Chatham News & Record - July 20, 2023

C HATHAM NEWS & R E C O R D

VinFast unveils factory site plans

By Matt Mercer North State Journal

MONCURE — VinFast, the Vietnamese electric car manufacturer bringing the largest economic development project in state history to Chatham County, has posted initial site plans for its electric vehicle factory.

The site plans were led with the Chatham County Planning Department on July 11 and show a total of six major buildings and a couple smaller ones.

In total, VinFast is planning to build a more than 2.8 millionsquare-foot facility. The largest of those is a 955,000-squarefoot general assembly building, followed by the body shop at slightly under 800,000 square feet.

Detroit-based Albert Kahn Associates Inc. is the engineering rm and architect for the site plans. The rm has designed other automobile plants, including the Volvo facility near Charleston, South Carolina. They also designed VinFast’s industrial park in Vietnam.

The site plan represents what the company calls the rst phase of development. There are also adjacent plots of land marked as a “future phase,” with earli-

er company plans indicated it would be intended for battery production.

Vehicles slated to be produced at the site include the VinFast VF 9, a 7-passenger all-electric Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) and the VinFast VF 8, a 5-passenger, all-electric mid-size SUV.

“We’ve been closely aligned

Pittsboro Board of Commissioners held a water and wastewater utility merger workshop special

meeting

at 288 square feet.

Site plans also call for new water and sewer line as well as a new rail line at the facility.

The proposed plans mark the latest milestone for the company in establishment its rst North American manufacturing plant after initial hiccups relating to their timeline and entry into the United States.

Late last week, the company’s planned SPAC merger with Black Spade Acquisition Co. extended its deadline to complete the deal by a year. The amended deal now gives Black Spade and VinFast until July 20, 2024, to complete its merger.

SPACs, or Special Purpose Acquistion Companies, are formed strictly to raise capital through an initial public o ering (IPO) for the purpose of acquiring or merging with an existing company, according to Investopedia.

with VinFast,” said Michael Smith, director of the Chatham Economic Development Corporation, told the Triangle Business Journal in response to the plans. “This is an important milestone, the entire community is coming together to celebrate this event and we’re excited to see what VinFast has in store.”

In addition to the two largest buildings, the others listed in the plans are a paint shop at 513,200 square feet, a press shop at 497,950 square feet, a central energy plant at 33,900 square feet, a waste building at 8,200 square feet, a pump house at 800 square feet and a guard house at the entrance of the site

Despite the challenges, the company is con dent it will deliver on the promise of investing over $4 billion in Chatham County and creating 7,500 jobs. State economic development leaders continue to tout the project, noting that North Carolina received Area Development magazine’s 2023 Platinum Shovel Award recognizing states that went above and beyond the gold standard for investment and job creation. The VinFast deal was recognized as the 2022 Manufacturing Project of the Year.

Immigrant Community Advisory Committee discusses meeting dates, reviews its Transportation Community Priority List

ICAC and Town of Siler City Community Development Director Jack Meadows decided on the following dates for their meetings:

Tuesday, Sept. 19, and Tuesday, Oct. 17

Priority List. Though ICAC’s last meeting solely focused on learning more about Language Access Plans, that line of conversation was put on hold to address more pressing topics.

By Valeria

Cloës Chatham News & Record

PITTSBORO — The Town of Pittsboro Board of Commissioners met at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 13, for a water and wastewater utility merger workshop special meeting.

Commissioners discussed recent June raw water samples from Sanford and Pittsboro, asked questions regarding the recent PFAS lawsuit settlements and went over how town employees would be impacted by the water and wastewater

utility merger. No action was taken at this meeting.

To start o the meeting, Assistant Town Manager and Engineering Director Kent Jackson said that Sanford and Pittsboro drinking water meets current regulation and proceeded to give a presentation to the commissioners on recent raw water samplings, which has not gone through the treatment process, taken from the water utility systems’ water intake.

See PITTSBORO, page A11

By Valeria Cloës Chatham News

& Record

SILER CITY — The Immigrant Community Advisory Committee (ICAC) met at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, July 12, to discuss scheduling a meeting with Siler City Police Department Chief Mike Wagner, to decide the next meeting dates and to speak about ICAC membership, in addition to reviewing the Transportation Community

First, the committee members unanimously moved to invite Chief Wagner to the next ICAC meeting at 6 p.m. on Aug. 2 to discuss recent police vehicular checkpoints around Siler City.

Second, because of scheduling con icts with committee members, ICAC and Town of Siler City Community Development Director Jack Meadows decided on the following dates for their meetings: Tuesday, Sept. 19, and Tuesday, Oct. 17.

Third, the committee said that there are some concerns

with membership and quorum. Hannia Benitez, ICAC chair, said the committee had requested at the beginning of 2023 to receive a draft of a proposal for streamlined updated policies, procedures and guidelines for advisory committees from the Town Manager Hank Raper’s O ce. These drafts will be presented to the town board of com-

See ICAC, page A6

Gov. Roy Cooper, state o cials and executives from VinFast celebrate the announcement of the state’s incentive packing bringing the carmaker to Chatham County in March 2022.

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There is a church down the road where all your troubles you can unload. You know God and Jesus will not lead you astray when you enter the church to pray People have their Bibles in their hand, the Pastor preaches the Bible so you can understand So come to Oakley Church lled with God’s holy love someday soon you will get to go to Heaven above

ON THE AGENDA

The Town of Pittsboro Board of Commissioners will have a meeting at 7 p.m. on Monday, July 24, at the Chatham County Agricultural and Conference Center.

OTHER Chatham County dads are invited to participate in the Strong Fathers Parenting Program. The weekly virtual sessions resumed in July.Strong Fathers is for dads who are willing to work on ending the cycle of violence within their families. It is a 20-week program that focuses on parenting skills, understanding domestic violence and the e ects violence has on children, healthy parenting, self-care, being a good role model, generational impacts, and the developmental stages of children. More information can be found on the Strong Fathers website. Group sizes range from 8-12 men at a time, and there is a rolling admission so participants can join at any time. Questions may be directed to Ms. Manley at 984-500-4061 or at deannam@ strongfathersprogram.org.

Individuals may refer someone by completing the Online Referral Form. Information about fees can be found on the Strong Fathers website.

Chatham Community Library is o ering free in-person classes in July. Class descriptions and a registration link can be found at www.chathamcountync.gov/ ComputerClasses. Call 919545-8086 or email reference@ chathamlibraries.org for more information. Computer Basics, Part 1: July 20, Thursday, 3 pm. This class is designed for beginners! Learn how to use a mouse and keyboard, identify parts of the computer, and understand the basics of how computers work. - Computer Basics, Part 2: July 27, Thursday, 3 pm. Build on the concepts learned in Part 1. Work with les and folders, search your computer, use the recycling bin, and more. Participants should have prior basic computer experience.

Community Blood Drive, Saturday, July 22, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.. at the American Red Cross Blood Mobile, Chatham Community Library (parking lot),197 NC-87, Pittsboro.

The American Red Cross will hold a blood drive at Chatham Community Library on Saturday, July 22, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the parking lot in front of the library. To make an appointment to donate, individuals may visit tinyurl.com/BloodDriveCCL, scroll down to the blood drive for July 22nd at the Chatham Community Library, then click on “See Times.” There are 22 appointment times available.

Guide COMMUNITY 448 River Point Rd (Moncure) 3 Bdrm, 1 Bath $325,000 4377 N Old US 421 (Siler City) 4 Bdrm, 2 Bath $450,000 7 Twin Lake Dr (Pittsboro) 5.2 acres 3 Bdrm, 2 Bath $550,000 1722 Wilkins Dr (Sanford) 6 Bdrm, 5 Baths, 2 Half Baths $745,000 2035 Long Point Trail (Sanford) 5 Bdrm, 2.5 Bath $785,000 94 Sunny Ridge Ln (Pittsboro) 4 Bdrm, 3 Bath $975,000 170 Cherokee Dr (Chapel Hill) 1.150 acres $125,000 188 Cherokee Dr (Chapel Hill) 1.150 acres $125,000 1388 Henry Oldham Rd (Bear Creek) 4.840 acres $150,000 108 Spring St (Apex) 3.670 acres $130,000 454 Maple Springs Rd (Bear Creek) 13.592 acres $165,000 1049 Alton King Rd (Goldston) 11.548 acres $200,000 1223 Alton King Rd (Goldston) 12.701 acres $225,000 1544 Roberts Chapel Rd (Chapel Hill) 17.632 acres $225,000 1710 Roberts Chapel Rd (Goldston) 17.643 acres $225,000 37 E Cotton Rd (Pittsboro) 0.996 acres $300,000 5663 NC 751 Hwy (Apex) 1.771 acres $325,000 893 Alton King Rd (Goldston) 24.938 acres $325,000 0 Hal Clark Rd (Siler City) 29.730 acres $360,000 Tract 3 Thomas Kelly Rd (Sanford) 32.360 acres $400,000 5645 NC 751 Hwy (Apex) 3.584 acres $625,000 0 JB Morgan Rd (Apex) 21.500 acres $825,000 1000 Nesbit Rd (Pleasant Garden) 52.13 acres $1,500,000 00 Olives Chapel Rd (Apex) 33.662 acres $3,366,200 0 Olives Chapel Rd (Apex) 75.430 acres $9,051,600 58 Buffalo Lake Rd (Sanford) 6.70 acres $475,000 10681 E US 64 Hwy (Apex) 3.97 acres $1,500,000 0 Hamlets Chapel Rd (Pittsboro) 42.804 acres $1,200,000 13120 Strickland Rd (Raleigh) 16.250 acres $1,500,000 499 Olives Chapel Rd (Apes) 12.619 acres $1,500,000

Wren Memorial Library will host the 208th Army Band Woodwind Quintet, the Wildcat Winds Performance, will be Saturday, July 22, from 2 to 3 p.m. Families with children of all ages are invited to join us for a musical performance by the 208th Army Band! The Woodwind Quintet, the Wildcat Winds will be presenting familiar tunes like ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’, and they will be dressed in their Army Uniforms. The library is located at 500 N. Second Avenue, Siler City, 27344.

NOW HIRING Assist. Property Manager, Assist. Bookkeeper and Receptionist. Send resume to: eric@ericandrewsrealtor.com or drop off in person 73 Hillsboro St. Downtown Pittsboro

The Chatham Historical Museum o ers several short-term exhibits until the end of summer: Name That Artifact, Native people’s stone tools, points and pottery, and Railroads in Chatham County. The museum is open Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. There is no admission fee. The museum is located in the historic Chatham County Courthouse in the Circle, 9 Hillsboro St., Pittsboro. We follow state/local mask and distancing guidelines. More info at chathamhistory.org.

“Join the conversation”

NC awards nearly $80 million to give more North Carolinians high-speed internet access

Grants will bring broadband to 25,000 N.C. households in 33 counties

Chatham News & Record

RALEIGH — Across North Carolina, 25,825 households and 862 businesses in 33 counties will get high-speed internet thanks to nearly $80 million in additional Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology (GREAT) grants, Gov. Roy Cooper announced on July 6.

“We want all North Carolinians connected to high-speed internet so they can take full advantage of digital opportunities for work, learning, health and more,” Gov. Cooper said. “These grants will fund projects in communities from all corners of our state so more families and business will have access to a ordable, reliable broadband.”

The N.C. Dept. of Information Technology (NCDIT)

Broadband Infrastructure O ce awarded GREAT grants to deploy broadband infrastructure in the following counties:

Alamance County: Bellsouth Telecommunications, LLC (AT&T North Carolina)

Beaufort County: Spectrum

Southeast, LLC (Charter Communications)

Bertie County: Roanoke

Connect Holdings (Fybe)

Bladen County: Star Telephone

Membership Corp (Star Communications)

Buncombe County: Skyrunner Inc.

Burke County: Spectrum

Southeast, LLC (Charter Communications)

Caldwell County: Spectrum

Southeast, LLC (Charter Communications)

Caswell County: Spectrum

Southeast, LLC (Charter Communications)

Catawba County: Spectrum

Southeast, LLC (Charter

Communications)

Chatham County: Bellsouth Telecommunications, LLC (AT&T North Carolina)

Cherokee County: CND

Acquisition Corporation

Chowan County: ATMC (Focus

Broadband)

Clay County: Blue Ridge

Mountain EMC

Duplin County: Hosted America LLC

Durham County: NC Communications Advanced Services, LLC (Lumos)

Graham County: Zito West Holding, LLC

Greene County: N nity Link Communications Inc.

Guilford County: NC Communications Advanced Services, LLC (Lumos)

Halifax County: Connect Holding II LLC (Brightspeed)

Jackson County: Balsam West

Lee County: Ting Fiber Inc.

Macon County: Balsam West

Montgomery County:

Spectrum Southeast, LLC (Charter Communications)

Moore County: Spectrum Southeast, LLC (Charter Communications)

Nash County: Connect Holding II LLC (Brightspeed)

Perquimans County: ATMC (Focus Broadband)

Person County: Connect Holding II LLC (Brightspeed)

Pitt County: Spectrum Southeast, LLC (Charter Communications)

Swain County: Cherokee Cablevision, Inc.

Transylvania County: Citizens Telephone Company

Wake County: Connect Holding II LLC (Brightspeed)

Warren County: Zitel LLC

Wayne County: NC Communications Advanced Services, LLC (Lumos)

These latest grant awards add to the more than $269 million total awarded in 2022 to connect 117,405 households and businesses. The GREAT grant program, established in 2018, is a competitive program that provides matching grants to internet service providers that may partner with individual North Carolina counties to expand high-speed internet service to unserved areas of the state.

“This grant program is already set to bring high-speed internet to numerous households and businesses across North Carolina, and we’re pleased that we will now reach even more unserved areas,” NCDIT Secretary and State Chief Information O cer Jim Weaver said. “These grants are just one of the many ways we are working to expand internet access and ensure digital equity.”

As part of the federally-funded GREAT grant eligibility requirements, all internet service provider applicants must participate in the A ordable Connectivity Program (ACP) to o er eligible low-income households a $30 per month discount on highspeed internet service, or provide access to a comparable low-cost program. Learn more about $30 per month reliable, high-speed internet packages o ered by internet service providers at getinternet.gov.

NCDIT has now awarded all of the $350 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding available for the GREAT grant pro-

CNR FILE PHOTO

gram. For this round of funding, the Division of Broadband and Digital Equity reviewed a total of 104 eligible applications in 58 counties.

Grants are being awarded to the highest-scoring internet provider that applied in each county based on the number of households and businesses they propose to serve, the average cost to serve those locations, and the speeds o ered, among other criteria required by law.

Applicants must agree to provide high-speed service, de ned as a minimum of 100 Megabits per second (Mbps) download and 20 Mbps upload, scalable to 100 Mbps download and 100 Mbps upload on or before Dec. 31, 2026. All awards are contingent on nal executed grant agreements with broadband provider partners. The division plans to make additional awards to remaining counties using additional federal funds later this month.

NOW

150 Logan Farm Lane 919-776-2277 or 919-776-1898

(Across river from Gulf )

(L to R) Thomas Nicolette, Section Chief for FirstNet, shows o the First Net technology to First Net Authority Board Member, Jocelyn Moore, AT&T Executive Director of External and Legislative A airs, Robert Doreauk, NC Representative Robert Reives and NCDIT Secretary James Weaver.

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

My magnetic north? Your magnetic north?

I do, faintly, recall the memory of those cellphoneless days. There was no unconscious tic in my right hand, as there is now, continually reaching down to feel the outlines of my pocketed cell phone.

IT’S NOT HERE! Where is it?! If something untoward happens, what can I do? A car accident; an attacking grizzly bear (well, probably not that); or if, once again, I accidentally drop my car keys down a deep elevator shaft? Disaster scenarios just oat through my worried brain like confetti. Staging negative cli hanger, after negative cli hanger, after …

NOW STOP! Just stop. Do you recall driving across the country (twice), hiking trails with a rattlesnake blocking the path, and hitchhiking to Cape Cod? (OMG, I’d totally forgotten about the hitchhiking. An excellent reason to be 21 only once in a lifetime. Even I blanch at my remembered naïveté. Moving on … )

All of this, all of this, accomplished with the presence of NO cell phone. I did all that?

Yes, you really, really did — with the presence of no cellphones.

I do, faintly, recall the memory of those cellphone-less days. There was no unconscious tic in my right hand, as there is now, continually reaching down to feel the outlines of my pocketed cell phone. (And breathing a sigh of relief. “It’s there! It’s there!”)

In those cellphone-less days, I actually remembered friends’ phone numbers. Just rolled o my tongue, or my ngers, when dialing. Gone now, all the numbers are owned by my cellphone contact list. A small hunk of metal now seems to function as my lifeline … to, well, everything.

Magnetic north seems to have become my iPhone. (And after all those years of therapy!) I’ve discerned, but am embarrassed to admit, that my iPhone has inspired in me a never-ending personal thirst for anything at all, on its screen. (Oh, god, shades of my early TV watching habits, outgrown, or so I thought.)

My iPhone is the rst thing I turn to in the morning, and the last, at night. I feel naked without it. (There must be 12step programs for this burgeoning addiction.) Truly leaves me wondering if my right hand automatically curls into an iPhonecradling position when I’m sleeping.

And then, and then, I actually forgot my iPhone! My wedded digital companion. (Super, major, intake of panicked breath.) Left

it at home, charging, when I went to the grocery store. The short driving distance was lled with my fearful thoughts: what if x, y, or even worse, z occur? I-don’t-have-my-cell-phone! I managed to keep my cool (well, at least therapy had some impact.)

Thank heavens, my inner voice was still in residence. Words of wisdom popped up — pay attention to the people in the store. And … I actually listened! Suddenly, my feet were touching the ground and my iPhone panic abated.

And at that juncture, my iPhone, my beloved iPhone, began to slowly move away from compass north (well, somewhat, anyway.)

I’d forgotten about people. I allowed my iPhone to obscure the alive hearts and minds surrounding me. Obscure aliveness, period! Good-hearted folks who, mostly, want to be present to other people, and we, present to them. (Better than an iPhone any day!)

I’m heading for downright trite here, so bear with me. The Golden Rule. Pretty trite, eh? Yeah, but did any of us attain the age of 10 years old without hearing about the Golden Rule (sometimes, ad nauseam?) In Southern idiom, play nice with others and they’ll play nice with you. A re ection of our common humanity, and good playground behavior, as well.

Yep, my singular focus on the iPhone had become a wall, blinding me to seeing you, and you, and you, the real live people who also populate my world. Of course, each of us has our own human frailties, no denying that.

On the whole, though, a bit of the Golden Rule is alive in most of us. I believe there’s goodness in most folks (no matter who we vote for) and I want to be on the lookout for that goodness. I can’t if my iPhone is magnetic north and the primary focus of my attention.

Humphrey Bogart‘s iconic line, from the classic movie Casablanca, pretty much expresses my starting place for being more present, “Here’s looking at you, kid” (And you, and you, and…)

Jan Hutton is a retired hospice/hospital social worker who believes in living life with heart and humor. She has happily lived in Chatham for 20 years.

Life lessons from a man and his ice cream

But the most vivid seasonal ice cream memory has to do with my late father-in-law. He loved ice cream better than Peter loved the Lord.

SUMMERTIME in the South means many different things. Among those things are vacations to the beach or mountains, baseball, Fourth of July, cookouts, gardens, tomato sandwiches and, the crème de la crème — ice cream, preferably the homemade kind. All of those are good, each with its own cheering section and special memories. The other day, for instance, I read a column by another Son of the South in which he shared the benefits of tomato sandwiches featuring home-grown tomatoes.

There’s only one way, he rightly said, to eat a tomato sandwich — fresh white Sunbeam bread and too much Duke’s mayonnaise. I have invested years of research into the subject and attest to his accuracy. The only variation allowed is for eaters to choose when they down their delicacy. I admit to liking both the eat-it-whenit’s made version but also the make it, wrap it in wax paper and set it outside on a church picnic table to get warm and soggy to go along with your cold fried chicken and sweet tea (is there any other kind?) at the annual Homecoming service.

While all that’s a part of life around here, I also admit to having some considerable experience with ice cream — the kind from the store and the kind you make yourself on a Sunday afternoon, especially with the folks you are trying to turn into your in-laws as you court their daughter.

As a youngster, there was still an ice cream truck that made its way through our neighborhood. Mama always loaded our freezer with ice cream sandwiches, Nutty-Buddies and Popsicles. And while a teen, I had the privilege of being a soda jerk (instead of just a regular jerk) at the local drug store where we sold ice cream for a nickel a scoop and milk shakes for 30 cents.

But my most vivid seasonal ice cream memory has to do with my late father-in-law. He loved ice cream better than Peter loved the Lord. He’d make it at the drop of a hat — his or someone else’s. When as a much younger man I was hanging around his house trying to impress certain folks, it was almost customary to drag out the wooden White Mountain, have my soon-to-be mama-in-law mix up a batch of mix and get someone to run — or preferably drive — to the store in Bonlee to get ice. There was

always rock salt on hand, his reasoning being you never knew when a freezer of ice cream might appear on the horizon.

When everything was in place, we’d load the freezer and start with the turning.

By hand. Electric was for sissies and non-purists

Eventually someone would have to sit on top of the freezer to keep the thing from running away but the result was well worth the effort, even if your sit-down area got wet.

But on one certain Sunday afternoon, something went wrong. The turning was done and the top was flopped and it was dig-in time. In addition to the aforementioned folks, Shirley’s grandma was also on hand and we all were pretty good with a spoon. That particular day, however, not much was being eaten, at least by most of us. I had about half a bowl, Shirley and her mom a little less and even Granny stopped short of her usual full first bowl.

Father-in-law, however, was on his “A” game. As usual.

He stopped at four helpings.

“How come you folks aren’t eating much,” he asked. We all agreed it just didn’t taste up to normal standards. After more discussion, Mama-in-law got up from the yard chair and went into the house. Opening the refrigerator, she took a sniff of the milk and — aha!

“No wonder it didn’t taste good,” she told us. “The milk is sour.”

“Well, I thought something wasn’t quite right,” Father-in-law added.

I think of that these days — every time I reach for my second bowl — and I’m reminded of him and how he made the best of a bad situation.

Not a bad recipe for all of life.

Bob Wachs is a native of Chatham County and retired long-time managing editor of the Chatham News/Chatham Record, having written a weekly column for more than 30 years. During most of his time with the newspapers, he was also a bi-vocational pastor and today serves Bear Creek Baptist Church for the second time as pastor.

COLUMN | JAN HUTTON

EDITORIAL | BOB WACHS

The spotlight is shined on Joe Biden’s temper

the o ce alone with him.

Building a safer nation

DURING JOE BIDEN’S 2020 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN, we were treated to reports galore from news outlets and political insiders alike alerting us as to the “refreshing” change Biden would bring to the White House should he be elected president.

Gone would be the antagonism between the Oval O ce and the media that Biden claimed was a big problem under then-President Donald Trump’s administration. Respect would be restored between the two institutions we were also told by Biden’s staunchest defenders including Biden himself.

We were also informed that Biden would bring an even temperament to the o ce after four years of Trump putting his emotions out there on full display — the good, the bad, and everything in between.

People who had studied Biden’s ve-plus decades of public service closely, however, predicted that none of that would actually happen, and once Biden took o ce it didn’t take long for them to be proven right.

Not only did Biden studiously avoid formal solo press conferences for months after being sworn in, but when he has interacted with the press, sometimes his true colors have shown, such as the instance in 2022 when Biden referred to Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy as a “stupid son of a b*tch” in a revealing moment caught on hot mic.

More recently, Biden lashed out at another reporter for asking what he believed was a “dumb question” about reports surrounding allegations made by a Ukraine FBI informant about Biden’s son, Hunter Biden. The Biden administration has also been known to freeze out reporters they don’t like from his public appearances, hardly the actions of a presidential team who promised to respect the freedom of the press.

Beyond Biden breaking his campaign pledge to the mainstream media have been the scattered reports over the years of Biden’s explosive temper, something which was detailed extensively in a recent article from Axios, which talked to current and former sta ers for Biden who described a pins and needles atmosphere behind closed doors, and also a fear of having to be in

“The president’s admonitions include: ‘God dammit, how the f**k don’t you know this?!,’ ‘Don’t f**king bullsh*t me!’ and ‘Get the f**k out of here!,’ Axios said “current and former Biden aides who have witnessed and been on the receiving end of such outbursts” told them.

A former Biden Senate aide who wrote a book about him in 2012 also alleged a darker side.

Then-Sen. Joe Biden was an “egomaniacal autocrat … determined to manage his sta through fear,” Je Connaughton wrote at the time according to Axios.

The author also told the news outlet that Biden “hides his sharper edge to promote his folksy Uncle Joe image — which is why, when ashes of anger break through, it seems so out of public character.”

But one doesn’t need to be an insider to go back in time to see the despicable way then-Sen. Judiciary Committee Chairman Joe Biden treated future Justice Clarence Thomas during his 1991 Supreme Court con rmation hearings, and before that, Judge Robert Bork, whose nomination to our nation’s highest court Biden helped derail in 1987.

It was a sign of things to come, as we saw throughout his 2020 presidential campaign when he called one voter critic of his “fat” and another “full of sh*t,” and then after he became president, where aides view being yelled at by Biden as a sign that he respects them. This is who Joe Biden is, and while it’s nice to see such a prominent media outlet like Axios taking the lead on such a blockbuster story as Biden’s 2024 reelection campaign kicks into high gear, one has to wonder what took the media so long and why wait until this point in his lengthy political career to pull back the curtain?

North Carolina native Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym Sister Toldjah and is a media analyst and regular contributor to RedState and Legal Insurrection.

Thank you, Chatham

WHEN BILL HORNER III contacted me in September 2021 about an open position at the News + Record, I didn’t know what to expect.

I was 21 and still less than a year out of college, and I was nervous about what a new job and new community would bring. However, all of you accepted me with open arms and welcomed me to the amazing community that is Chatham County.

As my colleague and friend Ben Rappaport wrote in his last column for the News & Record, I feel head over heels in love with the people of Chatham County. The sense of family and community here is something I never took for granted, and as someone who holds those values close to my heart, it made covering your communities even more special to me.

I have loved every moment I’ve spent in Chatham County, which makes this even harder for me: I am leaving the Chatham News & Record.

These last two years have given me so many memories — from walking the Devil’s Tramping Ground at night as one of my rst assignments to partying at Pittsboro’s rst ever Pride event. I’ve also had the honor to meet so many amazing people in this community — from authors, elected o cials, ordinary people with extraordinary dreams and visions, activists, municipal administration and sta and others.

I’ve made it my mission these last two years to ensure Chatham County residents’ access to an unbiased, community oriented news source. I believe strong, timely and consistent local coverage leads to a more educated and informed public, and Chatham County deserves that.

I’ve spent countless nights up late, including a few allnighters, working to provide you with stories about your fellow community members and what your government is doing to serve residents.

I talked to extraordinary people, people like Anna Hackney or Heather Gaines, who in the face of hardship

rose above and beyond for themselves and their community. I became more involved with environmental journalism through my coverage of Pittsboro’s water woes and had the chance to talk to activists — Katie Bryant, Elaine Chiosso, Emily Sutton and Jessica Merricks — about the dangers of PFAS and 1,4-Dioxane in Pittsboro.

Siler City Town Manager Hank Raper helped me to expand coverage of Siler City’s municipal government, from being willing to lm a tour of the renovated town hall to phone calls after every single board meeting to answer the inevitable questions I had drafted. I am very thankful for his dedication to the town, as well as his wishes to keep the public aware of what’s going on in Siler City.

I also learned the importance of my platform and how I could use it to uplift the voices of those historically marginalized. I made it a goal to cover more of Siler City’’s and Pittsboro’s communities of color — from covering the Hispanic Liaison and its events to various mural unveilings which were dedicated to the black trailblazers of Chatham. All residents, regardless of color, creed or background, deserve to have their communities and people covered, and I hope I was able to bring those stories to light and highlight those voices.

It takes a village to create something as special as the CN&R, so I want to take the time to shout out my amazing colleagues and friends: Ben Rappaport, Jeremy Vernon, Valeria Cloës, Maydha Deverajan, Hannah McClellan, Victoria Johnson and Victor Hensley. Y’all inspire me to not only be a better journalist, but a better human being. I appreciate my relationship with each and every one of you.

Thank you, Chatham. You are resilient, and I know you will be just ne after I’m gone. I’m so thankful for the kindness you’ve shown, and I’m so grateful for all of the stories you’ve let me tell.

I will carry you everywhere I go for the rest of my life.

PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN once said, “A truly successful army is one that, because of its strength and ability and dedication, will not be called upon to ght, for no one will dare to provoke it.”

As your Congressman and representative of the largest Army base in the world, I take this commitment seriously to supporting our troops and their families. Building a nation that’s safe is also a key pillar of House Republicans “Commitment to America.” That’s why last week, the House passed the bipartisan FY24 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This is the key piece of legislation that authorizes funding for our military and national defense for the year—including over $260 million in funding for critical infrastructure projects that will aid our region’s military personnel.

I am especially proud this year’s NDAA contains provisions I fought to include. Among these projects are the construction of a Child Development Center to address the existing de cit of childcare spaces available to improve the quality of life of military families stationed in our community, and a permanent Aircraft Maintenance Hangar facility to accommodate aircrafts serving the U.S. Army Special Operations Command.

This year’s NDAA also includes the biggest pay raise for our troops in decades, pushes back against the woke ideology being forced on our military members, equips our military with the tools and resources to counter the rapidly growing threats from foreign adversaries, and improves military readiness. This bill also provides assistance to the over 8,000 service members who were discharged for not taking the COVID-19 vaccine and provides them with a path back to service.

While we can never thank our active duty military, their families, and our veterans enough for their service, we must continue to do everything we can to improve the quality of health care we provide them. For example, Master Sergeant Rich Stayskal, a resident of Moore County, served our country honorably and was wounded in combat. While stationed in our region, a missed cancer diagnosis changed his life. In response, I helped change federal law in 2020 so Rich and other military families could receive support when they are victims of medical malpractice while on active-duty. However, the Department of Defense has failed to implement the law properly, stealing hope from Rich Stayskal and hundreds of military families who have been harmed by medical negligence.

Last week, I was proud to introduce the HERO Act to correct this wrong so our nation’s heroes who are victims of malpractice from a DoD medical treatment facility. They should have the right and opportunity to take their claim to District Court in order to receive the compensation they deserve. Service members such as Rich kept their promise to us—they served honorably, and they deserve the best we have to o er them. I will not stop ghting until they get it.

In North Carolina, Veterans Day is not just one day a year—it is a year-long call to action. That’s why I was also proud to join my House colleagues recently to reintroduce the bipartisan resolution to designate November 12, 2023 as “National Warrior Call Day.” This meaningful day will encourage folks in our community and across the country to check in on someone they know, active-duty, or veteran.

The suicide rate among our nation’s veterans is 2.5 times that of all civilians. It is important to address the challenges veterans face head-on and address the stigma around seeking help. Ensuring our military families and veterans have the resources they deserve are some of the most important duties we have in Congress. I’ll never stop ghting to support our troops, their families, and our veterans.

COLUMN | TAYLOR HEEDEN

Meadows addressed potential projects such as the South Sixth Avenue project which would go from East Raleigh Street to South Second Avenue to construct a sidewalk, and a project on Fifth Street and North Garden Avenue.

missioners for approval in order to streamline guidelines for all advisory committees, including ICAC, Benitez said.

Meadows said that other advisory boards, like the Downtown Advisory Committee, have also faced issues with quorum — not enough board members able to attend meeting, thus cancelling meetings.

He said the Town Manager’s O ce have been creating proposals for updated policies and guidelines addressing these issues: addressing number of meetings, remote options and calendars.

With this information, the committee unanimously agreed to schedule a meeting with Town Manager Hank Raper to discuss these concerns and receive the most updated draft of advisory committee policies and guidelines.

Lastly, the committee and Meadows starting reviewing the Transportation Community Priority List which are bike and pedestrian sidewalk projects, which di er from N.C. Dept. of Transportation’s Priority List. Meadows and the committee went through six of these projects before adjourning the meeting.

Meadows addressed potential projects such as the South Sixth Avenue project which would go from East Raleigh Street to South Second Avenue to construct a sidewalk, and a project on Fifth Street and North Garden Avenue.

This one would entail constructing a “sidewalk on the north side of Fifth Street from North Second Avenue to North Garden Avenue … [and a] sidewalk on [the] east side of North Garden Avenue from West Fifth Street to West Third Street.”

The other ones they addressed were potential sidewalk construction for East Fourth Street and Pine Glade Avenue, North Second Avenue and Greensboro Avenue and nally South Seventh Avenue and East Dolphin Street.

Before adjourning the meeting ICAC board members and Meadows tabled reviewing the rest of these projects for the next meeting at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 2, in the courtroom at City Hall.

Siler City Board of Commissioners vote to contract Hobbs Architects for pre-design work and to restructure town’s Finance Department

By Valeria Cloës Chatham News & Record

SILER CITY — The Town of Siler City Board of Commissioners met at 6 p.m. on Monday, July 17, in the courtroom at City Hall. The commissioners voted to contract Hobbs Architects to conduct pre-design work on the recently acquired Carter Bank & Trust building in Siler City and for a new public works o ce, and voted to restructure the town’s Finance Department.

As reported by Taylor Heeden, the bank was purchased by the town to use as additional o ce and administrative space as Siler City continues to grow and will continue to in coming years.

Taylor Hobbs, co-founder of Hobbs Architects, said to the board of commissioners that the plan being proposed is to conduct preliminary work to gain knowledge on what the renovations to the building would entail.

Taylor Hobbs, co-founder of Hobbs Architects, said to the board of commissioners that the plan being proposed is to conduct preliminary work to gain knowledge on what the renovations to the building would entail.

Town sta would not have to dedicate time to this because Hobbs Architects would be hired out to take care of the work, Hobbs said.

After further discussion from the board of commissioners and Mayor Chip Price, the board voted to approve Hobbs Architects work.

In addition, the board approved to have Hobbs Architects pre-design a new facility for a public works of-

Three suspects arrested in shooting

From Chatham County

Sheri ’s O ce

THE CHATHAM COUNTY

Sheri ’s O ce arrested three suspects in connection with a shooting that occurred on July 5, 2023.

At approximately 4 a.m. on July 5, a gunshot victim entered Chatham Hospital in Siler City.

Chatham County Sheri ’s O ce investigators interviewed the victim, who told them that Mikhell Avion Watson, 18, of 3504 Hiawatha Road, Sanford, and a juvenile suspect, shot at him while he was attempting to meet up with Alexis Mason, 24, of 1958 Lakeview Road, Asheboro.

During a search of Watson’s residence, investigators discovered a rearm whose shell cas-

ings matched those recovered from the crime scene.

Chatham County Sheri ’s Ofce investigators communicated with other law enforcement jurisdictions outside of Chatham County and determined Watson was the primary suspect in four other recent shootings. The rearm that was recovered from Watson’s residence was determined, through testing with the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN), to be the same rearm used in each of the other shootings.

Warrants were issued for the arrest of Watson, Mason and the juvenile suspect.

Watson is charged in connection with the July 5 incident with felony conspiracy, felony assault with a deadly weapon with intent

Hours: Mon.–Fri. 11am–5pm and Saturday 10am–4pm, Closed Sun.

to kill, simple assault and assault by pointing a gun. He was issued a $50,000 secured bond and is scheduled to appear in Chatham County District Court on July 17, 2023.

Mason is charged with felony conspiracy and felony assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill. No bond was issued for Mason, who was held on a domestic violence hold and is scheduled to appear in Chatham County District Court on July 17, 2023.

The juvenile suspect was taken into secure custody and is charged with felony conspiracy, felony assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, misdemeanor simple assault, and misdemeanor assault by pointing a gun.

From Chatham County Sheri ’s O ce

ON JULY 8, Charles Raymond Hart Jr., 55, of 8238 Pittsboro Goldston Road, Goldston, was arrested Deputy Reid Allshouse for two counts of domestic violence protection order violation. He was issued a 48-hour domestic violence hold and is scheduled to appear in Chatham County District Court in Pittsboro on July 19.

On July 7, Victor Manuel Hernandez Gomez, 25, of 1209 N. Hampton St., Siler City, was arrested by Deputy Cody DeViney for tra cking marijuana by possession, tra cking marijuana by transporting, possession with intent to sell/deliver marijuana, possession of controlled substance within 1,000 feet of school, maintain vehicle for the use/possession of controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, and resist-

ce beside the wastewater treatment plant in Siler City, Town Manager Hank Raper said.

The other main point of conversation was about restructuring and adding sta positions to the town’s Finance Department.

Raper said this was a good time to do that since the nance director and assistant nance director have left the town’s department.

Through the proposed restructuring by Raper, which includes reclassifying the assistant nance director into a budget analyst and creating a billing customer service manager this would allow department sta to have clearer job responsibilities and more manageable workloads, he said.

The commissioners voted to approve all other agenda items before going into closed session.

The next Siler City Board of Commissioners meeting will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 7, in the courtroom in City Hall.

ing a public o cer. He was issued a $50,000 secured bond and is scheduled to appear in Chatham County District Court in Pittsboro on July 26.

On July 7, Horacio Galvan-Ramirez, 39, of 296 Pump House Loop, Chapel Hill, was arrested by Deputy Matthew Mitchell for assault with a deadly weapon, assault on a female, resisting a public o cer. He was held on a 48-hour domestic violence hold and is scheduled to appear in Chatham County District Court in Pittsboro on July 19.

On July 8, Victor Lee Washington Jr., 37, of 89 Henley Road, Chapel Hill, was arrested by Deputy Jonathan Frazier for pretrial release violation. He was issued a $20,000 secured bond and is scheduled to appear in Chatham County District Court in Pittsboro on July 19.

On July 10, Codie Nicole Johnson, 28, of 219 S. Sixth Ave.,

Siler City, was arrested by Deputy Tyler Welch for failure to appear. She was issued a $23,000 secured bond and is scheduled to appear in Chatham County District Court in Pittsboro on July 17. On July 10, Johnson was also arrested by Deputy Welch for two counts of probation violation. She was issued a $16,000 secured bond and is scheduled to appear in Wake County District Court in Raleigh on July 13.

On July 10, Michel Chase Rabun-Fisher, 40, of 2149 Majestic Drive, Waxhaw, was arrested by Deputy Conner Lee for driving under the in uence, simple possession of Schedule VI Controlled Substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of marijuana paraphernalia, and driving with license revoked-impaired. He was issued a $1,000 secured bond and is scheduled to appear in Chatham County District Court in Pittsboro on July 26.

ARREST BLOTTER

VALERIA CLOËS | CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD

Town Manager Hank Raper gave a presentation to explain to the commissioners everything they’ve accomplished in the past year, in addition to outlining goals and action items for each strategic priority from the Strategic Plan adopted on Feb. 6, 2023.

Chatham County Sheri ’s O ce

Left, Alexis Mason, 24; Right, Mikhell Avion Watson, 18

Both Mason and Watson were charged with multiple felonies in connection with the July 5 gunshot incidient.

Jordan-Matthews student earns rst place in NC FFA Spanish Creed competition

Reyna Nava Catalan is the rst student in the state to earn this award

Jordan-Matthews High School

SILER CITY — At the 94th N.C. FFA State Convention in Raleigh in June, Reyna Nava Catalan made history as the rst-place winner in the FFA Spanish Creed competition.

Nava Catalan competed in two preliminary rounds, placing in the top four to proceed to the nals. She is the rst student to ever win the top prize in the competition.

“I am so proud of her success and I thank all the J-M sta that helped with ful lling her dream and mine,” Marguerite Fields, Jordan-Matthews agriculture teacher and FFA advisor said. “[Reyna] represented the J-M FFA chapter and Jordan-Matthews High School well with [her] awesome performance.”

Nava Catalan is a rising sophomore at Jordan-Matthews and is a member of the school’s AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) program. “It is an honor to have one the rst ever Spanish FFA Creed competition, as well as competing among other amazing Hispanic students who changed history. I had the best teachers and parents who supported me through every step of the way. Having this opportunity to represent my school, home, and the Hispanic community was a great experience and an opportunity that will move me forward in the next steps of my journey.”

Those next steps may involve a trip to Indiana.

Catalan quali ed and has been invited to compete at the historic rst FFA National Spanish Creed competition that will be held at the 96th National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana, in November.

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

Teachers, are you looking for new opportunities to fund projects for your classroom? Central Electric is awarding up to $15,000 in Bright Ideas education grants to local educators in K-12 classrooms for the 2023-2024 school year.

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

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“I am so proud of her success and I thank all the J-M sta that helped with ful lling her dream and mine. [Reyna] represented the J-M FFA chapter and Jordan-Matthews High School well with [her] awesome performance.” Marguerite Fields, JordanMatthews agriculture teacher and FFA advisor

Chatham YMCA to remain open during construction

By Ryan Henkel North State Journal

PITTSBORO — YMCA of the Triangle is aiming to open a brand new facility in the Chatham Park Planned Development District.

Currently, the Chatham YMCA, which is located at 287 East Street in Pittsboro, serves the Chatham County community and is approximately 6,000 square feet and o ers free weights, strength and cardio equipment, group exercise classes and a kid zone.

However, it is just not large enough to support the projected growth of the county.

The Chatham Park YMCA’s website states, ‘The new, 34,000-square-foot facility in Chatham Park will allow the YMCA to grow and meet the needs of current and future residents. Chatham County is one of the fastest growing communities in the state. By 2050, the area is expected to grow to 170,000 residents. The YMCA wants to grow with the community.’

The new Chatham Park YMCA is slated to break ground starting in Fall of 2023 and will include a stateof-the-art wellness center and group exercise studios, outdoor pool, indoor and openair gymnasiums, land for out-

door sports and youth and family programming, and multi-purpose space for community collaborations.

According to the website, the Chatham Park YMCA will also aim to meet critical community needs, stating that, ‘Under the guidance of positive role models, children build con dence and skills through Academic Support, After School, Sports & Day Camps; Teens stay active, connect with friends and practice leadership skills in real-world, inclusive spaces; and Busy families spend time together as they work & play their way toward a healthier tomorrow.’

During construction of the new Chatham Park YMCA, the Chatham YMCA will continue to stay open and will still o er youth programs, community engagement opportunities and group tness classes.

Chatham Park, which the Town of Pittsboro approved the Master Plan for back in 2015, is a planned development district that is approximately 7,100 acres and according to the master plan will include: up to 22,000 residential units, up to 22,000,000 sq. ft. of non-residential development, at least 1,320 acres of open space, at least 667 acres of park land and a variety of land uses, such as dwellings, parks, open space, entertainment, and commerce.

PHOTO COURTESY OF JORDAN-MATTHEWS HIGH SCHOOL Reyna Nava Catalan holds a plaque commemorating her win.

Patricia “Toney” Antoinette Brown

August 28, 1948 ~ July 10, 2023

Patricia “Toney” Antoinette Brown, 74, of Siler City, died Monday, July 10, 2023.

Toney was born in Chatham County on August 28, 1948, to Frederic Chester Brown Sr. and Myrtle Grace Barrow Brown. She attended the First Baptist Church and was a devout Christian. Her adulthood was spent learning as much as she could and thereby earning her several Master degrees from nearby Universities.

Toney is survived by her niece and nephew, Sabra Steele and Derek Brown, along with their families.

Over the years, Toney dealt with a variety of health and mental struggles, and was generously supported by many in the local community. The family would like to thank everyone that came into Toney’s life and helped her over the years. A very special thank you to Mary Lou Dudek, Connie Lineberry, Joanne Marshall, and their families, as well as the J.M. Class of 1966 and friends for their unwavering compassion, friendship and support.

A memorial service will be held on Thursday, July 20, 2023, at Smith & Buckner Funeral Home Chapel, at 10 a.m. Burial will follow at Oakwood Cemetery. Smith & Buckner Funeral Home is serving the Brown family.

Online condolences may be made at www.smithbucknerfh. com.

Nancy Dixon Phillips

July 8, 1941 ~ July 14, 2023

Nancy Dixon Phillips, 82, of Asheboro, formerly of Siler City, passed away July 14, 2023, at Randolph Health.

She was born in Chatham County on July 8, 1941, daughter of the late Joseph S. Dixon Sr. and Louise Clapp Dixon. Nancy worked for many years as a clerk at Belk Clothing Store. She was a member of Loves Creek Baptist Church of Siler City and loved spending time with her family, especially her grandchildren. In addition to her parents, Nancy was preceded in death by her husband, Lynville Phillips; son, Lynn Phillips; and brothers, Joseph S. Dixon Jr., Richard Dixon and Jim Dixon.

Ms. Phillips is survived by her son, Jarrett Phillips and wife Lorelei of Asheboro; ve grandchildren, Kristy Phillips Christie (Steve), Eric Phillips (Heather), Alex Phillips (John), Tres Phillips (Justin), and Trever Phillips (Aubrey); six great-grandchildren; sister, Ann D. Moore and husband Danny of Bear Creek; and brother, Bill Dixon and wife Janice of Siler City.

Funeral services for Ms. Phillips will be held Saturday, July 22, 2023, at 4 p.m. at Loves Creek Baptist Church of Siler City with Rev. Kenny Black o ciating. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service, beginning at 3 pm in the church sanctuary.

Online condolences may be made at www.smithbucknerfh. com Smith & Buckner Funeral Home is serving the Phillips family.

BILLY JOE “NUCK” CRAVEN CARD OF APPRECIATION

The family of the late Billy Joe “Nuck” Craven wishes to express our appreciation for your kind expressions of sympathy. Whether you sent a delicious dish, came by, gave monetary donation, sent a lovely card, brought beautiful owers, made a phone call, or messaged us on Facebook, we appreciate it. Perhaps you were not there at all, you just prayed for us. Whatever you did to console our hearts, we just want to say thank you.

A special thank you to the sta of Fresenius Dialysis Center of Siler City.

The Billy Joe Craven Family

CLYDE HOUSTON SPINKS

Clyde Houston Spinks, 75, of Siler City, passed away on Friday, July 7, 2023, at the Laurels of Chatham in Pittsboro.

The funeral was held Sunday, July 15, 2023, at 1 p.m. at Unity Powerhouse Holiness Church with Elder Cedric Lee o ciating. Burial followed at Pleasant Hill United Methodist Church Cemetery.

Clyde was the son of the late Arthur Melvin and Vera Mae Harris. He was also preceded in death by his stepmother, Goldie Cheek Spinks, one sister, Alice Faye Spinks and a brother, Gary Nathaniel Spinks. He joined the NCDOT as a highway maintenance worker, retiring from the Tra c Services/Sign Crew.

Survivors include his partner Ralynn McCaul; two children, Autumn Spinks-Miller, Reggie Clyde Spinks; two grandchildren and one step-grandchild; sisters, Agnes Spinks Moore, Peggie Spinks Goins; and one brother Charles Malvin Spinks.

JERRY “KEITH” PHILLIPS

March 12, 1955 ~ July 9, 2023

JJerry “Keith” Phillips of Cary passed away Sunday, July 9, 2023, at Cary Wake Med Hospital.

Keith was born in Siler City to Bill and Barbara Phillips. His father preceded him in death.

Survivors include his wife, Patty Garner Phillips of Cary; son, Andrew Phillips and wife, Coreen; daughter, Stephanie Phillips; grandchildren, Rebecca and Hannah; his mother Barbara Coward Phillips of Siler City; sisters, Deanna Jones of High Point, Sheila Carlsberg of Holly Springs, and Jennifer Phillips of High Point.

The Celebration of Life will be held at Cary County Club on Sunday, July 30, 2023.

GERDA WILKING THIEDEMANN

October 4, 1934 ~ July 11, 2023

Gerda Wilking Thiedemann of Broadway, passed away on Tuesday, July 11, 2023. She was the daughter of Henry and Marth Engelke Wilking, who preceded her in death, her husband, Harry Thiedemann; sister Ellie Wolter and two grandchildren.

Survivors include her children, Werner Thiedeman (Roxann) of Brahaam, MN, Detlev Thiedemann (Holly) of Sanford, Karen Formica of Pompano Beach, FL, Rita Cortese (Ken) of Kernersville and Kenneth Thiedemann of Middlesex, NJ; sisters, Irmi Stelljes of Middlesex, NJ, Ursula Faricius of Bradenton, FL; eight grandchildren; eleven great-grandchildren; and one great-great grandchild.

The funeral service was held at 1 p.m. Friday, July 14, 2023, at Broadway Presbyterian Church with Rev. Dr. Harold Stone o ciating.

Memorials may be made to JR Poe Therapy Dog Ministry, 104 Fiddler Drive, Broadway, N.C. 27505 or the Lee County Animal Shelter, 1450 No. Horner Blvd., Sanford, N.C. 27330. Make online condolences at www. smithfuneralhomebroadway.com.

CAROLYN DELORES MCNEILL

Carolyn Delores McNeill, 65, formerly of Sanford, passed away on Friday, July 7, 2023, at the Hospice House of the Piedmont in High Point.

The funeral service was held at 11:30 am. July 13, 2023, at Zion Hill Christian Center. Burial followed in Lee Memory Gardens.

ALICE ELSIE MCDUFFIE

May 6, 1945 ~ July 5, 2023

Alice Elsie McDu e, 78, of Sanford, passed away on Wednesday, July 5, 2023, at Central Carolina Hospital.

The funeral was held Wednesday, July 12, 2023, at 3 p.m. at St. Mark United Church of God, with burial following in Lee Memorial Gardens.

JIMMIE LEWIS EAVES

March 8, 1953 ~ July 11, 2023

Jimmie Lewis Eaves, 70, of Pittsboro passed away on Tuesday, July 11, 2023, at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill.

Services entrusted to Knotts Funeral Home.

JESSE DEAMETRIC DANIELS

June 5, 1981 ~ July 9, 2023

Jesse Deametric Daniels, 42, of Sanford passed away on Sunday, July 9, 2023.

Services entrusted to Knotts Funeral Home.

GENE ARTHUR MULLIN

September 14, 1935 ~ July 6, 2023

Gene Arthur Mullin, 87, of Sanford, passed away on Thursday, July 6, 2023, at Liberty Commons Nursing and Rehabilitation inn.

Services entrusted to Knotts Funeral Home.

MARY JOYCE (CROSS) SEYMOUR

March 20, 1951 ~ July 12, 2023

Mary Joyce (Cross) Seymour, 72, of Sanford, passed away on Wednesday, July 12, 2023, at her residence.

Services entrusted to Knotts Funeral Home.

CLARA ESTHER (BROWN) CLEGG

Clara Esther (Brown) Clegg, 93, of Sanford, passed away on Sunday, July 16, 2023, at her home.

Services entrusted to Knotts Funeral Home.

By Valeria Cloës Chatham News & Record

PITTSBORO — At last week’s Chatham County Schools Board of Education meeting at 6 p.m. on Monday, July 10, Superintendent Dr. Anthony Jackson presented statistics on the graduating class of 2023.

“We just wanted to make sure that we celebrated the accomplishments of this most recent class,” Superintendent Jackson said during the meeting.

The rst statistic shared by Superintendent Jackson was that “the class of 2023 received over $32 million in scholarships.” He said students from the AVID programs received a large portion of that scholarship money.

Additionally, some of this scholarship money comes from Chatham County students receiving full-ride scholarships to UNC-Chapel Hill, UNC-Asheville, Wake Forest, Elon and Appalachian State, in addition

and workforce

to many other scholarships, according to Superintendent Jackson’s presentation.

In addition to receiving scholarships, 75% (530) of graduating students were accepted to college, either to two- or fouryear universities, and 18% (127) acquired full-time employment upon graduation based on self reportings, he said.

There are also 18 graduates who will be serving in the military, he said. Five will be joining the Marines, two will be en-

meant McNabb’s team wouldn’t be able to compete at state conferences due to the forfeitures.

McNabb in April told the House Judiciary Committee members that she had to quit the rest of the season and is still enduring pain, and other neurological injuries and that she was now also having learning issues.

She says even one person being injured doesn’t just a ect them.

By Matt Mercer North State Journal

RALEIGH — Payton McNabb calls growing up in the mountains of western North Carolina a “blessing.” Rooted in faith, McNabb says she has relied on her foundation in Christ to stand up for what she believes is right.

“I know what I’m doing is right. I feel like other people may not have that, so that’s why they’re afraid. When everyone stands up for what’s right hopefully this whole thing will just be over,” she told North State Journal in an interview about the upcoming week in the legislature.

Her faith has helped her through a di cult season of life, when a high school volleyball match in September 2022 permanently altered her life and her health.

McNabb was knocked unconscious and exhibited a fencing response, which indicates a traumatic brain injury, following a forceful blow to the head from a volleyball spike by a biological male playing on the opponent’s team. The sheer impact of left McNabb with signi cant long-term physical and mental e ects, including impaired vision, partial paralysis on her right side, and anxiety and depression.

In the aftermath, McNabb, now a spokeswoman with Independent Women’s Forum, detailed what she knew at the time and why HB 574 should become law.

McNabb told North State Journal that her high school, Hiwassee Dam, had to be informed there was a transgender player on the

team. She said that the players on the team and administration were aware of who the individual was and that the player was previously homeschooled.

“We did know because they’re the same age as me (and her teammates) and once they started high school, started playing sports, they had to tell every school ‘we have a transgender player on our team,’” said McNabb.

“And they were not happy about it… it was obvious (the physical changes),” she added.

McNabb said the transgender player was someone she competed against previously. The di erence, she said, was when the player hit puberty.

“It wasn’t a big deal until like this year because he didn’t hit puberty until when boys usually hit puberty. Once that happened, however, McNabb said the player got a lot taller, stronger, and was hitting and injuring “everyone.”

At that point, it was a matter of time before someone would seriously get injured.

In one case, McNabb said county politics played a role when one player was hit, but on their arm, and wanted to sweep the incident under the rug.

“Yeah, I mean there’s no doubt. There is someone who said that they got hit on the arm, but they were mad at me getting hurt because other schools missed games.”

As a result of the incident, Cherokee County’s School Board voted to forfeit all future games against Highland or any team with a transgender athlete on it. The board cited concerns for the safety of the female athletes, but it also

“I know it was just one person, but it didn’t just a ect me. The whole issue did not just a ect me. The administration should be advocating for me and ghting for me, it’s just telling me I’m unimportant because it was just one person,” McNabb said.

“That’s the main reason I’m doing what I’m doing is because this is extremely important; we need to ght for it now so it doesn’t keep becoming a bigger issue. My sister’s going into high school, I don’t want her to have to deal with this at all. It just makes me sick thinking of this happening to her, my younger cousins and all of my teammates,” she added.

McNabb also had strong words for Gov. Roy Cooper, who vetoed the HB 574 in early July.

“I can’t comprehend why we’re even having to have this debate. Allowing biological males to compete against biological females is dangerous. This is an incredibly important bill to me especially because I had to live it,” said McNabb.

“I may be the rst to su er an injury, but if this doesn’t pass, I won’t be the last,” she added.

The North Carolina Values Coalition has voiced its support for the bill as well.

Executive Director Tami Fitzgerald said, “The severe injuries to Payton McNabb caused by the strength of a trans athlete shows bodies play sports, not identities. I look forward to North Carolina joining the other 21 states which have enacted this type of pro-woman legislation for female athletes.”

After initially appearing on the N.C. House calendar on July 12, a slate of veto override votes are scheduled for Wednesday, July 19.

lsiting in the Navy, 10 serving in the Army, while one is undecided, according to the presentation.

Another statistic shared by Superintendent Jackson was that all seniors who were a part of the Evening Academy at SAGE Academy — students who needed to makeup credits to graduate — completed the program successfully. SAGE Academy becomes ONE Academy at the start of the 20232024 school year.

The end of the presentation compiled parts of commencement speeches from Chatham County high schools graduates.

“Graduating isn’t anything easy … “ Savannah Matthews, Northwood High School class of 2023 graduate said. “All of our hard work has paid o , and we can take a sigh of relief knowing that we have nally completed a big step in our lives.”

Superintendent Jackson nished the presentation by thanking the board of education on the graduates’ behalf and other acknowledgments.

“I want to thank our community for continuing to lift up our students,” Superintendent Jackson said. “And holding us accountable for doing what’s right for them every single day.”

Je erson Gri n looks to join Republican majority on NC Supreme Court

By Matt Mercer North State Journal

RALEIGH — N.C. Court of Appeals Judge Je erson Grif-

n is no stranger to running a statewide campaign for o ce. After mounting his rst campaign for the Court of Appeals in 2018 in which he narrowly lost, he ran again two years later and prevailed in the rst of two consecutive statewide judicial sweeps for Republicans.

With one seat on the N.C. Supreme Court on the ballot in 2024, Gri n is the rst and, so far, only declared candidate.

“I’ve been traveling pretty hard. We hit it pretty hard the rst six months, going hammer down since December last year. Now, we’re resting and resetting a bit after thenance report deadline,” Gri n told North State Journal last week.

Gri n said his interest in joining the state Supreme Court comes after seeing and experiencing rst-hand how impactful appellate courts can be.

case about race track’s owners challenging Gov. Roy Cooper and former N.C. Dept. Of Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy Cohen’s orders during the coronavirus pandemic that closed the track.

“Issues like that, we deal with those at the Court of Appeals. I’ve seen how important they are and how impactful they can be at our court, at the Supreme Court and issues with individual liberty,” he said.

Gri n said his relationships with many of the current justices would help him hit the ground running if he wins election to the seat. He counts Chief Justice Paul Newby as a longtime supporter.

“I’ve been able to show the people of North Carolina that I’m a constitutional conservative, that I believe in the rule of law.”

Je erson Gri n, N.C. Court of Appeals Judge

“I’ve seen how impactful our appellate courts can be over the last four years, especially when we had a liberal Democrat majority and what they were willing to do with that majority from an activist standpoint,” said Gri n.

(Being) that close to it and watching from the Court of Appeals we have to be measured and determined to keep a conservative majority not only on our Court of Appeals, but especially the Supreme Court.”

Gri n said that his time spent on the appeals court will translate well to jumping to the Supreme Court.

“Around 90% of all appeals are resolved at the court of appeals level. Just the number of repetitions and the broad areas of law that we get to address have been very impactful for me, we’ve already written over 150 opinions since joining the court. The volume that we deal with is very high,” Gri n said his of his time on the court.

He added, “I’ve been able to show the people of North Carolina that I’m a constitutional conservative, that I believe in the rule of law. Probably 50% of our calendar at the court of appeals are criminal cases. So, areas of criminal justice where can clarify the law, make sure we are we’re doing our job as appellate judges, not retrying cases, making sure there no errors were made below.”

When asked about speci c cases he’s been part of, Gri n cited election integrity issues and the Ace Speedway case that currently sits in front of the Supreme Court.

Court of Appeals judges sit in panels of three to hear cases. Gri n said he sat on a panel dealing with felon voter issues and wrote what he called a “lengthy dissent” in the case that ultimately was overturned by the Supreme Court earlier this year. He also wrote an opinion in the Ace Speedway

“The Chief Justice has been a good friend and mentor for a long time back from my days when I moved to Raleigh and was an assistant DA in Wake County,” he said. He also shared two years on the Court of Appeals with Justice Richard Dietz and said he already had good relationships with Justices Trey Allen, Tamara Barringer and Phil Berger Jr., who he highlighted as sharing his background working previously as prosecutors.

In past election cycles Grifn has been taken o the campaign trail for his long-running military service. His wife, Kayte, has stepped in for him in candidate forums and appearances. At that time Gri n was in Kuwait, Iraq and Jordan with the Army National Guard. Despite the challenge of campaigning and serving, he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I love my military service. I think it’s an honor and a privilege to serve. It’s very rewarding,” he said, adding that he doesn’t expect he’ll have to leave if elected to the Supreme Court.

“I anticipate we’ll be able to continue service there and in the judiciary,” he said.

Focusing back on the campaign side, he said he had respect for outgoing Justice Mike Morgan, who is eyeing a run for governor. Morgan said earlier this year he would not run for a second term on the Supreme Court, making the 2024 race an open seat for both parties.

No matter who he ends up running against, Gri n said philosophy of judicial restraint and being consistent is what he’s sharing with voters. He cited two U.S. Supreme Justices: Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch as those he aligns with for his approach.

“I’ve always been a fan of Clarence Thomas’s judicial philosophy. He’s always consistent. More recently, (Neil) Gorsuch is starting to develop a body of work. I respect his view of originalism. He is faithful to that philosophy even if in certain cases, it doesn’t yield the outcome he may want, right? But I think he is consistent, and that’s what we should be as judges, consistent in how we interpret the law,” Gri n said.

With veto override votes set, Payton McNabb shares her story backing women’s sports bill

Class of 2023 receives well over $32 million in scholarships, goes to college, military

REAL ESTATE

LEARN ABOUT LAND - Chatham Land Experts, www.learnaboutland.com - 919-362-6999

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RENTALS, APARTMENTS

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WINDSOR ARMS APARTMENTS in Siler City is accepting applications for the waiting list for 1BR & 2BR units. Save $$, water incl in rent. Visit us at 1409 E 11th St, Apt 2-B or call (919) 663-2473 (TTY 711) for more information. Rental assistance available, rent based on income. $25 application fee per applicant, credit/criminal check required. Accessible units designed for persons with disabilities, subject to availability. Equal Housing Opportunity. This institution is professionally managed by Partnership Property

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POWELL SPRINGS APTS. Evergreen Construction introduces its newest independent living community for adults 55 years or older, 1 and

2 bedroom applications now being accepted.

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4 p.m. Call 919-533-6319 for more information, TDD #1-800-735-2962, Equal housing opportunity, Handicapped accessible, A2,tfnc

ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS now for one bedroom apartments, adults 55 years or older. Water included, appliances furnished, on-site laundry, elevator, keyless entry. Section 8 accepted. No security deposit. Application fee $25 per adult. Call Braxton Manor, 919-663-1877. Handicap accessible. Equal Housing Opportunity. Jy14,tfnc

AUTO FOR SALE

AUCTIONS

AUCTIONEER SCOTT L. HARRIS at JHA. One Call...We sell it all!!! Real estate, personal property, estate settlement, farms & land, business liquidation. JHA has been conducting auctions in the state of NC since 1989. Fully licensed Real Estate and Auction Firm. NCAL #8420 Firm #8086 www.JerryHarrisAuction.com, 919-498-4077, Jy6,tfnc

‘RICKY ELLINGTON AUCTIONEERS - Equipment, business, liquidation, estates, land, houses, antiques, personal property, coins, furniture, consignments, bene ts, etc., NCAL #7706, 919548-3684, 919-663-3556, rickyellingtonauctions@yahoo.com, Jy6,tfnc

SERVICES

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LETT’S TREE SERVICE - tree removal, stump grinding, lot clearing. Visa & Master Card accepted. Timber. Free estimates. 919-258-3594. N9,tfnc

HELP WANTED

PINEY GROVE METHODIST CHURCH is seeking a part-time music director. Contact Cli Stickney at (919) 818-7847 for more information. Jn15,22,29,Jy6,13,20,27,7tp

FOOD SERVICES STAFF, Pittsboro Christian Village is accepting applications for Server, Pantry Cook, and Cook. Apply in person 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday – Friday, at 1825 East St. in Pittsboro. Jy14,tfnc

RV FOR SALE

RV for sale, Damen Daybreak 2000, 75,000 miles, runs great, good tires, good air conditioner, good generator. $10,000, Financing available, 919-828-4247. Jn8,tfncx

RAINBOW WATER FILTERED VACUUMS, Alice Cox, Cox’s Distributing - Rainbow - Cell: 919-5484314, Sales, Services, Supplies. Serving public for 35 years. Rada Cutlery also available. Au26,tfnc

AUTO BROKERS RECYCLERS - Cash paid for Junk/Wrecked vehicles. Call 919-545-0194. My13,tfnc JUNK CARS PICKED UP Free of charge. Due to many months of low steel prices and unstable

SOUTHERN SUPREME FRUITCAKE CO. has openings for full time, temporary positions in all areas of production from August 2023 - December 2023.

Interested applicants may apply between 10 a.m.

- 4 p.m., Monday - Thursday at 1699 Hoyt Scott Rd, Bear Creek NC 27207.

Chatham Monument Company has an immediate job opening. This is a full time position and involves placing monuments in the cemetery in Chatham and surrounding counties. Job requirements are: Must have a valid NC drivers license, must be able to lift 75 pounds if necessary. Must have a good attitude, the ability to work well with others and be willing to learn. Also needs reliable transportation to and from work. Pay will be based on the individual and their ability to do the work. Apply in Person to 227 N. 2nd Ave. Siler City, NC 27344

“Ours [Pittsboro’s] is located on the Haw River just north of Town,” Town of Pittsboro’s Public Information O cer & Emergency Management Coordinator Colby Sawyer said. “And Sanford’s is on the Cape Fear River near N.C. 42.” These samples tested for levels of PFOA, PFOS and 1,4-Dioxane. For PFOA, Pittsboro’s water had double the amount than Sanford’s raw water samples across the board, from 14 ug/L (micrograms per liter) in November 2022, incrementally growing to 29 ug/L in June 2023. However, Sanford’s sample uctuated from 5.96 ug/L to 8.14 ug/L between that same time period.

“Sanford tests raw water monthly since 2020,” the presentation read. “Pittsboro tests bimonthly since GAC [granular activated carbon system] was completed in November 2022.”

PFOS in raw water for Pittsboro in June 2023 was at 21 ug/L, while Sanford’s was at 14.2 ug/L. Finally the last 1,4-Dioxane reading in June 2023 for Pittsboro was at 1.5 ug/L while Sanford’s last reading come out to 0 ug/L.

“The bar graphs show how these currently unregulated chemicals di er be

tween each water source at the point of intake,” Sawyer said. “Across all measure

ments, the measurements taken at the Sanford intake were lower, meaning there is a lower volume of chemicals that need to be ltered/removed from the beginning of the treatment process (and infers a higher quality of water).”

Next, the commissioners, Town Manager Jonathan Franklin, Town Attorney Paul Messick and Poyner Spruill LLP attorney Bob Hagemann went over wording of the PFAS lawsuit settlement to better understand possible future scenarios, and gave the opportunity for the commissioners to ask the lawyers questions.

Finally, Jackson said that the city of Sanford has expressed concern about its employees who will be impacted by the merger, but said that the transfer date of employees will be no later than June 30, 2024.

Before adjourning the work session, Mayor Cindy Perry congratulated the town for its recent water and wastewater utility merger website. “The merger website that you all developed is absolutely outstanding,” Perry said. “And I would like to thank the sta for that.”

Questions about the utility merger can be asked under the “Submit a Question” tab at the website they have recently launched: https://pittsboronc.gov/475/Merger.

“Across all measurements, the [ones] taken at the Sanford intake were lower, meaning there is alower volume of chemicals that need to be ltered/ removed from the beginning of the treatment process (and infers a higher quality of water).”

Colby Sawyer, Town of Pittsboro’s Public Information

O cer & Emergency Management

Coordinator

PITTSBORO from page 1

1043, and the holder of the note evidencing said indebtedness having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will o er for sale at the courthouse door in Chatham County, North Carolina, or the customary location designated for foreclosure sales, on Tuesday, August 1, 2023 at 11:30am, and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following real estate situated in the County of Chatham, North Carolina, and being more particularly described as follows:

PARCEL IDENTIFICATION NUMBER(S): 9714 00 83 4340

ADDRESS: 120 ELSA JANE LN., PITTSBORO, NC 27312

PRESENT RECORD OWNER(S): SHEMIKA SKILLINGS FRANKS AND BOOKER T. FRANKS ALL THAT CERTAIN LOT OR PARCEL OF LAND SITUATED IN HADLEY TOWNSHIP, CHATHAM COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA AND MORE PARTICULARLY DESCRIBED AS FOLLOWS: BEING ALL OF LOT #90, CONTAINING 4.505 ACRES, MORE OR LESS, AS SHOWN ON A PLAT ENTITLED “SURVEY FOR BOBCAT POINT SUBDIVISION – PHASE IV; LOTS 89, 90, 102 AND 103,” PREPARED BY VAN R. FINCH – LAND SURVEYS, PA, DATED NOVEMBER 19, 2003, REVISED NOVEMBER 2, 2003 AND REVISED DECEMBER 1, 2003, AND RECORDED IN PLAT SLIDE 2003-438, CHATHAM COUNTY REGISTRY, REFERENCE TO WHICH IS HEREBY MADE FOR A MORE PARTICULAR DESCRIPTION.

Trustee may, in the Trustee’s sole discretion, delay the sale for up to one hour as provided in N.C.G.S. §45-21.23. Should the property be purchased by a third party, that party must pay the excise tax, as well as the court costs of Forty-Five Cents ($0.45) per One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) required by N.C.G.S. §7A-308(a)(1).

The property to be o ered pursuant to this notice of sale is being o ered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS, WHERE IS.” Neither the Trustee nor the holder of the note secured by the deed of trust/security agreement, or both, being foreclosed, nor the o cers, directors, attorneys, employees, agents or authorized representative of either the Trustee or the holder of the note make any representation or warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at or relating to the

Pursuant to the Order dated May 26, 2023 entered in the General Court of Justice Superior Court Division for Wake County, North Carolina

property being o ered for sale, and any and all responsibilities or liabilities arising out of or in any way relating to any such condition are expressly disclaimed. Also, this property is being sold subject to all taxes, special assessments, and prior liens or prior encumbrances of record and any recorded releases. Said property is also being sold subject to applicable Federal and State laws. A deposit of ve percent (5%) of the purchase price, or seven hundred fty dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, is required and must be tendered in the form of certi ed funds at the time of the sale.

If the trustee is unable to convey title to this property for any reason, the sole remedy of the purchaser is the return of the deposit. Reasons of such inability to convey include, but are not limited to, the ling of a bankruptcy petition prior to the con rmation of the sale and reinstatement of the loan without the knowledge of the trustee. If the validity of the sale is challenged by any party, the trustee, in its sole discretion, if it believes the challenge to have merit, may request the court to declare the sale to be void and return the deposit.

The purchaser will have no further remedy.

Additional Notice for Residential Property with Less than 15 rental units, including Single-Family Residential Real Property: An order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 45-21.29 in favor of the purchaser and against the party or parties in possession by the clerk of superior court of the county in which the property is sold. Any person who occupies the property pursuant to a rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2007, may after receiving the

of the Chatham County, North Carolina Registry.

notice of foreclosure sale, terminate the rental agreement by providing written notice of termination to the landlord, to be e ective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 10 days but not more than 90 days, after the sale date contained in this notice of sale, provided that the mortgagor has not cured the default at the time the tenant provides the notice of termination. Upon termination of a rental agreement, the tenant is liable for rent due under the rental agreement prorated to the e ective date of the termination.

THIS IS A COMMUNICATION FROM A DEBT COLLECTOR. THE PURPOSE OF THIS COMMUNICATION IS TO COLLECT A DEBT AND ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED WILL BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE, except as stated below in the instance of bankruptcy protection.

IF YOU ARE UNDER THE PROTECTION OF THE BANKRUPTCY COURT OR HAVE BEEN DISCHARGED AS A RESULT OF A BANK-RUPTCY PROCEEDING, THIS NOTICE IS GIVEN TO YOU PURSUANT TO STATUTORY REQUIREMENT AND FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES AND IS NOT INTENDED AS AN ATTEMPT TO COLLECT A DEBT OR AS AN ACT TO COLLECT, ASSESS, OR RECOVER ALL OR ANY PORTION OF THE DEBT FROM YOU PERSONALLY.

Robertson, Anschutz, Schneid, Crane & Partners, PLLC 110 Frederick St, Suite 200 Greenville, South Carolina 29607 Phone: (470) 321-7112, Ext. 52157

Fax: 1-919-800-3528

RAS File Number: 22-020429

In the Matter of Foreclosure of a certain Claim of Lien on Real Property claimed against JLS Homes, LLC dated March 28, 2022 and record in the O ce of the Clerk of Superior Court of Chatham County, North Carolina as 22-M-141

Case No. 22CVS0004903-910, the undersigned counsel for Lienor Sanchez Brothers Masonry, Inc. (“Lienor”) hereby gives notice that Lienor will enforce the Claim of Lien on Real Property dated March 28, 2022 and recorded in the O ce of the Clerk of Superior Court of Chatham County, North Carolina as 22-M-141 and expose for sale at public auction on August 2, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. at the usual place of sale at the Chatham County Courthouse, that certain real property (including any improvements thereon) located at 55 Lookout Ridge, Pittsboro, North Carolina 27312, Chatham County, State of North Carolina, and more particularly described as follows: NCPIN 973400-34-5627, Real Estate ID 0083437, and the instruments recorded in Book 02197, Page 0797

The real property described herein is being offered for sale “AS IS, WHERE IS.” The sale shall be made subject to all prior liens, restrictions, and easements of record, as well as any unpaid taxes and assessments, if any. The record owner of the above-described real property as re ected on the records of the Chatham County Register of Deeds not more than ten (10) days prior to posting of this Notice is JLS Homes, LLC, a North Carolina limited liability company. Any successful bidder may be required to deposit with counsel for Lienor immediately upon conclusion of the sale, a cash deposit of ve (5%) of the bid or $750.00, whichever is greater. If the successful bidder fails to make the required deposit, the property will be immediately reo ered for sale. Any successful bidder shall be required to tender the full balance of the purchase price

so bid in cash or by certi ed check at the time counsel for Lienor tenders to him or her a deed for the property or attempts to tender such deed. Should said successful bidder fail to pay the full balance of the purchase price so bid at that time, he or shell shall remain liable on the bid. This sale shall be held open ten (10) days for upset bids.

WYRICK ROBBINS YATES & PONTON LLP

Cullen Sta ord csta ord@wyrick.com

Mary Kate Gladstone mgladstone@wyrick.com 4101 Lake Boone Trail, Suite 300

Raleigh, North Carolina 27607

Telephone: (919) 781-4000 Facsimile: (919) 781-4865

6 Chatham volleyball teams inch closer to regular season, B5

West Chatham 15U team makes Dixie Softball World Series

Team

looking for donations to help with travel expenses

By Jeremy Vernon Chatham News & Record

FOR THE THIRD straight year, a group of local softball players will represent Chatham

County at the Dixie Youth Softball World Series in Alexandria, La.

The West Chatham 15U AllStars recently earned their bid to the 2023 Dixie Youth Softball Belles (15U) World Series after winning the North Carolina Dixie State Championship. The tournament was held from July 8-12 in Southport, where West

NFHS introduces rule changes in baseball, girls’ lax, running sports

By Jeremy Vernon Chatham News & Record

Since the start of July, the National Federation of State High School Associations has introduced several rule changes and adjustments that are set to begin starting with the 2023-24 school year.

At the NFHS Baseball Rules Committee meeting from July 4-6 in Indianapolis, committee members voted to allow the use of a one-way communication device between a coach and the team’s catcher for the purpose of calling pitches.

The new rule stipulates that coaches can only use the device to speak with their catcher on defense when an opposing player is batting. Coaches cannot talk with any other eld players, and they must remain in the dugout when they use the communication device.

The change could have an effect on the pace of play starting next spring. Teams typically employ a wristband strategy with their catchers to communicate

what pitch to throw, often throwing out three seemingly random numbers to their catcher that correspond to a certain pitch/location on a premade chart. This system was similar to how a football coach would call in plays to his quarterback on o ense.

Another change made at the rules committee meeting had to do with an umpire’s decision to forfeit a contest. Under the new rule, the umpire-in-chief is not allowed to take spectors’ behavior into account when deciding to forfeit a game. Instead, “only infractions by players, coaches or team/bench personnel are under the umpire’s jurisdiction.”

The conduct of spectators has long been a point of debate for high school athletics o cials. Several viral videos that have emerged over the past several years have shown umpires canceling games because of unruly parents. Now, under the rule changes, game administrators will have to deal with spectator misconduct.

See NFHS page B4

Chatham went 5-1 and held a 53-24 run di erential.

Coached by Todd Hill, Billy Jordan and Kyle Gardner, the 15U All-Stars squeaked by Lumberton, 7-6, in its rst game thanks to some big hits from Emma Grace Hill, Alyssa Harris, Madalyn Holton and Maddie Kaczmarczyk.

In the team’s second contest,

West Chatham dominated South Columbus, ultimately winning by mercy rule after going up 17-1 in the fth inning. The 15U All-Stars plated their rst three runs in the rst inning thanks to RBI from Hill, Kaczmarczyk and Abigail Johnson. Holton then hit a home run in the second inning to put her team up 4-0. The team tacked on 11 runs

in the third to put things out of reach for good. The team’s next game ended by a score of 12-2, but 15U was actually tied with the West Stanly All-Stars heading into the fth inning before things got out of hand. Singles by Kalynn Long, Adison Gardner and Aryana Teague scored four total runs, while four more runs came courtesy of doubles by Hill and Harris. The game ultimately ended when Kaczmarczyk stole home to plate West Chatham’s 12th run. The team also beneted from some solid defensive work, including strong play by

Seaforth High hosting wrestling clinic on July 26-28 for 7-12 graders

By Jeremy Vernon Chatham News & Record

PITTSBORO — Next week, Seaforth High is o ering a chance for local wrestlers to learn from several former grapplers with Division-I experience.

The clinic, which will be held on July 26-28, is open to wrestlers from grades 7-12 and costs $150 to attend. Running the show will be Seaforth assistant Peter Rogers, current college assistant coach Luke Welch and UNC rising junior Gavin Kane.

Rogers is the father of Hawks’ rising sophomore Gabe Rogers — who nished second in the 2A state tournament at 106 pounds this past February. Before helping build the Seaforth program these past few years, he served as an assistant coach at Purdue. And in his college days he was a two-time NCAA quali er at Ohio State.

Seaforth head coach Ryan Armstrong said it was his and Rogers’ vision to o er an event like this where wrestlers can come in and improve, regardless of whether or not they live in Chatham County.

“Our vision is to expose wrestling to everybody,” Armstrong said. “We want to get the Chapel Hill kids, the Carrboro kids, the Orange kids, the Northwood kids in. Now you have a safe spot to come into with high-quality coaching. Not only are we building our program, but we’re also helping to build programs outside of our school.”

Welch, one of the clinicians who will lead the event, won the 2017 USA Wrestling Uni-

versity Nationals at 57 kg (125.7 lbs) and quali ed for the NCAA championships in 2018 while competing under Rogers and head coach Tony Ersland at Purdue.

After graduating, Welch earned an assistant coaching position at the University of Mount Olive before winding up at The Citadel, where he currently helps the Cadets’ wrestling team.

See WRESTLING, page B2

JAMES KIEFER | CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD

Last winter, two Seaforth individual wrestlers — Gabe Rogers and Josh Miller — nished second in their weight class at the N.C. state championships.

PHOTO COURTESY TODD HILL

The West Chatham 15U All-Star softball team will compete in the 2023 Dixie Youth Softball Belles (15U) World Series in Alexandria, La. The team recently won the N.C. state championship in their division.

See SOFTBALL, page B2

Props to The Daily Northwestern

Jeremy Vernon, Chatham News & Record Sports Editor

IT’S NOT OFTEN we get to see an example of strong investigative journalism in today’s media landscape, but The Daily Northwestern’s recent coverage of the Northwestern football team’s alleged culture of hazing and racism shows us the importance of digging a little deeper leaving no stone unturned.

Oh yeah, did I mention the coverage is exclusively from college students?

I was a member of a college newsroom myself when I was at UNC Chapel Hill from 2013-17. We had plenty of award-winning content come out during my time there, but it’s hard to say we ever made an impact on the scale The Daily Northwestern has.

After a university investigation determined Northwestern engaged in hazing and suspended head coach Scott Fitzgerald for just a week, The Daily Northwestern had an exclusive report with an unnamed player further detailing how players were treated on a regular basis. The player detailed how some hazing rituals involved “coerced sexual acts,” a claim that was backed up by a separate anonymous player.

That story came out on July 8, and by July 10, the public outrage was such that Northwestern decided to re Fitzgerald. But during the course of their investigation, the Daily also found evidence that Northwestern baseball coach Jim Foster had created an environment of abuse that led to the transfer of 15 players from the team in his one season in charge. Foster was quickly ousted a few days later.

After the news broke of the initial hazing report dealing with the football team, people took to social media to either defend the reporting of these student journalists or disparage them by accusing them of disrupting the athletic landscape with a hit piece. The more info that came out, the more people realized just how much dirt the reporters had unearthed.

Northwestern has regularly boasted a top journalism undergraduate program, and it’s clear that the students who work at The Daily Northwestern have learned all the important minutiae that comes with investigative reporting and also possess strong journalistic instincts.

The goal of quality investigative journalism is to speak truth to power while giving a voice to the underrepresented — challenging the status quo to bring about some meaningful change for the betterment of society.

The journalists at The Daily Northwestern gave us a perfect example of this last week. And it’s an example we should try to follow as we confront more injustice in our daily lives.

The following week at the NFHS Girls Lacrosse Rules Committee meeting, members voted to start playing quarters instead of halves beginning in 2024.

Formerly, girls teams played two 20-minute halves, but now there will be four 12-minute quarters. This change presents some consistency across boys and girls lacrosse, as now both sports will play the same number of minutes in each game.

There are only two high school

girls lacrosse teams in Chatham County at present — Northwood and Seaforth. The Chargers made it to the 1A/2A/3A state semi nals this past spring before falling to eventual state champion Croatan.

Seaforth, meanwhile, went 3-11 overall and 3-9 in a tough Mid-Carolina Conference. The Hawks had three players make the all-conference team at season’s end: Renee Rizvi, Mia Moore and Jessica deBerjeois.

At the same time the NFHS Girls Lacrosse Rules Committee was going on, the NFHS Track

and Field Rules Committee voted to make changes to its falsestart rule in both cross country and track and eld.

The changes were made to more clearly de ne false starts in high school events. Now, according to the committee, a false start will be called: “If a runner leaves their mark with a hand or foot after the ‘set’ command but before the starting device is red,” and “if a runner leaves their mark with a forward motion without the starting device being red.” The committee o ered further

Recent Northwood graduate Te’Keyah Bland participated in the North Carolina Coaches Association Girls’ Basketball East-West All-Star Game in Greensboro on Monday night. Bland played for the West, which fell to the East by a score of 74-68. Bland will play college basketball at Howard University in Washington, D.C.

clari cation by stating that “extraneous motion before the device is red does not necessarily require a false start to be charged unless the criteria in the rule are met. If the starter thinks the movement creates a situation of unfairness to any of the competitors, the starter may cancel the start with the command ‘stand up,’ or if the device has been red, recall the race as an unsteady or unfair start and redo the starting procedure.”

These changes will go into effect beginning with cross country season, which starts in August

and runs through November. Another change introduced at the meeting has to do with eld events. Now, athletes will be allowed to tape their ngers as long as the ngers aren’t taped together and each nger can move independently. Athletes who compete in the discus throw, shot put and javelin will bene t from these new changes.

According to several sources, applying a solid tape job to an athlete’s wrist/hands can help prevent injuries brought on by the repeated throwing of objects in these events.

BLAND PLAYS IN EAST-WEST ALL-STAR GAME

PHOTOS BY PJ WARD-BROWN | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

NFHS from page 1

International soccer match brings new twist to Kenan Stadium

By Bob Sutton North State Journal

CHAPEL HILL — The presence of Chelsea FC and Wrexham AFC meant a major international soccer event this week in the Triangle.

It came with an overhaul of Kenan Stadium on the University of North Carolina campus.

In order to play Wednesday night’s match, the stadium’s eld was covered with natural turf over the arti cial version that was put in place a few years ago at what’s normally an American football venue.

Chelsea is an English Premier League team and Wrexham is a Welsh team. That match serves as the lead-o to the 2023 FC Series.

This marks the rst international soccer event at Kenan Stadium. Chelsea and Wrexham came together for their rst meeting since 1984.

“I’m learning about how popular they are,” North Carolina football coach Mack Brown said of endorsing the event to be played on campus. “I thought it was a no-brainer. It was a win-

SOFTBALL from page 1

Jasmine Sorto, Heidi Vicente, Lilly Allen and Kinley Jordan.

A double-header on Day 4 of the state tournament saw West Chatham start with a win over Pembroke, but Game 2 saw the All-Stars at the wrong end of an 11-0 loss to Duplin County. Despite the loss, West Chatham had already clinched its ticket to the tournament nal, which came on Day 5 in a rematch with Duplin County.

Unphased by their previous loss, the All-Stars took down Duplin County 3-0 in the championship game. Kaczmarczyk and Hill combined to throw a scoreless game while striking out a total of 11 batters. O ensively, West Chatham scored its runs courtesy of two RBU singles by Harris and another by Johnson.

Two West Chatham players — Gardner and Allen — are set to make their second Dixie World Series appearance in

WRESTLING from page 1

Kane, on the other hand, is a two-time NCAA qualier who was an All-American at 184 pounds during his sophomore season in 202223. Kane nished runner-up in his weight class at the 2023 ACC Championships and nished eighth overall at 184 at the NCAA championships.

The rising junior is the latest UNC wrestler with a connection to Seaforth. Last school year, Austin O’Connor interned as an assistant athletic director with the Hawks. At the NCAA championships in Oklahoma this past March, O’Connor won a national title at 157 pounds — his second national championship in as many seasons with the Tar Heels.

Bringing in a strong group of coaches was a point of emphasis for Armstrong as he helped put this clinic together. He hopes hosting regular events like these will bolster the improvement of his own program, as well as help build up programs at surrounding schools inside and outside Pittsboro.

“It’s going to make things stronger, and things are going to get more competitive,” Armstrong said. “We’re not going to see a lag in develop -

win-win from all angles.”

The stadium transformation began a week before the match. More than 1.5 million pounds of sod arrived from a farm outside of Charlotte. More than two dozen workers assisted with the installation of nearly 100,000 square feet of sod.

After the game, some of the sod might be used for other spots on campus.

Installing sod over arti cial turf has become a regular occurrence as more international soc-

as many years. Last summer, the pair made it to the Dixie Youth Softball Ponytails World Series as part of the West Chatham 12U All-Stars.

The year before that, in 2021, West Chatham’s 10U team made the Dixie Youth Angels World Series, where it nished third overall.

Before West Chatham makes its trip to Louisiana for the Dixie World Series, it is trying to raise money to help with travel expenses for the players and their families. The team has a GoFundMe page set up with a $5,000 goal. As of the time this story was written, only $870 had been donated so far.

The All-Stars will have additional fundraising events this upcoming weekend. On Friday from 2-8 p.m., Al’s Diner in Pittsboro will donate a portion of its sales to the team. The following day in downtown Goldston, the West Chatham team will host a bake sale from 9 am to 1 p.m., with all the proceeds going to the team.

ment. That’s our main goal — giving back to the community. Not everyone can bring in a Citadel coach or a UNC wrestler. We’re fortunate that we have the connections we have.”

Plenty of Seaforth High wrestlers will learn at the clinic next week, including Gabe Rogers and other top competitors like Josh Miller and Layne Armstrong. This week, Rogers and Miller both competed at the 2023 US Marine Corps USAW 16U Junior National Wrestling Championships in Fargo, N.D.

Armstrong said he regularly encourages his team to train and compete outside of the high school season, and the Hawks have followed that advice. The hope is the focus on preparation and improvement will help Seaforth wrestling continue to add to the solid base it has already built over the past two years.

“They’re putting in the work they need to do to get to the next level,” Armstrong said of his wrestlers. “These guys have hopes of going Divison-I. I think 13 of our 14 starters are competing yearround, and a lot of our JV kids are getting the bite and starting to work year-round too. It’s been fun to watch.”

cer events are coming to American stadiums made for football with helmets and shoulder pads. In advance of last July’s Florida Cup matchup between Arsenal FC and Chelsea FC, Orlando’s Camping World Stadium brought in 103,000 square feet of Bermuda grass sod. Closer to home, last month, Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium hosted a pair of Gold Cup matches, between the U.S. and Trinidad & Tobago and between Honduras and Haiti. It’s the second

time in two years that the home of the Panthers has undergone a eld transformation for international soccer. Sod was brought in for last July’s game between Charlotte FC and Chelsea, as well.

Despite complaints from Panthers players about the quality of the turf at Bank of America Stadium, there were no plans to leave the grass eld installed on a more permanent basis either time it was brought in.

Chelsea will once again be playing on an imported temporary grass eld in North Carolina when it faces Wrexham on Wednesday.

Chelsea won the IFA Club World Cup in 2022, adding to its credentials that include ve Premier League championships.

Wrexham has gained a cultlike following in recent years after the team was bought in 2020 by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. The team will play games against Chelsea, Manchester United, LA Galaxy II and Philadelphia Union II at venues in North Carolina, Los Angeles, San Diego and Pennsylvania as its celebrity owners

try to stir up American interest in the team. Wrexham has also signed a number of high-pro le deals with commercial partners, most notably United Airlines. With a crowd of about 50,000 expected to be on hand and with many of the spectators not normally visiting Kenan Stadium, tra c alerts went up for the Chapel Hill area in advance of the game. The university is renting the stadium for the match.

Brown said his permission wasn’t needed in order to have the contest conducted in the stadium. But he sees many bene ts coming from it.

“With me being all in, it really helps me feel great that I’m helping other programs,” Brown said. “It’s a great revenue producer for the university. I thought it was an unbelievable opportunity.”

North Carolina women’s soccer coach Anson Dorrance said this spring that having a match of this magnitude on campus should be a signi cant boost to the soccer programs at the university.

“We’re absolutely going to use this in recruiting,” he said.

PHOTO COURTESY FC SERIES

Workers install sod over an arti cial turf eld prior to an international soccer match in Orlando’s Camping World Stadium last July. A similar process is preparing the Kenan Stadium eld for Wednesday’s match.

Volleyball season creeps nearer for Chatham County teams

By Jeremy Vernon Chatham News & Record

The end of July means fall sports season is fast approaching, and Chatham County’s six high school volleyball teams look ready for another solid year of play.

Last fall, four schools — Woods Charter, Chatham Charter, Seaforth and Chatham Central — made the state playo s in their respective classi cations. The Wolves and Hawks each won at least one playo match, with Woods advancing to the third round of the 1A tournament before losing to Falls Lake, 3-0.

Here’s a closer look at each county team and how they could fare in 2023.

Woods Charter

The Wolves are coming o a banner season that saw them win a program-record 19 matches under head coach Amanda Gough. Woods Charter won the Central Tar Heel 1A Conference with a 10-1 record against league opponents and had an overall record of 4-1 against Chatham County opponents.

Leading the charge for Woods Charter during the 2022 season was rising sophomore Josephine Valgus, who had 442 kills — 346 more than the next closest teammate — to go with 48 aces, 268 digs and 11 total blocks as a freshman last fall. Rising junior Maya Sheridan contributed 133 aces, 27 blocks and a county-high 593 assists over the course of the season.

Woods Charter’s rst game of the 2023 season takes place

Aug. 16 at home against Roxboro Community. The Wolves are 0-6 all time against the Bulldogs, though they haven’t met since the 2016 season.

Chatham Charter

Finishing second in the Central Tar Heel 1A Conference last year was Chatham Charter, which went 13-8 overall and 9-1 in league play. The Knights lost in the conference tournament nals to Woods Charter before dropping their rst playo match, 3-0, to East Wake Academy.

The Knights will have to replace a lot of production from last season. Gone are recent graduates Emerson Clark (236 kills, 61 aces, 449 digs), Ashlee

Rains (84 kills, 35 aces) and Alison Perez (394 assists). The top returners for Chatham Charter in terms of stats this season are rising senior Delana Lo in (51 kills, 27 aces, 23 blocks) and rising senior Riley Maynor (62 kills, 28 aces, 370 digs).

The Knights will begin their 2023 campaign Aug. 18 at home against North Moore. Chatham

Charter faces Woods Charter on Aug. 29 in the rst conference match for both teams.

Seaforth

Competing in its second varsity season ever in 2022, the Seaforth volleyball team went 15-5 overall and nished second in the Mid-Carolina Conference at 8-2. The Hawks made it to the third round of the 2A tournament before crashing out of the playo s.

The Hawks will bring back everyone from last year’s team when they take the court this fall. Among the top returners in 2023 are rising junior Maris Huneycutt — who was named all-state after leading her conference with 574 assists last fall — and rising sophomore Keira Rosenmarkle, who had a teamhigh 298 kills in 2022.

Seaforth, which is coached by Scott Green, kicks o the 2023 fall season on Aug. 14 on the road at Apex Friendship. The Hawks begin Mid-Carolina Conference play with a matchup against Graham on Aug. 17.

Chatham Central

The nal team to make the playo s last season was Chatham Central, which made the 1A tournament despite nishing the regular season with an overall record of 9-13. The Bears lost in the rst round of the 1A tournament to Falls Lake — their third straight loss to end the year.

Luckily for the Bears, they bring back an all-state player in rising junior Karaleigh Dodson, who had 188 kills, 37 aces and 59 blocks as a sophomore in 2022. Chatham Central will also bring back rising senior Cassie McKeithan (109 kills) and rising senior Kate Hussey (34 aces, 442 assists).

Chatham Central starts the

2023 season on the road Aug. 15 at new school Southeast Alamance. The matchup will be the Bears’ rst against a Mid-Carolina Conference opponent this upcoming season.

Jordan-Matthews

The Jets haven’t nished a season above .500 at any point in the past 15 years, but could this be the season J-M nally turns things around?

Last fall, the Jets went 7-14 overall under head coach Johnny Alston while nishing the year with a 3-7 record in conference play. Jordan-Matthews’ top player was rising senior Reagan Smith, who totaled 188 kills, 62 aces and 77 blocks to earn allstate honors along the way. Also contributing heavily was rising senior Janeyra Guerrero-Jaimes, who led the team with 266 assists.

Alston and his team start the 2023 season Aug. 15 on the road at Cummings. The team’s rst matchup with a Chatham County opponent comes two days later on Aug. 17 on the road at Chatham Central.

Northwood

The county team with the worst record last fall was Northwood, which went 1-20 a year after making the fourth round of the state playo s.

The Chargers dealt with a period of transition between 2021 and 2022 as some players graduated and others transferred to di erent schools. Northwood athletic director Cameron Vernon was also in charge of coaching the team after he was unable to nd someone to ll the position before the start of the year.

Northwood — which does not have its 2022 roster posted on MaxPreps — begins the 2023 season Aug. 15 on the road at North Moore.

NIKKI WITT | CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD

Woods Charter won a program-record 19 matches during the 2022 season. The Wolves ended up losing in the third round of the 1A state tournament.

Four Chatham County teams — Woods Charter, Chatham Charter, Seaforth and Chatham Central — made the state playo s last fall.

Living the Ford Bronco Life at the Raptor O -Roadeo

Ford blends adrenaline, adventure, and community to o er a lifestyle, not just an SUV

By Jordan Golson North State Journal

LAS VEGAS — It all starts with a jump. I’m sitting on a blu overlooking the high-speed, Ultra4-inspired training course at Ford’s Bronco Raptor O -Roadeo school outside Las Vegas, and I’m looking down at the rst obstacle: a high-speed tabletop jump that is deceptively tricky to get right.

I start down a loose gravel trail, picking up some speed before a sharp banked turn in soft silt. The trick is to get the car straightened out as quickly as possible, then slowly rolling on the power without letting the rear-end kick loose and building speed towards the jump. Done properly and you gain speed and get a better jump. Do it wrong and the rear end slides around and you lose all your speed, or worse, head o the ramp in the wrong direction. We have time for only a single run, so I have to make it count — somehow, I nail the corner perfectly and plant my foot on the gas, building speed towards the blind jump. As instructed, I let o the gas just before we leave the ground and take ight, kind of. Jumping the Bronco Raptor is more akin to a belly op than a swan dive, but we have a blissful few seconds in the air — enough time for my brain to think “wow, we’re in the air! Holy smokes, I

hope we land okay, wow, we’ve been up here a while, I hope someone got this on video.”

The o -road-spec FOX shocks absorb the landing with ease, and we dash o to the next obstacle. I have a modest amount of high-speed desert driving experience, but even I know that my jump was pretty epic, something con rmed by my enthusiastic instructor who was very pleased with my performance. No one got it on video.

What’s this all about? The Bronco Raptor O -Roadeo is a one-of-a-kind o -road school offered free to every buyer of Ford’s best Bronco. This professionally-instructed driving experience

kicks o at a sprawling basecamp at the foot of Mt. Potosi, a stone’s throw away from the Las Vegas strip. After an orientation, safety brie ng, and helmet tting, attendees hit the trail for Raptor Valley, a privately owned and custom-designed facility some 15 miles away. With multiple courses designed in collaboration with professional o -road drivers, attendees are guaranteed an authentic and thrilling o -road experience.

Following the thrill of the jump, the O -Roadeo served up a series of challenging terrains. There was a technical, slowspeed course inspired by the Baja 1000 desert race — think fre-

quent twists, turns, and changing terrains. But it’s the Ultra4 experience that is the star of the show, with fast sections, even more jumps, a brief rock crawl, and lots of deceptively tricky corners. Our brief media day was an accelerated visit, but the full 10hour experience allows even a novice to build their skills. It was, in every sense, an adrenaline-fueled, dirt-in-your-teeth o -road masterclass.

What’s unique about this, beyond the sand-spitting, spine-tingling driving, is that it’s part of Ford’s larger e ort to create a lifestyle brand around everything Bronco. The sizable gift shop, lled to the brim with Bron-

co-branded merch, is a testament to their success. The O -Roadeo isn’t just about teaching Bronco Raptor owners how to handle their vehicles o -road (and how to leave as little of a footprint behind when doing so); it’s about immersing them in a lifestyle, a community, and a brand.

There are four Bronco O -Roadeo locations around the country, one each in Nevada, Utah, Texas, and New Hampshire, but there’s only one Bronco Raptor school. And, though it shares the same entrance with the regular Nevada facility, the Bronco Raptor O -Roadeo has its own welcome center, gift shop, and its own trails down at “Raptor Valley.” Included in the purchase of the Bronco Raptor, the O -Roadeo adds considerable value and a compelling reason to buy this beast. It’s not just about owning an incredible vehicle; it’s about being a part of the Bronco Raptor story.

As I return my Bronco Raptor to the staging area after my day at the O -Roadeo, I realize just how successful Ford has been in blending product, experience, and branding. Even if attendees might not take on the King of the Hammers anytime soon, for a day they get to live the Bronco lifestyle, feeling like part of the o -road elite as they navigate challenges they never imagined. It’s an experience that adds a whole new dimension to ownership, and that sense of adventure and community is at the core of what makes the Bronco Raptor the most compelling o -road SUV on the market.

PHOTO COURTESY FORD MOTOR COMPANY

JORDAN GOLSON | NORTH STATE JOURNAL PHOTO

pen & paper pursuits

SOLUTIONS

Summer events in NC you won’t want to miss

Here are a wide range of events happening across the state to add some excitement to your summer.

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal

RALEIGH — School is out and sum mer is here. So here are a wide range of events happening across the state you won’t want to miss.

“Art in The Park” in Blowing Rock will take place on multiple dates this summer and will feature arts and crafts from 90 regional artists. All artists have work for sale and the outdoor show will extend along Park Avenue in downtown Blowing Rock. Dates are Aug. 12, Sept. 9 and Oct. 7. Art in the Park will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on those dates, and a free shuttle will be available from the parking areas to Main Street. For more information, visit blowingrock.com/artinthepark/.

Also happening in Blowing Rock is “Symphony by the Lake at Chetola,” which will take place on July 21 from 7 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. The symphony event will close out with a reworks display. Tickets are $65 and children under 2 are free. Audiophile section tickets are available for purchase for $125. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit symphonybythelake.com/.

Maggie Valley’s favorite festival, the Hillbilly Jam 2023, is returning July 2122. The festival promises a celebration of Appalachia’s “rich musical history and the heritage of moonshine making.” At tractions will include crafts and food as well as a car and a motorcycle show. The festival will take place at the Maggie Val ley Festival Grounds on Soco Road. Tick ets are $10 per person per day. For more information, visit thehillbillyjam.com/.

If you love watermelon, be sure to check out the OBX Watermelon Festival happening in Nags Head on Aug. 3 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. This family-friend ly event includes a watermelon-eating competition as well as other food, games, face painting, tie-dye T-shirt making and various craft activities. There will also be a climbing wall for the more adventur ous. The event is free to attend, but food and games will require the purchase of a ticket. The event raises funds for The Outer Banks Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Coalition. For more information, visit kittyhawk.com/events/.

Lake Lure, the site where the movie “Dirty Dancing” was lmed, will host the 2023 Cycle Mountain Ride from Aug. 4-6. Cyclists will have multiple options for rides each day that can span from 10 to 62 miles. Registration is required for riders wishing to participate. Spec tators can enjoy the accompanying festi val activities and scenic views. For more details or to register to participate, visit ncsports.org/event/cyclenc_mountain_ ride/mr-route-info/.

Lake Lure will also host the “Lake Lure Olympiad” from Aug. 11-13. The event will include three races in three days, including a 10K Dam run, a Triathlon Sprint, and a 5K Race to the Rock. Registration is required to participate, and more information can be found at lakelureolympiad.org/.

If Monster Trucks are your thing, head to Concord on Aug. 19 for the Circle K Monster Truck Bash. The event will be held at The Dirt Track in Charlotte, located at 5555 Concord Parkway South in Concord. The gates will open at 4 p.m. and opening ceremonies will begin at 6:45 p.m. Ticket prices start at $30 but children can get in for just $10. Tickets and more details about the bash can be found on the Charlotte Motor Speedway website at charlottemotorspeedway.com/ events/.

Music lovers won’t want to miss the North Carolina State Bluegrass Festival that will be held in Marion from Aug. 17-19. Performers this year will include Rhonda Vincent, The Malpass Brothers, Deeper Shade of Blue and others. Organizers of the event advise anyone attending to bring their own chairs.

Hours for the Bluegrass Festival are Thursday from noon to 8:30 p.m.; Friday, noon to 8:30 p.m.; and Saturday, noon to 9 p.m. Tickets range from $47 to $103 depending on the type of ticket purchased. Children under 12 get in free with the purchase of an adult ticket. For more information or to buy tickets, visit evansmediasource.com/events/ north-carolina-state-bluegrass-festival/ or call 386-385-3500.

Adam Phillips, Miranda Parker, Mary Maloney, Gary Phillips, Jay Parker, Don Basnight, Ken Tunnell, Terri Turner, Crystal Fisher