North State Journal Vol. 6, Issue 13

VOLUME 6 ISSUE 13

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WWW.NSJONLINE.COM

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WEDNESDAY, MAY 26, 2021

MEMORIAL DAY

Remembering and honoring all who served the Wednesday

NEWS BRIEFING

NC Senate proposes tax cut package Raleigh Top N.C. Senate Republicans rolled out a comprehensive taxcut package this week, which they say would “result in a 21% income tax cut for a family of four earning the median household income.”

The tax cuts for individuals included in the package are identical to that of Senate Bill 337, which increases the standard state deductions.

The corporate tax rate would also be reduced by .5% beginning in 2024. That decrease will continue annually until it reaches zero in 2028. Six other states currently have no corporate income tax.

Included in the package is an “automatic grant” of $18,750 to businesses that received COVID-19 Job Retention Program funds or other federally-supported funds.

A.P. DILLON

Credit Karma to add 600 jobs in Charlotte Charlotte Credit Karma, a personal finance technology company, will add 600 new jobs in Mecklenburg County and invest more than $13 million to expand its presence with a new high-tech engineering hub.

“North Carolina is the ideal place for technology companies to do business, thanks to our tech-savvy talent, resilient economy and great quality of life,” said Gov. Roy Cooper.

“We are doubling down on the market and making this our East Coast headquarters,” said Credit Karma Founder and CEO Kenneth Lin. “The intersection of technical talent and having so many financial companies concentrated in one market makes Charlotte’s talent pool unrivaled for Credit Karma.”

The new positions will include analysts, software engineers and management personnel.

NSJ STAFF

Sheriff: Suspicious package at Sen. Paul’s home is non-toxic Louisville, Ky. A suspicious package sent to the Kentucky home of Republican U.S. Sen. Rand Paul appears to contain a non-toxic substance, the local sheriff’s office said.

Paul tweeted that he takes any such “threats immensely seriously” and said he has been “targeted multiple times.”

The FBI is providing forensic and technical assistance in working with the Warren County Sheriff’s Office and Capitol Police, Tim Beam, a spokesman for the FBI’s Louisville office, said Tuesday.

The package was taken to the Bowling Green Fire Department, and a preliminary analysis identified the substance as nontoxic. The substance and package will undergo further analysis.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Carolina Tiger Rescue takes in big cats from Tiger King Park Pittsboro A North Carolina big cat sanctuary will temporarily care for four animals seized from the private zoo in Oklahoma featured in Netflix’s “Tiger King.”

Carolina Tiger Rescue said in a statement Tuesday that it worked with the U.S. Department of Justice and other accredited animal sanctuaries to rescue 68 big cats from Tiger King Park. The tigers will stay at the Pittsboro sanctuary until the DOJ finds them permanent homes.

“We are glad to see the Department of Justice working hard to better the lives of big cats in captivity, beginning with Tiger King Park,” said Pam Fulk, executive director of Carolina Tiger Rescue.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

AP PHOTO

Israel, Hamas halt fighting after 11 days Israeli Iron Dome air defense system launches to intercept rockets fired from Gaza Strip, near Sderot, Israel, Thursday, May 13, 2021.

NORTH

STATE

JOURNaL ELEVATE THE CONVERSATION

Truitt talks about Operation Polaris, literacy and inherited challenges In part two, NC superintendent talks challenges of first months in office

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — As the conversation with State Superintendent Catherine Truitt continued in this second part of NSJ’s exclusive interview, Truitt discussed establishing the Office of Learning Recovery (OLR) to help implement her vision for the state’s schools. This office will oversee “Operation Polaris,” which is her long-term plan to transform North Carolina’s public schools with the goal of having “a highly-qualified, excellent teacher in every classroom.”

“I created what’s called the Office of Learning Recovery to not just be a compliance arm of DPI, because we’re a passthrough for that money, but also to provide technical support and assistance to some of our smaller

more, rural districts who might not have the capacity at their central office to put together a plan and might want some assistance around the best way to spend this money,” said Truitt.

Operation Polaris also aims at “district and school transformation,” which Truitt said involves input from individuals who are in the field and who are education experts, former teachers and principals.

“We have an incredible amount of money coming to us from the federal government that has a shelf life of about four years. And the vast majority of that money is being distributed, according to Title I population, to our districts,” Truitt said. “And districts, by law, have to submit a plan to the department of how they’re going to use that money.

And 20% of that money must be used for learning recovery.”

Truitt indicated that various groups involved in central offices, those supporting princiSee TRUITT, page A3

PHOTO VIA N.C. DEPT. OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION

State Superintendent Catherine Truitt observes students working on computers in a classroom.

Where is the ReOpenNC movement today?

Group’s leadership disbanded, Facebook account now reads ‘Impeach Roy Cooper’

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — During the first week of April 2020, a movement called ReOpenNC launched its first protest in Raleigh against Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s COVID-19 executive orders.

ReOpenNC began as a Facebook group that characterized itself as a “grassroots action group working towards a mutual goal to Reopen

NC by no later than May 1, 2020.”

A year later, the lockdown order is gone and many restrictions have been lifted, but the statewide mask mandate for school children remains.

Formed on April 7, ReOpenNC’s membership started with a few dozen but quickly climbed to nearly 87,000 at its peak in 2020.

Today, the Facebook page is no longer named ReOpenNC, but has now rebranded as “Impeach Roy Cooper.” The movement’s leader, Ashley Smith, has also gone missing.

Sources within the group tell See REOPENNC, page A2

Hours after GOP letter, Gov. Cooper reinstates unemployment worksearch requirements

By David Larson North State Journal RALEIGH — At about 11 a.m. on Friday, May 21, North Carolina House Majority Leader John Bell (R-Wayne) released a letter, signed by 60 of his Republican caucus members, calling on Gov. Roy Cooper to reinstate work-search requirements for those on unemployment in order to encourage the jobless to return to work. Hours later, Cooper complied, signing Executive Order 216.

“In our districts, we continue to hear from small business owners who are unable to fill new jobs,” the House GOP letter stated. “We believe reinstating work search requirements is a common-sense step to help connect the unemployed with new job opportunities.

The letter cited data from the North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association saying state restaurants are 70,000 workers short compared to their workforce before the pandemic — a 17% drop overall. And that’s just one industry of many saying they are in dire need of workers.

Cooper’s executive order directs the state’s Department of Commerce on June 6 to require the standard work-search criteria from those receiving unemployment benefits. In order to continue receiving benefits, the unemployed will be required to set up an account on ncworks.gov and will have to show they have applied for See WORK, page A2

North State Journal for Wednesday, May 26, 2021

A2 WEDNESDAY

THE WORD: HOLY, HOLY, HOLY

5.26.21 #284

MATTHEW 28:19

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

19

The first Sunday after Pentecost is called Trinity Sunday by many denominations. The 1826 hymn “Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty!” describes the Trinity simply as “God in three persons.” The concept of God as three distinct persons — the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit — is easy to state but more difficult to understand.

God — in any form or person — has the same nature and purpose. The Trinity reveals the complexity of our universe and takes us to a point where our faith is more important than our understanding. It is not surprising that God — who created everything — is beyond our comprehension. Without the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, Jesus would not be God the Son, and his death would have made him nothing but a martyr. Through the Trinity, we know Christ’s death was a divine sacrifice that atoned for our sins and that the arrival of the Holy Spirit will sustain us.

“Liberty's story” Visit us online nsjonline.com North State Journal (USPS 20451) (ISSN 2471-1365) Neal Robbins Publisher Matt Mercer Editor in Chief Cory Lavalette Managing/Sports Editor Frank Hill Senior Opinion Editor Emily Roberson Business/Features Editor David Larson Associate Editor Lauren Rose Design Editor

Published each Wednesday

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FILE PHOTO

The Alabaster window from the Cathedra Petri depicting the Holy Spirit as a dove behind the high altar in St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican by Italian sculptor and architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini (c. 1660)

walk closest to the gates of the governor’s executive mansion and were ultimately charged with violating Cooper’s “Executive Order 117.”

By the fourth week, ReOpenNC was met with counter-protesters for the first time, outfitted in surgical attire and lab coats. A person affiliated with the counter-protesters admitted to North State Journal that only half of their group actually worked in healthcare.

Before the start of the fifth week of planned protests, Cooper announced the state’s reopen-

ing would happen in phases. The governor said he would move the state into “Phase 1” — a modified version of the statewide lockdown order that allowed certain essential businesses to operate at 50% capacity, some parks to open and outdoor-only religious worship services.

Protests continued on a semi-regular basis, but with less frequency and nearly ceased entirely over the summer months in 2020.

In June, as the governor was moving the state into “Phase 2,” Smith made the announcement that the group would be shifting priorities. ReOpenNC would shift into its own “Phase 2” by assisting businesses negatively impacted by the governor’s closure orders.

By July, Smith and ReOpenNC openly called for the impeachment of Cooper, despite there being no mechanism in North Carolina statutes for recalling elected officials.

The group launched a petition campaign and presented the signatures to House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Kings Mountain).

The support of local businesses would later be tested in December, when a Wendell-area business owner was cited for not following the governor’s mask mandate order with appropriate signage.

Not long after the activities in Wendell, Smith and other prominent members of ReOpenNC began to step away from the group, culminating in the dissolution of the group by early January 2021.

ing laws rejecting the federal bonus, with 22 making this move so far. The bonus will expire in September if not extended again in further stimulus and recovery plans.

In North Carolina, it’s not just the House and the governor trying to come up with solutions for the issue; the state Senate Commerce and Insurance Committee debated a proposal on May 20 to give workers a $1,500 bonus if they agree to get off unemployment and return to work. Sen. Tom McInnis (R-Richmond), a co-chair of the committee, told NSJ that the legislation was a proposed committee substitute that was for “discussion only” at this point.

President Joe Biden rejected the idea that Americans were passing up work to remain on unemployment, saying May 10 that “the people who claim Americans won’t work even if they find a good and fair opportunity underestimate the American people.”

Biden did propose a few solutions to get people to return to work, though. He said, “Employers can hire back their laid-off workers part time without those workers having to give up all of their unemployment benefits.”

Despite Biden’s assertion that it is lack of childcare and fear of COVID that are keeping people from returning, analysis by Busi-

ness Insider does show that state unemployment benefits plus the federal $300 bonus amount to more than the minimum wage in every state, often significantly more. It is even higher than the average wage in three states and is more than 90% of the average in six others.

In North Carolina, this debate has echoes of a 2013 controversy over former-Gov. Pat McCrory cutting unemployment benefits to try to encourage people to return to work. Writing on May 19 in the Washington Examiner, McCrory suggested that his efforts were a success, and other states should take note. In the piece, titled, “Federal unemployment policies should follow North Carolina’s example,” he said after large “Moral Monday” protests and constant verbal assaults wherever he went, he began to wonder if the decision would indeed hurt the poor rather than encourage work.

“Fortunately, though, within two months, our administration’s worst fears and our critics’ hysterics were put to rest when the workforce numbers began to change,” McCrory wrote. “Jobs were being filled, unemployment dropped, and, by January 2014, North Carolina’s jobless rate had plunged to 6.7%, which the New York Times identified as ‘the sharpest drop in the country.’”

REOPENNC from page A1 North State Journal that Smith stepped away from the group in early January of this year, frustrated with a lack of action by group members and by lawmakers.

During the initial ReOpenNC protests, Cooper was criticized for his inconsistent treatment of ReOpen protests versus Black Lives Matter and Antifa protests after the death of George Floyd, which resulted in millions of dollars of damage due to rioting, arson and property damage.

That first protest turned into a weekly string of events that spanned over a month. Hundreds of North Carolinians showed up to protest in front of the General Assembly and the governor’s mansion. Over a bullhorn, attendees shared stories of financial ruin, isolation and other negative effects of the lockdown.

During the second week of protests, the Raleigh Police Department tweeted that “The protestors are in violation of the Governor’s Executive Order and have been asked to leave.” When questioned about what part of the governor’s order had been violated, Raleigh Police issued a tweet, which subsequently went viral, claiming “protesting is not an essential activity.”

Lawmakers responded, demanding clarification from the governor as to whether his orders barred the constitutionally protected First Amendment rights of the protesters. Cooper’s office is-

FILE PHOTO

Protesters march in downtown Raleigh near the legislative building in this April 21, 2020 photo. sued a statement indicating that the protesters could not be arrested.

Lawmakers, as well as political candidates, were also seen on the ground at the protests. Congressman Dan Bishop made an appearance as well as then-candidate for Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson.

The largest crowd appeared on the third week of protests, which started with around 150 to 200 people but then grew as more people arrived. There was also a larger police presence as a sea of signs

held by protesters chanting “Cooper is not our king” flooded onto West Jones Street, headed towards the executive mansion.

Kristin Elizabeth, one of the original co-founders, left the group at the end of April following the arrest of another co-founder, Smith.

In departing, Elizabeth said Smith had gone off and “acted on her own.”

Two other female members of ReOpenNC were also arrested.

The women had been arrested for attempting to protest on the side-

WORK from page A1 at least three jobs per week. Cooper already took this step with new beneficiaries on March 1, but this would now apply to existing beneficiaries as well.

“Unemployment benefits have provided a critical lifeline for many North Carolinians living on the edge due to the pandemic,” Cooper said in a release. “As our state emerges from the pandemic, we want to help people safely return to work as soon as possible. Reinstating the work search guidelines will help connect claimants with employers, resources and tools to help them return to the workforce.”

The governor’s release stated that North Carolina has distributed over $11.7 billion in unemployment benefits since the pandemic began, and there are currently 245,000 people in the state receiving the weekly benefit payments.

“This is welcome news. We appreciate the Governor taking this common-sense step,” Bell told NSJ in an email on May 25. “However, we must continue to look for ways to get people off unemployment and back to work. Those discussions are ongoing.”

This change to how North Carolina’s unemployment benefits are distributed comes amidst a national examination of whether generous benefits are hurting employ-

PHOTO VIA N.C. DEPT. OF PUBLIC SAFETY

Gov. Roy Cooper speaks from the Emergency Operations Center in Raleigh. ment growth. At the center of the debate is whether states should continue to accept a $300 federal “bonus” that is being added to each beneficiary’s payments.

On May 7, after disappointing job numbers from April showed 266,000 new jobs — far under the 1 million that Dow Jones had predicted for the month — the U.S. Chamber of Commerce released a statement blaming the $300 bonus and saying it needed to be ended immediately.

“The disappointing jobs report makes it clear that paying peo-

ple not to work is dampening what should be a stronger jobs market,” said Neil Bradley, U.S. Chamber of Commerce executive vice president and chief policy officer, in the statement. “One step policymakers should take now is ending the $300 weekly supplemental unemployment benefit. Based on the Chamber’s analysis, the $300 benefit results in approximately one in four recipients taking home more in unemployment than they earned working.”

After this statement, Republican-led states responded by pass-

North State Journal for Wednesday, May 26, 2021

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George Floyd’s family holds rally, march in his memory

By Mohamed Ibrahim The Associated Press

CARL JUSTE | MIAMI HERALD VIA AP

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gives his opening remarks flanked by local state delegation members prior to signing legislation that seeks to punish social media platforms that remove conservative ideas from their sites, inside Florida International University's MARC building in Miami on Monday, May 24, 2021.

Florida law seeks to rein in large social media companies

By Brendan Farrington The Associated Press TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill on Monday that seeks to punish social media platforms that remove accounts from candidates for elective office from their platforms.

The new law will enable the state to fine large social media companies $250,000 a day if they remove an account of a statewide political candidate, and $25,000 a day if they remove an account of someone running for a local office. It takes effect July 1.

“Some of these massive, massive companies in Silicon Valley are exerting a power over our population that really has no precedent in American history,” DeSantis said during a bill-signing ceremony at Florida International University in Miami. “One of their major missions seems to be suppressing ideas.”

But some say it’s questionable whether Florida will be able to enforce it. Federal law prevents internet companies from being sued for removing posts and federal law trumps state law when there is a conflict.

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act exempts websites from being sued for re-

TRUITT from page A1 pals and central office leadership, weren’t connected and communicating effectively. By rearranging organizational charts and roles, anything that’s happening in supporting teachers will now make its way “all the way up to the superintendent and vice versa.”

The satellite topics around the OLR including literacy, human capital, accountability and testing, and student support services represent both the policy and legislative changes that Truitt said the Department of Public Instruction wants to make over the next two years.

“Human capital goes direct to my North Star, which is that every single child in the state must have a highly qualified and excellent teacher in every classroom,” Truitt said. “And this is going to involve changing the way that we recruit and retain and compensate teachers, who, right now, are solely paid, for the most part, based on years of experience. We need to give teachers more opportunities to be leaders and to be paid for outputs not just input.”

The focus on literacy in Operation Polaris speaks to the crisis in K-12 literacy both in North Carolina and nationwide.

“This is a crisis in our nation,” said Truitt. “67% of eighth graders in North Carolina are not reading or doing math proficiently when they start high school; and that statistic is average in the U.S.” She noted that North Carolina can make changes in the way literacy is taught through the recent-

moving content deemed to be “obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively violent, harassing, or otherwise objectionable” as long as the companies are acting in “good faith.”

DeSantis said big tech companies are controlling accounts to remove content that doesn’t suit their ideology. Republicans have accused companies like Twitter and Facebook of censoring conservative thought. DeSantis pointed in particular to then-President Donald Trump being banned by Twitter while still allowing Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to maintain an account.

“When you de-platform the president of the United States but you let Ayatollah Khamenei talk about killing Jews, that is wrong,” DeSantis said to thunderous applause.

Twitter didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Facebook declined to comment.

But the tech lobbying group NetChoice, which includes Twitter and Facebook as members, criticized the new law in a press release.

“By forcing websites to host speech, this bill takes us closer to a state-run internet where the government can cherry pick winners and losers,” said NetChoice vice president and lawyer Carl

ly signed Excellent Public Schools Act. The measure, Senate Bill 387, was signed into law by Gov. Roy Cooper in mid-April. The bill directs the Department of Public Instruction to establish literacy interventions and an early literacy program that utilizes the Science of Reading. The law defines Science of Reading as “evidenced-based reading instruction practices that address the acquisition of language, phonological and phonemic awareness, phonics and spelling, fluency, vocabulary, oral language, and comprehension that can be differentiated to meet the needs of individual students.”

“The brain learns to read not through visual activity, but through language activity. Reading is actually not a visual endeavor,” said Truitt.

Truitt said that states that have done something similar to the North Carolina’s Excellent Public Schools Act have seen “incredible rates of proficiency increases in reading, across all groups, including low-income children.”

Inherited Challenges The state’s top education official said she “inherited an agency that had a lot of challenges” and one major issue has been a lack of procedures and processes related to posting materials on the DPI website, which was redesigned under her predecessor, Mark Johnson.

“We have been going through our policies and procedures around curriculum materials being shared, around the posting of trainings, and we’ve been work-

Szabo. “By carving out companies like Disney and Universal, Florida’s legislature revealed its anti-tech fervor and true intent to punish social media for allegations of anti-conservative bias.”

The law will give Florida’s attorney general authority to sue companies under the state’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. It will also allow individual Floridians to sue social media companies for up to $100,000 if they feel they’ve been treated unfairly.

The bill targets social media platforms that have more than 100 million monthly users, which include online giants Twitter and Facebook. But lawmakers carved out an exception for Disney and their apps by including that theme park owners wouldn’t be subject to the law.

The law will require large social media companies to publish standards on how it decides to “censor, deplatform, and shadow ban.”

Democrats opposed the bill and defended the right of social media companies, as private entities, to control the flow of information on their platforms. Democratic Sen. Audrey Gibson said in a press release that the bill was passed in an effort to placate Trump.

“These enterprises take responsibility for what appears on their platforms and have the right to do so,” Gibson said. “Vulgarity and inciting violence are not their business model and our legislature should appreciate rather than legislate against such a concept.”

While similar bills have been filed in other states, DeSantis is the first governor to sign one into law.

"Human capital goes direct to my North Star, which is that every single child in the state must have a highly qualified and excellent teacher in every classroom."

State Superintendent Catherine Truitt ing with staff to put those policies in place,” said Truitt. “And we are finding that there were things in place that do not reflect the mission of the Department of Public Instruction, and we’re making those necessary changes.”

Some of the items on the website that have been altered or removed include training and materials related to “Culturally Responsive Teaching.”

Culturally Responsive Teaching, generally, is supposed to mean teachers to gain a broader understanding of their students in order to better serve them.

“Understanding that perhaps they are homeless and might not be able to turn in their homework, because they didn’t have a place to sleep last night,” Truitt said as an example, adding that the terminology and purpose of Culturally Responsive Teaching has in some ways been “hijacked.”

“It’s [Culturally Responsive Teaching] absolutely been hijacked,” said Truitt. “It doesn’t mean grouping your students into

MINNEAPOLIS — Members of George Floyd’s family and others joined protesters and citizens in Minneapolis for a march that was one of several events planned nationwide to mark the one-year anniversary of Floyd’s death.

Hundreds of people gathered for the rally on Sunday in front of the courthouse in downtown Minneapolis where former police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted last month in Floyd’s death.

Amid chants of “no justice, no peace!” and “Say his name,” Gov. Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter watched alongside a dozen of Floyd’s family members as speakers called for justice against law enforcement.

“It has been a long year. It has been a painful year,” Floyd’s sister Bridgett told the crowd on Sunday. “It has been very frustrating for me and my family for our lives to change in the blink of an eye — I still don’t know why.”

Tuesday marked one year since Floyd died after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin held his knee on Floyd’s neck.

Floyd’s death sparked worldwide protests against law enforcement.

Speakers at the event included several local activists, Floyd family attorney Ben Crump, and the Rev. Al Sharpton, who called on the U.S. Senate to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. The legislation, which would bring about the most significant changes to policing on the federal level, would ban the use of chokeholds and establish a national database of police misconduct.

“We want something coming out of Washington. We want something that will change federal law,” Sharpton said. “There’s been an ad-

journment on justice for too long.

It’s time for them to vote and make this the law.”

The George Floyd Memorial Foundation, a nonprofit based in Fayetteville, where Floyd was born, was hosting a series of events in Minneapolis to honor Floyd on the anniversary.

The nonprofit was launched in Floyd’s honor by his siblings in September 2020 to help combat socalled racial inequities in black and brown communities.

Other events in Minneapolis ahead of the anniversary include a virtual “day of action” that encourages people to organize remotely and two panels with the families and other activists on Monday, followed by a community festival and candlelight vigil on Tuesday.

In New York on Sunday, Floyd’s brother, Terrence, attended a gathering in Brooklyn in his brother’s memory organized by Sharpton.

Terrence Floyd told supporters not to forget his brother or victims of racist violence.

“If you keep my brother’s name ringing, you’re going to keep everybody else’s name ringing,” he said.

“Breonna Taylor, Sean Bell, Ahmaud Arbery, you could go through the whole list. There’s a lot of them.”

Executive director Jacari Harris said the group has received donations from the Minneapolis Foundation, Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation and athletic shoe and apparel retailer Finish Line, among others. Despite large grants from corporations and other organizations, Harris said the average donation to the nonprofit was $47.

Harris said the group has also funded an initiative in Fayetteville to help reduce homelessness, a scholarship program for law school students and an internship program at Texas A&M University, where Floyd went to school.

JEFF WHEELER | STAR TRIBUNE VIA AP

George Floyd's sister, Bridgett Floyd, addresses a rally in downtown Minneapolis, Sunday, May 23, 2021.

affinity groups and stereotyping them, and saying, ‘Well, because you’re Hispanic you’re going to read Hispanic poetry.’ That’s what it doesn’t mean.”

Truitt mentioned another phrase that’s been co-opted in a few ways, Social Emotional Learning or SEL. “Social Emotional Learning should mean looking out for the mental health welfare of children and considering how to teach soft skills,” Truitt said.

Truitt noted that her deputy superintendent of the Office of Equity had pointed out issues with a program called “Transformative SEL,” which was given the goahead under Johnson.

“Social and emotional learning is one thing, but if the organization that we are supposedly partnering with is using SEL as a way to get at affinity groups and identity groups, you know, we’re not going to do that,” Truitt said.

Across the state, there have been examples of districts giving surveys to students in the name of SEL education or SEL policies.

These surveys are often privacy invading and ask students for personal information, such as sexual orientation, political beliefs and include questions about mental health.

Wake County Public Schools had multiple incidents of such surveys over the last four years, including a “Social, Emotional, and Behavioral assessment” called the “BIMAS-2 Inventory.”

The BIMAS-2 required teachers to rate students on certain behaviors in order to rate their threat

levels. Students were automatically opted into the survey unless their parent or guardian provided a written objection.

“I would say that this agency, despite the fact that it’s leader is elected, is an apolitical agency, which is why we are instituting a policy where we don’t provide curriculum resources to districts that we cannot vet,” said Truitt. “As an elected official, I don’t just serve conservatives. I serve all people; I serve all voters; and I serve students.”

Truitt said she has met with parents and various groups about concerns, finding that many of those concerns stemmed from actions taken or, in some cases, inaction, by her predecessor.

“As things have arisen, I’ve been able to pull things down from NC Wise Owl that were inappropriate,” said Truitt.

NC Wise Owl is a repository of research, e-journals, magazines and other materials maintained by the Department of Public Instruction that teachers in the state can draw from if they choose.

“The only time that the State Board of Education can step in is when there is an issue with the local board of education,” said Truitt.

She reiterated that districts control their local instructional and curricular materials, and when that content is questions by parents, she said that “teachers should always provide an alternate assignment when asked by a parent. And if they don’t, then there are processes in place for parents to seek some recourse.”

North State Journal for Wednesday, May 26, 2021

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North State Journal for Wednesday, May 26, 2021

Murphy to Manteo

Jones & Blount

What are the latest vaccination rates across NC?

NC lawmakers, AG cite progress in untested sexualassault-kit backlog Under then-Attorney General Roy Cooper, the state ranked No. 1 in nation for untested rape kits

Gov. Roy Cooper surprised many across North Carolina when he beat his own June 1 deadline to lift most of the restrictions that have been in place for over 400 days.

Earlier this spring Cooper said his goal was to have two-thirds of adults 18 and older receive at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. As of Monday, May 24, 52.7% of adults 18 and over in the state had at least one dose — though that pace has slowed as supply has outpaced the current demand.

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal

Percent of Population Fully Vaccinated 12-20%

28-33%

21-24%

34+%

25-28%

WEST

PIEDMONT

New mountain bike pump track opens

Man charged with bail scheme Macon County A man bailed an inmate out of a Macon County jail twice using expired powerof-attorney paperwork. State Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey said Carol Dean Moore, 59, of Sylva, is charged with two counts of obstructing justice and one count of obtaining property by false pretense. Moore received $600 from the inmate for his bail bond services. The offense occurred on Jan. 10. Macon County sheriff’s deputies arrested Moore on May 20.

Mitchell County The newest mountain bike pump track opened in Spruce Pine over the weekend.

The Thickets had its grand opening at Brad Ragan Park on Saturday afternoon. It’s the first mountain bike track in Mitchell County and all ages are welcome. The track consists of berms and rollers that allow riders to move forward by shifting body weight instead of pedaling. The town donated the land and community members donated time to help build the track.

WLOS

AP

Ashe County Wayne and Shirley Ann May were driving through western North Carolina earlier this year in their first trip as a married couple, when strong winds and freezing temperatures caused their RV to get stuck near the Watauga/Ashe-county line. The road was frozen, and the couple couldn’t get the doors of the RV open. AAA was able to find a body shop owner in Boone who was able to free the RV and bring the Mays to safety.

WRAL

EAST

Construction worker dies in trench collapse

Authorities: 12 students charged for senior prank Lincoln County Twelve high school students have been charged for a senior prank that involved putting meat and eggs in the school’s vents. The the prank caused around $5,000 in damage at East Lincoln High School in Denver. Buses and areas inside the school building were covered with a sticky substance and glitter. Meat and eggs were found in the HVAC system. School security video helped identify the students involved.

Warrants were issued for eight students who are 18 and juvenile petitions were filed against four younger ones. The students were charged with trespassing, breaking and entering, and injury to property.

Family of man killed in police shooting files complaint

Stranded newlyweds rescued in mountains

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Alexander County A 37-year-old construction worker was killed when a trench collapsed. Emergency responders were sent to the parking lot of a diner near Taylorsville, where they found a portion of a trench had caved in and trapped the man. The trench was dug during a pipe replacement project in the parking lot of the business, according to Alexander County Sheriff Chris Bowman. The worker was removed from the trench and pronounced dead at the scene.

He was not immediately identified. The state Department of Labor and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were set to investigate the accident.

Police officer suspended after video surfaces

Man sentenced in tobaccosmuggling scheme Wilson County A farmer was sentenced to six and a half years in prison in connection with a smuggling operation that moved tobacco into Canada.

Phil Howard, 55, was sentenced for conspiring to commit money laundering and filing a false tax return. Howard must serve three years of supervised release and pay $1 million in restitution. Howard arranged at least 231 times to transport tobacco from Wilson to the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation Reservation.

The conspiracy smuggled more than 6 million pounds of tobacco into Canada, resulting in a tax loss exceeding $600 million.

AP

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Rutherford County The family of Ethan Tyler Calton, who was shot and killed by police in December, has filed a complaint against the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office. Calton, a convicted felon, was struggling with officers over a gun when he was shot. The family claims officers didn’t identify themselves as police when they approached Calton and tried to take him into custody.

WISTV

Man sentenced to probation for impersonating federal agent

Drug bust results in 46 arrests Stokes County The Stokes County Sheriff’s Office, in conjunction with several other local and state agencies, completed a months-long investigation known as Operation Busy Bee. Officers arrested a total of 46 people involved in distributing narcotics and seized 415 grams of meth, 28 grams of heroin, 87 grams of cocaine, 1,255 grams of heroin as well as mushrooms, oxycontin, Xanax and ecstasy.

MY FOX 8

Wake County Allen David Reinemund, 58, of Holly Springs, was sentenced to one year of probation and ordered to pay a $500 fine for impersonating a federal agent. He impersonated a Homeland Security agent after a state trooper stopped him for speeding. Reinemund told the trooper he “was on the job” to avoid a speeding ticket. The trooper ultimately arrested him. Reinemund later showed Wake County prosecutors a photograph of a ballistic vest bearing his name in an attempt to have his criminal charges dismissed. Investigators searched Reinemund’s home and found a government badge, ballistic vest and other law enforcement paraphernalia.

AP

Boat builder buying NC company, seeks to create 500 new jobs Craven County The world’s largest fishing and recreational boat builder announced its acquisition of North Carolina-based Hatteras Yachts, with plans to upgrade Hatteras operations in New Bern as White River Marine Group seeks to boost saltwater vessel sales. WRMG, a subsidiary of the company that operates Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s, aims to create 500 new jobs at its proposed Craven County operations by 2025. The Ranger Saltwater and Mako saltwater boat brands will now be built in New Bern. State officials awarded cash incentives of $5.4 million over 12 years. The average wage for the new jobs will be $44,700.

Robeson County The N.C. State Bureau of Investigation has joined a police department in looking into a video which appears to show at least one officer shoving people on a bench at a store. Pembroke Police Chief Ed Locklear said his department was made aware of the approximately two-minute video, has reviewed it and is investigating. The officer has been placed on administrative suspension.

AP

Las Vegas business owner sentenced for Medicaid fraud New Hanover County A Las Vegas business owner was sentenced to 14 years in prison for defrauding the North Carolina Medicaid Program of more than $13 million over two years. Latisha Harron, 44, admitted to conspiring with her husband to bill the government for fictitious home health services between 2017 and 2019. She admitted to carrying out the fraud through searching for information in obituaries, and then “backbill” the state for services it claimed to have provided prior to the person’s death. Harron admitted to laundering the money to purchase a $900,000 private jet, jewelry and clothing, as well as properties.

RALEIGH — At a press conference held on May 18, state lawmakers and Attorney General Josh Stein announced progress in clearing the state’s large rapekit backlog.

“For many survivors of sexual assault, justice never comes,” said Sen. Warren Daniel (R-Burke) during the press conference. “In North Carolina, fewer than one in four defendants charged with sexual assault are convicted.”

In his remarks, Daniel called attention to legislation passed in 2019 addressing the backlog. The Standing Up for Rape Victims Act of 2019, also called the Survivor’s Act, contained funding provisions and new reporting requirements for testing of sexual assault kits by law enforcement.

“In 2016, members of the General Assembly were approached concerning a backlog of sexual assault evidence collection kits, often called rape kits, that had accumulated under the leadership of then-Attorney General Roy Cooper,” Daniel said.

Daniel said that the General Assembly took steps in 2019 to make sure kits were tested, including providing millions in funding, and that law enforcement is required to report kits that are collected within 24 hours.

The funding in the Survivor’s Act totals $6 million. Three million dollars were allocated in nonrecurring funds for the fiscal year 2019-2020 and another $3 million for 2020-2021.

Daniel said that in 2017, the legislature directed local law enforcement across the state and the N.C. Department of Justice to conduct an audit to see how many rape kits were untested.

“The results were shocking,” said Daniel. “More than 15,000 kits were untested and had accumulated under (AG) Cooper’s leadership — 15,000.”

The actual number of untested kits identified in the audit was 16,190. North Carolina was No. 1 in the country for most untested rape kits at the time the audit was conducted. The total may have been higher, due to the fact only 92% of law enforcement agencies responded to the inventory request and 46 agencies did not respond at all.

Daniel said, “As it is often said, justice delayed is justice denied.”

Stein thanked both Republicans and

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Democrats who came together on the Survivor Act. Stein said that no matter how long ago a criminal committed the assault, “we will not stop coming for you.” He also said that both his office and lawmakers care about the safety of the public and are working to keep the public safe.

Stein said there were “many reasons” why these kits went untested, some of them decades old. He said some were not sent to the lab, and that technology is different today than when some of the kits were collected. He blamed the legislature for lack of funding, despite also saying that they didn’t know the size of the backlog.

“We didn’t know the scope of the problem until the legislature took action to order local law enforcement to do a count,” said Stein during the press conference.

Stein also blamed local district attorneys for not moving the backlog. He said it was “less important of how we got here today than how we move forward.”

Stein said the state has completed testing on almost 3,000 kits and that another 5,404 were in the process of being tested. The May 18 update resembles a statement released by Stein in late December 2020 that said 2,169 kits had been tested and 4,739 were currently either with the vendor lab for testing or preparing to ship to the vendor.

One-thousand-fifty-five are ready to be uploaded into a database used by law enforcement to compare DNA samples collected in other cases for possible matches to other crimes.

Of the 1,055, Stein said that 470 have produced a hit to a person or suspect in another sexual assault. Of the 470, 75% had a hit to an individual known to law enforcement.

Rep. Jamie Boles (R-Moore) said that “the test results from these kits provide new life to cold cases.”

Boles said the House would stay on top of the matter and provide additional funding and support to law enforcement.

Increased demand for testing of evidence kits has translated to an increase in prices by vendor labs. According to statement from Stein’s office, the price of a rape-kit test has “increased from about $700 a kit to $1,245 a kit, a jump of more than 75%.”

Last year, Stein said that the price of testing the kits had increased by “nearly 80%,” rising from $695 per kit to roughly $1,245 per kit.

The statement by Stein’s office also said that from 2018-19 to 2019-20, the number of sexual assault kit submissions had more than doubled, from 821 to 1,853.

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North State Journal for Wednesday, May 26, 2021

north STATEment Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

VISUAL VOICES

EDITORIAL | FRANK HILL

So much freedom owed to so few

Prince Harry was quoted as saying recently he thought American freedom of speech was “bonkers.”

HAVE YOU EVER SERVED in the military? Has anyone in your immediate family served in the military? Has anyone you know or worked with ever served in the military?

A high percentage of the 557 million Americans who have ever lived in the United States since its founding have never served in uniform protecting our nation’s freedom, so don’t feel bad if you have not served. Since the mandatory draft was abolished in 1973 by President Nixon, the only people who have served in the military are those who have volunteered on their own volition rather than having been forced to do so by law.

Since 1776, slightly over 10% of our fellow citizens have served in the US military. Every one of them was, or is, a hero. Regardless of where they served during combat or peacetime, each of them deserves our hearty praise and thanks, not only for the upcoming Memorial Day weekend but every single day.

Roughly 57 million of our fellow American citizens have served in the military since the Revolution. Outside of the Confederate Army, 2.5 million of them, or 0.45% of all Americans who have ever lived, suffered casualties defending U.S. interests. One million have lost their lives defending the interests of our country either in combat or postcombat related injuries.

Winston Churchill said of RAF pilots after the Battle of Britain, “Never was so much owed by so many to so few.”

Every living American owes a huge debt of gratitude for the freedoms we take for granted to the minority of American citizens who have served in the military — and even more to the small number who have died. Every single one of them deserves to be remembered this Memorial Day weekend or thanked in person whenever you meet them.

Contrary to public opinion, U.S. military personnel do not come disproportionately from poor or disadvantaged backgrounds, according to the Heritage Foundation. They are significantly more likely to come from high-income neighborhoods, have more education than peers in their age cohort and are far more likely to come from the South, as has been the norm since 1775.

Whenever anyone sings the national anthem and puts their hand

over their heart, they should be remembering every American who has defended our collective freedom. Every time a person sees a flag being raised at an event, they should think of at least one person they know who served in the military to protect our freedom, not diminish it.

Heroes who have served in uniform defended not only our right to free speech but also our right to disagree with anything said or done by any other person in elective office or any other aspect of life. Our freedom of speech includes the right to disrespect America by kneeling during the national anthem or desecrating the flag in some form or fashion.

However, by comparison, it is easy to kneel or protest in the safety of an NFL football stadium or NBA arena. It is not so easy to fight the Nazis, Imperial Japan, communists in the former Soviet Union during the Cold War or a terrorist guerrilla army in the Middle East in uniform and in person when our adversaries are hellbent on destroying America and with it, all of our attendant freedoms.

Protestors should proudly salute the flag and stand at full attention and sing loudly during the national anthem with their hands over their hearts to be thankful for having the American freedom to disagree with authority.

Prince Harry was quoted as saying recently he thought American freedom of speech was “bonkers.” It’s no wonder an isolated, privileged scion of royal lineage wouldn’t understand the concept of American “freedom of speech.” His great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather King George III didn’t understand it in 1776 either.

Every soldier who has served since then has protected our American freedom to not only question authority but to oppose it whenever we want to express our disagreement with them. The real heroes in America are those who have served our nation in military uniform, not athletic uniforms. They deserve our respect, not arrogant and uninformed contempt.

EDITORIAL | STACEY MATTHEWS

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot finds out what happens when ‘going woke’ spectacularly backfires

“It’s a shame that in 2021, the City Hall press corps is overwhelmingly White in a city where more than half of the city identifies as Black, Latino, AAPI or Native American.”

OVER THE LAST few years, Democratic politicians across the country have found themselves in an ongoing competition to determine who is the most “woke” of them all.

For those who are unfamiliar with the term, Dictionary.com defines “woke” as “having or marked by an active awareness of systemic injustices and prejudices, especially those related to civil and human rights.” It’s the shorthand version of “stay woke” which, according to Merriam-Webster, “became part of a wider discussion in 2014, immediately following the [police officer-involved] shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.”

The most recent entrant into the “woke” Olympics is Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

Mayor Lightfoot was elected two years ago as the Windy City’s first black female and openly lesbian mayor. Last week her administration announced what could only be described as a racist policy on whom she would allow to interview her on the topic of her two-year mayoral anniversary.

According to a tweet from NBC Chicago reporter Mary Ann Ahern at the time, a “spokeswoman says Lightfoot is granting one on one interviews — only to Black or Brown journalists.”

Lightfoot confirmed it in a series of tweets a couple of days later.

“It’s a shame that in 2021, the City Hall press corps is overwhelmingly White in a city where more than half of the city identifies as Black, Latino, AAPI or Native American,” she said. “Diversity and inclusion is imperative

across all institutions including media. In order to progress we must change. This is exactly why I’m being intentional about prioritizing media requests from POC reporters on the occasion of the two-year anniversary of my inauguration as mayor of this great city.”

Lightfoot gave no explanation for how her “diversity and inclusion” idea could be achieved in the Chicago press by excluding journalists based on race, but there were some in the media who expressed opposition to it, including the Chicago Tribune’s Gregory Pratt, a Latino reporter who tweeted that he canceled the interview she had okayed after her office declined to reverse course on her “POC reporters only” policy.

Though sympathetic, the National Association of Black Journalists also issued a statement in opposition to Lightfoot’s plan. “…we must state again, for the record, that NABJ’s history of advocacy does not support excluding any bona fide journalists from oneon-one interviews with newsmakers, even if it is for one day and in support of activism.”

Most embarrassing, however, were the local minority journalists who stated they supported the plan — but only because it might give some of them access to the mayor that had previously not been granted.

“South Side Weekly did request an interview with [Mayor Lightfoot] and unsurprisingly received no response and no fancy letter. But we’ve never relied on the mayor’s script to do our groundbreaking work. So it’s just another day over here,”

the publication’s editor-in-chief Jacqueline Serrato tweeted after Lightfoot had given her explainer.

“The Triibe” editor-in-chief Tiffany Walden explained that her reporters had long had trouble getting interview requests granted by Lightfoot’s office to begin with and called on the mayor to do more to show her support for reporters of color beyond just allowing access for interviews to be done on the subject of her first two years as mayor. “[Walden] said her outlet has struggled to get timely responses from the Lightfoot administration and been excluded from press calls. Wednesday’s interview was the first one-on-one meeting with the mayor for a Triibe staffer, she said,” the Chicago Tribune reported.

So what we’ve learned from Lightfoot’s virtue signaling stunt over the past week is that one of the biggest hurdles facing black and Hispanic journalists in the Chicago press corps is Lightfoot’s own office.

That’s quite the spectacular backfire, and quite frankly it couldn’t be happening to a more deserving politician.

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

North State Journal for Wednesday, May 26, 2021

COLUMN | GREGG THOMPSON

NC should end federal unemployment assistance to encourage people to reenter the workforce It’s easy to forget, but this additional payment was always intended as a temporary fix, a bonus to help people get through an extraordinarily difficult time.

LAST SPRING, when businesses were cutting back or closing because of the pandemic, Congress passed a bill giving people an extra $600 a week in unemployment benefits. That was later trimmed to $300, but it was still essential, because it helped families make it through one of the most abrupt economic crises in American history.

One year later, the government has eased social distancing and other COVID-19 restrictions, and businesses are open and hiring. North Carolina’s unemployment rate has dropped to 5.2% after jumping to 13.5% in April 2020, but here’s the thing: Our jobless rate should be even lower. More people could be working.

The problem isn’t a lack of jobs. Businesses not only are hiring, they’re offering signing bonuses, flexible hours, and health benefits; but it’s not enough. Job openings still outnumber job applicants. According to a recent survey by the National Federation of Independent Business, a record 44% of small business owners nationwide have positions they’re unable to fill.

Some people are still anxious about the coronavirus, while others may need to stay home to care for young children or elderly relatives, but perhaps the biggest reason why many people aren’t re-entering the workforce is that extra $300 a week.

Speaking recently at NFIB’s North Carolina Virtual Small Business Day, House Speaker Tim Moore said, “You literally have a situation right now where, depending on the kind of wages or salaries that folks would be earning, they are earning more in unemployment by staying at home and doing nothing than by entering the workforce, and it’s an absolutely ridiculous

situation.”

That’s why NFIB is urging Gov. Cooper to follow the lead of South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and other states and end these additional payments.

It’s easy to forget, but this additional payment was always intended as a temporary fix, a bonus to help people get through an extraordinarily difficult time. It wasn’t that people who lost their job could turn around and get a new one; there were no jobs to get. Even if North Carolina does nothing, even if Gov. Cooper takes no action, the federal supplement is set to expire in September.

The problem is, North Carolina can’t wait.

During the worst of the pandemic, businesses across the state had to reduce hours and limit services because of social distancing. Now, they’re doing it because they can’t find enough people to work. The labor shortage is making it harder for businesses of all sizes to meet customers’ needs.

“You can’t go anywhere, from the cities to out here in the small towns where I am, and not see ‘help wanted’ signs, not see reduced hours for businesses,” Speaker Moore said on his call with NFIB members. “It is….just an abomination, what the government is doing to the business community right now and allowing this runaway spending on unemployment when there are jobs that need to be filled.”

If Gov. Cooper is serious about helping North Carolina’s economy recover fully and quickly from the pandemic, he will move to end these additional payments now rather than wait until they expire on their own in four months.

Gregg Thompson is the state director of the National Federation of Independent Business.

COLUMN | STEPHEN MOORE

Biden’s ‘gas tax’ is a pain at the pump

“This ‘America last’ energy policy is not just a frontal assault on our economy, transportation system and national security.

It is a policy that imposes a hefty tax on the poorest people.”

ONE OF MY EARLY memories, and not a happy one, is sitting in gas lines in the 1970s. My parents would rustle me out of bed early on frigid February mornings, and we’d pack into the Ford and speed over to the gas station.

When we got there, there would often be six or seven cars in front of us. Sometimes, we’d wait 20 or 30 minutes for a fill-up. We’d notice that every few weeks there would be someone on a ladder posting a higher price on the 20-foot-high sign. It always sticks in my memory because even though I was only about 12 years old, it was a shocking indicator that something terribly wrong was going on in our country. I couldn’t understand how a bunch of Saudi oil sheikhs could hijack the greatest nation on earth.

Fast-forward four decades, and for the first time in my life, we had a president, Donald Trump, who made America energy-independent again. In the last week of December 2020, the United States imported zero oil from Saudi Arabia. Hooray!

In the wake of the cyberattack on Colonial Pipeline, one of our major domestic energy pipelines, the 1970s malaise was brought back into focus. In many parts of the Southeast, there was no gas to be had at any price because of the supply disruptions. Alas, this wasn’t just a result of some evil foreign hackers. This is the predictable outcome when we have a president who teams with the radical green left and declares war on American energy.

President Joe Biden has said that he wants to eliminate American fossil fuels over the next 15 years. He’s doing his best to keep that promise, starting with his cancellation of the Keystone XL Pipeline. (How deranged does that seem today?)

A few weeks later, he stopped oil and gas drilling on federal lands. We have some $30 trillion to $50 trillion of energy resources underneath federal lands and federal waters.

This “America last” energy policy is not just a frontal assault on our economy, transportation system and national security. It is a policy that imposes a hefty tax on the poorest people.

According to AAA, when Biden was elected, the average gasoline price across America was $2.20 a gallon. Since then, the price has risen every

month, and on May 15 of this year, the average gas price hit $3.04.

Make no mistake: this 84-cent-per-gallon price hike is a highly regressive “tax” on motorists, just as lower gas prices during the Trump administration were the equivalent of a tax cut for consumers. I doubt that billionaire Democratic donors such as Mike Bloomberg, Tom Steyer or Bill and Melinda Gates, who are significant financial supporters of the war on fossil fuels, care much that gas prices are rising.

For the rest of us, when the price of a fill-up rises by $10 or $12, that’s a genuine financial hardship. That’s especially true for those on fixed incomes or earning less than $50,000 a year. Yes, indeed, gas prices are often out of the direct control of the president. Biden didn’t cause the Colonial Pipeline sabotage. But if you want people to stop using oil and gas, what better way to achieve that than by making it much more expensive to buy? What did the White House brainiacs think would happen to gas prices if we stop building pipelines, erect new Environmental Protection Agency regulations designed to kill oil and gas exploration from Texas up to North Dakota, and outlaw drilling in many areas of the country?

Biden seems oblivious to all this pain as he visits electric car plants and gleefully test-drives these new vehicles. That’s fine. But even if every car bought starting tomorrow was batteryoperated, and even if people could afford the $50,000-plus price tag, we’d still need gas for vehicles already on the road for at least the next 20 years. Where are we going to get it? The Saudis?

Meanwhile, the poorest people are now paying his green tax at the gas pump. Most amazingly, Biden still has a straight face while saying that no one with an income of less than $400,000 a year will pay higher taxes under his economic plan.

Come on, Joe. Get out of the Washington bubble, and go to a gas station. People of all incomes are paying your gas “tax.”

Stephen Moore is a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation and an economic consultant with FreedomWorks.

A7 COLUMN MEAD TREADWELL

DC spending soars — NC state legislators can stop it AFTER THE GLOBAL “surprise” of a Covid pandemic, it is vital to prepare for events once thought unthinkable. Unchecked, America is headed for default.

Economic experts now predict double-digit inflation before the end of the year. Massive trilliondollar deficits are estimated to push the nation’s debt to a staggering $30 trillion at the same time. Fed policies to both fight inflation and borrow money to fund this debt will likely raise interest rates. While many nations borrowed heavily during the pandemic, others did not, and America must compete for funds.

A loss of the value of the dollar due to inflationary pressures has potential disastrous effects on all Americans who rely on fixed incomes to pay their daily bills. If our government defaults on its debt — or can’t raise more money to pay its bills — Americans who depend on payments from Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and other government assistance face further risks.

A debt default would also have repercussions for federal funds to states. If Congress needs to make rapid and drastic cuts, money for the states would likely be among the first to be put on the fiscal chopping block.

Members of Congress are both unable and unwilling to address this dire situation, and so far, except as constituents, state governments are not at the table. Constitutionally, we are a nation of states, and states not only have the opportunity — they have the responsibility — to help force discipline on federal spending and debt.

The authors of this article advise or lead a Compact for a Balanced Budget, an interstate compact agreement currently with five member states, which has the most direct roadmap for state legislators to use to push federal budget and debt controls.

As a Compact, we represent states that have urged three key steps as part of the roadmap, and we have invited other states to join us. First, we must reform the congressional budgeting process. Second, states can — through the balanced budget amendment we’ve proposed — assert control over the nation’s debt limit. Third, we’ve urged Congress to institute the necessary structural reforms to protect critical entitlement programs.

On a short-term basis, the first two of these actions can be achieved in less than 24 months if enough states — three-fourths of us — join the Compact. The third action is a safety measure to protect states and recipients of “safety net” entitlements from a debt crisis over the long term.

To help educate Americans on the danger of default, we have helped sponsor the Debt Default Clock. On the advice of bankers and economists who are experts in debt, we’ve learned that we are closer to default on U.S. debt than any time in recent history. The Debt Default Clock website is www. debtdefaultclock.us.

By any measure, Congress does not take the budgeting process seriously. The process has been broken for decades and each year grows more dysfunctional and antiquated. The Compact provides the mechanisms to both instill congressional budget discipline and to provide the states a role in determining appropriate debt levels for our nation.

As more states join the Compact, the role of the state legislatures in influencing congressional fiscal actions likely grows and further reflects the role our nation’s founders envisioned as states joining a union.

Protecting critical “safety net” entitlement programs to recipients has to be a top priority of state legislators. While states co-fund many of these entitlements, they have little to say as to who gets entitlements, how entitlements are funded and how to adjust costs to meet individual state needs. The Compact provides the ideal forum for member states to formally engage with Congress to formulate the necessary steps to allow this transition to occur.

Now is the time for the N.C. state legislators to step up and do the right thing. Joining the Compact for a Balanced Budget through passage of SB 414 will provide a key signal to constituents that while the nation faces a daunting future, state legislators are ready, willing and able to provide the necessary leadership to prevent the looming disaster. We encourage state legislators to find out more at www. compactforamerica.org/balanced-budget-compactproject.

Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell served in Alaska from 2010 to 2014. He is chair of the five-state Compact for a Balanced Budget, an entrepreneur and private investor.

BE IN TOUCH

Letters addressed to the editor may be sent to letters@nsjonline.com or 3101 Industrial Dr. Suite 105. Raleigh, N.C. 27609. Letters must be signed; include the writer’s phone number, city and state; and be no longer than 300 words. Letters may be edited for style, length or clarity when necessary.

Ideas for op-eds should be sent to opinion@nsjonline.com.

A8

North State Journal for Wednesday, May 26, 2021

NATION & WORLD

Navy says it’s charting a new course after rash of problems

By David Sharp The Associated Press BATH, Maine — The Navy’s speedy littoral combat ships had propulsion failures. The gun on its stealthy destroyer is a dud because of expensive ammo. Its newest aircraft carrier had problems with the system that launches aircraft.

On top of that, embarrassing photos of rusty ships online have underscored delays in maintaining warships, made worse by the pandemic.

The Navy’s troubles have caused delays and cost billions of dollars.

They come as tensions are growing in the South China Sea, Russia’s navy is emboldened and Iranian speedboats are harassing vessels in the Persian Gulf.

“Are we ready to meet the threat from China? No,” said Loren Thompson, a defense analyst at the Lexington Institute.

Adm. Mike Gilday, chief of naval operations, insists the Navy is now on a “positive trajectory,” but the Navy will have to rebuild confidence under congressional scrutiny as it prepares a new strategic plan that’ll include another long-term investment: unmanned vehicles.

The Biden administration is readying a Navy budget proposal to send to lawmakers.

The Navy fleet currently falls shy of 300 ships, despite a stated goal of 355 ships. The Chinese fleet now outnumbers the U.S. Navy.

“The Chinese are closer to our goal than we are,” said Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who sits on the Appropriation Committee and wants to boost Navy spending.

Democratic Sen. Jack Reed and Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe, chairman and ranking member of the Armed Services Committee, have criticized delays and cost overruns on lead ships, and urged the Navy to ensure technology is ready before putting it aboard.

Members of Congress, who control the purse strings, say the Navy must also spend billions of dollars more in its public shipyards that maintain the ships.

“The Navy has got to get their derriere in gear,” said Rep. Rob Wittman, a Republican from Virginia, who described the Navy as “at one of those crossroads.”

The Navy’s problem, as Thompson sees it, is that leaders rushed ambitious new ship classes to pro-

SPC. JASON PASTRICK | U.S. NAVY VIA AP

In this photo provided by the U.S. Navy, sailors aboard the guided missile destroyer USS Stout handle mooring lines during the ship's return to home port at Naval Station Norfolk, in Norfolk, Va., in this Oct. 12, 2020, photo. duction and started construction before designs were finalized and technology fully tested.

“It tried too hard to leap ahead technologically at the beginning of the last decade,” Thompson said.

“As a result, every vessel that it started had severe problems.”

For example, the electric-drive Zumwalt, commissioned in 2016, was designed to get close to shore to bombard land targets. But its 155mm advanced gun system is being scrapped because each rocket-propelled, GPS-guided shell costs nearly as much as a cruise missile.

Meanwhile, two versions of the speedy littoral combat ship were envisioned as chasing down pirate ships off Somalia. One version had class-wide propulsion problems, and both were criticized as too lightly armored for open ocean combat. The Navy is already scrap-

ping the first four of them.

The most expensive ship in Navy history, meanwhile, is the newest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald Ford. It has had problems with the system that launches jets and the elevators that move weapons, among other things. It was supposed to cost $10.5 billion but the price tag has risen to $13.3 billion and “four weapons elevators are still not finished and the reliability of key systems is low,” said Inhofe, a Republican from Oklahoma.

These ship classes have taught the Navy costly lessons. Costs on the first ships in the classes were 23% to 155% — or about $5 billion — higher than original estimates, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Lawmakers have scrutinized the Navy’s readiness and overextended crews since 17 sailors were killed in two separate collisions involv-

ing Navy destroyers in 2017. Technology failure and human error factored into both collisions.

The Navy’s unceasing tempo continues to cause stress on ships and crew. Photos of the USS Stout, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, showed plentiful rust as it returned from a 210-day deployment last fall to Norfolk Naval Station in Virginia. The rust was cosmetic but underscored the toll of deferred maintenance and long deployments on ships and sailors, who made no port calls during the pandemic.

“It’s wearing out the Navy, the crews, their personnel, their families,” said Matt Caris, a defense analyst at Avascent, a consulting firm in Washington, who said investments are needed in sailors, maintenance and new ships.

Maintaining the existing fleet is also going to mean upgrades to the nation’s four public shipyards and

hiring and training thousands of workers, said Democratic Rep. Jim Langevin of Rhode Island.

“Deferred maintenance is never a good idea,” he said.

Speaking at Navy shipbuilder Bath Iron Works on a recent afternoon, Gilday insisted things are getting better. The length of time that ships were delayed has declined by 80% at public shipyards and 60% at private yards compared to where things were 18 months ago, Gilday said.

And those ships that suffered delays and cost overruns hold potential. The stealthy Zumwalt destroyer built at Bath Iron Works will be the first naval vessel equipped with hypersonic missiles, he said.

“I’m not saying that we’re satisfied with where we are,” Gilday said. “What I will say is that I think that certainly the trends are headed in the right direction.”

US general to recommend post-withdrawal plan for Afghanistan

By Lolita C. Baldor The Associated Press ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT — The top U.S. commander for the Middle East said he will make recommendations to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in early June on how to monitor and fight terrorist groups in Afghanistan from beyond its borders after all American forces withdraw.

Gen. Frank McKenzie, the commander of U.S. Central Command, said negotiations with Afghanistan’s neighbors for overflight rights and troop basing are “moving forward” but will take time. As a result, he said, the way the United States keeps an eye on the terrorist threat and aids the Afghan military will evolve as agreements are reached or security conditions on the ground change.

He cautioned that this will be a “taxing time” for the Afghan military, and “the risk is high.”

Speaking to reporters from The Associated Press and ABC News traveling with him to the Middle East, McKenzie declined to provide details about the recommendations he will make to Austin. He said he will also provide cost estimates for keeping surveillance aircraft over Afghanistan regularly enough to keep track of terrorist groups after the U.S. pullout is completed no later than Sept. 11.

McKenzie has made it clear that without any bases in neighboring countries, it will require far more aircraft to keep watch over Afghanistan because they will have to fly for four hours to six hours from other U.S. military installations in the

Middle East. The flight distance severely limits the amount of time the aircraft can spend in the air over Afghanistan.

Military leaders are grappling with how best to carry out President Joe Biden’s order to withdraw all American troops from Afghanistan by September while still providing support to the Afghan forces and monitoring the threat that prompted the U.S. invasion of the country after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Commanders have said they will monitor threats from “over the horizon” to ensure that terrorists cannot again use Afghanistan as a base to launch attacks against the U.S. But they have acknowledged that the U.S. does not yet have any agreements for basing or overflights from any of the neighboring countries.

McKenzie said he is confident the U.S. will get the access it needs. But as yet, there are no firm solutions or decisions.

At the same time, Pentagon leaders and Congress members have expressed concerns that once the U.S. leaves, the Afghan government and its military will be quickly overrun by the Taliban.

The Afghan military, particularly its air force, has been heavily dependent on the U.S. for maintenance and training, as well as for combat air support when its troops are under attack. McKenzie said he believes the Afghans have a “fighting chance” to be successful and defend themselves.

“It’s time for the Afghan military to stand up and show that they can fight alone,” said McKenzie. “I think it’s going to be a very taxing time

MANUEL BALCE CENETA | AP PHOTO

Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, Jr., commander of the United States Central Command, speaks during a briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, Thursday, April 22, 2021.

“It’s time for the Afghan military to stand up and show that they can fight alone."

Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, Jr., commander of the United States Central Command for them. I think certainly there is a path for them to preserve what they have now. The risk is high. I don’t want to minimize that.”

U.S. lawmakers have said they believe there is no chance the Taliban will abide by the commitments their leaders made in a February

2020 agreement with the Trump administration, which included engaging in sustained peace negotiations and severing all forms of cooperation with and support for al-Qaida. Members of Congress also worry that al-Qaida and the Islamic State group will take advantage of the chaos and regroup, with a goal of attacking the U.S. again.

McKenzie said that both al-Qaida and IS have been degraded.

“Our concern would be that ungoverned spaces open in Afghanistan and they are able to reassert themselves,” he said. “This would not be immediate. I don’t think anybody (thinks) this is something that will happen next month or even in the next six months. But eventually they will gather their strength again

and they’ll be a threat to our homeland.”

Washington’s special envoy to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, told a House hearing Tuesday that it is unduly pessimistic to predict that the Kabul government or Afghan military will be quickly overrun by the Taliban once U.S. and coalition forces withdraw.

He said the Taliban have reason not to push for a military victory and instead pursue a negotiated political settlement that could give them international legitimacy and removal from certain American and United Nations sanctions.

He recently met with Taliban representatives in Doha, Qatar, as part of a round of consultations with interested parties.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 26, 2021

SPORTS

Hornets take step in right direction, B4

PHOTO COURTESY OF STEVEN WILSON OF STS MOTORSPORTS INC.

North Wilkesboro Speedway, one of the first NASCAR tracks, has fallen into disrepair, but efforts by locals and stock car racing’s power brokers could lead to the track making a comeback.

the Wednesday SIDELINE REPORT FOOTBALL

BoA Stadium will be full capacity for NFL, college games Charlotte Carolina Panthers president Tom Glick announced Monday that Bank of America Stadium will open at full capacity for all events this year, including NFL and college games.

The Panthers had extremely limited seating last year due to COVID-19. Glick said masks will not be required for fans and there will be no proof of vaccination required to attend games. He also said there will be no temperature checks. The stadium will continue to have enhanced cleaning, which includes the use of disinfecting robots.

The Panthers also announced they plan to host training camp at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina, after a one-year hiatus due to the coronavirus. The largest crowd in 25-year‑old stadium’s history was 74,532 on Sept. 9, 2018, a 16-8 Panthers win over the Dallas Cowboys.

TENNIS

Winston-Salem Open returns in August Winston-Salem The Winston-Salem Open men’s tennis tournament will be back in August with full spectator capacity and full prize money after the 2020 edition was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The hard-court tournament announced Monday it will be played Aug. 21-28, in its usual spot on the ATP calendar right before the U.S. Open. The total Winston-Salem Open prize money this year will be $717,955, with $96,505 going to the singles champion. The plan is to have 3,500 seats for fans. It is an ATP World Tour 250 event with a 48-player draw in singles and 16 doubles teams. Poland’s Hubert Hurkaz won the tournament in 2019, defeating France’s Benoit Paire in the final.

BRYNN ANDERSON | AP PHOTO

Baseball’s top prospect Wander Franco, pictured during spring training with the Tampa Bay Rays, is playing for the Durham Bulls in what will likely be a short stay before his inevitable promotion to the majors.

WanderVision: Franco’s time with Bulls is going, going…

Baseball’s top prospect is almost ready for a promotion

By Shawn Krest North State Journal HOW GOOD is Wander Franco? Fans in Durham are talking about him as if he’s already gone.

“That’s where the grand slam landed.”

“Remember his four-hit night?

The impossible plays in the field?

The car? The jersey? The excitement? Those were the days, weren’t they?”

The relationships between fans and their teams are often described as love affairs, but when your minor league team hosts a sure major leaguer, it’s more like a summer fling — intense and fleeting, a few quick weeks that leave you with memories that seem to get better with age.

Make no mistake, Wander Franco has no business playing in Durham. He has the talent and polish to be playing in Tampa right now. Anything that might have been left for him to prove was addressed in the season’s first couple weeks.

Franco’s reputation didn’t just precede him to Durham, it kicked down the door and rolled out the red carpet. He was signed as a Dominican teenager for nearly $4 million in 2018, then

Reviving its roots? NASCAR eyes return to North Wilkesboro Another effort is underway to bring the Cup Series back to one of its original tracks after a 25-year absence

By Brett Friedlander North State Journal

hit for the cycle in his first month as a pro. He finished the year as the Appalachian League player of the year as a 17-year-old.

In 2019, he hit .327 with an .885 OPS and 18 steals for two Class A teams. He was also the youngest player in the Major League Baseball Futures Game in Cleveland during the All-Star Break.

He had a hit, with a 107.9 mph exit velocity, in the game, then said afterward, “If I keep doing what I’m doing, maybe next year I’ll find myself in the big leagues.”

According to schedule, his brief fling with Durham should have been last summer’s whirlwind romance before he got called up and likely headed to the World Series with the Rays.

The pandemic and subsequent cancellation of the minor league season pushed all of that back, although he very nearly ended up in the same place — the Rays, by all accounts, gave serious consideration to calling him up from the alternate site for the postseason run.

So instead, Franco finds himself parking his Rolls-Royce Cullinan — a luxury SUV with a sticker price of $330,000 — not in the covered space of a condominium on some Florida golf course community but rather on the gravel players parking lot under a bridge in Durham.

NO ONE INVOLVED with NASCAR really wanted to leave North Wilkesboro Speedway when the racing series said goodbye to the historic track in 1996.

But the sport was growing and becoming more popular nationwide, so the decision was made to abandon the aging facility for newer, bigger — and more importantly, more profitable — venues in untapped markets around the country.

Although the 5/8-mile oval was left to rot in the elements, with support buildings falling down and weeds growing through cracks in the pavement, it was never forgotten. A movement to restore North Wilkesboro to its past glory began almost as soon as Jeff Gordon took the checkered flag to win the final Cup race at NASCAR’s first sanctioned track.

A quarter century later, the effort may just now be starting to gain traction.

After 25 years and at least one unsuccessful attempt at bringing racing back, the dream of a North Wilkesboro rebirth, like a line of racers picking up speed behind a pace car, is finally starting to pick up momentum.

“We’ve all had our hopes up and dashed, hopes up and dashed so many times here, but it’s extremely serious this time,” said Terri Parsons, whose NASCAR champion husband Benny won the 1979 race on his home track and is a driving force in the restoration crusade.

“The biggest question I get asked is, ‘What makes this different?’ The difference is that this time it’s the owners that are looking to reopen the track.”

It’s a commitment clearly stated by Marcus Smith, president and CEO of Speedway Motorsports Inc., when he said on a recent podcast with retired NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt Jr. that his company — which also owns Charlotte Motor Speedway — hasn’t forgotten North Wilkesboro.

Smith’s comment, along with interest shown by Earnhardt and current driver Joey Logano, fueled a spark of optimism throughout Wilkes County. Within days, signs, billboards and storefront marquees went up letting SMI and NASCAR know “We want you back.”

While prominent members of the business community including Camping World CEO and NASCAR Truck Series sponsor Marcus Lemonis pledged their financial support, the most significant

See FRANCO, page B4

See N. WILKESBORO, page B3

“Racing started with the revenuers chasing the moonshiners.

Well, hello, here we are in Wilkes County.”

Terri Parsons

North State Journal for Wednesday, May 26, 2021

B2 WEDNESDAY

5.26.21

TRENDING

Stephen Curry: Warriors general manager Bob Myers has little doubt Golden State will sign the newly crowned scoring champion to a contract extension this offseason. In December, the 33-year-old Curry said discussions were underway and that he is “fully committed.”

The two-time NBA MVP signed a $201 million, five-year contract in July 2017 that initially was the richest ever until James Harden topped it with a $228 million extension from the Rockets. The Warriors had their season end with a play‑in game loss to the Grizzlies on Friday.

Keith Appling: The former Michigan State University basketball star was arrested Monday in the fatal shooting of a 66-year-old man in Detroit, police said.

Appling, 29, was arrested in Chelsea, 60 miles west of Detroit.

A gun was recovered, police said. Police said he’s accused of shooting the man Saturday night during an argument. Appling, a prep star at Detroit Pershing, played for the Spartans from 2010 to 2014.

Julio Jones: The Falcons wide receiver says he’s ready to leave Atlanta.

The 32-year-old star told FS1 “Undisputed” host Shannon Sharpe via telephone that “I’m outta there” in a brief interview. Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot has been reportedly entertaining trade offers for Jones since last month. Jones was the sixth overall pick in 2011 and is the franchise’s leader in receptions with 848 and yards receiving with 12,896 in 10 seasons in Atlanta.

Beyond the box score POTENT QUOTABLES

NASCAR

Chase Elliott became the 11th different driver in 14 NASCAR Cup Series races this season to earn a win, claiming his fifth win in the series’ last six road course races by heading to Victory Lane at Circuit of the Americas. The defending series champion has half of his 12 career victories on road courses and gave Chevrolet its 800th Cup win.

CHUCK BURTON | AP PHOTO

“I’ve never felt more unsafe in my whole racing career, period.”

Stewart-Haas driver Kevin Harvick on racing in the rain in NASCAR’s Cup Series debut Sunday at Texas’ Circuit of the Americas road course

CHUCK BURTON | AP PHOTO

NHL

GOLF

CHRIS SZAGOLA | AP PHOTO

“There’s nothing safe about being a race car driver.”

Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson offering an opposing opinion to Harvick’s safety concerns

DAVID ZALUBOWSKI | AP PHOTO

Colorado Avalanche center Nazem Kadri is appealing the eight-game suspension he received for a check to the head of St. Louis’ Justin Faulk, a former Hurricanes defenseman, in Game 2 of their series. Kadri has now been suspended in three of the last six postseasons. Colorado swept the Blues in four games.

DAVID J. PHILLIP | AP PHOTO

Phil Mickelson became the oldest player to win a major championship Sunday, claiming his second PGA Championship with a two-shot win in Kiawah Island, South Carolina.

The previous oldest major winner was Julius Boros, who won the 1968 PGA Championship at 48 in 1968. Mickelson now has six major titles.

PRIME NUMBER

$25K Fine by the NBA to Hawks interim coach and NC State alumnus Nate McMillan last Thursday after saying the league is rooting for the success of the New York Knicks and implying his team may struggle to get calls in the opening round of the playoffs.

NBA

PHELAN M. EBENHACK | AP PHOTO

The NBA announced Monday that it has formed NBA Africa, which will oversee all league business on the continent, including the Basketball Africa League. At least five former NBA players — Junior Bridgeman, Grant Hill, Joakim Noah, Congo native Dikembe Mutombo and South Sudan native Luol Deng — are investors in the venture. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum will be on the board of directors.

North State Journal for Wednesday, May 26, 2021

B3

Lacrosse Final Fours full of feature Duke men, both UNC squads The NCAA Tournament men’s semifinals have the Tar Heels and Blue Devils on opposite sides of the bracket, while the unbeaten Carolina women face Boston College

JIM BOUNDS | AP PHOTO

Muggsy Bogues, who played collegiately at Wake Forest, spent 14 seasons in the NBA, including a decade with the Charlotte Hornets.

Muggsy Bogues on reaching the heights of his sport The 5-foot-3 Wake Forest product overcame a tough Baltimore upbringing

By Shawn Krest North State Journal Muggsy Bogues believes he beat the odds, and it had nothing to do with being a 5-foot-3 basketball player.

“I was one of the lucky ones,” he said. “I mean, I got shot at the age of 5, but I was one of the lucky ones that made it through.”

Bogues grew up in Lafayette Court, a housing project in inner-city Baltimore that was one of the most dangerous places in the city to live.

He was caught by stray buckshot from a shotgun blast that hit him in the back and arm, sending him to the hospital.

That was far from the only adversity he faced in his youth. Bogues’ father was sent to prison for armed robbery and a brother battled drug addiction. Bogues also saw people killed in his neighborhood.

It’s a cliché, but for Bogues, basketball was his way out. It took him to Wake Forest for college and an NBA career that included a long stop in Charlotte. Bogues was rewarded for his impact on basketball in the state with a selection to the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in this year’s class.

“First when I was told, I thought it was the big one,” Bogues joked, referring to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. “I’m so grateful. How humbling and grateful I am just to get the call. I know my mom’s up there smiling ear to ear — her, my sister and my dad are up there elated I got this call. It just brought back so many memories.”

One of his first North Carolina basketball memories was the moment he arrived at Winston-Salem,

when basketball helped lead him out of the housing project.

“It was a culture shock, for one,” he said. “Coming from the inner city of Baltimore and going to Winston-Salem. It was such a growth experience for me as well, being able to meet different people who didn’t look like you and seeing how they interact and how they kind of went through life. I found some that were more in your corner, some that weren’t in your corner. It was a learning experience for me.”

Bogues credits his inner drive for helping him to succeed at the sport’s highest level.

“Coming from the inner city, for me it all starts with confidence,” he said. “You’ve got to have confidence within yourself. I always go back to what my mom said: No one can be an expert on your life. No one knows your potential and your capabilities. You are in control of your destiny. … I had a strong belief in me, where I came from, what I wanted — my vision, my dream.

I wasn’t going to let anything deter me from that.

“I went down there with that perspective and the right frame of mind. This is a place I want to excel. I know there are going to be challenges. Nothing much in success doesn’t come without adversity. I had to make sure I was grounded enough within myself in order to move forward.”

Bogues played for former Maryland coach Bob Wade at Dunbar High School. His teams also included Reggie Williams, Reggie Lewis and David Wingate, all of whom also made it to the NBA. The talented team helped keep Bogues from flying under the radar of college scouts who might have dismissed him for his size.

“I was fortunate early on to be able to get national attention,” he said. “We were the No. 1 high school team for two years. Having

“I had a strong belief in me, where I came from, what I wanted — my vision, my dream. I wasn’t going to let anything deter me from that.”

Muggsy Bogues the type of player we had on our team, with four players making the pros, we had to check our egos at the door. Coach did an amazing job of constructing that and managing those egos. He preached being student-athletes early on. Back in those days, the term floating around was ‘dumb jocks.’ He made sure that wasn’t going to be his kids. He instilled in us values and the importance of education. That’s one reason why a lot of us were able to make it out of the area we came from, move on and become successful.”

Not everyone did.

“The best basketball players (from Baltimore), we ain’t talking about,” he said. “They weren’t able to make it out of certain situations because of their environments. A lot of kids out there didn’t get that opportunity.”

Bogues took advantage and found that his path out to better things ran through Tobacco Road.

He doesn’t mention his height often, but it did add a bit of sweetness to be inducted into North Carolina’s Hall of Fame.

“I think of all the naysayers who thought a kid my size couldn’t play this game,” he said. “I don’t want to say I put it back in their face, but I let them know that the game is meant for the tall, the small. The game is meant for us all.”

N. WILKESBORO from page B1 boost to the campaign came last Wednesday when Gov. Roy Cooper allocated $10 million in American Rescue Plan grants to North Wilkesboro for “infrastructure and repairs.”

Similar grants were also given to another dormant track in Rockingham, as well as Charlotte Motor Speedway, which continues to host two Cup Series events each year.

“The proposed allocations from the American Rescue Plan can have a significant impact on renovating parts of Charlotte Motor Speedway as well as starting restoration efforts at North Wilkesboro,” Smith said in a statement issued after the grants were announced. “Our team at Speedway Motorsports will get to work on the best ways these funds could be utilized.”

For Steven Wilson, who has been involved with a group known as Save The Speedway for more than two decades, the recent spike in interest and infusion of cash has suddenly transformed the vision of attending races at North Wilkesboro again from an unrequited dream to a realistic goal.

“The effort here has a prevailing wind now, and it’s aided by the fact that you have the owner of the track working to see things through,” Wil-

PHOTO COURTESY OF STEVEN WILSON OF STS MOTORSPORTS INC.

North Wilkesboro Speedway is a 5/8th-mile track that last hosted a NASCAR Cup Series race in 1996. son said. “They’re trying to shake things up.”

Getting the track back in working order, however, is only half the battle. Even if it happens and racing does return, there’s no guarantee NASCAR will be open to adding North Wilkesboro back to the schedule of its most prestigious series.

There are some positive signs, though.

First and foremost is NASCAR’s shift in focus from the cookie-cut-

ter 1½-mile tracks that became its staple in the late 1990s and early 2000s to more road course and short track races.

The popularity of those different formats and a desire to bring more races in areas closer to its traditional fan base led NASCAR to pull one of its two races at Dover International Speedway on Delaware and award it to Nashville Superspeedway in Gladeville, Tennessee.

There are also efforts to bring NASCAR back downtown Nash-

four goals, while senior Justin Anderson netted three for his second hat trick in the past three games.

“I love the way we won this game,” coach Joe Breschi said.

“Obviously, we’ve had some games that haven’t been that close. But for us to grit it out, in particular against a really tough, physical team the way we did in

By Brett Friedlander the second half, I couldn’t be North State Journal more proud of these guys and IF THERE’S a Final Four go- how they did it.”

Like the UNC men, the ing on these days, there’s a good chance a team from North Caro- top-seeded women’s team also had to come from behind on Satlina will be involved.

Two weeks ago, the Tar Heels urday to earn its Final Four opsent both their men’s and wom- portunity.

The undefeated Tar Heels en’s soccer teams to the NCAA’s College Cup at Sahlen’s Stadium trailed eighth-seeded Stony in Cary. This weekend, their la- Brook 11-9 with just under nine crosse teams will take center minutes remaining before finstage with each earning a spot in ishing with a flourish, scoring their respective national semifi- the game’s final five goals to take a 14-11 victory at Dorrance Field nal. in Chapel Hill.

The men’s team Five different playwill take on ACC riers — Scottie Rose val Virginia on SatGrowney, Jamie Orteurday in East Hart- “This is why ga, Tayler Warehime, ford, Connecticut, Ally Mastroianni and in a Final Four that you come Katie Hoeg — conalso includes Duke to UNC. You tributed goals in the and one-time confercome to win game-winning flurry ence member Maryto send UNC (20-0) land. The national a national to the national semifichampionship game championship, nals for the 12th time, will be played Monthat’s why I’m including nine of the day. last 12 NCAA TournaThe women here.” ments. will also match up “I’m really proud against a familiar foe, Boston College, Senior Chris Gray, of the way my upperclassmen stepped up in Towson, Mary- Tar Heels’ leading for us,” coach Jenny land, on Friday, with scorer Levy said. “At eight the winner advancminutes, down by two, ing to Sunday’s title I was curious to see game against either how we’d handle it. We work on Syracuse or Northwestern.

“This is why you come to situations all the time in pracUNC,” said senior Chris Gray, tice, so I knew we had it in us. the team’s leading scorer. “You We just had to buckle down and come to win a national champi- get it done.”

Duke’s men also had a seonship, that’s why I’m here. To give ourselves that opportunity nior step up in a big spot to beat is something I’ve been looking Loyola 10-9 on Sunday to earn forward to. It will be my first Fi- their 13th Final Four trip overall nal Four, so I’m really excited for and 11th of coach John Danowski’s tenure. that.”

First, though, it took a clutch Gray, the only player to rank among the top 10 nationally in play from a freshman to set up seboth goals and assists, had his nior Joe Robertson’s game-win31-game scoring streak snapped ner 57 seconds into overtime of Saturday against Rutgers in a game that featured three lead changes and six ties.

Hempstead, New York.

Brennan O’Neill scored His teammates, especially Connor McCarthy, made up the his fourth goal of the game, a difference by providing enough man-advantage tally with 1:09 offensive support to squeak out a remaining in regulation, to tie 12-11 overtime victory that pro- the score and set up the dramatpelled the top-seeded Tar Heels ic extra period.

Long-stick midfielder Tyler (13-2) into their first NCAA title game since winning the national Carpenter, a Durham native, started the winning play by inchampionship in 2016.

McCarthy, a graduate trans- tercepting a Loyola pass and imfer who played his first three col- mediately turning upfield. With lege seasons at Princeton, scored no timeouts remaining to set up his team’s first goal of the game. a play, Robertson took matters But it was his second one, on an into his own hands by bouncing assist from William Perry with a shot into the net to put the Blue 1:38 remaining in the first over- Devils (14-2) over the top.

It was Robertson’s third overtime, that proved to be the most time goal this season and fourth memorable and important.

The decisive goal capped a of his career, including the comeback that saw UNC rally game-winner in a 2019 NCAA from a two-goal fourth-quarter Tournament game against Nodeficit, tying the score at 11 on tre Dame. an unassisted goal by Zac Tucci.

Sophomore Lance Tillman led the Tar Heels with a career-high

ville’s Fairgrounds Speedway, which held Cup races until 1984 and is the oldest continually operating track in the country.

But because of a dispute over who will pay for improvements for the facility, it’s uncertain whether a Cup race will be held there. It’s an impasse that could open the door for North Wilkesboro.

“Watching Nashville doing petitions telling them they don’t want (NASCAR) there is really timely,” Parsons said. “What a great time for us to say, ‘You’ve got a hard time going on in Nashville, well, here we are. We want you to come back.’

How many local people are there telling you that?

“Racing started with the revenuers chasing the moonshiners. Well, hello, here we are in Wilkes County.”

North Wilkesboro Speedway was built by resident Enoch Stanley, who was impressed by the crowds he saw at a race in South Carolina.

It opened in 1947 and held its first NASCAR race, won by Bob Flock, two years later.

Among the other winners at the track are Hall of Famers Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt Sr., Darrell Waltrip and Junior Johnson, a Wilkes County native who, like many other early racers, got his start outrunning the authorities in soupedup cars transporting bootleg whis-

key.

North Wilkesboro’s demise began when Marcus Smith’s father, Bruton, bought half the track and moved one of its two dates to Texas Motor Speedway. A few years later, the other half was sold and the remaining date moved to New Hampshire.

Racing returned briefly in 201011 with several minor events, including a Pro All-Star Series race won by the current NASCAR Cup champion Chase Elliott, who was 14 at the time. But interest quickly waned.

Linda Cheek, president of the Wilkes County Chamber of Commerce, said the return of even one Cup race a year would have a tremendous impact on an are whose local economy is already seeing a steady uptick.

“The two races that we lost had about a $34 million regional economic impact in the high country and Yadkin Valley area because people would stay throughout the region,” she said. “So if we got one at this time it would probably be at least half of that if not more. That would be huge for rural communities, and we need those types of events and support because there’s a domino effect to that. If you have one big event like that, others are likely to follow.”

North State Journal for Wednesday, May 26, 2021

B4

Hornets have building blocks, look to take next step The offseason opens with optimism for Charlotte

By Shawn Krest North State Journal THE CHARLOTTE Hornets’ season may have ended on a down note, but there’s reason for optimism.

Charlotte won 10 more games than last season and flirted with a winning record for much of the year. The team made the postseason, but not the playoffs, getting blown out by Indiana in a oneand-done appearance in the playin tournament.

The Hornets also found some key pieces toward the contender that GM Mitch Kupchak and the front office are trying to build.

LaMelo Ball was hampered by injury but still emerged as a rookie of the year candidate and future star, averaging 15.7 points, 6.1 assists and 5.9 rebounds.

Terry Rozier showed he can be the top scoring option, leading the team with 20.4 points per game, a career high. He also shattered his career best for shooting percentage. P.J. Washington took a step forward in year two, averaging 12.9 points and 6.5 rebounds, both up from his rookie season.

Miles Bridges also improved, hiking his shooting percentage from .424 last season to over .500 this year. He also hit a career-best 40% from three.

Jalen McDaniels also emerged

as a surprise contributor, averaging 7.4 points and starting 18 games for the team.

As the next generation of the Hornets nucleus continues to develop, some members of the old guard are ready to move on. Cody Zeller, Bismack Biyombo and Malik Monk are all scheduled to be free agents. So is Devonte Graham, who averaged 14.8 points.

Together, that group represents about $29 million in cap space, which would likely put the Hornets near the top of the list of teams with spending money on the free agent market this offseason.

The team would likely try to hold onto Graham, who is a restricted free agent, which will eat into that pool, but the Hornets could still have as much as $20 million to spend.

Charlotte should feel fairly confident at guard, wing and forward spots. The team’s most glaring need is in the post.

It’s unlikely the Hornets will be able to fill that need in the draft.

They’ll enter the lottery slotted for the No. 11 spot, which is not where teams generally find game-changing big men. If Charlotte is willing to sign and trade Graham, they might be able to move up in the draft, but the next starting center for the Hornets will most likely come on the free agent market.

Unfortunately for the Hornets, the options aren’t exactly eye-popping there, either. Richaun Holmes, who averaged 14.2 points and 8.3 rebounds for the Kings, is

an intriguing possibility. So is Andre Drummond, who might be out of the Hornets’ price range. Drummond is coming off of a down year, production-wise, but he’s capable of averaging a double-double and would likely see an upturn in his numbers with Ball feeding him passes in the post.

Montrezl Harrell might be available, depending on whether he opts to stay with the Lakers. The Hornets were rumored to be looking to trade for him earlier in the year.

Alex Len and Nerlens Noel will be available, as will Kelly Olynyk and Daniel Theis. All would be solid, functional rotation players. Of course, that’s what Charlotte has had in Zeller.

Perhaps the best option for the Hornets at center is to swing a deal for the Pacers’ Myles Turner. He regularly averages more than a dozen points and half-dozen boards and has led the league in blocks twice in the last three years.

With Ball passing to him, Turner could see a big improvement in production with the Hornets.

He’ll be costly, with a key piece of the Hornets’ future likely leaving in return — possibly Bridges or Graham. He’ll also be in demand.

The Celtics and Kings are already rumored to be discussing packages with the Pacers.

The Hornets made a stride in 2020-21. They’ll look to make another this offseason. The journey to being a contender is a long one, however, as Mitch Kupchak, who earlier this season proclaimed the

JACOB KUPFERMAN | AP PHOTO

The Charlotte Hornets have a foundational player to build around in point guard LaMelo Ball, who was arguably the NBA’s top rookie this season. team “ahead of schedule,” pointed out at season’s end.

“We have to balance it,” he said.

“Grow the team. Get into the playoffs. Get some experience. Yet keep in mind, it’s not just about getting in and losing in seven (games) or six or five or four. It’s really about trying to build something greater than that.”

The team will make another move toward that future in the upcoming months.

20.4 Points per game this season for Terry Rozier, a career high and tops on the Hornets in 2020-21

Charlotte’s Coca-Cola 600 has added significance this year Charlotte Motor Speedway will be able to fill all its seats for the Cup Series’ longest race of the season on Sunday

By Cory Lavalette North State Journal FROM NEW TRACKS like last week’s Circuit of the Americas race highlighting a shift toward more road courses to a return to stock car racing’s roots with the dirt race at Bristol, it’s been a season of change and unpredictability in the NASCAR Cup Series.

The genesis for NASCAR’s revamped schedule came in 2018 when Charlotte Motor Speedway switched one of its two slots on the series schedule to the Roval configuration that drew acclaim from both drivers and viewers.

Charlotte did, however, lose the All-Star Race, which will now be held at Texas Motor Speedway after being at Bristol last season.

So what was usually two weeks of midseason action in the hub track of NASCAR has been reduced to one, but Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 holds no less clout than in years past. In COVID times, in fact, it might hold more than ever.

The longest race of the season comes just in time for CMS to throw its gates wide open to fans after Gov. Roy Cooper dropped COVID-19 restrictions on sporting events. That means up to 95,000 could be at the track for the Memorial Day weekend event.

“We are thrilled with today’s news that will allow fans to return to America’s Home for Racing without limitation,” Greg Walter, executive vice president and general manager of Charlotte Motor Speedway, said earlier this month.

“From the outset of the pandemic, whether operating a drive-through testing clinic or hosting the state’s first mass vaccination event, this has been the ultimate goal — to get back to filling the grandstands for the biggest, most entertaining

MIKE MCARN | AP PHOTO

The stands will again be full for the NASCAR Cup Series’ Coca-Cola 600 this Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. events in motorsports.”

On the track, there might be as many drivers with a chance to win the Coca-Cola 600 as there are fans in the stands.

Parity, it seems, has come to stock car racing.

After years of a handful of drivers dominating Victory Lane, the 2021 season has been a weekly grab bag of winners. Through 14 races, there have been 11 different winners, and only Martin Truex Jr. (three wins) and Alex Bowman (two) have won more than once.

It’s been even racing among the manufacturers as well, with Toyota and Chevrolet taking five wins apiece and Ford just one victory behind with four.

From little-known Michael McDowell opening the season with a shocking win at the Daytona

FRANCO from page B1

6 Multi-hit games for Wander Franco in his first 11 outings with the Durham Bulls

Fancy car and open talk of his schedule for making the bigs aside, Franco appears to be fitting right in with the Bulls. For a guy who has a brother Wander and another brother Wander (only the three middle names are different), being one of the guys must come naturally.

He wears the tacky “special” jerseys — one of which, patterned after the jackets in the movie “Bull Durham,” sold for more than $1,800, shattering the previous Bulls jersey auction record by more than $800, on the same

500 to defending series champion Chase Elliott finally getting in the win column last week at COTA, it’s been a season unlike any the Cup Series has seen in a long time.

Denny Hamlin has been held without a win despite a series-high nine top-five finishes and a 98-point lead on second-place William Byron in the standings.

If Hamlin continues to run at the front week after week, he should eventually get that elusive win — but even if he doesn’t, a postseason berth is probably his to lose.

That said, the playoff format calls for 16 drivers, and with 11 spots already taken and a dozen races remaining before the 10race postseason starts Sept. 5 at Darlington, no one is guaranteed a spot without a win.

“This year’s been a little different,” Hamlin said before the race at Kansas on May 2. “We’ve been really, really close and really, really consistent and up front. Just not the overall outright speed that we had last year. But we’re getting better.”

A trip to Charlotte might not be Hamlin’s best shot at getting into Victory Lane — he’s never won a

Cup race at the track in 32 tries, including 29 on the 1½-mile oval.

Truex and Kevin Harvick — also without a win this season after leading the series with nine victories a year ago — have three wins on the oval. Brad Keselowski has a pair of victories at the track, including winning last year’s Coca-Cola 600 over Elliott and Ryan Blaney.

And then there’s Bubba Wallace, who will pilot the car co-owned

by Hamlin and another staple of North Carolina sports, Michael Jordan. Would it surprise anyone to see a No. 23 claim victory in a big event?

Regardless of the results on the track, the atmosphere should be electric for NASCAR’s return to North Carolina — perhaps nearly 100,000 fan volts of energy.

day a Franco baseball card sold for $198,000 in a separate auction — on promotional nights.

When teammate Brett Sullivan produced a walk-off hit, Franco carried the cooler full of water to dump on him in the on-field celebration, then high-fived teammates with the empty cooler.

He’s also working on his game.

Entering the season, he’d played all 175 of his professional games at shortstop. He’s already started three games at second base and three at third in 17 games as a Bull. Despite his willingness to move around the infield, the Rays have already traded their incum-

bent shortstop — former Bull Willy Adames — to make room for Franco, although another Bull, Taylor Wall, got the immediate promotion to the bigs.

Still, it’s just a matter of time, and a short time at that. As he approaches game 20 with the Bulls, it’s worth noting that he’s never spent more than 61 games at any minor league level.

Franco has produced outstanding defensive plays at all three positions, but his glove will likely always be overshadowed by his bat.

Franco had six multi-hit games in his first 11 outings as a Bull and finished the season’s second week

with a .348 average and 1.056 OPS. The Charlotte Knights seemed to find a way to pitch him, striking him out five straight games as Franco went 2 for 24, but he got the last laugh, tripling in two runs to help the Bulls rally from four runs down in the eighth inning to win the series finale.

It brought back memories of his Futures Game heroics two years ago when he was asked if baseball is ever hard for him. Sometimes, he answered, without seeming to mean it. He then added, “but at some point, yes, I think it will be.”

We’re still waiting.

95,000 Capacity at Charlotte Motor Speedway

g Kong flu,” 1977 evidence that the ins in China.

OVID-19 mpletely ve it came out of a

markets and financial outlets. If the U.S. dollar were not the reserveis China’s currency, we would not be able to fund any of these emergency Chernobyl. measures without immediate fear of rampant inflation and currency depreciation.

China has to pay for their aberrant ways and decisions through economic and financial means. Diplomacy has obviously not worked to bring China into the civilized world of 21st century health, hygiene and fair trade. Totalitarian communist regimes never take the blame or express sincere regret and remorse, because that is not what totalitarian governments do. They take advantage of every weakness they find in adversaries and keep pushing until they win or the adversaries push back.

That is, unless an exogenous event happens such as the Chernobyl meltdown in 1986. Some experts believe that event, not the Star Wars program of Reagan, led directly to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1989.

Perhaps COVID-19 is China’s Chernobyl.

Senators in Washington are already talking about the possibility of China forgiving $1.2 trillion in debt we owe them as one way to get China to “pay” for the damage they have caused the US. Don’t hold your breath waiting for a Chinese “Jubilee” to happen but ask your elected representatives to hold China accountable in tangible financial ways for this disaster.

It is about time they are expected to operate as responsible citizens of the world like any other modern nation.

We need The result: a reduc originated in Wuhan Province probably from the completely transparency According to the Neal out Robbins, unregulated and unsanitary wet markets. Some believe it came of aUni Metrics and Evaluati and Chinese honesty Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior biowarfare lab run by the communist army.opinion editor administratio from our Until China adopts rigorous verifiable policing and Trump regulation of peak outbreak was re their food safety and health protocols, American business has no other scientific experts ventilators by nearly choice than to build redundant manufacturing elsewhere purely — we need to plantsAugust by nearly 12,0 for national security and safety reasons as well as supply and delivery know what they Here’s the problem reliability concerns. know, what they questions will al The most direct way to make China “pay” for this disaster is tothat offer First, what is the tr and when U.S. tax credits to companies whodon’t will source at least half of their important because it theyThere hope to production back in the United States. is approximately $120 be open or closed, wh billion worth of American direct investment plants and equipment know what in they more in China. Chinese direct investment in the U.S. is about $65liberalized billion by soci don’t. ought to lock down fu comparison.

We’ve seen case fat An investment tax credit of 30% on half of U.S. investment in China the number of identifi today, or $60 billion, applied to repatriated American manufacturing and the denominator investment to the U.S. would cost the U.S. Treasury $18 billion in have tax revenue spread over a few years. $18 billion in lostpeople revenue is actually number has been ove decimal dust compared to the $6 trillion+ Marshall Plan we are now of death, particularly undertaking to save our own economy, not of defeated enemies as in the sources suggest the n past. many American people are dyin China has been cheating, stealing, pirating and pillaging Even importa business now for the past 30 years. They have made no secret more that they actually have coronav intend to replace the U.S. as the premier superpower in the world and of identified cases co replace the dollar as the reserve currency with their renminbi. number of people wh

Business & Economy

regulation of ness has no other s elsewhere purely pply and delivery

isaster is to offer half of their ximately $120 s and equipment out $65 billion by

vestment in China n manufacturing $18 billion in t revenue is Plan we are now d enemies as in the

laging American no secret that they in the world and enminbi.

VISUAL VOICES

VISUAL VOICES

EDITORIAL | STACEY MATTHEWS

s about when strophe normal

It’s okay to ask questions about to this get back to normal The comfort How Chinawe willbegin payThe for COVID-19 3 big questionscatas noba

COLUMN | REP. RICHARD HU COLUMN | BEN SHAPIRO

EDITORIAL | FRANK HILL

A7

WITH MOST STATES under either shelter-in-place or stay-at-home hina lied about the origin of the ONE THING IS CERTAIN; after thisthanks COVID-19 virus cavalierofmanner in which C orders to local ordissipates state governments,The a majority Americans THIS WEEK, virus, according to members ofTHE theand fede ied to tell the world there were only “THIS IS DA around the globe and in the United States, China will pay for this covered up its spread t are having to adjust to what is being called the “new normal.” and state and local governments, Americans have rldwide panic, economic collapse and in it” (Psalm 118:24). catastrophe one way or another.

3,341 related deaths has led to wo Some of these orders extend at least through the end of this month. ce or stay-at-home fallen into place. I understand the seriousness of the virus thetoneed the curve in the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The e being thrown out of work.

I know that during Inand order put the crisis causedVirginia’s

by Chinastay-at-home in perspective, zero millions of Americans needlessly orders go into June. ty of Americans to take precautions, but I’m uneasy with how people who simply ask muted — after all, trends can easily reverse — but ayer at least $2.4 trillion in added working from home worldwide pandemics can trace their source to theCarolina, United States over Gov.The has cost the U.S. taxp Here in North Democratic Roycrisis Cooper stated during normal.” questions about the data, and when things can start getting back to have abided by recommendations and orders.

The Reserve backup liquidity to the be glad” the Bible our 231-year history. At least fourainrecent the 20th century alone be that “we debt plus trillions more Federa coronavirus press can briefing just don’t know yet”asifin the nd of this month. are treated in some circles with contempt. to flu,” stay 1977 at home; they’ve practiced socialthe distancin he U.S. dollar were notnormal the reserve and dad, Easter directly traced to China: 1957 “Asian flu,” 1968 “Hong Kong markets and financial outlets.

If t will extend into May. Since when did state’s stay-at-home orders They’re treated as though we as a society simply must accept flu” without they’ve donned masks. fund any of these emergency have to be thankful “Russian and the 2002 SARS outbreak.

There is evidence that the currency, we would not be able toa Perhaps If he it, questions should be asked as to the CHARLES KRUPA | AP PHOTO Wedoes needdecide to extend WALTER E. WILLIAMS questioning per stated during question what the government tells us about when it’s massive safe to begin the The result: a reduction inwithout expected hospitalizat Lenten and of rampant inflation and currency pandemic.

1918 “Spanish flu” pandemic also had its origins in China. measures immediate fea justification for it. And the answers should not be vague ones like “we COVID-19 know yet” theFeb. 9,process returning back tologo normalcy.

According toN.H. theseasons University of Washington Institu For me, my faith is Easter government In if this 2021 fileofphoto, the Bitcoin appears on the display screen crypto currency ATM at the Smoker’s Choice in Salem, Thereofisa 100% agreement, outside oftransparency China, that depreciation. must do this out ofCOVID-19 anstore abundance of caution.” is China’s No. The government works for us, and we have the right to ask those Metrics and Evaluation model most oft cited by m ant ways and decisions through making.

As I celebra and honesty originated in at Wuhan Province probably from the completely China has to pay for their aberr provide a all levels It will need to be explained in detail to the people of this state who asked as to the And the longer stay-at-home orders are in place all over and the unsanitary wet markets. administration, theand expected need for hosp plomacy has obviouslyquestions. not worked Corinthians 1:4, whi Chernobyl. unregulated believe it Trump came of at a home economic financial means.

D fromSome our to are being told remain joblessout and message offor an undetermined become a gue ones like “we country, and the stricter some of them get in states, such as Michigan, peak outbreak was revised down by over 120,000, orld of 21st century health, hygiene affliction, so that we biowarfare lab run by the communist Chinese army. to bring China into the civilized scientific amount of timeexperts why models predicting hundreds of cases w hope that we13,000 willof thousands bad thing? thethe more people, sitting at home feeling isolated and/or anxious about ventilators by nearly and the number of ov unist regimes never take blame affliction, withcomm the co Until China adopts rigorous verifiable policing and regulation of and fair trade.

Totalitarian are reliable.

— we need to once again enjoy of this state who when they can get back to providing for their families, will demand August by nearly 12,000. rse, because that is not what God.” That is what their food safety and health protocols, American business has no other or express sincere regret and rem To know date, what I’ve gone what the state has asked and then they along with ndetermined answers.

Here’s the problem: We still don’t know the ans sporting events, take advantage of every weakness If you are celebrat choice than tofree build redundant manufacturing totalitarian do. The citizens mandated thatplants we do,elsewhere but alongpurely the way I’ve also had governments questions about housands of cases Leaders at the local and state levels should be as forthcoming as they know, what they questions that will allow the economy to reopen. pushing until they win or the reflect on this concerts, family week that Tesla stop acceptThe Associated Press for national security safety reasons as well supply andleaders delivery they findwould in adversaries andmessa keep the data.

StateasRepublican have, too. living inand a free can be with those answers — and again, not vague answers, but concerns. answer First, what is the true coronavirus fatality and rate?c ing Bitcoin because of the potenGod’s example don’t and when reliability adversaries push back. gatherings, Unfortunately, when certain types of questions get asked, there is AMERICA’S COLLEGES are rife with society tial environmental thatexogenous can time. ked and then with details that give their believability.

NEWstatements YORK — Even

by Bitcoin’s important because it determines whether certain nt happens such asThe the Chernobyl this difficult Th The most direct waywere to make China “pay”hope for this is to offer That is, damage unless an ev they to disaster corruption. financial squeeze resulting sometimes a disturbing tendency among some people to treat those church services result from Bitcoin mining.

The anstandards, last week was pretty questions about We should all continue to do what we can to keep our families, be open or closed, whether we ought to pursue — believe that event, not the Staropportunities Wars confident we will em supposed from COVID-19 offers for a U.S. tax credits to companies who will source at least half of their meltdown in 1986.

Some experts know what theythe data and asking simply questioning when we can startfalling getting back and many more nouncement sentthat Bitcoin bewild.

Sponsored

by Union and our communities safe. But we still continue more liberalized society presumes wide spreat Sponsored by should also the dissolution of theourselves, Soviet In thisled same spirit bit of remediation.

Let’s first examine what production back in the States.

There is though approximately program of are Reagan, directly to do, lastUnited I to normal as they are$120 conspiracy theorists or people who low $50,000 and set the tone for the The price of the famously volatile don’t. after our own asked, there to of ask questions about the data, because while reasonable stay-at-home ought to lock down further. mightisbe the root academic corruption, neighbors helping ne of American direct investment in plants and equipment inor1989. big pullback recently in most crypotherwise don’t care if they get themselves others sick. digital currency fell nearly 30% at billion worth checked. title of a recent study, ehernobyl. to treatsuggested those by the measures are understandable, theythe should have an date. direct investment in the U.S. is about $65We’ve seen case fatality rates — Concord, the number of Cd temporary In a high inexpiration China. Chinese billion by Perhaps COVID-19 is China’s tocurrencies. one point after Chinaalso Banking Since when did questioning government at all levels become a bad “Academic Grievance Studies and the North State Journal for Wednesday, April 15, 2020 start getting back This is all new to Americans, and it is not normal.

Not in any way, the number of identified COVID-19 cases — but b eady talking about the possibility to buy aare 3-D sacrifices areofsociety Ain number Bitcoin fans pushed Association warned member banks comparison.

Senators inmoney Washington alr thing? That is what free citizens living a free were supposed Corruption of Scholarship.”

The study was we should remain vigilant and stay safe, at are people who shape, or form.

So while and the denominator are likely wrong.

We don’t k debt we owe them as oneopinion way toand get analysisof the risks associated with digital back onofMusk’s Fellow health$1.2 caretrillion workers An investment tax credit of 30% U.S. investment in China China reasoning. forgiving in over. toon do,half lastof I checked. done Areo, an biotech Cellbytherapy billionaire Mark Cuban said that same time we shouldn’t getThe comfortable with this “newbillion, applied to repatriated American manufacturing currencies. decline narrowed to so-called people have actually died of coronavirus.

Some the so yick. have caused US. the Don’t hold your today, or $60 China to “pay” for the damage digitalthe magazine.

By the way, Areo is short My first concern as we go along in all mining this, of is course, my family.

I’m gold much ismore dam10%, but Bitcoin had still lost see” become aAreopagitica, badbut ask normal.” number beenbreath overestimated, given that classifi to happen your elected company brings N. delivered bybelow for a speech investment to the U.S. would costworried the U.S.about Treasury billion in has waiting Ifor a Chinese “Jub them$18 catching the virus, and I’menvironment worried will.

After aging to the than the about $70 billion in market value in y were supposed Not one little bit. of death, particularly among elderly patients, can untable in tangible financial ways for John Milton in defense of free speech. tax revenue spread over a few years. $18 billion in lost revenue is representatives to hold China suffering from the H1N1 virus (swine flu) during the 2009 pandemic, acc mining of Bitcoin.

American HQ to Durham 24 hours.

Authors Helen Pluckrose, James A. sources suggest the number is dramatically under trillion+ Plan extra we areprecautions, now A 2019 this disaster. study by of thethis Technical been Marshall trying to take because all brings up Bitcoin has lost about 38% of its decimal dust compared to the $6 I’ve Lindsay and Peter Boghossian say has that also written under the pseudonym Sister Toldjah e, is my family.

Matthews manyas people are dying at home. d to operate as I’m responsible citizens of DURHAM —Stacey CARsgen not of defeated enemies in the It isMunich about timenot they expect University of and the Masvalue since April 13 when it hit a undertaking to save our own economy, way too many memories of a painful experience I’ d prefer to are repeat. something gone drastically wrong ied I will.

After hasCorporation, and is a regular contributor to RedState and accordLegal Insurrection.

Even more importantly, we have no clue how mn Therapeutics ation. sachusetts Institute of Technology high of more than $64,800, past. the world like any other modern But what also makes me lose sleep is how easily most everyone has in especially within certain anacademia, innovative biotechnology 2009 pandemic, actually have coronavirus.

Some scientists found that the Bitcoin network gen- sugges ing to Coindesk. The China warning China has been cheating, stealing, pirating and pillaging American fields within the humanities.

They call SUSAN WALSH | AP PHOTO company pursuing medicines erates an amount of CO2 similar to of this brings up was just the latest headwind: Before business now for the past 30 years. They have made no secret of identified cases could be an order of magnitude that they these fields “grievance studies,” where to cancer will create Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank senior apeople large Western city had orHill, ancoronavirus entire de- opinion Wednesday, Tesla’s decision to not In this March 9, 2020, file photo, Tesla and SpaceX Chief refer notscholarship totreat repeat. number of who have and n is not so much based upon intend to replace the U.S. as the premier superpower in the world and approximately 200 jobs and veloping country like Sri Lanka. But accept the digital currency as pay- Executive Officer Elon Musk speaks at the SATELLITE ost everyone has finding truth but upon attending to the dollar as the reserve currency with a University of Cambridge study ment for cars — after it said it would replace Conference and Exhibition in Washington, D.C.their renminbi. invest $157 million in Durham,

Fixingn.c. college corruption FAST

FACTS

Why has the price of Bitcoin been falling?

A6

Approved Logos

social grievances. Grievance scholars — and murmurings in WashingGov. Roy Cooper announced and other bully students, administrators ton about tighter regulation of diglast week.

The company’s departments into adhering to their ital currencies had put pressure on selection of the Research worldview. The worldview they promote is Bitcoin. The price is still up about Triangle area will establish its first neither scientific nor rigorous. Grievance EDITORIAL | biomanufacturing site in Northsuch as 31% in 2021 and nearly 300% from studies consist of disciplines a year ago.

America. CARsgen Therapeutics sociology, anthropology, gender studies, Here’s a look at Bitcoin and digicurrently has its U.S. clinical queer studies, sexuality and critical race tal currencies in general: development operations in studies.

Houston, In 2017Texas. and 2018, authors Pluckrose, How Bitcoin works Lindsay andTherapeutics Boghossian started CARsgen submitting academic papers to Corporation,bogus a wholly-owned Bitcoin is a digital currency that academic in cultural, queer, subsidiaryjournals of CARsgen is not tied to a bank or government race, gender, fat and sexuality studies Therapeutics Holdings Limited, and allows users to spend money to if they would pass peer is adetermine clinical stage biotechnology anonymously. The coins are created seriousness of and the virus andinthe review be accepted for need publication. company specializing what’s by users who “mine” them by lendAcceptance of dubious research y with how people who simply ask that ing computing power to verify othknown as chimeric antigen editors found sympathetic to their n thingsjournal can start getting to receptor (CAR) T cellback therapies, er users’ transactions. They receive intersectional or postmodern leftist vision with contempt. a type of therapy that engages Bitcoins in exchange. The coins of the world would prove the problem of people’s immune systems in a societylow simply must accept without also can be bought and sold on exacademic standards. a new way.it’s The therapeutic s us about when safe to begin thepapers changes with U.S. dollars and othSeveral of the fake research er currencies. Some businesses take approach can yield medicines for alcy. were accepted for publication. The Fat Bitcoin as payment, and a number various human cancers, including us, and we have journal the right to ask those Studies published a hoax paper Since when of financial institutions allowdid it in leukemia, lymphoma, and solid that argued the term was home orders are in place all bodybuilding over the their clients’ portfolios, but overall tumors.

The company’s project questioning andas should be replaced hem get exclusionary in states, such Michigan, mainstream acceptance is still limin North Carolina will establish a with “fat bodybuilding, as a fat-inclusive government eeling isolated anxious about ited.

37,000and/or square foot clinical/earlypoliticized performance.”

One reviewer ng for their families, will demand Bitcoins areatbasically all levelslines of stage said, “Icommercial thoroughlymanufacturing enjoyed reading this computer code that are digitally facility and and then a 100,000 article believe it has an important become a from signed each time they travel vels should be as forthcoming square foot cGMP commercial contribution to make to as thethey field and this one owner to the next.

Transactions bad thing? again, not vague answers, but answer manufacturing facility in Durham journal.”

“Our Struggle Is My Struggle: Solidarity that will eventually produce FDA That is what ents believability.

Feminism as an Intersectional Reply to approved cell therapies. at we can to keep our families, free citizens Neoliberal and Choice Feminism,” was “It’s exciting see continue a company fe. But we should alsoto still living in a free accepted for publication

by Affilia, a at thereasonable cutting-edge of science ecause while stay-at-home feminist journalbiotech for social workers. The join our growing industry society were y shouldpaper also have an expiration consisted in part of adate. rewritten cluster,” said North Carolina supposed d it is not normal.

Not in any way,Two other passage from Mein Kampf.

Commerce Secretary Machelle d remainhoax vigilant and stay safe, at including papers were published, to do, last I Baker Sanders.

“From companies “Rape and Queer mfortable withCulture this so-called “new exploring gene therapies toPerformativity checked. at Urban Dog Parks.” This paper’s subject the innovative work CARsgen was dog-on-dog rape. But the dog rape is conducting with immunepaper eventually forced Boghossian, White River Marine is set to oncology, there’s no question that Pluckrose and Lindsay to prematurelyrelocate out all manufacturing North Carolina will continue to under the pseudonym Sister Toldjah themselves.

A Wall Street Journal writer of saltwater brands MAKO play an important role in the future dState and Insurrection. hadLegal figured out what they were doing. of Some this industry and the many and Ranger Saltwater to New papers accepted for publication lives of thosejournals impactedadvocated by the life training Bern, while building upon in academic sciences sector.” men like dogs and punishing white male Hatteras legacy Although wages vary by job college students forwill historical slavery by position, the aggregate average asking them to sit in silence on the floor in salary of the new positions chains during class and towill be expected to

By Emily Roberson reachfrom $76,061, bringing a payroll learn the discomfort.

Other papers celebrated morbid obesity as a healthyNorth life State Journal impact of $15.2 million to the choice and advocated treating region each and every year.

Theprivately conducted masturbation as a form of NEW BERN — White River Macurrent average wage in Durham rine Group, LLC, a leading mansexual against women. Typically, Countyviolence is $75,892. ufacturer of recreational boats, academic journal editors send submitted CARsgen Therapeutics’ project papers to referees review. In will open a manufacturing faciliin Northout Carolina will befor facilitated, ty in Craven County, with a target recommending for publication, in part, by a Job acceptance Development of 500 jobs, Governor Roy Cooper many reviewers gave these papers glowing Investment Grant (JDIG). Over announced last week. The company praise. the course of the 12-year term of will make a significant investment Political scientist Zach Goldberg ran this grant, the project is estimated in New Bern, creating its first coastcertain grievance studies concepts through to grow the state’s economy by al manufacturing site and addthe Lexis/Nexis database, to see how often $1.04 billion. ing Hatteras to its portfolio of wellthey appeared in our press over the years.

He found huge increases in the usages of “white privilege,” “unconscious bias,” “critical race theory” and “whiteness.”

All of this is being taught to college students, many of whom become primary

north STA

last year estimated that on average, 39% of “proof-of-work” crypto mincan be made anonymously, mak- more than 7% at around $40,310 ing was powered by renewable enerJason ing the currency popular with liber- per coin. Most cryptocurrencies lost gy, primarily hydroelectric energy.

STACEY MATTHEWS There had been some concern tarians as well as tech enthusiasts, between 7% and 22% of their value and shares of Coinbase dropped among Bitcoin investors that Tesla speculators — and criminals. would sell some or all of its Bitcoin Bitcoins have to be stored in a 5.4%.

COLUMN | REP. RICHARD HUDSON It’s not unusual for the val- holdings, but Musk indicated in a digital wallet, either online through an exchange like Coinbase, or of- ue of Bitcoin to change by thou- tweet Wednesday that Tesla was fline on a hard drive using special- sands of dollars in a short time pe- sticking with its investment. ized software. According to Coin- riod, though swings totaling around base, there are about 18.7 million $20,000 in one day are extreme. On But some companies are using Bitcoin?

Bitcoins in circulation and only 21 the last trading day of 2020, Bitcoin million will ever exist. The reason closed just under $30,000. In midThe digital payment company for that is unclear, and where all the April, it flirted with $65,000. “THIS IS THE DAYinto the lord has made, let usthe r WITHare MOST STATES place. understand Square fallen and its CEO JackI Dorsey Bitcoins is anyone’s guess.under either shelter-in-place or stay-at-home in it” (Psalm 118:24). orders thanks to local or state governments, a majority of Americans to take precautions, but I’m unea — also the CEO of Twitter — have Doesn’t Elon Musk this challenging time of soc are having to adjust to what called thehere? “new normal.”I know that questions aboutofthe data, and wh been during big proponents Bitcoin. have a role What happened to the price?is being working from home or losing a job, it diffi Overstock.com alsotreated accepts BitSome of these orders extend at least through the end of this month. normal are inmay somebecircle beMusk glad” ascoin, the Bible us to do.

However, as aasC and They’re intells February, BNY Meland a fairly big one.

Last Wednesday, a statement Virginia’s stay-at-home orders go intoYes, June. treated as though we lon,Easter thequestion oldest bank inhas the U.S., said me oftel in February that his posted Chinese Banking As- announced and dad, the holiday reminded j Hereon inthe North Carolina, Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper stated during what the government itthankful would include digital currencies had insociation’s website said financial in- electric car company Teslahave to be and of hopeful for, even in the m astitutions recent coronavirus press briefing that “we just don’t know yet” if the process returning back to norm $1.5 and billion in Bitcoin.

In in the services it provides to clients. should “resolutely refrain” vested Lenten pandemic. state’s stay-at-home orders into May. No. The government works for said it would start March, Tesla began accepting Bit- And Mastercard from providing services using will digi-extend For me, my faith is an important part my da Easter seasons If he does decide to extend it, questions should be asked as to the questions.

And the longer tal currencies because of their vola- coin as payment. Those actions con- supporting “select crypto curren-ofstay-atmaking.

As I celebrated Easter my family, justification for it. And the answerstributed should not vaguein ones like “we and thewith stricter some ofI provide aberun-up cies” oncountry, its network. to the Bitcoin’s tility.

Corinthians 1:4, the which our Lord “comf Bitcoin hasreminds become popular price, and Musk the Virtually must do thisevery out ofcryptocurrency an abundance of caution.” more people,us sitting at home message of also promoted affliction, so thatwhen we becan able toback comfort those thatmay more than 300,000 digital currency Dogecoin, whichwhoenough fellItafter industry group’s statewill the need to be explained in detail to the people of this state they get to provid hope that we will typically occurwe inourselves an also ment. affliction, transactions with the comfort which ar are being told to remain jobless and at spiked home in forvalue. an undetermined answers. once again enjoy However, Musk reversedGod.” course As of 4:15 p.m. eastern time amount of time why models predicting hundreds of thousands of cases Leaders at the local and state le a short time, sayingIf last Wednesday, Bitcoin was down in just Seecelebrating BITCOIN, page B6 sporting events, you are the Easter season, I urge

VISUAL VOICES

It’s okay to ask questions about when The we begin to get back to comfort normal and hope

are reliable. can be with those answers — and reflect and be comforted, that concerts, family To date, I’ve gone along with what the state has asked and thenon this message with details that give theirso statem God’sabout example andWe comfort in need arou mandated that we do, but along the way I’ve also had questions shouldallallthose continue to do w gatherings, this difficult time.

Through faith and by helping o the data. State Republican leaders have, too. ourselves, and our communities s church services confident we emerge out of this pandemic strb tionwill forto saltwater fishing.

Unfortunately, when certain types ofand questions get asked, there is ask questions about the data, many more Plans call for a major investment this same spirit, I continue to be inspired the by sometimes a disturbing tendency among some people to treatInthose measures are understandable, after our own to modernize the Hatteras facilihelping neighbors. simply questioning the data and asking when we can start neighbors getting back This is all new to Americans, a ty and establish a state-of-the-art temporary In Concord, a shape, high school senior named Tanne to normal as though they are conspiracy theorists or are people who coastal or form.

So while we shoul manufacturing center gena 3-D printer plastic to make fa sacrifices are sick. money to buy otherwise don’t care if they get themselves or others the same time shouldn’t get co erating hundreds of and newwe jobs.

Conhealth caresistent workers of his home.

Since when did questioning government a bad normal.” over. at all levels become without Bass Pro’sown reputation for turning outdoor thing? That is what free citizens living in a free society were supposed Notshopping one littleforbit. gear into an experiential adventure, known brands. to do, last I checked. the plant will offer customers “Boat and marineasmanufacturMy first concern we go along in all this, of course, is my family. I’m Stacey Matthews hasdemo also written rides on the Atlantic Ocean and oping requires specialized and expe- “We love the passion worried about them catching the virus, and I’m worried I will.

After and is a regular contributor to Re portunities to tour the factory. It rienced workers, and White River for fishing and commitment suffering from the H1N1 virus (swine flu) during the 2009 pandemic, will also serve as an R&D center for Marine knows our state can deliver to craftsmanship I’ve been trying to take extra precautions, because all found of this in brings up sea-trialing and product developthe people they need to successfully way tootheir many memories ofBern,” a painful experience ment across all three brands. expand business in New New Bern.” I’d prefer not to repeat. said Governor Cooper.

But what also makes me lose sleep is how easily most everyone has “With Hatteras’ rich heritage of

Major boat builder acquires iconic Hatteras brand, set to expand in NC

White River Marine Group (WRMG), an affiliate of Missouri-based Bass Pro Shops, is the world’s largest manufacturer of boats. Founded by noted angler and conservationist Johnny Morris, WRMG builds legendary performance boat brands like TRACKER, the No. 1 fishing boat in America for the past 45 years and ASCEND, the world’s best-selling kayaks. Other leading brands include MAKO, Ranger, Nitro, Triton, Tahoe and more.

The expansion will shift the fo-

Johnny Morris, founder of Bass Pro Shops and White River Marine cus of the company’s saltwater manufacturing from the Midwest to the sea, closer to the saltwater market and a thriving community of craftsmen and women. The company will continue to support and grow Hatteras, as well as relocate production of iconic saltwater boat brands MAKO and Ranger Saltwater to New Bern, which is a premier loca-

craftsmanship and access to some of the world’s best offshore angling, our aim is to help solidify New Bern as the world’s capital for saltwater gamefish and boat building,” said noted conservationist and avid angler Johnny Morris, who founded and grew both Bass Pro Shops and White River Marine Group to become North America’s premier outdoor and conservation company. “We love the passion for fishing and commitment to craftsmanship See BOATS, page B7

North State Journal for Wednesday, May 26, 2021

B6

ncdot CASH REPORT For the week ending 5/21 Total Cash & Bond Proceeds:

$2,439,809,460 Add Receipts:

$70,972,522 Less Disbursements:

$82,823,985 Reserved Cash:

$628,041,135 WILFREDO LEE

Unreserved Cash Balance Total:

$5,114,720,962

BITCOIN from page B5 average day, according to Bitcoin wallet site blockchain.info. Still, its popularity is low compared with cash and credit cards.

There is skepticism around Bitcoin?

Yes, plenty of it. Tracking Bitcoin’s price is obviously easier than trying to figure out its value, which is why so many institutions, experts and traders are skeptical about it and cryptocurrency in general.

Digital currencies were seen as replacements for paper money, but that hasn’t happened so far. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has said the central bank prefers to call crypto coins “crypto assets,” because their volatility undermines their ability to store value, a basic function of a currency.

While some banks and financial services companies are getting in on it, others are staying away.

Could a digital currency selloff cause widespread damage?

Regulators aren’t very worried about a possible crash in digital currencies dragging down the rest of the financial system or economy.

Even with the recent sell-off, digital currencies have a market value of about $1.72 trillion, according to the website coinmarketcap.com.

But that pales compared with the $46.9 trillion stock market, $41.3 trillion residential real estate market and nearly $21 trillion Treasury market at the start of the year.

The European Central Bank said Wednesday that the risk of cryptocurrencies affecting the financial system’s stability looks “limited at present.” In large part, that’s because they’re still not widely used for payments and institutions under its purview still have little exposure to crypto-linked instruments.

Earlier this month, the Federal Reserve said a survey of market contacts found roughly one in five cited cryptocurrencies as a potential shock to the system over the next 12 to 18 months. That’s a turnaround from the fall, when a similar survey found none mentioning cryptocurrencies.

A home is shown for sale, Thursday, March 18, 2021, in Surfside, Fla.

In a chaotic market demand and prices for homes in US soar

By Christopher Rugaber The Associated Press WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. housing market has gotten so out of whack, with demand far outpacing supply, that prices have risen to record levels and roughly half of all U.S. houses are selling for above their list price.

Data from real estate brokerage Redfin shows that two years ago, before the pandemic, just a quarter of homes were selling above the seller’s asking price. The current level is the highest in the decade that Redfin has tracked the data.

On Tuesday, new data further illuminated the red-hot nature of the housing market: Prices rose in March at the fastest pace in more than seven years. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city home price index jumped 13.3% that month compared with a year earlier, the biggest gain since December 2013. That followed a 12% jump in February.

Several factors are driving the seemingly relentless rise in home prices. The pandemic has encouraged more people to seek out the additional space provided by a sin-

gle-family home. Yet at the same time, COVID-19 has discouraged many homeowners from selling and opening up their homes to would-be buyers. That’s dramatically lowered the number of homes for sale.

And mortgage rates remain at historically low levels, with the average rate on a 30-year mortgage rising slightly last week to 3%. A year ago, the average was nearly 3.25%.

Investors, including individuals buying second houses and wealthy Wall Street firms, are also buying more homes, creating even more competition. They bought 17% of homes in April, up from 10% a year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors.

The large millennial generation is also increasingly turning toward home-buying.

Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin, said that demand was outstripping supply even before the pandemic as developers struggled to build enough new homes. Builders now say that shortages of workers and lumber are limiting their ability to build.

New home construction, with

supplies and labor in short supply, fell in April after reaching a 15year high a month earlier.

“All told, there is little, if any, indication that home prices will slow their appreciation anytime soon,” said Matthew Speakman, an economist at real estate website Zillow.

The number of homes for sale fell 21% in April compared with a year earlier, to just 1.16 million, near a record low on records dating back to 1982, according to the National Association of Realtors.

That has pushed buyers into a near-frenzy. Properties were on the market for just 17 days in April, and 88% of homes sold were on the market for less than a month, the NAR said.

The ensuing bidding wars raised the price of the typical, or median, house to $341,600 last month, the NAR said, a record high.

Glenn Kelman, CEO of Redfin, said Tuesday on Twitter that a desperate home buyer in Bethesda, Maryland, offered — perhaps partly tongue-in-cheek — to name her first-born child after the seller.

She still lost out to another buyer.

Kelman also noted that there are now more realtors than there

are homes listed for sale. According to the Labor Department, 1.7 million Americans were working in real estate in April.

Some of the year-over-year price gain likely reflects slower sales and reduced demand a year ago at the onset of the pandemic. All 20 cities in the Case-Shiller index reported faster price increases in March than in February.

The largest increase was in Phoenix for the 22nd straight month, where prices rose 20% compared with a year ago. San Diego saw the next largest gain, at 19.1%, followed by Seattle, with 18.3%.

Fairweather, the chief economist at Redfin, said the housing market may cool off in the coming months. With vaccinations spreading and COVID-19 waning, more sellers may be willing to list their homes.

Fairweather also noted many Americans are likely to start spending more money on services, such as vacations, dining out, and other entertainment, and focus less on new homes.

The number of people signing contracts to buy homes dropped in May, and fewer people are applying for mortgages.

“At a certain point, buyers just back off and you get more stable price growth,” Fairweather said. “I think this is the peak, but it’s going to be hot for a long time. It’s more like a plateau.”

How much oversight is there?

Washington officials have been talking about regulating digital currencies more, and worries about a heavier hand have played a role in the recent swoon in prices.

Gary Gensler, who took over as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission last month, has said that cryptocurrency markets would benefit from more oversight to protect investors.

In a hearing before the House’s financial services committee earlier this month, Gensler said neither the SEC nor the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which he used to head, has a “regulatory framework” for trading on cryptocurrency exchanges yet. He said he thought Congress would ultimately have to address it because “there’s really not protection against fraud or manipulation.”

How Bitcoin came to be It’s a mystery. Bitcoin was launched in 2009 by a person or group of people operating under the name Satoshi Nakamoto. Bitcoin was then adopted by a small clutch of enthusiasts. Nakamoto dropped off the map as bitcoin began to attract widespread attention. But proponents say that doesn’t matter: The currency obeys its own internal logic.

MARK LENNIHAN | AP PHOTO

A customer walks out of a Zara store, Thursday, March 25, 2021, in New York.

Consumer confidence ticks down in May, but remains strong

By Matt Ott The Associated Press SILVER SPRING, Md. — Consumer confidence ticked down slightly in May but remains nearly as high as its been since the pandemic began.

The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell to 117.2 from April’s 117.5 reading, the highest level since February of 2020, just before the pandemic began.

The present situation index, based on consumers assessment of current business and labor market conditions, rose to 144.3 from 131.9. Although the percentage of consumers surveyed claiming that business conditions are “good” fell slightly from 19.4% to 18.7%, those claiming conditions

are “bad” declined more, from 24.5% in April to 21.8% in May. Consumers’ assessment of the labor market also improved as the percentage of consumers saying jobs are “plentiful” climbed from 36.3% to 46.8%. Those saying that jobs are hard to get fell to 12.2% from 14.7%. Unemployment claims have fallen to pandemic lows each week for the past the month.

The Conference Board’s expectations index, based on consumers’ short-term views for income, business and the job market, fell to 99.1 in May, from 107.9 in April.

Consumers’ expectations for the future may be less bright because the tailwind from Americans spending their $1,400 stimulus checks could be fading. Earlier this month, the Commerce De-

10% estimated annual GDP rate for 2021 Q2 partment reported that retail sales in the U.S. flattened out in April after soaring in March, when many Americans received those government checks and boosted their spending.

Economists have said that rising confidence should bolster overall economic growth as consumers, who account for 70% of economic activity, spend more as lockdown restrictions are eased

or abandoned altogether in many places.

Recent government data shows that the nation’s gross domestic product — its total output of goods and services — is expected to continue to rise. Following a 4.3% gain in the fourth quarter of 2020, the government’s first estimate of the January-March quarter came in at a brisk 6.4% annual rate. Some economists expect even bigger growth in the current April-June quarter — an annual pace of 10% or more — driven by a surge in people traveling, shopping, dining out and resuming their pre-pandemic spending habits.

That optimism is on full display in U.S. markets with five of the six top gainers on the S&P 500 carrying the tickers of airlines or cruise companies.

Shares in United Airlines rose more than 5% Tuesday after the airline said ticketed yields from casual travelers are near pre-pandemic levels. Shares in Delta Air Lines jumped 2% after the company said bookings have been better than expected.

North State Journal for Wednesday, May 26, 2021

B7

Judge digs into Apple app store policies as Epic trial ends

By Michael Liedtke The Associated Press SAN RAMON, Calif. — The judge who will decide a case challenging Apple’s stranglehold on its iPhone app store indicated on Monday she would like to promote more competition but without dismantling a commission system that reaps billions of dollars for the technology powerhouse.

U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers isn’t likely to issue a decision until this summer. But she opened a window into her thoughts during a three-hour session with lawyers for Apple and its adversary, Cary-based Epic Games, during the final day of a three-week trial in Oakland, California.

Gonzalez Rogers’ line of questioning suggested she sides with much of the defense that Apple has mounted to justify the 15% to 30% commissions it collects for in-app transactions on the iPhone to help pay for the technology powering its devices.

Epic Games, the maker of the popular videogame Fortnite, has been trying to prove the fees are the price-gouging tool of a monopoly hatched within the “walled garden” Apple has built around the iPhone, the app store, its software and other devices such as the iPad and iPod. To loosen Apple’s tight-fisted control, Epic wants Gonzalez Rogers to issue an order that would require Apple to open the iPhone and its other mobile products to rival app stores. Those alternatives would include Epic’s still-unprofitable app store, which charges a commission of just 12%.

Apple’s app store, in contrast,

has become far more profitable than its late co-founder, Steve Jobs, ever envisioned when he opened it 13 years ago. Precisely how profitable wasn’t revealed in the trial, although an Apple executive conceded the company had brought in at least $20 billion as of June 2017.

Gonzalez Rogers doesn’t seem to believe the fees are unreasonable, let alone illegal. That’s in part because because Apple’s commissions mirror those charged on in-app commissions by the app store feeding about 3 billion devices powered by Google’s Android software, as well as those imposed by major video game consoles — Sony’s PlayStation, Microsoft ‘s Xbox and Nintendo’s Switch.

The judge also seemed to support Apple’s right to maintain a rigidly controlled ecosystem of products that has won over consumers around the world, including many who pay more than $1,000 to buy an iPhone.

“Your formulation seems to ignore the reality that customers choose an ecosystem,” Gonzalez Rogers told Epic lawyer Gary Bornstein. “It is Apple’s business strategy to create a particular type of ecosystem that is incredibly attractive to purchasers, to its consumers. So if those consumers choose to enter into an ecosystem … that’s what you know you’re buying into.”

Bornstein countered that most consumers don’t understand the extent they will be locked into Apple’s ecosystem and often pay scant attention to the costs of in-app purchases that are tiny compared to the price of an iPhone.

That still didn’t seem to convince Gonzalez Rogers that Apple is running on monopoly, but oth-

NC jobless rate now 5%; 7th consecutive monthly decline

KATHY WILLENS | AP PHOTO

In this Saturday, March 14, 2020, file photo, an Apple logo adorns the facade of the downtown Brooklyn Apple store in New York. er statements made it clear she still might find the company is engaging in anticompetitive behavior.

During some points in the trial, she has seemed trouble by a provision in Apple stores that forbids in-app notices that purchases can also be made through web browsers and other means that evade Apple’s commissions.

Apple contends allowing in-app links to other payment options besides its own would expose iPhones and other mobile devices to security and privacy threats. When facing some tough questioning from Gonzalez Rogers during his fourhour appearance on the witness stand Friday, Apple CEO Tim Cook also conceded that allowing links within apps to other payment options would undercut the company’s profits.

The judge revisited the issue during Monday’s session. At one point, she wondered aloud whether Apple could just allow apps to insert a notice reminding consumers that payments can made in web browsers, without posting a direct link to the checkout stand.

That sort of notice, she mused, wouldn’t be much different than a merchant’s display of the different credit cards — Visa, Mastercard,

America Express or Discover — that has long been a staple at cash registers.

During the course of their closing arguments, the lawyers for Epic and Apple each made dramatic pitches in an attempt to get Gonzalez Rogers to see things their respective ways.

Bornstein repeatedly asserted that Apple is trying to paint itself as a “benevolent overlord” acting in the best interests of consumers and the developers of the 1.8 million apps now in the store, up from just 500 in 2008. “But it’s not enough to say, ‘We’re a great company, we’re doing well, and we’re a nice guy,’” Bornstein argued.

Apple lawyer Richard Doren reminded the judge that opening the iPhone to other app stores would weaken a security system that protects consumers and developers alike. Epic “wants Apple to drop its gloves, stand in the middle of the arena and take malware attacks through unreviewed apps,” Doren argued.

Gonzalez Rogers said last week that she hoped to issue her decision

by Aug. 13. But on Monday warned she may need even more time to review thousands of pages of information submitted during the case.

NOAH BURGER | AP PHOTO

Legal workers carry documents for the Epic Games vs. Apple federal court case into the Ronald V. Dellums building in Oakland, Calif.

Saved by online lenders, businesses say they’ll borrow again The Associated Press NEW YORK — Some small businesses forced to turn to online lenders for pandemic relief are making those niche players a bigger part of their financial game plan, and are even considering dumping their traditional banks altogether.

Loans from online lenders saved thousands of small business owners who were unable to get COVID-19 relief loans from big traditional lenders. Now, encouraged by getting applications processed within days rather than weeks, these owners are becoming repeat customers.

Patrick Carver was loyal to his big national bank but became disillusioned after applying for a Paycheck Protection Program loan, not getting a response for over a month and then having his application denied. At the suggestion of a friend, Carver tried an online lender — his application was approved in four days and he had the money within a week. If he needs another loan, he’ll start with the internet.

“Anything related to my business that requires swift action, I’ll likely go with one of these companies that’s built for speed,” says Carver, owner of Atlanta-based Constellation Marketing.

The recently ended Paycheck

Protection Program gave out more than 11 million loans worth over $788 billion. Banks were overwhelmed by more applications than they were used to handling, and many larger applicants got their loans processed ahead of smaller businesses.

Some small companies with established banking relationships were rejected because they didn’t have the right mix of accounts.

Others never heard back or were turned down without explanation. Many desperate for cash then turned to small banks or online lenders whose target customers are small businesses.

Online and other state-regulated lenders handled nearly 251,000 PPP loans totaling more than $6 billion in 2020, according to the Small Business Administration, which approved the loans. In the 2021 round of lending, which ended May 4, those companies made more than 1 million loans totaling nearly $21 billion. Those dollar amounts accounted for only about 1% of the program’s money, but it was cash many businesses couldn’t get elsewhere.

Speed can be the difference maker for an owner in need of a loan. A traditional bank loan can take weeks between the application and the money arriving. Online lenders don’t have to comply with federal government regula-

tions as banks do, so they can turn applications around faster, sometimes within hours.

A 2018 study by the Federal Reserve and the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland found owners want the relationship a traditional bank can offer — but they like the efficiency offered by online lenders. But there’s a downside to the ease and speed online lenders offer: cost.

Some online loans carry interest rates that top the 20% business credit cards can carry. Traditional business loans are likely to have rates under 10%. (This wasn’t an issue with the PPP: Congress set the rate for all loans through the program at 1%.)

Paying a higher interest rate can make sense, Carver says.

“Money is important, but time is also a big part,” he says.

There are varying estimates of the size of the online lending market for businesses, but it’s well into the dozens of billions of dollars and is expected to grow by double-digit percentages in the next few years. Investors and the financial services industry recognize the potential value of online lenders; PayPal, which went public in 2015, has nearly doubled in price since before the PPP began, compared to a 20% gain in the S&P 500 index over the same time frame. Last year, American Ex-

press bought Kabbage, which offers banking services in addition to loans.

The PPP raised the profile of online lenders like PayPal and Square, says Karen Mills, who headed the SBA during the Obama administration and now is a research fellow at Harvard University. These companies based their lending on information in their own databases, payment histories being one example.

“They were deeply committed to the success and future of the small business segment, so they leaned in,” Mills says.

When some small business clients of Kruze Consulting ran into roadblocks at their banks, the accounting firm recommended they try online lenders. All those clients got their loans and had good service.

“They would use those online services again,” says Healy Jones, a vice president at the firm that has offices in California, New York and Texas.

The PPP was a teachable moment for the accountants as they saw widely varying performances from all the lenders.

“We are really seeing it as a weighing mechanism to see which banks had the customer service and organizational chops to help clients during the crisis,” Jones says.

Raleigh North Carolina’s unemployment rate has reached another COVID-19 post-lockdown low, even as overall job growth is somewhat uneven. April’s seasonally adjusted state jobless rate of 5% marks a decline for a seventh consecutive month, according to the state Commerce Department. It compares to the top pandemic rate of 13.5% recorded in both April 2020 and May 2020.

While the number of employed people grew by 4,500 between March and April to about 4.76 million, overall non-farm employment actually dropped by 5,800. And with the number of unemployed also falling by 8,100, it appears some displaced workers are no longer actively seeking work. Last Friday’s jobless figures came the same day that Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper issued an executive order reinstating the requirement that, as of June 6, all unemployment benefit recipients meet work-search rules set in state law to receive payments. Those requirements had been suspended during the pandemic. Republicans in the state Senate unveiled a legislative proposal last week that would give benefit recipients bonuses of $1,500 or $750 if they return to work soon. GOP lawmakers say they’ve heard from employers desperately seeking employees to fill vacancies.

Vaccine sites in 4 NC counties to offer cash incentives Raleigh Interested in a little extra spending money for the upcoming holiday weekend?

Health officials in four North Carolina counties will offer $25 incentives for those who’ve yet to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

The state Department of Health and Human Services announced a pilot program starting Wednesday at certain vaccine sites in Mecklenburg, Guilford, Rowan and Rockingham counties. Adults who get their first vaccination dose at the sites or drive someone for that first-dose appointment will receive $25 cash cards, DHHS said in a new release. The “Summer Cash Cards” will be available through June 8 while supplies last. The incentive is another effort by DHHS to boost vaccination rates entering the summer. The North Carolina Zoo offered last week a free ticket for those that received their first vaccination at a clinic on the zoo property. A similar offer will occur June 1012. More than 52% of the adult population in North Carolina had received at least one dose as of late last week, according to DHHS data.

BOATS from page B5 found in New Bern. We’re very grateful to Governor Cooper and his team, as well as local officials and leaders including Craven County Manager Jack Veit and Craven County Board of Commissioners Chairperson Jason Jones for their genuine welcoming spirit and their leadership in supporting our vision to invest in this incredible angling community.”

“The marine trades are an important part of North Carolina’s heritage,” said North Carolina Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders. “It’s great to see a company with the leadership and reputation of White River Marine choose our state for this important expansion of their company.”

The regional economy will benefit from a more than $22 million payroll impact each and every year. White River Marine’s JDIG agreement could also move as much as $604,600 into a fund that helps rural communities across the state attract business in the future.

“Great economic development announcements don’t happen by themselves,” said N.C. Senator Norman Sanderson (R-Craven).

“I’m proud of the many community partners that worked tirelessly behind the scenes to help us reach this achievement. All of us will continue to support the company as they put down roots and grow here.”

B8

North State Journal for Wednesday, May 26, 2021

2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E

PHOTOS COURTESY OF FORD

The first Mustang I’ve ever coveted And the first EV I’m ready to buy

thanks to the aggressively sloping rear glass, so keep that in mind if you’re switching over from an enormous SUV. But the real triumph is the powBy Jordan Golson ertrain — especially the sound.

North State Journal Sure, the electric motor doesn’t do SAN DIEGO —I’ve never been much other than whirr, but Ford’s a particular fan of the Ford Mus- sound team has created an othtang. This isn’t to say that I don’t erworldly purr that wouldn’t be understand why some folks love out of place on a spaceship — but the Mustang — I just haven’t been somehow fits perfectly into the Mach-E. It’s so natural one of them (until now). that passengers don’t I know this is sacrithink anything of it, lege for any red-bloodeven though it’s entireed American male, but ly artificial. hear me out. The old The easiest The audio system Mustang, I like. The electric car for actually measures re60’s-era Bullitt Mus- first-time EV al-time torque, powtang? Those are great. er output, and current But I never understood buyers. speed to figure out how the appeal of the ‘80s, much noise to make, ‘90s and ‘00s-era pony and it’s uncanny. Sure it’s fake, but cars.

This extends to the Mustang’s you don’t care because it sounds competition, too, like the Chevro- so cool. And it can be turned off if let Camaro and Dodge Challeng- you’re boring.

Put your foot down, and the er, so I’m not singling out the Mustang here. I think muscle cars are Mach-E sets off with gusto. Tesgenerally impractical, uncomfort- la owners may scoff at the car’s able, difficult to see out of and of- 4.8-second 0-60 time (it is a bit ten driven by people with more slower than a Model 3), but that’s hardly a slouch. And the Mach-E bravery than skill.

But now, there’s a new Mus- GT coming later this year should tang that soundly smashes all of get that time down to a superthose stereotypes and opens up the car-quick 3.5 seconds.

The Mach-E is nimble and playpony car to an entirely new world thanks to two significant changes. ful and a delight to drive, especialFirst, it has four doors which is ly in those all-important red-lightenough for any Mustang purist to to-red-light sprints. I love cars that wail and gnash their teeth. Sec- have personality and presence, ond, it’s electric. If you believe the and the Mach-E is only too happy commentariat on social media, to deliver. Put your foot into it in a this is the automotive equivalent corner, and it’ll even do a little conof that asteroid that killed the di- trolled drift. It’s glorious.

Ford has gone out of its way to nosaurs.

But they’re missing out because make this the easiest electric car this is the best electric car on the for first-time EV buyers, which I market and the first one that I’m suspect will make up a large chunk of Mach-E purchasers. really considering for myself.

Ford has put a considerable Starting on the outside, the Mustang Mach-E is a four-door amount of effort into ensuring that fastback, which is like a fancy its range meter will be accurate. hatchback. It’s roomy and sleek It considers your personal driving and is as far from a boring electric style, altitude changes along your car as you can get. Big Mustang route, traffic and even the weathemblems on the front and back, er. And it’ll soon be cloud-connectand the signature Mustang triple ed, allowing tens of thousands of Mach-E owners to help each other taillight complete the look.

Inside, it’s clear that Ford’s de- get better range estimates as well.

The company is working hard signers are subscribing to the Tesla school of minimalist de- to make on-the-go charging easy, sign. There’s an enormous 15- too. Mach-E owners can pull up to inch screen dominating the center Electrify America, ChargePoint, of the dash, with an almost-pe- EVGo and some other network tite-in-comparison secondary in- chargers and set up and pay for the strument cluster above the steer- charging session without needing to establish an account with each ing wheel.

The seats are comfortable, network. It even supports plugand there’s storage everywhere. and-charge with Electrify AmerThanks to the nature of electric ica stations, where you don’t need cars, the floors are flat, and leg- to do anything but plug in to start room in the rear is exceptional for charging. It’s even easier than buya vehicle of this size. And the enor- ing gas.

I don’t know if the Mustang mous glass sunroof floods the interior with light and a feeling of Mach-E will be the car that realspaciousness. The glass roof is an ly gets non-early adopters excitautomotive trend I am 100% in fa- ed about electric vehicles — that may be reserved for the upcomvor of.

Pop open the tailgate, and you ing Ford F-150 Lightning. But this have tons of cargo space, and fold- is the first EV I’ve reviewed that I ing the seats down can handle was really reluctant to give back.

I can’t think of a more signifeven the most enthusiastic Costco run. You’ll be limited in mov- icant endorsement — finally, a ing substantial bits of furniture Mustang for me.

North State Journal for Wednesday, May 26, 2021

features

B9

Bad reputation: British Museum takes new look at Rome’s Nero The Associated Press

KATHY WILLENS | AP PHOTO

A stairway leads to one of the highest points of Little Island, a new Hudson River Park, on Tuesday, May 18, 2021, in New York.

Whimsical new NYC waterfront park floats over Hudson River The Associated Press

“We are pleased the project helped get Hudson River Park finished,” developer Douglas Durst, through a spokesperson

NEW YORK — A whimsical new park that appears to float on pilings above the Hudson River opened to the public just off the Manhattan shoreline Friday, four years after a fight between media mogul Barry Diller and a billionaire real estate developer threatened to derail it.

The new park, called Little Island but nicknamed Diller Island while under construction, was built with $260 million from the foundation of Diller, the former 20th Century Fox CEO, and his wife, fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg.

It joins a string of piers along Manhattan’s west side that have been redeveloped for recreational use over the last 20 years, but its unusual design sets it apart.

Little Island’s flowers, trees and performance spaces rest on 132 concrete pots that the park’s creators call tulip pots. The pots are set on pilings of different heights, so that paths wind through the 2.4-acre (1-hectare) park at a gentle, rolling grade.

The park is reachable by two bridges.

The design is from Thomas Heatherwick, who also created the Hudson Yards climbing structure known as the Vessel, some 20 blocks north of Little Island.

Diller, also a major donor to the nearby High Line, has spoken of Little Island as an enchanted forest or a visit to Oz. “All of it is an oasis of everything fun, whimsical, playful that we can conjure,” he says in a video on the park’s website.

Plans for the project, part of the state-run Hudson River Park, were announced in 2014, but several lawsuits were filed arguing that the park had been planned without public input and could threaten marine wildlife. Real estate developer Douglas Durst, who had been pushed out of his position as chair of the fundraising group Friends of Hudson River Park a few years before, was revealed to have bankrolled the lawsuits filed by the nonprofit City Club of New York.

Facing rising costs because of the litigation, Diller announced in September 2017 that he was pulling the plug. He agreed to revive the project the next month after Gov. Andrew Cuomo brokered a deal.

“We are pleased the project helped get Hudson River Park finished,” Durst, the one-time lawsuit bankroller, said through a spokesperson Wednesday.

The spokesperson said the reason Durst had supported the litigation was because the project hadn’t gone through the required regulatory process.

Little Island will be open from 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. every day, but there will be timed entry noon to 8 p.m. at least through September, executive director Trish Santini said.

Entertainment including musical performances, theater and dance will start in mid-June, she said.

Producer Scott Rudin, who stepped down from the Broadway League last month over allegations of abusive behavior, was part of the team planning the performances spaces but “doesn’t have a formal ongoing relationship with the project,” Santini said.

There will be a mix of free and ticketed performances at the park’s a 687-seat amphitheater. A smaller stage in an area called the Glade will host additional performances.

New Yorkers and visitors who walk on the High Line or bike along the waterfront have watched as Little Island was assembled, piece by piece.

The concrete tulips that support the park were fabricated and pieced together in upstate New York and floated down the Hudson by barge, four at a time, Santini said.

Planting started after the massive tulips, which some liken to mushrooms, were in place at the end of 2019. The park’s landscaping was designed by Signe Nielsen of Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects to evoke a leaf floating on water. It features 35 species of trees, 65 species of shrubs and 290 types of grasses, vines and perennials.

Little Island’s human-made hills provide views of the Hudson on one side and city on the other, but the park’s carefully constructed topography makes it feel like its own little world.

“I think it’s going to represent for New York a place to come to rest and restore but also ignite their imaginations and remind us all that we’re creative,” Santini said. “My hope is that people come back time and time again because they realize every time they come there’s always something new and fun to do.”

LONDON — The British Museum’s new exhibition on the Roman Emperor Nero opens with a piece of fake news from the ancient world.

Visitors are greeted with an image of Peter Ustinov as Nero in the movie “Quo Vadis” strumming a lyre — a famous image of the cruel tyrant who notoriously fiddled while Rome burned.

But, the exhibition says, that tale is a myth. As such, it’s a fitting introduction to an emperor whose story was largely written by enemies after his death, creating what curator Francesca Bologna calls “the Nero we love to hate.”

“Our goal here is to show that this, however popular, image is actually based on very, very biased accounts and therefore we should challenge it,” she said during a preview of the exhibition Monday.

“The Nero story is about how we should approach information, how we should always approach our sources critically. This is relevant for Nero, it’s relevant for historians, archaeologists, it is relevant for everyday people living their everyday lives.”

“Nero: The Man Behind the Myth” opens to the public on Thursday, six months later than originally planned as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The show, which runs until Oct. 24, arrives the week after U.K. lockdown restrictions were lifted and London’s museums were allowed to reopen at limited capacity.

The exhibition draws on the British Museum’s vast trove of Roman artifacts, as well as items from collections in Italy, France, Germany and other countries, loaned despite pandemic-related restrictions.

“Everyone throughout Europe and the U.K. came to our rescue,” Bologna said. “They were really understanding. They helped us throughout the process. Even colleagues that were in lockdown themselves and working from home, they were incredible.”

Through more than 200 artifacts including statues, helmets, weapons, jewelry and ancient graffiti, it depicts a young ruler with rock-solid imperial lineage; Nero was the great-great-grandson of Rome’s first emperor, Augustus. In A.D. 54, at the age of 16, he became emperor of a Rome that was unrivalled in power but beset by problems, including war with the Iran-based Parthian empire in the east and an uprising led

MATT DUNHAM | AP PHOTO

A museum employee poses for photographers next to a bronze head of Roman emperor Nero at the British Museum in London, Monday, May 24, 2021.

by Celtic queen Boudica in newly conquered Britain to the west.

One vivid section deals with the harsh reality of life in Roman Britain: there are lead ingots mined in Wales, along with thick chains that bound slaves who did the hard work. There’s also a bronze head of Nero, found in an English river after his statue was toppled during the uprising, and a family’s hoard of coins and jewelry, hidden for safekeeping during the violence and discovered in 2014 under the floor of a store in the east England town of Colchester.

Evidence suggests Nero was popular during his reign. He oversaw grand public projects, strengthening links between the city and its harbor to secure the food supply, building a public market and a spectacular set of public baths. He sponsored lavish public entertainments with gladiators, lion-wrestling and chariot races. He even competed in the races at Rome’s Circus Maximus, and was the first emperor to perform onstage.

The youthful emperor was also a style leader, popularizing a boyband-style haircut that the exhibition calls “dashing yet refined.”

He didn’t start the fire that leveled parts of Rome in A.D. 64, and neither did he fiddle as it burned.

He wasn’t even there at the time.

Afterwards, Nero rebuilt the city, brought in tougher building codes -- and also built himself a lavish palace, the Domus Aurea, or Golden House. Little of it remains, but the exhibition gives a taste of its opulence.

Beset by conspirators, Nero killed himself at the age of 30.

His death sparked a period of civil war and then a new ruling dynasty. Like politicians down the ages, the new rulers blamed Rome’s problems on their predecessor.

Almost 2,000 years later, Nero remains a metaphor for bad government. As classicist Mary Beard wrote recently in the Daily Telegraph, “there is hardly a political cartoonist who doesn’t occasionally dress up a modern leader with a toga, laurel wreath and lyre, against the background of smoking ruins, to make the point that he is not taking some contemporary crisis seriously.”

Nero’s rule was undeniably brutal: He had his mother killed, along with one and possibly two of his wives. But was he more violent than other Roman rulers?

“Not really,” Bologna said.

“Each and every emperor had people condemned and put to death.

Even Augustus, who is the epitome of the good emperor, came to power in a really bloody way.”

MATT DUNHAM | AP PHOTO

A museum employee poses for photographers next to Roman era gladiatorial helmets and a shield, during a media preview for the “Nero: the man behind the myth” exhibition, at the British Museum in London, Monday, May 24, 2021.

North State Journal for Wednesday, May 26, 2021

B10

Competition among grocery chains heats up across NC

By Elizabeth Lincicome North State Journal RALEIGH — When it comes to the grocery wars here in North Carolina, the competition is heating up. Just last month, Greensboro-based The Fresh Market was recognized as the “Best Supermarket in America” for 2021 in USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards. For the list, a panel of 10Best local experts and contributors nominated U.S. supermarkets based on value, selection and service, and then readers cast their votes.

The Fresh Market opened its first store in Greensboro in 1982 when founders Ray and Beverly Berry returned from a trip to Europe with a vision to imitate the charm of a European-style fresh food market, a place where shoppers could have a more intimate and personalized shopping experience in contrast to the warehouse style so common in American grocery stores. The Fresh Market now operates 159 locations in 22 states.

The store’s CEO Jason Potter says winning the award is significant. “Being nominated by USA Today’s panel of experts is an honor in itself, but to then be voted as the #1 supermarket in America by their readers is especially meaningful. It shows that the improvements we’ve implemented in our stores over the last year are being recognized by our guests. The award is a true testament to our team members who offer impeccable guest service every day and our guests whose business and support we greatly appreciate.”

Though the award is certainly impressive, competition among various local and national grocers

FILE PHOTO

The Fresh Market now operates 159 locations in 22 states. here in NC is certainly on the rise.

Many of the country’s largest national chains are also expanding their reach, hoping to gain market share and establish loyal customer bases. Publix Super Markets, Inc. is constructing its latest Distribution Center in Greensboro. With 49 stores across the state, Publix has roughly 7,350 associates in North Carolina alone “We are committed to being a great place to work in North Carolina and our associates, who are also owners, are passionately focused on delivering the highest level of service, locally grown products and award-winning private label products to the communities we serve,” says media relations manager Jared Glover.

George Jenkins opened the first Publix Food Store, in Winter Haven, FL in 1930. In 1935, he opened a second location across town. He closed these first two stores to open his dream store in 1940. This would become the first Publix Super Market. The store included what were considered true innovations back in those days such as air conditioning, fluorescent lighting, electric eye doors and terrazzo floors.

Publix is now the largest employee-owned company in the U.S. with more than 225,000 associates and currently operates 1,264 stores in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia. Glover says the company has been recognized by

Fortune magazine as a great place to work for the last 23 consecutive years.

Then there is Wegmans Super Market Inc. Last week the chain opened its fourth NC-based store in Wake Forest. Although the mega store’s grand opening was widely anticipated, many locals say they’ll wait a few weeks to let the crowds thin out. “I won’t even try to shop there until it’s been open for about three weeks,” says North Raleigh resident Jen Parrot.

Wegmans is also a family owned company, founded in 1916 and headquartered in Rochester, NY. With 106 stores located up and down the East Coast it operates 48 in New York, 18 in Pennsylvania, 9

Club Dr, Fayetteville, NC 28301 Tax Parcel ID: 0439-42-3729 Willie Leach Present Record Owners:

subject to all prior liens and encumbrances, and unpaid taxes and assessments including but not limited to any transfer tax associated with the foreclosure. A deposit of five percent (5%) of the amount of the bid or seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, is required and must be tendered in the form of certified funds at the time of the sale. This sale will be held open ten days for upset bids as required by law. Following the expiration of the statutory upset period, all remaining amounts are IMMEDIATELY DUE AND OWING. Failure to remit funds in a timely manner will result in a Declaration of Default and any deposit will be frozen pending the outcome of any re-sale. If the sale is set aside for any reason, the Purchaser at the sale shall be entitled only to a return of the deposit paid. The Purchaser shall have no further recourse against the Mortgagor, the Mortgagee, the Substitute Trustee or the attorney of any of the foregoing.

in New Jersey, 13 in Virginia, 8 in Maryland, 6 in Massachusetts, and 4 in North Carolina. It is one of the largest private companies in the U.S. with 52,000 employees and a 2019 annual sales revenue of over $9.7 billion.

According to public relations specialist Marcie Rivera, Wegmans has also been recognized by Fortune, named one of the ‘100 Best Companies to Work For’ for 23 years, and ranked #4 in 2021.

She says that the pandemic brought on many changes over the past year including growth of their e-commerce business, technology solutions, and the digital experience as it relates to customers.

“Additional safety measures included required face coverings, plexiglass shields at service areas, social distancing through visual indicators placed on the floor throughout the store, dedicated cleaning teams responsible for the increased sanitation of high-contact touchpoints, and operating stores well below capacity limits.”

During peak shopping hours, store teams actually used people counters to ensure customers stayed within the lowered capacity limits and store leaders were encouraged to close the doors and control the flow of people into the store if needed.

Even with the COVID-19 pandemic seeming to come to an end, every has to go grocery shopping at some point and luckily North Carolinians have no shortage of safe options to choose from. According to a recent ranking, North Carolina-based Food Lion as the most popular grocery store among shoppers here, beating out Harris Teeter, Trader Joe’s and Publix for the top spot.

TAKE NOTICE

CUMBERLAND IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE OF NORTH CAROLINA SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION CUMBERLAND COUNTY 21SP8 IN THE MATTER OF THE FORECLOSURE OF A DEED OF TRUST EXECUTED BY WILLIE LEACH AND BARBARA LEACH DATED MARCH 15, 2000 AND RECORDED IN BOOK 5248 AT PAGE 436 IN THE CUMBERLAND COUNTY PUBLIC REGISTRY, NORTH CAROLINA NOTICE OF SALE Under and by virtue of the power and authority

21 SP 138 NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE NORTH CAROLINA, CUMBERLAND COUNTY Under and by virtue of a Power of Sale contained in that certain Deed of Trust executed by Richard Riley and Jennifer Riley to National Title Network, Trustee(s), which was dated May 30, 2009 and recorded on June 10, 2009 in Book 08173 at Page 0025, Cumberland County Registry, North Carolina.

contained in the above-referenced deed of trust and because of default in the payment of the secured indebtedness and failure to perform the stipulation and agreements therein contained and, pursuant to demand of the owner and holder of the secured debt, the undersigned substitute trustee will expose for sale at public auction to the highest bidder for cash at the usual place of sale at the county courthouse of said county at 10:30AM on June 1, 2021 the following described real estate and any other improvements which may be situated thereon, in Cumberland County, North Carolina, and being more particularly described in that certain Deed of Trust executed Willie Leach and Barbara Leach, dated March 15, 2000 to secure the original principal amount of $76,386.09, and recorded in Book 5248 at Page 436 of the Cumberland County Public Registry.

The terms of the said Deed of Trust may be modified by other instruments appearing in the public record.

Additional identifying information regarding the collateral property is below and is believed to be accurate, but no representation or warranty is intended.

Address of property:

413 Country

property situated in Cumberland County, North Carolina, to wit: BEING ALL OF LOT 355, IN A SUBDIVISION KNOWN AS CLIFFDALE WEST, REVISION OF SECTION SEVEN, ACCORDING TO A PLAT OF SAME BEING DULY RECORDED IN BOOK OF PLATS 57, PAGE 51, CUMBERLAND COUNTY REGISTRY, NORTH CAROLINA. Save and except any releases, deeds of release or prior conveyances of record.

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 June 2, 2021 at 01:30 PM, and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following described

Said property is commonly known as 6893 Pin Oak Lane, Fayetteville, NC 28314.

20 SP 151 NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE

sell to the highest bidder for cash the following described property situated in Cumberland County, North Carolina, to wit:

NORTH CAROLINA, CUMBERLAND COUNTY Under and by virtue of a Power of Sale contained in that certain Deed of Trust executed by Haven L. Crecelius and Jessica L. Crecelius to H. Terry Hutchens, Trustee(s), which was dated May 22, 2009 and recorded on May 26, 2009 in Book 08158 at Page 0482, Cumberland 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 June 2, 2021 at 01:30 PM, and will

19 SP 1598 AMENDED NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE NORTH CAROLINA, CUMBERLAND COUNTY Under and by virtue of a Power of Sale contained in that certain Deed of Trust executed by Evangaline D. Smith and Nathaniel L. Smith to The Law Firm of Jamie Faye Newsom, Trustee(s), which was dated November 15, 2006 and recorded on November 20, 2006 in Book 7425 at Page 357, Cumberland 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

NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE NORTH CAROLINA, CUMBERLAND COUNTY 20 SP 814 Under and by virtue of a Power of Sale contained in that certain Deed of Trust executed by Tony L. King and Michelle King, in the original amount of $68,700.00, payable to Household Realty Corporation, dated March 28, 2003 and recorded on April 2, 2003 in Book 6043, Page 652, Cumberland County Registry.

Default having been made in the payment of the note thereby secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Anchor Trustee Services, LLC having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust by an instrument duly recorded in the Office of the Register of Deeds of Cumberland County, North Carolina, and the holder of the note evidencing said indebtedness having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will offer for sale at the courthouse door in Cumberland County, North Carolina,

A cash deposit (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 immediately due and owing. THIRD PARTY PURCHASERS MUST PAY THE EXCISE TAX AND THE

And Being more commonly known as: 413 Country Club Dr, Fayetteville, NC 28301 The record owner(s) of the property, as reflected on the records of the Register of Deeds, is/are Willie Leach.

The property to be offered pursuant to this notice of sale is being offered for sale, transfer and conveyance «AS IS, WHERE IS.» Neither the Trustee nor the holder of the note secured by the deed of trust, being foreclosed, nor the officers, directors, attorneys, employees, agents or authorized representative of either Trustee or the holder of the note make any representation or warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at or relating to the property being offered for sale. Any and all responsibilities or liabilities arising out of or in any way relating to any such condition expressly are disclaimed. This sale is made

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. 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 Jennifer Riley.

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

Said property is commonly known as 3614 Lakeshore Drive, Hope Mills, NC 28348.

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. 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 Haven L. Crecelius and wife, Jessica L. Crecelius.

A cash deposit (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 immediately due and owing. THIRD PARTY PURCHASERS MUST PAY THE EXCISE TAX AND THE RECORDING COSTS FOR THEIR DEED.

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

BEING all of Lot Number 72 in a subdivision known as CLIFTON FORGE and the same being duly recorded in Book of Plats 40, Page 7 in the Cumberland County Registry, North Carolina.

Save and except any releases, deeds of release or prior conveyances of record.

Suite

400

File No.: 14-03746-FC01

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 a rental agreement, the tenant is liable for rent due under the rental agreement prorated to the effective date of the termination.

Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC Substitute Trustee Brock & Scott, PLLC Attorneys for Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC 5431 Oleander Drive Suite 200 Wilmington, NC 28403 PHONE: (910) 392-4988 FAX: (910) 392-8587 File No.: 17-01545-FC02

If the trustee is unable to convey title to this property for any reason, the sole remedy of the purchaser is the return of the deposit. Reasons of such inability to convey include, but are not limited to, the filing of a bankruptcy petition prior to the confirmation of the sale and reinstatement of the loan without the knowledge of the trustee. If the validity of the sale is challenged by any party, the trustee, in their sole discretion, if they believe the challenge to have merit, may request the court to declare the sale to be void and return the deposit. The purchaser will have no further remedy.

Said property is commonly known as 312 Tucson Dr, Fayetteville, NC 28303.

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. 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 All Lawful Heirs of Evangeline D. Smith.

A cash deposit (no personal checks) of five percent (5%) of the purchase price, or Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, will be required

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

If the trustee is unable to convey title to this property for any reason, the sole remedy of the purchaser is the return of the deposit. Reasons of such inability to convey include, but are not limited to, the filing of a bankruptcy petition prior to the confirmation of the sale and reinstatement of the loan without the knowledge of the trustee. If the validity of the sale is challenged by any

at 2:00PM on June 1, 2021, and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following described property, to wit:

Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or fractional part thereof, and the Clerk of Courts fee, pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes §7A-308, in the amount of Forty-five Cents (0.45) per each One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) or fractional part thereof with a maximum amount of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00). A deposit of five percent (5%) of the bid or Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, will be required at the time of the sale and must be tendered in the form of certified funds.

Following the expiration of the statutory upset bid period, all the remaining amounts will be immediately due and owing.

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. This sale is made subject to all prior liens, unpaid taxes, special assessments, land transfer taxes, if any, and encumbrances of record. To the best of the knowledge and belief of the undersigned, the current owners of the property is Tony L. King.

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE: An order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes §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 (North Carolina General Statutes §45-21.16A(b)(2)). Upon termination of a rental agreement, the tenant is liable for rent due under the rental agreement prorated to the effective date of termination. If the Trustee is unable to convey title to this property for any reason, the sole remedy of the purchaser is the return of the deposit. Reasons of such inability to convey include, but are not limited to, the filing

Together with improvements located hereon; said property being located at 6116 Hilco Drive, Fayetteville, NC 28314. Tax ID: 0407-32-5776 Third party purchasers must pay the excise tax, pursuant North Carolina General Statutes §105-228.30, in the amount of One Dollar ($1.00) per each Five

Parkway,

Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC Substitute Trustee Brock & Scott, PLLC Attorneys for Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC 5431 Oleander Drive Suite 200 Wilmington, NC 28403 PHONE: (910) 392-4988 FAX: (910) 392-8587

If the trustee is unable to convey title to this property for any reason, the sole remedy of the purchaser is the return of the deposit. Reasons of such inability to convey include, but are not limited to, the filing of a bankruptcy petition prior to the confirmation of the sale and reinstatement of the loan without the knowledge of the trustee. If the validity of the sale is challenged by any party, the trustee, in their sole discretion, if they believe the challenge to have merit, may request the court to declare the sale to be void and return the deposit. The purchaser will have no further remedy.

BEING ALL OF LOT 512, IN A SUBDIVISION KNOWN AS PONDEROSA, REVISION OF A PORTION OF SECTION TWELVE, ACCORDING TO A PLAT OF THE SAME DULY RECORDED IN BOOK OF PLATS 34, PAGE 11, CUMBERLAND COUNTY REGISTRY, NORTH CAROLINA

Address: 6116 Hilco Drive; Fayetteville, NC 28314 Tax Map or Parcel ID NO.: 0407-32-5776

LLG TRUSTEE LLC Substitute Trustee 10130 Perimeter Charlotte, NC 28216 (704) 333-8107 16-081996

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 a rental agreement, the tenant is liable for rent due under the rental agreement prorated to the effective date of the termination.

at the time of the sale. Following the expiration 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.

All that certain property situated in the City of Fayetteville in the County of Cumberland and the State of North Carolina, being described as follows: Lot 89 Hollywood Heights Subdivision, Section 6 according to a plat of the same duly recorded in Plat Book 32, Page 45.

Being more fully described in Deed dated 12/30/2000 and recorded 01/05/2001, among the land records of the County and State set forth above, in Deed Volume 5386 and Page 510.

The date of this Notice is May 10, 2021.

SPECIAL NOTICE FOR LEASEHOLD TENANTS: If you are a tenant residing in the property, be advised that an Order for Possession of the property may be issued in favor of the purchaser. Also, if your lease began or was

located, or the usual and customary location at the county courthouse for conducting the sale on June 2, 2021 at 01:30 PM, and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following described property situated in Cumberland County, North Carolina, to wit:

Save and except any releases, deeds of release or prior conveyances of record.

renewed on or after October 1, 2007, be advised that you may terminate the rental agreement upon written notice 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 notice of termination is provided. You may be liable for rent due under the agreement prorated to the effective date of the termination.

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 a rental agreement, the tenant is liable for rent due under the rental agreement prorated to the effective date of the termination.

party, the trustee, in their sole discretion, if they believe the challenge to have merit, may request the court to declare the sale to be void and return the deposit. The purchaser will have no further remedy.

Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC Substitute Trustee Brock & Scott, PLLC Attorneys for Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC 5431 Oleander Drive Suite 200 Wilmington, NC 28403 PHONE: (910) 392-4988 FAX: (910) 392-8587 File No.: 19-16310-FC01

of a bankruptcy petition prior to the confirmation of the sale and reinstatement of the loan without the knowledge of the trustee. If the validity of the sale is challenged by any party, the Substitute Trustee, in their sole discretion, if they believe the challenge to have merit, may request the court to declare the sale to be void and return the deposit.

The purchaser will have no further remedy.

Anchor Trustee Services, LLC Substitute Trustee ___

By: _____________________________________ January N. Taylor, Bar #33512 McMichael Taylor Gray, LLC Attorney for Anchor Trustee Services, LLC 3550 Engineering Drive, Suite 260 Peachtree Corners, GA 30092 404-474-7149 (phone) 404-745-8121 (fax)

jtaylor@mtglaw.com

North State Journal for Wednesday, May 26, 2021

B11

TAKE NOTICE

CUMBERLAND AMENDED NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE NORTH CAROLINA, CUMBERLAND COUNTY 20 CVS 2644 Under and by virtue of that Order for Summary Judgment and Appointment of Commissioner filed on March 10, 2021 in Cumberland County by the presiding superior court judge, default having been made in the payment of the note thereby secured by the Deed of Trust recorded on April 23, 2007 in Book 7565, Page 642, Cumberland County Registry, and the undersigned, Anchor Trustee Services, LLC having been appointed as Commissioner in this case, the undersigned Commissioner will offer for sale at the courthouse door or other usual place of sale in Cumberland County, North Carolina, at 2:00PM on June 8, 2021 and will sell to the

IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE OF NORTH CAROLINA SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION CUMBERLAND COUNTY 20SP878 IN THE MATTER OF THE FORECLOSURE OF A DEED OF TRUST EXECUTED BY DARYL E. LONG, JR. AND WHITNEY W. LONG DATED OCTOBER 1, 2007 AND RECORDED IN BOOK 7714 AT PAGE 249 IN THE CUMBERLAND COUNTY PUBLIC REGISTRY, NORTH CAROLINA NOTICE OF SALE Under and by virtue of the power and authority contained in the above-referenced deed of trust and because of default in the payment of the secured indebtedness and failure to perform the stipulation and agreements therein contained and, pursuant to demand of the owner and holder of the secured debt, the undersigned substitute trustee will expose for sale at

20 SP 31 AMENDED NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE NORTH CAROLINA, CUMBERLAND COUNTY Under and by virtue of a Power of Sale contained in that certain Deed of Trust executed by Johnney R. Conner, Jr. a/k/a Johnney R. Conner and Diana L. Conner to Jacqueline B. Amato and Philip M. Rudisill, Trustee(s), which was dated July 28, 2016 and recorded on July 28, 2016 in Book 09910 at Page 0107, Cumberland 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 June 9, 2021 at 01:30 PM, and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following described

AMENDED NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE 20 SP 766

Under and by virtue of the power of sale contained in a certain Deed of Trust made by Sandra A. Birchfield and Sammy A. Birchfield (PRESENT RECORD OWNER(S): Sandra A. Birchfield and Sammy A. Birchfield) to M.D. Parker, Trustee(s), dated November 3, 1999, and recorded in Book No. 5187, at Page 0581 in Cumberland County Registry, North Carolina, default having been made in the payment of the promissory note secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Substitute Trustee Services, Inc. having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust by an instrument duly recorded in the Office of the Register of Deeds Cumberland County, North Carolina and the holder of the note evidencing said indebtedness having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will offer for sale at the courthouse door in Fayetteville, Cumberland County, North Carolina, or the customary location designated for foreclosure sales, at 12:00 PM on June 7, 2021 and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following real estate situated in Fayetteville in the County of Cumberland, North Carolina,

DAVIDSON IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE OF NORTH CAROLINA SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION DAVIDSON COUNTY 20sp75 IN THE MATTER OF THE FORECLOSURE OF A DEED OF TRUST EXECUTED BY GREGORY MICHAEL MILLER DATED FEBRUARY 22, 2007 AND RECORDED IN BOOK 1766 AT PAGE 1573 IN THE DAVIDSON COUNTY PUBLIC REGISTRY, NORTH CAROLINA NOTICE OF SALE Under and by virtue of the power and authority contained in the above-referenced deed of trust and because of default in the payment of the secured indebtedness and failure to perform the stipulation

RANDOLPH NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE 21 SP 42

Under and by virtue of the power of sale contained in a certain Deed of Trust made by Barry L. Smith (PRESENT RECORD OWNER(S): Barry L. Smith, Heirs of Barry L. Smith: Kaylee Elizabeth Smith Brandt, Chrystal Nicole Smith Cleary) to Gavin, Cox, Pugh and Wilhoit, LLP, Trustee(s), dated January 5, 2005, and recorded in Book No. RE1902, at Page 1696 in Randolph County Registry, North Carolina, default having been made in the payment of the promissory note secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Substitute Trustee Services, Inc. having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust by an instrument duly recorded in the Office of the Register of Deeds Randolph County, North Carolina and the holder of the note evidencing said indebtedness having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will offer for sale at the courthouse door in Asheboro, Randolph County, North Carolina, or the customary location designated for foreclosure sales, at 10:00 AM on June 8, 2021 and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following real estate situated in Franklinville in the County of Randolph, North Carolina, and being more particularly described as follows: Franklinville Township, Randolph County, North Carolina

highest bidder for cash the following described property, to wit: Being all of Lot No. 51 in a subdivision known as LaGrange, Section 10, Part 1, according to a plat of the same duly recorded in Plat Book 35, Page 5, Cumberland County, North Carolina Registry, to which reference is hereby made for a more particular description of same.

Together with improvements located hereon; said property being located at 7321 Avalon Drive, Fayetteville, NC 28303. Tax ID: 9498-79-7558 Third party purchasers must pay the excise tax, pursuant North Carolina General Statutes §105-228.30, in the amount of One Dollar ($1.00) per each Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or fractional part thereof. A deposit of five percent (5%) of the bid or Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, will be required at the time of the sale and must be tendered in the form of certified funds. Following the expiration of the statutory upset bid period, all the remaining amounts will be immediately due and owing.

public auction to the highest bidder for cash at the usual place of sale at the county courthouse of said county at 10:00AM on June 1, 2021 the following described real estate and any other improvements which may be situated thereon, in Cumberland County, North Carolina, and being more particularly described in that certain Deed of Trust executed Daryl E. Long, Jr. and Whitney W. Long, dated October 1, 2007 to secure the original principal amount of $61,290.00, and recorded in Book 7714 at Page 249 of the Cumberland County Public Registry. The terms of the said Deed of Trust may be modified by other instruments appearing in the public record. Additional identifying information regarding the collateral property is below and is believed to be accurate, but no representation or warranty is intended.

Address of property: 1 0 2 2 Woodcreek Dr Apt 2, Fayetteville, NC 28314 Tax Parcel ID: 9498-42-7239.102 Present Record Owners: Stewar t›s Creek I Condominium Association, Inc. And Being more commonly known as: Woodcreek Dr Apt 2, Fayetteville, NC 28314

property situated in Cumberland County, North Carolina, to wit: Being all of Lot Number 5, in a subdivision known as Cypress Lakes, Section III and the same being duly recorded in Book of Plats 39, at Page 46, Cumberland County Registry, North Carolina.

Save and except any releases, deeds of release or prior conveyances of record.

Said property is commonly known as 2244 Cypress Lakes Rd, Hope Mills, NC 28348.

A cash deposit (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 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

and being more particularly described as follows: PIN 0406-95-2500 Being the same property described in that Deed recorded in 4980, Page 0800, Office of the Register of Deeds, Cumberland County, NC. Being all of Lot No. 12, Block L, in a Subdivision known as Lafayette Village, Section V, according to a plat of same duly recorded in Book of Plats 16, page 20, Cumberland County Registry, North Carolina. Together with improvements located thereon; said property being located at 5603 Birch Road, Fayetteville, North Carolina.

Trustee may, in the Trustee’s sole discretion, delay the sale for up to one hour as provided in N.C.G.S. 45-21.23.

Should the property be purchased by a third party, that party must pay the excise tax, as well as the court costs of Forty-Five Cents ($0.45) per One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) required by N.C.G.S. 7A-308(a)(1).

The property to be offered pursuant to this notice of sale is being offered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS, WHERE IS.” Neither the Trustee nor the holder of the note secured by the deed of trust/

and agreements therein contained and, pursuant to demand of the owner and holder of the secured debt, the undersigned substitute trustee will expose for sale at public auction to the highest bidder for cash at the usual place of sale at the county courthouse of said county at 10:00AM on June 7, 2021 the following described real estate and any other improvements which may be situated thereon, in Davidson County, North Carolina, and being more particularly described in that certain Deed of Trust executed Gregory Michael Miller, dated February 22, 2007 to secure the original principal amount of $116,920.00, and recorded in Book 1766 at Page 1573 of the Davidson County Public Registry. The terms of the said Deed of Trust may be modified by other instruments appearing in the public record. Additional identifying information regarding the collateral property is below and is believed to be accurate, but no representation or warranty is intended.

1234 Lacy Address of property: Hepler Rd, Thomasville, NC 27360 Tax Parcel ID: 0502300000033 The Heirs of Present Record Owners: Gregory Michael Miller

BEGINNING at a new iron pipe in the southern margin of Andrew Hunter Rd. (State Road 2235) located approximately 643.09 feet North from the intersection of Andrew Hunter Rd. and Faith Rock Rd., thence South 58 degrees 36 minutes 22 seconds East 77.31 feet to an axle in the line of James Kivett (Deed Book 1429, Page 64); thence along said line South 58 degrees 36 minutes 22 seconds East 89.96 feet to a new iron pipe in the corner of the Kivett property; thence along the new property line of Don Parks and James Kivett, being Tract Number 2 as shown on survey reference below, South 25 degrees 21 minutes 13 seconds West 258.28 feet to an existing iron pipe at the intersecting property lines of James T. Kivett (DB 1429, P 64) and Robert C. Gollus (Deed Book 1378, Page 1842); thence along the line of Collus (DB 1378, Page 1842) North 83 degrees 08 minutes 28 seconds West 322.50 feet to an existing iron pipe in the southern margin of Andrew Hunter Road (State Road #2235); thence along the southern margin of Andrew Hunter Road, North 45 degrees 36 minutes 05 seconds East 403.09 feet to a new iron pipe, the POINT AND PLACE OF BEGINNING, and being all that certain property labeled Tract #1 and Tract #2 of survey entitled “Final Plat prepared for DON G. PARKS & EVANGELINE K. PARKS” prepared by Glenn Lee Brown, PLS, dated 2/3/00 to which reference is hereby made for a more particular description. Together with improvements located thereon; said property being located at 952 Andrew Hunter Road, Franklinville, North Carolina.

Parcel Identification Number: 7792046248 The Deed of Trust was modified by the following:

STANLY IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE OF NORTH CAROLINA SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION STANLY COUNTY 20sp110 IN THE MATTER OF THE FORECLOSURE OF A DEED OF TRUST EXECUTED BY CARROLL RAY RANDALL, JR. AND ROBIN RENEE EFIRD AKA ROBIN E. RANDALL DATED SEPTEMBER 24, 2008 AND RECORDED IN BOOK 1252 AT PAGE 1 IN THE STANLY COUNTY PUBLIC REGISTRY, NORTH CAROLINA NOTICE OF SALE Under and by virtue of the power and authority contained in the above-referenced deed of trust and because of default in the payment of the secured indebtedness and failure to perform the stipulation

1022

A Loan Modification recorded on March 9,

and agreements therein contained and, pursuant to demand of the owner and holder of the secured debt, the undersigned substitute trustee will expose for sale at public auction to the highest bidder for cash at the usual place of sale at the county courthouse of said county at 10:00AM on June 3, 2021 the following described real estate and any other improvements which may be situated thereon, in Stanly County, North Carolina, and being more particularly described in that certain Deed of Trust executed Carroll Ray Randall, Jr. and Robin Renee Efird aka Robin E. Randall, dated September 24, 2008 to secure the original principal amount of $60,697.62, and recorded in Book 1252 at Page 1 of the Stanly County Public Registry. The terms of the said Deed of Trust may be modified by other instruments appearing in the public record. Additional identifying information regarding the collateral property is below and is believed to be accurate, but no representation or warranty is intended.

Address of property: 919 North Main St, Norwood, NC 28128 Tax Parcel ID: 9613 Present Record Owners: Carroll Ray Randall, Jr. and Robin Renee Efird

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. This sale is made subject to all prior liens, unpaid taxes, special assessments, land transfer taxes, if any, and encumbrances of record. To the best of the knowledge and belief of the undersigned, the current owners of the property are Eric P. Swallick and Melissa S. Swallick.

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE: An order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes §1-339.29 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

The record owner(s) of the property, as reflected on the records of the Register of Deeds, is/are Stewart›s Creek I Condominium Association, Inc. The property to be offered pursuant to this notice of sale is being offered for sale, transfer and conveyance «AS IS, WHERE IS.» Neither the Trustee nor the holder of the note secured by the deed of trust, being foreclosed, nor the officers, directors, attorneys, employees, agents or authorized representative of either Trustee or the holder of the note make any representation or warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at or relating to the property being offered for sale. Any and all responsibilities or liabilities arising out of or in any way relating to any such condition expressly are disclaimed. This sale is made subject to all prior liens and encumbrances, and unpaid taxes and assessments including but not limited to any transfer tax associated with the foreclosure. A deposit of five percent (5%) of the amount of the bid or seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, is required and must be tendered in the form of certified funds at the time of the sale. This sale will be held open ten days for upset bids as required by law. Following the

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. 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 Johnney R. Conner, Jr. and wife, Diana L. Conner.

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

security agreement, or both, being foreclosed, nor the officers, directors, attorneys, employees, agents or authorized representative of either the Trustee or the holder of the note make any representation or warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at or relating to the property being offered for sale, and any and all responsibilities or liabilities arising out of or in any way relating to any such condition are expressly disclaimed.

Also, this property is being sold subject to all taxes, special assessments, and prior liens or prior encumbrances of record and any recorded releases. Said property is also being sold subject to applicable Federal and State laws.

A deposit of five percent (5%) of the purchase price, or seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, is required and must be tendered in the form of certified funds at the time of the sale.

If the trustee is unable to convey title to this property for any reason, the sole remedy of the purchaser is the return of the deposit. Reasons of such inability to convey include, but are not limited to, the filing of a bankruptcy petition prior to the confirmation of the sale and reinstatement of the loan without the knowledge of the trustee. If the validity of the sale is challenged by any party, the trustee, in its sole discretion, if it believes the challenge

And Being more commonly known as: 1234 Lacy Hepler Rd, Thomasville, NC 27360 The record owner(s) of the property, as reflected on the records of the Register of Deeds, is/are The Heirs of Gregory Michael Miller.

The property to be offered pursuant to this notice of sale is being offered for sale, transfer and conveyance «AS IS, WHERE IS.» Neither the Trustee nor the holder of the note secured by the deed of trust, being foreclosed, nor the officers, directors, attorneys, employees, agents or authorized representative of either Trustee or the holder of the note make any representation or warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at or relating to the property being offered for sale. Any and all responsibilities or liabilities arising out of or in any way relating to any such condition expressly are disclaimed. This sale is made subject to all prior liens and encumbrances, and unpaid taxes and assessments including but not limited to any transfer tax associated with the foreclosure. A deposit of five percent (5%) of the amount of the bid or seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, is

2012, in Book No. RE2275, at Page 1172.

Trustee may, in the Trustee’s sole discretion, delay the sale for up to one hour as provided in N.C.G.S. §4521.23.

Should the property be purchased by a third party, that party must pay the excise tax, as well as the court costs of Forty-Five Cents ($0.45) per One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) required by N.C.G.S. §7A-308(a)(1).

The property to be offered pursuant to this notice of sale is being offered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS, WHERE IS.” Neither the Trustee nor the holder of the note secured by the deed of trust/ security agreement, or both, being foreclosed, nor the officers, directors, attorneys, employees, agents or authorized representative of either the Trustee or the holder of the note make any representation or warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at or relating to the property being offered for sale, and any and all responsibilities or liabilities arising out of or in any way relating to any such condition are expressly disclaimed.

Also, this property is being sold subject to all taxes, special assessments, and prior liens or prior encumbrances of record and any recorded releases. Said property is also being sold subject to applicable Federal and State laws.

A deposit of five percent (5%) of the purchase price, or seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, is required and must be tendered in the form of certified funds at the time of the sale.

If the trustee is unable to convey title to this property for any reason, the sole remedy of the purchaser is the return of the deposit. Reasons of such inability to convey include, but are not limited to, the filing of a bankruptcy

And Being more commonly known as: 919 North Main St, Norwood, NC 28128 The record owner(s) of the property, as reflected on the records of the Register of Deeds, is/are Carroll Ray Randall, Jr. and Robin Renee Efird.

The property to be offered pursuant to this notice of sale is being offered for sale, transfer and conveyance «AS IS, WHERE IS.» Neither the Trustee nor the holder of the note secured by the deed of trust, being foreclosed, nor the officers, directors, attorneys, employees, agents or authorized representative of either Trustee or the holder of the note make any representation or warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at or relating to the property being offered for sale. Any and all responsibilities or liabilities arising out of or in any way relating to any such condition expressly are disclaimed. This sale is made subject to all prior liens and encumbrances, and unpaid taxes and assessments including but not limited to any transfer tax associated with the foreclosure. A deposit of five percent (5%) of the amount of the bid or seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, is required and must be tendered in the form of certified funds at the time of the sale. This sale will be held open

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 (North Carolina General Statutes §45-21.16A(b)(2) or other applicable statute). Upon termination of a rental agreement, the tenant is liable for rent due under the rental agreement prorated to the effective date of termination. If the Commissioner is unable to convey title to this property for any reason, the sole remedy of the purchaser is the return of the deposit. Reasons of such inability to convey include, but are not limited to, the filing of a bankruptcy petition prior to the confirmation of the sale and reinstatement of the loan without the knowledge of the Commissioner.

If the validity of the sale is challenged by any party, the Commissioner, in their sole discretion, if they believe the challenge to have merit, may request the court to declare the sale to be void and return the deposit. The purchaser will have no further remedy.

Commissioner Cameron D. Scott Morrow & Britton, PLLC 312 South Chester Street, Gastonia, NC 28052 Phone: (704) 865-2897, Fax: (704) 271-9163, CScott@MorrowandBritton.com

Anchor Trustee Services, LLC

expiration of the statutory upset period, all remaining amounts are IMMEDIATELY DUE AND OWING. Failure to remit funds in a timely manner will result in a Declaration of Default and any deposit will be frozen pending the outcome of any re-sale. If the sale is set aside for any reason, the Purchaser at the sale shall be entitled only to a return of the deposit paid. The Purchaser shall have no further recourse against the Mortgagor, the Mortgagee, the Substitute Trustee or the attorney of any of the foregoing.

The date of this Notice is May 10, 2021.

Andrew Vining Substitute Trustee 10130 Perimeter Charlotte, NC 28216 (704) 333-8107 20-110981

Parkway,

Suite

400

SPECIAL NOTICE FOR LEASEHOLD TENANTS: If you are a tenant residing in the property, be advised that an Order for Possession of the property may be issued in favor of the purchaser. Also, if your lease began or was renewed on or after October 1, 2007, be advised that you may terminate the rental agreement upon written notice 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 notice of termination is provided. You may be liable for rent due under the agreement prorated to the effective date of the termination.

termination [NCGS § 45-21.16A(b)(2)]. Upon termination of a rental agreement, the tenant is liable for rent due under the rental agreement prorated to the effective date of the termination.

FAX: (910) 392-8587 File No.: 19-08560-FC01

If the trustee is unable to convey title to this property for any reason, the sole remedy of the purchaser is the return of the deposit. Reasons of such inability to convey include, but are not limited to, the filing of a bankruptcy petition prior to the confirmation of the sale and reinstatement of the loan without the knowledge of the trustee. If the validity of the sale is challenged by any party, the trustee, in their sole discretion, if they believe the challenge to have merit, may request the court to declare the sale to be void and return the deposit. The purchaser will have no further remedy.

Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC Substitute Trustee Brock & Scott, PLLC Attorneys for Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC 5431 Oleander Drive Suite 200 Wilmington, NC 28403 PHONE: (910) 392-4988

to have merit, may request the court to declare the sale to be void and return the deposit. The purchaser will have no further remedy.

Additional Notice for Residential Property with Less than 15 rental units, including Single-Family Residential Real Property An order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to N.C.G.S. 45-21.29 in favor of the purchaser and against the party or parties in possession by the clerk of superior court of the county in which the property is sold.

Any person who occupies the property pursuant to a rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2007, may after receiving the notice of foreclosure sale, terminate the rental agreement by providing written notice of termination to the landlord, to be effective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 10 days but not more than 90 days, after the sale date contained in this notice of sale, provided that the mortgagor has not cured the default at the time the tenant provides the notice of termination. Upon termination of a rental agreement, the tenant is liable for rent due under the rental agreement prorated to the effective date of the termination.

required and must be tendered in the form of certified funds at the time of the sale. This sale will be held open ten days for upset bids as required by law. Following the expiration of the statutory upset period, all remaining amounts are IMMEDIATELY DUE AND OWING. Failure to remit funds in a timely manner will result in a Declaration of Default and any deposit will be frozen pending the outcome of any re-sale. If the sale is set aside for any reason, the Purchaser at the sale shall be entitled only to a return of the deposit paid. The Purchaser shall have no further recourse against the Mortgagor, the Mortgagee, the Substitute Trustee or the attorney of any of the foregoing.

SUBSTITUTE TRUSTEE SERVICES, INC. SUBSTITUTE TRUSTEE c/o Hutchens Law Firm P.O. Box 1028 4317 Ramsey Street Fayetteville, North Carolina 28311 Phone No: (910) 864-3068 https://sales.hutchenslawfirm.com Firm Case No: 3546 - 9283

rent due under the agreement prorated to the effective date of the termination.

The date of this Notice is May 17, 2021.

Andrew Vining Substitute Trustee 10130 Perimeter Charlotte, NC 28216 (704) 333-8107 20-109329

Parkway,

Suite

400

Suite

400

SPECIAL NOTICE FOR LEASEHOLD TENANTS: If you are a tenant residing in the property, be advised that an Order for Possession of the property may be issued in favor of the purchaser. Also, if your lease began or was renewed on or after October 1, 2007, be advised that you may terminate the rental agreement upon written notice 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 notice of termination is provided. You may be liable for

petition prior to the confirmation of the sale and reinstatement of the loan without the knowledge of the trustee. If the validity of the sale is challenged by any party, the trustee, in its sole discretion, if it believes the challenge to have merit, may request the court to declare the sale to be void and return the deposit. The purchaser will have no further remedy.

Additional Notice for Residential Property with Less than 15 rental units, including Single-Family Residential Real Property An order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 45-21.29 in favor of the purchaser and against the party or parties in possession by the clerk of superior court of the county in which the property is sold.

Any person who occupies the property pursuant to a rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2007, may after receiving the notice of foreclosure sale, terminate the rental agreement by providing written notice of termination to the landlord, to be effective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 10 days but not more than 90 days, after the sale date contained in this notice of sale, provided that the mortgagor has not cured the default at the time the tenant provides the notice of termination. Upon termination of a rental agreement, the tenant is liable for rent due under the rental agreement prorated to the effective date of the termination.

Phone No: (910) 864-3068 https://sales.hutchenslawfirm.com Firm Case No: 3875 - 13226

SUBSTITUTE TRUSTEE SERVICES, INC. SUBSTITUTE TRUSTEE c/o Hutchens Law Firm P.O. Box 1028 4317 Ramsey Street Fayetteville, North Carolina 28311

ten days for upset bids as required by law. Following the expiration of the statutory upset period, all remaining amounts are IMMEDIATELY DUE AND OWING. Failure to remit funds in a timely manner will result in a Declaration of Default and any deposit will be frozen pending the outcome of any re-sale. If the sale is set aside for any reason, the Purchaser at the sale shall be entitled only to a return of the deposit paid. The Purchaser shall have no further recourse against the Mortgagor, the Mortgagee, the Substitute Trustee or the attorney of any of the foregoing.

The date of this Notice is May 13, 2021.

LLG TRUSTEE LLC Substitute Trustee 10130 Perimeter Charlotte, NC 28216 (704) 333-8107 20-109346

Parkway,

SPECIAL NOTICE FOR LEASEHOLD TENANTS: If you are a tenant residing in the property, be advised that an Order for Possession of the property may be issued in favor of the purchaser. Also, if your lease began or was renewed on or after October 1, 2007, be advised that you may terminate the rental agreement upon written notice 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 notice of termination is provided. You may be liable for rent due under the agreement prorated to the effective date of the termination.

WAKE

ALL PERSONS, firms and corporations having claims against MARY BRASHER SMITH, aka, MARY LUCILLE SMITH deceased, of Wake County, N.C. (2021-E-1608),

are notified to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before August 20, 2021, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to

make immediate payment.

This 19th day of May 2021.

Wesley Wayne Smith, Executor, c/o Lisa M.

ALL PERSONS, firms and corporations having claims against JEAN HARE GOODWIN, deceased, of Wake County, N.C., are notified to exhibit the same to

the undersigned on or before August 23, 2021, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment.

This 19th day of May 2021.

Teresa Goodwin Hardy, Executor, c/o Lisa M. Schreiner, Stam Law Firm, PLLC, 510 W. Williams St.,

Apex, NC 27502 North State Journal: May 19, 26, June 2 and 9, 2021

Schreiner, Stam Law Firm, PLLC, 510 W. Williams St., Apex, NC 27502 North State Journal: May 19, 26, June 2 and 9, 2021

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Stanly County Journal

KEITH SRAKOCIC | AP PHOTO

A tractor trailer rig pulls into a terminal for a trucking company that has a $10,000 hiring bonus offer posted on a trailer at their facility in Harmony, Pa., Wednesday, May 5, 2021. Bonuses like this one come amidst a nationwide shortage of workers, with many reluctant to head back to work as the COVID-19 pandemic winds down.

WHAT’S HAPPENING Woman accused of embezzling money from church

Higher wages, more opportunities for Stanly job seekers, says NCWorks manager

By David Larson Stanly County Journal

Davidson County A woman is accused of forging checks and taking more than $150,000 from the church where she worked. The Davidson County Sheriff’s Office said Betty Fowler Collins, 79, of Thomasville, was arrested and charged with one count of embezzlement and eight counts of forgery. Collins, who was the church’s secretarytreasurer, is accused of forging bank checks drawn from the account of Liberty Baptist Church in Thomasville and embezzling the money from January 2009 to August 2020, according to the sheriff’s office.

AP

Albemarle-based company seeks approval for gold mine in New London Stanly County Boulder Associates, LLC., a company based in Albemarle, applied for a new permit for a mine near New London. The company formerly had a permit, but this permit would allow blasting and expand operations from sand and clay to gold, granite and quartz as well. The N.C. Dept. of Environmental Quality announced the new permit application and a public hearing, to be held remotely on June 7.

SCJ

ALBEMARLE — Like in much of the country, employers in Stanly County are scrambling to fill job openings as they compete over a limited pool of workers. While this is often frustrating for businesses, it is leading to increased wages and more opportunities for job seekers, according to Gus Vanegas, career center leader at Stanly County’s NCWorks Career Center.

NCWorks is a program run by the state of North Carolina which helps the unemployed find work and helps employers find workers. They operate career centers across the state, including the one managed by Vanegas in Albemarle, and those receiving unemployment benefits are required to set up an account with them.

“We print out the job list every day, and it’s a large list; we have about three pages of jobs on it,” Vanegas told SCJ on May 24.

He said they work with people one-on-one to make sure they have an up-to-date resume, talk to them about what jobs might match their skills and interests, and then help them ap-

Mecklenburg County Anthony and Deana Sharper are charged with wire fraud. Anthony also is accused of making false statements and filing a false tax return. He faces decades in prison and millions of dollars in penalties. The charges involve Charlotte’s South Mecklenburg High School, where Anthony was club president and Deana served as concession-stand and schoolstore coordinator. They wrote more than $100,000 in checks to themselves, wired booster-club money to their personal accounts and used booster credit and debit cards to run up thousands of dollars in personal expenses.

AP

“Right now, the market is good for the job seeker, because they can find a better job very easily. And that’s what’s happening.”

Gus Vanegas, NCWorks Stanly ton, D.C. that are funding projects using local contractors.

“We see J.T. Russell looking for more people, and we see other companies doing the same type of work with heavy equipment looking for people,” Vanegas said. He said that manufacturing is also looking for people, “but it seems like right now, they are having struggles finding people.”

The food service industry is another area looking for workers, but he said it was always difficult for them, because their thin margins prevent them from increasing wages much.

Nationally, there is a debate about whether unemployment insurance benefits, which include a $300 federal bonus, are too at-

Juneberry Ridge begins 7-week summer concert series

By Jesse Deal Stanly County Journal

Couple accused of stealing booster club funds

ply for jobs. And, at the moment, Vanegas said there are more jobs available than usual in Stanly.

“Right now, the market is good for the job seeker, because they can find a better job very easily.

And that’s what’s happening.”

Vanegas said those who are making $10 an hour, for example, should find it “very, very easy to find another company that will pay you at least two more dollars.”

“Companies in Stanly County are raising wages — I’m telling you. They’re becoming more competitive, and they’re paying better,” Vanegas said. “A lot of people are switching jobs. They’re going into a different company, because they can make more money. The companies that took too long to raise those wages are the companies that see people leaving.”

He said there are a wide variety of industries that need employees, including existing companies that are expanding operations in the county.

Vanegas specifically named J.T. Russell and Sons, an asphalt company out of Albemarle, as one employer doing a lot of hiring. This is, in part, due to the big infrastructure bills coming out of Washing-

NORWOOD — Saturday night, May 22, marked the first of seven consecutive weekends of live music at the Juneberry Ridge event venue in Norwood.

The Young Fables, a Nashville-based country duo featuring three-time American Idol performer Laurel Wright and guitarist Wesley Lunsford, were the inaugural performers for the Juneberry Jams summer concert series, which is taking place on the 525-acre regenerative farm and corporate retreat (formerly known as Lucky Clays Farm) at 40120 Old Cottonville Road.

“What an amazing kick-off concert for our series of Juneberry Jams,” Juneberry Ridge posted on its social media accounts.

“Thanks to The Young Fables and Tosco Music for helping us band

“[T]hanks to all who came and made our first big event a success. We look forward to the next six weeks of jams and hope to see you here.”

Juneberry Ridge together in nature. And thanks to all who came and made our first big event a success. We look forward to the next six weeks of jams and hope to see you here.”

For the next six Saturday nights, six different musical acts will take the The Lucky Clays Five Stand stage to perform for a socially distanced crowd from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. The venue will open its gates to concert attendees at 5 p.m.

General admission tickets are available at Juneberry.com for $15 each while an all-access pass featuring premium-seating admission to all concert events can be bought for $55; children under 12 years old are granted free admission to the show. Beer, wine and food are available for purchase at the venue’s concession booths.

The May 29 concert, “An Evening with Antsy McClain,” features McClain, an Americana recording artist who combines music with storytelling comedy.

The Kentucky-based musician has appeared on PBS, NPR and TEDTalks during his career and has often appeared with his band, The Trailer Park Troubadours.

The rest of the Juneberry Ridge Jams calendar will highlight the yacht-rock group Thurston Howell (June 5), progressive bluegrass act The Trailblazers (June 12), Brooklyn-based acoustic duo The

tractive, causing some to prefer staying on the benefits rather than finding a job.

“There are people for whom that may be the reason,” Vanegas said. But he also believes it is more likely a mix of reasons, and for many other people, it’s that they lack child care or are having to take care of family members with COVID. “I got COVID back in July, and I was really sick,” he said. “And my wife was taking care of me as best as she could, and then she got sick as well. So whenever you get infected from COVID, it’s like your whole family is going down.”

NCWorks also runs trainings and seminars out of their Albemarle office. Vanegas said he is starting a recurring seminar, to be held on the fourth Tuesday of the month, to help “justice-involved” job seekers find work and to make them aware of legal resources, like expungement. After the presentation every month, an employer will come in and take applications.

“So the first one we’re going to do is going to be tomorrow [May 25], and J.T. Russell is going to be the first employer doing that,” Vanegas said.

Other Favorites (June 19), classic rock outfit Coconut Groove Band (June 26) and lounge jazz duo Noel & Maria (July 3).

More than just a Stanly County landmark, Juneberry Ridge is North Carolina’s largest residential renewable energy system. The farm includes rainwater-harvesting technology, an organic greenhouse and stocked fishing ponds, among many other amenities.

In a recent video on the farm’s website, Juneberry Ridge founder Judy Carpenter discussed the company’s name-change and rebranding.

“The company is changing, and the name is changing,” Carpenter said. “It’s exciting, because it’s new and different. This is a clean slate for Juneberry. Turning Lucky Clays Farm into Juneberry Ridge makes this a place where we can start anew… There is a new sense of urgency with both our mission and our vision. Juneberry needs to be sustainable, based on restorable agriculture and needs to make a sustainable profit as well.

This company is built to last and is going to be here 300 years from now. I just want to leave the earth in better shape than it was when I got here.”

Stanly County Journal for Wednesday, May 26, 2021

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Kennedy Center honorees still relish slimmed-down tribute

By Ashraf Khalil The Associated Press

Editor

FRIDAY

THURSDAY

WASHINGTON, D.C. — This year’s Kennedy Center Honors may be a slimmed-down affair as the nation emerges from the coronavirus pandemic — but honoree Dick Van Dyke still says it’s “the capper on my career.”

The 43rd class of honorees also includes country music legend Garth Brooks, dancer and choreographer Debbie Allen, singer-songwriter Joan Baez and violinist Midori. They were honored Friday night at a medallion ceremony that had been delayed from December 2020.

All the honorees called the lifetime artistic achievement award a unique honor, even for an accomplished artist.

Brooks joked, “I don’t mind being the weak link on the chain.

I’m in the chain!”

Normally the medallion ceremony is held at the State Department, but this year it was moved to the Kennedy Center’s opera house, with about 120 people spread out at tables on the stage and backstage area looking out at the empty rows of seats. Singer Gloria Estefan hosted the ceremony and cellist Yo Yo Ma performed; both are previous Kennedy Center Honors recipients.

The recipients received short tributes and spoke after getting the iconic medallion placed around their necks. Several of the artists said they hoped their modified ceremony would be one of a series of benchmarks in the country’s cultural reopening.

Midori said it made her happy, “coming out of these very dark times, to be able to see the arts coming back.”

Allen is a veteran of tribute programs for previous Kennedy Center Honors recipients. She said this year’s process was uniquely intimate. “We’re spending a lot more time together than other groups of honorees,” she said.

Baez brought an unexpected guest: Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Baez paints portraits and posts them online, and she painted one of Fauci last year. They started talking and “struck up a mutual fan-ship,” Baez said.

Prior to the ceremony Friday evening, several attendees visibly scrambled to put on their masks properly when Baez and the masked Fauci entered together.

Instead of the usual several-hour black-tie event, followed by dinner, Friday’s festivities ran just 90 minutes with a limited audience. The musical performances and tributes — traditionally

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WEEKLY CRIME LOG

♦ Ziehl, Zachary William (W /M/38) Arrest on chrg of Poss Stolen Goods/prop (f), F (F), at 1639 Nc 24/27, Albemarle, NC, on 5/22/2021 22:44. ♦ Clark, Joshua Nmn (W /M/36) Arrest on chrg of 1) Assault On Govt Official/emply (M), 2) Injury To Real Property (M), and 3) Other - Free Text (M), at 126 S Third St, Albemarle, NC, on 5/22/2021 ♦ Parker, Shelia Kimrey (W /F/52) Cited on Charge of Dwlr Impaired Rev (202100411), at 929 N Main St/wind Rd, Norwood, NC, on 5/22/2021 ♦ Ingram, Basil Wayne (W /M/54) Arrest on chrg of Possession Of Stolen Firearm (F), at 126 South Third Rd, Albemarle, NC, on 5/21/2021 ♦ Rahl, Keith Joseph (W /M/41) Arrest on chrg of Assault On Female (M), at 126 South Third St, Albemarle, NC, on 5/21/2021 ♦ Petrea, Amanda Nichole (W /F/28) Arrest on chrg of 1) Simple Possess Sch Iv Cs (m) (M) and 2) Fta - Criminal Summons Or Citation (M), at Millingport, Locust, NC, on 5/21/2021 ♦ Yarboro, Jonathan Welborn (W M, 30) Arrest on chrg of Consp Sell/deliver Sch Iii Cs(F), at 126 S Third St, Albemarle, on 05/19/2021 ♦ Mcpherson, Alexander Douglas

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2020 Kennedy Center honoree, country singersongwriter Garth Brooks stands with his wife, Trisha Yearwood, at the 43nd Annual Kennedy Center Honors at The Kennedy Center on Friday, May 21, 2021, in Washington, D.C.

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♦ Clark, Wanda Christine (W /F/76) Arrest on chrg of Injury To Personal Property (M), at 35419 Dry Rd, Albemarle, NC, on 5/23/2021

JUNE 1

the centerpiece of the event — were split into two other nights; one took place Thursday and the second is scheduled for Saturday.

Kennedy Center President Deborah Rutter told reporters they “had been filming tributes all over campus.” All the events will be edited into a television special, which will be broadcast on CBS on June 6.

The honorees met with President Joe Biden on Thursday, marking a return to tradition after former President Donald Trump avoided the celebration during his tenure. Trump’s presence in the White House hung over the annual events from the start, with several 2017 honorees threatening to boycott if he attended.

Trump chose to stay away for the entirety of his time in office, to the quiet relief of administrators who otherwise may have faced an uprising from the artists.

The performing arts center is planning a full-scale reopening in September with events slowly ramping up until then. The 44th Kennedy Center Honors program should take place, back on its usual schedule, in December.

POSTMASTER: Stanly County Journal 1550 N.C. Hwy 24/27 W, Albemarle, N.C. 28001.

♦ Sandoval, Maximino (U /M/31) Arrest on chrg of Assault And Battery (M), at Hmong Alliance Church Pva, Albemarle, NC, on 5/23/2021

TUESDAY

DEATH NOTICES (W /M/26) Arrest on chrg of Driving While Impaired (M), at Bearcreek Ch Rd., New London, NC, on 5/21/2021 ♦ Holt, Bryan Michael (W M, 32) Arrest on chrg of Threatening Phone Calls, M (M), at126 S Third St, Albemarle, on 05/20/2021 ♦ Braley, Justin Lee (W M, 24) Arrest on chrg of Assault On Female (M), at 126 S FirstSt, Albemarle, on 05/21/2021 ♦ Ingram, Basil Wayne (W /M/54) Arrest on chrg of 1) Pwimsd Methamphetamine (F), 2) Maintain Veh/dwell/place Cs (f) (F), and 3) Possess Drug Paraphernalia (M), at 2535 Badin Rd, Albemarle, NC, on 5/20/2021 ♦ Blue, Brandon Lee (W M, 37) Arrest on chrg of Possess Heroin (F), at 1527 Inger St,Albemarle, on 05/21/2021 ♦ Rupp, Brett Adam (W /M/26) Arrest on chrg of Contempt Of Court (M), at 126 S Third St, Albemarle, NC, on 5/19/2021 ♦ Knight, Brenda Parker (B /F/57) Arrest on chrg of Contempt Of Court, M (M), at 201 South Second Street, Albemarle, NC, on 5/19/2021

on 5/19/2021 ♦ Morgan, Justin Paul (W /M/30) Arrest on chrg of 1) Trafficking,opium Or Heroin (F), 2) Pwimsd Methamphetamine (F), 3) Pwimsd Sch I Cs (F), 4) Maintain Veh/dwell/place Cs (f) (F), 5) Possess Drug Paraphernalia (M), and 6) Dwlr Not Impaired Rev (M), at 26173 Newt Rd/canton Rd, Albemarle, NC, on 5/19/2021

Paraphernalia (M), at Us 52 N/ James St, Misenheimer, NC, on 5/18/2021 ♦ Gregory, Andrew Tyler (W M, 25) Arrest on chrg of Assault On Female (M), at 308Ridge St, Albemarle, on 05/17/202

♦ Martha Sue Fraley, 77, Albemarle, passed away May 10.

♦ Byrd, Brandon Keith (W M, 37) Arrest on chrg of Communicate Threats, M (M), at1214 Pee Dee Av, Albemarle, on 05/19/2021

♦ Linda Sue Cranford Smith, 78, of Oakboro, passed away May 11.

♦ Taylor, Reggie Dale (W /M/40) Arrest on chrg of Dv Protection Order Violation (M), at 201 South Second Street, Albemarle, NC, on 5/19/2021

♦ Medley, Jada Briana (B F, 18) Arrest on chrg of Assault And Battery (M), at 31624 Nc740 Bypass/vickers Store Rd, Albemarle, on 05/21/2021

♦ Patricia Osteen Stepp, 88, passed away May 13.

♦ Brock, Bethany Amber (W /F/23) Arrest on chrg of 1) First Degree Burglary (F), 2) Breaking And Or Entering (f) (F), 3) Larceny After Break/ enter (F), 4) Larceny After Break/enter (F), 5) Obtain Property False Pretense (F), and 6) Possession Of Stolen Firearm (F), at 28110 Nc 24/27, Richfield, NC, on 5/18/2021

♦ Caldwell, William James (B M, 54) Arrest on chrg of Habitual Larceny (F), at Walmart, Albemarle, on 05/21/2021

♦ Auman, Dylan Brent (W /M/25) Arrest on chrg of 1) Felony Larceny (F), 2) Obtain Property False Pretense (F), and 3) Alter/ remove Nmv Serial Number (M), at 20111 Bear Creek Road, New London, NC, on 5/18/2021

♦ Troxler, Nicholas Gavin (W M, 30) Arrest on chrg of Felony Possession Sch Ii Cs (F),at 636 Nc 24-27 Bypass E, Albemarle, on 05/22/2021 ♦ Anderson, Bryan Scott (W M, 57) Arrest on chrg of Assault On Female (M), at 216Park Ridge Rd, Albemarle, on 05/22/2021 ♦ Blalock, Joy Denise (W F, 51) Arrest on chrg of Assault And Battery (M), at 216 ParkRidge Rd, Albemarle, on 05/22/2021

♦ Stokes, James Alan (B /M/32) Arrest on chrg of Assault On Female (M), at 126 S Third St, Albemarle, NC, on 5/19/2021

♦ Moua, Fuchee Matt (A /M/35) Arrest on chrg of 1) Felony Larceny (F) and 2) Felony Conspiracy (F), at S. 3rd St, NC, on 5/18/2021

♦ Macias, Ulises Chong (W M, 50) Arrest on chrg of Driving While Impaired, M (M), at502 Salisbury Av, Albemarle, on 05/23/2021

♦ Sharpe, Kathy Elaine (W /F/40) Arrest on chrg of 1) Trafficking,opium Or Heroin (F) and 2) Pwimsd Sch I Cs (F), at 16628 Indian Mound Road, Albemare, NC, on 5/19/2021

♦ Moua, Fucha Timothy (A /M/34) Arrest on chrg of 1) Felony Larceny (F) and 2) Felony Conspiracy (F), at S 3rd St, NC, on 5/18/2021

♦ Drye, Torrence Octavius (B M, 48) Arrest on chrg of Resisting Public Officer, M (M),at 412 Coggins Av, Albemarle, on 05/23/2021

♦ Clark, Joshua Nmn (W /M/36) Arrest on chrg of 1) Resisting Public Officer (M), 2) Communicate Threats (M), 3) Simple Possess Sch Vi Cs (m) (M), and 4) Possess Marij

♦ Huneycutt, Robert James (W M, 30) Arrest on chrg of Possess Heroin (F), at 815Concord Rd, Albemarle, on 05/23/2021

♦ Norman, Wendy Lynn (W /F/45) Arrest on chrg of 1) Possess Methamphetamine (F) and 2) Possess Drug Paraphernalia (M), at 1315 E Main St/pond Rd, Locust, NC,

♦ Tou Vue, 51, of Albemarle, passed away on May 4.

♦ Charles Alton Roger Lentz, 83, of New London, passed away May 15. ♦ Selma P. Boudov, 99, of Albemarle, passed away May 16. ♦ David Columbus Lowder, 67, of Norwood, passed away May 19. ♦ Alvin “Jim” Coburn Earnhardt, 92, of Misenheimer, passed away Thursday, May 20 ♦ Lorene Underwood Scott, 93, of Albemarle, passed away May 20. ♦ Joel Lee Efird, 57, of Locust, passed away May 22. ♦ Rodney Byant Poplin, 67, of Norwood, passed away May 22. ♦ Virginia Miller Hathcock, 78, of Albemarle, passed away May 24.

See OBITS, page 7

Stanly County Journal for Wednesday, May 26, 2021

OPINION

3

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor VISUAL VOICES

COLUMN | REP. RICHARD HUDSON

A world in crisis needs a united America

We are facing many challenges.

But with these solutions and others, we can be optimistic about our future.

IF YOU TURN ON the television, it looks like the world is on fire.

From Chinese aggression towards Taiwan, to Russian hacking, to terrorists backed by Iran attacking Israel — American resolve is being tested like never before. However, I remain optimistic for the future and took action last week to address several of the crises we are facing.

Israel is our strongest ally in the Middle East and came under increasing attacks last week from Hamas terrorists. It is heartbreaking to see what is happening to innocent civilians during these attacks. I have always stood with Israel, which has a right to defend itself and should have overwhelming and bipartisan support in Congress. Yet, I have been so disappointed with anti-Israel rhetoric coming from some of my Democrat colleagues. I was encouraged last week when President Biden affirmed Israel’s right to self-defense. However, in recent days, Democratic members of Congress blamed Israel for attacks and the chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee called for a delay to arms sales to Israel.

Last week, I voted to support the Palestinian International Terrorism Support Prevention Act, which would sanction persons and foreign governments that provide support for Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, such as Iran. My Democratic counterparts unfortunately rejected consideration of this bill outright. They also overwhelmingly voted against providing emergency funding to Israel for the Iron Dome and other defense programs. These, along with ongoing efforts by the Biden administration to negotiate with Iran, one of the largest state sponsors of terrorism, harm the security of Israel and undermine peace in the region.

On Thursday, Israel announced a ceasefire that I pray will lead to a lasting peace. However, this conflict has reinforced the importance of providing security assistance and support to Israel. I hope President Biden will not waver on this long-standing commitment and ignore the growing anti-Israel faction in his party to stand with Israel against terrorists.

Sadly, President Biden gave an early Christmas gift to a different foe last week: Russia.

As a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee and U.S. Helsinki Commission, I am focused on both expanding America’s energy economy and holding Russia accountable. President Biden’s decision to green light the Nord Stream II pipeline seriously undermines both of these goals. At the same time President Biden stopped an American pipeline that would create American jobs,

he approved a Russian pipeline that would strengthen Russia’s stranglehold on Europe. This ridiculous logic is a slap in the face to American workers, as well as our allies in Europe who will now fall even more under Russia’s thumb.

I introduced a resolution last week to oppose this pipeline and urge President Biden to stand up to Russia. It also calls out the Biden administration for reversing on previous statements made opposing the Russian pipeline.

I have worked for several years to oppose this pipeline because Russia uses natural gas as leverage over Europe. Should Europe refuse Russian demands, Russia could easily cut off energy exports to the European Union, leaving Europe in an energy crisis. Our allies should never have to operate under fear of Russian retaliation and blackmail.

I am disappointed by the President’s reversal on this project but will continue to build opposition in Congress.

While there are many challenges facing our nation, House Republicans have solutions to many of them. In addition to these measures to stand with Israel and push back against Russia, I joined my colleagues in the Republican Study Committee last week to unveil a common-sense budget proposal.

This proposal balances our budget in 5 years, cuts spending by $14.4 trillion, and reduces taxes by $1.9 trillion - or $16,000 per household.

While Washington Democrats try to raise taxes and spend us into oblivion, we laid out this framework for how to grow our economy.

It also secures our border; includes 17 pro-life bills; and defends our Second Amendment by including my H.R. 38, the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act. I was glad my bill was included in this proposal, which offers a clear contrast of the priorities between House Republicans and House Democrats.

We are facing many challenges. But with these solutions and others, we can be optimistic about our future. Just look at the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week, we celebrated the one-year anniversary of the creation of Operation Warp Speed. On May 15, 2020, former President Donald Trump set the ambitious goal of having a vaccine developed, manufactured and distributed in record speed. One year later, anyone who wants a vaccine, can get one. This was, and continues to be, a remarkable achievement that set us down the path toward a renewed sense of normalcy. Clearly, we can accomplish anything we set our minds to. I will continue to seek bipartisan solutions and will never stop working on behalf of you and your family.

COLUMN | ERICK ERICKSON

Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!

In spreading the gospel, Paul had wiped out income and mythology, which brewed resentment.

Today, the Temple of Artemis is a ruin.

IN SCRIPTURE, Acts 19 recounts a series of miracles that led to mass conversions of residents of Ephesus. The conversions created an economic problem.

Ephesus was, at the time, world-renowned for a temple to the Greek goddess Artemis, one of the wonders of the ancient world. As people began converting en masse to Christianity with St. Paul’s preaching, temple visits declined, as did the purchase of idols. According to Luke, the writer of Acts, a silversmith named Demetrius who made silver replicas of Artemis began rallying other men of similar trades to fend off the Christians.

“Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth. And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods. And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship,” Demetrius said. (Acts 19:25-27) “When they heard this, they were enraged and were crying out, ‘Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!’” (Acts 19:28). A riot broke out, and the Ephesians seized Paul’s companions. The rioters had to be calmed.

For two hours, the crowd chanted, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” before being calmed. In spreading the gospel, Paul had wiped out income and mythology, which brewed resentment. Today, the Temple of Artemis is a ruin.

Two thousand years later, as true religion recedes in America and secularism rises, the Ephesians are back now as the wokes. By any measure, the United States has continued to advance and heal the wounds of slavery and racial discord. Nonwhite Americans continue growing into the middle class and beyond. Contrary to what the Democrats would have us believe, nonwhite voter participation keeps rising, even with Republican election-reform measures in

place. Younger Americans are far more open and tolerant of others, regardless of race, ethnicity, etc.

There are racists still because there is sin in the world, and racism is one. But as Americans move beyond the sins of the past, the cry of systemic racism gets louder. It is the new, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” This time, instead of silver idols, it is Ibram X. Kendi’s and Robin DiAngelo’s books. Buy them to repent. Pay a speaker’s fee. Have a critical race theory advocate perform seminars. Hire a “diversity, equity and inclusion” czar for your company or school. “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

It is not a coincidence that as Americans move beyond the soft bigotry of the baby boomer to that of those born after Jim Crow and the Civil Rights marches, the claims of bigotry, racism and division are getting louder. Those who have made comfortable livings spreading division have to push new grievances and hucksterism. A mostly white secular elite who are into idol worship, mostly of themselves, still feel a need to repent. So, they buy the books, attend the seminars, put Black Lives Matter signs in their yard and impose their idol worship on everyone else as virtuous.

As Christ commanded his followers to spread his gospel message and preach, teach and baptize in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, so the wokes spread their gospel of discord, which is both devoid of hope and deeply anchored in never-ending grievance. Heretics of Christianity added inconsistencies to a consistent Christian orthodoxy.

Heretics of wokeism merely point out the consistent inconsistencies of critical race theory. How exactly can a race or gender that is socially constructed also be determinative? It is heretical to ask. Instead, buy a book, virtue-signal with a donation to a woke charity and attend a class on equity. Whatever you do, do not let the wounds heal and love your neighbor.

After all, the silversmiths have idols to sell. “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

Stanly County Journal for Wednesday, May 26, 2021

4

SPORTS SIDELINE REPORT MLB

Joe West breaks record for most games as ump Chicago North Carolina native Joe West broke the record for most games as a major league umpire with No. 5,376 when he worked the Cardinals-White Sox game in Chicago on Monday.

Now 68, the former Elon quarterback started out in the majors in 1976. The first time he worked the plate, knuckleballing Hall of Famer Phil Niekro was throwing to Braves catcher Dale Murphy. West broke the mark set by Bill Klem, who worked from 1905-41.

NBA

Utah’s Clarkson named 6th man of the year Salt Lake City Utah’s Jordan Clarkson, the only player to come off the bench and score 40 points in a game this season, was announced Monday as the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year. Utah teammate Joe Ingles was second, marking the first time the top two finishers for this award came from the same franchise. It’s the first time a Jazz player has won the award. Clarkson finished with 65 of the 100 first-place votes cast from a global panel of reporters who cover the league and appeared on all but five of the ballots.

ETHAN HYMAN | THE NEWS & OBSERVER VIA AP

Nina King speaks during last Friday's press conference where she was introduced as Duke's new athletic director.

Duke’s Nina King embraces being role model

SOCCER

The Blue Devils’ new athletics director is the third black woman to become AD in a power conference

Court order would allow 15-year-old to sign with NSWL team

By Aaron Beard The Associated Press

Portland, Ore. A federal judge has granted a 14-day restraining order that allows 15-year-old Olivia Moultrie to sign with a National Women’s Soccer League team. The order issued Monday by U.S. District Judge Karin J. Immergut comes in a lawsuit that is challenging the league’s rule prohibiting players under 18. The lawsuit alleges that the rule violates antitrust law and hinders Moultrie’s career development and chances of reaching the U.S. national team. It is unclear whether any NWSL team will sign Moultrie, who currently trains with the Portland Thorns but does not play in games.

WNBA

Sun coach suspended, fined for comment about player’s weight Uncasville, Conn.

Connecticut Sun coach Curt Miller has been fined $10,000 and suspended for one game by the WNBA for making a disparaging remark to a referee Sunday about the weight of Las Vegas Aces post player Liz Cambage. In a social media post following the Aces’ 72-65 loss to the Sun on Sunday, Cambage said Miller showed a lack of respect. The coach, while arguing whether a call should have gone the Sun’s way, told the official she weighed 300 pounds.

Miller issued a statement Monday apologizing to Cambage and the Aces.

DURHAM — Nina King knows she faces a big responsibility in taking over as Duke’s athletics director later this year. It’s not just about managing a 27-sport program in a marquee league.

King will become only the third black woman AD in a power conference. Two have come in a year, a sign of progress when it comes to diversity hiring in leadership roles in major college athletics.

King hopes it’s a start.

“I do feel a great responsibility, and I embrace that,” King said Friday during her introductory campus news conference. “I am excited and … I want to show little girls who look like me that this is possible.”

The school announced King’s promotion last Wednesday, saying the administrator would take over officially Sept. 1 with the retirement of Kevin White. King, 42, is currently a senior deputy athletic director for administration and legal affairs as well as chief of staff, working on White’s staff at Duke since 2008.

She joins Carla Williams at fellow Atlantic Coast Conference school Virginia and Candice Lee at Vanderbilt in the Southeastern Conference as the only black wom-

en serving as ADs among the 65 power-conference schools. Williams was the first in October 2017, while Lee followed almost exactly one year ago after working as interim AD. The other women ADs in the Power Five are: Heather Lyke with Pittsburgh in the ACC, Sandy Barbour with Penn State in the Big Ten and Jennifer Cohen with Washington in the Pac-12.

“Listen, we need to get better,” King said. “Six female ADs in the Power Five? I mean, three black females? We need to do better.

And I’m happy to kind of be the next step toward progress, and I’m committed to helping ensure that more females, more people of color, have opportunities like I do.”

“This is, for me, a good sign that we’re doing that.”

King said she had spoken with Williams numerous times during the process and has been close with Lee for several years.

As Lee put it Friday: “It’s a small club, but it’s a special club.”

“There’s no doubt that you feel pressure,” Lee told the AP. “You certainly feel like a spotlight is on you and you want to make sure that you don’t give any reason why other people, deserving people,

Elliott wins on another road course, takes rain-shortened COTA debut The Cup Series’ first race at the Texas track ended early because of inclement weather

By Jim Vertuno The Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas — Chase Elliott managed the slipping and sliding, the standing water and the poor visibility that made it hard for drivers to see just a few feet in front of them.

And when the NASCAR Cup Series’ debut at the Circuit of the Americas ended early because of poor racing conditions in the rain, Elliott had earned not just his first victory of the season but also historic ones for Hendrick Motorsports and Chevrolet.

Elliott’s Texas Grand Prix victory after 54 of the expected 68 laps was win No. 800 for Chevrolet and No. 268 for Hendrick Motorsports, which tied Petty Enterprises for most victories.

“I never thought we’d win this many races,” said team owner Rick Hendrick, whose team had also earned win Nos. 400, 500, 600 and 700 for Chevrolet. He called it “an honor” to tie Petty.

“I’m so proud for Chevrolet,” Hendrick said. “I’ve never raced anything but Çhevrolet.”

When pressed on what wins

CHUCK BURTON | AP PHOTO

Joey Logano and Tyler Reddick lead a pack of cars on the rainsoaked Circuit of the Americas track in Austin, Texas, on Sunday. stand out over the years, Hendrick said, “It takes every one of those wins to get to the number we got to now. There’s just so many. All of them are special.”

Sunday’s race will be notable for ending defending Cup champion Elliott’s winless drought, and for putting the drivers through a soggy and occasionally muddy mess

before it was ended under the second red flag of the afternoon as the rain only got worse.

Elliott’s teammate Kyle Larson and Team Penske’s Joey Logano rounded out the top three.

“It’s not the ideal way to win, but we’ll take it,” said Elliott, who said he also had several close calls in the tricky conditions. “If they

would not get opportunities.

“I would say the good part is, and I think I can speak for all three of us, we are highly motivated, very driven. And so I think that regardless we would put the pressure on ourselves to do a good job.”

King has handled daily operation and oversight of Duke’s athletic department and served last season as the chairwoman of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee that selects and seeds the tournament field.

She takes over at a time when schools nationally are grappling with financial hits from the COVID-19 pandemic and the impending arrival of college athletes being able to profit from use of their name, image and likenesses.

She also faces the potential of hiring the successor to Hall of Fame men’s basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski (74 years old) as well as football coach David Cutcliffe (66).

Despite challenges ahead, King knows she has people she can rely on for advice. It includes Williams and Lee in what King hopes is a still-growing group of peers.

“Both of them, great advice: stay true to who are you are,” King said, “and be yourself.”

say race, we’re going to go. If they make the call to say its not doable or not smart, that’s what we’ll do.”

Elliott earned his sixth career road course victory and has won five of the last six road races in the Cup Series. He has 12 Cup wins overall.

The race call was a disappointing finish to the series’ first run at a track built for Formula One, and organizers will have to decide if they want to make the Austin track a regular stop.

The rain started on the opening lap. The trickiest section to drive was the long, high-speed straight as the drivers risked hydroplaning or not being able to see through the spray kicked up by the cars around them.

The worst crash came when Cole Custer, seeking a visible racing line, smashed into the back of Martin Truex Jr. — who had just hit Michael McDowell — and Custer’s front end briefly burst into a fireball on lap 25. Both drivers were checked at the medical center and released.

“We don’t have any business being out in the rain, period,” said veteran driver Kevin Harvick. “All I can say is this is the worst decision that we’ve ever made in our sport that I’ve been a part of, and I’ve never felt more unsafe in my whole racing career, period.”

Larson shrugged off some of the concerns. He was in late position to challenge Elliott for the win before the race ended.

“There’s nothing safe about being a race car driver,” Larson said.

“It was getting pretty crazy ...

That’s kind of what you have to expect from racing in the rain.”

Stanly County Journal for Wednesday, May 26, 2021

5

West, North Stanly baseball teams undefeated in conference play The Colts and Comets are looking to be top seeds in next month’s conference tournaments

By Jesse Deal Stanly County Journal

CHARLIE NEIBERGALL | AP PHOTO

American Nyjah Huston practices during an Olympic qualifying skateboard event at Lauridsen Skatepark in Des Moines, Iowa. Skateboarding will make its Olympic debut in Tokyo.

Ready or not, skateboarding takes its show to the Olympics The sport will debut at the Tokyo Games in July

By Eddie Pells The Associated Press DES MOINES, Iowa — The hotel door opens and, fast as that, the sound of polyurethane clicking across concrete begins. The rhythmic grrrr-chk-chk-grrrr-chk-chkgrrrr-chk-chk sound of wheels scooting over cracks in the sidewalk is a telltale sign that something is different in Des Moines.

Skateboarders have taken over Middle America this week. It’s a dress rehearsal for this summer, when they’ll bring their show to the rest of the world at the Olympics.

The questions under the magnifying glass at this week’s Dew Tour — one of the last major qualifying events for the Tokyo Games in July — are whether the Olympics is ready for skateboarding and, more tellingly, whether skateboarding is ready for the Olympics.

“That’s the beautiful thing about skateboarding,” said Mariah Duran, a 24-year-old from Albuquerque, New Mexico, who is one of a handful of U.S. medal hopefuls. “It takes you places you’ve never been.”

More than 20 years after its win-

tertime cousin, snowboarding, reluctantly took to the biggest stage in sports, skateboarding is grinding its way into the much more crowded summer program. It’s one of a number of attempts by the International Olympic Committee — surfing, rock climbing and 3-on-3 basketball are also debuting in Tokyo — to appeal to a younger, trendier, more easily distracted audience.

Regardless of whether either side enjoys a boost from this new partnership, suffice it to say that none of it would’ve happened without the 1998 introduction of snowboarding to the Olympics. Despite its now-veteran status in the games, the so-called shredders still get treated like the shiny new thing on the shelf every four years. And while the entire sport has prospered over the two decades, snowboarding has delivered only two athletes the average person might recognize on the street: Shaun White and Chloe Kim. The most successful skaterboarder in the current-day group is American Nyjah Huston, a 12time X Games and five-time world champion who, in a sign of where the soul of this sport has already moved, includes a shoe deal with Nike among his cache of endorsements.

“I never put much thought into it being in the Olympics,” Huston said. “I was always confused about why it wasn’t in there, but at least it’s in there now, and I’m hyped for it.”

There’s also, Sky Brown, the 12-year-old competing for her father’s home country of Britain who spent about half her time growing up in Japan, her mother’s native country and the place where all the action is happening this summer.

She also surfs and recently took time off to star in, and win, “Dancing With The Stars: Juniors.”

If the Olympics might be viewed as offering some sort of mainstream seal of approval to a once-rebellious sport, what’s left to be seen is whether the five rings will keep it fun or suck the life out of it. That, even two decades later, is a debate they’re still having about the superpipe in snowboarding.

However their show plays in Tokyo, skateboarders feel pretty good about their place in the sports world these days.

“I never needed the Olympics to justify skateboarding for me,” 50-year-old icon Mike Vallely said.

“But I sure get a lot of phone calls now. They see it’s in the Olympics and they know I was involved in all this. I feel like I did some good work.”

STANLY COUNTY — As the 2021 high school baseball season moves forward, two Stanly County teams are sitting at the top of their respective conferences with undefeated records against their conference opponents.

The West Stanly Colts (7-1, 6-0) currently have a one-game lead over Mount Pleasant (71, 5-1) for the lead of the Rocky River 2A Conference, while the North Stanly Comets (4-2, 4-0) are tied with Uwharrie Charter Academy (7-1, 4-0) for the lead of the Yadkin Valley 1A Conference.

The Colts, who have notched six wins in a row, are scheduled to travel to Anson (3-5, 3-3) on Thursday night for their next conference matchup. West Stanly’s only loss of the season came in a nonconference home loss against the South Stanly Bulls (5-3, 2-3 YVC) on April 30.

The Colts have been dominant this season, scoring 68 runs while allowing only 17.

In four of their six conference matchups, the Colts have held opponents to one or no runs.

After an upcoming two-game series with Anson, West Stanly will hold a two-game series against Mount Pleasant, possibly for the lead of the RRC heading into the conference tournament June 10.

Meanwhile, North Stanly is looking to continue its strong start versus YVC opponents with a road trip to Chatham Central (6-2, 4-1) on Thursday before facing Uwharrie Charter Academy on Friday.

The Comets began their year with two road losses to RRC challengers — West Stanly and Mount Pleasant — before settling into YVC play with victories over North Rowan (0-6, 0-5) and Gray Stone Day (1-5, 1-5), where they outscored those teams by a combined 38-0.

As a whole, North Stanly has scored 65 runs during the season while allowing only 18.

Junior Luke Shaver leads the Comets at the plate with a team-high .500 batting average and nine hits. Freshman Chance Blake has made an impact in his first season with a .412 batting average and seven hits. Junior Nic Melton also has seven hits this year.

The Comets are collectively batting .341 with 56 hits and 49 RBIs. The bulk of the team’s pitching duties have been handed to freshman Cole Smith, who has a 2-1 record and 3.00 ERA in four starts.

Smith has recorded 34 strikeouts while allowing 14 hits and eight earned runs.

A two-game series against South Stanly, followed by home matchups with Gray Stone Day and Pine Lake Preparatory (8-0, 8-0 PAC 7 Conference), will round out the rest of the Comets’ regular season heading into midJune.

68 Runs scored in six games this season for North Stanly

One more thrill: Mickelson wins at 50 in raucous PGA The fan favorite won his sixth major on Sunday

By Ben Nuckols The Associated Press KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. — Standing on the 18th tee with a two-shot lead in a championship he refused to imagine himself winning, Phil Mickelson took one last violent swing with a driver — the club that betrayed him 15 years earlier in the U.S. Open.

His tee shot Sunday in the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island landed only a few yards off the fairway, but it still nestled among the people — the gallery packed tightly between the ropes and a row of hospitality tents — screaming the name of their aging hero.

After Mickelson’s approach shot settled on the green, assuring the 50-year-old of becoming the oldest major champion in history, the crowd swallowed him up entirely.

Phil Mickelson, the people’s champion.

“It’s an incredible experience.

I’ve never had something like that,” Mickelson said. “It was a little bit unnerving, but it was exceptionally awesome, too.”

Golf can be cruel to veteran, sentimental favorites. Ben Hogan at the 1955 U.S. Open. Greg Norman at the 1996 Masters and the British Open a dozen years later.

And, perhaps most heartbreaking, 59-year-old Tom Watson at the 2009 British Open.

Mickelson, too, has had as many close calls as major victories — most of them at the U.S. Open, where he’s been runner-up six times. Winged Foot — where he gave away a one-shot lead on

CHRIS CARLSON | AP PHOTO

Phil Mickelson walks up the 18th fairway during Sunday’s final round of the PGA Championship on the Ocean Course in Kiawah Island, South Carolina. the 72nd hole in 2006 — wasn’t the first, or the last.

But now, the two biggest stars of their generation have a signature late-career win. Tiger Woods overcame four back surgeries, turmoil in his personal life and 11 years of frustration in major championships to win the Masters two years ago at age 43.

Mickelson — happy at home and injury-free — merely stretched the limits of what’s possible after a half-century on Earth.

“There’s no reason why I or anybody else can’t do it at a later age.

It just takes a little more work,” Mickelson said.

Nine days earlier, Mickelson accepted a special exemption to play in the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines in his hometown of San Diego. Now he’s assured at least five more cracks at the lone major that has eluded him. The victory makes him exempt at the U.S. Open through 2025.

Already a Hall of Famer, Mick-

elson joined Nick Faldo and Lee Trevino as six-time major winners.

Only 11 players have won more. If he somehow won another in his 50s, he’d match Arnold Palmer, Bobby Jones, Gene Sarazen, Sam Snead and Harry Vardon.

The records Mickelson shattered were numerous. Julius Boros for 53 years held the distinction of golf’s oldest major champion. He was 48 when he won the 1968 PGA Championship.

Mickelson became the first play-

er in PGA Tour history to win tournaments 30 years apart. The first of his 45 titles was in 1991, when he was still a junior at Arizona State.

Mickelson joined Woods among the 10 players who’ve won majors in three decades.

“I don’t know how to describe the feeling of excitement and fulfillment and accomplishment to do something when — you know, of this magnitude when very few people thought that I could,” Mickelson said.

area.”

EMPHIS, Tenn. — Faced He also cited a widespread fear the threat of overburdened of being unnecessarily exposed to itals, states across the country onverting convention centers, Stanly County Journal for Wednesday, Maythe 26,virus.

2021 “All around, people are scared,” ts facilities and performance he said. es into backup treatment sites Their fears are not unfounded. oronavirus patients.

In this majority-black city along What some Memphis, Tenthe Mississippi River, lawmakers e, residents don’t get is why in and community leaders have been r city, a shopping center in the sounding the alarm over what they dle of a predominantly black, see as a disturbing trend of the viincome residential neighborrus killing African Americans at a d has been chosen. higher rate. ty and state officials are conNutbush resident Patricia Hared that an influx of patients ris wondered aloud if city officials m Memphis, as well as nearby has historically been used to deStephen Groves were “trying to contaminate” the sissippi, By Arkansas and rural fend against lawsuits, not launch The Associated Press neighborhood.

Tennessee, will strain hospithem. Noem is taking a role usuActivist Earle Fisher, an AfriTheir fears are echoed across SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — South ally played by the attorney generADRIAN SAINZ | AP PHOTO can American Memphis pastor, country:Dakota Governors, mayors Gov. Kristi Noem cata- al — she is the only governor to be understands the anxiety. “This health pulted experts in numerous This Friday, April 3,attorneys 2020 photo, listed alongside general shows Gateway Shopping Center onto the list of conservafrom nine other states in the clitive politicians favored by former is an honest and reasonable cones are also researching and in Memphis, Tenn.

Donaldmedical Trump with her mate regulations lawsuit. In the cern and skepticism,” Fisher said. tructingPresident makeshift approach to the pan- Mount Rushmore lawsuit, Noem “I think it’s par for the course for ities. libertarian demic. With the virus waning, she has the backing of Republican black people to be righteously a Chinese restaurant and other Lee has disclosed a few: the Mun New York City, they’re turnmay be seeking to stay there by attorneys general from 16 other skeptical of governmental intersictoCity Center in Nashville, the businesses. o the Javits Center states. picking someconvention legal fights sure By taking the lead on Center, the state’s please the Locating a treatment center for vention that did not consult with Convention in Chicago, theright.

McCormick Chattanooga legal matters, has — entered In recent weeks, has Knoxville ExpoNoem Center all coronavirus patients there pos- people on the ground first.” e Convention Center; and Noem in the a see-sawing legal battleneighthat has es two problems, residents say: court to challenge Doug McGowen, the city’s chief sites away from residential dy, Utah,gone the to Mountain Amer- President Joe Biden’s administration played out in recent years between operating officer, said the GateIt could potentially expose them borhoods.

Expo Center. for blocking an Independence the president in power and states way site was being considered beto the virus amid concerns that The Gateway Shopping Cenhe U.S. Day Army Corps of Engicelebration with fireworks at controlled by the opposing parcause it could potentially accomter in ty. theMembers Nutbush neighborhood s has been scouting locations of both parties, from blacks are contracting COVID-19 Mount Rushmore.

She also joined California Democratic Gov. Gavin a lawsuit from several states Tennessee, and officials here of Memphis is different. The cen- at higher rates; and it could force modate hundreds of beds. He said Newsom to Florida against theofadministration overfeatures a Save A LotRepublican grocery some of the stores they rely on to if it were converted to a treatment compiled a list 35 possi- ter Gov. Ron DeSantis, have used a climate change regulations — one site, it would hold only mildly ill backup sites. They haven’t re- store, a Rent-A-Center, a Fami- close. of the only plaintiffs who doesn’t legal strategy to seize on nationcoronavirus patients who could be Nutbush resident and commuly Dollar, a beauty supply shop, ed the whole list, but Gov. Bill hail from a state heavily depen- al hot-button issues.

6

South Dakota’s Noem launches legal strategy to take on Biden

But launching lawsuits from dent on fossil fuels.

Noem says she’s simply act- the governor’s office is a new strating in the state’s interests, but egy for Noem — and one that has the tactic has given her a chance drawn criticism from some other to cast herself as one of Biden’s South Dakota Republicans.

Noem found an ally last year most prominent foes. She went on Fox News to announce the law- in then-President Trump, who suit over Mount Rushmore fire- cleared the way for fireworks at works, and later joined star host Rushmore despite longstandSean Hannity for a podcast titled ing concerns about fire danger.

Trump joined Noem for a July 3 “Noem vs. Biden.”

Noem told Hannity the only event that netted Noem pictures way “to get fairness on this issue” alongside the president, as well as was to sue the Biden administra- a seat with him on Air Force One tion, and cast it as a fight not just after the event.

TroyaJones, business consulfor South “ourSalman, son ofaKing Salman, Associated PressDakota but also forbin tanttointhe Sioux Falls and a Republination and the ability to celebrate assented deal. independence the way that can, said he had no problem with “I go with the consent, so I UBAI, our United Arab EmirNoem’s lawsuit, citing the imporour founders encouraged us to.” agree,” the said, chuckling, — OPEC,Instead Russiaof and other her at- tance prince of the monument. entrusting drawing “A a round of applause from roducing nations onwith Sunday decision’s been made that torney general the lawsuits, is objectively bad for my state,” has filed them herself by on those the video call. ized anNoem unprecedented proof thesmiles government a state legal fund that But Jones it hadsaid not been and ion cut tapping of nearly 10 million

PEC, oil nations agree o nearly 10M barrel cut

ment.

For Nutbush resident fear of contracting the matched with the worry th could lose stores that are the neighborhood. Offici ven’t said if stores would the Gateway facility was If they did, shopping wo come more difficult for re especially for those who ar have no means of transpo to stores located farther aw “For people who don’t car, what do they do?” ask ris, who spoke to The Ass Press while lugging a bott tergent, a package of bott ter and other items from t A Lot to her car. She note grocery store recently clos her house and she already travel farther to get to Gat “When we do things got to consider the people neighborhood,” she said. “W need to make the neighb worse than it already is.”

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, phis Democrat, said the d doesn’t make sense.

“I’m sure there are othe that would work, and they have used those rather t into a residential neighbo Cohen said.

SUSAN WALSH | AP PHOTO

In this Sept. 7, 2018, file photo President Donald Trump appears with South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem in Sioux Falls, S.D. blocking fireworks.

Paul Nolette, a Marquette University political science professor who studies attorneys general, said it’s unusual for a governor to represent a state in lawsuits against the federal government.

He attributed the move to Noem’s national ambitions — but also a rift with the state’s GOP attorney general, Jason Ravnsborg, who has been charged in a crash that killed a pedestrian last year.

Noem called for Ravnsborg to resign. He refused, saying he can still carry out the duties of his office. But he has kept a low profile.

Noem has made it clear she won’t be hindered by the attorney general’s reticence. Courting a national profile is a priority for Noem, who became a frequent Fox News guest in the past year in part due to a hands-off approach to managing the coronavirus pandemic without requiring masks or imposing any significant restrictions. Noem has also traveled the country to appear at political fundraisers and at conservative events such as CPAC, and also campaigned as a surrogate for Trump and for the GOP Senate candidates who ultimately lost

critical runoff elections in Georgia earlier this year.

Even some South Dakotans who enjoyed the Mount Rushmore fireworks said they would be watching to see if Noem’s lawsuit holds up to judicial scrutiny.

Linda Johnson, an independent voter from Sioux Falls who considers herself “fiscally conservative,” didn’t take issue with Noem fighting for the fireworks, but she also cautioned the governor.

“She has to own the consequences of every battle that she is taking the taxpayers into,” she said.

els, or a 10th of global supply, laughs for weeks after the soopes of boosting crashing pric- called OPEC+ group of OPEC mid the coronavirus pandemic members and other nations failed in March to reach an agreement a price war, officials said. and do not accept it lightly,” ElliThis could be the largest re- on production cuts, sending pricson said. “I have had, and continion in production from OPEC es tumbling. Saudi Arabia sharply ue to have, confidence in how both perhaps a decade, maybe lon- criticized Russia days earlier over County Attorney Orput and Counsaid U.S. Energy those demonstrating outside Or- ty Attorney Freeman have hanBy Amy ForlitiSecretary what it described as comments Brouillette, who Press credited critical of the kingdom, which put’s house, said she was glad to dled this case to date. ... ProsecuThe Associated ident Donald Trump’s per- finds itself trying to appease hear Ellison’s office was taking the tors are ministers of justice. This case. However, she said she would means we must and will follow MINNEAPOLIS — MinnesoTrump, a longtime OPEC critic. l involvement in getting duelaccept nothing less than murder justice wherever it leads.” ta Attorney General Keith Ellison Even U.S. senators had warned parties to the table and helpWhen asked whether the Chaucharges. announced that his office will lead to end the a price war between Saudi Arabia to find a way to “The case rises to the level of vin case would be a template for prosecution of a former suburboost prices as American shale di Arabiaban and Russia. murder charges,” she said. “This is how Ellison will handle Potter’s police officer who is charged il priceswith havesecond-degree collapsed asmanslaughter the firms face far-higher production not the situation where an officer case, Ellison told the Washingshould receive a slap on the wrist. ton Post that every case is unique. the death Daunte Wright. costs. American troops had been navirus inand the ofCOVID-19 to ENERGY ... I don’t know why anyone should “Our approach will be tailored SAUDI Former deployed to the kingdom for the ss it causes haveBrooklyn largely Center halt- Officer the case itself.

I don’t want anyone accept a manslaughter charge.”

Kim Potter, who is white, fatally lobal travel and slowed down first time since the Sept. 11, 2001, In this photo released by Saudi Energy Ministry, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al-Saud, Minist Levy Armstrong said racial to expect that because we did one shot Wright, a 20-year-old black attacks over concerns of Irani- Energy of Saudi Arabia, third right, r energy-chugging sectors chairs of the 20going energy in Group one case,of we’re to dominister profiling led toa virtual Wright’s summit initial thing motorist, on April 11. The city’s an retaliation amid regional ten- his office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as manufacturing.

It since has stepped Friday, April 10, escalat2020, tothe coordinate to plummet same thing a inresponse another case.” stop by police and Potter police chief, who has sions. stated down, the oil industry in Potter prices due to an oversupply in the market and downturn to the pandem In his demand statement,due Ellison said: ed the situation.

Sheaalso said Pot- in global had said he believed ter’s decades on the force and the “If prosecutors ensure that prosmeant to use her Taser instead of “They’ve spent over the last U.S., which now pumps more fact that she should’ve known bet- ecutions are vigorous and swift, her handgun. month waging war on American e than any other country. ter as a trainer all point to reasons if legislators at every level pass “Daunte Wright’s death was a the deal but its president, long-overdue Andrés praise. ut sometragedy. producers have been oil producers while we are defend- that Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and reforms, if police for more serious charges.

He should not have died “The puremisconsize of the cu Manuel López Obrador, had said demonstrates the United Arab Emirates would ing theirs.

This is not how friends ctant to on ease supply.

The carWright’s mother has said he leadership the day that he did. He should precedented, but, then ag Friday that he had agreed with cut another 2 million barrels of treat friends,” said Sen. Kevin nd other nations on Sunday was pulled over for an air fresh- duct has no place in the profesnot have died the way that he did,” sion, and if community continues is the impact the corona ener that wasthat hanging from will his compenTrump the U.S. Ellison said into a statement. ed to allow Mexico cut only Cramer, a Republican from North oil a day between them atop the keep cry for we said M rearview police say he to Ellison said heatook the case at having onjustice, demand,” sate mirror; what Mexico cannot add toup the OPEC+ deal. The three countries Dakota, before the OPEC+ deal.

000 barrels a month, stickcycle of historyan and was stopped for expired tabs, and will break the thean request of Hennepin med Ghulam, energy an the proposed cuts.

U.S. producers have already did not immediately acknowledge point for accord initially Counthen officers discovered he had a establish a new standard for justy Attorney Mike Freeman, after Raymond James.

“The big Oil Deal with OPEC been reducing output. The Amer- the cut themselves, though Zanhed Friday after a marathon warrant for a gross misdemean- tice.” another prosecutor — WashingButEllison Ghulam Plus ischarge. done. Potter This will hun- thanked ican Petroleum Institute laud- ganeh attended the video confero conference between 23 naforand his others or weapons fatal-save Orput ton County Attorney Pete Orput it may not be enough. dreds of thousands of he energy jobs and ed Sunday’s global pact, saying it ence. s. The nations agreed leadership said in a statement ly shot Wright seconds after — gave together the case back to Freeman’s thatsaid he was grateful Ellison’s officea tempo pulledinaway officers as they office. barrels a day will help get other nations’ state“This is at least the from United States,” Trump Officials said other planned cuts ut 9.7 million the case, that he be-industry tried to him. “I would like totook Orput unliefadding for the energy inarrest a tweet. thank oil production to follow the would stand in the deal, meaning ughout May andinitially June. had the caseowned lievesPuthe review and prosecution Assistant Attoran agreement signed year of U.S. producers that are try- an 8-million-barrel-per-day cut Ellison the global economy. This i and said congratulate President he groupder reached the deal justlast lead ney General Matthew Frank, who of cases like this belong with the in which metro-area prosecutors is too big to tin of Russia and King Salman of from July through the end of the ing to adjust to plunging demand. s before Asian markets remanages the office’s criminal divi- Attorney General’s Office. be let to fail and said they would take each other’s HENNEPIN COUNTY SHERIFF VIA AP, FILE showed Saudi Arabia.” year and a 6-million-barrel cut for Brouillette said the U.S. did not ned Monday and as internaGov. Tim liance Walz said he was responsibil also sion, will supervise the case. Frank cases in which someone dies after agreement,” said Per M saidin President 16the months beginning make This commitments of itsprovided own by glad Ellison’sthis office was taking the al benchmark Brent crude of theKremlin trial attorneys an officer uses force.

After Orput file booking photo Hennepin County, in 2021. was one The case.call Nysveen, the head of ana the case against Putin Derek Chauvin, charged manslaughMinnesota, shows Kim a former Center, Vladimir held a joint willBrooklyn enable the rebalancproduction cuts, sheriff but was able toPotter,“This ed at just overPotter $31 awith barrel verdict will bring Daunte a former police offi- King“No ter, heshale came under intense presMinnesota, officer.

Rystad Energy.

“Even tho withMinneapolis Trump and Saudi Salshow the obvious police — that plunging ing of the oil markets and the exAmerican producers cer convicted of murder and man- back to his family, but I have full sure from activists who called for man to express support of the production cuts are small because of the pandem- pected rebound of prices by $15 ggle. murder charges to be filed. demand slaughter in the May 25 death of faith that Attorney General ElliProwhat needed a deal.

It also said barrel in themurder short term,” is expected to slash U.S. oil proideo aired by the Saudi-owned son sepwill build the the best market team posGeorge Floyd.

Ellison willPutin active-spoke dicate whether charges said appropriate charge.

Ellison said per testers held demonstrations ic outpostpone the stock arately with Trump the to oilpursue statement lite channel Al-Arabiya duction. accountability for buildi ly assist, and Freeman’s office about will sible be filed. from Nigeria’s oil a review of the evidence and the awould side his home. that problem, tragic day,”the wor staff.

Nekima Levy Armstrong, a civ- also provide charges Potter is Zanunder- ministry.

Orput hadthat said publicly straints market and other issues. what happened Iranian Oil against Minister Bijan wed the moment Saudi that he Walz said. now avoided.” not seek this prosecution rights attorney was among his statement did not in- il Mexico believed manslaughter the way, offered cautious had who initially blocked “I did Analysts alsobuttold state television rgy Minister Prince Abdulazizwasganeh

Minnesota AG’s office to prosecute case in Wright’s death

& CREMATORY 522 North 2nd St. P.O. Box 7 Albemarle, NC 28002 Phone 704-983-1188

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12115 University City Blvd.

P.O. Box 219 Harrisburg, NC 28075 Phone 704-247-1722

Stanly County Journal for Wednesday, May 26, 2021

7

obituaries Stanly County Journal for Wednesday, April 15, 2020

7

obituaries Joel Efird

Richard Smith

Jerry Williams

Alvin Earnhardt

Genevieve Turner

JOEL LEE EFIRD, 57, of Locust, RICHARD DURWOOD SMITH, JERRY DEAN WILLIAMS, 78, ALVIN “JIM” COBURN passed away peacefully at home on Jr. passed away peacefully in of Oakboro, passed away Sunday, EARNHARDT, 92, of Misenheimer, GENEVIEVE “GEN” TURNER, Jason Tony Merle Danny Jerry Saturday, May 22, 2021.

Alpharetta, Georgia on May 19, 2021 May 23, 2021 at Atrium Health passed away Thursday, May 20, 2021 88, of Charlotte, passed away Joel was born May 5, 1964 in at the age of 84. Smith Stanly in Albemarle. at Woodhaven Court in Albemarle.

Monday, May 10, 2021 at Legacy Efird Helms Luther Fincher Stanly County to the late William He is survived by his wife, Veralyn Jerry was born January 2, 1943 Alvin was born July 15, 1928 in Heights Senior Living Community in ASON EUGENE “GENE” MONROE SMITH, 72, of in Stanly ERLE LORRAINE ANNY PAUL ERRY FINCHER Clayton Efird and Vallie Broadway MerrittONY Smith; daughters Marcille County to the lateAUSTIN Cletus Stanly County toLUTHER, the late Rondie Charlotte, NC. passed from EFIRD, 94, went home to be with Rockwell, NC, went to be with HELMS, 72, of Marshville, 65, of Norwood, passed away this life on April 3, 2020 at 8:05Lake, NY Efird. He was also preceded in death Nance of Cornelius, NC and Laura Williams and Gladys Huneycutt Eugene Earnhardt and Nellie Verna Gen was born at Tupper his Lord Tuesday, April 7, 2020, at his his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ passed away Wednesday, April 8, unexpectedly Thursday, April 9, pm. He was surrounded by his family by sister, Joyce Efird and an infant Armistead and her husband, Williams.

He was also preceded in Drye Earnhardt. on December 11, 1932 to the late Sam home in Stanfield. on Wednesday, April 8, 2020 at 2020 at McWhorter Hospice House 2020 at Atrium Health Stanly in and holding the hand of the love of grandbaby.

Kerry of Alpharetta, Georgia; death by his brother, Larry Williams.

Alvin, known to his co-workers Said Abdallah and the late Louise Gene was born October 9, 1925, in his home surrounded by family. A in Monroe.

Albemarle. his life. Jerry is preceded in death A private service will be held for 5 grandchildren, Cameron and The family will receive friends as “Jim”,was a brick mason, retired Abdallah.

She was also Cabarrus County to the late Simeon private family service will be held.

Lorraine was born April 28, 1947 Mr. Luther was born March 27, by three siblings, two brothers,preceded Billy family. Jason Joel will beand laidthe to late restSarah at Ella Richard Nance, and Ben, from 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM, Saturday, from Alcoa for 28 years. in death herand husband, Roy Turner Efird Online condolences canGrayson be made at in Monroe to the late Homer David 1955 toserving the late Robert Fulton and Gilbert Fincher, Larry Richard West Lawn Memorial China andstanlyfuneralhome.com Mack Armistead.

June 5, 2021 at Hartsell Funeral He began Alcoa career in 1952 Fincher, in 2006; sisters, Bourdon Burris Efird. In Park, addition to his Austin and Jewell Delphia-Jane Helen Tuckerhis Luther. and one sister,Jamel Barbra Joyce of Grove. parents, he was preceded in death by DickTony waswas born in Bishopville, SC Home ofShe Albemarle.

Graveside asDanny a carpenter.

He then went on Massena, NY in 1980 and Victoria born August 11, 1947 Austin. was also The preceded in was survived by his wife, Moore.

Joel was a loving husband and sisters, on July 7, 1936 to Richard Durwood officiated Chip Alsobrooks will to work in the Carbon and Euto of Albemarle, NC Eleanor in 2020. his wife, Jewell Little Efird; in Stanly County to the late Pearlie death by by brothers, A.D. and Teddy Denise Burleson Luther ofPlant Norwood; He is survived by his wife, Lambert, Fannie Asbury Smith and Emmer Lee Austin; Joythe Austin. sons, Jeremy (Karen) Luther and of the home, daughter, father ofMary three.

He worked inAlmond, textiles Smith, Sr. and Marjorie Lucille follow at and 5:00sister, PM in Oakboro Construction Department, where he Kate Fincher Gen graduated from Massena Minnie Furr, Burleson and Mozingo Smith.Smith.

He wasHe thegraduated son in law of Pat The family receive friends Jody Luther; step-sons, Bryan Fincher Jacobs of in Wingate and graduated fromWilma West Stanly Cemetery, 1397will North Main St., served as a brick mason beginning Cindy (NY) High School 1951 and from Aileenclass Huskey; and brothers, Mick Cagle where he from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm, Friday, Whitley Gregg (Anita) Whitley; son and daughter in law, TommyCollege High School, of 1982.

Joel wasHomerfromand Clemson University in worked 1959 at Oakboro. in Juneand 1966.

In addition, he also didNC.,Potsdam (NY) State Teachers Efird, Getus Efird and Wayne Efird, withthe fish house for many years until April 10, 2020 at Hartsell Grandchildren, Daniel and (Tiffany) Fincher New London very talented and enjoyed working a degree in Textile Engineering Survivors include wife, Funeral Judith carpentry work and Luther filled sheetrock in 1955.

Genofreceived a Master of opened Anchor Houseof Seafood Home ofWilliams Albemarle. funeralNC, Hunter Zado, as well as his brother, NC.,Science Step Children, Jimmy Degree (Lisa) from with hisSr. hands. He was a jack of all andhe was a charter member Greeson of The Oakboro, for Contractor James Tucker.

He in Education A private funeral service in Rockwell.

He and wifehe Becky service will be at 11:00 am on Bob Jr (Lorena), uncle Jack Hill Lanier of Locust NC,State Wanda (Bob) College trades. Joel had a good and funnywill be the Numeral Society.

Inhis 1978, daughter, Jerianna (Gary) Surratt wasLuther a lifetime member of Gold Potsdam (NY) Teachers held on Saturday, April 11, 2020 owned and operated Anchor House Saturday at Pleasant Hill Baptist Luther and several other loved nieces, Krimminger of Locust NC., Eric sense of humor. He was easy to get completed the Executive Leadership of Oakboro, NC; grandchildren Wesleyan Church where he served in 1965. at Love’s Grove United Methodist for 25 years before retiring in 2009.

Church in Marshville, officiated nephews and cousins.

(Sharon) Lanier of Charlotte NC., along with andCemetery never metinaStanfield stranger.

Program at UNC-Chapel and Benjamin andMiller Charlotte Surratt. on the Board of Directors, Gen taught English and Social Church Mr. Smith was a charterHill member

by Rev. John and Rev. Leon Danny recently retired fromCemetery Grandchildren-Trey (Gera) Whitson Joel wasofficiated very neighborly and was while there, Dick was awarded The Committee, choir member, and Studies in the Syracuse, NY and

by Rev. Jim White. Burial and deacon at Open Door Baptist Whitley. She will lie in state for 30 Charlotte Pipe and Foundry after of Midland, Step-grandchildren, thankful tofollow have good of theinLong Leaf He Pine by the very active in and the upkeep school systems will at theneighbors.

Love’s Grove UnitedOrder Church Richfield. loved minutes prior to the service. She will a was dedicated 37 years worked of the ZachMassena, (Brittney)NY Washington, Aaron for eight Survivors include beloved wife 4360 North Carolina James B.Tony be laid to rest in the church cemetery. there church. love and of God, church, years.

Thereafter,Caleb she taught Methodist Church Cemetery, Lord and hisGovernor family abundantly. withHis his sons several otherand (Kinsey) Washington, (Nayeli)Grade of 36 years, Collins Efird Hunt.

1971, he married Veralyn familyand wasfamily very evident to everyone Washington, Four at Council Rock Elementary Polk Pamela Ford Road, Stanfield. wasIn a wonderful husband, father, and She is survived by her beloved friends members.

Beth (Robbie) Setzer, of Locust;Survivors daughter,include Beckyson Efird Anngrandfather Merritt in Warsaw, He who knew him along with School in Rochester, Gerald and couldNC. fix anything husband of 47 years, Paul Helms Danny loved spending timehis at Matthew ( April ) Wallace,NY Stepfor 23 years.

Tidd and husband, Tidd, Jr. of andhe Veralyn mischievous grinhis and waysand just like great-grandchildren, She is survived by one sister, Wayne (Gail)Jeff Efird of Albemarle; put hisraised handstheir on. daughters, of the home; son, Alex (Deanna) his lake house with family Britlyn-Eve daughter Lisa Efird (Mark) Hartsell Marcille Mr.and Smith is survived by his wife Helms of Pageland; daughter, Paula friends well as vacationing with his Washington, Robert Setzer, George GA; son, Jessie Efird of Rockwell; Laura, in Albemarle, “Alvinasthe chipmunk”!

Laura Kolny of Vancouver, British of Stanfield; granddaughters, Becky Cagle Smith of the2019, home, (Cristin Brandt) Helms of Mint Hill; family. and enjoyed Setzer, Tracy SetzerJoseph daughter, Amy Efird of Locust; NC and resided there until In Danny addition toDenise his parents, he was (Sara) Columbia; two(Rob) brothers, EfirdEfird Barbee and Lauren sons Walter Smithtoand Robbie grandchildren, Mason, Grant, and listening to beachinmusic to Bumgardener, Katie Underwood, brother,Kelly William and wife, when they relocated Alpharetta, also preceded deathand by loved his wife Abdallah of East Rochester, NY and (Justin) Crump; Jeffrey and great- Georgia.

Smith; daughter Kayla Henderson Raegan Helms; brothers, Boyce, shag dance every chance Helen they could great Valerie,Hartsell of Concord; grandson, After moving to Albemarle of 62 years, Margaret Taylor Andrew JohnUnderwood, Abdallah ofStep Mint Hill, NC; grandsons, Ian Patrick (Brandon); grandchildren Royce, Tim Austin; and sisters, get.

He was anand amazing father, loving greatthree grandchild, George Tidd, III; niece, Tammy EfirdSimmons of SC; andin 1973, Dick began workingDanielle, for Earnhardt granddaughter nieces,Waylon Shawna Cary-Coleman Jacob Simmons.

Dustin, and Steele Keaton Patricia Mullis, and Angel Tarleton. grandfather and great friendhis to brothers,Setzer brotherNC, Donald Lewis Ann nephew,Elliot Devin Efird and fiancée, Stanly Knitting Mills Smith, and retired Vickie Earnhardt Mace, of and Davidson, Elizabeth Memorials may be made to Love’s and Ella Henderson; brother David Memorials may be made to the many. He will never be forgotten.

Fincher of Albemarle, NC. MelinaGrove Sears,United of OH;Methodist nephew, Billy from the company as Vice President Harold Earnhardt, James Earnhardt, Abdallah of San Francisco, CA and Church, PO Smith; sisters Kay Kriechbaum, Alzheimer’s Association, 4600 Park A celebration of life will be Jerry Fincher will be laid to rest on Efird ofBox PA;276, 5 great nieces and of Manufacturing in 2002.

He was Jack Earnhardt, and sister, Jeanette Morgan Abdallah of East Rochester, Stanfield, NC 28163-0276.

Karen Stevenson, Ruby Eudy, and Rd., Suite 250, Charlotte, NC 28209. announced once the current Wednesday April 8,2020 at 11:00 am nephews; 3 great-great nieces and a devoted Christian and a dedicated Earnhardt.

NY; and one Church. nephew,Anyone Mark Bourdon Dorothy Smith (Nick).

COVID-19 restrictions are lifted. at Canton Baptist nephews; uncle, Wade Broadway member Methodist Survivors include sons, of Malone, NY. please RSVP HeofisCentral precededUnited in death by Hartsell Funeral Home of Ralph interested in attending, and wife, Phyllis, of Concord; uncle, Church, where served on the (Teresa) Earnhardt ofLuther Gold Hill, Garyat 704-796-2412. Dr. Phil McCray brothers Joehe Smith, Wayne Smith, Albemarle is serving the C.T. Broadway and wife, Peggy, Board and Smith, as Chairman of theRobert (Melissa) Earnhardt of Richfield, and Pastor Tommy Fincher will Claude Wade Smith, family. of Concord; aunt, Margie Efird of Finance Committee. daughters, Sandra (Terry) Hahn of officiate.

Smith, and sister Mary Morris. contributions Stanfield; aunt, Linda Braswell and DickMemorial was a born storytellercan andbe New London,and Michelle (Joe) made to Open Door Baptist Church husband, Fred, of Charlotte; and toastmaster and he loved to work Bullock of Durham; 8 grandchildren, at 44563 52, always Richfield, NC aunt, Sue Broadway of Concord. the crowd at Hwy parties, ready Michael (Lacie) Earnhardt, Kelly DOROTHY ANN STARNES & Palliative Hartsell Funeral Home of with28137 a jokeorortoaHospice tale to tell.

He alsoCare PAGE, passed away at her home on (Brett) Hahn Hainline, David (Sara) of Cabarrus at 5003 Hospice May 15, 2021 at the age of 86. Her Midland is serving the Efird family. enjoyed craftingCounty his walking canes Hahn, Sarah (Matt) Earnhardt Kannapolis, NCfor 28081.

Online condolences may be made andLane, personalizing them family Pace, Kayte Hahn, Abby Earnhardt, funeral service will be at 1:00 pm at www.hartsellfh.com and friends. Dick was a true family Thursday, May 20, 2021 in the Stanly Megan Bullock, and Joshua Bullock; man and was devoted to Veralyn, Funeral Home Chapel in Locust with 6 great-grandchildren, Dakota his wife of nearly 50 years. Dick was (Kerry) Mace, Jacob Earnhardt, Nico Rev. Keith Walters officiating. The never happier than when he was with visitation will Linda Andre, Vera Hahn, Kayelynn Pace, be prior to the service Pauline his family and especially spending and a great-grandchild Earnhardt from 12:00 pm until 12:45 pm.

Hatley time with his grandsons.

When at on the way; 2 great-great-twin Graveside service will be private.

Tucker the beach, he could always be found granddaughters, Emeri and Loralei Mrs. Page was bornHATLEY, in Concord, INDA TUCKER 69, of AULINE ELIZABETH passed away Monday, in the surf with a fishing rod in hand NC inAlbemarle, Mace due in August.

1935. Dorothy worked as a ALMOND TUCKER, 98, passedand usually a grandson or two by April 13, 2020.

The family will receive friends seamstress, a textile worker and away peacefully at Trinity Place, was born September 18, his side. Dick never met a stranger from 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm, Saturday, was aLinda loving wife and mother. She Albemarle, NC on April 11, 2020. and his infectious personality and 1950 ingardening, Concord tocanning, the late Jacob and May 22, 2021 at Hartsell Funeral enjoyed cooking, Pauline was born on March 22, joy for life touched everyone. When Claris Tucker.

She wastime also preceded Home of Albemarle. The funeral quilting, and spending with 1922 in Cabarrus County, NC to the you were in his presence, you felt his in death by her brother, Terry Lee service will be on Sunday at 3:00 family.

DAVID COLUMBUS LOWDER, late John Richard Almond and Alice Tucker, and her twin sister, Brenda amazing spirit and you never walked pm at Gold Hill Wesleyan Church in Dorothy is survived by her 67, of Norwood passed away May 19, Shirley Ada Ann Lambert Almond.

Tucker Strickland. We know Brenda away from him without a story and a husband, Gold Hill officiated by Pastor Mark Allen Lee Page. watching Other 2021 in Pineville. His funeral service She is survived by her three and Linda are in Heaven smile in your heart.

Loman. Burial will follow at the Gold will be 11 AM Saturday, May 22, 2021 Haire survivors include two sons, David daughters, Gay Michel (Jack), over us and laughing.

A memorial service to celebrate Hill Wesleyan Church Cemetery, 830 in the Stanly Funeral Home Chapel PageLinda (Lisa)was andaJoe Page; threesister, Oak Island, NC; Pamela Rushing loving mother, HIRLEY MAE HAIRE, 73, the life of Dick Smith will be held at Liberty Road, Gold Hill. The body daughters, Kathy Riley (Don), with Pastor Kevin McCormac (Foreman), Oakboro, NC; Kathy and “Nana.” She was a very giving of Albemarle passed away on pm,11, Thursday, June 3, 2021 at will lie in state 30 minutes prior to Sharon Mullis (Tony) and Sarah officiating. Burial will follow in Stanly Hunt (Marc), Albemarle, NC; her 2:00April and loving person.

Linda would 2020 at Atrium Health Central United Methodist Church the service.

18she grandchildren; Gardens of Memory. The family will son, Chris Tucker (Chris Lear), always(Charles); do anything could for Stanly.

The family will hold a private Holmes a reception to follow in the Memorials may be made to Gold Washington, DC. She will be greatlywithgraveside others, especially her family.

She 22 great-grandchildren; a greatreceive friends from 6 until 8 PM on service for Mrs. Haire. missed by her five grandchildren, Fellowship enjoyed working at FastShop Hall.

Hill Wesleyan Church Building great granddaughter and one#5, greatFriday evening at Stanly Funeral and Shirley was born December 12, Heather Rushing Chaney (Shannon), In1946 Locust.

Linda will loved lieuin ofWashington, flowers, memorial gifts Fund, P.O. Box 286, Gold Hill, NC great grandbaby on be theforever way and Cremation Care of Albemarle.

LORENE UNDERWOOD DC to the Rushing, Elizabeth and greatlyWade missed. be made toRichard CentralBateman United and son-in-law, 28071.

Baucom. Dorothy Born February 5, 1954 in Stanly SCOTt,Michael 93, of Albemarle, passed Michel maylate Charles Hartzog (Craig), Jack Michel, Survivors herher son, Church, 172 N. 2nd St. Hartsell Funeral Home of Elizabeth Mae Mulligan Bateman. is preceded in include death by daughter, County, NC he was the son of the away Thursday, May 20, 2021 at Jr. Methodist Woody Hunt as well as Albemarle, Alan Hatley andawife, Angela, of Shirley is survived NC, 28001. by her husband Phyllis AlbemarleCelebrate is serving the Earnhardt Baucom, granddaughter Henryloved Clifford Lowder and Atrium(Jenn), Healthand Cabarrus in Concord. the life oflate your seven great-grandchildren. She also Hartsell Albemarle; brother, Ronnie Tucker of 30 years Vaughn Smith of Funeral Home of family.

Shemika Kiker and a grandson DJ Lilly Biles Lowder. He worked as a Lorene was born August 3, 1927 leaves behind cherished nieces and and wife, Linda, of Midland; Albemarle; sister Sandra Painter Albemarle is serving the Smith Online condolences may be made Page.

Millwrightand in the Power Generation in North Carolina to the late William ones. Submit obituaries nephews. granddaughter, Leslie Hatley; 1 of Gainesville, VA; half-brother family. at www.hartsellfh.com Industry and a veteran of the US Collie Underwood and the late Pearl The family expresses its sincere niece; and 2 nephews.

Robertcondolences Bateman of Stevensville, death notices to be Navy. published Online may be made He was anin avid outdoorsman Harwood Underwood. gratitude to the staff and caregivers The family will receive friends MD; step-children Heather Smith at www.hartsellfh.com and loved hunting, fishing, family She was also preceded in death by at Trinity Place for the care they from 4:00 pm 6:00 pm, Thursday, SCJ at obits@stanlyjournal.com of Jacksonville, FL and David and humor. He was a great brother. her husband, Dwight Max Scott, her provided Pauline.

April 16, 2020 at Hartsell Funeral Smith of New London, NC; 4 Mr. Lowder is survived by his son son, Kenneth Dwight Scott, and her A private graveside service will be Home in Albemarle. Linda will step-grandchildren; nieces Cyndi Joshua David Lowder of the home, brothers, Marvin J. Underwood and A held on Monday, April 13, 2020. be laid to rest during a private Hentschel of Leesburg, VA and of Pauline’s life and legacy Cheryl Hardy of Aylett, VA; 16 grand- committal service at Bethel United brothers James Lowder of Albemarle Vernoncelebration C. Underwood. will beinclude held this summer.Jo Methodist Midland. and Jerry Lowder of Cooleemee, and Survivors daughter, the lifeChurch, of your loved ones. Submit obituaries nieces and nephews; and GusCelebrate the In lieu of flowers, the family In lieu of flowers, please consider a sisters Louise Dunsford of Marion, Scott of Albemarle, NC, daughterdog. Stanly Funeral and Cremation and death notices to betopublished requests Thomas donationsScott, be made to the memorial donation Bethel UMC,in SCJ NC and Jane Lowder of Ashland, VA. in-law, Patricia Care of Albemarle is serving the at obits@stanlyjournal.com BrightFocus Foundation at www.

12700 Idlebrook Rd, Midland, NC Haire family.

He was preceded in death by a grandsons, Eric Scott and Keith 28107. daughter Tiffany Brooke Lowder, and (Laura)brightfocus.org.

Scott, great-grandson, Wyatt brothers J. C. Lowder and William Scott, all of Concord, NC. Lowder.

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8

Stanly County Journal for Wednesday, May 26, 2021

STATE & NATION

US, Russia at odds over military activity in the Arctic

By Matthew Lee The Associated Press REYKJAVIK, Iceland — The Biden administration is leading a campaign against Russian attempts to assert authority over Arctic shipping and reintroduce a military dimension to discussions over international activity in the area.

As Russia assumed the rotating chairmanship of the Arctic Council, the U.S. rallied other members to oppose Moscow’s plans to set maritime rules in the Northern Sea Route, which runs from Norway to Alaska, and its desire to resume high-level military talks within the eight-nation bloc. Those talks were suspended in 2014 over Russia’s actions in Ukraine.

The effort reflects growing concerns in Washington and among some NATO allies about a surge in Russian military and commercial activity in the region that is

rapidly opening up due to the effects of climate change. Russia has expressed similar suspicion about NATO’s motives.

At a meeting of Arctic Council foreign ministers in Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the group should maintain its focus on peaceful cooperation on environmental issues, maritime safety and the well-being of indigenous people in the region.

“The Arctic is a region for strategic competition that has seized the world’s attention,” Blinken said. “But the Arctic is more than a strategically or economically significant region. It’s home to our people, its hallmark has been and must remain peaceful cooperation. It’s our responsibility to protect that peaceful cooperation and to build on it.”

Blinken stressed the importance of upholding “effective governance and the rule of law” to ensure that the “Arctic remains a

region free of conflict where countries act responsibly.” He had previously questioned the legality of the proposed Russian maritime rules and expressed deep reservations about Russia’s military activity in the far North.

Several other foreign ministers, including those from Canada, Iceland, Finland, Norway and Sweden, echoed Blinken’s call to keep the Arctic peaceful and free of conflict under the authority of international, rather than that of individual countries. Representatives of indigenous Arctic populations urged that their voices be heard.

“We are concerned over the level of recent angry and provocative rhetoric,” said James Stotts of the Inuit Circumpolar Council. “We do not want to see our homeland turned into a region of competition and conflict.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who dismissed U.S. criticism because the Arctic

“is our territory, our land,” questioned NATO’s motives in deployments of bombers and submarines to the area. He said resumption of an Arctic Council military dialogue would contribute to stability.

“It is therefore important to extend the positive relations we have within the Arctic Council to encompass the military sphere as well, first of all by revitalizing multilateral dialogue on military issues between the general staffs of the Arctic states,” Lavrov said.

He said later at a news conference that resuming that dialogue would be a priority for Russia while it heads the council.

The outgoing council chair, Foreign Minister Gudlaugur Thor Thordarson, of Iceland, did not appear enthusiastic. “Everything that we can do as nations to lower tension and see stability is something that, of course, should be looked into very positively, but I think it’s important to keep the council as it is,” he said.

Lavrov also cast aspersions on NATO and the U.S., which he accused of acting with arrogance toward Russia and its security concerns. He took particular aim at Norway, which he said was amending its laws on foreign mili-

tary presence to allow for the constant rotation of military equipment and personnel.

“We’re especially concerned about what is going on close to our borders and Norway is indeed a very close neighbor of ours,” he said. “We have very good relations with Norway. Nevertheless, the issues related to heightened military tensions due to military deployments in Norway and in the Baltics are still very present.”

He called the rotational presence a “play on words” to describe what is actually a permanent presence. “This is not the first demonstration of this highbrow approach that our Western colleagues are now taking in the international arena,” he said. “We are going to undertake necessary measures in order to ensure our security, but our priority and our preference really is dialogue.”

Lavrov also proposed a summit of Arctic Council leaders to be held at some point during Russia’s two-year chairmanship and said Moscow is keen to foster cooperation.

“We encourage you to maintain and seek consensus in the council to continue constructive cooperation,” Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde told Lavrov.

SAUL LOEB | POOL PHOTO VIA AP

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, centre, arrives for the Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting in Reykjavik, Iceland, Thursday, May 20, 2021.

Conservatives push big issues to fore at Supreme Court

By Mark Sherman The Associated Press WASHINGTON, D.C. — Abortion. Guns. Religion. A Trump-fortified conservative majority is making its presence felt at the Supreme Court by quickly wading into high-profile social issues that have been a goal of the right for decades.

For years, frustrated conservatives, including some justices, chided a court with a majority of Republican appointees for not going far enough or passing on issues they thought demanded the court’s attention.

Now, with three appointees of former President Donald Trump on the nine-member court, longer-serving conservative Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas can cobble together five-justice majorities even without the vote of Chief Justice John Roberts.

The Trump-appointed justices represent “not only a shift of ideology but a shift of power. There are five justices to right of Roberts,” said Boston College law professor Kent Greenfield. “What that means is that the chief is not in control of the court anymore.”

In the seven months since Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the court, conservative majorities have issued a series of orders in favor of religious worshippers who had challenged restrictions imposed because of COVID-19.

Barrett provided the fifth vote in several cases. Roberts has been unwilling to second guess elected officials in these cases and, prior to her death in September, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg also

PATRICK SEMANSKY | AP PHOTO

In this June 29, 2020, file photo, the Supreme Court is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. had voted to keep the restrictions on religious services in place.

Perhaps even more significant are the culture war issues that the court will, in all likelihood, rule on in the spring of 2022, in the run up to the congressional midterm elections. The justices announced last week that they will hear an abortion case that could reverse nearly 50 years of abortion rulings and agreed last month to decide whether Americans have a constitutional right to carry guns in public for self-defense.

Waiting in the wings is a direct challenge to affirmative action in college admissions, in a case, involving Harvard, that calls on the

court to reverse a 2003 ruling upholding race as a permissible factor in admissions. A vote to hear that case next term could come before the court takes its long summer break.

A decision to hear a case takes just four votes and is no guarantee of its outcome. But on guns and abortion in particular, the court with a less-conservative lineup passed up several opportunities to wade in.

Thomas, the longest-serving current justice, has long complained about his colleagues’ timidity. For nearly 30 years, he has called on the court to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that extended abortion

rights across the country. He was one of four justices who would have overturned Roe in 1992, in his first term on the court.

On guns, Thomas has lamented that his colleagues treat the Second Amendment “right to keep and bear arms” as a second-class right, a phrase that Barrett herself used when she was an appeals court judge.

Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement essentially put Roberts at the ideological center of the court, and the chief justice has resisted public perceptions of the court as merely a political institution. He has voted with the liberal justices to uphold the Obama era health care law and strike down

a Louisiana abortion regulation.

But Ginsburg’s death, which led to Barrett’s confirmation days before the 2020 election, ended a brief period in which Roberts controlled how far the court would go in either direction.

“Having Trump’s nominees on the court has made a real impact.

It’s exciting to see a solid majority of the court committed to interpreting the Constitution as it’s written,” said Carrie Severino, who leads the Judicial Crisis Network and a onetime law clerk for Thomas.

Take Back the Court, a left-leaning group pushing for Supreme Court expansion, said in a letter it is sending to President Joe Biden that the recent developments are a predictable result of Republican efforts to keep Scalia’s seat open, then fill Ginsburg’s quickly.

“None of this is a surprise: The Supreme Court was stolen by Mitch McConnell — and its theft designed by the Federalist Society — explicitly to overturn Roe and restrict women’s rights,” the letter reads.

Ginsburg herself recognized what might come to pass with Trump’s election. In an interview with The Associated Press in July 2016, she was confident that Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton would become president and have several Supreme Court appointments.

But what, Ginsburg was asked, would happen if Trump were to win?

“I don’t want to think about that possibility, but if it should be, then everything is up for grabs,” she said.

VOLUME 3 ISSUE 35 | WEDNESDAY, MAY 26, 2021

Twin City Herald

KEN BENNETT | WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY

Fireworks explode over Truist Field following Wake Forest’s commencement last weekend. After the pandemic forced area colleges to hold virtual ceremonies last spring, graduates were back in person this May.

WHAT’S HAPPENING Fire guts family business Forsyth County Fire destroyed Ervin’s Beauty Services last week. The business had been run by Minnie and Jakay Ervin Sr. on Patterson Avenue since they opened it in 1976 after converting it from an old gas station. Maya Angelou and councilwoman Vivian Burke were among the customers who had their hair done there over the years. An employee and a customer were in the shop when they heard a pop and smelled smoke, likely from an electrical short. It burned fast, and required several trucks and more than a dozen firefighters to knock down.

AP

Man gets life for killing girlfriend’s baby Forsyth County Jesse Wayne Perkins, 25, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the 2018 slaying of his girlfriend’s 15-month-old daughter in 2018. Carolina Rose Dodd was pronounced dead at the scene and the cause of death was later revealed to be smothering.

Perkins was home alone with the baby while Carolina’s mother was at work. She was found dead in her crib when Carolina’s mother returned home. Perkins later confessed. Perkins will serve life without parole.

MY FOX 8

Students urge Wake Forest to drop new name for building Wake Forest University students are urging the North Carolina school to drop a new name that it chose for a campus building once named after a 19th century university president who owned slaves. Wake Forest announced plans to rename the building, formerly known as Wingate Hall, to “May 7, 1860 Hall,” which refers to the date when the college sold 16 enslaved men, women and children at auction.

The college created its first endowment with the $10,718 in proceeds from the slave auction.

More than 1,000 users have signed an online petition that calls for the university to pick a different name.

AP

Wake Forest, WSSU hold commencements Universities go back to in-person ceremonies TCH staff AFTER A YEAR OFF, Winston-Salem’s colleges and universities once again held in-person commencement ceremonies this month.

Winston-Salem State held a total of five separate ceremonies over a two-day span at the end of last week. That included a make-up ceremony for the Class of 2020, who had to settle for a virtual commencement last May, during the height of the pandemic shutdown.

“Welcome back to campus,” chancellor Elwood L. Robinson, PhD said to last year’s class. “We know last year was very difficult.

You did not have the chance to participate in a face-to-face graduation. You were denied that opportunity. … Thank you for being patient. We know you waited awhile for this.”

The school held both virtual and in-person ceremonies, with graduates getting to choose which one they wanted to attend.

Wake Forest also held their ceremonies the weekend before, with graduates packing Joel Coliseum and Truist Field for four different diploma ceremonies held throughout the day.

“For the past 15 months, all of us have lived in the valley of the shadow of Covid-19. I am so grateful for where we are, together in person. Covid may not be fully behind us but its grip has been broken, and we can celebrate with grateful hearts and renewed hope,” said Wake Forest President Nathan Hatch.

The Truist Field ceremony, to which all undergraduates were invited, was held just days after COVID restrictions on social distancing and gatherings were listed, was the highlight, featuring the school’s dance team, marching band, and gospel and choral groups.

Wake had three graduation

Aluminum can maker to expand in Winston-Salem TCH staff ARDAGH GROUP, a global supplier of sustainable, infinitely recyclable, metal and glass packaging, will add 94 new jobs in Forsyth County, Governor Roy Cooper announced today. The company will invest at least $195 million to expand its current beverage can metal manufacturing facility in Winston-Salem. Further, the new jobs will be at a prevailing wage of at least 130% of the local average.

“This is an exciting investment in Forsyth County and our state,” said Governor Cooper. “Ardagh’s decision to expand in North Carolina speaks to our skilled talent, strong community partnerships and manufacturing economy.”

Based in Luxembourg, Ardagh Group has 57 glass and metal production facilities around the world and has produced aluminum beverage cans and can ends in Winston-Salem since 1975.

With six production lines, the Winston-Salem site is the company’s largest can manufactur-

“This is an exciting investment in Forsyth County and our state. ...

Ardagh’s decision to expand in North Carolina speaks to our skilled talent, strong community partnerships and manufacturing economy.”

Gov. Roy Cooper ing facility in the United States.

This latest expansion will include building improvements and convert warehousing space to production space with two new modern high-speed can manufacturing lines to the existing site.

“This very significant project forms a key part of Ardagh’s Group’s global $2.1 billion 20212024 business growth investment program and is being undertaken to meet fast-growing demand

“I hope you found your passion … that special intersection between your interests and your talents.”

Condoleezza Rice

that you overcome are more fulfilling than things that are easy for you.”

Rice concluded her remarks by telling the graduates to “exercise the responsibilities of an educated person. That’s a group to which you are now admitted and from which you can never be expelled, but it brings obligations.”

Chief among those obligations is for the graduates “to be optimistic,” she said. “The world was never changed by pessimists. It was changed by people who saw the world not as it is but as it could be.”

Former 2020 presidential candidate and current U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg also addressed the class, listing the problems that the nation has faced over the last year.

“They are a source of pain and pressure,” he said, “but also a source of propulsion. You are assured you will have no shortage of wonderful ways to work for hu-

speakers who, in a nod to the pandemic that forced last year’s ceremony online, were all prerecorded and played at the ceremony.

Condoleezza Rice, 66th Secretary of State, author, and professor, and the first African American woman to serve as both Secretary of State and National Security Advisor told the graduates, “I hope you found your passion … that special intersection between your interests and your talents.”

Rice advised the Class of 2021 to “try hard things. Life is like that. You will find over time that things that are not easy to do but

See COMMENCEMENTS , page 2

as consumers increasingly recognize the environmental and quality advantages of beverage cans,” said Claude Marbach, CEO, Ardagh Metal – Beverage North America. “Our products deliver high recycle and content rates, which support customer sustainability targets and contribute to a circular economy. This latest expansion at Winston-Salem is indicative of Ardagh’s consistent commitment to supporting customer growth.”

The North Carolina Department of Commerce led a team of partners in supporting Ardagh’s decision to expand in North Carolina. The new positions will include operations, production, and administrative personnel.

“With the largest and most diverse manufacturing workforce in the Southeast, North Carolina has proven to be a great place for Ardagh to expand their operations,” said Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders. “Ardagh’s confidence in North Carolina highlights our ability to support innovative companies with a diverse talent pipeline, a strong business climate and a convenient location.”

A performance-based grant of $250,000 from the One North Carolina Fund will help facilitate Ardagh’s expansion. The One NC Fund provides financial as-

sistance to local governments to help attract economic investment and to create jobs. Companies receive no money upfront and must meet job creation and capital investment targets to qualify for payment. All One NC grants require matching participation from local governments and any award is contingent upon that condition being met.

“Ardagh’s multimillion-dollar investment is a great win Forsyth County, the Triad and the entire state,” said N.C. Representative Evelyn Terry. “The additional jobs and investment created are great indicators of the partnership and hardworking people that contributed to this expansion.”

“What tremendous news for our region,” said N.C. Senator Joyce Krawiec. “Ardagh has been a great partner in Forsyth County and we are proud of their confidence in our people to support their success.”

Joining the North Carolina Department of Commerce and the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina were key partners in the project that included the North Carolina General Assembly, the North Carolina Community College System, Forsyth Technical Community College, Forsyth County, Greater Winston-Salem, Inc., and the City of Winston-Salem.

Twin City Herald for Wednesday, May 26, 2021

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OPINION | ERICK ERICKSON

Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!

Twin City Herald Publisher

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FRIDAY

THURSDAY

IN SCRIPTURE, Acts 19 recounts a series of miracles that led to mass conversions of residents of Ephesus. The conversions created an economic problem.

Ephesus was, at the time, worldrenowned for a temple to the Greek goddess Artemis, one of the wonders of the ancient world. As people began converting en masse to Christianity with St. Paul’s preaching, temple visits declined, as did the purchase of idols. According to Luke, the writer of Acts, a silversmith named Demetrius who made silver replicas of Artemis began rallying other men of similar trades to fend off the Christians.

“Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth. And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods. And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship,” Demetrius said. (Acts 19:25-27) “When they heard this, they were enraged and were crying out, ‘Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!’” (Acts 19:28).

A riot broke out, and the Ephesians seized Paul’s companions. The rioters had to be calmed. For two hours, the crowd chanted,

“Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” before being calmed. In spreading the gospel, Paul had wiped out income and mythology, which brewed resentment.

Today, the Temple of Artemis is a ruin.

Two thousand years later, as true religion recedes in America and secularism rises, the Ephesians are back now as the wokes. By any measure, the United States has continued to advance and heal the wounds of slavery and racial discord. Nonwhite Americans continue growing into the middle class and beyond. Contrary to what the Democrats would have us believe, nonwhite voter participation keeps rising, even with Republican election-reform measures in place. Younger Americans are far more open and tolerant of others, regardless of race, ethnicity, etc.

There are racists still because there is sin in the world, and racism is one. But as Americans move beyond the sins of the past, the cry of systemic racism gets louder. It is the new, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” This time, instead of silver idols, it is Ibram X. Kendi’s and Robin DiAngelo’s books. Buy them to repent.

Pay a speaker’s fee. Have a critical race theory advocate perform seminars. Hire a “diversity, equity and inclusion” czar for your company or school. “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

It is not a coincidence that as Americans

move beyond the soft bigotry of the baby boomer to that of those born after Jim Crow and the Civil Rights marches, the claims of bigotry, racism and division are getting louder. Those who have made comfortable livings spreading division have to push new grievances and hucksterism. A mostly white secular elite who are into idol worship, mostly of themselves, still feel a need to repent. So, they buy the books, attend the seminars, put Black Lives Matter signs in their yard and impose their idol worship on everyone else as virtuous.

As Christ commanded his followers to spread his gospel message and preach, teach and baptize in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, so the wokes spread their gospel of discord, which is both devoid of hope and deeply anchored in never-ending grievance. Heretics of Christianity added inconsistencies to a consistent Christian orthodoxy.

Heretics of wokeism merely point out the consistent inconsistencies of critical race theory. How exactly can a race or gender that is socially constructed also be determinative? It is heretical to ask.

Instead, buy a book, virtue-signal with a donation to a woke charity and attend a class on equity. Whatever you do, do not let the wounds heal and love your neighbor.

After all, the silversmiths have idols to sell. “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

DEATH NOTICES

WEEKLY CRIME LOG ♦ ADAMS, ZACHARY STEVEN was arrested on a charge of IMPAIRED DRIVING DWI at 598 S STRATFORD RD/BEST LN on 5/21/2021 ♦ Allen, Christopher Jordan (M/27) Arrest on chrg of 1) Asslt On Off/st Emp (M) and 2) Ccw (M), at 1900 Bethania-rural Hall Rd, Winston-salem, NC, on 5/24/2021 04:00. ♦ ARRUECORLETO, JOSE ELMER was arrested on a charge of IMPAIRED DRIVING DWI at 923 CROWDER ST on 5/21/2021 ♦ ARRUECORLETO, JOSE ELMER was arrested on a charge of IMPAIRED DRIVING DWI at 700 CROWDER ST/E CLEMMONSVILLE RD on 5/21/2021 ♦ BACOTE, ZACHARIAH DEMOND was arrested on a charge of ASSAULT - STRANGULATION at 4211 MAE-LEN DR on 5/21/2021 ♦ Barker, Kevin Dwayne (M/41) Arrest on chrg of 1) Assault On Female (M), 2) Larcenyfirearm (F), 3) Drugs-poss Controlled Substancemethamphetamine>less Than 1 (F), 4) P/w/i/s/d Cocaine (F), 5) P/w/i/s/d Sched Iv (F), 6) Drug Paraphernalia (M), 7) Weap-poss

By Felon (F), 8) Ccw - Firearm (M), and 9) Interfering With Emergency Communication (M), at 5920 Cutters Creek Ct, Pfafftown, NC, on 5/21/2021 12:10. ♦ BRIGGS, TRENT JERMAINE was arrested on a charge of COMMUNICATE THREATS at 100 W FIFTH ST on 5/22/2021 ♦ Cagle, Adam Garrett (M/31) Arrest on chrg of 1) Breaking/ larc-felony (F) and 2) Vandpersonal Prop (M), at 201 N Church St, Winston-salem, NC, on 5/19/2021 00:00. ♦ CARTAGENA, EFRAIN was arrested on a charge of IMPAIRED DRIVING DWI at 1401 SILAS CREEK PW on 5/22/2021 ♦ CARTAGENA, EFRAIN was arrested on a charge of IMPAIRED DRIVING DWI at 2098 PETERS CREEK PW/HUTTON ST on 5/22/2021 ♦ CHAMBERS, DAIJAH MARIA was arrested on a charge of IMPAIRED DRIVING DWI at 1499 EBERT ST/

SILAS CREEK PW on 5/22/2021 ♦ CRUMP, GRADY MICHAEL was arrested on a charge of IMPAIRED DRIVING DWI at 2400 MARKET CENTER DR/STADIUM DR on 5/22/2021 ♦ FOSTER, DEVITA JANAE was arrested on a charge of OFA-FTA HIT/RUN LEAVE SCENE PROP DAM at 748 E TWENTY-EIGHTH ST/INDIANA AV on 5/22/2021 ♦ Hairston, Terrell Lamar (M/39) Arrest on chrg of 2nd Degree Trespass (M), at 4741 Plata Dr, Winston-salem, NC, on 5/19/2021 16:41. ♦ Isaacs, Ginny Elana (F/31) Arrest on chrg of 1) Assault-simple (M), 2) Assault-simple (M), 3) Fail To Appear/compl (M), and 4) Fail To Appear/compl (M), at 9725 Woodruff Rd, Kernersville, NC, on 5/19/2021 11:55. ♦ JOHNSON, LATOYA TANIKA was arrested on a charge of CHILD ABUSE at 201 N CHURCH ST on 5/22/2021 ♦ JOHNSON, LATOYA TANIKA was arrested on a charge of DRUGSPOSS SCHED II at 1545 GASTON ST on 5/21/2021 ♦ JOHNSON, LATOYA TANIKA was arrested on a charge of ASSAULTSIMPLE at 1545 GASTON ST on 5/21/2021 ♦ LAWSON, LATIVA MOLEVI was arrested on a charge of DRUGS-POSS SCHED II at 1301 N PATTERSON AV on 5/22/2021 ♦ Little, Douglas Lee (M/34) Arrest on chrg of 1) Rec/poss Stole Mv (F), 2) Fail To Appear/compl (M), 3) Fail To Appear/compl (M), 4) Fail To Appear/compl (F), and 5) Fail To Appear/compl (F), at 2705 Griffin Rd, Rural Hall, NC, on 5/22/2021 17:10. ♦ LUCASLUCAS, EMILSON MISAEL was arrested on a charge of IMPAIRED DRIVING DWI at 2098 PETERS CREEK PW/HUTTON ST on 5/22/2021 ♦ LUCASLUCAS, EMILSON MISAEL was arrested on a charge of IMPAIRED DRIVING DWI at 2098 PETERS CREEK PW/HUTTON ST on 5/22/2021 ♦ MEDINACRUZ, SERGIO was arrested on a charge of ASSAULT ON FEMALE at 114 STATE ST on 5/23/2021

♦ Miles, Miguel Damont (M/28) Arrest on chrg of 1) Assault On Female (M) and 2) Larceny/ misdemeanor (M), at Westwood Village Dr, Clemmons, NC, on 5/20/2021 15:03. ♦ MILLER, REGINALD ANTWAN was arrested on a charge of DISCH FA/OCC DWELL at 2850 MILLBROOK DR on 5/21/2021 ♦ MOLINA, DANIEL was arrested on a charge of ASSLT ON OFF/ ST EMP at 1219 CHURTON ST on 5/24/2021 ♦ Noble, Francisco Rico (M/31) Arrest on chrg of 1) Drug Paraphernalia (M), 2) Speeding To Elude Arrest (F), and 3) Ndl - Suspended / Revoked (M), at 3800 New Walkertown Rd, Winston-salem, NC, on 5/20/2021 03:23. ♦ Parrish, Jonathan Luke (M/31) Arrest on chrg of 1) Breaking/ larc-felony (F), 2) Weap-poss By Felon (F), 3) Fail To Appear/compl (F), 4) Fail To Appear/compl (M), 5) Fail To Appear/compl (F), 6) Fail To Appear/compl (F), 7) Fail To Appear/compl (F), 8) Fail To Appear/compl (F), 9) Fail To Appear/compl (F), 10) Fail To Appear/compl (M), 11) Fail To Appear/compl (F), 12) Fail To Appear/compl (M), 13) Fail To Appear/compl (M), 14) Fail To Appear/compl (M), 15) Fail To Appear/compl (F), 16) Fail To Appear/compl (M), 17) Fail To Appear/compl (F), 18) Fail To Appear/compl (F), 19) Fail To Appear/compl (F), 20) Fail To Appear/compl (M), 21) Fail To Appear/compl (M), 22) Fail To Appear/compl (F), 23) Fail To Appear/compl (F), 24) Fail To Appear/compl (M), 25) Fail To Appear/compl (M), 26) Fail To Appear/compl (M), 27) Fail To Appear/compl (M), 28) Fail To Appear/compl (F), 29) Fail To Appear/compl (F), 30) Fail To Appear/compl (M), and 31) Fail To Appear/compl (M), at 4642 White Rock Rd, Winston-salem, NC, on 5/19/2021 10:30. ♦ Persinger, Jason Lee (M/34) Arrest on chrg of 1) Larceny/ misdemeanor (M), 2) Vandpersonal Prop (M), 3) Drugs-poss Sched Ii (F), and 4) Drugs-poss Sched I (F), at 8090 Reynolda Rd, Pfafftown, NC, on 5/21/2021 07:48. ♦ Persinger, Jason Lee (M/34)

Arrest on chrg of 1) Breaking/ larc-felony (F) and 2) Larceny After B&e (F), at 8090 Reynolda Rd, Pfafftown, NC, on 5/22/2021 10:32. ♦ Richardson, Antwon Bernard (M/32) Arrest on chrg of 1) P/w/i/s/d Marijuana (F) and 2) Poss Marijuana Fel (F), at 421 Nb, Winston Salem, NC, on 5/19/2021 09:32. ♦ ROBERSON, JAMES ALBERT was arrested on a charge of IMPAIRED DRIVING DWI at 1 E FIFTH ST on 5/23/2021 ♦ Robinson, Phillip Lee (M/36) Arrest on chrg of 1) Trafficking Marijuana (F), 2) Trafficking Marijuana (F), 3) P/w/i/s/d Marijuana (F), 4) Poss Marijuana Fel (F), 5) Maintain Dwelling (F), and 6) Poss Marijuana Misd (M), at 4600 Ebert Rd, Winstonsalem, NC, on 5/19/2021 09:08.

♦ James Slade Collins, II, 83, of Clemmons, died May 20, 2021. ♦ Linda Burgess Culler, 67, of Winston-Salem, died May 22, 2021. ♦ Larry Burke Holbrook, 62, of Traphill, died May 20, 2021. ♦ John Henry Jenkins, 76, of Forsyth County, died May 19, 2021. ♦ Sarah Josephine “Jo” Tuttle Rutledge, 95, of Forsyth County, died May 21, 2021. ♦ Rebecca McKaughn Shepherd, 82, died May 20, 2021. ♦ Richard “Dick” Herman VanDierendonck died May 19, 2021.

♦ SEGURA, NAHUM HERNANDEZ was arrested on a charge of IMPAIRED DRIVING DWI at NB 52/S MAIN ST_NB 52 RA on 5/23/2021 ♦ SOSA, DAISY was arrested on a charge of CHILD ABUSE at 5719 UNIVERSITY PW on 5/22/2021 ♦ Thomas, Mitzi Cook (F/42) Arrest on chrg of Speeding - Exceeding Posted Limit By 15 Mph Or More On Hwy, (M), at 2628 Lewisvilleclemmons Rd/brewer Av, Clemmons, NC, on 5/19/2021 09:38. ♦ THOMPSON, DINARO DEVON was arrested on a charge of P/W/I/S/D COCAINE at 4369 INDIANA AV/NORTH on 5/23/2021 ♦ Virgenbaron, Jose Luis (M/22) Arrest on chrg of 1) Assault On Female (M), 2) Fail To Appear/ compl (M), 3) Fail To Appear/ compl (M), 4) Fail To Appear/ compl (M), 5) Fail To Appear/ compl (M), and 6) Fail To Appear/ compl (M), at 725 Lacock Av, Rural Hall, NC, on 5/21/2021 11:58. ♦ WEATHERLY, SHALIEK JAHID was arrested on a charge of OFA-FTA-M-MAINTN VEH/ DWELL/PLACE CS (M) at 2229 N GLENN AV/N PATTERSON AV on 5/22/2021

COMMENCEMENTS from page 1

manity. Rarely does history assign so many forms of urgent work to a single generation, and yet here you are.”

Former Wake quarterback Kendall Hinton, a current wide receiver and emergency quarterback starter for the Denver Broncos also spoke, outlining the chain of events that led from him graduating in 2019 to starting for Denver at quarterback last year when every other quarterback on the roster was quarantined.

“At every single stage of my life, I have had the chance to embrace uncertainty or stay within the parameters of my life,” he said. “Always choose uncertainty.”

The ceremonies weren’t quite the same as in the pre-pandemic era, but they were a huge step back to normalcy.

“Today is a very special day for Wake Forest University and the class of 2021,” said Hatch, who presided over his final commencement before retiring this summer. “It is worth a 21-gun salute, a fireworks extravaganza and, most importantly and now that it is permitted, the warmest embrace of family and friends.”

Twin City Herald for Wednesday, May 26, 2021

3

SPORTS

SPONSORED BY

SIDELINE REPORT MLB

Joe West breaks record for most games as ump Chicago North Carolina native Joe West broke the record for most games as a major league umpire with No. 5,376 when he worked the Cardinals-White Sox game in Chicago on Monday. Now 68, the former Elon quarterback started out in the majors in 1976. The first time he worked the plate, knuckleballing Hall of Famer Phil Niekro was throwing to Braves catcher Dale Murphy.

West broke the mark set

by Bill Klem, who worked from 1905-41.

NBA

Utah’s Clarkson named 6th man of the year Salt Lake City Utah’s Jordan Clarkson, the only player to come off the bench and score 40 points in a game this season, was announced Monday as the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year.

Utah teammate Joe Ingles was second, marking the first time the top two finishers for this award came from the same franchise. It’s the first time a Jazz player has won the award. Clarkson finished with 65 of the 100 first-place votes cast from a global panel of reporters who cover the league and appeared on all but five of the ballots.

SOCCER

Court order would allow 15-year-old to sign with NSWL team Portland, Ore. A federal judge has granted a 14-day restraining order that allows 15-year-old Olivia Moultrie to sign with a National Women’s Soccer League team. The order issued Monday

by U.S. District Judge Karin J. Immergut comes in a lawsuit that is challenging the league’s rule prohibiting players under 18. The lawsuit alleges that the rule violates antitrust law and hinders Moultrie’s career development and chances of reaching the U.S. national team. It is unclear whether any NWSL team will sign Moultrie, who currently trains with the Portland Thorns but does not play in games.

WNBA

Sun coach suspended, fined for comment about player’s weight Uncasville, Conn.

Connecticut Sun coach Curt Miller has been fined $10,000 and suspended for one game by the WNBA for making a disparaging remark to a referee Sunday about the weight of Las Vegas Aces post player Liz Cambage.

In a social media post following the Aces’ 72-65 loss to the Sun on Sunday, Cambage said Miller showed a lack of respect.

The coach, while arguing whether a call should have gone the Sun’s way, told the official she weighed 300 pounds. Miller issued a statement Monday apologizing to Cambage and the Aces.

ETHAN HYMAN | THE NEWS & OBSERVER VIA AP

Nina King speaks during last Friday's press conference where she was introduced as Duke's new athletic director.

Duke’s Nina King embraces being role model The Blue Devils’ new athletics director is the third black woman to become AD in a power conference

By Aaron Beard The Associated Press DURHAM — Nina King knows she faces a big responsibility in taking over as Duke’s athletics director later this year. It’s not just about managing a 27-sport program in a marquee league.

King will become only the third black woman AD in a power conference. Two have come in a year, a sign of progress when it comes to diversity hiring in leadership roles in major college athletics.

King hopes it’s a start.

“I do feel a great responsibility, and I embrace that,” King said Friday during her introductory campus news conference. “I am excited and … I want to show little girls who look like me that this is possible.”

The school announced King’s promotion last Wednesday, saying the administrator would take over officially Sept. 1 with the retirement of Kevin White. King, 42, is currently a senior deputy athletic director for administration and legal affairs as well as chief of staff, working on White’s staff at Duke since 2008.

She joins Carla Williams at fellow Atlantic Coast Conference school Virginia and Candice Lee at Vanderbilt in the Southeastern Conference as the only black wom-

en serving as ADs among the 65 power-conference schools. Williams was the first in October 2017, while Lee followed almost exactly one year ago after working as interim AD. The other women ADs in the Power Five are: Heather Lyke with Pittsburgh in the ACC, Sandy Barbour with Penn State in the Big Ten and Jennifer Cohen with Washington in the Pac-12.

“Listen, we need to get better,” King said. “Six female ADs in the Power Five? I mean, three black females? We need to do better.

And I’m happy to kind of be the next step toward progress, and I’m committed to helping ensure that more females, more people of color, have opportunities like I do.”

“This is, for me, a good sign that we’re doing that.”

King said she had spoken with Williams numerous times during the process and has been close with Lee for several years.

As Lee put it Friday: “It’s a small club, but it’s a special club.”

“There’s no doubt that you feel pressure,” Lee told the AP. “You certainly feel like a spotlight is on you and you want to make sure that you don’t give any reason why other people, deserving people,

Elliott wins on another road course, takes rain-shortened COTA debut The Cup Series’ first race at the Texas track ended early because of inclement weather

By Jim Vertuno The Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas — Chase Elliott managed the slipping and sliding, the standing water and the poor visibility that made it hard for drivers to see just a few feet in front of them.

And when the NASCAR Cup Series’ debut at the Circuit of the Americas ended early because of poor racing conditions in the rain, Elliott had earned not just his first victory of the season but also historic ones for Hendrick Motorsports and Chevrolet.

Elliott’s Texas Grand Prix victory after 54 of the expected 68 laps was win No. 800 for Chevrolet and No. 268 for Hendrick Motorsports, which tied Petty Enterprises for most victories.

“I never thought we’d win this many races,” said team owner Rick Hendrick, whose team had also earned win Nos. 400, 500, 600 and 700 for Chevrolet. He called it “an honor” to tie Petty.

“I’m so proud for Chevrolet,” Hendrick said. “I’ve never raced anything but Çhevrolet.”

When pressed on what wins

CHUCK BURTON | AP PHOTO

Joey Logano and Tyler Reddick lead a pack of cars on the rainsoaked Circuit of the Americas track in Austin, Texas, on Sunday. stand out over the years, Hendrick said, “It takes every one of those wins to get to the number we got to now. There’s just so many. All of them are special.”

Sunday’s race will be notable for ending defending Cup champion Elliott’s winless drought, and for putting the drivers through a soggy and occasionally muddy mess

before it was ended under the second red flag of the afternoon as the rain only got worse.

Elliott’s teammate Kyle Larson and Team Penske’s Joey Logano rounded out the top three.

“It’s not the ideal way to win, but we’ll take it,” said Elliott, who said he also had several close calls in the tricky conditions. “If they

would not get opportunities.

“I would say the good part is, and I think I can speak for all three of us, we are highly motivated, very driven. And so I think that regardless we would put the pressure on ourselves to do a good job.”

King has handled daily operation and oversight of Duke’s athletic department and served last season as the chairwoman of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee that selects and seeds the tournament field.

She takes over at a time when schools nationally are grappling with financial hits from the COVID-19 pandemic and the impending arrival of college athletes being able to profit from use of their name, image and likenesses.

She also faces the potential of hiring the successor to Hall of Fame men’s basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski (74 years old) as well as football coach David Cutcliffe (66).

Despite challenges ahead, King knows she has people she can rely on for advice. It includes Williams and Lee in what King hopes is a still-growing group of peers.

“Both of them, great advice: stay true to who are you are,” King said, “and be yourself.”

say race, we’re going to go. If they make the call to say its not doable or not smart, that’s what we’ll do.”

Elliott earned his sixth career road course victory and has won five of the last six road races in the Cup Series. He has 12 Cup wins overall.

The race call was a disappointing finish to the series’ first run at a track built for Formula One, and organizers will have to decide if they want to make the Austin track a regular stop.

The rain started on the opening lap. The trickiest section to drive was the long, high-speed straight as the drivers risked hydroplaning or not being able to see through the spray kicked up by the cars around them.

The worst crash came when Cole Custer, seeking a visible racing line, smashed into the back of Martin Truex Jr. — who had just hit Michael McDowell — and Custer’s front end briefly burst into a fireball on lap 25. Both drivers were checked at the medical center and released.

“We don’t have any business being out in the rain, period,” said veteran driver Kevin Harvick. “All I can say is this is the worst decision that we’ve ever made in our sport that I’ve been a part of, and I’ve never felt more unsafe in my whole racing career, period.”

Larson shrugged off some of the concerns. He was in late position to challenge Elliott for the win before the race ended.

“There’s nothing safe about being a race car driver,” Larson said.

“It was getting pretty crazy ...

That’s kind of what you have to expect from racing in the rain.”

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STATE & NATION

US, Russia at odds over military activity in the Arctic

By Matthew Lee The Associated Press REYKJAVIK, Iceland — The Biden administration is leading a campaign against Russian attempts to assert authority over Arctic shipping and reintroduce a military dimension to discussions over international activity in the area.

As Russia assumed the rotating chairmanship of the Arctic Council, the U.S. rallied other members to oppose Moscow’s plans to set maritime rules in the Northern Sea Route, which runs from Norway to Alaska, and its desire to resume high-level military talks within the eight-nation bloc. Those talks were suspended in 2014 over Russia’s actions in Ukraine.

The effort reflects growing concerns in Washington and among some NATO allies about a surge in Russian military and commercial activity in the region that is rapidly opening up due to the effects of climate change. Russia has expressed similar suspicion about NATO’s motives.

At a meeting of Arctic Council foreign ministers in Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the group should maintain its fo-

SAUL LOEB | POOL PHOTO VIA AP

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, centre, arrives for the Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting in Reykjavik, Iceland, Thursday, May 20, 2021. cus on peaceful cooperation on environmental issues, maritime safety and the well-being of indigenous people in the region.

“The Arctic is a region for strategic competition that has seized the world’s attention,” Blinken said.

“But the Arctic is more than a strategically or economically significant region. It’s home to our people, its hallmark has been and must remain peaceful cooperation. It’s our responsibility to protect that

peaceful cooperation and to build on it.”

Blinken stressed the importance of upholding “effective governance and the rule of law” to ensure that the “Arctic remains a region free of conflict where countries act responsibly.” He had previously questioned the legality of the proposed Russian maritime rules and expressed deep reservations about Russia’s military activity in the far North.

Several other foreign ministers, including those from Canada, Iceland, Finland, Norway and Sweden, echoed Blinken’s call to keep the Arctic peaceful and free of conflict under the authority of international, rather than that of individual countries. Representatives of indigenous Arctic populations urged that their voices be heard.

“We are concerned over the level of recent angry and provocative rhetoric,” said James Stotts of the Inuit Circumpolar Council. “We do not want to see our homeland turned into a region of competition and conflict.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who dismissed U.S. criticism because the Arctic “is our territory, our land,” questioned NATO’s motives in deployments of bombers and submarines to the area. He said resumption of an Arctic Council military dialogue would contribute to stability.

“It is therefore important to extend the positive relations we have within the Arctic Council to encompass the military sphere as well, first of all by revitalizing multilateral dialogue on military issues between the general staffs of the Arctic states,” Lavrov said.

He said later at a news conference that resuming that dialogue would be a priority for Russia while it heads the council.

The outgoing council chair, Foreign Minister Gudlaugur Thor Thordarson, of Iceland, did not appear enthusiastic. “Everything that we can do as nations to lower tension and see stability is something that, of course, should be looked

into very positively, but I think it’s important to keep the council as it is,” he said.

Lavrov also cast aspersions on NATO and the U.S., which he accused of acting with arrogance toward Russia and its security concerns. He took particular aim at Norway, which he said was amending its laws on foreign military presence to allow for the constant rotation of military equipment and personnel.

“We’re especially concerned about what is going on close to our borders and Norway is indeed a very close neighbor of ours,” he said. “We have very good relations with Norway. Nevertheless, the issues related to heightened military tensions due to military deployments in Norway and in the Baltics are still very present.”

He called the rotational presence a “play on words” to describe what is actually a permanent presence. “This is not the first demonstration of this highbrow approach that our Western colleagues are now taking in the international arena,” he said. “We are going to undertake necessary measures in order to ensure our security, but our priority and our preference really is dialogue.”

Lavrov also proposed a summit of Arctic Council leaders to be held at some point during Russia’s twoyear chairmanship and said Moscow is keen to foster cooperation.

“We encourage you to maintain and seek consensus in the council to continue constructive cooperation,” Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde told Lavrov.

Conservatives push big issues to fore at Supreme Court

By Mark Sherman The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Abortion. Guns. Religion. A Trump-fortified conservative majority is making its presence felt at the Supreme Court by quickly wading into high-profile social issues that have been a goal of the right for decades.

For years, frustrated conservatives, including some justices, chided a court with a majority of Republican appointees for not going far enough or passing on issues they thought demanded the court’s attention.

Now, with three appointees of former President Donald Trump on the nine-member court, longer-serving conservative Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas can cobble together five-justice majorities even without the vote of Chief Justice John Roberts.

The Trump-appointed justices represent “not only a shift of ideology but a shift of power. There are five justices to right of Roberts,” said Boston College law professor Kent Greenfield. “What that means is that the chief is not in control of the court anymore.”

In the seven months since Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the court, conservative majorities have issued a series of orders in favor of religious worshippers who had Larson’s

Larson’s

Twin City Herald for Wednesday, May 26, 2021

challenged restrictions imposed because of COVID-19.

Barrett provided the fifth vote in several cases. Roberts has been unwilling to second guess elected officials in these cases and, prior to her death in September, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg also had voted to keep the restrictions on religious services in place.

Perhaps even more significant are the culture war issues that the court will, in all likelihood, rule on in the spring of 2022, in the run up to the congressional midterm elections. The justices announced last week that they will hear an abortion case that could reverse nearly 50 years of abortion rulings and agreed last month to decide whether Americans have a constitutional right to carry guns in public for self-defense.

Waiting in the wings is a direct challenge to affirmative action in college admissions, in a case, involving Harvard, that calls on the court to reverse a 2003 ruling upholding race as a permissible factor in admissions. A vote to hear that case next term could come before the court takes its long summer break.

A decision to hear a case takes just four votes and is no guarantee of its outcome. But on guns and abortion in particular, the court with a less-conservative lineup passed up several opportunities to wade in.

Thomas, the longest-serving cur-

PATRICK SEMANSKY | AP PHOTO

In this June 29, 2020, file photo, the Supreme Court is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. rent justice, has long complained about his colleagues’ timidity. For nearly 30 years, he has called on the court to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that extended abortion rights across the country. He was one of four justices who would have overturned Roe in 1992, in his first term on the court.

On guns, Thomas has lamented that his colleagues treat the Second Amendment “right to keep and bear arms” as a second-class right, a phrase that Barrett herself used when she was an appeals court judge.

Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement essentially put Roberts at the ideological center of the court, and the chief justice has resisted public perceptions of the court as merely a political institution. He has voted with the liberal justices to up-

hold the Obama era health care law and strike down a Louisiana abortion regulation.

But Ginsburg’s death, which led to Barrett’s confirmation days before the 2020 election, ended a brief period in which Roberts controlled how far the court would go in either direction.

“Having Trump’s nominees on the court has made a real impact.

It’s exciting to see a solid majority of the court committed to interpreting the Constitution as it’s written,” said Carrie Severino, who leads the Judicial Crisis Network and a onetime law clerk for Thomas.

Take Back the Court, a left-leaning group pushing for Supreme Court expansion, said in a letter it is sending to President Joe Biden that the recent developments are a predictable result of Republican efforts

to keep Scalia’s seat open, then fill Ginsburg’s quickly.

“None of this is a surprise: The Supreme Court was stolen by Mitch McConnell — and its theft designed by the Federalist Society — explicitly to overturn Roe and restrict women’s rights,” the letter reads.

Ginsburg herself recognized what might come to pass with Trump’s election. In an interview with The Associated Press in July 2016, she was confident that Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton would become president and have several Supreme Court appointments.

But what, Ginsburg was asked, would happen if Trump were to win?

“I don’t want to think about that possibility, but if it should be, then everything is up for grabs,” she said.