XB-1, the Boom Aerospace test plane, reached Mach 1.122 — or about 750 mph — breaking the sound barrier for the first time on Tuesday. The test, flown by Boom Chief Test Pilot Tristan “Geppetto” Brandenburg, marked the first time that an independent company broke the sound barrier in a plane not backed by a military or government. The company’s Superfactory in Greensboro will build as many as 66 of its Overture aircraft every year once production begins. Boom says Overture will carry 64 to 80 passengers at Mach 1.7, about twice the speed of today’s subsonic airliners.
the BRIEF this week
DA review of former treasurer’s use of state cars ends without charges
Raleigh
An investigation into how then-North Carolina Treasurer Dale Folwell used state government vehicles is ending with no charges filed. Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said Monday the review found any alleged policy violations were insufficient to support a successful criminal prosecution. Freeman said Folwell agreed to pay more than $6,200 for commuting costs he should have been charged and the reimbursement for some miles driven. Folwell, a Republican, completed eight years as treasurer and lost a bid for the GOP nomination for governor last year. Folwell said he was “relieved.”
Trump offers all federal workers buyout with 8 months’ pay
Washington, D.C.
The Trump administration says it is offering buyouts to all federal employees who opt to leave their jobs by next week — an unprecedented move to shrink the U.S. government at breakneck speed. A memo Tuesday from the Office of Personnel Management says it will begin subjecting all federal employees to “enhanced standards of suitability and conduct” and ominously warns of future downsizing. The email sent to employees says those who leave their posts voluntarily will receive about eight months of salary but must to chose to do so by Feb. 6.
Commissioners approve implementation of new tax relief program
“We’re
trying to create something that we feel we can stretch through the season to be able to be part of an ongoing service for the year.”
Jason Smith, director of Housing and Community Development
Qualified applicants can receive up to $500 in direct payment
By Ryan Henkel Chatham News & Record
PITTSBORO — Chatham County is launching a new program to assist those struggling with property tax payments.
At its Jan. 21 meeting, the Chatham County Board of Commissioners approved implementing a new property tax assistance program.
“Last year, the board approved allocating $200,000 to begin a tax relief program for low-income residents within Chatham County,” said Director of Housing and Community Development Jason Smith. To qualify, applicants must be Chatham County residents who own and have resided in their home as their primary residence for at least five years.
They must also be current on all property taxes as the relief cannot be used toward unpaid or delinquent tax bills, and they cannot be receiving any other tax relief or assistance.
In addition, applicants must have a current earned income at or below 60% of the area median income as defined by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“We’re trying to create something that we feel we can stretch through the season to be able to be part of an ongoing service for the year,” Smith said. “One of the challenges we have going into this is that we don’t know what we don’t know. We don’t know how many people are going to step forward and need this service or request this service. We have a fixed amount of money in the first year to determine what the scope of the problem looks
See BOARD, page A7
UNC, Duke Health will build NC’s
first standalone children’s hospital in RTP
This will “impact the people in our state and region in ways that I know we can’t even imagine yet.”
Dr. Wesley Burks, CEO of UNC Health
The new 500-bed facility is coming to the Triangle
The Associated Press
RALEIGH — Two of the state’s largest university health systems plan to construct the state’s first standalone children’s hospital — an undertaking that its boosters said will change lives physically and economically for decades to come.
UNC Health and Duke Health on Tuesday revealed the agreement to build the proposed 500-bed pediatric hospital in the state’s Research Triangle region, which includes Raleigh,
Durham and Chapel Hill.
The “NC Children’s” project also will include a children’s outpatient care center and behavioral health center. Research and education operations backed by the system’s two medical schools will also be onsite, the health systems said in a news release.
Groundbreaking on a more than 100-acre campus — the specific location yet to be identified — is expected by 2027, with campus construction to take about six years. The price tag for the project is expected at more than $2 billion. A massive fundraising effort is anticipated.
Two developments may bring 500 housing units to Chapel Hill
The Town Council reviewed plans for a medium- and a high-density residential development
By Ryan Henkel Chatham News & Record
CHAPEL HILL — The Town of Chapel Hill continues to grow, and there is a big need for housing in the face of that growth.
The Chapel Hill Town Council is working to address those concerns, and at its Jan. 15 regular business meeting, it reviewed both a high-and medium-density development project.
The council first held a legislative hearing for a conditional zoning application for approximately four acres of property located at 200 South Elliott Road to be rezoned from Residential (R-5) and Office and Institution (OI-2) to Mixed Use – Village – Conditional Zoning District (MU-V-CZD).
The purpose of the rezoning is to develop a five- to six-story building with approximately 330 multifamily units and a ground-floor retail component within the Blue Hill District.
There were discussions between the council
See CHAPEL HILL, page A10
CRIME LOG
Jan. 21
• Mahogany Tatiana Sanford, 19, of Siler City, was arrested for malicious conduct by prisoner, first degree trespass, resisting a public officer, communicating threats, and contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile.
Jan. 25
• Ketina Lefaye McCutchen, 52, of Pittsboro, was arrested for larceny by employee.
• Juan D. Jimenez-Bautista, 33, of Siler City, was arrested for intentional child abuse-serious physical injury and misdemeanor child abuse.
• Mark Eastman, 76, of Siler City, was arrested for misdemeanor larceny.
LOOKING FOR INFORMATION
in the murder case of Larry Ervin Culberson who was killed on June 26, 2004, in Chatham County.
Anyone who has any information that could lead to an arrest, please call the Chatham County Sheriff’s Dept. at 919-542-2811.
There is a $1,000.00 reward.
3 bed/3 bath, $2,500,000
• 4147 Siler City Snow Camp Road (Siler City), 57.43 acres, 5 separate living spaces, $2,750,000 LAND
• 37 E Cotton Road (Pittsboro), 0.996 acres, $100,000
• 1311 Old US 421 S (Siler City), 3.7410 acres, $260,000 COMMERCIAL UNIMPROVED
• 10681 US Hwy 64 E (Apex), 3.97 acres, $1,000,000
• 1700 Hillsboro Street (Pittsboro), 29.79 acres, $4,500,000
Here’s a quick look at what’s coming up in Chatham County:
Jan. 30
Anime, Ramen and Sake Watch Party
6-8 p.m.
Join Koshu Sake every Thursday from 6-8 p.m. for an Anime, Ramen and Sake Watch Party! Movie selections are announced a few days before each event on their Facebook page. You must be 21 with an ID to consume sake. Part of the Chatham County Craft Beverages & Country Inns Trail.
The Plant 220 Lorax Lane Pittsboro
Opinionation Trivia at House of Pops
6-8 p.m.
Join House of Hops every Thursday from 6-8 p.m. for Opinionation Trivia.
This Family Feud-style trivia game is so much fun! Play at 6 p.m. and again at 7 p.m. for two chances to win $15 or $25 House of Hops gift cards. More events at House of Hops; part of Chatham County’s Craft Beverages and Country Inns Trail.
112 Russet Run Suite 110 Pittsboro
Jan. 31
Lego Club – Best for Ages 2+
4-5 p.m.
Join us for a weekly free-build Lego session in the Holmes Meeting Room. Work alone or in a team. Create from scratch and tell us about your creation! Duplo blocks are available for our youngest builders. Contact Youth Services at 919-545-8085 for more information.
197 N.C.-87 Pittsboro
Vino!! Wine Shop Tasting
5-7 p.m.
Weekly free tastings at Vino!! Wine Shop are hosted every Friday. Experts share their picks of wines with varied pricing and from diverse locations. Tasting details, including which wines will be served, are shared on their Facebook page and in their newsletters. All tastings and events at Vino!! Wine Shop; part of Chatham County’s Craft Beverages and Country Inns Trail.
89 Hillsboro St., Suite D Pittsboro
Church News congratulations
David Seagroves of the Silk Hope Volunteer Fire Department received The Order of the Guardian Award, the highest honor bestowed by the North Carolina Department of Insurance, in recognition of his 55 years of service.
The presentation occurred last month, with NCDOI staff members Mary Needham and Percy Crutchfield giving the award. Throughout his decades-long career, Seagroves served in multiple leadership roles, including captain, assistant chief and president of the Board of Directors. The award, for which Seagroves was nominated by his colleagues, celebrates his dedication to the Silk Hope community through volunteer fire service.
Trump, in North Carolina, floats ‘getting rid of FEMA’
The president said he would prefer disaster funds flow through states instead
By Will Weissert , Chris Megerian and Makiya Seminera
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — President Donald Trump surveyed disaster zones in California and North Carolina last Friday and said he was considering “getting rid of” the Federal Emergency Management Agency, offering the latest sign of how he is weighing sweeping changes to the nation’s central organization for responding to disasters.
Instead of having federal financial assistance flow through FEMA, the Republican president said Washington could provide money directly to the states. He made the comments while visiting western North Carolina, which is still recovering months after Hurricane Helene, on the first trip of his second term.
“FEMA has been a very big disappointment,” the Republican president said. “It’s very bureaucratic. And it’s very slow.”
Beyond his criticism of FEMA, Trump has suggested limiting the federal government’s role in responding to di-
sasters, echoing comments from conservative allies who have proposed reducing funding and responsibility.
“I’d like to see the states take care of disasters,” he said in North Carolina. “Let the state take care of the tornadoes and the hurricanes and all of the other things that happen.”
Trump said Michael Whatley, a North Carolina native and chair of the Republican National Committee, would help coordinate recovery efforts in the state, where frustrations over the federal response have lingered. Although Whatley does not hold an official government position, Trump said he would be “very much in charge.”
FEMA helps respond to disasters when local leaders request a presidential emergency declaration, a signal that the damage is beyond the state’s ability to handle on its own. FEMA can reimburse governments for recovery efforts such as debris removal, and it gives stopgap financial assistance to individual residents.
Trump has criticized former President Joe Biden for his administration’s response to Helene in North Carolina. As he left the White House last Friday morning, he told reporters that “it’s been a horrible thing the way that’s been allowed to fes-
ter” since the storm hit in September, and “we’re going to get it fixed up.”
In Swannanoa, residents told Trump about wading through waist-deep water to escape from their homes while fearing for their lives. Some have battled with insurance companies to get their losses covered.
“We’ve come to North Carolina with a simple message,” Trump said. “You are not forgotten any longer. You were treated very badly by the previous administration.”
FEMA has distributed $319 million in financial assistance to residents of North Carolina.
Michael Coen, who served as chief of staff at FEMA during the Biden administration, said Trump was “misinformed” about an agency that provides critical help to states when they are overwhelmed by catastrophe.
In addition, Coen criticized the idea of attaching strings to assistance.
“I think the American people expect the federal government will be there for them on their worst day, no matter where they live,” he said.
Trump tapped Cameron Hamilton, a former Navy SEAL with limited experience managing natural disasters, as FEMA’s acting director.
JUNIPER TREE CONFERENCE Feb. 6-8
Location: 1094 Mt. Vernon Hickory Mt. Road, Siler City
Information: 423-794-8250
Hickorymtnbaptist@gmail.com
These men along with others will be speaking during the conference: Steve Scoggins, Alan Carr, Stacey Layne, Andrew & Mary Beth Jones
Lunch on Friday and Saturday
Chatham selected for UNC affordable housing program
A county team will develop strategies for addressing local housing needs through an 18-month initiative
Chatham News & Record staff
CHATHAM COUNTY has been selected as one of 22 counties in North Carolina to participate in the University of North Carolina’s Our State, Our Homes program, which aims to develop tools and resources to address local housing issues.
The program is part of UNC’s Carolina Across 100 initiative, a five-year effort led by the UNC School of Government to partner with communities across all 100 North Carolina counties. The initiative focuses on addressing challenges exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and enhancing quality of life for state residents.
Over the next 18 months, a team of local government officials, nonprofit leaders and housing advocates will work with UNC experts to assess housing assets and needs in the county. The team will work with data and policy experts to assess existing housing assets, develop community partnership plans and identify produc-
tive ways to approach challenges in the Chatham community.
“We are grateful to be selected for this program and look forward to working with Chatham residents and policy experts to identify short, mid, and long-term goals for future housing efforts,” said Jamie Andrews, Chatham County Housing and Community Development officer. “Community relationships are going to be at the core of our work as we progress, and we look forward to building community trust and sharing the tools with residents to build housing policies focused on social and racial equity and opportunity.”
The local team includes representatives from county government, the towns of Pittsboro and Siler City, Legion Development, Rebuilding Together of the Triangle and the Salvation Army. Throughout the process, the team anticipates several community outreach and engagement opportunities focused on studying housing needs, sharing lessons learned and developing collaborative strategies.
Details on community input sessions will be provided in the coming weeks. Residents interested in participating can find more information at chathamcountync.gov/affordablehousing.
COURTESY PHOTO
David Seagroves displays The Order of the Guardian Award from the North Carolina Department of Insurance recognizing his 55 years of service with the Silk Hope Volunteer Fire Department.
THE CONVERSATION
Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor
COLUMN | ANDREW TAYLOR-TROUTMAN
On hating Duke and loving neighbor
I don’t know if you’ve been following the men’s college basketball season, but it’s not great for those of us wearing Carolina blue.
“FOR EVERY THING that lives is Holy,” claimed the mystic William Blake. Surely, he wouldn’t mind a footnote detailing a few exceptions? Ticks, mosquitoes, Coach K — anything that sucks blood and carries disease. Maybe from a distance, I have a grudging respect for creatures who have existed since the dinosaurs and won the most games in men’s college basketball. But holiness?
Perhaps I’m jaded by these times we live in. I don’t know if you’ve been following the men’s college basketball season, but it’s not great for those of us wearing Carolina blue. Last year’s consensus All‑American guard, RJ Davis, has struggled with his shot as the lack of a dominant big man around the goal allows teams to swarm the perimeter. We still have point guard Elliot Cadeau, whose surname means “gift” in French, and a couple of dynamite freshmen, notably Pittsboro’s own Drake Powell. However, our team has a mediocre record due to a few close losses caused by last‑minute heroics from opposing teams.
Meanwhile, the Galactic Empire, known as the Duke Blue Devils, has been destroying their opposition like a Death Star. Their baby faced freshman, who’s barely old enough to drive, set an ACC record by scoring 42 points in a single game. Heading into this Saturday’s big matchup in Durham, Coach K’s ankle biting minion, Jon Scheyer, has the Blue Devil stormtroopers ranked as the second best team in the country.
Gareth Higgins, founder of the Porch Magazine, recently
‘Good to the last drop’
Mostly we drank water, kept cold in a glass jar Mama sat on the top shelf in the fridge.
A FEW DAYS AGO, I opened our refrigerator to see what was hiding in there that I could turn into a snack. Because I went through a cardiac rehab program some time ago and try to watch how much sugar I take in, I’ve begun to pay attention to what foods to eat and what not to devour, so sometimes the choices are more limiting than they once were. That is also not to say sometimes I don’t fall off the wagon, and at times, it even runs over me. Think, for instance, Thanksgiving and Christmas, just recently completed.
For instance, I’ve learned a plate of cold fried fatback is not recommended by my nurses, but 64 ounces of water are right on target, as is a bushel basket of fresh lettuce. So, needless to say, some of this has been a learning experience.
That day, as I scanned the refrigerator shelves, I noticed a number of items. There was half a jar of salsa, a container of tomato juice (my favorite), some hoop cheese I bought long ago at Farmers Alliance long before it closed and which I have kept so long that it’s hard as a rock, and half a container of yogurt in which one of the little princesses who call me “Granddaddy” had lost interest.
There were also some items I couldn’t identify. Some were wrapped in seasoned aluminum foil, meaning the wrinkles outnumbered the flat places. Others were in plastic containers, clear and otherwise; I thought I recognized a couple of them but wasn’t sure. Others were in plastic containers that previously had housed ingredients other than what they were then holding. For instance, half an onion was living in the container which earlier had been home to deli sandwich meat.
I can’t remember what I finally had for a snack, but I’m pretty sure I had something. It may have been popcorn, which I know doesn’t live in the refrigerator. But it was something else that caught my eye. Sitting on the shelf next to the tomato juice and the milk was a plastic Coke bottle — the individual size, not the 2 liter. While that’s something that happens often at our place, it was the amount of product in the bottle that caught my eye. There may have been two to three drops of beverage left.
I’m not going to call any names here, but it was put into there by someone who lives daily at my place who isn’t me. Now, that doesn’t bother me; that’s why we have refrigerators. My better half knows that; she saves items, so there’s very little waste at our house. My mother, however, somehow seemingly was opposed to that practice. When I was a child, often when we had finished a meal and I had gorged myself, she would come back around with what was left over of something and put it onto my plate.
suggested the innate holiness in all of us by encouraging readers to “practice the story of your own incalculable worth.” This story of holiness should expand our sense of self in loving, generative ways toward others. This extends to Duke fans as well.
Yet, is there an argument for healthy opposition? If we say “No!” to a person doing something as trivial as putting an orange bouncy ball through a nylon net, might we then (in Higgins’ words) “devote most of our attention and energy to a courageous and creative living YES” with our own lives?
I don’t like anything that has to do with Duke men’s basketball. I make fun of their players and fans. I also found myself laughing when my friend Ryan called me a “Tar hole” and repeatedly brought up the Shot Heard Round Franklin by Duke’s Austin Rivers, which led to Duke’s heartbreaking victory over Carolina in 2012. Ryan and I volunteered overnight at a community warming shelter. Though the temperatures were below freezing, the guests warmed up to the topic of the Duke UNC rivalry. In the hilarity that ensued from making fun of each other, we formed a closer community across other lines of difference, like race and class, which, thank you, felt holy indeed.
Andrew Taylor-Troutman’s newest book is “This Is the Day.” He serves as pastor of Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian Church as well as a writer, pizza maker, coffee drinker and student of joy.
“Eat this,” she’d say. “I want to wash the dish, and there’s not enough to save.”
“But Mama,” I’d respond, “I’m about to pop.”
“Eat it anyway. I don’t want to have to save it.”
“Isn’t that why we have a refrigerator?”
“Be quiet and eat it anyway.”
That sort of routine through the years is one thing that helped me develop the physique I have today.
So seeing the one swallow of Coke in the fridge was no big deal food wise, but it did jog my memory to a childhood ritual. When I was a mere lad, there were few drinks like Gatorade or Propel or whatever around. As a matter of fact, there were none of those. We did have Kool Aid, and we had our share of Cokes or Pepsi, but mostly we drank water, kept cold in a glass jar Mama sat on the top shelf in the fridge.
The way it worked with my two brothers and me was that whoever emptied the jar, as in whoever drank the last of the cold water, was required to refill it. And since none of us really wanted to stand at the kitchen sink to fill up the gallon jug, we developed the ability not to empty the jar completely after taking a big pull. Obviously, that meant that someone would often get stuck with about 14 drops of cold water after slaving over a four hour yard mowing, but it was the principle of the thing.
“Let somebody else fill it up” became our style, and when I saw that Coke bottle the other day, my mind went back to that youthful water jar. Now I know in this day and age, we don’t refill soft drink bottles, although sometimes I use them for water, but another thought came to mind.
This one was staged from my advancing years and had nothing to do with who fills up the jar. Instead, I thought it’s a lesson in life, namely, how often do we do as little as we can just to get by, hoping someone else will pick up the slack? Don’t empty the jar or bottle and then no one can say you took the last morsel or drop, but what does that do to benefit our fellow human?
I think, if memory serves me correctly, on that day in question, I took that last swallow of Coke to down the handful of pills that is my lot today. But … I did put two, or maybe it was three, bottles of Coke in the fridge.
Life lesson learned.
I hope.
We’ll see. You?
Bob Wachs is a native of Chatham County and emeritus editor at Chatham News & Record. He serves as pastor of Bear Creek Baptist Church.
COLUMN | BOB WACHS
Rooting for the good fairy
But, oh wow, I continue to work, mightily, at disengaging before a written grenade leaves my typing fingers.
THERE THEY ARE! Cinema’s and literature’s good fairies (male and female) soaring through the air, equipped with their requisite magic making wands. (I want one! I want one!) A tiny flick of their wands and human goodness goes wild right in front of our very eyes!
Excuse me, I think we may need a little reality test here. Wholesale wand spreading of goodness among humans strikes me as a bunch of bologna. (Does bologna even still exist?) Get real. Where does one find a goodness‑spreading magic wand, aside from those found in Harry Potter’s Hogwarts or Diagon Alley? (Suggestions?)
Ok, wand waving, good fairy, we’re going to snack on reality for a few minutes. While scrolling on a nearby, large, multineighborhood listserv, I was caught in the maelstrom of an unfettered digital attack frenzy. Its focus was a friend of mine. Like most of us in today’s digital world, I’ve witnessed these toxic online frenzies, but never one focusing on someone about whom I cared. Digital postings, red in tooth and claw. An angry whirlwind of untested judgments targeting one person — my friend.
I was sorely inclined to seize the largest (digital) rock I could find to defend my cave‑mate from the ravening (digital) saber‑toothed tigers. Saber toothed tigers and cave mates? Wait, wait, where, or when, are we?
Wake up! It isn’t 10 million years ago (I don’t think), with ravenous saber toothed tigers prowling for prey. ’Tis the 21st century, technologically equipped with saber toothed tiger like digital barbs, 24/7. Prey, such as you, you and me. It’s a plague. And, oh gosh, our attack launching pads are just a keyboard away.
I’ve been laboring doggedly with my fight‑flight triggers for many years. But, oh wow, I continue to work, mightily, at disengaging before a written grenade leaves my typing fingers. (Still that fallible human, as always.)
Here’s the kicker! Prehistoric times had saber toothed tigers. We, in modern times, have social scientists! Those crafty social scientists discovered that small acts of rudeness or kindness surge across communities, impacting both those we know and don’t know. Ripple city. Our keyboard attacks spread just as easily. A domino effect of our sometimes vitriolic posts, impacting one person who, behaviorally, passes it on to the next person, ad infinitum. We aren’t turning into keyboard plague carriers, are we?
Please say “No!” I don’t want that mantle!
Enough with moralizing about our digital, 24/7, fight flight dysfunction. Both darkness and light live within me. (You’re not exempt either, you know.) I’m rooting, hardily, for my good fairy’s living presence in our digital world …
Jan Hutton, a resident of Chatham County and retired hospice social worker, lives life with heart and humor.
America’s golden age has arrived
Our Republicanled Congress passed the Laken Riley Act with bipartisan support.
IT IS MORNING in America again.
On Jan. 20, the American people celebrated the inauguration of President Donald J. Trump. It is truly an incredible and historic time for our great country — it marks the beginning of a new era.
Trump has hit the ground running to fix the failures of the Biden Harris agenda and fulfill the promises made to you, signing hundreds of executive orders and actions in his first few days back in the White House. From ending disastrous open border programs that helped facilitate the worst invasion in history to rolling back policies that crippled American energy dominance and hiked up costs, one thing is clear: The Golden Age of America has arrived. I, along with my Republican colleagues in the House and Senate, am working closely with Trump to advance our America First agenda in Congress. United together, we will return jobs to American workers, lower costs, cut taxes and unleash American energy dominance. Together, we will secure our borders, enforce our laws, keep our communities safe, restore peace through strength and make the federal government more efficient for you. We are excited by this generational opportunity in front of us to Make America Great Again, and we are already delivering results.
Just last week, our Republican led Congress
COLUMN | VICTOR JOECKS
passed the Laken Riley Act with bipartisan support, and it now heads to Trump’s desk to be one of the first policies signed into law as the 47th president. This important bill will help protect you by ensuring that criminal illegals are swiftly and permanently detained and deported from our country. It is more than just a piece of legislation; it is a return to common sense. Under Trump’s leadership, I will continue working with my colleagues to move legislation that restores the rule of law, secures our borders, and puts Americans like you first again.
Additionally, I held my first hearing as the new chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology. I heard from stakeholders on how Congress can promote innovation and encourage investment in wireless technology. I look forward to advancing commonsense policies to help ensure all Americans can be fully connected.
While there is a lot of work to get done during Trump’s first 100 days, I have confidence and renewed hope that America’s best days are ahead. The American people gave Trump and Republicans in Congress a mandate to change the direction of our country, and that is exactly what we are going to do.
Rep. Richard Hudson represents the 9th Congressional District in Washington, D.C.
The one thing Trump can’t do
DONALD TRUMP’S JOB is to make America great again. Improving your own life is up to you.
There are lots of reasons to be excited about Trump’s return to power. He’s pledged to unleash America’s energy industry. Cheaper energy and a better regulatory environment should help contain inflation. The border will be locked down while officials deport illegal aliens.
But even if he accomplishes his entire agenda, there’s one thing Trump can’t do — guarantee you a more successful life.
That may sound like a contradiction. If Trump is going to help America, doesn’t that require that he make things better for Americans? It does, but there’s an important step missing in that question — the choices you make.
The government can give you a check, but it can’t give you a hug when you need it most.
This is true even in finances. It doesn’t matter how much Trump cuts taxes. If you spend more than you make, you’ll always have money problems. The best way to improve your financial health is to budget and pay down your debts. Dave Ramsey has helped an untold number of people, myself included, do just that. That’s some practical advice that’s much needed in Washington, D.C.
Eyes on the prize
THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT has ordered its civil rights division to halt any ongoing litigation from the Biden administration and not pursue any new cases or settlements, according to a memo sent to the temporary head of the division that was obtained by The Washington Post.
It’s a freeze on everything, which is a prelude to an about‑face when/if Harmeet Dhillon is confirmed as assistant attorney general. The memo states that officials are implementing the freeze to be “consistent with the Department’s goal of ensuring that the Federal Government speaks with one voice in its view of the law and to ensure that the President’s appointees or designees have the opportunity to decide whether to initiate any new cases.”
It’s not just the new cases that will have to make it through the “one voice” screen. It’s the old cases, too. A separate memo asks the division for notice of any consent decrees the division has finalized within the last 90 days. Two such settlement agreements are especially noteworthy: one with the city of Louisville, where the 2020 police killing of Breonna Taylor sparked nationwide protests; and another — a police accountability plan — with the city leaders of Minneapolis, where George Floyd was killed. Those agreements were years in the making. Will the reforms in the settlements be enforced or ripped apart by a new administration?
Some of this is what happens when you don’t win.
Some of this is what happens when you don’t pay attention.
The only way you ever know the difference is by paying attention.
I hear a lot of people saying that they’re simply not going to pay attention anymore, that denial and ignorance is the best way to avoid all the other feelings that come over a significant percentage of us when forced to confront the daily doings of the new administration. Surveying the front page — the front screen, as it usually is — is painful. There are so many stories to not read.
But ignorance isn’t bliss. It just means you’re going to do nothing about it. And while that might be the right approach to things you cannot change, it is not the right approach to things you cannot accept.
The Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department has a long tradition of standing up for rights that, too often, states were unwilling to enforce. It has, for years, been at the forefront of police brutality cases. Should it back away now? Should it become the branch of government that will enforce the mandate that there are only two genders, male and female, and no place for those who fit into a different category. Is that its future?
At a time when some in the mainstream media seem more inclined than ever to get in bed with the object of their attention, we have never needed them to be more independent. Who will tell us what is going on? Who will report on the memoranda to the interim directors, which is what The Washington Post was doing in its story on the Justice Department?
This administration has committed itself to attacking the “Deep State,” — aka, the civil service, the establishment, the moderate middle that has always been the bulwark of our government — that they think frustrated their revolutionary impulses last time around. And rather than being met by a skeptical audience, as Trump was last time, he is being met by a fawning one. They may be fawning out of fear, out of a better‑than‑the‑alternative concession, but the concern is the same.
This administration has committed itself to attacking the “Deep State.” Trump can create an environment that leads to more job openings and lower housing prices, but you still have to go to work.
For instance, one of the best predictors of personal happiness is being in a great marriage. Earning more money raises a person’s chance of being “very happy” by 88%. Being married increases your odds by 151%. But being in a “very happy” marriage boosts your likelihood by a staggering 545%. That’s all according to Brad Wilcox, author of the excellent book “Get Married.”
That’s good news. You can work on improving your marriage regardless of who the president is.
There’s a loneliness epidemic, according to Surgeon General Vivek Murthy.
He’s right. In October, a Gallup poll found 20% of adults said they felt a lot of loneliness the previous day. That suggests around 50 million adults feel isolated. It’s a miserable feeling and can lead to destructive behaviors like drug and alcohol abuse.
It’s also fixable. Go to church and join a small group. Volunteer. Sign up for a sports league. Reach out to family members.
These steps are all harder when you’re lonely and depressed. It’s why a safety net of families, churches and engaged neighbors are so important.
Trump can create an environment that leads to more job openings and lower housing prices, but you still have to go to work and earn your paycheck or start your own business. In his memoir “Hillbilly Elegy,” Vice President JD Vance described working in a tile distribution business before attending Yale Law School. Jobs there provided a path out of poverty for those near his poor hometown, but turnover was high.
“Too many men (were) immune to hard work,” Vance wrote. He continued, “There is a lack of agency here — a feeling that you have little control over your own life and a willingness to blame everyone but yourself.”
This isn’t to say that political leadership doesn’t matter. It does.
Think of it this way. Imagine life is a mountain path with many ups and downs. The job of Trump and other elected officials is to fly above the path and clear away landslides and boulders that make navigating it difficult. If Trump does his job well, removing those barriers will help more people go further on the path. That’s making America great again. But Trump isn’t going to fly you to your preferred destination.
The wonderful yet scary thing about freedom is that it forces you to enjoy or endure the consequences of your own decisions.
Victor Joecks is a columnist for the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Who will tell us what is really going on? They have had four years to plan, and dream, of what they will do, and they are doing it before our eyes. It is no time to take our eyes off the prize.
Susan Estrich is a lawyer, professor, author and political commentator.
COLUMN | REP. RICHARD HUDSON
obituaries
Thomas “Tommy” Lee Scarlette
April 7, 1943 – Jan. 21, 2025
Thomas “Tommy” Lee Scarlette, 81, of Staley, died peacefully at home, on Tuesday, January 21, 2025.
Tommy was born on April 7, 1943 in Summerfield, NC to the late Robert Lee and Ruth Lauder Scarlette. He was the owner and operator of S&S Landscaping, where he met and became friends with many people over the years. He loved going to the beach and hunting for the best seashells.
Tommy enjoyed being outside doing just about anything from fishing to riding around on his gator. He also liked to relax and watch westerns. His greatest joy was his family. He
Oldham
Aug. 21, 1939 – Jan. 19, 2025
Graham Camp Oldham, age 85 of Pittsboro, died Sunday, January 19, 2025, at home with his family. Camp was born in Pittsboro on August 21, 1939, to the late Coley and Mamie Oldham. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his brother, Chapin Oldham. Camp is survived by his loving wife of 65 years; Jo Ann Oldham, son; Scott Oldham and wife Mary of Pittsboro, two granddaughters; Lauren Rhyne and husband Forrest of Pittsboro and Morgan Lago and husband Nick of Ft. Lauderdale, FL, one grandson; Matt Oldham of Raleigh, and three great-granddaughters; Shelby Rhyne, Skye Rhyne, and Reagan Lago. Camp was a man of many trades throughout his life. He spent his early adult years in
Oct. 13, 1927 – Jan. 16, 2025
Hazel Mann Foushee, a beloved lifelong resident of Chatham County, passed away peacefully on January 16, 2025, at the age of 97.
Hazel was born in Chatham County, NC on October 13, 1927, to the late Andrew Newton Mann and Lillian Jones Mann. In addition to her parents, she was also preceded
cherished every minute with his loving wife of 60 years, JoAnn. His greatest accomplishment was his family, he loved each of his children, grandchildren, great grandbaby, and his cat Baby with his whole heart.
Tommy was preceded in death by his parents and his brother-inlaw, Russell Johnson. Tommy is survived by his wife, JoAnn Moffitt Scarlette; son, Lynn Scarlette and wife, Marie; daughters, Cathy S. McLeod and husband, Robert “Peanut” and Tammy S. McPherson; grandchildren, Holly Scarlette, Lindsey S. Suits and husband, Dalton, Abby McPherson, Allie McLeod, Christopher McLeod and wife, Lizeth, and Braysen McLeod; great grandbaby, Luca McLeod; and sister, Hannah Johnson.
A visitation will be held Friday, January 24, 2025, from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. at Smith & Buckner Funeral Home. The funeral service will be Saturday, January 25, 2025, at 3:00 p.m., at Moon’s Chapel Baptist Church, with Dr. Patrick Fuller officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Moon’s Chapel Baptist Church.
Smith & Buckner Funeral Home is serving the Scarlette family. Online Condolences may be made at smithbucknerfh.com.
the Army National Guard. After his service, he entered business with family through trucking, a tire business, and then chicken farming. Camp and Jo Ann worked rescue together for 12 years. In 1980, Camp joined Scott in a new family business, Poultry Villa Landscaping and Supplies, where he worked until his retirement. Camp enjoyed spending time woodworking in his shop and made many pieces of furniture for his friends and family. He also enjoyed spending time with his wife and family and being on his loader doing projects around the house. The visitation will be held at 1:00PM at Emmaus Baptist Church. The funeral service will be held at 2:00PM with Rev Steve Moore, Rev John Hall, and Rev Bob Wachs presiding. Burial will follow in the church cemetery. The family will receive friends after the service in the Fellowship Hall. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions be made to UNC Hospice. Checks may be made payable to UNC Hospice with Camp’s in the memo line. Checks may be mailed to the address below or by visitingunchf. org/tributelink. UNC Hospice c/o UNC Health Foundation 123 West Franklin Street, Suite 510 Chapel Hill, NC 27516 Condolences may be made at www.donaldsonfunerals. com. Donaldson Funeral Home & Crematory is honored to serve the Oldham family.
in death by her husband, Frank Foushee Sr., her son, Frank Foushee Jr., and her daughter, Nancy Wheeler.
Hazel was a devoted mother and grandmother, who deeply cherished her family. She is survived by her grandson Andy Wheeler; her granddaughter Marcia Staunton (Kieran); her grandson Matthew Foushee (Kristy); her great-grandchildren Wiley Foushee, Rachel Foushee and Amanda Pollack (Mike); her great-great granddaughter Brooklyn Pollack; and her daughter-in-law Emily Foushee.
A graveside service celebrating Hazel’s life will be held at 2:00 PM on Sunday, February 2, 2025, at Mount Gilead Baptist Church, 1785 Mount Gilead Church Road, Pittsboro, NC 27312, with family and friends invited to share in the remembrance. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for memorial contributions be made in Hazel’s memory to a charity of your choosing.
Georgia Ruth Hudson Barth
March 4, 1923 –Jan. 21, 2025
Georgia Ruth Hudson Barth, 101, of Siler City, passed away Tuesday, January 21st, 2025, at home surrounded by her daughters.
Mrs. Barth was born in Chatham County on March 4th, 1923, to the late George and Beulah Hudson. She is preceded
IN MEMORY
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in death by her parents; her husband, Clifford “Pete” Barth; two sisters; and six brothers. Georgia was a lifetime member of Mt. Vernon methodist Church. She held many jobs in the church through the years and many positions within her women’s Missionary group. Georgia raised chickens and turkeys on the farm for many years. She was a great mother to her three daughters and when it came time for grandchildren, they thoroughly loved spending time with their grandparents; and sometimes spent a whole week with them and frequently visited them. They and their children were constant visitors, and the great grandchildren all called her Grandma Pete. Georgia is survived by her daughters, Pamelia Jacobs and her husband, Gordon, Patsy Bynum and her husband, Charlie, and Cindy Coffey and her husband, James; her grandchildren, Ashli Courtwright and her husband, Bob, Amy
Bocholis and her husband, Brian, Jason Edwards and his wife, Jade, and Beth Bowen; eight great grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren. She is also survived by her sisters, Shirley Lindley, Joyce Bowers, and Faye McMath; her brothers, Howard Hudson and Bobby Hudson; as well as many nieces and nephews and their children. The family wishes to thank Dr. Hoffman, Meals on Wheels and Liberty Hospice for their care and love through-out her life and final days.
Funeral service will be held Sunday, January 26th, 2025, at 2 pm, at Smith & Buckner Funeral Home. Visitation will be from 12-2 pm at the funeral home that day. Burial will follow in Chatham Memorial Park. Services will be officiated by Reverend Jason Dickerson. Smith & Buckner Funeral Home will be assisting the Barth family.
Online condolences can be made at smithbucknerfh.com.
ELIZABETH E. JOHNSON
FEB. 15, 1931 – AUG. 2, 2024
Elizabeth E. Johnson, from Siler City, NC, passed away on Aug.2nd, 2024. She was born on April 15, 1931 and lived much of her life in Point Pleasant, NJ.
She is survived by her seven children, sons, Richard Johnson, Vincent Johnson, Dennis Johnson, Dana Johnson and daughters, Pamela Kitzman and Patrisha Miller.
JOHN DOUGLAS MCDOWELL
JAN. 21, 2025
John Douglas McDowell, Sr., age 82, of Sanford, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, January 21, 2025 at Westfield Rehabilitation and Health Center.
He was born in Lee County to the late Sanford Donas McDowell and Willa Jane Parks McDowell. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by two brothers Robert and James McDowell; sister Tina Thomas; grandson Joshua Everett and step-daughter Mary Angela Cameron. For over 55 years, JD worked as a skilled butcher. His commitment to providing the highest quality service was evident in every cut, and he took great pride in his craft. Outside of work, JD found peace and joy on the open waters, spending time deep sea fishing and also riding his motorcycle.
JD is surived by his wife of 46 years, Genelle McDowell; daughters Patricia McDowell (Troy) of Sanford and Sharon Hudson (James) of Sanford; son John McDowell, Jr. (Darlene) of Sanford; step-sons Mack Cameron (Rhonda) of Sanford and Anthony Cameron (Amy) of Fayetteville; ten grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
MARY JANE RICHARDSON
JAN. 26, 1987 – JAN. 25, 2025
Mary Jane Richardson, 37, of Eagle Springs, passed away on Saturday, January 25, 2025 at FirstHealth Hospice House. The funeral service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 29, 2025 at Brown’s Chapel Christian Church with Pastor Richard McKenzie presiding. The family will receive friends in the fellowship hall before the service from 12:001:45 p.m. Joyce-Brady Chapel will be open on Tuesday, January 28, 2025 from 1:00-5:00 p.m. for friends to sign the register.
Mary was born in Moore County on January 26, 1987, to Darrell Keith Richardson and Dianna Lynn Garner. She was employed by Massage Envy as a massage therapist. Mary lived a simple life and enjoyed quiet time, fishing, traveling and music concerts. She was an avid reader and Halloween was her favorite holiday. She loved her family and enjoyed spending time with her children, nieces, nephews and fur babies, Dolly and Elvis.
She was preceded in death by her grandparents.
Mary is survived by her children, Wendy Ann Guyton, Crissy Lynn Guyton and Nathan Dean Guyton, all of the home; parents, Darrell Keith Richardson and Dianna Lynn Garner, of the home; sisters, Crystal Richardson Seawell (Howard), of Carthage and Deborah Kay Richardson, of Spring Lake; brothers, Brian Keith Richardson (Stephanie), of Robbins and Kelly Ray Richardson, of Robbins and a host of family and friends.
JOHNNIE MESSER
JAN. 26, 2025
Johnnie Messer, age 57, of Broadway, passed away peacefully at his home on January 26, 2025 with his loving wife, Jenny by his side.
Johnnie graduated from Western Harnett High School in 1985 and then went on to join the Army. He served five years in which he learned how to drive 18 wheelers at Fort Bragg, then stationed in Germany and drove trucks all over the country there and absolutely loved it. He loved it so much that he remained a truck driver after the military driving for his self and major companies. Johnnie also became an amazing mechanic and could fix anything with an engine . Johnnie was an avid lover of dogs and riding his trike, but most of all he loved going on adventures with his wife Jennifer, the memories they made she will forever carry in her heart.
Johnnie will be remembered for his contagious, laugh and smile, and for being the first one to help anyone who needed it, he never met a stranger, and he will be missed sorely by all who knew him.
Johnnie leaves behind his loving wife, Jennifer Messer; his stepson, Clinton Hill and his very best four-legged friend Cash.
JOHN DOUGLAS MCDOWELL
JAN. 21, 2025
John Douglas McDowell, Sr., age 82, of Sanford, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, January 21, 2025 at Westfield Rehabilitation and Health Center.
He was born in Lee County to the late Sanford Donas McDowell and Willa Jane Parks McDowell. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by two brothers Robert and James McDowell; sister Tina Thomas; grandson Joshua Everett and step-daughter Mary Angela Cameron. For over 55 years, JD worked as a skilled butcher. His commitment to providing the highest quality service was evident in every cut, and he took great pride in his craft. Outside of work, JD found peace and joy on the open waters, spending time deep sea fishing and also riding his motorcycle.
JD is surived by his wife of 46 years, Genelle McDowell; daughters Patricia McDowell (Troy) of Sanford and Sharon Hudson (James) of Sanford; son John McDowell, Jr. (Darlene) of Sanford; step-sons Mack Cameron (Rhonda) of Sanford and Anthony Cameron (Amy) of Fayetteville; ten grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Hazel Mann Foushee
Mary Lucille Moody
March 26, 1941 –Jan. 27, 2025
Mary Lucille Moody, 83, of Asheboro, went to her heavenly home on Monday, January 27th,
BOARD from page A1
like or the scope of the service looks like.”
Qualified applicants can receive up to $500 in direct payment, not exceeding 50% of due taxes.
To apply, residents can fill out an application on the county’s website or pick up a paper application at either the Chatham County DSS or Tax Office.
“This sounds like a really solid start,” said board chair Karen Howard. “Then we can gather information, and we will do whatever adjustments need to happen for next year when we have a really strong sense of who are our clients.”
The board also approved a $160,000 allocation utilizing 2024-25 Housing Trust Funds.
“The Housing Trust Fund was created in 2018 to provide
2025, surrounded by family. Lucille was born in Chatham County on March 26th, 1941, to the late William Murk and Cora Dunn Moody. She is preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Jimmy Moody; her siblings, Thomas Moody, Eva Bare, Clarence Moody, Lois Stallings, and Margie Blalock. Lucille loved spending time with her family and making memories to last a lifetime. In her spare time, she enjoyed bowling, working her puzzle books, and watching the hummingbirds. She also enjoyed traveling to see different lighthouses. Lucille worked in the cutting department at AJ Schneierson & Sons for 40 years.
Left to cherish Lucille’s memory are her two daughters,
and ensure adequate housing options for all Chatham County residents,” said Housing and Community Development Officer Jamie Andrews. “It does so through low-interest loans and modest grants which are funded through sales tax revenue as well as property tax.”
The fund focuses on developing new affordable housing and preserving existing affordable housing. Over the past seven years, the county has invested $1.9 million to preserve/develop around 400 affordable housing units.
The board awarded $150,000 to Rebuilding Together of the Triangle, which will serve an estimated 55 households with structure/major system repairs, accessibility and energy improvements, and weatherization and emergency repairs.
“They really focus primari-
Mary Roxann Moody and her partner, Julie of Winston Salem, and Tammy Moody Fox of Bear Creek; her brother, Earl Moody and his wife, Sandra; granddaughter, Kimberly Hedrick and her husband, Daniel; great grandchildren, Marshall and Mary Annalee; and nieces, nephews, and friends.
Funeral service will be held Friday, January 31st, 2025, at Sandy Branch Baptist Church at 2 pm. Visitation will be held one hour prior at the church and burial will follow in the church cemetery after the service. Services will be officiated by Reverend Stephanie Moody Shaffer.
Smith & Buckner Funeral Home will be assisting the Moody family. Online condolences can be made at smithbucknerfh.com.
ly on upgrades and repairs to homes that are already built,” said Affordable Housing Advisory Committee Chair Tiffany Stuflick. “So they’re not building new homes, they’re just repairing ones that will allow people, families, veterans, persons with disabilities and low-income families to continue to live in a home that they already have.”
In addition, the board approved an allocation of $10,000 to the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee for community engagement and outreach as well as research.
With $140,000 in the FY 2025 HTF balance not allocated, the board also approved the authorization of a second application period.
The Chatham County Board of Commissioners will next meet Feb. 17.
Chatham County Aging Services Weekly Activities Calendar
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Southern cities get creative to clear storm’s leftover snow, ice
New Orleans used cleaning equipment usually needed after Mardi Gras
By Jack Brook and Russ Bynum The Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS — Days after a winter storm dropped ice and record-breaking snow, cleanup efforts were underway last week in several major Southern cities such as New Orleans, where crews were removing snow the same way they remove trash, drink cups and plastic beads after Mardi Gras.
Temperatures were gradually rising across the U.S. South, bringing hopes that the remaining snow and ice would melt away.
“We have to be honest with ourselves — we’re from Louisiana, we know crawfish, we know football, but we don’t really know snow and ice, and that’s OK,” said Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development spokesperson Daniel Gitlin. “It’s going to go away, and we’re better off letting Mother Nature do what she needs to do right now.”
Up to 200 miles of interstate remained closed until last Friday due to treacherous patches of black ice, Gitlin said. Louisiana had nearly run out of its salt supply after treating roads, he added.
In the Big Easy, a private waste management firm has been contracted to repurpose equipment typically used to clean up Mardi Gras beads and cups to clear snow from the streets.
IV Waste President Sidney Torres said his company had deployed a 4,000-gallon “flusher” truck to spray water on the ground to soften the ice for removal in the historic and festive French Quarter. The truck normally sprays lemon-scented fragrance “to get rid of that funky liquor, urine, puke smell from the night before,” Torres said. “We’re finding new solutions and better techniques to dealing with this.”
Arkansas sent Louisiana snowplows, dump trucks, salt spreaders and other equipment, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said. The snowfall likely broke
HOSPITAL from page A1
There are children’s hospitals already in North Carolina, including those operated by the University of North Carolina and Duke University health systems that are attached to their main campuses in the Triangle. This project, however, is described as the first freestanding hospital dedicated to caring for kids.
several records across the region, including in Florida, where a preliminary report of 10 inches in one town would set a new record for the state if confirmed.
Snow totals reached 3 inches in Savannah, Georgia, the most the state’s oldest city has recorded since December 1989.
The snow was lighter in metro Atlanta, where the southern suburbs saw more snow and ice than areas north of the city. In Covington, southeast of Atlanta, Jesse Gentes used a flamethrower to deice the roads in his subdivision. In better weather, he typically uses the flamethrower for brush removal, he told WSB-TV.
South Carolina reported at least one death in the storm. A 71-year-old man died from a medical condition while shoveling snow last Thursday in Berkeley County, Coroner Darnell Hartwell said. About 3-4 inches of snow fell in the area, according to the National Weather Service.
The snow and ice had staying power and left a mess on the roads in coastal South Carolina. In Charleston, ice that melted and refroze overnight closed the James Island Connector, a bridge that links the city to its western suburbs. Police said on social media that “while crews are working hard, it is unlikely to reopen soon.”
Schools and county offices remained closed, and officials in most areas south and east of the state capital, Columbia, asked people to stay home for at least one more day.
It was a similar story in North Carolina, where slick roads remained a danger to drivers after the snow melted and then refroze overnight. Schools were also affected, including in Fayetteville, where the school system announced that students would have an “asynchronous” learning day, allowing them to complete assignments at home. Several other school districts operated on a two-hour delay.
Some school systems in central and south Alabama remained closed last Thursday due to concerns about the remaining ice on roads or the possibility of frozen pipes in schools. In coastal Baldwin County, sections of Interstate 65 and Interstate 10 were shut down due to ice.
idea has been a goal for many years for both institutions, which often are health care competitors. But a recent initial $320 million appropriation for the effort by the North Carolina General Assembly accelerated talks between the two systems.
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“This is a big splash that will ripple out literally for years and years and impact the people in our state and region in ways that I know we can’t even imagine yet,” Dr. Wesley Burks, CEO of UNC Health and dean of the UNC School of Medicine, said at a Raleigh announcement event also attended by Gov. Josh Stein, Senate leader Phil Berger and other education, political and health care notables.
The two entities filed paperwork on Tuesday with the state to create a nonprofit organization for a new children’s health system called North Carolina Children’s Health. Their respective pediatric-related clinical services, programs and operations will transfer to NC Children’s.
The children’s hospital
“This is a tremendous and unique opportunity to work together to reimagine how we deliver life-changing care to our region’s most vulnerable and we are grateful for the support of our state’s legislature,” Duke University Health System CEO Dr. Craig Albanese said in a release.
Stein said at the announcement event that the project will end up “saving the lives of countless children for generations to come.” Stein and Berger said the economic results also are striking for a growing state like North Carolina — the ninth largest by population.
“This campus through its construction and operation will create thousands of jobs and be among the largest economic development projects in the history of the state of North Carolina,” Berger said.
“This is a win for the economy and for our children’s health and for our state’s infrastructure.”
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Notice to Creditors
Having qualified as Executor of the Estate of ALICE
MARIE PARSONS, late of Chatham County, North Carolina (25E000026-180), the undersigned does hereby notify all persons, firms and corporations having claims against the estate of said decedent to exhibit them to the undersigned on or before April 30, 2025 or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, firms and corporations indebted to the said estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned.
This is the 30th day of January, 2025.
Rachel (Parsons) Klemek Executor of the Estate of Alice Parsons 17941 Sky Park Circle, Ste E Irvine, CA 92614
(For publication 1/30, 2/6, 2/13, 2/20/2025)
Notice to Creditors
Having qualified as Executor of the Estate of LOIS CAMILLA CHRIETZBERG, late of Chatham County, North Carolina (25E000032-180), the undersigned does hereby notify all persons, firms and corporations having claims against the estate of said decedent to exhibit them to the undersigned on or before the 3rd day of May 2025 or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, firms and corporations indebted to the said estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned.
This the 30th day of January 2025.
Aletha Chrietzberg
Executor of the Estate of Lois Camilla Chrietzberg c/o Lisa M. Schreiner
Attorney at Law P.O. Box 446 114 Raleigh Street Fuquay Varina, NC 27526
(For publication: 01/30, 02/6, 02/13, 02/20/2025)
Notice
ATTENTION: All persons, firms and corporations having claims against Verna Annetha Harris, deceased, of Chatham County, NC, are notified to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before April 14, 2025, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment. This the 9th day of January, 2025. Dustin Aaron Harris, Executor, c/o Poyner Spruill LLP, 301 Fayetteville Street, Suite 1900, Raleigh, NC 27601.
Notice to Creditors
Estate of Edward Wain Hutton a.k.a. Edward Wain Hutton, Jr. CHATHAM File No.: 25E000013-180
ALL PERSONS, firms and corporations having claims against Edward Wain Hutton a.k.a. Edward Wain Hutton, Jr., deceased, of Chatham County, NC, are notified to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before April 28, 2025 or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment. This the 23rd day of January 2025. Patrick Sean Kaye, Executor, in c/o Kellie Corbett, Attorney, at Carolina Family Estate Planning, 201 Commonwealth Court, Suite 100, Cary, NC 27511.
Publication Dates: January 23, 2025 January 30, 2025 February 6, 2025 February 13, 2025
Notice to Creditors
ESTATE OF Betty Lucille Riddle FILE NO. 24E001660-180
ALL PERSONS, firms and corporations having claims against Betty Lucille Riddle, deceased, of Chatham County, N.C., are notified to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before (April 25, 2025), or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment. This January 23, 2025. Carl Driver, Executor c/o Gregory S. Davis, Law Office of Gregory S. Davis, PLLC, 525. S. White St, Wake Forest, NC 27587
24SP001073-180
AMENDED NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE
NORTH CAROLINA, CHATHAM COUNTY Under and by virtue of a Power of Sale contained in that certain Deed of Trust executed by Pamela V. Lee to John B Whitley, Trustee(s), which was dated October 23, 2004 and recorded on November 1, 2004 in Book 1139 at Page 566, Chatham County Registry, North Carolina. Default having been made of the note thereby secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC, having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust, and the holder of the note evidencing said default having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will offer for sale at the courthouse door of the county courthouse where the property is located, or the usual and customary location at the county courthouse for conducting the sale on February 13, 2025 at 01:00 PM, and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the
Notice to Creditors
Estate of Mary Anne Hutton a.k.a. Mary Anne Bridget Hutton a.k.a. Mary Anne Kaye a.k.a. Mary Anne Bridget Koenig
CHATHAM File No.: 25E000015-180
ALL PERSONS, firms and corporations
having claims against Mary Anne Hutton a.k.a. Mary Anne Bridget Hutton a.k.a. Mary Anne Kaye a.k.a.
Mary Anne Bridget Koenig, deceased, of Chatham County, NC, are notified to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before April 28, 2025 or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment. This the 23rd day of January 2025. Patrick Sean Kaye, Limited Personal Representative, in c/o Kellie Corbett, Attorney, at Carolina Family Estate Planning, 201 Commonwealth Court, Suite 100, Cary, NC 27511.
Publication Dates: January 23, 2025 January 30, 2025 February 6, 2025 February 13, 2025
NORTH CAROLINA
NOTICE TO CREDITORS CHATHAM COUNTY
Notice
HAVING QUALIFIED as Administrator CTA of the Estate of Robert Edward Parks, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, firms and corporations having claims against the estate of said deceased to present them to the undersigned on or before the 23rd day of April, 2025, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. This the 14th day of January, 2025. John L. Klink, Jr., Administrator CTA of the Estate of Robert Edward Parks 1649 W. Third Street Siler City, North Carolina 27344 MOODY, WILLIAMS, ATWATER & LEE ATTORNEYS AT LAW BOX 629 SILER CITY, NORTH CAROLINA 27344 (919) 663-2850 4tp
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
The undersigned, having qualified as Executor of the Estate of John Richard Weston aka John Richard Weston-Jones, Deceased, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, firms and corporations having claims against the estate to exhibit them to the undersigned at the offices of Tillman, Whichard & Cagle, PLLC, 501 Eastowne Drive, Suite 130, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, on or before the 30th day of April, 2025, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to the estate will please make immediate payment.
This 30th day of January, 2025.
BRIAN FRANCIS WILKINSON, EXECUTOR ESTATE OF JOHN RICHARD WESTON AKA JOHN RICHARD WESTON-JONES
Notice
Having qualified as Administrator of the estate of Henry Clay Blymire, deceased, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, firms, and corporations, having claims against the said estate to exhibit them duly verified to the undersigned c/o John P. Paschal, Attorney at Law, PLLC, 4904 Waters Edge Drive, Suite 100, Raleigh, North Carolina 27606 on or before the 9th day of April, 2025, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, firms and corporations indebted to the said estate will please make immediate settlement.
This the 9th day of January, 2025.
Ashely Blymire, Administrator Henry Clay Blymire, Deceased Chatham County Estate File: 24E001687-180
following described property situated in Chatham County, North Carolina, to wit: THE LAND REFERRED TO IN THIS EXHIBIT IS LOCATED IN THE COUNTY OF CHATHAM AND THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA IN DEED BOOK 597 AT PAGE 218 AND DESCRIBED AS FOLLOWS: BEING ALL OF LOT NUMBER 7, AS SHOWN ON THAT CERTAIN PLAT ENTITLED, “SURVEY FOR PAMELA V. LEE” PREPARED BY BRACKEN & ASSOCIATES, RLS, DATED JUNE 8, 1992, AND RECORDED IN PLAT SLIDE 92-249, CHATHAM COUNTY REGISTRY, TO WHICH PLAT REFERENCE IS HEREBY MADE FOR GREATER CERTAINTY OF DESCRIPTION. Save and except any releases, deeds of release or prior conveyances of record. Said property is commonly known as 220 N Richardson Rd, Siler City, NC 27344. A certified check only (no personal checks) of five percent (5%) of the purchase price, or Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, will be required at the time of the sale. Following the expiration
reference incorporated herein and made a part hereof, and to which reference is hereby made for greater certainty of description of the property hereby conveyed.
TRACT THREE: BEGINNING at an old P.K. nail in a large rock marking the northwest corner of that triangular-shaped 1.926acre parcel of land conveyed by the R.G. Hancock Heirs to Michael Martin McCain by deed dated June 1, 1977, and recorded
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY FILE#25E000035-180
The undersigned, MILDRED ELIZABETH RITTER, having qualified on the 21ST Day of JANUARY, 2025 as ADMINISTRATOR of the Estate of DELMA EUGENE RITTER, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, firms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them to the undersigned on or before the 30TH Day of APRIL 2025, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This is the 30TH DAY OF JANUARY, 2025.
MIDRED ELIZABETH RITTER, ADMINISTRATOR 697 BISH ROAD STALEY, NC 27355
MAIL AFFIDAVIT TO: THE LAW OFFICE OF LEWIS FADELY, PLLC 119 N FIR AVE. SILER CITY, NC 27344
Run dates: J30,F6,13,20p
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY
FILE#24E001538-180 The undersigned, MICHAEL R. SMITH, having qualified on the 31ST Day of DECEMBER, 2024 as ADMINISTRATOR CTA of the Estate of FRANCES SMITH, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, firms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them to the undersigned on or before the 23RD Day of APRIL 2025, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This is the 23RD DAY OF JANUARY 2025.
MICHAEL R. SMITH, ADMINISTRATOR CTA 5291 NC HWY 87N PITTSBORO, NC 27312
Run dates: J23,30,F6,13p
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY
FILE#25E000007-180
The undersigned, SANDRA COOK, having qualified on the 7TH Day of JANUARY, 2025, as EXECUTOR of the Estate of MAE HICKS STOVALL, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, firms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them to the undersigned on or before the 16TH Day of APRIL 2025, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This is the 16TH DAY OF JANUARY 2025.
SANDRA COOK, EXECUTOR
378 BENJIE WILLIAMS RD. STALEY, NC 27355
Run dates: J16,23,30,F6p
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY
FILE#25E000003-180
The undersigned, ROBERT LISLE ROCKETT, having qualified on the 3RD Day of JANUARY, 2025, as ADMINISTRATOR of the Estate of SHARYN TRACEY ROCKETT, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, firms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them to the undersigned on or before the 16TH Day of APRIL 2025, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This is the 16TH DAY OF JANUARY 2025.
ROBERT LISLE ROCKETT, ADMINISTRATOR
186 LINDO JOHNSON RD. PITTSBORO, NC 27312
Run dates: J16,23,30,F6p
of the statutory upset bid period, all the remaining amounts are immediately due and owing. THIRD PARTY PURCHASERS MUST PAY THE EXCISE TAX AND THE RECORDING COSTS FOR THEIR DEED. Said property to be offered pursuant to this Notice of Sale is being offered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS WHERE IS.” There are no representations of warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at, or relating to the property being offered for sale. Substitute Trustee does not have possession of the property and cannot grant access, prior to or after the sale, for purposes of inspection and/ or appraisal. This sale is made subject to all prior liens, unpaid taxes, any unpaid land transfer taxes, special assessments, easements, rights of way, deeds of release, and any other encumbrances or exceptions of record. To the best of the knowledge and belief of the undersigned, the current owner(s) of the property is/are Veritas Capital, Ltd. Liability Co.
to which said plat and the record thereof reference is hereby made for a greater certainty of description of the property herein described and conveyed. Save and except any releases, deeds of release or prior conveyances of record. Said property is commonly known as 485 Siler City Fire Tower Rd, Siler City, NC 27344. A Certified Check ONLY (no personal checks) of five percent (5%) of the purchase price, or Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, will be required at the time of the sale. Following the expiration of the statutory upset bid period, all the remaining amounts are
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
ESTATE OF CHARLES MAURICE BENNETT CHATHAM COUNTY FILE NO. 25E000028-180
All persons, firms, and corporations having claims against Charles Maurice Bennett deceased, Ancillary Administration in Chatham County, North Carolina are notified to exhibit them to the undersigned on or before May 2, 2025 or be barred from their recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment.
Attorney, Daniel B. Finch Envisage Law 2601 Oberlin Road, Suite 100 Raleigh, NC 27608
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY
FILE#25E000044-180
The undersigned, JOANN THOMAS, having qualified on the 24TH Day of JANUARY, 2025 as EXECUTOR of the Estate of MARGIE S. BOONE, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, firms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them to the undersigned on or before the 30TH Day of APRIL 2025, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This is the 30TH DAY OF JANUARY, 2025.
JOANN THOMAS, EXECUTOR 229 HILLSBORO ST. PITTSBORO, NC 27312 Run dates: J30,F6,13,20p
LEGISLATIVE PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE
TOWN OF PITTSBORO, NC
On Monday, February 10, 2025 at 6:00 PM, the Pittsboro Board of Commissioners will hold the following legislative public hearing in person at the Chatham County Agriculture & Conference Center at 1192 Hwy 64 Business West, Pittsboro: AMENDED AND RESTATED AFFORDABLE HOUSING ELEMENT (Chatham Park Master Plan) – The Town of Pittsboro has engaged Chatham Park with the goal of updating the Affordable Housing portion of the additional elements which addresses affordable housing and workforce housing, or optional land donation in lieu thereof, to be provided for Chatham Park as set out in the original element adopted in 2021.
The hearing will be held in person. The public can also watch the hearing live on the Town’s YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@townofpittsboronc/ streams. Members of the public must attend in person if they wish to speak at the hearing.
Contact the Town Clerk, Carrie Bailey, by 4:00 PM on February 10, 2025, with written comments or to sign up to speak at the legislative hearing. You can contact Carrie Bailey at cbailey@pittsboronc.gov, (919) 5424621 ext. 1104, or PO Box 759, Pittsboro, NC 27312.
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY
FILE#25E000030-180
The undersigned, CYNTHIA F. MASON, having qualified on the 17TH Day of JANUARY, 2025 as EXECUTOR of the Estate of KAY ELKINS COOK, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, firms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them to the undersigned on or before the 30TH Day of APRIL 2025, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This is the 30TH DAY OF JANUARY, 2025. CYNTHIA F. MASON, EXECUTOR 1613 RENO SHARPE STOR RD. BEAR CREEK, NC 27207
Run dates: J30,F6,13,20p
An Order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to G.S. 45-21.29 in favor of the purchaser and against the party or parties in possession by the clerk of superior court of the county in which the property is sold. Any person who occupies the property pursuant to a rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2007, may, after receiving the notice of sale, terminate the rental agreement by providing written notice of termination to the landlord, to be effective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 10 days, but no more than 90 days after the sale date contained in the notice of sale, provided that the mortgagor has not cured the default at the time the tenant provides the notice of termination [NCGS § 45-21.16A(b)(2)]. Upon termination of
this Notice of Sale is being offered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS WHERE IS.”
Trump order ending federal DEI programs leaves uncertain ground
The president pledged to eliminate the programs during the campaign
The Associated Press
FROM FEDERAL agencies to stakeholders who receive federal dollars for special training, many are trying to process how President Donald Trump’s sweeping executive order putting a stop to diversity, equity and inclusion programs across the U.S. government will upend their work.
DEI laws and programs have been under attack for years by Republicans who contend that the measures threaten merit-based hiring, promotion and educational opportunities of white people, specifically white men. Criticism comes from other sectors, as well: Some Asian Americans argue it unfairly limits opportunities for high-achieving students and workers, and some in the black community believe it undermines years of progress.
However, DEI supporters say the programs are necessary to ensure that institutions meet the needs of increasingly diverse populations and the impact of the loss of these measures goes beyond people of color.
On Wednesday, Trump put the federal government’s weight behind the push to end such programs by signing an executive order that would effectively dismantle them from all aspects of the federal government.
“To the people who oppose us, the ones who attack DEI, they have tried to bastardize that acronym,” Virginia Kase Solomón, president and CEO of Common Cause, said last Wednesday during a call-to-action panel after Trump’s anti-DEI executive order. “Instead, they want to diminish and exterminate and incapacitate progress towards a multiracial democracy to maintain white supremacy and concentration of wealth.”
How did it happen?
Republican lawmakers who
President Donald Trump answers questions from reporters as he signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House last week in Washington, D.C.
oppose DEI programs — created to address systemic inequities faced by certain groups — say they are discriminatory and promote left-wing ideology.
During his campaign for president, Trump vowed to end “wokeness” and “leftist indoctrination” in education. He pledged to dismantle diversity programs he says amount to discrimination and to impose fines on colleges “up to the entire amount of their endowment.”
In 2023, conservatives notched a long-sought win when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down affirmative action programs in higher education, finding that race-conscious admissions violate the Constitution. That ruling drew increased legal challenges to DEI initiatives, with some American companies citing the decision in scaling back their diversity policies.
What does Trump’s order call for?
The executive action calls for the termination of DEI programs, mandates, policies, preferences and activities in the federal government, along with the review and revision of existing federal employment practices,
union contracts and training policies or programs.
Agency, department and commission heads have 60 days to terminate to the maximum extent allowed by law all DEI, DEIA and “environmental justice” offices and positions, action plans, equity-related grants or contracts, as well as end all DEI or DEIA performance requirements.
It also targets federal contractors who have provided DEI training or materials, and grantees who received federal funding to provide or advance DEI programs, services or activities since former President Joe Biden took office in 2021.
Paolo Gaudiano provides DEI consulting services to a government contractor and a federal academy via his company, Aleria, which helps organizations measure inclusion, and ARC, a nonprofit focused on DEI research.
He has not heard from any agencies he works with about his contract status since Trump’s executive order. What he is hearing is that employees are terrified because the order’s meaning is unclear.
“Does it mean closing the office but giving them a different position?” Gaudiano said. “It is a mess, a complete mess.”
Many federal employees would not speak with reporters out of concern about the punitive environment within the White House.
“It’s possible that I will reach out to them and find out that they’ve all been terminated,” Gaudiano said.
Even with a rollback, Gaudiano is sure employees and contractors will still pursue some form of DEI programs, especially if it helps productivity. Although anti-DEI groups often focus on racial identity, underrepresented populations can mean women, the LGBTQ community, people with disabilities or veterans.
“What is happening is that you’re focusing on structural organizational problems, which often impacts minority groups or underrepresented groups more than majority groups,” Gaudiano said. “When you’re fixing the problems, you fix the problems for everybody. And it just happens to benefit underrepresented groups as well as minority groups.”
What effect did the anti-DEI movement have before the executive order?
• Dozens of diversity, equity and inclusion programs have already closed in Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, North Carolina, Iowa, Nebraska, Texas and other states.
• Almost 200 diversity, equity and inclusion staff positions were either cut or reassigned across North Carolina’s public university system. Last May, the UNC Chapel Hill Board of Trustees approved diverting $2.3 million of state funds for advancing diversity to public safety and policing.
• Texas’ 2023 law led to the University of Texas cutting 300 full- and part-time positions and eliminating more than 600 programs related to diversity, equity and inclusion training.
• In 2023, Oklahoma Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt signed an anti-DEI order that led to last year’s termination of the national women’s leadership program at the University of Oklahoma.
• Universities of Wisconsin regents reached a deal with Republican lawmakers in 2023 to limit DEI positions at the system’s
Family: Border Patrol agent killed in Vermont worked at the Pentagon during 9/11
David Maland was killed during a traffic stop
By Kathy McCormack and Steve Karnowski
The Associated Press
A U.S. BORDER PATROL agent who was killed in Vermont during a traffic stop near the Canadian border was a military veteran who worked security duty at the Pentagon during the Sept. 11 attacks, his family said.
“He was a devoted agent who served with honor and bravery,” a family statement provided to The Associated Press last Tuesday said. “He had a tremendous respect and pride for the work he did; he truly embodied service over self.”
Agent David Maland, 44, was killed last Monday afternoon following a traffic stop, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson said in a statement. A German national in the country on what the FBI called a cur-
CHAPEL HILL from page A1
and the applicant about a potential full roadway connection between Couch Road and South Elliott Road, but the cost would be too high, according to the applicant. Instead, the site features a 12-foot-wide, bike- and pedestrian-accessible, mixed-use path adjacent to South Elliott and Couch Road and going through the site.
The development would also feature a parking deck with approximately 450 parking spaces. According to the applicant,
This undated image shows
U.S.
rent visa was killed and an injured suspect was taken into custody and is being treated at a local hospital. The violence temporarily closed part of Interstate 91 about 20 miles from Canada in Coventry, part of the small, 27,000-resident community of Orleans County in the Northeast Kingdom section of Vermont that straddles the international border.
10% of the units will be affordable and interspersed throughout the site, with 5% affordable at 65% Area Median Income (AMI) and the other 5% affordable at 80% AMI.
“I believe the density here is needed and appropriate, and the commercial will thrive as well,” said council member Paris Miller-Foushee.
Council discussion focused on the lack of a connecting road between South Elliott and Couch, thereby leaving the development with only one point of ingress and egress, potentially raising the affordable housing
Maland had many chances for promotion but turned them down to stay in the field, said his cousin, Minnesota state Rep. Krista Knudsen. She paid tribute to the Minnesota native, who went by Chris, on the House floor last Wednesday before lawmakers observed a moment of silence.
“He will be remembered for his courage and commitment to protecting fellow Americans,” said Knudsen, a Republican from Lake Shore. “He is also a person who served faithfully with honor and bravery. He always put his service above himself.”
Maland, whom the FBI confirmed was a U.S. Air Force veteran, was killed close to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Newport Station, part of the Swanton Sector that he was assigned to. The sector encompasses Vermont, parts of New York and New Hampshire, and includes 295 miles of international boundary with Canada.
The Derby Line–Rock Island Border Crossing is about 12
allotment to 15% or all at 65% AMI, concerns over traffic flow and congestion on what is a narrow road, how the applicant will address the need for a designated loading zone area for the retail space, increased canopy tree size, and coverage and reduced parking numbers. Following the hearing and council discussion, the item was continued to Feb. 12.
The council then held a concept plan review — the first step before a conditional zoning application can be submitted — for a 155-unit townhome development (Flintrock Knoll Residen-
two dozen campuses in exchange for funds for staff raises and construction projects. The deal imposed a hiring freeze on diversity positions through 2026 and shifted more than 40 diversity-related positions to focus on “student success.”
How will the executive order be carried out?
The Office of Personnel Management in a memo last Tuesday directed agencies to place DEI office staffers on paid leave by 5 p.m. the following day and take down all public DEI-focused webpages by the same deadline.
Agencies must also cancel any DEI-related training and end any related contracts, and federal workers are being asked to report to Trump’s Office of Personnel Management if they suspect any DEI-related program has been renamed to obfuscate its purpose within 10 days or face “adverse consequences.”
By last Thursday, federal agencies were directed to compile a list of federal DEI offices and workers as of Election Day. By this Friday, they are expected to develop a plan to execute a “reduction-in-force action” against those federal workers.
It may be easy for Trump to sign such an order but more difficult to carry out, said Frederick Gooding Jr., African American studies professor at Texas Christian University and author of “American Dream Deferred: Black Federal Workers in Washington, D.C., 1941-1981.”
“It’s not going to be as easy to execute,” Gooding said. “It’s going to be more of a fantasy. There are no quick fixes for these issues that took years, if not centuries, to develop.”
The National Urban League and the National Fair Housing Alliance, as government contractors, and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund filed a lawsuit against a similar executive order issued during Trump’s first administration, arguing it trampled on freedom of speech rights. A California federal court suspended that order in response to a similar lawsuit filed by Lambda Legal, an organization that advocates for the rights of LGBTQ people.
“This will test us,” National Urban League President Marc Moriel said last Wednesday during a call-to-action roundtable that the group hosted. “These orders are unlawful; they are unconstitutional.”
grew up in Fairmont, Minnesota, where he graduated from high school in 1999.
miles by highway north of Coventry. It’s a major link to the Canadian province of Quebec, giving northern Vermont more French speakers than most of New England.
Maland’s family said his career spanned nine years in the military and 15 in the federal government. On Sept. 11, 2001, his duty station was the Pentagon, and when news of the terrorist attacks broke, he was sent to guard an undersecretary to one of the branches of the military for several days at a bunker at the Joint Base-Anacostia Bolling in southeast Washington, D.C.
Maland was also a K-9 handler who served in Texas near the border with Mexico before heading to the northern border. His aunt, Joan Maland, said he was about to propose marriage to his partner.
“We are all devastated,” she told AP in a text. She called him an “exceptional person. Incredible man.”
Knudsen said she and Maland
tial) located on 48.5 acres of property at 1609 U.S. 15-501. The site includes two streams and 15.7 acres of land in the Resource Conservation District and plans to have 7,500 square feet of nonresidential frontage along 15-501. “I think this is the kind of use that we envisioned when we extended the boundaries (of the Water and Sewer Management, Planning and Boundary Agreement Area),” said council member Karen Stegman. “I really like the concepts, and I think it works out in the plan’s favor that there is so much undevelopable
“Chris was an incredible man and will be missed dearly. I am grateful for his service and I know he was very proud of it,” she said. “Our family is heartbroken. He died in the line of duty, serving to protect our country. We will cherish his memories and mourn his sacrifice. Until we meet again, Godspeed, you good and faithful servant.”
Maland was the first Border Patrol agent to be killed in the line of duty by gunfire since Javier Vega Jr. was shot and killed near Santa Monica, Texas, in 2014, according to records provided by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Vega was initially considered to be off duty at the time of his death, but in 2016 it was determined to have been in the line of duty, the agency said.
In 2010, Brian Terry’s killing exposed the botched federal gun operation known as “Fast and Furious.” Border Patrol Agent Nicholas J. Ivie, of the Brian A. Terry Border Patrol Station, was mortally wounded in the line of duty in a remote area near Bisbee, Arizona, in 2012. Border Patrol Agent Isaac Morales was fatally stabbed while off duty in 2017 in Texas.
land because it’s really green and so much natural area that is really an asset to the plan.”
Also, according to the applicant, at least 20 units will be affordable housing units at 80% AMI.
Council discussions primarily focused on the inclusion of public transit preparation in the plans (bus stop, bus accessibility), a pedestrian connection to 15-501, making sure the development has enough parking allotment, and the inclusion of greenway spaces and trails.
The Chapel Hill Town Council will next meet Feb. 12.
BEN CURTIS / AP PHOTO
DAVID MALAND / JOAN MALAND VIA AP
Border Patrol agent
David Maland, who was killed Jan. 20 following a traffic stop in Vermont.
CHATHAM SPORTS
Octavio Hernandez, Mylia Garner, Aquilla Mateen James and Casey Golden were honored Friday
By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record
SILER CITY — Jordan-Matthews High School inducted four new members to its athletics Hall of Fame on Friday.
In a ceremony held between its varsity girls and boys basketball games against Northwood, Jordan-Matthews inducted former boys’ soccer star Octavio Hernandez (class of 2006), former multisport standout Aquilla Mateen James (class of 2012), former basketball star Mylia Garner (class of 2013) and 2017 MLB draftee Casey Golden (class of 2013).
Hernandez, the first Hispanic athlete to be inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame, was one of the founding members of the school’s boys’ soccer program, also known as Los Jets, in 2002. As a captain midfielder, he led the Jets to their first state title appearance in 2004 and scored the game-clinching goal from 35 yards out to beat Lejeune 2-0. Hernandez was named the game’s most valuable player. “I feel very, very proud and very honored to be the first Hispanic to represent the Hispanic community here in Siler City and be inducted into the Hall of Fame,” Hernandez said.
“We put in a lot of work in our four years here, so just to see it come and be recognized, it’s awesome.”
Aquilla Mateen James
While Jordan-Matthews boys’ soccer coach Paul Cuadros and his team of mostly Hispanic players were trying to get the program up and running, tensions were high in Siler City due to community pushback against the wave of Hispanic immigrants moving into the town.
Hernandez said winning the state title helped change the perception of the Hispanic population in Siler City.
“Bringing a state championship to our local high school, it meant a lot to everybody,” Hernandez said. “And now, the soccer program was being seen in a different way. We were seen as champions now.” James and Garner were both key members of the 31-0 Jordan-Matthews girls’ basketball team that won the state championship over Wilkes Central in 2012. Garner was named the Kay Yow Most Valuable Player of the game, and she later finished her career as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 2,219 career points in 120
games. James, named the most outstanding player for the East, also played softball, volleyball and ran track and cross country along with playing basketball. She was a regional champion in the 100-meter dash and triple jump and also a state runner-up in long jump and triple jump.
“We put in a lot of work in our four years here, so just to see it come and be recognized, it’s awesome,” James said.
Said Garner, “When I look back over everything we had to do to get to that point, it’s blood, sweat, tears and everything else in between. So I think at the end of the day, I’m grateful that everything that I’ve been through to get to where we are today and to this point, this right here let’s you know it was worth every minute.”
The two outstanding athletes now join their late coach Jeff Stutts in the school’s Hall of Fame. Stutts died in July after a battle with cancer. He taught at Jordan-Matthews from 1984-2013, serving as the head coach for girls’ basketball and track and athletic director for a brief stint from 1989-91.
“Coach Stutts was an amazing coach,” James said. “He gave his all to every girl on that team, and he was there for us off the court, too. He taught us a lot about life. One possession at a time and taking advantage
Seaforth wins its third consecutive conference championship
By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record
SEAFORTH HOSTED the 2024 Mid-Carolina 1A/2A conference wrestling tournament Saturday and won its third consecutive conference title.
The Hawks had 11 individual conference champions and totaled 281 points as a team. North Moore finished second with a score of 127, and Northwood came in third with a score of 107.
Seaforth’s individual champions included Gabe Rogers (106), Jordan Miller (113), Josh Miller (120), Layne Armstrong
Beau Harvey reaches 1,000 career points
By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record
PITTSBORO — Northwood junior Chad Graves went 7-for-7 from the field and dominated both sides of the floor as the first-place Chargers left no doubt in a 72-51 win over second-place Southeast Alamance in a Mid-Carolina 1A/2A showdown Monday. Graves, a 6-foot-9 forward, scored 17 points, matching junior guard Cam Fowler for a team-best scoring effort. If there was one play that best exemplified Graves’ dominance, it might’ve been his block on a 3-pointer from Southeast Alamance’s Trey Vandusen in the second quarter. Graves was even able to
“We need a lot more of that Chad.”
grab the blocked ball out of the air and throw it off Vandusen for a turnover. Graves got to the free throw line early in the first quarter, but his offensive game really took off in the second quarter. Northwood entered the second quarter with a 14-10 lead, but six points from Graves and seven points from senior guard Isaiah Blair, including and-ones from both, helped the Chargers outscore the Stallions 21-9 before the break.
“It’s unstoppable,” Fowler said. “I feel like he can get
ASHEEBO ROJAS / CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD
Seaforth’s wrestling team poses with their various team and individual honors after winning the conference tournament.
GENE GALIN FOR CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD
The Jordan-Matthews’ 2025 Athletic Hall of Fame class pose with J-M administrators (left to right) Principal April Burko, Casey Golden, Mylia Garner, Aquilla Mateen-James, Octavio Hernandez and Athletic Director Barry West.
ASHEEBO ROJAS / CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD
Seaforth’s Harrison Compton holds Stephen Silhan III on the mat on his way to a conference title at 190 lbs.
Ex-NFL star to start flag football league in Chatham, Chapel Hill and Durham
Flag Football Elite is for kids aged 4-17
By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record
CEDRIC PEERMAN, a former nine-year NFL veteran, Pro Bowler and a current assistant football coach at Northwood, is bringing a flag football league to the area.
Flag Football Elite, a league organized by Peerman and backed by NFL Flag, will offer kids aged 4-17 the opportunity to play five-on-five games in the Chatham County, Chapel Hill and Durham areas. The Chatham seasons will have one-hour practices and games played at Northwood High School with the first early spring season kicking off on Feb. 22 and ending on March 29.
Registration for the early spring season in Chatham County will close on Feb. 12. Both practices and games will be held on Saturdays between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. Those who are interested can go to flagfootballelite.org and register for a fee of $165. The league also has scholarships available.
“Our hope is to just grow the game of football through the game of flag football here in Chatham County and throughout the surrounding community,” Peerman said. “We see a need for another outlet for
a bucket every time. If he just stays calm and plays at a good pace and doesn’t get too sped up in his head, he plays extremely well, and we need a lot more of that from Chad.”
Coming out of halftime, Graves continued his big night with 11 second half points. And as well as he played, his running mate Fowler was right there with him getting his 17 points in similar fashion.
Fowler racked up the and- ones and free-throw attempts from slashing to the rim, which has worked well for him all season. He scored eight first quarter points and shot at an efficient 67% clip.
“The lane, I felt like, was wide open,” Fowler said. “I took my chance, and I used my strength and my abilities to go through them and just finish at the rim. Coach has been on me about finishing the and- ones.”
Although Fowler’s and Graves’ performances were much needed, senior guard Beau Harvey’s 10 points may have been the most celebrated. Harvey’s third made field goal and seventh point of the night early in the fourth quarter gave him just enough to reach 1,000 career points. Northwood stopped the game briefly as his teammates swarmed him in celebration after the shot, and he was honored on the court for his achievement.
“My guy Hayes hit me in the middle, turned around and hit a little 10-12-foot jumper,” Harvey said. “Felt really good. Hooping with my guys, I got my 1,000, so that’s good.” Said Northwood coach Matt Brown, “Any college team would be very fortunate to have Beau Harvey as a point guard.”
Northwood moved to 17-2 overall and 11-0 in conference play with the win. The latest victory over Southeast Alamance was a lot more convincing than the first meeting back in December. In that game, the Stallions gave the Chargers a battle, falling short by just four points at their place.
Brown said a big difference Monday was the defense.
“We’ve fixed a lot of things on defense lately,” Brown said. “Us flying around and being more aggressive, but then also finishing at the rim. We’re trying to finish at the rim with two feet. The guys are really buying into it.” Said Brown, “I think it was the closest game as a complete game that we’ve had so far, and we’re just going to keep building on it.”
the youth in our community.”
The league will have six age groups for ages 4-6, 7-8, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14 and 15-17. Each age group will have four to six teams.
ASHEEBO ROJAS / CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD
Northwood’s Beau Harvey (2) poses with coach Matt Brown after the senior guard scored his 1,000th career point.
Girls: Southeast Alamance 56 – Northwood 33
Northwood’s abundance of turnovers gave second-place Southeast Alamance an abundance of transition layups as the Stallions ran away with a 56-33 conference road win Monday night.
Southeast Alamance junior Shaniya Paylor led the way with 20 points, and freshman Rreanna Johnson poured in 14 more from mostly turning the Stallions’ 23 steals into scores.
The Stallions also controlled the boards with 36 rebounds. Junior Clara LaChapelle grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds to go with her 12 points.
Paylor nearly had a quadruple-double with 10 assists, eight rebounds and eight steals.
“Southeast Alamance has a good team, and we didn’t play our game,” Northwood coach Kerri Stubbs said. “I think we played down and didn’t take care of the basketball. That was a big thing for us.”
Stubbs acknowledged that the Stallions’ intense defensive pressure influenced some turnovers, but she also realized that some of them were unforced.
With the loss, Northwood fell to 12-5 overall and 7-3 in conference play.
Things won’t get easier for the Chargers with firstplace Seaforth coming into their house Friday night, but Stubbs is ready to take on the opportunity for a huge bounce back.
“I think we’re going to really be intentional about what we’re doing and how we’re doing it and try to grow and learn from it,” Stubbs said.
Peerman is also encouraging girls to sign up, especially with the growing popularity of girls’ flag football around the country. The league will be co - ed for now, but Peerman envi-
WRESTLING from page B1
(126), Cody Mattox (132), William Bass (150), Alex Hinchman (165), Judge Lloyd (175), Harrison Compton (190), Ethan Kuball (215) and Palmer Moad (285). Northwood’s Coltrane Northington, who competed in the 144-pound weight class, took home the only conference title for the Chargers.
Outside of the first-place finishers, 13 other Chatham County wrestlers placed in their respective weight classes.
Gavin Vanderford (Chatham Central, 106), Sunday Oo (Northwood, 120), Cole Shambley (Northwood, 126), Caden Brewer (Seaforth, 144), Elijah Farrow (Northwood, 165), Jakari Blue (Jordan-Matthews, 190) and Aidan Holton (Chatham Central, 285) all finished in second place.
Third-place finishers included Aiden Hernandez (Cha-
sions having an all-girls league someday.
“Girls’ flag football is a huge opportunity in this area because there’s nothing for girls here yet regarding football at
all,” Peerman said. “I’m really hoping that parents see that as an opportunity, and I hope the girls in our county see that as an opportunity to come out and try it out for a season. If it’s not for you that’s fine. Flag football won’t be for everyone, but I have no doubt you’ll enjoy it, and you’ll have fun doing it.”
Peerman wants the league to help kids develop and learn the basic fundamentals of football, but he wants to mostly emphasize the “fun” and interpersonal aspects of the game.
“We’re going to try to make it as fun as an atmosphere as possible,” Peerman said. “We want it to be all about fun, but we also want the kids to learn how to compete, and we want them to learn to have good sportsmanship while you compete.”
Chatham will have four more seasons after the early spring season ends in March. There will be a late spring season from April 26 to May 31 (registration open until April 16), a summer season from July 12 to Aug. 16 (registration open from March 15 to July 2), a fall season from Sept. 13 to Oct. 18 (registration open from June 1 to Sept. 3) and a winter season from Nov. 8 to Dec. 13 (registration open from Oct. 1 to Oct. 29). The Durham seasons will start with the late spring season in April and will run on the same playing and registration timeline as Chatham for its summer, fall and winter seasons. Durham practices and games will be held at Trinity School of Durham and Chapel Hill.
“This league is for everyone, and we want to make it available for everyone,” Peerman said.
tham Central, 126), Ayden Terwilliger (Jordan-Matthews, 132), Benjamin Johnson (Seaforth, 138), Karl Ferm (Seaforth, 157), Stephen Silhan III (Chatham Central, 215) and Mason Powell (Northwood, 285).
In the team results, Chatham Central finished fifth and Jordan-Matthews finished eighth in the tournament. Brackets for the NCHSAA wrestling playoffs will be released Thursday.
Central Electric sponsoring two youth to attend basketball camp this summer
Central Electric awards two Touchstone Energy Sports Camp Scholarships annually to local students in Chatham, Harnett, Lee, Moore, or Randolph counties.
A young man will be selected to attend the Carolina Basketball School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a young woman will be selected to attend the Wolfpack Women’s Basketball Camp at N.C. State University in Raleigh.
To be eligible to apply, the student must be in the sixth or seventh grade during the upcoming school year, have permission from a parent or guardian to attend the overnight camp and must provide their own transportation if selected to attend.
Scan the QR code or visit CEMCPower.com for more information or to apply. The deadline for applications to both camps is March 31.
HOOPS from page B1
PHELAN M. EBENHACK / AP PHOTO
Bengals running back Cedric Peerman (30) rushes for yardage during a 2016 preseason football game against the Jaguars. Peerman is working to get a local flag football league off the ground.
ASHEEBO ROJAS / CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD Seaforth’s Ethan Kuball (left) and Layne Armstrong (right) were honored after reaching the 150-win plateau. Both also won conference titles.
Seaforth boys, girls take conference swimming titles
By Asheebo Rojas
Chatham News & Record
SEAFORTH’S BOYS and girls won the Mid-Carolina 1A/2A conference titles in the conference championship meet Saturday. The girls won with a team score of 447 while the boys won with a team score of 418. Here are Chatham County’s individual champions from the meet.
Chatham County had a loaded night of basketball Friday.
Chatham Central senior Luke Gaines recorded a career-high 24 points in the Bears’ 72-57 win over Bartlett Yancey. Gaines knocked down four 3s while shooting 80% from beyond the arc. Senior Reid Al-
@SEAFORTHHAWKS / X
Seaforth’s boys’ and girls’ swim teams pose with their medals after winning the conference championship.
bright also had a good night with a 23-point, 10-rebound double-double.
Northwood extended its win streak to five after dominating Jordan-Matthews 64-22 and sweeping the regular season series over the Jets. Junior Cam Fowler led the way with 17 points, and junior Chad Graves scored 10 points. The Chargers haven’t let up on their rival in years as Jordan-Matthews hasn’t beat Northwood since 2016.
Seaforth beat Cummings 63-43 in a more convincing fashion than its eight-point win over the Cavaliers in December. In the Hawks second straight win, senior Noah Lewis and junior Campbell Meador led the team with 10 points each.
Woods Charter beat River Mill 55-12, picking up its fourth straight win (longest win streak since 2017) and its largest victory of the season. Sophomore Alden Phelps scored a team-high 14 points while also dishing out a team-high four assists. Sophomore Levi Haygood recorded 10 points and five rebounds. Week of Jan. 20 Power Rankings: 1. Northwood; 2. Chatham Central; 3. Seaforth; 4. Woods Charter; 5. Chatham Charter; 6. Jordan-Matthews Mid-Carolina 1A/2A conference standings (as of Sunday) (overall, conference): 1. Northwood (16-2, 10-0); T2. Southeast Alamance (12-3, 7-2); T2. Chatham Central (12-2, 7-2); 4. Seaforth (8-8, 5-3); 5. Cummings (4-11, 3-6); 6. Jordan-Matthews (5-10, 3-6); 7. Bartlett Yancey (4-7, 3-6); 8. Graham (2-12, 1-7); 9. North Moore (3-10, 0-7) Central Tar Heel 1A conference standings (as of Sunday): T1. Southern Wake Academy (15-4, 5-0); T1. Woods Charter
(8-4, 5-0); 3. Chatham Charter (12-8, 3-2); 4. Clover Garden School (6-7, 3-3); 5. Triangle Math & Science (3-13, 2-4); 6. River Mill (2-17, 1-5); 7. Ascend Leadership (3-9, 0-5) Girls’ basketball
Northwood picked up its largest win of the season in a 58-5 rout over Jordan-Matthews on Friday. The Jets, who were without one of their best players in Jada Scott, had no answer for junior forward Shaylah Glover who scored a teamhigh 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Seaforth demolished Cummings 63-28 Friday, extending its win streak to 15. Woods Charter continued the trend of blowouts Friday with a 44-29 victory over River Mill Friday. The win snapped the Wolves’ two-game skid. Week of Jan. 20 Power Rankings: 1. Seaforth; 2. Northwood ; 3. Chatham Central; 4. Chatham Charter; 5. Woods Charter; 6. Jordan-Matthews Mid-Carolina 1A/2A conference standings (as of Sunday): 1. Seaforth (15-1, 8-0); 2. Southeast Alamance (13-2, 8-1); 3. Northwood (12-4, 7-2); 4. Chatham Central (9-5, 5-4); T5. Jordan-Matthews (3-12, 3-6); T5. Cummings (3-8, 3-6); 7. North Moore (4-7, 2-5); 8. Graham (3-10, 1-6); 9. Bartlett Yancey (0-11, 0-7) Central Tar Heel 1A conference standings (as of Sunday): 1. Chatham Charter (8-12, 5-0); 2. Triangle Math and Science (8-7, 4-1); 3. Clover Garden School (9-4, 3-2); 4. Woods Charter (6-5, 2-3); 5. River Mill (3-16, 2-4); 6. Southern Wake Academy (3-6, 1-3); 7. Ascend Leadership (2-11, 0-4)
Gaines
Chatham Central, boys’ basketball
Chatham Central’s Luke Gaines earns athlete of the week honors for the week of Jan. 20.
In the Bears’ 72-57 victory over Bartlett Yancey on Friday, Gaines scored a career-high 24 points, knocking down four of his five 3-point attempts. The senior guard made an impact on the game in other ways, too, grabbing four rebounds, dishing out four assists and coming away with a steal and a block.
Gaines is having a solid all-around year, averaging 7.9 points, 4.6 assists, three rebounds and 2.4 steals a game as of Sunday. He’s been a key piece to the Bears’ successful 12-2 regular season campaign.
GENE GALIN FOR CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD
NCHSAA releases second draft of 2025-29 conference alignment
Chatham County’s 1A schools get moved around
By Asheebo Rojas
Chatham News & Record
THE NCHSAA released its second draft of the 202529 conference alignment on Jan. 21, and changes were made for a few Chatham County schools.
After being placed in an all-1A conference in the first draft (labeled as 1A Conference 2 on the file released by the NCHSAA) Chatham Charter and Chatham Central were moved to a 1A/2A conference (1A/2A Conference E) in the second draft. Woods Charter got moved from a six-team 1A conference (1A Conference 3) to a 10-team 1A conference (1A Conference 2) in the second draft.
The proposed conference alignments for Northwood (3A), Jordan-Matthews (4A) and Seaforth (5A) did not change.
Schools had until Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. to accept feedback on the proposed conferences. The realignment committee looked through more than 170 response forms from member schools after the first draft.
Here’s a look at the exact changes for Chatham County schools from the first to the second draft.
Second draft
1A Conference 2: Ascend Leadership, Central Carolina Academy, Clover Garden, Discover Charter, Excelsior Classical, Falls Lake Academy, Neuse Charter, River Mill Academy, Southern Wake Academy, Woods Charter
of every opportunity. That’s one thing that I talk to my players about: taking advantage of every opportunity that they get.”
After finishing her high school basketball career with 1,327 points, James went to UNC and became a four-year starter for the softball team, finishing her career with the fifth-most stolen bases in pro -
Teams in Woods Charter’s new proposed conference
1A/2A Conference E: Chatham Central (1A), Chatham Charter (1A), College Prep and Leadership (1A), North Stokes (1A), South Davidson (1A), Winston-Salem Prep (1A), Bishop McGuiness (2A), South Stokes (2A)
3A/4A Conference C: Eastern Randolph (3A), North Moore (3A), Northwood (3A), Carrboro (4A), Jordan-Matthews (4A), Southwestern Randolph (4A), Uwharrie Charter (4A)
5A Conference 2: Cedar Ridge, Durham School of Arts, Orange, Seaforth, South Granville, Webb
First draft
1A Conference 2: Ascend Leadership, Central Carolina Academy, Chatham Central, Chatham Charter, Neuse Charter, Southern Wake Academy 1A Conference 3: Clover Garden, Discovery Charter, Excelsior Classical, Falls Lake Academy, River Mill Academy, Woods Charter
3A/4A Conference C: Eastern Randolph (3A), North Moore (3A), Northwood (3A), Carrboro (4A), Jordan-Matthews (4A), Southwestern Randolph (4A), Uwharrie Charter (4A)
5A Conference 1: Cedar Ridge, Durham School of the Arts, Orange, Seaforth, South Granville, Webb
gram history. She’s now an assistant coach for the Tar Heels.
Garner continued her basketball career at Charlotte and finished at Elon where her 39.1% clip from beyond the arc in the 2016-17 season still stands as the sixth-best single-season 3-point shooting percentage in program history.
Golden was best known for what he did on the baseball field at Jordan-Matthews while
Be brave: Keys’ message to herself while winning
The American’s run to the title included wins over world’s top two players
By Howard Fendrich
The Associated Press
MELBOURNE, Australia — Be brave. Go for it.
Those were the mantras Madison Keys turned to as she confronted the most significant points of her tennis career, trapped in the cauldron of a third set that was tied at 5-all, 30-all in the Australian Open final against two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka.
No reason to be anything but aggressive, Keys thought. No reason to try to wish there weren’t nerves accompanying the moment. No reason to worry — as the American long did along the journey from prodigy at age 12 to major champion less than a month before her 30th birthday — about what would happen if things didn’t quite work out.
“I just kept saying, ‘Be brave.’ And, ‘Go for it.’ I kind of just kept repeating that. That was really my goal for the day — to just be proud, no matter a win or a loss,” Keys said after winning her first Grand Slam title with a 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 victory over the No. 1-ranked Sabalenka.
“I went after it, every single point. And if I missed it and I just didn’t execute, I could live with that. I didn’t want to have any sort of regret that I was passive and I missed. (Then) it could have been something where I thought: ‘I should have done something else,’” Keys said. “So I kind of just kept saying that, over and over.”
She spread the credit for her achievement to the team around her, including Bjorn
also playing football and basketball. He was a four-time All-County and All-Conference honoree and earned All-State honors his senior year after recording a .584 batting average and 27 extra base hits.
“It’s a great honor,” Golden said. “It’s not something you think about as a high school athlete, but it’s something you think about afterwards.”
Said Golden, “I don’t do
the Australian Open
Fratangelo, a former player who has been her coach since mid-2023 and her husband since November. To her therapist. To her friends on tour who lifted her up when she needed it. They all believed in Keys, she said, and now, lately, she believed in herself, too.
She used to be concerned about never living up to the hype that accompanied her before she was even a teen and only increased when she made her first appearance in a Grand Slam semifinal at age 19. She used to think nothing about her tennis career would matter if she never managed to claim a major trophy. She used to assume the sport’s best never felt jitters like those hampering her during her first Grand Slam final at age 22. Eventually, Keys let all of that go. It was OK not to obsess over others’ opinions. It was OK if she never won a Slam. It was OK to face the nerves because, after all, that’s how the greats succeed — they feel discomfort but play through it.
That was the case throughout her run, which featured five three-setters and four vic-
things to get the acknowledgement, but this is one thing I’m definitely proud of.”
After doing great things for the Jets, Golden went to UNCW and became a great player for the Seahawks. As a freshman, Golden was named a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American and earned Colonial Athletic Association (now Coastal Athletic Association) All-Rookie honors. As
tories over top-10 seeds (No. 1 Sabalenka, No. 2 Iga Swiatek, No. 6 Elena Rybakina and No. 10 Danielle Collins), including a trio of major champs (Sabalenka, Swiatek, Rybakina). No woman had defeated the top two ranked players during one major since 2009.
“To do it that way,” Keys said, “I think, really, I thought to myself that I can absolutely win on Saturday.”
She was so good at the start and down the stretch against Sabalenka.
From 5-all, 30-all, Keys claimed six of the last eight points.
“If she can play consistently like that, I mean, it’s not much you can do,” Sabalenka said.
“My first semifinal here feels like it was forever ago,” Keys told the AP. “I mean, I honestly felt like I was a different person then. But I think that that kind of happens when so many things have happened throughout the past decade. It’s just kind of all accumulated to get to the point where I was finally able to just go out and play some really good tennis and walk away with a Grand Slam.”
a senior, Golden was named the 2017 CAA Player of the Year.
Golden was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 20th round of the 2017 MLB Draft. He made his rookie debut in the Pioneer League and was named a Pioneer League All- Star. As a member of the Asheville Tourists in 2018, Golden won South Atlantic League MVP honors.
HALL OF FAME from page B1
VINCENT THIAN / AP PHOTO
Madison Keys of the U.S. holds a press conference after defeating Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in the women’s singles final at the Australian Open.
SIDELINE REPORT
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Vegas, baby!
Sin City to host the 2027 College Football Playoff title game
Las Vegas Las Vegas will host the 2027 College Football Playoff national championship game. The CFP says the title game will be played Monday, Jan. 25, 2027, at Allegiant Stadium. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority celebrated the news by releasing a video of Strip headliner Shin Lim performing an illusion at the iconic Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign. Lim changed the face of the sign to revel a new message welcoming the College Football Playoff National Championship to Las Vegas. The 2026 game will be played at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
Ohio State star
Judkins declares for NFL Draft
Columbus, Ohio Ohio State star running back Quinshon Judkins, who scored three touchdowns in the national championship game, is leaving school early and entering the NFL Draft. Judkins announced his decision on social media. Judkins transferred to Ohio State after two seasons at Ole Miss. He is widely expected to be a second- day pick in April. Against Notre Dame, he ran 11 times for 100 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught two passes for 21 yards and a score.
SOCCER
Police investigating threats toward Premier League ref
London English soccer’s match officials body says police are investigating “abhorrent attacks” aimed at Premier League referee Michael Oliver and his family following the match between Wolverhampton and Arsenal. Oliver was the referee for Saturday’s game at Molineux which Arsenal won 1-0 after both teams had a man sent off. Professional Game Match Officials Limited, the body responsible for referees in the English soccer, says it is “appalled by the threats and abuse directed at” Oliver after the game. The PGMOL says “the police are aware and a number of investigations have commenced.”
BOXING
Japanese boxing star Inoue heads to U.S. after big KO
Tokyo Japanese boxing superstar Naoya Inoue is headed to the United States after another devastating knockout. His promoter wants Americans to cherish Inoue as much as they do Shohei Ohtani. The unbeaten Inoue knocked out overmatched South Korean opponent Ye Joon Kim in the fourth round in Tokyo to remain the undisputed super bantamweight champion.
Bob Arum, Inoue’s promoter at Top Rank, confirmed afterward that Inoue’s next fight will be in Las Vegas. Arum evoked comparisons with Ohtani, the star Japanese baseball player for the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
Women’s basketball players reflect on Kobe Bryant’s impact
Memories of the NBA star’s death, five years ago, are still strong
By Alanis Thames The Associated Press
DEARICA HAMBY still smiles at the memory of Kobe Bryant sitting courtside at WNBA games.
She had met him years ago. He came to see her old team, the Las Vegas Aces, play all the time.
“I think one of the first things he told me was that I could play defense,” Hamby recalled. “And I was kind of like ‘Wha-at?’ ... That’s something I’ll cherish with me forever.”
That epitomized the late NBA great’s relationship with the women’s game. After his 20-year playing career ended, Bryant turned his focus to the next generation, mentoring some of women’s basketball’s biggest stars, from WNBA champion and Olympic gold medalist Diana Taurasi to former
ESPN
He worked out with them, analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of their game and pushed for them to reach the same heights in popularity that he and his NBA peers did.
For Hamby, now with the Los Angeles Sparks, Bryant saw an aspect of her game she didn’t even know she had.
“If Kobe tells you you can play defense, you can play defense,” she quipped.
Five years after Bryant, 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others were killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, several women’s basketball players reflected on what he meant to their game and how he championed it. Many of them thought Bryant would be pleased with the overall progress of women’s sports, which have skyrocketed in popularity and reach in recent years.
“We carry this on for him,” said Satou Sabally, a forward with the WNBA’s Dallas Wings who plays for the Phantom
pleased with 1st season of expanded College
Football Playoff
Interest in the playoffs was high, although ratings were mixed
By Joe Reedy The Associated Press
THE INAUGURAL season of the 12-team College Football Playoff had its share of highlights and criticisms from fans and the media.
The same can be said for the network carrying the games.
Nick Dawson, ESPN’s vice president of college sports programming and acquisitions, said the first year was a success from their standpoint as they begin taking a deeper dive into possible improvements going into next season.
“A lot of unknowns doing something for the first time, so you’ll always sort of assess after the fact, learn and potentially look at tweaks or adjustments we might consider for the future,” Dawson said.
The 11 College Football Playoff games averaged 15.6 million viewers according to Nielsen, as audiences increased during each round. According to ESPN, viewers consumed nearly 36 billion minutes of live coverage, a 63% increase over last year’s seven-game
slate of the CFP title game and New Year’s six bowl games.
The four first-round games averaged 10.6 million viewers, with the quarterfinals at 16.9 million. The semifinals averaged 19.2 million, while Ohio State’s 34-23 victory over Notre Dame in Monday night’s national championship game drew 22.1 million.
“Obviously there were a few more games, but to see that kind of jump in just overall consumption of the product is hopefully something we can build on moving forward,” Dawson said.
There are some headwinds that ESPN will deal with under the current format. The semifinal audience decreased 17% from last year, but most of that was due to those games being on Jan. 1, 2024, compared to games on Thursday and Friday.
Notre Dame’s 27-24 victory over Penn State in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 9 averaged 17.8 million. By comparison, the most-watched “Thursday Night Football” game on Amazon Prime Video this season was 17.29 million for Green Bay versus Detroit on Dec. 2.
The Jan. 10 Cotton Bowl — where Ohio State defeated Texas 28-24 — averaged 20.6 mil-
squad in Unrivaled. “He would be so proud of this league. He would be proud of ’Phe and Stewie. I know that he’s looking down and hopefully he’s smiling and is proud of us.”
Sabally said she still gets emotional when she thinks of that day on Jan. 26, 2020. It reminds her of her playing days at Oregon, when she, Ionescu and their Ducks teammates connected over Bryant.
“I think about ... how we all bonded together over Kobe and how we bonded together for the rest of our lives because he was so impactful,” Sabally added. “He was really a person that saw us women as the talents who we are. He came to the games, he was so outspoken and he really was really supportive.”
“I still remember exactly where I was whenever we heard the news,” said Kate Martin of the Golden State Valkyries, playing for Laces BC at Unrivaled, “and no one really knew if it was fake or real. I think that’s just one of those things
where you’re just always going to remember exactly where you were when you heard that.”
Bryant became heavily involved with his daughters’ hoops journeys and coached Gianna’s youth team. He was often at women’s basketball games, especially college ones, with Gianna, who was fascinated with the UConn Huskies. Gianna was in line to further Bryant’s legacy on the court. The plan was for her to attend Connecticut, and surely the WNBA was next.
“I think a lot of people started to follow behind Kobe because he recognized our gift and our talent and how special it really is,” said former Chicago Sky head coach Teresa Weatherspoon, the current coach of Unrivaled’s Vinyl BC. “And his daughter was right there as well.”
That’s who Bryant had become — a face of women’s sports advocacy.
“He’s greatly missed,” Martin said. “But now his legacy will live on forever.”
lion and was the most-watched Friday telecast across all networks in four years. Ohio State-Notre Dame was a 12% drop from the 25 million who tuned in for the Michigan-Washington title game in 2024. CFP games ended up being nine of the 10 most-viewed this season, with three games averaging at least 20 million. The other was the Jan. 1 Rose Bowl, which always attracts a large audience. What Dawson and ESPN are hoping for the most though are more competitive title games.
Since Alabama’s 26-23 overtime victory over Georgia in 2018, the last seven title games have had an average margin of victory of 25.4 points. The three least-viewed of the 11 CFP title games have
occurred in the past five years.
Monday night’s game peaked at 26.1 million viewers during the second quarter (8:30-8:45 p.m. EST) when the game was tied at 7-all. The audience started decreasing when the Buckeyes took a 21-7 lead at halftime and took a big drop when Ohio State built a 31-7 advantage midway though the third quarter.
“You always hope for, from a TV perspective, for a tight game to the finish, right? That’s one of the biggest factors driving the ultimate viewership, but it’s also not something that you can control,” Dawson said. “Blowouts are not a college football thing. That occurs in every sport and every playoff from time to time. So you sort of have to accept that’s going to be a reality once in a while.”
Fans watch live at the College Football Playoff national championship game between Ohio State and Notre Dame
Oregon star Sabrina Ionescu.
MICHAEL OWEN BAKER / AP PHOTO
Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna attend an NBA game in Los Angeles.
Condon, Lopez unveil new musical ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’ at Sundance festival
The pop star plays an old Hollywood screen siren in a movie-within-the-movie
By Lindsey Bahr The Associated Press
PARK CITY, Utah — A lavish, MGM-style musical is not typical Sundance Film Festival fare. But Sunday night, Bill Condon brought such a creation — well, part of one — to Park City, Utah, with his adaptation of “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” starring Jennifer Lopez.
Audiences broke out in spontaneous applause during the screening for Lopez’s song and dance numbers. She plays an old Hollywood screen siren in a movie-within-the-movie. The packed Eccles Theater also gave Lopez, wearing a glittery spiderweb-themed frock, a standing ovation after the show.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment my whole life,” Lopez said.
The story, which revolves around the conversations between two cellmates in an Argentine prison, was first a novel by Manuel Puig in 1976 and has been adapted for stage and
screen over the years. A 1985 film adaptation starred William Hurt and Raul Julia won Hurt an Oscar for his performance. On Broadway, it won multiple Tony Awards.
Condon wrote and directed this new version, which is seeking a distributor. Diego Luna plays an imprisoned revolutionary, Valentin Arregui, whose new cellmate, Luis Molina (Tonatiuh), loves movies, celebrity and glamour, and enthusiastically recounts the story of a favorite movie musical, called “Kiss of the Spider Woman” to Valentin, giving them and the audience a break from their bleak reality. While the film has memorable moments of escapist spectacle, it also delves into serious topics of gender identity. Molina tells Valentin that they don’t feel like a man or a woman — which Valentin finds odd at first but grows to understand.
Before the screening, Condon said that one of the things the movie is about is “the attempt to bridge the incredible differences that separate us so often.” He quoted President Donald Trump’s recent remarks about two genders as official policy.
“That’s a sentiment I think
you’ll see that the movie has a different point of view on,” said Condon.
After the film, the discussion of gender identity and tolerance continued. Tonatiuh said it was difficult growing up as a “femme queer Latin kid in a culture that doesn’t necessarily praise those things,” and he was told that it would be limiting in an acting career.
“When I got this material, I knew this person spiritually,” Tonatiuh said. “I understood someone who felt like a loser in their own life and learns how to be the hero of their own story. I got to show the entire spectrum from feminine to masculine and everything in between.”
But most of all, everyone was just excited to be in a real movie musical.
“I did write that line, ‘I pity people who hate musicals,’” Condon said. “All the things that movies can do can happen in a musical.”
Lopez said it was watching “West Side Story” every Thanksgiving on television that made her want to become a performer.
Condon, Lopez said through tears, “made my dreams come true.”
CHRIS PIZZELLO / AP PHOTO
Bill Condon, right, writer/director of “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” poses with cast members Tonatiuh and Jennifer Lopez at the film’s premier during the Sundance Film Festival on Sunday.
this week in history
Ghandi killed, black students sat in at Woolworth’s, the music died
JAN. 30
1649: England’s King Charles I was executed for high treason.
1933: Adolf Hitler was named chancellor of Germany.
1948: Indian political and spiritual leader Mohandas K. Gandhi, 78, was shot and killed in New Delhi by Nathuram Godse, a Hindu extremist.
1968: The Tet Offensive began during the Vietnam War as Communist forces launched surprise attacks against South Vietnamese towns and cities.
1969: The Beatles staged an unannounced concert atop Apple headquarters in London that would be their last public performance.
1972: Thirteen Catholic civil rights marchers were shot and killed by British soldiers in Northern Ireland on what became known as “Bloody Sunday.”
JAN. 31
1863: During the Civil War, the First South Carolina Volunteers, an all-Black Union regiment composed of many
escaped slaves, was mustered into federal service at Beaufort, South Carolina.
1958: The United States entered the Space Age with its first successful launch of a satellite, Explorer 1, from Cape Canaveral.
1971: Astronauts Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell and Stuart Roosa blasted off aboard Apollo 14 on a mission to the moon.
FEB. 1
1865: Abolitionist John S. Rock became the first black lawyer admitted to the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court.
1943: During World War II, one of America’s most highly decorated military units, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, made up almost exclusively of Japanese Americans, was activated.
1960: Four black North Carolina A&T students began a sit-in protest at a Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro where they had been refused service.
FEB. 2
1653: New Amsterdam now New York City — was incorporated.
1887: Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, held its first Groundhog Day festival.
1913: New York City’s rebuilt Grand Central Terminal officially opened to the public at one minute past midnight.
1914: Charles Chaplin made his movie debut as the comedy short “Making a Living” was released by Keystone Film Co.
FEB. 3
1865: President Abraham Lincoln and Confederate Vice President Alexander H. Stephens held a shipboard peace conference off the Virginia coast; the talks deadlocked over the issue of Southern autonomy.
1959: On what would become known as “the day the
music died,” rock ’n’ roll stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson died in a small plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa.
FEB. 4
1783: Britain’s King George III proclaimed a formal cessation of hostilities in the American Revolutionary War.
1913: Rosa Parks was born Rosa Louise McCauley in Tuskegee, Alabama.
1945: President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin began a wartime conference at Yalta.
1974: Newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst, 19, was kidnapped in Berkeley, California, by the radical Symbionese Liberation Army.
FEB. 5
1811: George, the Prince of Wales, was named Prince Regent due to the mental illness of his father, Britain’s King George III.
1922: The first edition of Reader’s Digest was published.
1971: Apollo 14 astronauts Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell stepped onto the surface of the moon in the first of two lunar excursions.
George Clinton, more inducted to Songwriters Hall of Fame
George Clinton, the
“godfather of funk,” is an innovator of American popular music
By Maria Sherman The Associated Press
NEW YORK — George Clinton, The Doobie Brothers, Ashley Gorley, Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, The Beach Boys’ Mike Love and Tony Macaulay make up the 2025 Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees — an inspiring mix of funk, rock, R&B, country and beyond.
Is there funk without George Clinton? Is there groove? From Parliament-Funkadelic to his solo work, Clinton is an innovator of American popular music — a long overdue inductee heard on timeless hits like “Atomic Dog” and “Give Up The Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)” but also across the songs of Kendrick Lamar, Tupac, OutKast, Dr. Dre, Busta Rhymes, Missy Elliot, De La Soul and beyond. Previously, Clinton was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. He received the lifetime achievement award at the Grammys in 2019.
The Doobie Brothers — the inducted members are Tom Johnston, Michael McDonald and Patrick Simmons — are known the world over for their rootsy rock ’n’ roll, particularly for their No. 1 hits “What A Fool Believes” and “Black Wa-
“The foundation of the music industry exists because songwriters compose great songs.”
Nile Rodgers
ter.” They went into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2020.
Ashley Gorley is an unmistakable name in the world of country music, with 80 No. 1 radio singles to his name. Recent credits include the honky-tonk stomp “I Had Some Help” by Post Malone and Morgan Wallen.
The class of 2025 also includes The Beach Boys’ Mike Love, who joins his bandmate Brian Wilson in the Hall; Wilson was inducted in 2000. Groundbreaking producer Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, whose touch is heard across countless R&B and pop hits, will also be inducted, as will legendary English songwriter Tony Macaulay, known for such classics as The Foundations’ “Build Me Up Buttercup” and ‘Baby Now That I’ve Found You.”
The 2025 Songwriters Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held on June 12 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.
“The foundation of the music industry exists because songwriters compose great songs,”
solutions
and
Songwriters Hall of Fame chairman Nile Rodgers said in a statement. “Without them, there is no recorded music, no concert business, no fans, or merchandising; it all starts with the song and the songwriter.”
Last year’s inductees includ-
ed Steely Dan, R.E.M., Timbaland, Hillary Lindsey and Dean Pitchford. At the induction ceremony last summer, R.E.M. stunned attendees by reuniting for an acoustic version of their alt-rock hit, “Losing My Religion.”
The Songwriters Hall of Fame was established in 1969 to honor those creating popular music. A songwriter with a notable catalog of songs qualifies for induction 20 years after the first commercial release of a song.
ROB GRABOWSKI / INVISION / AP PHOTO
George Clinton
Parliament-Funkadelic perform on day one of Riot Fest in 2023.
AP PHOTO
Indian political and spiritual leader Mohandas K. Gandhi was shot and killed by a Hindu extremist on Jan. 30, 1948. He was 78.
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Offer valid through February 1st 2024.
famous birthdays this week
Gene Hackman turns 95, Vanessa Redgrave is 88, Morgan Fairchild is 75, Big Boi hits 50
The Associated Press
JAN. 30
Actor Gene Hackman is 95. Actor Vanessa Redgrave is 88. Former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney is 84. Musician Phil Collins is 74. Actor Christian Bale is 51.
JAN. 31
Composer Philip Glass is 88. Blues singer-musician Charlie Musselwhite is 81. Baseball Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan is 78. Actor Minnie Driver is 55. Singer Justin Timberlake is 44.
FEB. 1
Princess Stephanie of Monaco is 60. Actor Sherilyn Fenn is 60. Comedian-actor Pauly Shore is 57. Actor Michael C. Hall is 54. Rapper Big Boi (Outkast) is 50.
FEB. 2
Rock singer-guitarist Graham Nash is 83. Television executive Barry Diller is 83. Country singer Howard Bellamy (The Bellamy Brothers) is 79. TV chef Ina Garten is 77.
FEB. 3
Actor Blythe Danner is 82. Guitarist Dave Davies of The Kinks is 78. Actor Morgan Fairchild is 75. Actor Maura Tierney (“ER,” ″NewsRadio”) is 60.
FEB. 4
Actor Jerry Adler (“The Good Wife,” “The Sopranos”) is 96. Actor Gary Conway (“Burke’s Law”) is 89. Singer Alice Cooper is 77. Country singer Clint Black is 63.
FEB. 5
Actor David Selby (“Dark Shadows,” “Falcon Crest”) is 84. Singer Al Kooper (Blood, Sweat and Tears) is 81. Actor Barbara Hershey is 77. Actor-comedian Tim Meadows (“Saturday Night Live”) is 64.
ARTHUR MOLA / INVISION / AP PHOTO Rock singer Alice Cooper turns 77 on Tuesday.
WILLY SANJUAN / INVISION / AP PHOTO
Actor Morgan Fairchild, pictured in 2020, turns 75 on Monday.
AP PHOTO
Gene Hackman, pictured in 1971 accepting the Oscar for best actor for his performance in “The French Connection,” turns 95 on Thursday.
the stream
The Weeknd drops ‘Hurry Up Tomorrow’
Reese Witherspoon and Will Ferrell get laughs in ‘You’re Cordially Invited’
The Associated Press
REESE WITHERSPOON and Will Ferrell starring in the wedding comedy “You’re Cordially Invited” and The Weeknd’s album “Hurry Up Tomorrow” are some of the new television, films, music and games headed to a device near you this week.
Also, among the streaming offerings worth your time: Director Robert Zemeckis’ “Here” with Tom Hanks, Sterling K. Brown returns to TV as a Secret Service agent and there’s a sequel to Citizen Sleeper, the surprise gaming hit of 2022.
MOVIES TO STREAM
Rival weddings collide in “You’re Cordially Invited,” a comedy about double-booked destination nuptials starring Reese Witherspoon and Will Ferrell. The film, streaming Thursday on Prime Video, unites a pair of stars from different realms of comedy in Witherspoon, who’s planning a wedding for her sister (Meredith Hagner), and Ferrell, whose daughter (Geraldine Viswanathan) is getting married. In the Nicholas Stoller-directed movie, the two families share a Georgia island wedding venue.
Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson star in Halina Reijn’s “Babygirl” (on premium video-on-demand), a kinky and darkly comic erotic thriller from A24. Kidman stars as a married Manhattan chief executive who falls under the intense sway of a new intern (Dickinson), leading to some memorable sex games of manipulation and control. In my review, I praised “Babygirl” as “a sometimes campy, frequently entertaining modern update to the erotically charged movies of the 1990s, like ‘Basic Instinct’ and ‘9½ Weeks.’” Robert Zemeckis’ “Here” has already lived many lives since opening in theaters last October. It was roundly dismissed by critics at release, only to continue to pick up defenders as the year ended. “Here” gets a second
chance Thursday on Netflix. The film, starring Hanks and Robin Wright, fixes the camera, for seemingly one long take, on one plot of land, from the time of dinosaurs up until modern day. In his review, AP’s Mark Kennedy wrote, “It’s not so strange after a while — so bursting with life is each shot and vignette — but there’s a gnawing feeling that we’re in some sort of film experiment, like testing an audience on how long they’ll watch old security camera footage.”
The Weeknd drops “Hurry
MUSIC TO STREAM
Live from your Peacock subscription is the release of a new “Saturday Night Live” special, “Ladies & Gentlemen… 50 Years of SNL Music.” The three-hour program, directed by Grammy and Academy Award-winner Questlove and Emmy Award winner Oz Rodriguez, spotlights memorable “SNL” music performances across the show’s incredible run. It features sketches, performanc -
es and more than 50 interview subjects, including Bad Bunny, Miley Cyrus, Billie Eilish, Mick Jagger, Dua Lipa, Darryl DMC McDaniels, Tom Morello, Kacey Musgraves, Olivia Rodrigo, Paul Simon, Chris Stapleton and Justin Timberlake. It is the end of an era, and no doubt, one heck of a closer. On Friday, The Weeknd will release the final album in his record-breaking trilogy that began with 2020’s “After Hours” and 2022’s “Dawn FM.” It reaches its coda with “Hurry Up Tomorrow.” So what can listeners expect from one of the biggest names in pop — and the only artist to have 25 songs with 1 billion streams on Spotify? The Weeknd, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, is keeping the details close to his chest. But if this collection of songs comes close to something like “Blinding Lights,” well, expect them to stick around for a while.
SHOWS TO STREAM
Since “This Is Us” aired its series finale in 2022, Sterling K. Brown has had voice roles in animated shows and has concentrated on film work. He is
back on TV with a new series called “Paradise” also created by Dan Fogelman. Brown, also an executive producer, plays a Secret Service agent for the U.S. president (James Marsden) and discovers a murder that leads to shocking revelations. The first three episodes are streaming on Hulu. Noah Centineo’s “The Recruit” returns to Netflix with a second season after a long delay due in part to the Hollywood strikes. The actor plays a lawyer with a new job at the CIA who quickly finds himself embroiled in international politics. The show is suspenseful, compelling and funny. Centineo still has the charisma that charmed viewers of the “To All the Boys” movies, and it carries over for an older demo with this series. “The Recruit” season two premieres Thursday on Netflix.
The true crime docuseries “Scamanda” unravels the web of lies of Amanda Riley, a woman who faked having cancer and collected sympathy, money and gifts while she did it. Journalist Charlie Webster first told Riley’s story in a podcast of the same name and has teamed up with ABC News to bring it to TV. The series begins airing Thursday on ABC and also streams on Hulu next day.
VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY
Citizen Sleeper, a haunting survival adventure set aboard a decrepit space station, became a surprise hit in 2022 by mixing clever gameplay with a caustic take on very-late-stage capitalism. Designer Gareth Damian Martin is now expanding on that world with Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector. Once again, you’re an android on the run from the corporation that built you, but now you have a rickety spaceship at your command. That gives you the freedom to bounce around the asteroids of the Starward Belt, where you can search for replacement parts, recruit crew members and take on highrisk contracts — as long as you can keep your own mechanical body from glitching out.
begins Friday on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S, Nintendo Switch and PC.
Will Ferrell plays Geraldine Viswanathan’s father in the comedy “You’re Cordially Invited,” landing on Amazon Prime on Thursday.
NIKO TAVERNISE / A24 VIA AP
Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson star in “Babygirl,” now streaming on premium video - on- demand.
