VOLUME 2 ISSUE 48
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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2017
inside Wake Forest extends Danny Manning, Sports
EAMON QUEENEY | NORTH STATE JOURNAL
Troopers clap in a standing ovation as retired First Sergeant Harry Latta receives the Purple Heart Award during the North Carolina State Highway Patrol Fall 2017 Awards Ceremony at the SHP Training Academy in Raleigh, on Nov. 28. Latta was injured after being shot twice in an altercation with a suspect in the 1980s. Troopers from around the state were acknowledged for going the extra mile both on and off duty. See page 2.
the Wednesday
NEWS BRIEFING
NC named Best State for Business 2017 Raleigh Forbes Magazine has tapped North Carolina as the Best State for Business in 2017. Studying data like taxes, infrastructure and education, the magazine made it the only state to place among the top 20 in all six categories of its economic climate rankings. N.C. has also earned top honors for job and wage growth this year from the Tax Foundation, CNBC and Site Selection Magazine. The state unemployment rate remains at a 17-year low at 4.1 percent.
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Data leak from NC DHHS affects 6,000 people Raleigh The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services notified the federal DHHS on Monday the private information of 6,000 people was accidentally compromised. A spreadsheet containing the drug screening information of people who sought employment or volunteer work with the state agency was sent to a vendor through an unencrypted email on Sept. 27. N.C. DHHS sent letters to affected people and is investigating. Those who think they might have been affected can call 1-800-662-7030.
Rep. Hudson’s concealed carry bill set to move Washington, D.C. The U.S. House Judiciary Committee announced it will consider a bill offered by Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC8) titled Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017. The bill would allow concealed carry permit holders from one state to have that permit recognized in other states that allow concealed carry. Permit holders would have to follow the laws where they are carrying concealed and the bill would allow concealed carry on certain federal lands.
INSIDE N.C. DHHS takes over Cardinal Innovations. Jones & Blount
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Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) spoke in a press conference Tuesday calling it “imperative” to move N.C.-style tax reform nationwide.
N.C.’s senators to vote for tax reform plan The U.S. Senate Budget Committee passed the historic tax reform bill out of Committee Tuesday, setting the state for a floor vote in the coming days By Donna King North State Journal
ate leaders say they are still committed to getting a bill to President Trump’s desk by Christmas. Trump was on Capitol Hill Tuesday, to meet with lawmakers but Democrats abruptly pulled out of the meeting. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said in a statement, "We believe the best path forward is to continue negotiating with our Republican counterparts in Congress instead.” "The president’s invitation to the Democratic leaders still stands and he encourages them to put aside their pettiness, stop the political grandstanding, show up and get to work," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in a statement. Among the measures in the Senate tax reform bill are the repeal of the Obamacare mandate, property, state and local taxes no longer being eligible as tax writeoffs, the doubling of the child tax credit to $2,000 per child, and the elimination of personal exemptions. However, teachers can deduct $500 a year in school sup-
WASHINGTON ,D.C. — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters on Tuesday that securing 50 Senate votes for their tax reform bill was like trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube. "Big complicated bills like this are challenging. You all watched us wrestle with this thing in the past. It's always difficult. But everybody has an opportunity to weigh in. And some members are still weighing in," McConnell said. It is a high stakes week on Capitol Hill for lawmakers working to get the first substantive tax reform in thirty years through Congress. With a 52-48 Republican majority, McConnell can only afford to lose two votes when the measure hits the Senate floor. Aiming for a vote by Friday, Sen- See TAX REFORM, page A2
Holiday shopping kicks off at record pace Americans spent a record $5 billion in the 24 hours after Thanksgiving this year
sharp drop in sales, so far statistics are showing only a slight 1 percent decrease, which is good news for them. Analysts credit retailers’ new strategies to rein in inventory and boost shopper traffic with By Donna King giveaways, special deals and smart North State Journal social media. The period between the ThanksRALEIGH — As N.C. shoppers were packing up the leftovers and giving holiday and Christmas can decorating Christmas trees, shop- make or a break a retailer, accountping moved to the top of their to-do ing for as much as 40 percent of list. Analysts say the holiday week- annual revenue and leading many end broke retail records, bringing businesses to go the extra mile in more than $10 billion to online to stoke shoppers’ interest. Godiva gave out free chocolates, while and brick-and-mortar retailers. “Anecdotally, we are hearing Sephora offered face masks and that people had their best Black perfumes. Dancers entertained Friday shopping weekend that Bergdorf Goodman shoppers. While 81 million they’ve had in a long, long shopped online for Cytime,” said Andy Ellen, ber Monday, 77 million president of the N.C. Repeople took advantage of tail Merchants Associa- The average brick-and-mortar Black American tion. Friday sales and 55 mil“We have N.C. with the spent lion shopped Small Busilowest unemployment rate ness Saturday across the in a long time, they see a $335.47 and country. tax reform package com- the biggest “Retailers worked reing, the stock market is do- spenders ally hard in getting out ing well and I think there in front — 10 days, two is a general optimism as were weeks ahead to really people go out and shop,” shoppers he added. 25-34 years promote the things that they were doing over the Nationwide, 174 million people shopped in old, spending weekend and on small business Saturday,” said stores or online over the $419.52. Ellen, whose organizaholiday weekend, beating tions helps small busiearly predictions by more ness-owners learn how than 10 million, accord- — National to use social media effecing to retail research firm Retail tively. “That’s one of the ShopperTrak. The national Federation things that is somewhat Retail Federation said the leveling the playing field shopping season will likely break records before Christmas for small retailers, using technoloEve, buoyed by growing consumer gy and social media to push things confidence and a robust stock mar- out to their customers and get them into their stores.” ket. Cyber Monday became the big“From good weather across the country to low unemployment and gest-ever internet shopping day strong consumer confidence, the in the U.S., generating more than climate was right, literally and fig- $6.9 billion in sales, up from $5.6 uratively, for consumers to tackle billion a year ago, according to their holiday shopping lists online Adobe Analytics, which measured and in stores,” NRF President and 80 percent of all online transactions from the top 100 U.S. web CEO Matthew Shay said. Despite predictions that brickand-mortar stores would see a See RETAIL, page A2
EAMON QUEENEY | NORTH STATE JOURNAL
A shopper and her dog walk past a holiday display inside of Great Outdoor Provision Co. at Cameron Village in Raleigh, on Nov. 28. Retail establishments are ramping up for the big holiday season.
North State Journal for Wednesday, November 29, 2017
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11.29.17 #104
State Troopers honored for everyday heroism Highway Patrol honors officers for going above and beyond the call of duty By Donna King North State Journal
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RALEIGH — On Sept. 17, N.C. State Trooper J.C. Toon was on his way to Fayetteville when he came upon a single-car crash and saw flames emerging from the vehicle. As he called for rescue support, he heard a woman screaming and discovered that she was partially ejected from the passenger side of the car. Braving the flames, Toon was able to free the woman and pull her to safety. He tried to rescue the driver of the car, but the flames were too intense. Toon was awarded the Highway Patrol Award of Valor on Tuesday and was among the officers recognized for their personal bravery and contribution to the safety of the community. “Had it not been for the quick and selfless actions of Toon, the woman would have certainly been burned and most likey would have died,” read a statement issued by the N.C. State Highay Patrol. In a ceremony at the State Bureau of Investigation, Col. Glenn M. McNeill Jr., commander of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, and N.C. Public Safety Secretary Erik A. Hooks presented awards for selfless acts, onand off-duty. Trooper Matthew C. Eure was also recognized with the Award of Valor for rescuing a young girl
EAMON QUEENEY | NORTH STATE JOURNAL
Trooper James Toon walks off the stage after accepting his Valor Award during the North Carolina State Highway Patrol Fall 2017 Awards Ceremony at the SHP Training Academy in Raleigh, Nov. 28.
and woman from riptides off Pine Knoll Shores near Atlantic Beach over the summer where he was vacationing with his wife. The Highway Patrol Meritorious Service Award was bestowed upon Trooper Robert O. Melby who developed a traffic safety program at three Carteret County high schools, including a driving simulator that makes kids more aware of their driving habits. Cpt. Jeff Gordon, Sgt. Michael Baker, Sgt. Jorge Brewer, and technology support analyst Julia Jordan also won the Meritorious Service Award for instituting the Blue Alert system within the N.C. Highway Patrol to assist officers who have been attacked or in-
jured. The Captain T. L. Cheek Collision Reduction Award went to Troop H, District 3, Anson and Union counties, for having the greatest reduction in road collisions for in 2016. The Highway Patrol Samaritan Award had several honorees for their service in rescuing citizens in vehicle accidents or other medical distress. Sgt. Robert Maynard, Trooper Dustin Efird, Trooper Mitchell Mann, Trooper Jason Page, Trooper Jason S. Ratliff, Trooper Andrew B. Depoyster, telecommunications shift supervisor Charlotte H. West, Trooper Christopher Jeffries, Trooper Mark
Corbin, Sgt. Jason B. Casteen and Trooper Jamie Duff. For details on their heroic actions visit www. nsjonline.com The Highway Patrol Humanitarian Service Award was presented to Sgt. Brent Hipp because he and his wife, Melony, started the Josh Ferree Memorial Softball Tournament in memory of their son who passed away in 2004. The money raised funds a scholarship at Cleveland Community College for students interested in criminal justice. Also among the honorees recognized on Tuesday was retired 1st Sgt. Harry Latta. Latta was awarded the Purple Heart for injuries he sustained in 1981 when he was shot during a DWI traffic stop. Despite being shot twice, he continued to respond to the crisis and returned to work a week later. “Latta’s actions displayed his dedication to protect the citizens of North Carolina. Even after being shot two times, he was able to remain calm, return fire and bring the suspect into custody,” said McNeill in presenting the award. The N.C. State Highway Patrol employs 1,600 troopers based out of eight locations across the state. The troopers cover 78,000 miles of roadway and report that in 2016 there were 1,037 highway fatalities and more than 20,000 driving while impaired arrests. The department says their goal is to do whatever they can to reduce those numbers and serve the people of N.C.
Neal Robbins Publisher Donna King Editor Cory Lavalette Managing/Sports Editor Frank Hill Senior Opinion Editor
TAX REFORM from page A1
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Shoppers make their way around Cameron Village in Raleigh, on Nov. 28.
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RETAIL from page A1 retailers. According to an analysis by Boomerang Commerce, online retailers including Amazon were offering bigger savings for more of their most popular toys this year than last. Amazon said it sold 3 million toys halfway through Cyber Monday. Amazon shares closed up 0.8 percent, J.C. Penney Company closed up 3 percent, and Macy’s closed up 0.7 percent. Target did not fare as well, with analysts noting that it closed its stores for several hours overnight while many rivals kept their doors open. Its shares fell 2.8 percent
“The fact that shopper visits remained intact on Black Friday illustrates that physical retail is still highly relevant and, when done right, it is profitable,” Brian Field, ShopperTrak’s senior director of advisory services, said. Still, Ellen encourages N.C. shoppers to give more consideration to locally owned stores as they are ticking off their holiday lists. “We hope people will continue to shop in their local stores,” said Ellen. “Those dollars stay in the community, those are the businesses that sponsor your Little League team, pay sales tax and property tax, and we encourage people to shop there.”
plies for their classrooms. Most notably, the Senate GOP also nearly doubles the standard deduction and fully eliminates the alternative minimum tax. The measure also cuts the corporate tax rate, after a one-year delay, to 20 percent from its current 35 percent, among the highest in the world. N.C.’s Senator Burr (R-N.C.) says he plans to vote in favor of the Senate’s tax reform measure. “The average family of four will see a $2,200 per year tax cut, which represents a nearly 60 percent reduction. These savings are vital to getting Americans back on their feet and getting the economy growing again,” Burr tweeted on Monday. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) appeared in a bi-partisan press conference Tuesday calling for passage of tax reform because of its benefits for small business, and citing the success of tax reform in N.C., which began when Republicans won a majority in the General Assembly and Tillis was House speaker. Since 2011, N.C. has moved from one of the highest unemployment and tax rates in the country to one of the lowest. Tillis pointed to annual decreases in the state’s poverty rate and increases in wages. “We have an imperative to do for the nation what we did for N.C. because it worked,” said Tillis Tuesday. I’m completely convinced that when we pass this bill
“With the House having passed it and the Senate working hard on it, there’s a lot of optimism something will get passed. But with only two votes to lose it’s going to be a bit of a challenge.” — Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Independent Advisor Alliance in Cornelius. we are going to unleash the power of the American economy and we are going to start doing for the families across this nation what we did for the people of N.C. five years ago.” As Senate leaders work to whip up more votes by the end of the week, all eyes are on Sen. John McCain and Sen. Jeff Flake, both of Arizona, and Susan Collins (R-MA), who helped derail Obamacare repeal and replace earlier this year. The chambers are currently not scheduled to convene past December 15, and have until December 8 to pass a massive spending bill to avoid a government shutdown. The tax reform measure also has the added importance of carrying the biggest legislative victory for Republicans since the 2016 elections, and likely their primary talking point in the 2020 midterms.
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North State Journal for Wednesday, November 29, 2017
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BUSINESS
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n.c. FAST FACTS Sponsored by
The N.C. Commerce Department’s Rural Economic Development Division, created in 2013, was established to improve the economic well-being and quality of life of North Carolinian's with particular emphasis on rural communities. The Division, directed by an Assistant Secretary of Commerce, has a number of grant programs and planning services to assist rural counties and rural census tracts: Disaster Recovery Grants, Rural Grants Program, Community Development Block Grant for Economic Development (CDBGED) , Industrial Development Fund / Utility Fund, Appalachian Regional Commission, NC Main Street Center, and Rural Planning. Approved Logos
This week, we highlight how the Appalachian Regional Commission program works for communities across North Carolina.
The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) is a federalstate partnership providing social and economic support for a 13-state region stretching along the Appalachian Mountains from southern New York to northern Mississippi, and was established by Congress in 1965 to bring Appalachia’s 22 million people into America’s economic mainstream. In NC, ARC supports economic development activities in Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Cherokee, Clay, Davie, Forsyth, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Stokes, Surry, Swain, Transylvania, Watauga, Wilkes, Yadkin and Yancey counties.
Walden predicts deeper rural/urban divide if trends continue for NC NC State economics professor Michael Walden details recent growth and future industries in latest book By Laura Ashley Lamm North State Journal RALEIGH — North Carolina is one of the fastest growing states in the nation. Continuous growth leads to changes in people, industries, jobs, places, environments and governments. It’s the result of the information and technology revolution that has connected North Carolina globally. “In 1970, North Carolina was still a rural state and the majority of people were living in rural areas and small towns. It was still a state where the major industry were tobacco, textiles and furniture. It was a fast-growing state where people were moving here in search of jobs, a warmer climate, but it was still a state rooted in the industries that had moved the state in the 20th century,” said Dr. Michael L. Walden, nationally-recognized economist and the William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics at North Carolina State University. “By 2017, the state has totally changed. We are now a majority urban state. Our urban areas, especially the Triangle and Charlotte, are among the fastest growing areas in the nation. Every national business wants to have a presence in those two areas,” he added. Walden recently published, “North Carolina Beyond the Connected Age: The Tar Heel State in 2050;” a sequel to his previous book, “North Carolina in the Connected Age.” In his newest book, Walden
notes North Carolina is moving beyond the connected age to a new era of living, working and producing. He offers his research, insight, predictions of future trends, and potential policy options for taxation, infrastructure and environmental issues. One visible trend of North Carolina moving forward following the technical shift of society is the noticeable and dramatic shift in population between urban and rural areas. “Our rural and small-town areas are struggling because tobacco, textiles and furniture were located in those areas. We have a great urban/rural divide,” said Walden. In the coming years, a population growth spurt in the urban areas of Wake and Mecklenburg counties will continue and the geographical disparities between the urban and rural areas will continue to widen. “While this major trend is a prediction, there could be some things that could change that. One is virtualization, a technique that is being perfected that would allow people to stay in their physical place but project themselves virtually into another physical space. That could change where people choose to live,” said Walden. Virtualization could potentially be the difference in people choosing a geographical location. Many could choose to live in quaint rural areas and virtually send themselves into metropolises. “I could see a future where these trends are reversed and we see a rural renaissance,” said Walden. “I challenge people to say in the 1960s they foresaw the technical revolution of computers, tablets, etc.” To create an economic shift in rural areas, communities can attract manufacturing businesses. “The land is cheaper in rural
“Our urban areas, especially the Triangle and Charlotte, are among the fastest growing areas in the nation. Every national business wants to have a presence in those two areas. — Michael Walden areas. The community college system is prepared to train people for specific skills in a factory, and we can’t forget, one of the largest industries in the state is agro-business,” said Walden. Walden also details the impact of the state's steadily increasing influx of retirees and tourists. “Baby boomers are retiring and are more mobile now than they have ever been. Economic development is anything that brings in money. Retirees bring their pensions and social security.” He sees the same opportunity to "drive tourism as an economic boost." Technology will continue to advance, renewable sources will become a focus, and more fields of study and jobs will present themselves that society may not know exist. An informative and enlightening read, Walden’s book, “North Carolina Beyond the Connected Age,” delves into understanding the growth pattern of the state; the impacts a location choice has in living and working; how changes in a connected age reverberate into changes in occupations; how education is affected by the changes and how the government and its people play a role in the state’s economy.
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Tips for a Safe Holiday Holiday decorations are part of the joy of the season. But they also can bring electrical problems, result in higher electric bills and create dangerous situations. Follow these tips to avoid holiday hazards: • • Inspect light strings and lighted decorations. Discard any with cracked or damaged wires, broken sockets or loose connections. • Consider using LED lights, which use less energy and run cooler than traditional lights. • Extension cords should be in good condition and UL-rated for indoor or outdoor use. • Keep cords untangled and away from curtains, furniture and rugs. • Don’t overload outlets or extension cords. Circuits can overhead, which can cause fire. • When decorating outdoors, keep yourself, your decorations and your equipment at least 10 feet from power lines. • When hanging lights outside, avoid using nails or staples that can damage wiring. Use UL-rated clips or hangers instead. • Unplug your holiday lights before leaving home or going to bed. • Test your smoke alarms to confirm they’re working properly. Tips courtesy of ElectriCities of North Carolina and Electrical Safety Foundation International. For more holiday safety tips, watch our twominute video at bit.ly/EC-holidaysafety-vid.
North State Journal for Wednesday, November 29, 2017
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North State Journal for Wednesday, November 29, 2017
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WEST WCU chancellor to take medical leave Jackson County Western Carolina University Chancellor David O. Belcher will take a medical leave of absence starting Dec. 31, 2017. Belcher has been battling brain cancer since April last year and announced his plans on Monday in a message to students, families and WCU supporters. UNC President Margaret Spellings will name an acting chancellor with Belcher retaining the title and remaining in the chancellor’s residence. “Despite the best efforts of my medical team, the effects of my glioblastoma brain tumor have continued to worsen in recent months... My medical team has concluded that the latest treatment regimen is not working as hoped,” he said in a statement.” SMOKY MOUNTAIN NEWS
Murray sworn in as U.S. attorney for western NC Buncombe County Andrew Murray was sworn in Monday as U.S. attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Murray was nominated by President Donald Trump in September and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Nov. 9. He now leads one of the busiest U.S. Attorney’s offices in the country with 80 federal prosecutors and staff. The office serves nearly 3 million residents throughout the 32 westernmost counties of the state. GOBLUERIDGE.NET
25th annual Gingerbread House battle sweetens the holidays Buncombe County The winners of the National Gingerbread House Competition are on display at Grove Park Inn in Asheville. The featured creations will be viewable until Jan. 4, 2018. Ann Bailey, of Cary, was among the winners named last week. She won first place in the adult category with her gingerbread sculpture depicting Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” Other catergories of gingerbread art include kids, teens and youth. In all, 170 people from 17 states and Canada entered their work in this 25th year of the annual competition.
PIEDMONT Teen killed in collision with logging truck Caldwell County On Tuesday a high school student was killed in Lenoir after a log crashed into the windshield of the truck he was in. On Tuesday morning, along highway 18 near Hibriten High School, a logging truck with a log extending from the rear of the vehicle collided with the Ford F-150 where the sophomore was riding. Grief counselors and clergy have been called in to help students at the school. WSOC
CITIZEN-TIMES
String of commercial burglaries under investigation
Veteran leaves $250,000 to animal rescue group
EAST
Man pleads guilty to second fatal accident
Haywood County Norman Jacobs had a couple of remaining wishes he passed to his daughter when he died. Among them was to give $250,000 to Sarge’s Animal Rescue in Haywood County. Wendy Rota visited the rescue last week for her dad, bringing a check for a quarter of a million dollars. She said Jacobs and his black lab, Sasha, would participate in Sarge’s annual pet parade every year and was committed to the well-being of animals. An Army veteran himself, Jacobs also left a contribution to Meals on Wheels for their work with veterans.
Mecklenburg County Charlotte police are looking into six burglaries committed in about 35 minutes early Monday in south Charlotte. The six commercial burglaries were reported between approximately 1:45 and 2:20 a.m. on Monday morning after it was discovered that someone smashed the windows with rocks and then robbed the cash registers. Three of the businesses were in one shopping center. Officials say that later in the morning, around 4:30 a.m., a car crashed into some trees off Beatties Ford Road, but no one was in the vehicle when police arrived. They are working to find out if the car was related to the break-ins.
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Ayden bans tobacco product use in parks
Search for Onslow toddler continues
Pender County A Pender County man has pleaded guilty to charges related to a DWI crash in 2015 that claimed the life of Ronald Eugene Larson, 59, of Rocky Point. Richard Joseph Constantineau Jr., 50, also of Rocky Point, entered a guilty plea to felony death by motor vehicle, assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, misdemeanor possession of schedule II controlled substance, and maintaining a vehicle for a controlled substance. The plea comes five years after he admitted to taking methadone and then crossing the center line on Highway 211 in Brunswick County and hitting a vehicle head-on, killing 23-year-old Stephanie Heath of Supply. This time, Constantineau will serve 119-177 months in prison and will have driving privileges revoked when he gets out.
Onslow County Mariah Kay Woods, 3, was reported missing shortly after 6 a.m. Monday. Mariah is described as a white girl, approximately 2-feet-9-inches tall and weighing about 30 pounds, according to the Amber Alert regarding her disappearance. The alert also states she has brown hair and blue eyes and was wearing pink and white panties. She was last seen in the area of 2405-7 Dawson Cabin Road in Jacksonville, according to the alert. If anyone has information that could be beneficial to investigators they are urged to call 911 or the OCSO at 910455-3113. KINSTON FREE PRESS
WNCN-TV
Manufacturer to quadruple jobs footprint in Wilson County
Plant manager killed in explosion identified Nash County Authorities have identified the plant manager killed in an explosion in Middlesex last week. Dale Allen Bachmann, 64, died in the blast late Friday morning at a water purification chemical plant in Middlesex. Investigators said Bachmann was the only person at the Pencco plant when it happened. Investigators aren’t sure what caused the explosion but say it involved a 15,000-gallon outdoor mixing tank at the plant. There were no other injuries. WTVD-TV
RICHARD TOPPING, CARDINAL INNOVATIONS HEALTHCARE SOLUTIONS
Wilson County A health tech company announced a planned expansion for its N.C. operations that will add 445 jobs to Wilson County. Fresenius Kabi will expand its manufacturing operations over the next five years, with a $150 million investment. Fresenius Kabi, which currently employs more than 100 people in Wilson, is a global health care company that specializes in medicines and technologies for infusion, transfusion and clinical nutrition. WILSON TIMES
Pitt County The Town of Ayden just passed a new ordinance that prohibits the use of all tobacco products including e-cigarettes in all of the town’s parks system. Town Manager Steven Harrell says there are many benefits that will come from this change, including healthy environments without second-hand smoke, as well as no longer having cigarette butts or other tobacco litter. Harrell said the ordinance will go into effect on January first, to give them time to get the word out and make signs. WNC
Suspicious fire destroys 100-year old farm house Wilson County A suspicious brush fire near Saratoga resulted in the burning of a century-old farmhouse Monday afternoon. According to A.J. O’Briant, chief of the Sanoca Fire Department, two suspicious fires were reported near the same time in the early afternoon. One was on Piney Grove Church Road and the other was on Pocosin Road near the WilsonEdgecombe county line. O’Briant said the single-story farmhouse was at least 100 years old. The building was known to be empty or abandoned. WILSON TIMES
RALEIGH — The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services announced on Monday that it has assumed leadership of Cardinal Innovations, a local management entity/managed care organization contracted to provide behavioral health services with approximately $1 billion in public money. The takeover is temporary, according to a press release issued by the department, which also cited “serious mismanagement of funds” in the salaries of the executive leadership team and in the amount of executive severance payments. State law sets a $204,195 limit on behavioral health MCO’s top executive salaries. “Despite explicit instructions to the Cardinal Board of Directors regarding lawful management of public funds, exorbitant severance was paid to the CEO and similar executive totaling $3.8 million,” N.C. DHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen said in a letter to lawmakers on Monday. DHHS’ takeover follows three state audits and a report delivered by the state auditor to the General Assembly in May. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle criticized the company saying that the executive salaries and severance packages were unusually generous. For example, Cardinal’s CEO Richard Topping, earned $517,000 plus bonus, more than twice the salary of heads of other MCO’s. Lawmakers also scrutinized other executive financial arrangements, parties and private jet charters. The report prompted an investigation by DHHS. “There is no limit to the arrogance and the greed of this crowd,” said Sen. Tamara Barringer (R-Cary) when the report was released. “These people are the most vulnerable in our society.” According to the announcement, DHHS has taken over responsibility for Cardinal’s operations and will restructure the board with guidance from the chairs of the General Assembly’s Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services, assuring the public that services will not be affected. “I am deeply disappointed in the actions of Cardinal Innovations’ leadership and board,” said Cohen. “They
are entrusted with the responsibility to care for some of our most vulnerable residents, but instead of living up to that obligation, they have lost the public’s trust by violating the law and mismanaging public funds. DHHS is temporarily taking control of Cardinal to stabilize the organization and return its focus to the consumers and families that Cardinal serves.” Topping was terminated earlier in November after two years of service, reportedly taking $1.7 million in severance pay. His last day was supposed to be Dec. 1. However, according to DHHS on Monday, Topping is out immediately and not allowed on the company’s premises. He has been replaced by interim CEO Trey Sutten. Sutten just joined Cardinal last month as interim chief financial officer and prior to his employment there was the chief financial officer for N.C.’s $14 billion Medicaid program under former Gov. Pat McCrory. “DHHS showed up at Cardinal offices with a letter stating that they are in control and certainly that is their opinion,” said Topping in an interview with WFAE, Charlotte’s NPR radio station. “Cardinal is not a part of state personnel. … We pay market-based compensation because we want our folks to have the same access that folks enrolled in Blue Cross have,” he added. “This argument that, because Cardinal accepts public money as a contractor that somehow the government gets to set salaries and compensation, is not accurate.” The department says that DHHS staff is on site and working with Sutten and staff members to stabilize the organization, and hire new executives. “DHHS has determined that the structure of the Cardinal Innovations Board of Directors is not in the best interest of consumers or the counties that Cardinal serves,” Cohen said in the letter to lawmakers who sit on the DHHS oversight committee on Monday. “DHHS has revoked approval of the current board composition effective immediately.” One of seven organizations across the state intended to deliver mental health, intellectual and developmental disability and substance use services, Cardinal Innovations serves approximately 850,000 Medicaid patients in Alamance, Cabarrus, Caswell, Chatham, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Franklin, Granville, Halifax, Mecklenburg, Orange, Rockingham, Person, Rowan, Stanly, Stokes, Union, Vance and Warren counties. Nearly 100,000 of the patients are in the Triad.
Choose your Trinity! Call the community near you or 1-800-HELPING today.
The Trinity communities are affiliates of Lutheran Services Carolinas, a health and human service organization serving senior adults in North Carolina since 1960. In addition to serving seniors, LSC also works to improve the lives of those facing extraordinary challenges through services such as foster care, adoption, disaster relief and more. Visit the LSC website at LSCarolinas.net or call 1-800-HELPING. “Empowered by Christ, we walk together with all we serve.”
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north STATEment Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor | Troy Kickler, deputy opinion editor
VISUAL VOICES
EDITORIAL | FRANK HILL
‘Not Top 5’ reasons to avoid elected office
We all acknowledge our need for the very best people in our communities and state to run our representative democratic government.
ESPN RAN THEIR ‘NOT TOP 10’ sports moments for 2017 which showed the bloopers and mistakes made over the past year in the sports world. Have you ever heard the ‘Not Top 5’ reasons why people will not run for public office? I run The Institute for The Public Trust which tries to find, recruit and train great people to run for public office across North Carolina. We all acknowledge our need for the very best people in our communities and state to run our representative democratic government. It has been that way ever since the founding of our Republic in 1789 with Messrs. Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, Adams, Washington and Franklin to name a few. When sane people watch the news and see only the sordid side of politics, most say not only ‘No!’ when asked to run for city council, state legislature or Congress, but an emphatic ‘Hell no!’ Why should they? A candidate or incumbent has to raise money all the time; they have to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune and vicious attacks, sometimes true but many times not; and they basically have to take a vow of poverty to serve the public unless they are independently wealthy. Want to run for the North Carolina General Assembly? The pay is $13,951 per year.
Here are 5 common reasons why good people don’t run for office: 5. ‘I am too busy’ Of course you are. You are busy at being great at what you are currently doing in your business, avocation, family and charity work. That is why we want you to take your immense talents and put them to work for the common good as our elective representative. Just like Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Madison, Mr. Hamilton et al. before you. 4. ‘I don’t like to lose’ Of course you don’t. No one does. Does that exempt you from trying to run for public office where you could elevate the public debate and discourse because you actually know what you are talking about and, once elected, you can actually do something about the immense problems facing us? 3. ‘I don’t know the issues well enough’ If you are highly intelligent, talented, educated and experienced and don’t understand the big issues facing our state and country, you probably should stay on the sidelines and let someone less qualified take your rightful place in our elective representative government structure.
a felon; a miscreant; a liar; a chiseler; a dealwelsher; or a two-faced baboon as opponents called Abraham Lincoln, of all people. You should have no problem with the media if you are none of the above. 1. ‘I am sure someone else will do it so I won’t have to’ Have you been paying any attention at all to what has been going on in our collective elective government over the past 30 years or so? Name the top 10 people who have served in public office that you think were cut out of the same bolt of cloth as Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Madison or Mr. Hamilton long ago. There are not many most people can name off the top of their head. We admire and salute everyone who has run for office and those who have been elected and served. It is a very tough job, hands-down one of the toughest “dirty” jobs anyone can ever undertake. However, we need our best to serve. Mr. Jefferson considered public service to be the highest calling any person could be called to perform. Help everyone by finding a good reason “to run for office.” Not away from it.
2. ‘I am afraid of the media’ Join the club. Hopefully, if you are as qualified as others think you are, you are not
EDITORIAL | TROY KICKLER
Not your typical HOA
The HOA also wore red strings on clothing or hung red string in specified places so that draft dodgers hiding out in Purgatory Mountain (the N.C. Zoo’s location) or a runaway slave might recognize friendlies.
FOR MANY, HOA is an acronym for their homeowners association. I’m referring, however, to the Heroes of America, a clandestine group during the American Civil War that supposedly originated in Randolph County, opposed secession from the United States, and helped build a postwar Republican Party in North Carolina. The HOA story reveals a “cultural distinctiveness” in what some call the North Carolina Quaker Belt. Also, it is an example of what I call “constructive historical disruption.” In other words, the story of the HOA, also known as Red Strings, makes one think about an oversimplified past. As the HOA network spread during the war, their numbers were estimated at 10,000. Historians, though, will never know the actual amount. It was, writes historian William T. Auman, a “secret, underground, anti-Confederate organization of militant Unionists.” The Heroes of America were inspired by the Biblical story of Rahab and the spies (Joshua 2). She helped two spies down the city wall with a rope and encouraged them to hide in the hills for three days. As a result, one HOA password was “three days,” with one person saying one of the words and another replying with the unsaid word. The HOA also wore red strings on clothing or hung red string in specified places so that draft dodgers hiding out in Purgatory Mountain (the N.C. Zoo’s location) or a
runaway slave might recognize friendlies. HOA also had special initiation ceremonies and handshakes — one description of an elaborate HOA call-for-distress symbol reminds me more of assistant coaches calling plays from the sideline than an actual effort to remain undetected. Different levels of membership also kept certain information discreet. Although there was rumored support for Abraham Lincoln as early as 1861, the conscription acts really bothered working class men in the Quaker Belt and mobilized them to form and join Heroes of America. Many simply did not want to fight for the Confederacy. As a result, guerrilla warfare turned the Piedmont into a bloody inner civil war. To avoid fighting for what they deemed disagreeable, conscripted Red Strings agreed to work in places such as the salt mines in Wilmington. Gen. W.H.C. Whiting, however, suspected the workers — whom he speculated were two-thirds HOA — were communicating with Union spies. He called HOA “a treasonable organization” with “very strong” ties in Randolph County. He preferred to transfer the HOA to the front lines, and have free blacks and slaves work the salt mines. At the front line or in the salt mine, when conscripted HOA were captured by Union soldiers, they were treated the same as other Confederate soldiers — POWs. The election of 1864 made public the
Heroes of America. Editor of the widely read North Carolina Standard and later a controversial Republican governor during Reconstruction, William W. Holden, not a member, was associated with Heroes of America. In 1864, the Peace Party wanted to rejoin the Union under the Copperhead basis. (HOA and former Whigs had different goals.) Although Zeb Vance won the election, Holden did well in Wilkes and Randolph counties and Jamestown and High Point and in places where HOA had spread like Raleigh and Johnston County. After the Civil War, judge, novelist and a key Republican framer of the 1868 North Carolina Constitution, Albion Tourgee, edited not only the Greensboro Union Register but also Red String, “the official organ of the H.O.A.” In 1867, all HOA officers were encouraged to help draw attention to the paper and help circulate it. Not too long ago, I was walking with a friend past the Confederate statue in front of the historic courthouse in downtown Asheboro. He quipped: “You know, he could have possibly been a Red String.”
North State Journal for Wednesday, November 29, 2017
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GUEST OPINION | ALISON FRANKEL
CFPB’s controversial structure looms over leadership showdown Eminent law professors spent the latter half of Thanksgiving break debating which law prevails — without reaching any consensus
When Congress authorized the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s establishment in 2010’s Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Act, lawmakers were determined to ensure the agency’s independence from the executive branch. The law called for a single director, rather than a commission, to lead the bureau, which was to be placed within the alreadyindependent Federal Reserve system in order to protect its funding. Yes, Dodd-Frank directed that the CFPB’s lone director be nominated by the president (and approved by the Senate). But the law also said that once the director was confirmed to a five-year term, he or she could not be removed by the president except for good cause. That structure, designed to insulate the CFPB’s power, has now provided the Trump administration with a justification for the president’s authority to appoint an interim director. As the CFPB’s old guard engages in a fiery dispute with the Trump administration over control of the bureau, proponents of the agency may come to regret investing the CFPB’s power in a single director. The CFPB’s unusual structure has already caused controversy. In 2016, a three-judge panel of the District of Columbia U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the bureau is unconstitutional under separation-of-powers doctrine because its director is not accountable to anyone — not fellow commissioners, not Congress and not the president. That decision is under review by the entire D.C. Circuit, which heard arguments last May on the constitutionality of the bureau’s structure. It’s entirely plausible that the appeals court will end up deciding the CFPB’s structure is constitutional, since several judges suggested at oral arguments that the CFPB’s director is no less accountable than commissions of other independent, executive-branch agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission or the Securities and Exchange Commission. In the meantime, though, the CFPB’s structure has become an issue in the bitter fight over the agency’s leadership. As you know, Director Richard Cordray officially stepped down as of Nov. 24. In his resignation, Cordray designated CFPB official Leandra English as his successor, citing statutory language in Dodd-Frank that calls for the bureau’s deputy director to take over in the “absence or unavailability” of the director. The White House refused to accept English’s appointment. Instead, President Donald Trump named an avowed CFPB skeptic, Mick Mulvaney of the Office of Management and Budget, as acting director. The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel released a Nov. 25 opinion explaining why it believes the Federal Vacancies Reform Act empowered the president to name an acting CFPB director. English immediately went to court to challenge Mulvaney’s appointment. On Sunday night, her lawyers at Gupta Wessler sued Trump and Mulvaney in federal court in Washington, D.C., seeking a declaration that English is the CFPB’s acting director. English also moved for a temporary restraining order barring Mulvaney from taking
JOSHUA ROBERTS | REUTERS
Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney speaks to the media at the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, where he began work after being named acting director by President Donald Trump in Washington, on Nov. 27.
the office. In a bizarre showdown on Monday, both English and Mulvaney claimed the job. As Reuters reported, English welcomed CFPB staffers back from the Thanksgiving holiday in an email she signed as acting director. Mulvaney, meanwhile, brought in a sack of doughnuts and sent around his own email directing employees to disregard any instructions they might receive from English. No easy answers The intersection of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act and DoddFrank’s CFPB provisions defies easy answers. Eminent law professors spent the latter half of Thanksgiving break debating which law prevails — without reaching any consensus. The CFPB’s own general counsel, Mary McLeod, contributed to the confusion in a memo siding with the Trump Justice Department and against her old boss, Cordray. English’s lawyers rely heavily on Dodd-Frank’s statutory language specifying a CFPB succession plan. When the bill first passed the House of Representatives in 2009, Gupta Wessler said in a brief backing English’s TRO motion, it called for the director to be replaced via the Federal Vacancies Reform Act if he or she became unavailable. The Senate, however, changed the plan. Its version of the CFPB succession — which ended up being enacted — called for the CFPB’s deputy director to step into the post if there’s a temporary vacancy. “This change — from using the FVRA to providing a different mechanism — reflects a considered decision that the FVRA should not govern succession in the event of a vacancy in the director position,” English’s memo said.
If there is conflict between DoddFrank’s CFPB provisions and the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, English’s lawyers said, then DoddFrank prevails as a matter of statutory construction. Dodd-Frank is both more recent and more specific than the FVRA, so, according to English, it is the controlling statute. Holding otherwise, and allowing the president to appoint an at-will White House employee to head the CFPB, “would violate DoddFrank’s requirement that the CFPB be independent and set a dangerous precedent for independent agencies throughout the executive branch,” English said. But according to the Trump Justice Department, the White House wouldn’t have the prerogative of appointing an acting director if Congress hadn’t invested all the CFPB’s power in a single director. The Office of Legal Counsel’s opinion, signed by OLC Assistant Attorney General Steven Engel, actually concedes several points to Cordray, English and their allies. OLC acknowledged that DoddFrank’s statutory succession plan elevates the deputy director. It also agreed the plan is triggered when the director resigns, opining that a resignation amounts to an “absence or unavailability.” The OLC memo said, however, that the CFPB provisions exist alongside the Federal Vacancies Reform Act. Under DOJ’s interpretation of the statutes, either succession mechanism can be used to fill a temporary vacancy for CFPB director: The deputy director can step in or the president can appoint as acting director an official who has already received Senate confirmation for a different job. According to the OLC, when contrasting succession regimes operate “in parallel,” the president has the final word.
“When the president designates an individual under the Vacancies Reform Act outside the ordinary order of succession, the president’s designation necessarily compels,” the OLC opinion memo said.
are relatively few black fighter jet pilots. There are stringent physical, character and mental requirements that many blacks can meet. But fighter pilots must also have a strong knowledge of air navigation, aircraft operating procedures, flight theory, fluid mechanics and meteorology. The college majors that help prepare undergraduates for a career as a fighter pilot include mathematics, physical science and engineering. What’s the NAACP response to educational fraud? At a 2016 meeting, the NAACP’s board of directors ratified a resolution that called for a moratorium on charter schools. Among the NAACP’s reasons for this were that it wanted charter schools to refrain from “expelling students that public schools have a duty to educate” and “cease to perpetuate de facto segregation of the highest performing children from those whose aspirations may be high but whose talents are not yet as obvious.” Baltimore Collegiate School for Boys is a charter school. In 2016, 9 percent of its students scored proficient on the state’s math test. This year, more thsn 14 percent did so. It’s in
the interest of black people for more of our youngsters to attend better schools. However, it’s in the interest of the education establishment — and its handmaidens at the NAACP — to keep black youngsters in failing public schools. Few people bother to ask whether there’s a connection between what goes on at predominantly black high schools and observed outcomes. Violence at many predominantly black schools is so routine that security guards are hired to patrol the hallways. The violence includes assaults on teachers. Some have been knocked out, had their jaws broken and required treatment by psychologists for post-traumatic stress disorder. On top of the violence is gross disorder and disrespect for authority. The puzzling question for me is: How long will black people accept the educational destruction of black youngsters — something that only benefits the education establishment?
Arguments to consider So how does the CFPB’s controversial structure affect the analysis? As the OLC memo explains, the FVRA does include some exceptions to the rule of presidential prerogative in order to preserve the independence of certain executive branch agencies. The law specifically excludes the appointment of acting directors to “any entity that … is composed of multiple members.” The CFPB is not governed by multiple members, the OLC memo argued, so it’s covered by the FVRA — which gives the president the right to appoint an acting director. The vacancies statute predates DoddFrank, OLC argued, so Congress could have excluded the CFPB director from FVRA coverage. It didn’t, and the “multiple member” exclusion doesn’t apply to the CFPB’s one-man show. There are all sorts of other arguments the courts will have to consider when they decide who’s really in charge at the CFPB. A very recent Trump appointee, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly of Washington, was assigned the English case Monday, so he’ll have the first crack at it. As the case moves ahead, however, it’s worth wondering whether the Senate might have avoided the whole mess by appointing commissioners to head the CFPB, as the early Housepassed version of the bill mandated, instead of appointing an all-powerful director. Alison Frankel is a columnist for Reuters.
COLUMN | WALTER WILLIAMS
Black self-sabotage Last spring, graduation exercises were held at one Baltimore high school, 90 percent of whose students received the lowest possible math score
The educational achievement of white youngsters is nothing to write home about, but that achieved by blacks is nothing less than disgraceful. Let’s look at a recent example of an educational outcome all too common. In 2016, in 13 of Baltimore’s 39 high schools, not a single student scored proficient on the state’s mathematics exam. In six other high schools, only 1 percent tested proficient in math. In raw numbers, 3,804 Baltimore students took the state’s math test, and 14 tested proficient. Citywide, only 15 percent of Baltimore students passed the state’s English test. Last spring, graduation exercises were held at one Baltimore high school, 90 percent of whose students received the lowest possible math score. Just one student came even close to being proficient. Parents and family members applauded the conferring of diplomas. Some of the students won achievement awards and college scholarships. Baltimore is by no means unique. It’s a small part of the ongoing education disaster for black students across the nation. Baltimore schools are not
underfunded. Of the nation’s 100 largest school systems, Baltimore schools rank third in spending per pupil. Baltimore’s black students receive diplomas that attest that they can function at a 12th-grade level when in fact they may not be able to do so at a seventh- or eighth-grade level. These students and their families have little reason to suspect that their diplomas are fraudulent. Thus, if they cannot land a good job, cannot pass a civil service exam, get poor grades in college and flunk out of college, they will attribute their plight to racism. After all, they have a high school diploma, just as a white person has a high school diploma. In their minds, the only explanation for being treated differently is racism. Let’s look at math. If one graduates from high school without a minimum proficiency in algebra and geometry, he is likely to find whole fields and professions hermetically sealed off to him for life. In many fields and professions, a minimum level of math proficiency is taken for granted. Let’s look at just one endeavor — being a fighter jet pilot. There
Walter E. Williams is a professor of economics at George Mason University.
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North State Journal for Wednesday, November 29, 2017
Nation & WORLD
Orange won’t pay Obama’s speech fee Paris The chief executive of Orange said the French telecoms group was not paying the 400,000 euro fee for a speech by former President Barack Obama after criticism of the cost. CEO Stephane Richard came under fire last week after satirical newspaper Le Canard Enchaine reported that Orange was paying Obama to speak at an industry event alongside Richard on Dec 2. Richard said Orange was not involved in the contract and he did not know Obama’s appearance fee. The chief executive denied Obama’s appearance was aimed at raising his profile and boosting his chances of extending his time in charge of the company.
Indonesia orders evacuation as highest alert issued for Bali volcano Denpasar, Indonesia Indonesia closed the airport in Bali on Monday and ordered 100,000 residents living near a grumbling volcano spewing columns of ash to evacuate immediately, warning the first major eruption in 54 years could be “imminent.” The airport was closed, disrupting 445 flights and some 59,000 passengers, after Mount Agung, which killed hundreds of people in 1963, sent volcanic ash high into the sky, and officials said cancellations could be extended. A spokesman said there had been no casualties so far and 40,000 people had left the area, but tens of thousands still needed to move.
Australian police cut chains from immigration protesters at PM’s residence
Europe, global environment mean Germany needs stable government, Merkel says
Sydney Australian police on Monday used metal cutters to remove five protesters who had chained themselves to the gate of the prime minister’s official residence over the treatment of asylum seekers detained in Papua New Guinea. Papua New Guinea police last week expelled about 400 protesting asylum-seekers from a shuttered Australian-run detention camp on Manus Island. The United Nations decried the crackdown as “shocking.”
Berlin Germany needs a stable government as soon as possible in order to respond to proposals for reforming the European Union and to deal with an uncertain global environment, Chancellor Angela Merkel said at a news conference on Monday. Speaking after a meeting of her Christian Democrat (CDU) party’s leadership, she said she would hold meetings with the Social Democrats, who have agreed under pressure to enter coalition talks with Merkel’s camp after first refusing to do so.
Pope visits Myanmar in shadow of Rohingya crisis
Tijuana turns wastewater into wine, as Latin America dips toe in reuse Tepic, Mexico Italian winemaker Camillo Magoni is using reclaimed water at La Morita treatment plant in the Mexican border city of Tijuana to cultivate 800 lush vines in its grounds, producing red wine he quips could retail for $200 a bottle. If the experiment works, transporting treated wastewater through the arid Baja de California peninsula to the Valle de Guadalupe, south of Tijuana, to irrigate the area’s upscale vineyards could be an option for winegrowers competing with nearby towns for scarce water supplies.
NEWS IN IMAGES
By Philip Pullella and Yimou Lee Reuters YANGON, Myanmar — Pope Francis met Monday with Myanmar’s military chief at the start of a delicate visit to a majority-Buddhist country that the White House and Amnesty International has accused of “ethnic cleansing” against its Muslim Rohingya people. The leader of the Roman Catholic church will also visit Bangladesh, where more than 620,000 Rohingya have fled to escape what Amnesty International has dubbed “crimes against humanity” including murder, rape, torture and forced displacement of Rohingya that have been made against it. The pope’s first meeting in Yangon was with military commander Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing. “They discussed the great responsibility of authorities of the country in this time of transition,” Vatican spokesman Greg Burke said after the 15 minutes of talks, which were followed by an exchange of gifts. Francis presented the general with a commemorative medal of his visit, and Min Aung Hlaing gave the pope a harp in the shape of a boat and an ornate rice bowl, Burke said. Members of ethnic minority groups in traditional dress welcomed Francis at Yangon airport, and children presented him with flowers as he stepped off his plane. Only about 700,000 of Myanmar’s 51 million people are Roman Catholic. Thousands of them traveled by train and bus to Yangon, and they joined crowds at several roadside points along the way from the airport to see the pope. “We come here to see the Holy Father. It happens once in hundreds of years,” said Win Min Set, a community leader who brought a group of 1,800 Catholics from the south and west of the country. “He is very knowledgeable when
SOE ZEYA TUN | REUTERS
A Catholic faithful who travelled from Kachin state to meet Pope Francis, takes a shower in St Anthony’s Parish in Yangon, Myanmar, Nov. 25.
MAX ROSSI | REUTERS
A girl embraces Pope Francis as he arrives at Yangon International Airport, Myanmar, on Nov. 27.
it comes to political affairs. He will handle the issue smartly,” he said, referring to the sensitivity of the pope’s discussions about the Rohingya. The trip is so delicate that some papal advisers have warned Francis against even saying the word “Rohingya,” lest he set off a diplomatic incident that could turn the country’s military and government against minority Christians. The Rohingya exodus from Rakhine state to Bangladesh’s southern tip began at the end of August, when Rohingya militants attacked security posts and the Myanmar army launched a counter-offensive. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson last week called the military operation “ethnic cleansing” and threatened targeted sanctions for “horrendous atrocities.” Myanmar does not recognize the Rohingya as citizens, and it even rejects the term “Rohingya” and its use. Francis is expected to meet a group of Rohingya refugees in Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh, on the second leg of his trip. The most tense moments of his visit were expected to be the pri-
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vate meeting with the army chief and, separately, with civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Tuesday. Asked if he would say it in Myanmar, Burke said Francis was taking the advice he had been given seriously, but added: “We will find out together during the trip ... it is not a forbidden word.” A hardline group of Buddhist monks, previously known as Ma Ba Tha, said it welcomed the pope’s visit but warned, without elaborating, of “a response” if he spoke openly about the Rohingya. “I hope he doesn’t touch on sensitive issues that Myanmar people couldn’t accept,” said Tawparka, a spokesman for the group, who goes by a single name. “There’s no problem if he talks about Islam, but it’s unacceptable if he speaks about Rohingya and extreme terrorists.” Amnesty International said the Rohingya and Muslims generally in Rakhine State had been subjected to “systemic social and political exclusion” for decades and accused the military of “crimes against humanity” in the last two years including murder, rape torture and forcible displacement.
EMILIO KUZMA-FLOYD | REUTERS
Mount Agung volcano is seen spewing smoke and ash in Bali, Indonesia, Nov. 26.
ANDREW KELLY | REUTERS
People sing carols in the Macy’s Singing Christmas Tree on 6th Avenue during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in Manhattan, New York, Nov. 23.
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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2017
JEREMY BREVARD | USA TODAY SPORTS
Wake Forest coach Danny Manning looks on with guards Chaundee Brown (23) and Keyshawn Woods (1) in the second half of the Demon Deacons’ 79-66 loss to Liberty on Nov. 14 at Joel Coliseum. Wake Forest was 2-4 heading in to Tuesday night’s Big Ten/ACC Challenge home game against Illinois.
the Wednesday SIDELINE REPORT
SPORTS
Despite slow start, Wake Forest extends Manning
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Fourth-year coach gets a new deal as he tries to steer struggling Deacons
Duke stays atop poll, UNC down to No. 13 Duke remained the nation’s top team in Monday’s AP poll, earning all 65 first-place votes after winning four games last week, including a three-game sweep in the Motion bracket of Nike’s PK80 Invitational. North Carolina slid to 13th after losing in the Victory bracket final to Michigan State after wins over Portland and Arkansas. Most surprising was Arizona, who went from No. 2 to out of the poll after losing three straight, including a 90-84 loss to NC State in the Bahamas last Wednesday.
COLLEGE SOCCER
Duke women get UCLA in College Cup semifinal game The Duke Blue Devils outscored their opponents 15-0 in four games en route to the 2017 Women’s College Cup in Orlando, Fla. Duke plays UCLA in the semifinal game Friday, with the winner playing the team that advances from the other semifinal between Stanford and South Carolina in Sunday’s title game.
Tar Heels, Deacons aim for men’s College Cup spot Wake Forest and North Carolina each play Saturday for a spot in the NCAA Men’s College Cup final four in Philadelphia — and a chance to face each other for a spot in the title game. Wake Forest hosts Stanford in Winston-Salem at 5 p.m., while UNC will play Fordham in Cary at 6 p.m. The following semifinal games will be held Dec. 8, with the champioship matchup on Dec. 10
By Brett Friedlander North State Journal
Blue Devils against their own end zone. It was the third time in the game that Maggio’s punts had put Duke inside its own 10-yard line. Duke ran a quarterback sneak, a short, safe sideline pass and a quarterback draw, which gained all of three combined yards. The Blue Devils punted, giving Wake possession on the Duke 43. One play later, the Deacs scored a touchdown. “Field position is good and it’s always nice to give your defense some room back there and try to create some safeties and make the offense for Duke travel a long way,” Maggio said afterward. The sequence highlights the benefit of one of the most maligned plays in college football — the punt
THE TIMING might have seemed strange with the Wake Forest basketball team having already lost games to lightweights Georgia Southern, Liberty and Drake to start the season. But athletic director Ron Wellman was looking at a much bigger picture than just a handful of games in November when he decided to sign coach Danny Manning to a contract extension. “Danny is attracting highly rated and quality young men to our program and he has proven his ability to develop that talent,” Wellman said Saturday in a statement announcing the unexpected move. “Our program will continue to improve, and we will realize the lofty goals that we have for the program.” Manning checked one of those goals off last season, his third in Winston-Salem, when he led the Deacons to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2010. Although their stay there didn’t last long after losing to Kansas State in the “First Four,” it was a definite sign of progress that was reinforced earlier this month with the signing of a 2018 recruiting class ranked among the nation’s top 10. In the meantime, though, Manning’s current team has taken a noticeable step backward at 2-4 entering Tuesday’s ACC/Big Ten Challenge matchup against Illinois. It’s a team that has some talented pieces, especially in the backcourt, but is still in the process of finding an identity after losing star sophomore big man John Collins to the NBA draft and veteran stretch four Dinos Mitoglou to a professional team in his home country of Greece. “We are not a good team right now. We have to get better,” Manning said after a 79-66 loss to Liberty on Nov. 14. “We have to come into practice every day with our hard hats on and our lunch pails. We have to quit feeling sorry for ourselves and get better. That’s the only way to get out of the situation that we’re in now.”
See PUNTING, page B4
See WAKE FOREST, page B4
BOB DONNAN | USA TODAY SPORTS
UNC punter Hunter Lent has his punt blocked by Miami during the Hurricanes’ 24-19 win Oct. 28 at Kenan Memorial Stadium.
Punt or gamble: How ACC coaches think about fourth down Fans want teams to go for it on fourth, but what do the numbers say? By Shawn Krest North State Journal IN HIS regular-season finale, Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson found his team stalled in no-man’s land. The Demon Deacons faced fourth-and-8 from the Duke 37, and none of Clawson’s options were good. A 54-yard field goal seemed a bit of a stretch. Going for it risked giving the Blue Devils a short field. So Clawson went the safe route. He punted. Dom Maggio placed the ball at the 2-yard line, pinning the
— Danny Manning, Wake Forest coach
INSIDE The ACC and Big Ten meet this week in their annual cross-conference battle for supremacy. The ACC/Big Ten Challenge started in 1999 and the ACC won the first 10 meetings and holds an 11-5-2 edge in the series. The Big Ten, however, was 5-0-2 in the seven years after the ACC’s decade of dominance until the ACC reclaimed the title last year. Wake Forest hosted Illinois late Tuesday, while on Wednesday Duke travels to Indiana, UNC takes on visiting Michigan, and NC State returns home to play Penn State. B3
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Miami, Clemson play for ACC title Two one-loss teams will meet Saturday in Charlotte for the ACC title — and likely a spot in the College Football Playoff. Clemson jumped to No. 1 in the AP poll this week, thanks in part to Miami’s upset loss Friday at Pittsburgh. The Hurricanes, now No. 7 in the poll, could regain a spot in the top four with a win over the Tigers (8 p.m., ABC).
“We have to quit feeling sorry for ourselves and get better.”
ROB KINNAN | USA TODAY SPORTS
Grayson Allen, left, and the Blue Devils travel to Indiana to play the Hoosiers on Wednesday in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Duke is undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the country.
North State Journal for Wednesday, November 29, 2017
B2 WEDNESDAY
11.29.17
TRENDING
Greg Olsen: The Panthers tight end, who made his long-awaited return to the lineup on Sunday after an eight-week absence due to a broken foot, is listed as day-to-day after he was forced out in the second quarter of Carolina’s 35-27 win over the Jets with soreness. Olsen, 32, had his surgically repaired right foot checked out by noted orthopedic foot specialist Dr. Robert Anderson in Charlotte on Monday, and tests came back negative.
Greg Schiano: The Ohio State defensive coordinator, in line to be the next coach at Tennessee, backed out after Volunteers fans lashed out in protests and on social media, seemingly dissatisfied with choice and also Schiano’s ties to Penn State. Schiano was a defensive assistant with the Nittany Lions when Jerry Sandusky, now imprisoned after being convicted of 45 counts of sexual abuse, was the school’s defensive coordinator under longtime coach Joe Paterno.
Chip Kelly: After stops in Philadelphia and San Francisco of the NFL, the former Oregon football coach is back where he belongs — in college football. UCLA, which fired Jim Mora after his second straight losing season, reportedly gave Kelly a five-year, $23.3 million contract to return to the familiar Pac-12 and lead the Bruins. Kelly, 54, will visit Oregon next season when UCLA plays in Eugene on Nov. 3. Kelly credited Duke coach David Cutcliffe with helping him choose the best fit in picking the Bruins over a perceived higher-profile job at Florida.
beyond the box score POTENT QUOTABLES
NFL
Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly returned a fumble for the go-ahead touchdown in the Panthers’ 35-27 win over the New York Jets on Sunday at MetLife Stadium. Kaelin Clay then returned a punt for a touchdown to provide insurance for Carolina (8-3), which won its fourth game in a row to set up a first-place showdown in the NFC South with the Saints next week in New Orleans.
JAMES GUILLORY | USA TODAY SPORTS
“I said, ‘You own this guy?’ And he said, ‘Yeah, I do.’” Hurricanes coach Bill Peters on asking forward Sebastian Aho if he felt confident taking a shootout attempt Sunday against Nashville goalie, and fellow Finn, Juuse Saros. Aho scored and Carolina won in the shootout.
ED MULHOLLAND | USA TODAY SPORTS
NBA
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
JAIME VALDEZ | USA TODAY SPORTS
“I did a poor job coaching, getting my team ready, of any game I’ve ever coached.” UNC coach Roy Williams after the Tar Heels lost a sloppy game to Michigan State in the final game of the PK80 Invitational’s Victory Bracket.
NBA
1 Road win for the Charlotte Hornets so far this season. The Hornets are 1-8 away from Spectrum Center — compared to 7-3 at home — and haven’t won a road game since their second game of the season, a 108‑106 win in Detroit on Oct. 4. Charlotte has averaged nearly 10 points less on the road than at home this season (110 to 100.2), and only Chicago (1-10) has a worse road record than the road-weary Hornets.
JEREMY BREVARD | USA TODAY SPORTS
KEN BLAZE | USA TODAY SPORTS
Duke’s David Cutcliffe reportedly has no interest in the University of Tennessee coaching vacancy. The Volunteers have reached out to their former offensive coordinator, sources told ESPN, but the 63-year-old coach told them he wanted to finish his career in Durham. Cutcliffe had two stints as an assistant in Knoxville.
Hornets center Dwight Howard was fined $35,000 for making an obscene gesture toward Cavaliers fans druing Charlotte’s 100-99 loss at Cleveland last Friday. It was the seventh time — second this season — Howard has been fined by the NBA, totaling $175,000. Howard has also had five one-game suspensions in his career.
GOLF
Golf’s biggest name is attempting another comeback, and early reports have him pain-free and returning to form. Tiger Woods, derailed by back injuries for more than three years, will make his latest comeback attempt at the Hero World Challenge this week in the Bahamas. It will be the first competitive golf for Woods in nine months — he had a fourth back surgery in April — and he said this week, “I don’t have the pain. Life is so much better.” KYLE TERADA | USA TODAY SPORTS
Always Dry. Always Comfortable.
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North State Journal for Wednesday, November 29, 2017
B3
Appalachian State to play for share of Sun Belt title Mountaineers clinch second straight crown with a win By Shawn Krest North State Journal
KEVIN JAIRAJ | USA TODAY SPORTS
NC State guard Lavar Batts Jr. shoots against Tennessee during the 2017 Battle 4 Atlantis in Imperial Arena at the Atlantis Resort. The Wolfpack will try to bounce back at home against Penn State in the ACC/ Big Ten Challenge after two straight losses.
ACC wants to flex muscles against Big Ten in Challenge Annual matchup gives early-season best conference bragging rights By Brett Friedlander North State Journal THE BASKETBALL TEAMS at Duke, North Carolina and NC State all learned a lot about themselves during their Thanksgiving tournament travels last week. Now they’ll get a chance to start putting those lessons to practical use while representing their conference as part of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. The annual event, which matches teams from the nation’s top two college leagues in a series of games each November, got underway Tuesday with the ACC taking an early 2-0 lead behind wins from Syracuse and Virginia. Wake Forest played later on Tuesday, against Illinois in Winston-Salem. Wednesday’s featured schedule includes Duke at Indiana in a rare true road nonconference game for the top-ranked Blue Devils, while UNC and State are at home with the Tar Heels taking on Michigan and the Wolfpack playing Penn
State. The ACC leads the all-time series against the Big Ten 11-5-2, but last year’s 9-6 victory was the conference’s first since its 10-year winning streak ended in 2008. Here is a breakdown of the Wednesday matchups involving state teams: Duke at Indiana, 9:30 p.m., ESPN: The Blue Devils won the Motion bracket of the PK80 tournament in Portland, Ore., last weekend, but it was anything but easy. Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s freshman-dominated team had to rally from a 16-point deficit to beat Texas in overtime to advance to Sunday’s championship game. It then went one better by roaring back from 17 points down in the final 10 minutes to take out Florida for the title. In doing so, freshman star Marvin Bagley III and the Blue Devils showed that they have plenty of heart to go along with all that raw talent. They’ll have another chance to show it against a Hoosiers team that has suffered lopsided losses to Indiana State and Seton Hall on the way to a 4-2 start under new coach and former NC State point
guard Archie Miller. UNC vs. Michigan, 7:30 p.m., ESPN: The Tar Heels went 3-1 on their West Coast road trip, but that one loss — a 63-45 walloping at the hands of Michigan State — was an eye-opening experience for coach Roy Williams’ defending national champs. UNC set school records for futility by shooting just 24.6 percent from the floor and making only one of its 18 3-point attempts against the Spartans. The Tar Heels (5-1) look to get back on track against a big Michigan team that will try to slow the pace, force the Tar Heels into a halfcourt game and take advantage of its inexperience inside. NC State vs. Penn State, 7 p.m., ESPNU: The Wolfpack made headlines at the Battle 4 Atlantis by beating then-No. 2 Arizona in the opening round, but that victory was devalued by the Wildcats also losing their next two games in the Bahamas. State, meanwhile, also sputtered while losing to Northern Iowa and Tennessee. In the process, though, coach Kevin Keatts may have found an unexpected star in freshman point guard Braxton Beverly. But he also learned that his team has a lot of work to do on both ends of the floor in its halfcourt sets. Depending on which version of the Wolfpack shows up, State (5-2) should be favored against the Nittany Lions (6-1), but Penn State has a history of playing well in the ACC/Big 10 challenge, having won in each of the past three years.
UNC youth served despite down season
’Tis the season to predict bowls NSJ takes its best guess on where ACC teams will play in the postseason By Shawn Krest North State Journal
Tar Heels, mired by injuries, finished 3-9 but gained valuable experience By Brett Friedlander North State Journal M.J. STEWART had an opportunity to join several of his North Carolina football teammates in the NFL Draft last spring. But he decided instead to return for his senior season “to come back and end on a bang.” The star cornerback said he has no regrets about his choice, even though his career and the Tar Heels’ season ended with more of a whimper than a bang. In fact, his comments following Saturday’s 33-21 loss at NC State were remarkably upbeat for a player whose team had just suffered through a 3-9 disaster in which virtually everything that could go wrong did go wrong. “I’m so proud of the team,” Stewart said. “I can’t be any happier right now. Even when we lost, we fought. That’s all you can ask.” While that might sound like a classic case of declaring victory to avoid the pain of admitting defeat, Stewart and his teammates actually do have reason to glean at least something positive from an otherwise lost season. As bad as 2017 might have been, it could have been worse once things began to fly off the rails amid a rash of injuries that saw 21 players — many of them starters — sidelined for Saturday’s finale at Carter-Finley Stadium. But instead of simply going through the motions once the goals of a winning season and bowl bid became unreachable, the Tar Heels responded by digging in and playing their best football of the year. After hitting rock bottom with a 59-7 embarrassment at the hands of Virginia Tech, coach Larry Fedora’s team nearly beat Coastal Division champion Miami before winning two of its final three games to create some momentum
THERE’S NO conference championship game in the Sun Belt, at least not until next season. While the other conferences crown their champion on the first Saturday of December, however, the Sun Belt will be doing the same. A wild title race saw a fourteam tie heading into Thanksgiving weekend, with a chance of a five-way tie at the top. Last week brought a great deal of clarity to the picture. Two teams — Georgia State and Louisiana-Lafayette — were eliminated in the penultimate game. Now, one of the few questions remaining is whether Appalachian State will get a share of the championship. After beating Georgia State on Saturday in a battle of firstplace teams, the Mountaineers are one of three teams at the top of the Sun Belt with a 6-1 conference record. The other two — Troy and Arkansas State — play each other on Saturday. The winner gets a ring. In Boone, App State will also have a shot at a ring. If the Mountaineers beat Louisiana, they’ll tie the Troy-Arkansas State winner for the crown. An App loss means the winner of the showdown in Jonesboro is the sole champion. “It’s championship week coming up for us,” said Appalachian State coach Scott Satterfield, immediately after the Mountaineers led wire-to-wire in a 3110 blowout of Georgia State. “We know what’s at stake here, with Lafayette coming into Boone
CHARLES LECLAIRE | USA TODAY SPORTS
The experience gained by players like quarterback Nathan Elliott during a diffcult 3-9 season should pay off down the road for the Tar Heels.
heading into the offseason. “You build each week, and we got better as the season went on,” freshman running back Michael Carter said. “It was really all about the experience. For me, individually, I learned a lot this year — things you can do, things you can’t do. I’m excited for what’s ahead.” If there’s a silver lining to the dark cloud that hung over UNC this season it’s that its young players might be farther along in their development than they might otherwise be because of the adversity that pressed them into service before they were ready. Among them are Carter, who averaged 5.8 yards per carry and led the team in rushing touchdowns with eight, sophomore wide receiver Anthony Ratliff-Williams, who developed into a versatile weapon on both ends of the passing game and special teams, and ball-hawking freshman safety Myles Wolfolk, who recorded 32 tackles and two interceptions. Fedora and his staff also got good long looks at young quarterbacks Chazz Surratt and Nathan Elliott, both of whom had flashes of success despite the handicap of in-
experience and playing behind a less-than-stellar offensive line. Their performances under game conditions will go a long way toward helping Fedora determine where his program stands and what it needs to do to get back on a winning course. “You can look at it two ways,” said Elliott, who started the final three games, throwing for 925 yards and 10 touchdowns with five interceptions “Obviously, it’s very frustrating to not be winning as many games as you want to win. Another way is that it gave a lot of guys opportunities this year, a lot of younger guys who were given forced reps, which I think is going to pay off in the end.” One thing Fedora said he won’t do is change his basic coaching philosophy because of one bad season, complicated by an unprecedented epidemic of injuries. “We’ll go back and evaluate everything, everything that we do in this program,” he said. “We never stop doing that. We’ll try to tweak things to make them better. Hopefully, we’re going to get a bunch of guys healed up and then we’ll be ready to go.”
next week. We’re so excited and ready to get on the practice field right now.” With a chance to wrap up a share of its second straight league title at home, App State is having trouble waiting for game day to arrive. “It’s Senior Night, so there’s going to be a lot of energy,” said senior safety A.J. Howard, who had a 61-yard interception return to the 5-yard line last week. “We just have to approach this game the same way — approach it like we did this week, with a chip on our shoulder.” App State looked like a team on a mission last week. The team shut down star receiver Penny Hart and shredded a Georgia State defense that hadn’t allowed a 100-yard rusher all year. Jalin Moore rushed for 239 yards, and App State racked up a season-high 323 yards on the ground. “I’m proud of the team and the way we prepared the last three weeks,” Satterfield said. The win earned the Mountaineers a chance to play for the title on Championship Saturday. In their way is a Louisiana-Lafayette team that will be playing for a chance to become bowl eligible. While the Ragin’ Cajuns rank near the bottom of the conference in most defensive categories, the offense could give App State a shootout. Louisiana is led by running back Trey Ragas — the Sun Belt’s sixth leading rusher — and quarterback Jordan Davis. The Mountaineers will be ready. “We’ve just got to make sure we come with a good game plan,” said linebacker Anthony Flory. “Our coach is going to give us something good to work with, something fun to work with.”
LAST WEEKEND made a very confusing ACC bowl picture much clearer. Miami’s loss to Pitt likely means that the ACC will get one team into the Playoff — the winner of this Saturday’s ACC Championship Game in Charlotte. The consensus of the major national media outlets’ bowl projections is that Clemson is bound for a CFP matchup — likely with Wisconsin — in the Sugar Bowl. Miami will head to the Orange Bowl, where it will likely play Alabama, whose loss to Auburn last weekend could knock it out of the Playoff. Neither of those are a sure thing. Of the seven projections we surveyed (CBSSports’ Jerry Palm, Sports Illustrated, SB Nation, ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura, ESPN’s David Hale, Sporting News and Bleacher Report) five have Clemson-Wisconsin in the Sugar. But Alabama and Auburn were also listed as possible foes for the Tigers. All seven had Miami in the Orange, but Wisconsin, Penn State and Ohio State are potential replacements for Alabama. We’ll go with the consensus, however: Sugar: Clemson-Wisconsin Orange: Miami-Alabama After that, it’s anyone’s guess. After the major bowls are set, the next bowl to choose in the ACC pecking order is Orlando’s Camping World Bowl. Notre Dame’s loss to Stanford in the season finale likely means the Irish will fall from the New Year’s bowls into the ACC’s bowl pool, in which case, they’d be the choice here. (Although Sporting News still has the Irish going to the Cotton). Of course, if Miami does get Wisconsin, Penn State or Ohio State, then, due to an oddity in the ACC’s bowl process, Notre Dame could go to the Citrus
Bowl. That would free up NC State or Virginia Tech to go to Camping World. Based on our projection of Miami’s opponent, the Citrus would be off the table. So we’re projecting: Camping World: Notre DameIowa State Next up are the four Tier One bowls: Belk, Sun, Pinstripe and either Gator/TaxSlayer or Music City. Each of the latter two bowls are guaranteed three ACC teams over a six-year period. Music City has already chosen an ACC team twice, so we’re predicting that an ACC team is headed to Jacksonville instead of Nashville. Most likely those four slots will be filled by (in some order) NC State, Virginia Tech, Louisville and Wake Forest. The first three have been in the Belk Bowl each of the last three years, so the consensus is that Wake is headed for Charlotte against an SEC foe. Kentucky is a popular choice from the national projections, but the Kentucky-Louisville basketball game tips off during the Belk Bowl, so that wouldn’t be a wise choice for ticket sales or ratings. Belk: Wake Forest-Texas A&M Taxslayer: NC State-LSU Sun: Louisville-Arizona State Pinstripe: Virginia TechPurdue After that comes Tier Two Bowls, who pick in the following order: Military: Virginia-Navy Independence: Florida StateSouthern Miss (assuming no SEC team is available to play the Noles) Quick Lane: Duke-Central Michigan (assuming no Big Ten team is available) Petersburg: Boston CollegeFlorida Atlantic Outside of the ACC, there’s one other North Carolina team worth watching when the bowl pairings are announced. Cure Bowl: Appalachian StateTemple
North State Journal for Wednesday, November 29, 2017
B4
Former Wingate punter Chris Brewer working to kick cancer School record holder honored by NFL for cancer fight By Shawn Krest North State Journal THE BIGGEST hit Wingate coach Joe Reich ever witnessed came on Oct. 11, 2003. No one was tackled or blocked off their feet. The only impact came from the ball and punter Chris Brewer’s foot. “I was on the sideline,” said Reich, who just completed his 18th year as head coach. “I’m in charge of the punt team. He was punting from our own end zone, and I turned away for a second. Somebody asked me a question just as the ball was snapped.” That meant Reich didn’t get to see the hit in question, just hear it. “When he hit the ball,” Reich said, “you could hear the foot on the ball and the crowd go like, ‘Ohhhh!’ I’ve never heard anything like the sound of the ball coming off his foot and the reaction of the crowd.” The result was an 89-yard punt which still stands as the Wingate school record, 23 yards longer than anything else. “Normally, when you punt a ball that far, you line-drive it, and it rolls,” Reich said. “It went 70 or so yards in the air. I heard the sound and looked up, and … I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. The ball hit inside the opponent’s 20 and rolled to like the 4-yard line.” In addition to punting, Brewer was also the Wingate kicker. He holds the school record for longest field goal as well. “I remember, his senior year at West Virginia Wesleyan,” Reich said. “He had the (record) 55-yarder, and a 47-yarder (the second-longest field goal in school history) and two other field goals in the same game.”
Brewer’s powerful leg impressed then Panthers kicker John Kasay. “I don’t remember how we hooked it up, but Chris and John ended up getting together and kicking,” Reich recalled. “John called me up afterward and was like, ‘That kid has as good a leg as anybody in the league right now. This kid is just unbelievable.’” Brewer never kicked in the NFL. He had a brief preseason stint with the Edmonton Eskimos in the CFL. He spent time in the Arena League and other minor leagues, but, aside from a few scouting visits, the NFL never came calling. “I just wish we had the connections with pro teams back then that we do now,” Reich said, “because that kid could have been a pro.” Soon after graduating, Brewer set football aside to focus on the rest of his life. Ironically, his post-football life was what led to him getting honored on the field at an NFL game. “Last January, I started feeling a lump in my neck,” Brewer said in his Survivor Story video. “Two months later, I noticed it was getting larger. So I went to the doctor, and she asked me one question: ‘Have you ever had night sweats?’ I said I had, and she left the room immediately.” When she returned, she had two referrals and a painful either-or for Brewer. “She said it was one of two things: Hodgkin’s or non-Hodgkin’s,” he recalled. “She gave me a slip to a place where I could get a CAT scan and a slip to go get blood work.” It was Hodgkin’s, and Brewer began treatment in April 2016. “Luckily, it was Stage I,” he said. “I went through eight rounds of chemo and three weeks — 15 days — of radiation. Hands down, the scariest time of my life. I’ve lost a father to cancer and two grandparents. We didn’t have a survivor
WAKE FOREST from page B1
PHOTO COURTESY OF WINGATE UNIVERSITY
Chris Brewer holds the Wingate school record for longest punt (89 yards) and longest field goal (55 yards).
“I’ve lost a father to cancer and two grandparents. We didn’t have a survivor story in our family.” — Chris Brewer story in our family.” Brewer credited the support from his football family, as well as his wife and two young daughters, for helping him get through it. “Playing at Wingate, that community, really helped me,” he said. “Being in athletics, even aside from cancer, is one of the things that made me a fighter in everything I do.” Reich offered support to Brewer and used him as an example to his current team. “He always worked so hard,” Reich recalled. “I remember one time, they were doing hills. We have this really, really steep hill next to our game field. He’s not just running
up the hill. He’s doing multiple reps, going up sideways, shuffling up, going up backward.” Brewer put that work ethic to use during his cancer fight. “One time on Facebook, he put up a picture of his (birthday) cake,” Reich said. “In frosting, it said, ‘F*** Cancer!’ I showed that to my team. That’s what you do. You fight.” Brewer has been cancer-free for more than seven months. In early October for a home game against the Carolina Panthers, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers honored him for his fight against the disease. He got to go onto the field and join other survivors to form a giant pink ribbon during a special halftime ceremony. Brewer plans to continue taking an active role in the fight. “I want to give back to the cancer community,” he said after the ceremony. “I want to raise awareness, raise funds, so a cure can be found in my lifetime.” If anyone could help kick cancer, it’s the guy with the powerful leg.
Hurricanes’ road to postseason comes with travel
briefly for a Saturday game against Florida at PNC Arena before embarking on the five-game West Coast swing and then a stop in Buffalo. Then, another game at home (Columbus again; it will be the fourth meeting between the teams in the season’s first 10 weeks) be-
fore stops in Toronto (Dec. 19) and Nashville (Dec. 21). The Hurricanes are then home for the holidays with a Dec. 23 game against Buffalo, followed by post-Christmas matchups in Raleigh with the Canadiens (Dec. 27) and defending champion Penguins (Dec. 29). It sounds daunting, but there is a sliver lining. Carolina has been as good on the road (5-4-1) if not better than at home (5-4-3) to start the season. Furthermore, many of the teams it will face out west in December have struggled at home. Vegas (9-1 at home) and Nashville (8-1-1) are two of the league’s best home teams, but Los Angeles (7-5-2), San Jose (7-6-1), Anaheim (6-7-2) and Vancouver (3-5-3) have surrendered at least two points in half of their home games this season. Among their Eastern Conference opponents during this stretch, the Hurricanes have already proven this season they can win in Toronto (6-3 on Oct. 26), Columbus (3-1 win on Nov. 10) and Buffalo (also 3-1, on Nov. 18), and will surely want to pay back the Rangers for the 6-1 thumping they endured last Wednesday. It’s a difficult road ahead but one that is not as daunting as it first seems. At least not for a playoff team.
on punts in ACC games this year. Compare that to 183 punts downed inside the 10, and teams have a 67 percent success rate at pinning their opponents. Even if the punter fails and gives up a touchback, offenses starting on the 20-yard line after a punt scored just 1.6 points on that drive. While pinning a team deep can produce more points than a field goal, the prospects for an actual field goal attempt aren’t all that promising. ACC games saw field goal kickers succeed 75 percent of the time, meaning that a kick from no-man’s land will give a team an average of 2.2 points. However, teams taking possession after a missed field goal scored an average of 2.6 points on that drive, thanks to field position and a likely letdown from the team that missed the kick. Even taking into account the fact that teams don’t miss that often, a field goal attempt only produces an advantage of about two-thirds of a point for the kicking team. In other words, it’s often better to call the punter’s number in that situation. When an offense faces the deci-
sion Clawson did, however, fans in the stands and at home alike want nothing more than for the coach to go for it. A successful fourth down attempt can certainly boost an offense. Teams that successfully converted a fourth down on the middle half of the field (between the 25 yard lines) scored an average of 3.5 points on those drives. And going for it in that situation succeeded 150 out of 250 times — a 60 percent success rate. Giving it up on downs is a risk. Teams that took over on downs in the middle half of the field scored 2.4 points on that drive, meaning that going for it produces about a 1.2 point advantage. So, what’s the right thing to do? From a sheer numbers perspective, going for it has a slim advantage over punting, but it’s far from the no-brainer that fans and analysts often think. Keeping the offense on the field will net a team about 1.2 points, compared to 0.8 points for punting deep and 0.7 for trotting out the field goal unit. Of course, you could always run a fake…
The Hurricanes will need both of their goalies Scott Darling (33) and Cam Ward (30), to play well in order to have a successful run through Christmas.
Carolina needs wins away from PNC Arena during December By Cory Lavalette North State Journal RALEIGH — Counting Tuesday’s game in Columbus, the Carolina Hurricanes will play 10 of their 13 games before Christmas on the road, a stretch that could determine if coach Bill Peters’ team has what it takes to snap an eight-season playoff drought. It won’t be easy. Based on points percentage through Monday night’s games, all but five of those games will be against teams currently in a playoff position. Heading into the Blue Jackets game Tuesday, Carolina was sitting at 24 points in 22 games and five points behind Metropolitan Division foes Washington and Pittsburgh for the two wild card spots. The Rangers, who will host the Hurricanes Friday at Madison Square Garden, are actually ahead of both the Penguins and Capitals based on points percentage, given that they have games in hand on both teams. The Bruins held a 10-
PUNTING from page B1 after crossing the 50. It’s not as sexy as going for it, but more often than not, the safe call is the right one. That’s because the value of pinning a team deep is so much higher than the payoff from the other options. “Anything that you snap inside the 5-yard line, mathematically, gives you a negative point total,” said Duke coach David Cutcliffe. “That yard line, if you do the math, is assigned a minus .7 — that’s how hard it is.” A look at every possession in a game involving ACC teams this year shows that Cutcliffe’s numbers hold up. Offenses that started inside their 10-yard line due to a punt scored an average of 1.4 points. However, the team that punted them there scored an average of 2.2 on their next possession, either due to one of the 11 turnovers in the red zone that resulted from those situations, or the seven safeties, or improved position from flipping the field. In other words, punting a team deep will gave ACC teams a 0.8
JAMES GUILLORY | USA TODAY SPORTS
8-4 record, identical to Carolina’s, coming out of Thanksgiving weekend. December includes a season-long road trip that starts in Vancouver next Tuesday and ends Dec. 15 in Buffalo. It’s a stretch of six games in 11 nights that includes
only one set of back-to-backs (Dec. 11 in Anaheim, followed the next night by Carolina’s first trip to Vegas), so despite the prolonged trip, the Hurricanes have little to complain to the schedule makers about. Carolina returns home
Success rate
Opponent points
Decision team points
Punt and pin them deep
67%
1.40
2.15
0.75
Kick a field goal
75%
2.63
2.25
0.66
Go for it
60%
2.37
3.51
1.16
point advantage on the ensuing possession. The impact on the pinned offense is significant, as Duke’s play calling against Wake showed. “You don’t want to turn the ball over,” Cutcliffe said. “You’re not taking risks with the passing game. Most people either throw it really deep or throw it really quick. Sacks, a hold in the end zone, turnovers, a strip, all of it is so costly.” Offenses downshift from attack to survival mode when pinned deep. “If you start a drive (pinned deep), the only goal that I focus on is two first downs. If we can get two first downs, that’s a successful drive, because we can flip the field ourselves.”
Advantage
In ACC games this year, when the pinned team failed to get a first down, the advantage improved from 0.8 points to 3.1. In other words, pinning a team deep and keeping them there is more advantageous than a successful field goal attempt. While the offense treads water, the defense smells blood. “On defense, flip all that I just said around,” Cutcliffe said. “You’ve got a chance to win the game, man. You want to talk intensity.” It’s also not as hard to pin a team as it might seem. While fans remember the punts from the 40 that roll into the end zone, netting a team about 20 yards of field position, there were just 89 touchbacks
With the security of a newly extended contract, Manning, who has a 45-56 record at Wake, can afford to be patient with his Deacons and not resort to looking for a quick fix. Although details of the new deal were not released by the school, KUSports.com, a website that covers Manning’s alma mater Kansas, has reported it is for six years through the 2024-25 season. Among the Deacons’ most glaring deficiencies thus far has been defense and rebounding. Through their first six games, they rank dead last in the ACC allowing 74.8 points per game and are last in defensive rebounds at 22.8. Their rebounding margin of 0.2 (205 for, 204 against) is 13th best among the league’s 15 teams. “We can’t live through our offense,” Manning said recently. “Too many of our guys have that mindset when it needs to be the other way around. We need to be able to create some offense from our defense. “We play good first-shot defense and then we turn around and we look and we wait for Dinos Mitoglou and John Collins to fly in and get off a plane and come get a rebound. That’s not happening.” There is hope, thanks to the play of 7-foot-1 junior Doral Moore, that the situation could improve as the season goes on. Moore contributed 17 points and 17 rebounds in just 25 minutes of the Liberty loss then added 17 more points and seven boards in an 81-75 win against UNC Greensboro last week. Despite the emphasis on the big picture and a future that appears to be bright, Manning said that he and his staff are working as hard as ever to turn things around this season. “It’s going to come from us, and then it will trickle down through them,” he said. “We’ll continue to coach, and we’ll continue to challenge, motivate, prod or whatever we need to do to get that motivation, to get that level of play that we need.”
WEDNESDAY
11.29.17
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A howling good time with Miss NC, Page 6
the good life IN A NORTH STATE OF MIND
play list
Nov. 29-Dec. 3 21st Annual Festival of Trees The Carolina Hotel, Pinehurst The 21st Annual Festival of Trees will feature more than 200 beautifully decorated holiday trees as well as wreaths, gingerbread houses and gift baskets. Make these ornate items a part of your holiday décor through online bidding on the auction website. Admission at the door is by monetary donation with all event proceeds benefitting children in the Sandhills with disabilities.
Nov. 30-Dec. 3 The Best Christmas Pageant Ever Cape Fear Regional Theatre, Fayetteville Make one of Fayetteville’s holiday traditions one of your own with this classic, yet hilarious, Christmas pageant. The whole family is sure to enjoy. Admission is $10-$15 and show times are available on the event website.
Dec. 1 57th Annual Graham Christmas Parade
PHOTOS BY EAMON QUEENEY | NORTH STATE JOURNAL
Emily Neville, president and founder of Reborn Clothing Co., poses for a photograph at the Entrepreneurship Garage in Innovation Hall on North Carolina State University’s Centennial Campus, on Nov. 28. Founded and run by NC State students, Reborn takes consumers’ textile waste and repurposes it into new products.
Retelling a fashion story
Christmas On the Sound Tree Lighting & Flotilla South Broad Street, Edenton Enjoy holiday carols, train rides and a visit with Santa at the Christmas tree lighting beginning at 5:30 p.m. Then watch as decorated boats light up the Edenton Bay in a flotilla parade or choose to enter your own boat in the parade for a grand prize winner.
Reborn Clothing Co. brings old clothes back to life as new items By Laura Ashley Lamm North State Journal RALEIGH — Every piece of clothing has a story. Maybe it’s the old New Kids on the Block concert T-shirt from 1988, the jersey from a Little League sports team, the denim jacket that took two months to save for, or grandfather’s flannel shirt. These clothes tell your story, and now there’s a unique way to turn them into something new while still holding close to your memories. There’s a way to help them be reborn. “Many people own clothing of personal and nostalgic value,” said Emily Neville. “Instead of sitting in the back of a closet, there are ways to turn them into something new, that can be used in a sustainable way,” Neville, 19, of Linden, is a sophomore at NC State University. She’s a Park Scholar majoring in political science with a double minor in entrepreneurship and French. She’s also the CEO of Reborn Clothing Co. The company, run by Neville and fellow NC State students, is geared toward reducing textile waste by taking your favorite clothing items and repurposing them into items such as laptop sleeves or tote bags, updates to your blue jeans and roll-up pencil or makeup brush cases. “Before I launched Reborn Clothing Co., I started having a real interest in sustainable and ethical fashion,” said Neville. “I wondered how clothes were made and had a shift in attitude toward sustainability. “The thing that I had been doing in my own closet for years — updating items and transforming them into something else I could use — there was nothing like that on the market,” she added. “I think, because of my entrepreneurial spirit, I realized there was
a need to reduce textile waste, get into the sustainable textile market and really make sustainability personable.” Sustainable textiles may be a new concept for many. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that textile waste occupies nearly 5 percent of all landfill space. While the textile recycling industry recycles approximately 3.8 billion pounds of post-consumer textile waste each year, this only accounts for 15 percent of all post-consumer textile waste, leaving 85 percent in the landfills. Another staggering statistic: the average individual throws away 70 pounds of clothing and other textile waste annually. “The fashion industry is lagging behind other industries, such as the food industry, in sustainability,” said Neville. “We are really paying attention to what we are putting into our bodies, and now grocery stores are offering organic products. Consumers wanted it and so it was added. Consumers really push the market. I don’t think we’re there yet in the fashion industry. “When people hear I am majoring in political science and starting a fashion company, they think it really doesn’t line up. I think it does,” she continued. “We vote with our wallets. If everyone cared as much about clothing as they did food, you could see a shift in sustainable, ethical and fair-trade fashion. As a society, we have to shift away from the ‘buy, throw away, buy, throw away,’ mentality.” It’s the reuse and recycle mentality that helped launch Reborn Clothing. Instead of shopping for something new and buying randomly, consumers have the option to select, design and see the value in something they already have. Neville brought students from the NCSU College of Textiles to
Main Street, Graham Come see beautifully decorated floats and cheer on your local high school band at the City of Graham’s 57th Annual Christmas Parade. The parade begins at 10 a.m. Community organizations will be there and admission is free.
Dec. 2 11th Annual Reindeer Fun Run East Main Street, Aberdeen Support the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Sandhills by registering for the 11th Annual Reindeer Fun Run. There are events for everyone, including a 5K Reindeer Fun Run/Walk, a 12K Christmas Run, and a Kids Egg Nog Jog. Registration begins at 7:15 a.m. at the Page Memorial Fellowship Hall and the race starts at 9 a.m. Santa on the Chimney
Top, A detail look at a Reborn Clothing Co. laptop sleeve crafted from an old shirt. Bottom, A sampling of items from Reborn Clothing Co.
“As a society, we have to shift away from the ‘buy, throw away, buy, throw away,’ mentality.” — Emily Neville, Reborn Clothing Co. join her team to complete patterns, sewing designs and product development. The consumer provides the garment, selects the product of choice and the team takes care of the rest. The team completes the redesign in two weeks. Reborn Clothing Co. official-
ly launched earlier this month, however, they’ve been around since earlier this year crowdfunding, spreading the word through social media, running DIY workshops on campus, and participating as a vendor at the NCSU Campus Farmer’s Market. “We try to make every product custom,” said Neville. “As a brand-new company, Reborn will continue to evolve.” As of Jan. 1, 2018, consumers will be able to place orders online, ship their garment to the company and have it shipped back reborn. When you’ve received your new garment in return, Neville said, “You can tell people the story behind what you are wearing.”
Chimney Rock at Chimney Rock State Park Come see Santa in action as he preps for the holiday season by climbing what’s sure to be his largest chimney yet! Listen to live music, drink hot chocolate, and even win a free rock-climbing lesson. Admission is based on park admission and events begin at 11 a.m. Appalachian Potters Market McDowell High School, Marion Come see some of North Carolina’s finest pottery with styles including raku, sgraffito, stoneware and traditional folk. Sixty-six potters will be showcased. Events are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and include demonstrations, live music and activities for children. Admission is $4.
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North State Journal for Wednesday, November 29, 2017
Royal treatment A football first for Miss North Carolina Victoria Huggins joins members of the NC State and UNC marching bands prior to kickoff.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF NORTH STATE JOURNAL
Huggins poses with NC State alumnus and supporter Wendell Murphy.
Victoria Huggins is just as much at home in front of the camera as Miss North Carolina as she was behind the camera as a producer for WECT in Wilmington. But last Saturday, Huggins took in a spectacle she had never witnessed before — a college football game. A graduate of UNC Pembroke, Huggins said she was “too busy with schoolwork, with a major and two minors” to attend any football games while an undergrad. She made the most of her first experience by taking in one of North Carolina’s longest and most heated rivalries joining the Wolfpack and Tar Heels on the field in Raleigh. Huggins said she was given the “Wolfpack royal treatment” as she traveled around the sprawling tailgates surrounding Carter-Finley Stadium. From true tailgates that included parents and children enjoying Bojangles to elaborate feasts, Huggins was the star of the tailgate scene. Adults and children alike stopped her for photos, snapchats and autographs (she remembered to bring a red pen just for the occasion). Inside the stadium, Huggins found herself in the presence of Wolfpack royalty including Chancellor Randy Woodson in his private box, C. Richard Vaughn, namesake of the Vaughn Towers, and Wendell H. Murphy Football Center namesake Wendell Murphy. While the teams on the field produced a few exciting moments in the first half, the excitement for fans and for Huggins came in the second half. As the Pack and Heels took the field, Huggins was there to high-five State players. Huggins maintained a neutral enthusiasm for both teams even though her mother is a UNC Chapel Hill graduate. However, she was well aware of the home crowd and flashed the signature wolf hands on the stadium’s video board. As the football action on the field heated up, Huggins experienced unique traditions from a field-level perspective that would make any State or Carolina fan envious. From petting the live mascot Tuffy II to leading the Wolfpack’s marching band, Huggins had a first-time football experience like no other. Mr. Wuf took her for a twirl in the student section, Ms. Wuf begged for a crowning moment with the famous crown, and Ramses even got a hug on the UNC sideline. As the Wolfpack finished off their rivals on the field, the cheerleaders invited Huggins to join in for the playing of the alma mater. Fortunately for Huggins, the video board displayed the words of the tune and Huggins played the part of victor on an unfamiliar stage in front of cameras she knows all too well.
ROB KINNAN | USA TODAY SPORTS IMAGES
North Carolina State back Jaylen Samuels (1) runs the ball during the second half against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, on Nov. 25.
Huggins joins the NCSU cheerleaders on the fielf after the Wolfpack defeated the Tar Heels at Carter-Finley Stadium.
North State Journal for Wednesday, November 29, 2017
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ENTERTAINMENT Trump’s first White House Christmas The official White House Christmas Tree, a Wisconsin-grown tree provided by the Chapman family of Silent Night Evergreens, arrives at the White House for a welcome ceremony hosted by first lady Melania Trump and her son, Barron, in Washington D.C.
Britain’s Prince Harry poses with Meghan Markle in the Sunken Garden of Kensington Palace, London, on Nov. 27. TOBY MELVILLE | REUTERS
Britain’s Prince Harry engaged to U.S. actress Meghan Markle By Michael Holden Reuters LONDON — Britain’s Prince Harry and U.S. actress Meghan Markle announced on Monday they were getting married next year, saying their relationship had blossomed “incredibly quickly” after meeting on a blind date. Harry, 33, Queen Elizabeth’s grandson and fifth-in-line to the British throne, and Markle, 36, best known for her role in the legal drama “Suits,” said they got engaged in London this month and will wed in the spring next year. In their first broadcast interview since announcing the news earlier on Monday, Harry and Markle held hands as they discussed the moment of their proposal and their courtship. “It was just an amazing surprise. It was so sweet and natural, and very romantic,” Markle said. “He got on one knee. I could barely let you finish proposing. I said, ‘Can I say yes now?’” “The fact that I fell in love with Meghan so incredibly quickly was confirmation to me that all the stars were aligned, everything was just perfect,” Harry said in the interview. “This beautiful woman just tripped and fell into my life, I fell into her life.” The queen, who had to give her assent for the union, and her husband Prince Philip were delighted, Buckingham Palace said, while Harry also received the blessing of Markle’s parents. “We’re thrilled. I hope they will be very happy indeed,” his father, heir-to-thethrone Prince Charles said. Harry and Markle, who is a divorcee, met in July 2016 after they were introduced through a mutual friend, with both knowing little about the other. “I had never watched ‘Suits,’ I had never heard of Meghan before and I was beautifully surprised when I walked into that room and saw her. I was like I’m going to really up my game here,” Harry said.
After just two dates, the couple decided to go on holiday together to Botswana but it was only months later that the prince, the younger son of Charles and his first wife Princess Diana, publicly confirmed their relationship in a rebuke to the media over its alleged intrusion into Markle’s private life. “I did not have any understanding of just what it would be like,” she said. “Both of us were totally surprised by the reaction,” added Harry, who said they had had a frank conversation about what she was letting herself in for. It was not until September this year that they made their first public appearance together at the Invictus Games in Toronto, a sports event for wounded veterans. Earlier the couple posed for photographs in the grounds of Kensington Palace in central London where the couple will live in a cottage. Asked when he knew Markle was “the one,” he replied: “The very first time we met.” Diana’s diamonds Markle showed off a dazzling threestone ring, designed by Harry himself with at its center a diamond from Botswana surrounded by two diamonds taken from the personal collection of his late mother Diana. Harry said she would have been “thick as thieves” with Markle. “It’s so important to me to know that she’s a part of this with us,” Markle said. The wedding is likely to attract huge attention across the world, as did the marriage of Harry’s elder brother William to Kate Middleton in 2011. “We are very excited for Harry and Meghan,” William and Kate said in a statement. “It has been wonderful getting to know Meghan and to see how happy she and Harry are together.” In his office’s warning to the media, Harry referred to the sexism and racism directed at Markle, whose father is white and her mother African-American.
“We are incredibly happy for Meghan and Harry. Our daughter has always been a kind and loving person,” Markle’s parents Thomas Markle and Doria Ragland said in a statement. “To see her union with Harry, who shares the same qualities, is a source of great joy for us as parents. We wish them a lifetime of happiness and are very excited for their future together.” No princess bride Like William’s wife Kate, Meghan will not become a princess in her own right after marrying Harry. However, Harry, like his brother, is likely to be made a duke when he marries, meaning Meghan would become a duchess. Markle was born in Los Angeles in 1981. Her father was a TV lighting director for soaps and sitcoms and her mother a clinical therapist. She made her first TV appearance in a 2002 episode of medical drama “General Hospital” and has appeared in a number of TV shows and films, such as “Horrible Bosses,” but achieved greatest fame for her starring part as Rachel Zane in the ongoing “Suits” series. In 2011, she married film producer Trevor Engelson but they divorced two years later. She had her own lifestyle blog thetig.com, which she recently shut down, and like her future husband has become a prominent humanitarian campaigner. She also criticized President Donald Trump in a TV interview before last year’s U.S. election, calling him misogynistic. Britain’s royals are traditionally supposed to avoid making any political interventions and Harry said he had confidence that his wife-to-be would be able to handle the pressures her role would bring. “I know the fact that she’ll be unbelievably good at the job part as well is obviously a huge relief to me because she’ll be able to deal with everything else that comes with it,” he said. “We’re a fantastic team. We know we are.”
CARLOS BARRIA | REUTERS
The official White House Christmas Tree, a Wisconsin-grown tree provided by the Chapman family of Silent Night Evergreens, arrives at the White House for a welcome ceremony hosted by First Lady Melania Trump and her son Barron in Washington D.C, Nov. 20.
Rockefeller Christmas tree One of the most iconic Christmas trees in the U.S. is at Rockefeller Center. This year, a 75-foot Norway Spruce from State College, Pa., will serve as the center piece of New York City's Christmas extravaganza. The tree, which was cut down on Nov. 9, is 50-feet in diameter and weighs around 12 tons. More than half a million people will pass by the tree each day this Christmas season.
EDUARDO MUNOZ | REUTERS
The tree is seen upright as it is hold by a crane at Rockefeller Center in New York, U.S., Nov. 11.
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North State Journal for Wednesday, November 29, 2017
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