoffs, he had one touchback and another that went to the goal line but was returned.

Any update on position battles?

Right tackle: Daryl Williams started at right tackle and appears to still lead the rookie Moton.

Kicker: Veteran Graham Gano had two PATs and a 37-yard field goal. On kickoffs, his specialty, he had one touchback, but Gano left another one on the three-yard line, allowing a Tennessee return.

Punter: Newcomer Michael Palardy appears to have the edge on Andy Lee. Palardy got both punts of

the game, averaging 49 yards. His first punt was returned for a touchdown, but it got called back due to a Titans’ penalty.

Third wide receiver: Russell Shepard had an up-and-down game. He only reached the 9-yard line on his first kickoff return, and he picked up an illegal motion penalty on offense. On the plus side, he twisted for extra yards on a quick out, nearly breaking it for a long gain. He also picked up a defensive pass interference penalty in the end zone, setting up the Panthers on the 1. Shepard also showed good downfield blocking on a quarterback scramble play. He still appears to be the clear-cut choice behind Benjamin and Devin Funchess.

Slot cornerback: Captain Munnerlyn saw the field first, although he didn’t have many significant plays in either the positive or negative direction. Second-year Panther Zack Sanchez entered the game late in the second quarter and missed a tackle on one of his first snaps in the game. He redeemed himself later on, getting a tackle-for-loss on a run blitz late in the third quarter.

Safety depth: L.J. McCray had the best game of the candidates for the spot. The veteran sped down

Linebacker Jeremy Cash (Duke) got significant time, entering the game early in the second quarter.

He had a big hit on the quarterback on a run play and got a sack in the fourth quarter on a play where he was able to juke past the running back to meet the quarterback.

ECU linebacker Zeek Bigger saw limited time on defense, but he was on the kickoff return team early in the game.

NC State receiver Trevor Graham saw limited snaps on offense.

The only time he was targeted, his defender broke up the pass. Graham also saw time on kick return team late in the game.

Charlotte receiver Austin Duke led the team in receiving, but he also had several negative plays, matching his inconsistency from the opener. He stumbled badly and ended up losing yardage on a punt return.

He also had one drop and one near fumble as he was fighting to add yards. However, several of Duke’s catches produced first downs, including one on a tough catch in traffic over the middle. Duke also picked up a defensive holding penalty as Tennessee tried to slow him down near the end zone.

Defensive end Julius Peppers (UNC) saw his first game action of the season after missing the opener.

He started and was able to pressure the quarterback in his brief time in the game.

B4

North State Journal for Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Busch sweeps aside critics with Bristol domination Driver completes remarkable race in a duel over the last 100 laps three-race sweep at the against rookie Erik Jones.

If there has been a knock Bristol Motor Speedway

By Jonathan Ingram The Sports XChange BRISTOL, Tenn. — Kyle Busch has fully arrived as the driver who most divides NASCAR fans — in case anybody hasn't noticed. Instead of working his way around it or talking about the haters, these days he's embracing the boos as well as the cheers.

Following a remarkable second three-race sweep at the Bristol Motor Speedway, Busch used a broom to sweep the roof while standing on top of his Toyota after Saturday's Cup victory. It was a celebration for his fans and an intended aggravation to those who would prefer to see him lose.

Busch acknowledged that he's given up on trying to quell the boo-birds and instead will cater to his following that he has dubbed Rowdy Nation.

"Don't matter what I do, what I say, how much I try to change," Busch said. "You don't change perception. People have whatever perception it is on you.

"To me, I don't know that it's necessarily whether or not you have the most fans or the most followers. To me it's just about being able to go out there and put on a show for those that are buying tickets and being a part of it."

Following his truck victory and another in the Xfinity race, Busch was masterful in commanding the Monster Energy Cup Series

against Busch, it has been that he sometimes melts down during adversity — whether in a race or the crucial stages of championships.

But on Saturday night, he didn't overcook his tires and accepted a longer final pit stop as necessary to get the right setup for the final 79 laps of green.

Busch might have won a second consecutive championship last year had he and crew chief Adam Stevens been more consistent during the final round of the playoffs at the Homestead-Miami Speedway. He again will enter the postseason that starts in mid-September as one of the favorites along with this year's standouts, Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Larson, plus perennial favorite Jimmie Johnson.

When Busch won what is now called the Monster Energy Cup in 2015, he had broad support due to his remarkable, determined and brave comeback from grievous lower leg and foot injuries. Since then, the attitude of fans seems to have returned to a norm — they have been booing Busch since he was a rookie. Unfortunately for Busch, he entered the Cup series full time the year after his unpopular brother Kurt won a championship driving for Jack Roush. Heck, said Kyle Busch, they booed him as a teenager in the Xfinity series simply because of his last name.

Initially, the younger Busch's nickname was "Shrub" until he started winning Cup races at age 20. Now, he gets a lot of single-finger salutes and prefers the nick-

RANDY SARTIN | USA TODAY SPORTS IMAGES

Driver Kyle Busch (18) celebrates winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Aug. 19.

Stenson sets tournament record to win Wyndham in Greensboro N.C. native Davis Love III finished eight shots back in a tie for 10th The Sports XChange GREENSBORO — Henrik Stenson shot a sizzling final round six-under-par 64 to win the Wyndham Championship by a stroke on Sunday and claim his sixth PGA Tour title, the most by a Swede.

Playing machine-like golf, Stenson missed only nine greens in 72 holes and backed up his fine long game with a hot putter at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro.

The Swede took the lead by reeling off three consecutive birdies from the 15th hole, the last courtesy of a 25-foot putt, before parring the demanding 18th to edge young American Ollie Schniederjans — a three-time NCAA champion who was the world’s top-ranked amateur golfer while at Georgia Tech.

Stenson finished at 22-under-par 258, the lowest ever tally at the tournament by a stroke, and

ECU from page B1 direction.

Dye said he’s especially impressed with the passion and work ethic displayed by his new coaches and teammates.

“We joke about how it’s different between Clemson and here,” Dye said. “The same with our roommate Gaelin (Elmore, a defensive end from Minnesota). It’s the same because he’s a graduate transfer as well. We just talk about how things have changed, but all for the better.”

One of the biggest changes is the amount of playing time Dye and Wiggins figure to get at ECU. Dye, in particular, is looking for-

his sixth career title took him past compatriots Jesper Parnevik and Carl Pettersson, who both have five.

“I’m very happy with the way I closed out this week, really had to keep on making birdies because Ollie was surely not backing down and there were a few other guys pushing me as well,” Stenson told reporters.

“The two biggest things why I’m sitting here as the champion was my putting and my approach play with my mid irons and short irons.”

It was Stenson’s first win in 13 months since his British Open triumph at Royal Troon, where he also set a scoring record.

“I don’t know how many times I’m going to be able to get close to playing as well as I did at Troon,” the 41-year-old said.

“That was a performance of a lifetime.”

The top-ranked player in the field, Stenson relished his role as the tournament’s alpha male with most of the big boys taking the

ward to the chance at being a primary ballcarrier after a back injury during his true freshman season helped turn him into something of an afterthought at Clemson.

No longer buried on the Tigers’ depth chart, the former four-star prospect is now the key to improving an anemic Pirates’ ground attack that ranked 10th in the 12team American Athletic Conference in rushing last season. He is currently sharing time on the first team with traditional transfer Derrell Scott from Tennessee.

“From what I’ve seen, I think he’s a big-time Division I back,” ECU offensive coordinator Tony Petersen said of the 5-foot-11, 220-pound

name Rowdy.

"You know what, there was this guy that was at one of my hospitality appearances today," said Busch. "He was giving me the bird the whole time. 'Yeah, I know I'm No. 1.' I've been No. 1 the past two nights. He gave me two. You know what, you're already solidifying what I already know."

Those two salutes summarize the biggest issue some fans have with Busch. They don't like the way a veteran like him runs so many races in the lower ranks.

They think he's picking on drivers with less experience or talent or, in some cases, lesser equipment. But Busch believes the preliminaries help him when it comes to the Cup races and has no regrets, especially on a night when he finished a second sweep at Bristol, the first coming in 2010.

"I'm sure they're still booing, whining and crying all the way home tonight," Busch said of the naysayers. "They're driving home mad, so people be careful."

Rookie Jones was beside himself that he won the pole and led the most laps but failed to post his first Cup victory. That didn't prevent him from admiring Busch's three-peat for three different teams and crew chiefs.

"He's a hard-core racer," Jones said. "He really commits himself to that. He does a really good job.

He doesn't let it affect his Cup racing at all. It's pretty impressive that he doesn't let it affect it."

One could argue that Busch does let the preliminary events sometimes influence him. It could be part of the reason why he sometimes gets frustrated during Cup races, which are not as easy to dominate as the steppingstone series.

If this past week's run at Bristol is any indication, Busch has steadily built himself into a more reliable guy in the cockpit, one who remains undeterred by setbacks, errors or frustrations. Maybe it was just a perfect scenario that unfolded at Bristol, but one gets the impression that Busch was cool and calculated throughout the event and rose to the occasion when it counted.

There's not much doubt he has enormous talent.

"Tonight, I've never driven so hard in my life the last 60 laps," he said. "Literally I got out of the car and felt like I didn't want to. It was really, really hard to maintain that pace up top and to feel everything you're feeling and to trust yourself that I'm feeling the car loose getting into the corner sliding the rear tires, but I'm tight in the center.

Got to go up on the rear track bar, keep the thing free rolling.

week off before the start of the tour playoffs on Thursday.

“It’s funny how it goes,” said the world’s No. 9 player, who competed mainly because he needed another event to fulfill his 15-tournament minimum.

“Sometimes it’s just a coincidence why you decide to go to a tournament and make a change in your schedule and this time it certainly worked out.”

Schniederjans also shot 64 to finish in second place on 21-under, the 24-year-old keeping up the pressure on Stenson with three birdies in his final four holes.

Davis Love III, the 53-year-old native of Charlotte who played at UNC Chapel Hill, was seeking to become the oldest winner in tour history, but finished eight shots back in a tie for 10th.

The final event of the regular season was also a last chance for some players to secure spots in the top 125 on the FedExCup points list, thus keeping their tour cards for next season.

Among the winners was American Martin Flores, who made a hole-in-one with an eight-iron at the 16th and finished equal seventh, jumping from 139th to 118th on the points list.

His ace was one of three on the day with Ben Crane also making one at the 172-yard 16th, while Roberto Castro recorded another at the 174-yard third.

Dye. “He’s got the height, the size, the weight, the speed, the moves.

When I was at Minnesota we had (future NFL draft picks) Laurence Maroney and Marion Barber, and that’s what they looked like. We’ll see. But he looks good.”

Wiggins has made just as positive an initial impression after committing to the Pirates in mid-June.

Fully healthy again, he’s stepped right in as the nickel back in ECU’s new 4-2-5 scheme, Combined with Auburn transfer Tim Irvin and veteran holdovers Bobby Fulp and Travon Simmons, his arrival gives the Pirates a secondary that has the potential to be one of the best in the AAC.

PHOTO COURTESY OF LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL AND SOFTBALL

Greenville’s JoeJoe Byrne is congratulated as he rounds third base after his second inning home run in Sunday’s 16-0 win against Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.

LITTLE LEAGUE from page B1 produce the only run their team would need in the top of the first.

Greenville broke the game open by scoring five times in the second, highlighted by a leadoff homer from JoeJoe Byrne and a grand slam later in the inning off the bat of Carson Hardee.

Greenville added to its lead with a single run in the fourth, then put the game away by sending 13 men to the plate in a nine-run, fifth inning rally that put the mercy rule into effect. Luke Lambert and Bryce Jackson both had RBI doubles as part of the uprising.

Barrett led the way with three hits, while Matthijs, Hardee, Cameron Greenway and Cash Daniels-Moye had two each. Hardee drove in five runs.

With the outcome all but decided, the only suspense was whether California would be able to muster a hit off Greenville’s strong pitching.

It didn’t happen against starter Anderson, who threw three perfect innings before giving way to Matthijs. Although Rancho Santa Margarita did succeed in putting two runners on — both by way of walks — it wasn’t able to register a hit off Matthijs either.

It was an extension of an opening game performance that left Fields and a lot of others that witnessed it, speechless.

“I’m lost for words,” the North State coach said. “They throw strikes, they work the strike zone, they change speeds and get ahead of the hitters. That’s what you need to do in Little League. I couldn’t be more proud of them. On that stage, they did a wonderful job.”

Anderson pitched the first three spotless innings, striking out four.

Matthijs then came in for the next 2⅔ innings, recording five strikeouts. He was also aided by a sterling defensive play by shortstop Hardee, who made a diving catch in the fifth on a line drive up the middle by South Dakota’s Mason Riley.

Hardee then finished off the historic pitching performance by coming to the mound and recording the final out, his team’s 10th strikeout of the game.

“I was a little nervous,” Hardee said about preserving the perfect game. “But I felt comfortable, considering those guys had just done it.”

Greenville got all the offense it needed in the top of the second when Anderson walked and scored on a passed ball. North State then broke the game open by scoring four in the third, highlighted by Drew Fields’ RBI single and a two-run double off the bat of Ashton Byars.

Fields also drove in a run in the fifth to finish off a 2-for-3 performance.

ACC has five teams in Top 25, including two in AP’s top five

By Shawn Krest North State Journal RALEIGH — The ACC has two teams ranked in the top 10 of the Associated Press preseason poll for the second straight year and just the 10th time in league history.

Florida State is ranked third overall, with four first place votes.

The Seminoles, favored to win the ACC this year, placed behind Ohio State and Alabama, which is the top-rated team in the preseason for the second straight season.

The defending national champion Clemson Tigers are in fifth place, just behind USC. This is only the second time in ACC history that two teams are ranked in the top five of the preseason poll. Clemson was second and Florida State fourth a year ago.

Also representing the ACC are Louisville, which placed 16th, Coastal Division favorite Miami, who was in 18th, and last season’s Coastal champions, Virginia Tech, 21st.

N.C. State received 26 points in the poll, placing it outside the Top 25, in the “others receiving votes” category. The Pack had the 30th highest point total in the poll and could move into the Top 25 with a fast start to the season.

The Wolfpack last appeared in the AP Top 25 at the end of the 2010 season. This is the third-longest Top 25 drought for NC State since the poll went to 25 teams in 1967. The Pack was left out of the Top 25 for seven years and six days, from 1979 to 1986, and State had a seven-year,

18-day drought from 2003 to 2010.

It’s the first time NC State has received poll votes since last October. State received nine poll points in the Oct. 10 poll, after beating Notre Dame at Carter-Finley Stadium.

The Pack took Clemson to overtime in Death Valley the following week and received four poll points. After losing to Louisville the following week, NC State didn’t receive another poll vote for the rest of the season.

The 26 poll points were the most for NC State since the Pack finished in 25th place in the season-ending 2010 poll, with 119 points.

The other in-state ACC teams — Duke, UNC and Wake Forest — did not receive any votes in the preseason poll. It’s the first time NC State has finished with more votes than its three in-state rivals since the 2015 preseason poll, when the Pack earned four poll points while the other three teams were shut out.

East Carolina was also shut out of the preseason poll. The only other team in the state to receive any poll votes was Appalachian State. The Mountaineers received four poll points, tied for the 39th most in the preseason poll. Perennial powerhouse Nebraska also received four points, as did Tulsa.

It’s the best showing in the AP poll for App State since the Mountaineers finished with seven points in the season-ending poll of the 2015 season. App had a 10-3 season last year and finished with a Camellia Bowl victory but were surprisingly shut out of the season-ending poll.

But playing time isn’t the only reason Wiggins decided to leave Clemson for ECU. “I have ties here,” he said. “My brother played here, graduated from here, so I’m East Carolina all the way.”

Reese Wiggins was a wide receiver who caught 80 passes for 1,012 yards and eight touchdowns for the Pirates from 2011-13 before signing with the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent. Like his brother, Korrin Wiggins is a product of Hillside High in Durham.

“That played a big part in it, because I really wanted to come back home,” the younger Wiggins said.

“My parents traveled four hours

to Clemson every home game and they’d get back about three in the morning. I got the ring, pretty much accomplished the main goal of every college athlete by getting my degree, so now that I had the chance I wanted to do it closer to home.”

Regardless of where they’re playing — close to home or far away, defending national champion or building program looking to make a breakthrough — the goal and the vision remain the same.

“We grind just as hard as anywhere else,” Dye said. “We just have to have the mindset that we’re better than anybody we play. I feel like the sky’s the limit here and we can go as far as we want to go.”

WEDNESDAY

08.23.17

NORTH

STATE

JOURNaL

Look back on the life of Jerry Lewis, Page 6

the good life

play list

Aug. 26 Charlotte Antique & Classic Boat Show Mooresville The Charlotte Antique & Classic Boat Show showcases classic, antique boats and will feature beautifully restored wooden-hulled vintage boats. Starting at noon on Saturday, the show will host the Ladies and Gentlemen “Start Your Engines” classic and antique boat parade.

IN A NORTH STATE OF MIND

outfitted & equipped | Eva Shockey

Celebrate Our Racing History High Point Join the High Point Museum as they celebrate racing history. The day begins at 10 a.m. with a cruise-in from local race car drivers followed by the unveiling of historical markers for High Point Speedway and Tri City Speedway. Drivers and local dignitaries will be on hand.

Completing the day will be a panel discussion on the history of stock car racing.

Aug. 26-27 Cary Lazy Daze Arts and Crafts Festival Cary Dating back to the 1970s, the annual Cary Lazy Daze Arts and Crafts Festival is considered one of the largest juried art fairs in the country. The one-day extravaganza features dozens of artists showcasing their talents in various media including clay, photography, jewelry, sculptures, mixed media, fiber, glass and furniture.

Additional attractions include live musical performances, a kids world and concessions.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF SHAWN WAGER

Aiming toward a balancing life

By Laura Ashley Lamm North State Journal KINSTON — Keep your eye on the target. Understand the hunt.

Understand the goals. Philosophies of the great outdoors can be used in the hustle and bustle of everyday life, and no one knows that better than Eva Shockey.

“A balanced lifestyle is what I strive to live all the time. It’s something that my parents brought me up with,” said Shockey. “We always seem to incorporate hunting into our everyday life. It doesn’t mean you go out hunting every day, you do things involved with the hunting lifestyle.”

Shockey uses the wide-open spaces of nature to help her live a life balanced between a career caring for the wild, a passion for hunting, the joys of motherhood, and the breaking of glass ceilings for women in the field.

She’s an acclaimed huntress who co-hosts “Jim Shockey’s Hunting Adventures” on the Outdoor Channel with her equally notable father. Her new book, “Taking Aim: Daring to Be Different, Happier and Healthier in the Great Outdoors,” launches Aug. 29.

“I grew up in the outdoors with

“I grew up in the outdoors with my family.

We went on so many trips and adventures for as long as I can remember."

— Eva Shockey

my family,” said Shockey. “We went on so many trips and adventures for as long as I can remember. It was something we did when I was in diapers. We were out there on the boat fishing or camping, and my dad would have me in a backpack. It’s a part of what we’ve done my entire life.”

Growing up in Canada, her first hunting experience came at the age of 7. She joined her father as they went on a hunt for gophers.

“Gophers were in the fields,” she said. “We were on the property of a farmer and were asked to get rid of the gophers. They would dig so many holes; the cows would fall in the hole and break their legs, so we were given the task of hunting gophers and we got 25 cents per gopher.”

While she was honing skills on the search for gophers, she was also donning a pair of ballet slippers and perfecting her pirouettes,

fouettes and balance — a skill learned from her mother.

“When my parents met, my mom was a vegetarian ballerina.

She was probably the farthest opposite of my dad you could possibly get,” said Shockey. “She is no longer a vegetarian, but she isn’t a hunter.

I grew up with two sides in my life.

My mom was a feminine, classy, nonhunting dancer; and my dad was this rough, tough mountain man.

“I was able to do whatever I pleased throughout my life and pick and choose the elements that were best for me,” she added. “I loved dancing, and to this day I still love dancing. It is physically demanding and taught me to really practice and hone in on your See SHOCKEY, page B7

Railroad Heritage Weekend at Tweetsie Blowing Rock Take a step back in time at Tweetsie Railroad and celebrate the rich history and tradition of our nation's railroads. Visitors of all ages will be able to learn about and experience mountain traditions and culture at Tweetsie's Railroad Heritage Weekend. Activities include a Cherokee dance performance, taking a ride in the cab of one of the steam locomotives and participating in other historical activities.

Aug. 27 Greensboro Food Truck Festival Greensboro Let your tastebuds take an international trip as you stroll the streets of Downtown Greensboro.

More than 50 food trucks line the streets and thousands will attend to indulge in the in this one-day event. Craft beer, live music, vendors and kids activities also accompany the food trucks.

North State Journal for Wednesday, August 23, 2017

B6

NeCessities! history marked Aug. 21, 1987 “Dirty Dancing” filmed at Lake Lure

Aug. 22, 1936 Nursing professional Mary L. Wyche died

Aug. 23, 2005 Fraser fir adopted as the official state Christmas tree of NC

Aug. 24, 1901 Kenan-Flagler wedding at Liberty Hall

The movie “Dirty Dancing” was released in theaters across the country. Set at a resort in the Catskills Mountains of Upstate New York, Dirty Dancing was shot entirely in Virginia and North Carolina.

When production began in September 1986, the resorts in the New York mountains were closed, so they headed south. Many of the film’s most famous scenes, including the “lake lift” scene where Patrick Swayze lifts Jennifer Grey in the water, and the shots of Grey practicing her moves to the song “Wipe Out” on the stairs on a mountainside were shot at Lake Lure. The nearby Rumbling Bald Resort’s golf course was where Grey asks her dad for money, and the Esmeralda Inn was used for interior dance shots.

In 2010, the town of Lake Lure hosted the Dirty Dancing Festival. The annual festival draws thousands to Rutherford County each August to commemorate the now classic film and raise money for pancreatic cancer research. Swayze died of pancreatic cancer in 2009 at age 57.

Nursing pioneer Mary L. Wyche, who was chiefly responsible for establishing nursing as a profession in North Carolina, died on this day. Raised in Vance County, she went to work at Rex Hospital in Raleigh and Watts Hospital in Durham shortly after completing her medical training in Philadelphia in 1894. While at Rex in 1901, Wyche organized the Raleigh Nurses Association. The following year, she founded the North Carolina Nurses Association with 14 other nurses from around the state. During her six-year tenure as that organization’s president, Wyche persuaded the legislature to enact a law concerning the registration of nurses. Instrumental in the founding of several nursing schools, Wyche retired from active service in 1910 to work on a history of nursing in North Carolina. The history was published two years after her death in 1936. One writer claimed, “What Clara Barton has been to America, Mary Lewis Wyche has been to North Carolina.”

The idea came from eighth graders at Spruce Pine’s Harris Middle School who petitioned legislators to bestow the special recognition upon the popular conifer after learning of the economic impact the tree had in the state. The bill was introduced by state Rep. Philip D. Frye, also of Spruce Pine. More than 50 million Fraser firs — known as the Cadillac of Christmas trees — are grown in North Carolina. Trees are raised in more than a dozen western counties, with Alleghany, Ashe and Avery being the top producers. North Carolina Fraser firs are known throughout the country and North America. They have been displayed in the White House on 12 occasions, more than any other species of tree.

In 1901 Mary Lily Kenan, daughter of Capt. William Rand Kenan, married multimillionaire Henry M. Flagler at Liberty Hall in Duplin County. The home of her uncle Thomas Kenan, Liberty Hall was renovated and lavishly decorated with palms, smilax and American Beauty and Bridesmaid roses for the ceremony. Much younger than her new husband, Mary Kenan met Flagler through a mutual friend, Pembroke Jones, in Wilmington. As a wedding present for his new wife, Flagler built a 55,000-square-foot mansion in Palm Beach, Fla., where the couple lived. Liberty Hall in Kenansville is now a museum. When Flagler died in 1913, Mary Kenan Flagler became one of the wealthiest women in the United States. In 1917, not long after taking a new husband, she died from an apparent heart attack. The bulk of her fortune was left to her siblings, although a codicil to her will left her new husband $5 million.

stir it up

Celebrate national whiskey sour day with a Carolina twist Recipe courtesy of Top of the Hill Distillery

Friday, Aug. 25 is National Whiskey Sour Day, and N.C. offers distilleries from the mountains to the coast who craft the rebellious spirit that provides this cocktail's punch. Of the six sisters of whiskey — Bourbon, Rye, Malted Rye, Malted Barley, Corn and Wheat — wheat is considered the smoothest and best tasting. But wheat fell out of favor as a distilling grain more than 150 years ago. Top of the Hill Distillery in Chapel Hill is helping wheat whiskey make a comeback with their Carolina Moonshine Whiskey (an unaged whiskey) and TOPO Eight Oak Whiskey. Below is a recipe featuring the Eight Oak Whiskey. Cheers!

Carolina Sour

1 ½ oz. TOPO Eight Oak Whiskey ¾ oz. Lemon Juice ¾ oz. Lime Juice ¾ oz. Simple Syrup Dash of Angostura Bitters Orange Slice Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice.

Shake vigorously until very cold.

Pour into a rocks glass and garnish with an orange slice and a cherry.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ADOBE STOCK

SOURCE: NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF CULTURAL AND NATURAL RESOURCES

Aug. 28, 1898 “Pepsi-Cola” got its name In 1893, New Bern pharmacist Caleb Bradham developed and began serving a carbonated drink he called “Brad’s Drink.” He served the beverage from the soda fountain in his pharmacy at the corner of Pollock and Middle streets. As a pharmacist who had undergone some medical training, Bradham believed in the health, energy and digestive benefits of his sweet and bubbly brew, which originally included the enzyme pepsin and the cola nut. After the renaming, Bradham purchased the trade name “Pep Cola” from a New Jersey company and, in 1902, he incorporated the Pepsi-Cola Company under North Carolina law. Shortly thereafter he registered a patent for the formula. The business quickly grew. By 1910, the beverage was being bottled at more 300 companies in 24 states.

A combination of factors — including fluctuations in sugar prices and supply, imperfect bottling technology and poor marketing — resulted in a failing business after World War I, and Bradham was forced to sell the company.

Jerry Lewis, king of low-brow comedy and charity fundraiser, dies at 91 Comedian died of end-stage heart disease

By Steve Gorman Reuters LOS ANGELES — Jerry Lewis, the high prince of low-brow comedy on stage and in film as well as a fundraising powerhouse with his annual Labor Day telethon, died on Sunday at the age of 91, his family said.

Lewis died of natural causes at his home in Las Vegas on Sunday morning with his family by his side, the family said in a statement.

He had been hospitalized for about five weeks beginning in early June for a urinary tract infection, keeping him from traveling to Toronto to appear in a film, his spokeswoman, Candi Cazau, told Reuters by telephone.

Lewis rose to fame as the goofy foil to suave partner Dean Martin.

At home, he was both loved and derided, while in France, he became a comic icon.

He once summed up his career by saying, "I've had great success being a total idiot,” and said the key was maintaining a certain childlike quality.

"I look at the world through a child's eyes because I'm 9," he told Reuters in a November 2002 interview. "I stayed that way. I made a career out of it. It's a wonderful place to be."

Jim Carrey, an actor whose style owed a heavy debt to Lewis, paid tribute to the comedian soon after news of his death.

"That fool was no dummy," Carrey wrote. "Jerry Lewis was an undeniable genius an unfathomable blessing, comedy's absolute! I am because he was!"

Lewis was 87 when his last movie, "Max Rose," came out in 2013, playing a jazz pianist who questions his marriage after learning his wife of 65 years may have been unfaithful.

The son of vaudeville entertainers, Lewis became a star in the early 1950s as Martin's comic sidekick in nightclubs, on television and in 16 movies. At their height, they set off the kind of fan hysteria that once surrounded Frank Sinatra and the Beatles.

Their decade-long partnership ended with a bitter split, and Lewis went on to star in his own film comedies.

Lewis' movie persona, like the character he created in the act with Martin, varied little from film to film. He was zany and manic, forever squealing, grimacing and flailing his way through situations beyond his control.

He starred in more than 45 films in a career spanning five decades. His cross-eyed antics often drew scorn from critics but he was for a time a box office hit who commanded one of the biggest salaries in Hollywood.

The White House said Lewis had kept people laughing for more than a half-century and praised him as one of the greatest entertainers and humanitarians.

"Jerry lived the American

REGIS DUVIGNAU | REUTERS

Cast member Jerry Lewis poses during a photocall for the film “Max Rose” at the 66th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes May 23, 2013.

Dream — he truly loved his country, and his country loved him," said the statement from President Donald Trump's press secretary.

Legend in France Long after his celebrity faded at home, Lewis was wildly popular in France, where he was hailed as "le Roi du Crazy" (the king of crazy) and inducted into the Legion of Honor, France's highest award, in 1984. He received a similar honor in 2006.

He explained his popularity in France, by saying: "The French are very visually oriented even though they are cerebral. They enjoy what they see and laugh. Then, later, they ask why."

Lewis acknowledged that he elicited either love or hate from audiences — and little in between.

"When Jerry Lewis is funny on screen, I swear to God I laugh louder than anyone," he said. “... When he's not, he's the worst there is."

Lewis, born Joseph Levitch on March 16, 1926, in Newark, N.J., started on upstate New York's Borscht Belt comedy circuit as a singer at age 5.

He first teamed with the debonair Martin in 1946 while they were performing in an Atlantic City, N.J., nightclub — Martin as a singer and Lewis as a comic.

Their largely improvised act, with Lewis making wild comic forays into the audience, was an immediate hit. Their 1950 movie debut, "My Friend Irma," was followed by "My Friend Irma Goes West" the next year.

Their relationship soured, however, and by the time they made their last movie together, "Hollywood or Bust," they reportedly were not speaking. They parted after a 1956 nightclub show, 10 years to the day after they first teamed.

The split reportedly stemmed from personality conflicts and Lewis' interest in producing and directing movies. Others attributed it to Lewis' ego and need for control, as well as a desire for approval from the often-remote Martin.

They reunited in 1976 when Sinatra brought Martin onstage during the muscular dystrophy telethon and they remained friends until Martin's 1995 death.

Since Martin died, "not a day

has passed that Jerry did not think of Dean," Cazau told Reuters.

In 1960, Lewis made his movie directorial debut with "The Bellboy" and starred in the storybook parody "Cinderfella." Three years later, he starred in his most popular movie, the self-directed "Nutty Professor," playing a nerdy academic who makes a potion that turns him into the obnoxiously hip Buddy Love.

Telethons Lewis became closely associated with his annual Labor Day telethon to benefit children with muscular dystrophy. He first started doing telethons for the Muscular Dystrophy Association in 1952 before retiring from the job in 2011.

Cazau said that from their inception in 1966 his Labor Day telethons had raised $2.45 billion over some 45 years.

Cazau also said Lewis had been planning to make onstage appearances over the next few months, in New York, and in Las Vegas next year. "He was not a quitter," she said.

Producers of a remake of the 1970s comedy "Animal House," were planning to come to Las Vegas for a day so Lewis could have a role in that film, she said.

Lewis had a movie revival in 1982, winning acclaim as an arrogant talk show host kidnapped by an obsessed fan in "The King of Comedy." He scored another late-career triumph with his 1995 Broadway debut in a revival of "Damn Yankees" and appeared in the film "Funny Bones" that same year.

"Jerry Lewis was a master. He was a giant. He was an innovator.

He was a great entertainer," said Martin Scorsese, his director in "The King of Comedy."

Lewis was beset for years by numerous ailments, including heart attacks, an inflammatory lung disorder and chronic back pain caused by pratfalls earlier in his career.

Lewis had homes in Las Vegas and San Diego. He had six sons with singer Patti Palmer, including Gary of the rock group Gary Lewis and the Playboys. After a divorce, Lewis married SanDee Pitnick in 1983, with whom he adopted a daughter.

North State Journal for Wednesday, August 23, 2017

ENTERTAINMENT Microsoft’s new Xbox One X goes up for preorder New console will be delivered in time for Christmas

By Janko Roettgers Variety

PHOTO COURTESY OF ADOBE STOCK

The Sahara Desert in Tunisia was the site of some scenes in the original "Star Wars."

Obi-Wan Kenobi may get his own ‘Star Wars’ movie A Han Solo movie is already in production

By Reuters Staff LOS ANGELES — Walt Disney Co. is developing a "Star Wars" standalone movie based on the beloved character of Obi-Wan Kenobi, the wise and noble Jedi master, The Hollywood Reporter and Variety reported on Thursday.

The Hollywood trade publications cited unnamed sources as saying that the project was in the early stages of development by Disney and Lucasfilm.

The project has no script yet but British filmmaker Stephen Daldry, best known for 2000's ballet movie "Billy Elliott," is in early talks to direct it, the publications said.

Disney declined to comment.

Disney bought "Star Wars" creator George Lucas' Lucasfilm in 2012 in a $4 billion deal and announced a new trilogy of films following the space saga as well as three standalone "Star Wars" projects that focus on stories outside of the central tale of the Skywalker family.

Disney debuted the first standalone

"Star Wars" story with 2016's "Rogue One," which featured new characters and a storyline tied loosely to the ongoing saga.

A Han Solo movie is in production featuring a younger version of the freewheeling space smuggler played by Harrison Ford in the original "Star Wars" trilogy of films.

Kenobi, a recluse played by the late British actor Alec Guinness, was the mentor to Luke Skywalker and introduced the young warrior to the Force in the first "Star Wars" movie in 1977. Kenobi was later killed by his old pupil, the evil Darth Vader.

Actor Ewan McGregor played the character in the second trilogy of "Star Wars" films from 1999 to 2005. The Hollywood Reporter said no actor was attached to the standalone project.

"Star Wars: The Force Awakens," Disney's first installment of the new trilogy in the revamped franchise, brought back beloved characters Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker and Han Solo as well as introducing a new generation. It took more than $2 billion at the world box office after its 2015 release.

The next film, "Star Wars: The Last Jedi," is scheduled for release in December.

LOS ANGELES — Microsoft is giving Xbox fans a first chance to order the next version of the company's game console, and rewarding early birds with something special: The Xbox One X went up for preorders online today. And as part of the launch, Microsoft is also selling a limited edition "Project Scorpio" model.

The Xbox One X was officially announced at E3 in Los Angeles in June and is retailing for $499. The device comes with more powerful hardware than the original Xbox One, including a 172 MHz graphics processing engine capable of processing six teraflops. In layman's terms, this makes the Xbox One X 40 percent more powerful than Sony's Playstation 4 Pro. Before its official unveiling, the new Xbox was known under its code name "Project Scorpio," which Microsoft is now using to market a limited edition of the device to hardcore fans. The "Project Scorpio" edition, as it is called, is only available via preorder.

Ultimately, the Scorpio edition won't be any different that the regular version, safe for an extra Project Scorpio logo added to the console and the included game controller.

The Xbox One X will start shipping, and reach retailers' shelves, on Nov. 7.

WOLFGANG RATTAY | REUTERS

A man tests the new Microsoft Xbox One during the world's largest computer games fair Gamescom in Cologne, Germany, Aug. 22.

AT THE BOX OFFICE

‘Hitman's Bodyguard’ nabs No. 1, ‘Logan Lucky’ misfires

By Seth Kelley Variety LOS ANGELES — Without a superhero movie or new studio sequel in play, this weekend provided an opening for two smaller films to shine. But as the weekend drew to a close, one was beaming brighter than the other.

That title goes to Lionsgate's R-rated action comedy "Hitman's Bodyguard," which fired off to $21.6 million during its opening weekend at 3,377 locations. That's a solid opening, especially during a painful summer for the movie business and sleepy month of August.

The final tally was fueled by an aggressive marketing push, and a trio of stars at the center — Samuel L. Jackson as a notorious hitman, and Salma Hayek as his equally threatening wife, and Ryan Reynolds as a bodyguard. The film comes courtesy of director Patrick Hughes ("The Expendables 3") and writer Tom O'Connor. "'The Hitman's Bodyguard' is generating great word-of-mouth among moviegoers," said Lionsgate's distribution president David Spitz. "It has a clear runway in the weeks ahead, and we expect it to play well right into September."

Meanwhile, "Logan Lucky"

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— a critical darling from Steven Soderbergh and Bleecker Street — is sputtering. The heist comedy, which relied on an unconventional production and marketing strategy, looks to make $8.1 million this weekend from 3,031 theaters. The film was partially funded through foreign presales and partnering with Amazon for streaming rights.

The story — penned by Rebecca Blunt, who likely doesn't exist — centers on a trio of siblings played

by Channing Tatum, Riley Keough and Adam Driver, who attempt to pull off a massive robbery. It's set at the Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR race.

Of the two, "Logan Lucky" fared better with critics, earning a 93 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, as opposed to "Hitman's Bodyguard," which has a 39 percent. But the roles are reversed when it comes to audience reception — "Hitman's

Bodyguard" has a B+ CinemaScore as opposed to "Logan Lucky's" B. In the end, "Logan Lucky" will end up in third for the weekend behind the second frame of "Annabelle: Creation." The latest in the "Conjuring" universe from Warner Bros. is targeting $15.5 million from 3,542 locations. And "Dunkirk" will land in fourth behind "Logan Lucky" with an estimated $6.7 million. The same studio has more cause to celebrate as "Wonder Woman" crosses $800 million worldwide.

"Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature" rounds out the top five this weekend with $5.1 million.

Overall, the lackluster summer continues: This season's box office has slipped to 13.3 percent behind last year at this point, according to data from ComScore, which also reports the 2017 box office is now pacing 5 percent behind 2016.

B7 SHOCKEY from page B5 skill. It’s similar to bowhunting.

You have to really practice by getting out and shooting to feel confident.”

Shockey was pining for a career as a professional ballerina, like her mother, but after returning from college in Australia, a renewed passion for the outdoors and all it offered left her asking her father to teach her how to hunt.

Her father taught her to hunt using a muzzleloader rifle, which gives you one chance to make the shot.

“I’m very grateful for how my dad taught me to hunt,” said Shockey. “With a muzzleloader, you get only a single shot. One bullet and that’s your shot. It’s not a quick reload, so when I started hunting I had the mindset, ‘I have one single shot.’”

That mindset made her respect her first shot and to make sure she was comfortable before firing.

“When I switched to a rifle, I always took extra care to make sure that shot was a single shot,” said Shockey. “In respect for the animal, take your first shot as carefully and confidentially as you can. When I moved to bowhunting, that mindset was even more important. Wait and take the perfect shot, wait till you are 100 percent ready for that one shot when you have the right direction, right distance and all that.”

For Shockey, who now lives in Raleigh, once you make the one shot, what you do next is equally as important. Shockey brings back the wild game to cook and serve her family, which includes her husband, former Carolina Hurricanes hockey player Tim Brent, and their 7-month-old daughter, Leni Bow. “We eat wild game four of five times a week for dinner,” said Shockey. “It’s wonderful because it’s healthy, lean, organic and pesticide-free meat you can put into your body.

“Every time we cook elk, tenderloin or venison, we stop and talk about the hunt and appreciate the animal. It’s what hunting is all about — field to table — you are providing for yourself and your family.”

In 2014, she became the second woman — following Queen Elizabeth II — to appear on the cover of Field & Stream. In 2015, she married Brent and they served an Alaskan-Yukon moose she personally harvested to their guests.

“I want to show people you can love hunting no matter who you are,” said Shockey. “I love being out there in the fresh air, getting exercise, going on adventures, learning about hunting, being around people who share the same passion and, at the end of the day, being with my family.”

Whether it’s with her new book, reaching out to her 1.7 million social media followers with exercise tips and wild game recipes, or co-hosting a popular adventure on television, she is helping people everywhere find balance in life so they too can take aim and make the shot.

Eva Shockey is signing copies of her new book on Aug. 30 at 6:30 p.m. at Cabela’s in Garner.

Fans can purchase a copy of the book in the store beginning on Aug. 29.

Helping farmers grow with technology www.vantagesouthatlantic.com

North State Journal for Wednesday, August 23, 2017

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