North State Journal Vol. 8, Issue 4

Three Reps join ‘Problem Solvers Caucus’ in US House

Raleigh

Three freshmen U.S. Reps. have joined the Problem Solvers Caucus in Congress.

Democrats Don Davis (NC01) and Wiley Nickel (NC13) and Republican Chuck Edwards (NC-11) officially joined the group, which now has over 60 members of both parties. Twenty-four new members joined the caucus this term.

“I’m excited to join a group of colleagues who are focused on delivering real solutions to the kitchen-table issues that affect the day-to-day lives of Western North Carolinians,” said Edwards in a statement.

Nickel added, I look forward to working with Democrats and Republicans on the Problem Solvers Caucus to get things done for the American people.”

NSJ STAFF

Supreme Court rules for deaf student in education case

Washington, D.C.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously Tuesday for a deaf student who sued his public school system for providing an inadequate education. The case is significant for other disabled students who allege they were failed by school officials.

The case the justices ruled in involves Miguel Luna Perez, who attended public school in Sturgis, Michigan. Perez’s lawyers told the court that for 12 years the school system neglected the boy and lied to his parents about the progress he was making, permanently stunting his ability to communicate.

Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in a eight-page opinion for the court that the case “holds consequences not just for Mr. Perez but for a great many children with disabilities and their parents.”

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NC State discontinues coed rifle program

Raleigh North Carolina State will discontinue its varsity coed rifle program at the end of this academic year.

The school announced the decision Tuesday, with athletic director Boo Corrigan saying officials reached “this difficult decision” after a review of the program offered at the school since 1958.

“Being able to provide a toplevel Division I experience for our student-athletes is our first priority and it is no longer feasible to do this for our rifle program,” Corrigan said. The school fields one of just 22 rifle programs in the NCAA and competes in the Great America Rifle Conference.

The school said it would honor scholarships of impacted students on the roster throughout their undergraduate years by matching their current level, as well as provide continued access to services for academic support, sports medicine and sports psychology.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

US speeds up Abrams tank delivery to Ukraine Washington, D.C.

The Pentagon is speeding up its delivery of Abrams tanks to Ukraine, opting to send a refurbished older model that can be ready faster, with the aim of getting the 70-ton battle powerhouses to the war zone by the fall, the Pentagon said.

Officials said the decision was made to send the older M1A1 version, which can be taken from Army stocks.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Center for Safer Schools celebrates 10th anniversary

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal

Cooper’s $67B budget proposal dubbed ‘reckless’ by top lawmakers

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH —Democratic

Gov.

Roy Cooper unveiled on March 15 the final budget proposal of his tenure, one that totals $67 billion in spending over the biennium.

“We are at a historic moment with unprecedented opportunity to make ‘once-in-a-generation’ investments in our future,” said Cooper in a press release. “North Carolina has built on our success to strengthen our place as first in opportunity, and we will continue that growth only by making sound investments in our families, workforce, schools and communities. Let’s take advantage of our unlimited potential to make sure every North Carolinian can thrive.”

The governor’s press statement also claimed his budget, which

he has dubbed “First in Opportunity,” is a “responsible, balanced budget that does not raise taxes for North Carolinians,” but his proposal increases state spending over the next two years by 20%. His $67 billion plan would increase spending by 18%, or $33 billion this year and an additional $34.2 billion the year after, representing another increase of 3.9%.

Earlier this month, General Assembly leadership announced an agreement to increase spending at around half that rate. That agreement proposes a 6.5% increase by spending $29.7 billion in 2023-24 and a 3.75% increase in 2024-25 by spending $30.8 billion.

Top lawmakers called the proposal “reckless.”

“Governor Cooper’s budget proposal takes the same reckless

See BUDGET, page A3

RALEIGH — At an event held in Raleigh on March 17, the Center for Safer Schools celebrated its 10th anniversary. The event also kicked off a 10-month-long series of anniversary events which will be detailed on the center’s social media platforms.

Various officials with the center gave remarks, including the center’s executive director, Karen Fairley, House K-12 Education Committee chair Rep. John Torbett (R-Gaston), former statehouse Rep. Jamie Boles, N.C. Superintendent Catherine Truitt and Deputy Superintendent Dr. Jerry Oates. N.C. Department of Public Safety Secretary Eddie Buffaloe was also in attendance.

The various speakers recognized past and current accomplishments and activities of the center.

tion.

The purpose of CFSS is to make schools in the state safer by offering training, resources and information to districts. CFSS staff focus on school climate, school discipline and emergency preparedness concerns for the state’s K-12 schools.

Torbett and Boles both spoke about the importance of mental health and staff training in making schools safer.

“If we can catch them now, we have done a great thing for society,” Torbett said of identifying kids who may be struggling.

State Superintendent Catherine Truitt

The Center for Safer Schools (CFSS) was formed through an executive order by former Gov. Pat McCrory in March 2013 as a response to the tragedy that occurred months before on Dec. 12 at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. The CFSS was originally housed under the N.C. Department of Public Safety but was later moved under the Department of Public Instruc -

Boles praised the training work being done at the temporary training center established in Moore County and the work that will be done at a permanent facility in Montgomery County set to open in late 2024. The facilities allow for realistic emergency and active shooter drills to be conducted.

“We have one goal: protect our children,” said Boles.

In her remarks, Fairley highlighted the history and work of the CFSS. She and her husband already have eight daughters, but they immediately gained 1.5 million children when she took up

Tillis tackles state of economy at small business event

By Matt Mercer North State Journal

RALEIGH — Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) headlined an event for small business leaders across North Carolina on Monday in downtown Raleigh — a stone’s throw away from the General Assembly, where he helped usher in multitudes of changes in taxes, laws and more.

Making consequential change is also his goal in his second term as senator. That, though, has been more difficult.

Still, Tillis said during his remarks to North Carolina’s National Federation of Independent Businesses chapter he stands by every piece of bipartisan legislation he worked on in the past two years.

“I was involved in several bipartisan efforts in the last Congress,” Tillis said during the luncheon.

“And I stand by every single one of them. I believe that they’re aging well. This is actually a time for people who are serious about governing to check some of their politics at the door and get something done.”

At the outset of his speech, Tillis

told the crowd to scattered laughs you’d have to be “in the outer reaches of Mongolia” not to know about the Silicon Valley Bank failure. Tillis said forcefully it was not a major systemic threat to the banking system.

Tillis sits on the Senate Banking Committee, and the fallout — and future — of the industry will be a

major part of the last four years of his second term.

While saying it was not a systemic threat, he added that “there are some brushfires out there we have to work on.” But he mostly blamed the ineffectiveness of regulations keeping up with the indus-

We have too many superintendents and principals with sleepless nights.”

Rep. John Torbett (R-Gaston), State Superintendent Catherine Truitt, Center for Safer Schools Executive Director Karen Fairley, and former Rep. Jamie Boles (R-Moore) at the Center for Safer Schools 10 Year Anniversary event in Raleigh.

NORTH STATE JOURNAL

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) speaks at an NFIB Small Business Day luncheon in Raleigh on March 20,2023.

EVENT from page A1

her leadership role at the CFSS in 2021.

“I would have to focus on these children as if they were my own,” Fairley said.

Fairley thanked Torbett, Boles and the rest of the General Assembly for their long and continued support of the CFSS. “I saw the work come alive. I saw how passionate they were about school safety,” Fairley said about working with lawmakers.

And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: 2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, 3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5: 1-3

Jesus opened his famous Sermon on the Mount with a list of “blessed sayings” known as the Beatitudes. He detailed certain character qualities along with the divine favor that awaited those who possessed or suffered from such characteristics.

The first Beatitude references the “poor in spirit.” Jesus said the kingdom of heaven was theirs. The poor in spirit are those who recognize their own spiritual poverty as it relates to God. The grace offered by God through Jesus is the spiritual currency that makes the poor in spirit rich.

“They would listen. It was about what they could do for our children.”

Fairley also said the CFSS plans to add more than a dozen new staff members that will include one school safety specialist in all eight educational regions of the state. Major initiatives and projects the CFSS will include EKG2, SHINE/ SEED, Mental Health First Aid and the Rave Panic Alarm. Truitt said when she took office in 2021, she saw the CFSS as a way to make “positive change” regard-

ing school safety.

“We have too many superintendents and principals with sleepless nights,” Truitt said, adding that the work of the CFSS is important.

“Parents are their children’s first teachers and foundation for success in school and life,” said Truitt of the importance of keeping parents engaged in school safety matters.

Truitt said the CFSS is planning to add more parental engagement programs that will complement

the Parent Advisory Commission she instituted in June 2022.

Winners of the CFSS’ Student Engagement Program Contest were also announced. Students participating submitted how they see school safety through posters, videos and poems.

1st place (tie): Noah Kastner, ninth grade, Clover Garden School, Alamance County (poem); and Neil Patel, eighth grade, Vance Charter School, Vance County (short story)

2nd place: Anna Lloyd, sev-

enth grade, Vance Charter School, Vance County (poster)

3rd place: Liliana Hernandez-Marcelino, fourth grade, Hawk Eye Elementary School, Hoke County (poster)

The entire third-grade class at J.W. McLauchlin Elementary School, as well as the fourth- and fifth-graders of the Don Sneed Elementary School Beta Club, were also recognized for their impressive video entries. Both of the schools are located in Hoke County.

try. He stated that the bank long dealt with liquidity problems and a “very risky portfolio” that came home to roost.

Tillis continued, tying the regulatory environment to the small business leaders in the room.

“We’ve got this mentality right now that, in my opinion, regulation benefits the biggest businesses,” he said. “What we need to do is start tailoring regulations across the spectrum to understand the disproportionate impact that it has on small businesses.”

Going back to his time as speaker, Tillis said regulatory reform was one of his priorities because reducing those burdens helps small businesses save costs the same way reducing taxes does. He said he is glad the legislature continues to rethink regulations.

Pivoting back to the national economy, Tillis said he believed the United States is currently in a recession and the effects will become better appreciated in the next six to nine months.

“I think the situation’s going to get worse before it gets better. I think we’re likely to weather the banking storm, but there are a lot of fundamentals with this economy that are just not working,” said Tillis. “A negative policy towards anything but green energy sector is dangerous. A policy that’s only about hydrocarbons is also dangerous. Coming up with a balance that makes sense is what we have to work on. Right now it’s going to be tough to do at the federal level.”

Tillis’ other main committees, Judiciary and Finance, show how many different areas of the economy intersect with Washington. He said his work in Senate Finance will be largely driven by international tax and trade. He is the ranking member of the Social Security subcommittee, something he says needs a “serious discussion,” adding that those at either end of the spectrum are against even having the discussion. Tillis said the only reason he’s on Judiciary is because of the Intellectual Property subcommittee, saying “it does great work” since being stood up six years ago.

He addressed concerns of the small business leaders about the impending expiration of tax ex-

penders that were part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed in 2017. Tillis favors continuing to extend them or making them permanent, particularly pass through income provisions — something nearly 95% of small business owners utilize.

“It’s not a particularly ripe environment in D.C. to talk about reducing taxes. We have to make sure that we don’t lose ground there,” Tillis said. “We’re not going to see any sort of bipartisan support or tax reductions, but back on the regulatory front, that’s where we can take costs out of doing business. There’s not going to be much in the way of tax relief in a Biden administration.”

Taking on one of the major points of contention with Republicans both in state and in Washington, Tillis reiterated his support for bipartisan legislation to

implement some form of a guest worker/guest visa program paired with returning to Trump-era border policies.

Responding to questions about the ongoing labor shortage and need for seasonal workers, Tillis told the crowd the two are intrinsically linked.

“I’ve been working with senators in a framework for the last year,” he said. “We’re continuing to spend a little bit more time talking with our House colleagues. The best way for us to get to a reasonable outcome for labor and immigration is for everybody who has a concern with labor and immigration to fully understand the unsustainable situation in the border.”

Continuing on the point, he added, “I’ve told this to the Business Roundtable, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the, you pick the long list of people that get the

worker shortage thing. I said, I know you got it, I got it. I’ve been living it for 20 years now. Get reasonable border security and say that that is as important to you as your worker shortage.”

He also addressed what he called “border security deniers” who he says believe there’s no issue. Tillis said matter-of-factly he sees a dead person every time he goes on a border tour. He said he doesn’t know if they were killed by cartels or if they got into bad circumstances, but it’s a threat to the people making the dangerous trip.

“Now we’re losing about 70,000 people a year through fentanyl overdoses,” he said. “The vast majority of it is coming across the border. And what’s worse is the vast majority of that is coming through a legal port of entry because we can’t, with the technology and personnel, possibly scan more than

maybe 15%, 20% of every truck or car that comes through.”

He added that getting the illegal crossings number down to 500,000 is manageable, but the mindset must be to get serious about border security to have a discussion about guest worker programs and guest visas.

Tillis makes no apologies for how he approaches the job.

“I’m in Washington trying to find reasonable policy to implement every day,” he said. “If it pushes some of my colleagues and my party out of the comfort zone, then don’t vote for it. But if we have enough to get it done, it’s time to get it done. You can’t wait for the next election. You can’t wait for the ideal circumstance of having control over all the bodies to get something done. You can’t wait for perfect. You need to get good done.”

Sermon on the Mount by Carl Bloch (1877).

TILLIS from page A1

NORTH STATE JOURNAL

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) participates in a roundtable discussion with small business owners at an NFIB Small Business Day luncheon in Raleigh on March 20, 2023.

Lawmakers request DEI training information from UNC System

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal

RALEIGH — The General Assembly’s Joint Legislative Commission on Government Operations has issued a letter to the UNC System related to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) training that may be taking place or are planned across the system’s 17 campuses. The letter dated March 14 was sent by the Senate Majority Staff Government Operations team’s Director Derrick Welch to Eric Naisbitt, the assistant vice president of State Government Relations for the UNC system.

“For purpose of this letter, ‘DEIA’ includes, but is not limited to, those subject matters which reference or discuss ‘diversity’, ‘equity’, ‘inclusion’, ‘accessibility’, ‘racism’, ‘anti-racism’, ‘anti-racist’, ‘oppression’, ‘internalized oppression’, ‘systemic racism’, ‘sexism’, ‘gender’, ‘LGBTQ+’,

‘white supremacy’, ‘unconscious bias’, ‘bias’, ‘microaggressions’, ‘critical race theory’, ‘intersectionality’, or ‘social justice,’” Welch wrote. The letter lays out 10 detailed requests for all relevant DEIA training both past and present, descriptions of the training, as well as all costs, fees and contracts related to any DEIA-related training.

The request also includes an “inventory of all University ‘in-house’ workshops, facilitations, organizational developments, and course designs, delivered virtually or in-person, which cover the subject matters of DEIA or other similar topics for employees, including those trainings made in partnership with third parties.”

The committee’s deadline for the production of the materials is the close of business (5 p.m.) on March 28.

The letter to the UNC System follows reports by Carolina Partnership for Reform (CPFR) from earli-

“The question became an application requirement for the 2021 admissions cycle. It will not be a requirement moving forward.”

NC State Director of Strategic Communications and Media Relations Mick Kulikowski

er this year questioning activities at NC State University.

A compelled DEI statement for new applicants to NC State University (NCSU) was the first report issued by CPFR in January.

“NC State University requires prospective students to explain how they intend to ‘contribute to a more diverse and inclusive NC

State environment’ if granted admission,” CPFR’s report stated.

CPFR included the language on the school’s website: “NC State University is committed to building a just and inclusive community, one that does not tolerate unjust or inhumane treatment, and that denounces it, clearly and loudly. Please describe what those words mean to you and how you will contribute to a more diverse and inclusive NC State environment.”

Recently, the UNC System Board of Governors introduced a policy revision that would bar statements like the one being required by NCSU.

“University shall neither solicit nor require an employee or applicant for academic admission or employment to affirmatively ascribe to or opine about beliefs, affiliations, ideals, or principles regarding matters of contemporary political debate or social action as a condition to admission, employment, or professional advancement. Nor shall any employee or applicant be solicited or required to describe his or her actions in support of, or in opposition to, such beliefs, affiliations, ideals, or principles,” the policy states.

North State Journal reached out to NC State for comment.

“The question became an application requirement for the 2021 admissions cycle. It will not be a requirement moving forward,” wrote NC State Director of Strategic Communications and Media Relations Mick Kulikowski in an email response. “The question speaks for itself. It asks that students reflect upon building an equitable and inclusive environment at NC State.

“We aren’t aware of any concerns expressed by applicants or the campus community, and in fact, NC State continues to see record applications year after year, including more applications from North Carolina students than any other North Carolina university,” Kulikowski wrote. “We are aware of dialogue outside of the university, and as that conversation continues, NC State will maintain its commitment to a diverse, inclusive and belonging community as part of its strategic plan.”

The other CPFR report detailed DEI requirements in training and hiring as part of the “Strategic Plan 2030” put forth by NCSU’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS).

CALS has yet to respond to multiple requests for comment by North State Journal.

approach to spending that his fellow Democrats have taken in Washington,” said House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Kings Mountain).

“Unfortunately, this kind of runaway spending has resulted in a failing economy that has left millions of Americans behind.

“The General Assembly will continue on the fiscally responsible path that has made our state attractive to so many. Now Governor Cooper is proposing a budget that effectively eliminates the tax cuts that will help North Carolinians make ends meet and have attracted families and businesses to our state. Over a decade of Republican budget leadership has put North Carolina on solid financial ground. This is no coincidence–our fiscally responsible approach to spending works.”

Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Eden) echoed some of Moore’s sentiments.

“This is an irresponsible, unserious proposal from a lame-duck governor who wants future North Carolinians to pick up his tab,” Berger said. “Gov. Cooper wants to go on a reckless spending spree by raising taxes, raiding the state’s savings account, and proposing the largest increase in year-overyear spending in the state’s history. He is following the same failed Democratic playbook that is causing residents to flee blue states like New York, California, and Illinois.”

The governor’s proposed budget covers everything from education and mental health to business needs and transportation — the latter of which drew attention from Senate Transportation Committee Chair Sen. Vickie Sawyer (R-Iredell), who issued a statement criticizing Cooper’s plan.

Sawyer said Cooper’s plan capping transportation-related sales tax transfers from the General Fund at 2% would reduce transportation funding by more than $638 million and a potential reduction of $5 billion over the next 10 years. The 2022 state budget the governor signed increases that transfer to 6% over the next two years.

Other items in the budget proposal include using Medicaid expansion proceeds to invest “$1 billion to address our mental health crisis,” which Cooper says is the “largest investment in state employee compensation in 50 years.”

Cooper proposes $554.3 million in FY 2023-24 and $645.3 million in FY 2024-25 to address North Carolina’s workforce needs. The budget includes $100 million for business “megasite support,” another $70 million in “Sports and Entertainment Fund grants” to upgrade venues, $25 million for downtown revitalization grants, and $75.4 million over the biennium to expand One NC Small Business program and fund NCInnovation and the NC Defense Innovation Network.

There is also $225 million for “Federal Match Reserve investment” set aside that appears to support Biden administration policies such as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act.

Just before unveiling his budget, Cooper had signed an executive order creating an Office of Violence Prevention that he said will “help coordinate the efforts to reduce violent crime, tackle both intentional and careless gun injuries and deaths, and work to keep

people safe.” His budget puts forward $104.2 million to “enhance public safety and prevent gun violence statewide.”

Cooper’s education proposals include an additional $1.8 billion to help “recruit and retain high quality teachers and administrators.” The budget sets starting teacher salaries to at least $46,000, up from $37,000, with a 16% pay raise for teachers over the biennium; 10% the first year and a minimum of 6% the second year.

The more recent legislative ask by the State Board of Education and NCDPI is around 10%.

Cooper’s proposal also calls for “fully funding” the Leandro Comprehensive Remedial Plan.

The full Leandro plan calls for an overall $8.29 billion in new state-level spending over an eightyear period. As the Leandro court case wound through the courts, $1.7 billion was set by one judge as the outstanding amount to be paid. That figure was later recalculated down to $667.8 million.

Cooper’s proposal calls for $4.5 billion “to ensure all of North Carolina’s children have access to a sound basic education” with $677.8 million earmarked to meet the court order to fund Year Two and Year Three. His proposal sets Year Three of the plan as the budget baseline, and then calls for $2.5 billion to fully fund Years Four and Five.

The phrase “a sound basic education” has been used repeatedly by Cooper and others in favor of the Leandro plan’s funding. That phrase has been misconstrued as being part of the N.C. State Constitution, when in fact it is from a 1997 N.C. Court ruling that said students should have the “opportunity to receive a sound basic education.”

During his State of the State address earlier this month, Cooper said his budget proposal would “fully fund” the Leandro plan by using the state’s surplus. Cooper’s $4.5 billion plan would completely drain that surplus currently estimated at $3.25 billion.

As with previous budgets proposed by the governor, school choice investments are left out.

In previous budgets, Cooper sought to eliminate funding for the popular Opportunity Scholarship program which gives funding to low-income students to attend the private school of their choice. This year’s proposal is no different, seeking to decrease the reserve funding amounts being carried forward by the program and then freezing that funding level for the next two years.

The governor’s budget is again calling for the creation of a state office of equity affairs ($400,000) as part of his “sound basic education” support. The Leandro plan also calls for creation of such an office.

State employees hoping for raises similar to those typically awarded to teachers would see a “5% across the board cost-of-living increase” in the first year of the biennium and a 3% increase in the second year. There is also an additional 1.5% proposed increase for “most employees in step plans,” and a one-time $1,500 bonus to state employees earning less than $75,000 and $1,000 to those earning $75,000 and above.

Cooper also proposes increases in the number of vacation days for employees with less than 20 years of service and changing longevity pay into “retention pay” with those salary increases starting at two years of service instead of 10 years of service.

lawmakers intervene, student will get to play soccer

By A.P. Dillon North

Journal

State

RALEIGH — Richlands High School senior Caitlynn Guarino

will get to play on her school’s soccer team after lawmakers intervened in the matter.

Guarino was originally denied the opportunity to play soccer after her coach said the classes she was taking in the fall weren’t enough to satisfy the North Carolina High School Athletic Association’s participation rules.

The rules set out by the nonprofit N.C. High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) state that in order to play sports, students have to pass a minimum of three courses on a block schedule in the prior semester.

Guarino had taken Advanced Placement (AP) classes, however, those credits were not being counted because they were being counted at the end of a school year instead of the end of a semester. That meant she wasn’t eligible to play sports under NCHSAA rules.

A petition was started backing Guarino’s complaint in an attempt to get the NCHSAA to waive the rule.

Both Onslow County Schools and the N.C. Department of Public Instruction filed appeals on Guarino’s behalf, but the NCHSAA denied them.

“This is outrageous! One of @ OnslowSchools’s exceptional student-athletes was benched for the season due to @NCHSAA’s bureaucratic regulations which disincentivize academic success. I will be filing #ncga legislation to address & remedy this matter,”

Sen. Michael Lazzara (R-Onslow) tweeted on Mar. 6.

Lazzara kept his promise and added an amendment to Senate Bill 52 granting the state superintendent the ability to be the final authority on high school interscholastic athletic eligibility appeals.

“Student-athletes should not be punished for taking AP classes & excelling academically. I told my constituents that I would fix this

“Student-athletes should not be punished for taking AP classes & excelling academically. I told my constituents that I would fix this issue, and we’ve done just that by passing #NCGA legislation the very next day. We look forward to seeing this bill become law quickly.”

Sen. Michael Lazzara (R-Onslow)

issue, and we’ve done just that by passing #NCGA legislation the very next day. We look forward to seeing this bill become law quickly,” Lazzara tweeted on the same day the amendment was added.

Less than a week later, on March 13, Lazzara announced in a series of tweets that the NCSHAA was reversing its decision.

“I just got off the phone with @ NCHSAA leadership, as they have decided to REVERSE their previous decision and allow @OnslowSchools’ scholar-athlete Caitlynn Guarino to play soccer this season.

“We are grateful for this decision and look forward to continued collaboration with NCHSAA to modernize the eligibility process and ensure fairness in athletic eligibility,” tweeted Lazzara.

The amendment granting appeals authority to the state superintendent was removed the same day.

This is not the first time the NCHSAA has come under scrutiny by lawmakers.

In 2021, Gov. Roy Cooper signed a measure that changed the governing structure for high school sports.

The law allows the State Board of Education to create a formal agreement lasting four years with the NCHSAA that provides a memorandum of understanding with the group to administer and enforce the education board’s student participation requirements for high

school sports. The law came about after Republican state lawmakers examined and became critical of the NCHSAA’s extensive powers and the nonprofit’s nearly $42 million in reported 2020 assets.

NCHSAA Commissioner Que Tucker said the legislative committee discussions about replacing the organization represented “a fullscale attack” on the ability and desire of the group’s more than 400 member schools “to govern their own affairs as it relates to high school athletics.”

In 2019, Republican Congressman Richard Hudson, who represented the state’s 8th District at the time, sent a letter to the NCHSAA blasting the organization for violating the First Amendment rights of North Stanly High School cheerleaders.

The NCHSAA had placed the cheerleaders on probation for posing in front of a “Trump 2020: Make America Great Again” banner before a football game.

“As the representative for Stanly County, I am appalled these students are being punished for exercising their First Amendment Right to Free Speech,” Hudson wrote, later asking for clarification on what NCSHAA policies the cheerleaders had violated.

Tucker responded in a lengthy statement which, in part, said, “While the NCHSAA does not have a specific policy prohibiting the display of political advertisements at athletic events, the behavior was contrary to the NCHSAA’s ‘Philosophy of Cheerleading’ in the NCHSAA Handbook.”

Tucker also said Stanly County Schools has a policy against political advertisements on campus or at school events and pointed to the district’s press release that stated “the cheerleaders were in uniform and were acting as representatives of the school, the display of the sign could be perceived as the school or school system endorsing a political campaign.”

“NCHSAA probation, in and of itself, is not a punishment,” Tucker said. “It serves as a notice of behavior or action that is against NCHSAA Handbook Policy or contrary to expectations of sportsmanship and proper behavior. Should infractions occur during a probation period at a member school or within a team at a member school, additional sanctions such as fines or suspensions could be implemented. In the aforementioned instance, opportunities for participation were neither eliminated nor limited.”

BUDGET from page A1

After

The North Carolina General Assembly is featured in this file photo.

north STATEment

EDITORIAL | FRANK HILL

The essential American-ness of March Madness

THERE IS SOMETHING so quintessentially American going on during March Madness that we need to keep it in mind every day of the year and remember why we love it so.

Strange behavior of male rabbits in March was recorded as early as 1500 in Europe, which led people to say they were “mad” or crazy. Hares were seen jumping vertically for apparently no reason; kicking at nothing but thin air and boxing other hares for territorial rights. They weren’t insane, of course, but just doing what nature intended for male rabbits to do during the spring mating season.

The FairleighDickinson Knights ― Lilliputians by comparison ― are the shortest team of all 353 NCAA D-1 schools with an average height of 6’3”.

Hence, the figurative image of the Mad March Hare was born.

There was, of course, the fictional March Hare in Lewis Carroll’s admittedly strange “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” published in 1865 and popularized in Disney’s 1951 animated film, who epitomized crazy thinking and behavior. “Ah, but that’s the point! If you don’t think, you shouldn’t talk!” the March Hare would reason. “I have an excellent idea! Let’s change the subject,” which sounds like he works in the Biden White House.

Sports fans think Brent Musburger came up with the term “March Madness” spontaneously during the 1982 tournament, but he later said he remembered reading it as a young sports journalist while in Chicago.

Indiana assistant executive secretary of the Illinois High School Association and basketball enthusiast Henry V. Porter coined the phrase “March Madness” in 1939. He penned a somewhat saccharine essay by today’s standards in which he paid homage to the thousands of rabid Illinois high school basketball fans who followed their teams across the state in the year-end tournament that was open to all teams, large and small.

Think of the movie “Hoosiers” except in Illinois, not Indiana.

There is nothing “crazy” about March Madness and the NCAA college basketball tournament. March Madness is a celebration of pure, getit-done American meritocracy. We should celebrate an entire year of monthly madness if that is what it takes to restore American pride in our collective citizenship.

There is no amount of socialism, CRT, DEI, BLM, antifa, ESG or any other form of government intervention that can change the outcome of any game if one team outperforms the other on the court. Neither can any amount of money for coaches’ salaries, recruiting or NIL ― the team that carries out its game plan and imposes its will on the other team wins, regardless of how many Diaper Dandies and One-and-Doners are on one team when none are on the other.

EDITORIAL | STACEY MATTHEWS

It doesn’t matter how many black players are on your team (FairleighDickinson – 10 out of 12) or how many white players are on your team (Princeton – nine out of 16). If your team can make open shots, play tenacious defense, be unselfish, pass the ball to the open person and play as a team, they can win on any given night.

Purdue was ranked No. 1 much of the year and had a 7-foot-4 giant, Zach Edey, in the middle. The Fairleigh-Dickinson Knights ― Lilliputians by comparison ― are the shortest team of all 353 NCAA D-1 schools with an average height of 6’3”.

The Boilermakers’ coach, Matt Painter, enjoys a salary of $3.55M per year. Fairleigh-Dickinson’s enigmatic coach, Tobin Anderson, makes $40,000 per year.

That’s right ― $40,000. Per year.

FDU’s NIL budget might be a dozen doughnuts and a to-go box of Starbucks coffee compared to Purdue or any of the blue blood teams now out of the tournament such as Duke, UNC and Kansas.

Based on metrics and history, there was no conceivable way the 16thseeded Knights of FDU could defeat Purdue in the first round. And yet they did. They used the two most deadly tools in all sports ― speed and quickness ― and combined it with a full-court press the entire game to upset the Boilermakers.

The crowd in the Columbus, Ohio, arena went “mad” cheering on FDU. So did millions of fans outside of West Lafayette, Indiana, watching on TV, most of whom had no idea of where Fairleigh Dickinson is from (Hackensack, New Jersey). They didn’t care if the FDU players were black, white, rich or poor. Fans from other colleges were cheering equally as loudly as the FDU fans and families. All they could see was extraordinary effort and heart on the court, and they couldn’t help but act like March hares jumping up and down wildly in the spring when they won.

FDU upsetting Purdue was not just David versus Goliath. It was a celebration of what living in America can be like if we pull for each other and not tear one another apart all the time.

We are on the same team as Americans. We can all do this.

Another one to file under ‘journalists behaving badly’

These food and weight hit pieces will have the opposite effect of what they intended.

THE HIGHER YOU WANT TO CLIMB in politics, the more that gets dissected and written about you, down to the number of pets you have and how your great-great-great-greatgreat uncle once removed created quite a stir in your hometown all those years ago when he streaked down Main Street, doing cartwheels along the way. This is especially true when it comes to Republicans, for whom the media leaves no stone unturned when it comes to digging up supposed dirt in an effort to derail their political careers.

Though he hasn’t declared his presidential candidacy yet, rumors are swirling that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will do just that as early as May, once the state’s legislative session is over.

The number of hit pieces filed on DeSantis over the last three years (since the start of the coronavirus pandemic) are too numerous to count, but a couple of recent ones left even some on the left scratching their heads and wondering who thought it was a bright idea to publish them.

On Thursday, The Daily Beast wrote about how DeSantis’ social skills with voters are supposedly lacking. In it, they noted that, among other things, DeSantis can often be found away from most of the action in a crowded room rather than mixing and mingling, preferring to surround himself with those already closest to him.

But it was the allegations about DeSantis’ supposed eating habits that really, er, took the cake.

The Daily Beast reported that DeSantis’ supposed “soft skill” problems with voters and donors are so bad that at one point during a 2019 flight, he failed to “read the room” by eating pudding — while seated in a “very intimate flight cabin” — with three fingers.

I mean what awful thing will we learn about DeSantis next? That he slurps milk out of his cereal and soup bowls? I shudder to think.

The story ended up being too much for even the liberals at New York Magazine, which mocked The Daily Beast story by predicting that the so-called “pudding incident” would destroy DeSantis’ presumed presidential aspirations because talking points coming from someone “who’s been credibly accused of licking dessert from his paw like a cartoon bear” just can’t be taken seriously.

Then there was Puck News, who not long after the “pudding” story went up wrote an article wondering if DeSantis was taking Ozempic because he’d slimmed down in a short amount of time.

“If there’s one thing that’s been documented about DeSantis, it’s his ability to shove anything in his mouth,” Puck News reported. But the “sudden change [in how he looks] has some wondering if DeSantis, like the rest of Hollywood and the Upper East Side, is on Ozempic, the diabetes-turned-weight-loss drug.”

In the end, they concluded that he probably wasn’t.

“For what it’s worth, I’m told that he’s stopped eating carbs and he’s taking the new diet very seriously, so perhaps he doesn’t need the drug.”

Now that’s the type of hard-hitting, Truth to Power journalism we’ve been waiting for all this time, right?

Seriously, what better way to get people to think critically about the type of national leader Ron DeSantis could be should he run for president and win than to report that he’s a real person who is trying to take better care of his health but has human moments when it comes to food like the rest of us?

As has been the case with all the rest, these food and weight hit pieces will have the opposite effect of what they intended. They’ll endear people to DeSantis all the more and may win over some converts to his side along the way as people get more and more disgusted with how the mainstream media operates.

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

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

VISUAL VOICES

AP PHOTO

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at an event with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on March 10, 2023, in Davenport, Iowa.

US House, US Senate to Biden: ESG Hurts Americans’ 401ks

THIS PAST WEEK, California regulators shut down Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), making it the second-largest bank failure in American history. As the securities regulators investigate the cause, many investors have pointed to a shift to pursuing Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) policies.

North Carolina’s Dale Folwell called for Blackrock CEO Larry Fink’s ouster.

This historic shutdown has sparked debate about the profitability and effectiveness of ESG policies nationwide — and with good reason. When asset managers reduce the options available for investment in order to prioritize issues such as climate change over maximizing shareholder values, the impact is likely lower returns for the future retiree.

In wake of the collapse, politicians and the media have criticized the bank’s loans to ESG-related companies as well as its in-house ESG policies.

Rep. James Comer (R-KY), chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said of SVB: “They were one of the most woke banks in their quest for the ESG-type policy and investing.”

On March 1, the U.S. Senate joined the U.S. House of Representatives in voting to overturn a Biden administration then-month-old-rule permitting private fiduciary retirement managers to “consider” ESG factors in Americans’ retirement plans.

Translation: money managers will be forced to make investment decisions based on climate change and other “woke” policies.

Although Biden has said “the federal government should not restrict that choice for plan managers,” the reality is the rule itself is a de facto reduction in the companies that could attract investment. Biden subsequently vetoed the bill, the first since he took office in January 2021.

The Labor Department rule as written undermines 401(k) retirement funds by enabling investment managers to prioritize ideological issues like climate change over investment returns. Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY), who spearheaded the effort to overturn the proposal, claimed “Americans don’t want their retirement politicized. They don’t want politics as part of their retirement portfolio. They want financial performance; they want investment

returns.”

With the market volatility and investors staring at weak 401(k)s, you would think Biden would want to do whatever he can to help returns, not make it tougher for investors to earn a buck.

ESG discussions may be flooding headlines today, but they aren’t new.

For the past several years, large investment firms like BlackRock have pursued a new, “enlightened” investment approach with climate change at the helm. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink even suggested it would become a “defining factor in the companies’ long-term prospects.”

But as Americans have faced record-high inflation and other economic hardships, firefighters, police officers, teachers and government employees want confidence that their money managers are acting in their best interest, not trying to whitewash woke ESG policies that prioritize people over profits.

Last year, state treasurers and legislatures better aligned pension fund investments with their states’ economic interests. In August, for example, Texas Comptroller Glenn Heger announced he would seek to divest holdings in BlackRock after determining they were boycotting energy companies. In similar fashion, South Carolina, Utah and Louisiana state leaders announced they would divest more than $200 million, $100 million and $800 million, respectively, in BlackRock holdings by the end of 2022. And North Carolina’s Dale Folwell even called for Fink’s ouster.

It seems Fink heard their message loud and clear. In his annual shareholder letter sent earlier this week, there was noticeably one thing missing: ESG. Certain state treasurers are recognizing that it’s time we get back to the basics of providing Americans the best returns for their hard-earned money. Americans are counting on our money managers following suit.

Jill Homan is a mom of two, lives in Johnston County, and runs a real estate investment and advisory firm focused on investing in low-income communities.

Silicon Valley — Sand Hill Road and Stanford Law — get off scot-free

AS ONE WHO HAS SPENT pleasant time on Sand Hill Road and the Stanford campus, I’m dismayed by the demands for special treatment coming from the denizens of one of America’s most privileged and affluent precincts.

Sand Hill Road, leading up the hills above Stanford, was the home of Silicon Valley’s first venture capital firms and of a branch of the now-bankrupt Silicon Valley Bank. Stanford, of course, is the home of Stanford Law School, site of the latest silencing of an eminent speaker by “woke” student thugs.

That happened March 9 at a Federalist Society event featuring federal 5th Circuit Judge Kyle Duncan. Such shout-downs of speakers violate law school policy, but none of the six school administrators in the room objected. Instead, the DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) associate dean, Tirien Steinbach, read an eight-minute prepared statement including criticisms of the judge for threatening “basic rights for marginalized communities.”

Such campus thuggery has become common, notably at Yale Law School (of which I am a graduate) on March 10 last year.

On Friday, the Stanford Law School dean issued an apology but seemed to excuse the DEI administrator by saying, “however wellintentioned, attempts at managing the room in this instance went awry.” On Sunday, the law school dean and the university president issued a more forthright apology, admitting that “staff members who should have enforced university policies failed to do so.”

On March 13, hundreds of law students lined the halls to intimidate the law school dean for apologizing.

Former President Donald Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2023, March 4, 2023, at National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Md.

Only three candidates can win the GOP nomination

THERE ARE A LOT OF NAMES thrown around as potential candidates who will seek the Republican nomination in hope of becoming president. Many of those names are just that — names. The truth is there are only three candidates with a credible chance of earning the GOP nomination.

Scott is a bona-fide conservative, but works with Democrats without compromising his conservative values.

Donald Trump — despite ongoing investigations, potential criminal charges, a resurgent conversation of Jan. 6 and polling numbers among Republican primary voters considerably softer from their height — still has a chance to win the GOP nomination.

Whether they are deluded, don’t care about the lies or are simply and inherently contrarian to a fault, there still exists enough Republican primary voters for Trump to win enough delegates to earn the Republican nomination for president. However, just as 2020 and 2022 proved, Trump and his handpicked candidates can’t win competitive statewide general elections.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has clearly garnered the most attention among the media, early primary state voters, grassroots leaders, influential donors and former Trump loyalists as the alternative to Trump. DeSantis is a conservative governor of a large and diverse state.

He’s shown an ability to raise large sums of money. His book tour could not be going any better. He is a sought-after speaker at local and state Republican party events, and his numbers in early primary states are very competitive with Trump.

DeSantis has endeared himself with a significant segment of GOP voters through his anti-woke agenda in schools and businesses, support for the right to life and Second Amendment, forcefully denouncing illegal immigration, and passing tax and regulatory policies to help Florida grow its economy and continue to attract individuals, families and businesses to relocate to the state.

DeSantis has largely ignored Trump’s childish ridicule and nicknames and focused his grievances and attacks on Biden and his

policies rather than other Republicans. What we haven’t seen yet from him is whether he can counterpunch following an attack or if he has the charisma needed for the retail politics game needed in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

Both will be important to winning.

The third candidate who can win the Republican nomination is U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina. Scott is a bona fide conservative but works with Democrats without compromising his conservative values.

Scott refuses to shy away from tough issues and attacks them with the same vigor as your traditional policy discussions. He possesses charisma, has a diligent understanding of policy, speaks with command, and does not avoid talking about his strong faith and its importance and necessity to the American family and dream.

Scott is a dark horse candidate with strong appeal but is little-known outside Washington, D.C., circles. This is both an advantage and disadvantage. He can either translate this appeal and build a unique brand to broaden and grow his support. Or he can squander it by peaking too early and introducing nothing new or substantive when Republican primary voters begin paying attention. The latter will force him to quickly become an afterthought.

Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis or Tim Scott will be the Republican nominee for president. All the other names should quickly realize this and step aside rather than splitting the vote so much that Donald Trump once again becomes our nominee, we lose again in November and have four more years of Joe Biden.

Republicans have a critical decision to make in this nominating contest. Don’t make the wrong one.

Alfredo Rodriguez III is the founder and president of Dyce Communications, a national strategic communications, public affairs, media and Republican political consulting firm.

Despite the apologies, no one seems to be contemplating any punishment or sanction for the students or their DEI apologist. The justification, as the DEI dean summarized, is some students’ feelings that “their sense of belonging is undermined” by the judge’s opinions. That echoes the frequent “woke” complaint that speech is violence — of course, asserted by people threatening violence to suppress speech.

But why should their complaints be taken seriously? Law students are adults — 21 and older, eligible to vote, marry, own property, drink, smoke and enlist in the military. Why do they have to be shielded by hordes of administrators from speech that hurts their feelings? Adults outside of campuses don’t get free therapy or collusive coddling.

Stanford Law students aren’t the only Silicon Valley denizens granted special treatment this month. Tech executives who were big depositors in Silicon Valley Bank were bailed out by government regulators over the weekend.

SVB’s demise, the second biggest bank failure in United States history, has sparked demands for increased or different banking regulation. Yet it appears the failure resulted not from weak regulations but from bad decisions by people blessed, like Stanford Law students, with high cognitive ability and ensconced in enviable institutional niches.

SVB executives, absorbing an inrush of deposits from Silicon Valley techies, decided to invest heavily in long-term bonds without hedging against the risk of higher interest rates — something that anyone who reads financial news saw coming. They did so even though 93% of deposits were above the $250,000 limit on Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insurance. The predictable result was that when interest rates rose, depositors sensed weakness and rushed to yank their uninsured money out — a classic run on the bank.

Where were the bank executives?

Preoccupied at least part of the time with “advancing women and Black and Latinx individuals to positions of influence” in their DEI program and funneling $74 million to Black Lives Matter causes. Where were West Coast bank regulators? Dozing off, apparently.

Then last weekend, agencies and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced full and immediate fund access for depositors, even those with millions in deposits uninsured by the FDIC. The special treatment was necessary, it was said, because many Silicon Valley businesses, heedless of the bank’s foolish but publicly disclosed policies, needed the money to meet payrolls for employees in a nationally critical innovative industry. Smart and privileged people were again excused from the consequences of their misdeeds.

Of course, fracking executives in western Pennsylvania could make similar claims. If they left millions in uninsured accounts, their losses would hurt employees and throttle an innovative sector of the economy. But they haven’t made their money while young and glamorous, and they haven’t been ponying up big bucks to national Democrats.

What Silicon Valley teaches is that those engaging in “woke” bad behavior — whether it’s “woke” privileged law students shouting down speakers or “woke” privileged bank executives taking obvious and easily preventable risks — can wiggle out of the consequences. That’s not a good lesson for America’s richest regions to teach the rest of the nation.

Michael Barone is a senior political analyst for the Washington Examiner, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and longtime co-author of “The Almanac of American Politics.”

COLUMN | ALFREDO RODRIGUEZ III

‘Woke’

NATION & WORLD

Slovakia, Poland agree to give Ukraine Soviet-era jets

The Associated Press PRAGUE — Slovakia’s government on Friday approved a plan to give Ukraine its fleet of 13 Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets, becoming the second NATO member country to heed the Ukrainian government’s pleas for warplanes to help defend against Russia’s invasion.

Prime Minister Eduard Heger said during a news conference announcing the decision that his government was “on the right side of history.” Earlier, Heger tweeted that military aid was key to ensuring Ukraine can defend itself and all of Europe against Russia.

Poland announced a day earlier that it would give Ukraine around a dozen MiG-29s, starting with four expected to be delivered in the coming days. Both Poland and Slovakia had indicated previously they were ready to grant Ukraine’s requests for military aircraft, but only as part of a wider international coalition.

Heger said his government’s move “is closely coordinated with the Polish side, Ukraine and other allies.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the promised planes were another example of NATO members “raising the level of their direct involvement in the conflict.”

“The equipment deliveries naturally won’t have any impact on the outcome of the special military operation, but it may bring more misfortune to Ukraine and Ukrainian people,” Peskov said during a conference call with reporters.

Slovakia will receive $213 million from the European Union as compensation and unspecified arms from the United States worth $745 million in exchange for giving its MiG-29 fleet to Ukraine, Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly asked Western countries for fighter jets,

but NATO allies held off, citing concern about escalating the alliance’s role in the war.

In response to Poland’s announcement, the White House said Warsaw’s move would have no bearing on President Joe Biden, who has resisted calls to provide U.S. F-16s to Ukraine, and that it was up to other nations to explain their own positions.

Michał Baranowski, managing director of Warsaw-based GMF East, part of the German Marshall Fund think tank, said changing conditions now permit such a move since the initial reluctance to respond to Ukraine’s request.

“Many red lines have been crossed since that discussion last year,” Baranowski told The Associated Press by phone. Sending MiGs now “is not the same difficult political sale that it was last year.”

Ukraine will be able to use the MiGs immediately without needing any training.

Zelenskyy appealed directly to Heger for aircraft at an EU summit in Brussels last month.

Slovakia grounded its MiGs in the summer due to a lack of spare parts and expertise to help maintain them after Russian technicians returned home. In the absence of its own aircraft, fellow NATO members Poland and the Czech Republic stepped in to monitor Slovak air space. Before Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine had several dozen MiG-29s it inherited in the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, but it’s unclear how many remain in service after more than a year of fighting.

The Slovak government that made the decision to sign a bi-

AP PHOTO

Saturday,

lateral deal with Ukraine for the jets has only limited powers after a December no-confidence vote brought down the coalition government that was formed after the country’s 2020 election.

The next election is set for September when the opposition stands a good chance of winning. Its leaders include populist former Prime Minister Robert Fico, who opposes military support for Ukraine and EU sanctions on Russia and has said Slovakia’s government has no mandate to deliver fighter jets to Ukraine.

Opposition parties including Fico’s Smer-Social Democracy party rejected the government’s decision Friday, threatening to sue.

Slovakia signed a deal to buy 14 U.S. F-16 Block 70/72 fighter jets, but delivery was pushed back two years to early 2024.

Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates debate as voting begins

The Associated Press MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin voters began casting ballots in person on Tuesday in the state’s highstakes Supreme Court race, hours before the two candidates were slated to meet for their only debate two weeks before election day.

Both candidates were urging their supporters to vote early during the period that runs through April 2. The contest between Republican-backed Dan Kelly and Democratic-supported Janet Protasiewicz will decide majority control of the court, with abortion access, legislative redistricting, voting rights and other issues at stake.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court came within one vote of overturning Donald Trump’s defeat in the state in 2020. Whoever wins the April 4 election for a seat vacated by the retirement of a conservative justice will determine majority control of the court for at least the next two years, including leading up to the 2024 presidential election. Protasiewicz, a Milwaukee

County judge, is running as a staunch supporter of abortion rights. Wisconsin’s ban on nearly all abortions, which was enacted in 1849 — a year after statehood — is already being challenged in court and will likely land before the state Supreme Court later this year or next.

Kelly, a former state Supreme Court justice, has long ties to the Republican Party, having previously worked for Republicans, including advising illegitimate electors who met in 2020 to try and cast the state’s electoral votes for Donald Trump even though he lost.

Protasiewicz’s endorsements include Hillary Clinton and EMILY’s List, which works nationwide to elect Democratic abortion rights supporters.

Elizabeth Doe, 73, was the first person to cast a ballot in Wisconsin’s liberal capital, Madison, doing so shortly after 9 a.m. at a community center. She said she voted for Protasiewicz because of her concerns over “reproductive rights.”

“You can’t take that right away,”

she said. Protasiewicz and her allies have largely attacked Kelly over abortion, noting his support by the state’s three largest anti-abortion groups and his past work for Wisconsin Right to Life. Kelly has not said how he would rule on the abortion law challenge should it reach the court, but he did write in a blog post years ago that everyone knows the procedure “takes the life of an unborn child.”

Kelly has accused Protasiewicz of going too far and essentially committing to voting to overturn the 1849 abortion ban should the challenge to it come before the high court. Protasiewicz has not said how she would rule on that or any other specific case.

Kelly and his allies have largely focused on Protasiewicz’s record as a judge, arguing that she’s handed down light sentences to violent offenders.

Judy Drousth, a 70-year-old voter from Madison, said she was concerned about over-politicizing officially nonpartisan court races. She said both Kelly and Protasiewicz were guilty of doing that,

but she voted Tuesday for Protasiewicz and thinks she can be fair on the court.

The contest has already broken national spending records for a Supreme Court race, with the two sides having spent at least $22 million to date. WisPolitics.com estimated that more than $30 million had been spent on the race as of last week, which would be roughly double the $15.2 million spent on a 2004 Illinois Supreme Court race that had held the mark as the most expensive.

Protasiewicz released two new ads hours before the midday debate, including one featuring a woman from Green Bay who had an abortion and claims that Kelly would “uphold the criminal ban on abortion.”

Her campaign said it has spent $10.3 million on TV ads, while AdImpact said last week that Kelly had spent less than $100,000. At least $8 million had been spent on ads, or in ad buy reservations, by conservative groups backing Kelly as of March 14, according to a tally by the liberal Brennan Center for Justice.

Moldovan lawmakers approve national language bill

Chisinau, Moldova

Moldovan lawmakers voted in favor of a divisive bill that will replace references to the country’s official national language from Moldovan to Romanian in the Constitution and legislation.

The bill was initiated by Moldova’s ruling pro-Western Party of Action and Solidarity, PAS, and will change references to “Moldovan language”, “mother tongue” and “state language” with “Romanian language.” This has sparked a debate with social, political and geopolitical overtones.

While those in favor of the official linguistic changes see them as an important step for the European Union candidate to distance itself from its Soviet past and historic ties to Moscow, others see it as an attack on the national Moldovan identity by pro-Western officials. The opposition has also expressed concerns about the procedural changes in the bill.

The large majority of Moldova’s 2.6 million people speak Romanian as their first language, and the rest speak Russian.

Moldova was part of Romania until World War II when it was annexed by the Soviet Union and Russian became the official language. During the following halfcentury, Romanian was preserved in Moldovan villages. It became the national language again in 1989.

After the first bill reading passed earlier this month, Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova reacted by calling it “an anti-Russian resolution.”

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

New law allows antiabortion monument at Arkansas Capitol Little Rock, Ark. Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has signed a new law that will allow a monument near the state Capitol marking the number of abortions performed in Arkansas before the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade.

Sanders’ office said the Republican governor signed the bill that will allow the creation of a privately funded “monument to the unborn” on the Capitol grounds. The bill, approved by lawmakers last week, requires the secretary of state to permit and arrange the placement of the monument.

It also requires the Capitol Arts and Grounds Commission to oversee the selection of the artist and the design of the monument, with input from anti-abortion groups.

Tennessee lawmakers approved legislation in 2018 allowing a similar privately funded monument on its Capitol grounds. The monument has not yet been installed.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Slovak Air Force MiG-29s fly over an airport during an airshow in Malacky, Slovakia,

Aug. 27, 2022.

MLS

Charlotte FC holds off Orlando for first win

Orlando, Fla.

Enzo Copetti and Kerwin

Vargas scored first-half goals and Charlotte FC snapped a three -match skid to open the season with a 2 -1 v ictory over Orlando City on Saturday night. Copetti scored in the 26th minute with a lengthy assist from homegrown defender Jaylin Lindsey to give Charlotte (1-3 - 0) the lead. Vargas took a pass from Harrison Afful and scored a deflected goal 11 minutes later to make it 2 - 0. It was the first career goal for Vargas. Charlotte opened last season with three straight losses before rebounding to post a 4 -2 -1 mark over its next seven matches. George Marks totaled six saves for Charlotte.

NFL

AP: Magic Johnson joins bid for Commanders

Washington, D.C.

Basketball Hall of Famer

Magic Johnson has joined a bid to buy the NFL’s Washington Commanders. Johnson is already involved in sports ownership with stakes three Los Angeles sports teams: in MLB’s Dodgers, Los Angeles F.C. of MLS and the WNBA’s Sparks. The bid is headed by Josh Harris, who along with partner David Blitzer owns the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and NHL’s New Jersey Devils. Washington-a rea billionaire Mitchell Rales is also reportedly part of Harris’ group. Longtime Commanders owner Dan Snyder and wife Tanya began exploring selling part or all of the team in the fall after multiple investigations into workplace conduct and potential financial improprieties. Any sale would need to be approved by three - quarters of NFL owners. The Commanders are expected to sell for more than the $4.65 billion the Denver Broncos fetched last year.

Early exits for men’s teams in NCAAs

North Carolina’s three representatives were all eliminated before the Sweet 16

By Shawn Krest North State Journal

TOBACCO ROAD took an early exit on the road to the Final Four this season. For just the third time since 1980, North Carolina will not have a team in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.

While North Carolina and Duke took center stage last year with a Final Four showdown, this is the second time in the last three seasons that the state folded up its tents after the first weekend of

March Madness. North Carolina also didn’t have a team advance to the Sweet 16 in 2014, marking the first time since 1979 it had been shut out.

The University of North Carolina, responsible for 28 Sweet 16 appearances over the last 43 seasons, was home for the Big Dance after the Tar Heels were eliminated from the ACC Tournament, finishing an inconsistent season for last year’s NCAA Championship Game runner-up.

That left three representatives from the state heading to the NCAA Tournament, with none of them performing well enough in the regular season to earn a bid to nearby Greensboro, which treated local fans to Kentucky, Xavier and Kansas State instead of the

usual local heroes.

UNC Asheville

The Bulldogs had the longest trip after winning the Big South Tournament to earn their fifth NCAA bid in school history and first since 2016. UNCA received a No. 15 seed and traveled to Sacramento to face second-seeded UCLA.

“Could we be the Cinderella team?” asked senior Drew Pember. “Only the Lord knows that. It could happen. We don’t know. So we’re just going to go out tomorrow night and just have fun, enjoy the moment and do what we do.”

It turned out the glass slipper didn’t fit, and the Bulldogs fell to the Bruins, 86-53, ending their

season at 27-8.

“I’m not going to let one game damper what this awesome team has done not only for our program but for our university and for our city and everything,” said coach Mike Morrell. “It’s just been a really, really special year.”

Morrell will also get back Pember, the Big South Player of the Year, next season after he told ESPN he is returning for one more year in Asheville.

NC State

The Wolfpack also racked up frequent flyer miles after being sent to Denver as an 11th seed. They faced No. 6 Creighton.

See NCAA MEN, page B3

Michael Jordan in talks to sell majority stake of Hornets

The NBA icon has been the team’s owner since 2010

By Jesse Deal North State Journal

CHARLOTTE — It’s been 13 years since Michael Jordan paid $275 million for a majority stake in the Charlotte Bobcats.

While the NBA legend is arguably the greatest basketball player to ever step on the hardwood, his success as a player, league ambassador and shoe mogul have not necessarily led to wins for the now-Hornets.

During Jordan’s ownership tenure, Charlotte has recorded a 419595 record, three winning seasons, two trips to the playoffs and — most importantly — zero postseason series wins.

Now as the Hornets sit with a 2350 record (14th place in the Eastern Conference standings) in yet another underwhelming season, the team’s fans might soon see a change in ownership after over a decade of disappointing results.

On March 16, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Jordan has been involved in “serious talks” to sell his majority stake in the franchise to a group led by Hornets minority owner Gabe Plotkin and Atlanta Hawks minority owner Rick Schnall.

Jordan, a six-time NBA champion and five-time MVP, would potentially remain in the picture as a minority stakeholder in the franchise while Plotkin and Schnall would be installed as co-governors of the Hornets.

Plotkin is the former chief investment officer of Melvin Capital,

Panthers add to skill positions, B4 0

an infamous hedge fund operation that had to close its operations in 2022 after losing billions following a meme stock saga in 2021. In what became a generational event for stock traders, Melvin famously shorted GameStop, losing undisclosed billions as retail traders drove the stock price up.

By comparison, Schnall is the seemingly innocuous half of the partnership duo; the Harvard grad-

uate leads the financial services and technology team at the Clayton, Dubilier & Rice private equity company.

Luckily for Hornets fans still aggrieved by the team’s relocation to New Orleans in 2002, the franchise isn’t going anywhere else in the immediate future despite the possible ownership change — last summer’s

See HORNETS, page B4

Playoff series wins for the Hornets in Michael Jordan’s 13 years as owner

PHELAN M. EBENHACK | AP PHOTO

Duke guard Jeremy Roach has his shot blocked by Tennessee guard Santiago Vescovi, right, as Tennessee guard Josiah-Jordan James helps defend during the Volunteers’ win Saturday in the second round of the men’s NCAA Tournament in Orlando, Florida.

JACOB KUPFERMAN | AP PHOTO

Michael Jordan, pictured watching a Hornets game in 2021, is reportedly in talks to sell his majority stake in the NBA team.

TRENDING

T.Y. McGill: The former NC State standout re‑signed with the 49ers to a one‑year deal. The defensive tackle was signed to San Francisco’s practice squad last October and played nine regular season games and three more in the playoffs. He had eight tackles in the regular season and adds depth to the defensive line. The 30‑year‑old entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with Seattle in 2015 and has played 55 games over eight seasons with six teams.

Ed Cooley: The Providence men’s basketball coach is headed to Georgetown, moving to a Big East rival in the hopes of rebuilding a once‑proud program. Cooley leaves Providence with a 242‑153 record after 12 years that included seven NCAA Tournament appearances but just three wins in the Big Dance. The Friars closed this season with four consecutive losses, including a first‑round NCAA loss to Kentucky.

Gardner Minshew: The former East Carolina quarterback agreed on a one‑year contract with the Colts worth up to $5.5 million. Minshew was 1‑3 in four starts filling in for Jalen Hurts over the past two seasons with the Eagles. He reunites with Shane Steichen, the new Colts coach who was Philadelphia’s offensive coordinator. Minshew, a sixth‑round pick by Jacksonville in 2019, was 7‑13 as starter in two seasons with the Jaguars. He has completed 62.8% of his passes for 6,632 yards, 44 touchdowns and 15 interceptions in four seasons.

Beyond the box score

POTENT QUOTABLES

UNC’s Austin O’Connor won his second NCAA wrestling title with a 6‑2 win over Penn State true freshman Levi Haines in the 157‑pound weight class on Saturday in Tulsa, Oklahoma. O’Connor, who won at 149 in 2021, is now a five‑time All‑American. O’Connor got on the board with an escape early in the third, then scored two takedowns to take command.

Former NC State star Trea Turner on his go‑ahead grand slam in the United States’ 9‑7 win over Venezuela in the quarterfinals of the World Baseball Classic.

Hornets guard LaMelo Ball, who said he will be ready for next year’s training camp, on playing for the Hornets.

PRIME NUMBER $400K

Fine levied by NASCAR to Hendrick Motorsports — $100,000 for each of its Cup Series teams’ crew chiefs — for allegedly modifying louvers for the race at Phoenix Raceway, the largest combined punishment for one organization in series history. Each of the four teams was also docked 100 regular season points and 10 playoffs points.

Cam Newton is looking for another shot. The 2015 NFL Most Valuable Player was set to work out for pro scouts at Auburn’s Pro Day on Tuesday. Newton, 33, led the Tigers to a national championship in 2011 and was the No. 1 overall pick in the draft that year by the Panthers. Newton has played 11 NFL seasons, mostly with Carolina.

Mets closer Edwin Díaz has a torn patellar tendon and is expected to miss the entire season. He hurt his right knee while celebrating a win in the World Baseball Classic. The Mets re‑signed Díaz to a five‑year, $102 million contract — the largest ever for a closer — after last season. He was 3‑1 with a 1.31 ERA and 32 saves in 2022.

Leon Edwards retained his welterweight title after beating challenger Kamaru Usman at UFC 286 by majority decision. Judges scored the trilogy fight at the O2 Arena in London 48‑46, 48‑46, 47‑47 in favor of the Jamaican‑born Brit. Edwards had last year ended Usman’s long reign as champion in UFC 278 last August.

MMA

COLLEGE WRESTLING

MLB

DAVID SANTIAGO | MIAMI HERALD VIA AP

NFL

JACOB KUPFERMAN | AP PHOTO

“I love it here.”

“I think this is probably the biggest hit that I’ve had.”

WILFREDO LEE | AP PHOTO

JACOB KUPFERMAN | AP PHOTO

KIERAN CLEEVES | AP PHOTO

Women’s teams have short March after being shut out of Sweet 16

North Carolina sent five teams to the NCAA Tournament

By Shawn Krest North State Journal

NORTH CAROLINA’S stay in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament was a short one.

The state sent five teams to March Madness, tying the most ever from North Carolina. However, for the first time since the 2017 tournament, the state did not send a representative into the Sweet 16.

Three teams were one-and-done in the Big Dance, while another two fell short in the second round. Here’s a roundup of the short March in the Old North State.

Gardner-Webb

March gone mad: Underdogs head to the Sweet 16

Seven teams with No. 5 seeds or worse advanced to the NCAA Tournament’s second weekend

The Associated Press

WE KNOW YOU’RE UPSET. Underdogs have blown up every bracket in the country.

An upside of the upsets: perhaps the maddest March ever.

Defending national champion Kansas and fellow No. 1 seed Purdue are gone — the Boilermakers with a slice of unwanted history. The Sweet 16 won’t have blue bloods Kentucky, Duke or UNC for only the second time since 1979.

In are upstarts like Princeton, Florida Atlantic and a team picked to finish last in the Big 12 Conference.

And, this being March, of course there’s Tom Izzo.

The bracket has been nearly devoid of the buzzer-beaters that college hoops fans have been accustomed to, but the games have been close. There have been four games decided by one point, the most since there were six in 2017 and three short of the record last matched in 1998.

South Region

Alabama has looked every bit the No. 1 overall seed, blowing out Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Maryland despite turmoil swirling around the program. Waiting for Alabama in Louisville will be San Diego State. The fifth-seeded Aztecs are old and love to knock around opponents — just ask College of Charleston and Furman.

The second game marks Princeton’s first Sweet 16 in 56 years. The No. 15 seed Tigers had the first major March upset by knocking off No. 2 Arizona and proved it was no fluke by taking down Missouri.

They face Creighton, one of three Big East teams to get this far. Inconsistent early, the bombing Bluejays and big man Ryan Kalkbrenner are in the Sweet 16 for the second time in three seasons after beating NC State and then bouncing No. 3 seed Baylor.

NCAA MEN from page B1

Whether it was the altitude or the unfamiliar arena, NC State struggled with its shooting in the game, missing its first eight shots and finishing just 3 of 14 from 3-point range for the game. Creighton wasn’t much better, shooting just 3 of 20 from outside, but the Bluejays had 7-foot1 Ryan Kalkbrenner, and NC State didn’t have an answer for him. Kalkbrenner had six dunks, seven rebounds and 31 points, even hitting a 3-pointer while getting State big men DJ Burns and Ebenezer Dowuona into foul trouble. The Pack fell 73-62 and finished their season at 2311, a huge step up from last year when a 20-loss campaign had coach Kevin Keatts on the hot seat. “I am super proud of my

East Region

Florida Atlantic won the battle of bracket darlings by knocking off Fairleigh Dickinson, the second No. 16 seed ever to beat a No. 1 after taking down Purdue.

The Owls better be ready for some bruises against Tennessee at Madison Square Garden in their first Sweet 16. The third-seeded Vols bullied their way through the first two rounds, pushing around Duke after grinding out a win over Louisiana.

Sharing the Garden marquee will be Michigan State and Kansas State.

The Spartans are at their best in March under coach Izzo, who won his record 16th NCAA Tournament game as a lower seed by bouncing No. 2 seed Marquette.

Jerome Tang is taking underdog Kansas State from one Manhattan to another in his first season in the Little Apple.

Picked last in the Big 12, the Wildcats and undersized but undeterred guard Markquis Nowell shoved aside Montana State and wore down Kentucky for their first Sweet 16 since 2018.

Midwest Region

Tang said the Wildcats won because they’ve “got dudes.” Houston has a few of its own.

The Midwest’s No. 1 seed, the Cougars have played the lockdown defense that made them a Final Four favorite at the start of the season, holding Northern Kentucky to 52 points and Auburn to 64.

The Cougars’ bid to play the Final Four at home now heads to Kansas City, Missouri, where they will face Miami.

The speedy, fifth-seeded Hurricanes hit Indiana with a gale force of offensive rebounds, scoring 29 second-chance points to reach the Sweet 16 for the second straight season under Jim Larrañaga.

Another Texas team is still in the mix to reach the Final Four in its home state — the one from Austin.

No. 2 seed Texas overcame the midseason firing of coach Chris Beard to play some outstanding basketball under interim coach Rodney Terry. The Longhorns

team,” Keatts said. “I mean, when you look at where we were at last year to where we’re at now and how hard our guys worked, what a season we had with 23 wins and guys playing their butts off. … I thought those guys completely fought the entire year. We did some really good stuff. We are going to walk out of here with our head up, continue to build and keep pushing this program in the right direction.”

Duke The Blue Devils produced the state’s only win in this year’s tournament. Duke received a No. 5 seed and was sent to Orlando. The Blue Devils opened up with a 15-0 run against No. 12 Oral Roberts and added a 10-0 run to start the second half to cruise to a 74-51 win. Then, the injury bug hit Duke as freshman

Times since 1979 that one of Duke, UNC and Kentucky were not in the Sweet 16, including this year

shut down sweet-shooting Colgate in the first round and earned their first Sweet 16 appearance in 15 years with a 71-66 win over Penn State.

Up next is another coach making the most of an opportunity.

Fired by Arizona two years ago, Sean Miller landed back where he started at Xavier. The Musketeers earned their first Sweet 16 appearance since 2017 with an 8473 win over Pittsburgh.

West Region

Losing guard Jaylen Clark has done little to slow down No. 2 UCLA. Now the Bruins hope their lineup isn’t depleted further after key guard David Singleton injured his ankle late in a 69-63 victory over Northwestern.

UCLA still has Jaime Jaquez and Tyger Campbell, which will give them at least a shot at beating Gonzaga in Las Vegas.

There were midseason whispers the Zags were in a down year. An eighth straight trip to the Sweet 16 under Mark Few put those to rest.

Two coaches with familiar last names face off in the other Sin City game.

Eric Musselman, son of longtime NBA and college coach Bill Musselman, has shown off his coaching chops by leading Arkansas to the Sweet 16 for the third straight season. The Razorbacks got there with a takedown of top-seeded Kansas that had Musselman taking off his shirt — again.

Danny Hurley’s father is a Hall of Fame high school coach, his brother the NCAA’s all-time assist leader. Bob’s son and Bobby’s brother has revitalized UConn, taking the Huskies to the Sweet 16 for the first time in nine years.

forward Mark Mitchell, who had started every game this season, hurt his knee and wasn’t able to play against No. 4 Tennessee. The Volunteers’ physical style was too much for the shorthanded Blue Devils, who fell 65-52. Duke finished the season — Jon Scheyer’s first as head coach — at 27-9.

“We ran into the wrong team on the wrong day,” he said. “They outplayed us today, and you have to credit them. But I felt like we could play with anybody in the country. That’s for me by far the most rewarding thing. To represent the school where I played, where I’ve coached for the last nine years has meant the world, and I’m just proud of these guys for what they’ve done.” Now Duke will await word from its freshman stars to see who will return for another season in Durham.

State lost an eight-point lead with 5:44 remaining and saw Princeton hit a game-winning 3-pointer with four seconds left to send the Wolfpack home with a heartbreaking loss, ending the season with a 20-12 mark.

Now NC State needs to reload after losing a group of seniors who were part of ACC championship teams.

“I hate it that it ended this way and that I couldn’t help them at least take another step to see where it led us,” said coach Wes Moore. “We have to start looking at our roster and how we want to try to rebuild that.”

UNC

The Runnin’ Bulldogs went undefeated in the Big South and won the conference tournament to earn their second NCAA Tournament bid in school history and first since 2011. Gardner-Webb is still awaiting its first win in the tourney, however. G-W received a 15th seed and lost to No. 2 Utah in Salt Lake City, 103-78. That ended the Runnin’ Bulldogs season at 29-5.

2“I told the team in the locker room, ‘One game can’t define the historic season that we’ve had,’” said coach Alex Simmons. “So hopefully they’ll keep their head high and learn from this and move on.”

East Carolina

“I told the team in the locker room, ‘One game can’t define the historic season that we’ve had.’”

The Tar Heels received a No. 6 seed and were sent to Columbus, Ohio. It wasn’t easy, but UNC earned the 50th NCAA win in program history over No. 11 St. John’s in the first round. The Heels led by as many as 12 but held off a fierce St. John’s rally to notch a 61-59 win. That earned Carolina a matchup with the host team, No. 3 Ohio State. The roles were reversed from the opening game as UNC fell behind by 12 points in the fourth quarter but then went on a run to tie the score. The Buckeyes hit a game-winner with 1.8 seconds left, however, preventing the Heels from posting back-toback Sweet 16 appearances with a 71-69 loss.

Alex Simmons, Gardner-Webb coach

The Pirates won their first American Conference Tournament in school history, sweeping to the title as a No. 3 seed and earning their first NCAA bid since 2007 and just the third in school history. ECU, like Gardner-Webb, is still awaiting its first March Madness win. The Pirates received a No. 13 seed and traveled to Austin to face No. 4 Texas. The Longhorns cruised to a 79-40 win, sending ECU home with a 23-10 record.

“I’m so, so proud of my team,” said coach Kim McNeill. “We’ve had an unbelievable season. We did a lot of firsts: Finished third, the highest we ever finished in the American League. We won the tournament, first time ever happening. We won 23 games, the most since 2010. I couldn’t be more proud of this team. We fought all year long and we fought a lot of adversity, and we are going to make this a place that’s familiar to us.”

NC State

The Wolfpack entered with a streak of four straight Sweet 16 appearances, but that was snapped, as was the five-tournament streak of making the second round. The Pack received a 7th seed and faced No. 10 Princeton in Salt Lake City.

UNC expects to return most of its core players next year, leading to optimism in Chapel Hill that the Tar Heels will improve on their 2211 record.

“You think about what you’re going to give me,” said coach Courtney Banghart.

“What is it March? April, May, June, July, August, September, give me six months with these guys to get ’em better? I like that.

I think these guys, they’re really gym hungry. They have got to do some work on their bodies to get healthy and ready to go. But, yeah, I’m excited because I know they will get better.”

Duke

The Blue Devils returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018 and were the only area team to host after receiving a No. 3 seed. Duke opened with an 89-49 blowout of No. 14 Iona and faced No. 6 Colorado with a berth in the Sweet 16 at stake. Duke fell behind early, 15-2, then battled back and forced overtime. The Blue Devils managed just three points in the extra period, however, falling 61-53 to finish the year at 26-7.

Duke will now wait to see which members of their senior class use their fifth COVID year to return.

“I think we’ve established ourselves as a team that’s going to compete and can compete against anybody in the country, and hopefully we can do that again next year,” said coach Kara Lawson.

RANDALL BENTON | AP PHOTO

Fifteenth-seeded Princeton reached the Sweet 16 and will face Creighton on Friday in Louisville.

MICHAEL CONROY | AP PHOTO Ohio State guard Jacy Sheldon hits the game-winning shot over UNC guard Deja Kelly in Sunday’s second round women’s NCAA Tournament game in Columbus, Ohio.

Panthers move quickly to fill holes during free agency

Carolina surrounds its future quarterback with skill players

By Shawn Krest North State Journal

AS A LONGTIME backup quarterback, Frank Reich knows a thing or two about stepping into a dire situation and quickly setting things right. At the time he retired as a player, he owned the records for engineering the largest comebacks in college and NFL history.

Now head coach of the Carolina Panthers, he seems to be ready to put together yet another one.

The Panthers hit the offseason running, making a splash before the start of free agency and then continuing the momentum with a flurry of signings to fill needs on the roster.

The Panthers landed the first big blow of the offseason by swinging a trade to move up eight spots in next month’s NFL Draft. They will now be picking No. 1 overall, barring another trade, which Carolina hasn’t ruled out. That means Reich and the Panthers will be able to hand-pick their quarterback of the future, expected to be Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud, although Alabama’s Bryce Young and Florida’s Anthony Richardson are options.

But all roads in the draft now go through Carolina.

“Is there more pressure with that? I guess so,” Reich said. “But I don’t feel it like that. I feel more freedom. We can actually get the guy that we want. We can take the time. We’re in the driver’s seat.”

The trade to No. 1 cost the Panthers their top wide receiver, DJ Moore, and Carolina also dealt its star running back, Christian Mc-

Caffrey, during the season, along with veteran receiver Robbie Anderson. That meant whoever will be drafted with the Panthers’ top pick was facing a shortage of targets at the skill positions.

The Panthers moved quickly to resolve that problem, bringing in a running back, tight end and receiver. Carolina signed veteran tight end Hayden Hurst, who has 14 touchdowns in six years in the NFL, including a 52-catch, 414yard, two-touchdown season last year for Cincinnati.

The team also inked received Adam Thielen, a nine-year veteran who has averaged 70 catches, 780 yards and 10 touchdowns each of the last three seasons. While his age — 33 by the start of the season — indicates he may be due to slow down soon, he provides a veteran presence in a young receiver corps and a reliable target for the Panthers’ passers.

The Panthers are clearly not done at the position. They’ve also hosted veteran D.J. Chark, still unsigned, and have been rumored to have asked about DeAndre Hopkins, thought to be available in a trade.

The team also brought in running back Miles Sanders to round out the new skill position stable.

At just 25, he’s a versatile double threat rushing and receiving and has plenty of upside for Carolina’s offense. He rushed for 1,269 yards and 11 touchdowns last year. He’ll replace D’Onta Foreman, who left for Chicago in free agency after a breakout season in Carolina.

“If you’re going to go with a young quarterback, you have to have a running back. You have to have the tight end. You have to have the receivers,” said GM Scott Fitterer.

You also need protection for

“I

your quarterback, and the Panthers took steps to provide that, as well, re-signing center Bradley Bozeman, who was a free agent. They also brought in Justin McCrary, a guard, from the Houston Texans. He’ll provide depth behind a line that was largely up to the task last season. We feel like we have the offensive line,” Fitterer said. “Everything we’ve done the last couple

years is build a defense, build an offensive line, so when we get to that position, we can drop someone in.”

The Panthers also added to the defense, signing tackles DeShawn Williams and Shy Tuttle to rotate alongside young star Derrick Brown. Williams played for new defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero in Denver. The team also signed safety Vonn Bell, which will help Jeremy Chinn make more plays closer to the line.

The final veteran piece the Panthers added was an insurance policy and veteran tutor for the incoming rookie quarterback. Carolina signed Andy Dalton, who has been a reliable backup in Dallas, Chicago and New Orleans for the last three years after his starting

Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino accepts job at St. John’s

The Long Island native has led five different schools to the NCAA Tournament

The Associated Press

NEW YORK — Rick Pitino is back in the Big East Conference.

St. John’s hired the Hall of Fame coach Monday to boost a storied program that’s been mired in mediocrity for much of this century.

Following a successful run at nearby mid-major Iona, the 70-year-old Pitino was plucked away to replace Mike Anderson, who was fired after four seasons in charge of the Red Storm without making the NCAA Tournament.

Reports quickly surfaced that St. John’s planned to target Pitino, who grew up on Long Island not far from the school’s Queens campus in New York City.

“Coach Pitino is one of the most brilliant minds in the history of the game and has won at the highest levels everywhere he has coached,” athletic director Mike Cragg said in a press release. “There is no doubt in my mind he will restore a championship-level program and culture for St. John’s Basketball.”

Pitino has been to seven Final Fours and won a pair of NCAA championships, one each at Kentucky (1996) and Louisville (2013).

He was dismissed at Louisville in 2017 after an FBI investigation into college basketball corruption led to allegations of NCAA violations. It was the third scandal, professional and personal, in an eight-year period with the Cardinals — but Pitino was eventually exonerated in the FBI-related case. Pitino has been coaching college basketball so long that he was on the opposing bench with Big East rival Providence when St. John’s was a national power in the mid-1980s under Lou Carnesecca. Now he’s tasked with invigorating a Red Storm squad that hasn’t won an NCAA Tournament game — or even reached the Big East semifinals — since 2000. The school has made only three NCAA appearances over the past two decades, the most recent coming in 2019 under Chris Mullin. During that time, through sev-

eral conference reconfigurations, St. John’s has fallen behind Big East foes with similar profiles such as Villanova, Providence and Seton Hall.

“One of my great coaching memories was having the distinct privilege of coaching against Lou Carnesecca and St. John’s, a Hall of Fame coach and historic program that I have always respected,” Pitino said. “It is surreal to now have this opportunity to bring St. John’s back to prominence. I’m honored, humbled and grateful.”

The Red Storm went 18-15 during a turbulent 2022-23 season, including 7-13 in Big East play to finish eighth in the conference standings. They blew a 14-point lead against sixth-ranked and top-seeded Marquette in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals, ending the season with a 72-70 loss in overtime that left Anderson with a 68-56 record at St. John’s, including 30-46 in Big East regular-season games.

Pitino has a .740 winning percentage in 35 seasons as a college basketball head coach. He has guided five schools to the NCAA

“It is surreal to now have this opportunity to bring St. John’s back to prominence. I’m honored, humbled and grateful.”

Tournament, including Boston University (1983) and Iona (2021, 2023).

He took a surprising Providence team on a memorable run to the 1987 Final Four, but the 2013 national title Pitino won at Louisville (then in the Big East) was later vacated by the NCAA after an investigation found that an assistant coach paid escorts and exotic dancers to entertain players and recruits in campus dorms.

After two years coaching in Greece, he got the job at Iona — a small, private Catholic school located in New Rochelle, just north of New York City. And two years ago, he said the only reason he

would leave would be to retire.

But his plans changed.

Pitino went 64-22 in three years with the Gaels, guiding them to two regular-season titles in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances. Seeded 13th this year, they led No. 4 seed UConn at halftime before getting knocked out in the first round with an 87-63 loss that snapped a 14-game winning streak.

Pitino posted tweets thanking Iona administrators and “all those people who touched our lives.”

“To my players, the last three years. All I can say is you know how much I love you,” he tweeted.

“Follow up, I’m not sad it ended.

I’m so grateful it happened.”

Leading up to Iona’s NCAA Tournament game this year, Pitino said he hopes he can coach for 12 more years.

“But I’ll take six or seven,” he said.

Pitino had two stints in the NBA, one with the New York Knicks that featured a division title and a failed stretch with the Boston Celtics that didn’t produce a playoff appearance.

days ended in Cincinnati.

Dalton replaces Sam Darnold and PJ Walker, who both departed in free agency after failed attempts to run the offense as the starter.

The moves may not have brought in any superstars, but they addressed needs on a roster that was full of holes entering the offseason. That gives the Panthers a valuable commodity entering the draft — flexibility.

“We’re in that position right now, but what we wanted to do in free agency is surround that person, and then go into the draft not having to force anything,” said Fitterer. “We don’t want to have to take a certain position at 39 just because (we) didn’t take that position. We want to take the best player available.”

HORNETS from page B1

extended lease agreement between the franchise and Charlotte locks the Hornets in the city until at least 2045.

The reports and rumors of Jordan’s possible decision to sell the team provide a chance to look back and analyze the past 13 years of Hornets basketball — a task that doesn’t necessarily shed many positives on the Chicago Bulls legend’s skills as a team owner.

After briefly owning a piece of the Washington Wizards in 2000 before his second comeback to the court, Jordan bought minority shares in the then-Bobcats in 2006. Four years later, he purchased majority shares in the team, becoming the first former player in NBA history to own a franchise.

He remains the only black majority owner of any professional team in North American sports in the past 13 years.

On the surface, it seemed to be a natural fit for the North Carolina native to get heavily involved in the franchise, but the team’s on-court struggles were fueled by a lack of at the draft.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Frank Kaminsky, Noah Vonleh and Cody Zeller are just some of the top-10 draft picks that fell flat in various degrees for Charlotte under Jordan’s watch.

Nobody could have predicted that Miles Bridges would get himself in serious legal trouble, but the fact the Hornets initially selected Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in 2018 (before trading him for Bridges) is a bitter pill to swallow as Gilgeous-Alexander averages 31.4 points a night for Oklahoma City while Bridges is nowhere be seen.

“The NBA is conducting an investigation and I don’t know when that is going to end,” Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak said earlier last month on Bridges’ status. “When it ends, we’ll have more information and we’ll go from there. I’ll leave it up to you to decide what kind of impact that had on our team this year.”

Perhaps, the lesson earned from Jordan’s team ownership stint is that great players don’t necessarily make great owners — or even a good one. There’s almost nothing the 60-year-old could do to tarnish the legacy of his decorated NBA career or status as one of the most famous living athletes on the planet.

But if Jordan ultimately decides to sell the Hornets and move on to other avenues of life, it’s doubtful that the team itself would suffer in his absence.

feel more freedom. We can actually get the guy that we want”

Frank Reich, Panthers coach

Rick Pitino, new St. John’s coach

BRUCE KLUCKHOHN | AP PHOTO

The Panthers made a move to replace some of the production lost after trading DJ Moore, signing free agent receiver Adam Thielen to a three-year deal.

MATT ROURKE | AP PHOTO

St. John’s has hired Iona coach Rick Pitino to take over its program, luring the Hall of Famer back to the Big East

$2,722,961,567

$100,545,400 Less

$168,784,665

$125,000,000

$6,646,385,150

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BANKS from page B5

that other banks will pay.”

Will taxpayers be on the hook?

President Joe Biden has insisted that no taxpayer money will be used to resolve the crisis. The White House is desperate to avoid any perception that average Americans are “bailing out” the two banks in a way similar to the highly unpopular bailouts of the biggest financial firms during the 2008 financial crisis.

“No losses associated with the resolution of Silicon Valley Bank will be borne by the taxpayer,” read the joint statement from the Treasury, Fed and FDIC.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen defended that view Thursday under tough questioning from GOP lawmakers.

The Fed’s lending program to help banks pay depositors is backed by $25 billion of taxpayer funds that would cover any losses on the loans. But the Fed says it’s unlikely that the money will be needed because the loans will be backed by Treasury bonds and other safe securities as collateral.

Even if taxpayers aren’t directly on the hook, some economists say the banks’ customers still stand to benefit from government support.

“Saying that the taxpayer won’t pay anything ignores the fact that providing insurance to somebody who didn’t pay for insurance is a gift,” said Anil Kashyap, an economics professor at the University of Chicago. “And that’s kind of what happened.”

Is this a bailout?

Biden and other Democrats in Washington deny that their actions amount to a bailout of any kind.

“It’s not a bailout as happened in 2008,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, said this week while proposing legislation to toughen bank regulation. “It is, in effect, protection of depositors and a preventive measure to stop a run on other banks all around the country.” Biden has stressed that the banks’ managers will be fired and their investors will not be protected. Both banks will cease to exist. In the 2008 crisis, some financial institutions that received government financial aid, like the insurer AIG, were rescued from near-certain bankruptcy.

Yet many economists say the depositors at Silicon Valley Bank, which included wealthy venture capitalists and tech startups, are still receiving government help.

“Why is it sensible capitalism for somebody to take a risk, and then be protected from that risk when that risk actually happens?” asked Raghuram Rajan, a finance professor at the University of Chicago and former head of India’s central bank. “It’s probably good for the short term in the sense that you don’t have a widespread panic. ... But it is problematic for the system long term.”

Many Republicans on Capitol Hill argue that smaller community banks and their customers will shoulder some of the cost.

Banks in rural Oklahoma “are about to pay a special fee to be able to bail out millionaires in San Francisco,” Sen. James Lankford, a Republican from Oklahoma, said on the Senate floor.

The Associated Press WASHINGTON, D.C. — The White House is making the case for more government support for child care programs in an economic report that it released Monday, drawing on extensive research to say additional spending would improve kids’ lives, increase the quality of early childhood schooling and enable more women to hold jobs.

The analysis dovetails with President Joe Biden’s political messaging as ideological lines are being drawn for the 2024 election. Democrats have sought to put a greater focus on Republican lawmakers who have restricted access to abortions in the wake of last year’s Supreme Court decision and called for mandating that impoverished parents be employed in order to receive government aid.

The White House Council of Economic Advisers put together the analysis on child care as part of its broader annual economic report of the president. This year’s 513-page report also explores the financial dangers created by climate change, global partnerships, reforms to make college more accessible, the online economy, crypto currencies and ways to add workers to the U.S. economy that include increased levels of immigration.

The administration is making a fuller case that its policies are better for overall economic growth, not just in terms of social fairness. That applies to international trade and the shift toward renewable en-

ergy sources, but programs aimed at children tend to produce longterm benefits that more than cover their price tags.

“The president’s approach is that we need to be investing in our children, because we know that pays for itself multiple times over,” Cecilia Rouse, chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, said in an interview.

Rouse added that government support for child care would help ensure a “robust labor force” because parents are often prevented from working due to its costs. Child care expenses can overwhelm their earnings, meaning that parents are better off staying unemployed or working part-time even if doing so can diminish their long-term earning potential. This reflects a prob-

WH economic report: Money for child care would help growth A muscle... crossover?

lem in the U.S. economy that the private sector has been unable to fix on its own, leading to the Biden administration’s push for greater government involvement.

The analysis draws on studies showing that each dollar invested in early childhood education can produce a return of $7 to $12, if not more. The spending increases the likelihood of kids staying in school and staying employed as adults, which helps to boost economic growth, reduce crime and eventually lower their reliance on government programs. A recent study cited in the analysis shows that the benefits are intergenerational and extend to the children of those who received child care.

The analysis also addresses the market failures with child care in

the U.S. Not only is it expensive, but workers at child care centers are often paid so poorly that many of them leave their jobs and cause a shortage of available support.

The latest Labor Department data shows that child care workers earn $17.95 an hour, about 36% less than the average non-supervisory worker in the U.S. economy.

This analysis recommends greater government funding to make child care more affordable for families and also to raise the pay of workers in that sector, which would help to improve the quality of the care.

Many Republicans are skeptical about the benefits of more government aid for child care, which they have criticized for being part of a cultural agenda instead of a financial one.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., has argued that deficit reduction would be the better policy choice because it could help families by lowering inflation. When the Commerce Department recently announced that large computer chip manufacturers needed to offer affordable child care as part of receiving government aid, some Republican senators accused the Biden administration of social engineering.

The Biden administration has portrayed those objections as a red herring, saying that investments in child care and renewing the lapsed child tax credit — it was temporarily expanded as part of his coronavirus relief legislation — would boost growth.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has told Congress that the loss of abortion rights will hurt the economic prospects of women. And in his State of the Union address last month, the president said his social policies are also focused on the economy.

By Jordan Golson North State Journal

ASHEVILLE — Over the past decade or so, Dodge has gone from being a full-line automotive brand — IE, one that has vehicles across just about every major category — to a total of three vehicles: The Charger, the Challenger, and the Durango.

Gone are the esteemed Caravan (which invented the minivan segment, remember), the Viper, Dakota, the RAM pickups, and the much-maligned Journey. It’s probably a good thing, though, as it’s hard to imagine Dodge’s V8-infused “Brotherhood of Muscle” marketing slogan being applied to a mom-mobile like the Grand Caravan (as fun as a 707-horsepower van would be).

That branding strategy is part of why the new Dodge Hornet is interesting. It’s a compact utility vehicle competing with CUVs like the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V, but Dodge is leaning hard into the whole Muscle Crossover concept.

The press release announcing the Hornet notes that the entry-level Hornet is the “quickest, fastest, most powerful utility vehicle under $30,000 (excluding destination).”

Leaving aside the fact that excluding the mandatory $1,595 destination charge is absurd and the actual starting price is just shy of $31,600, is being the quickest and fastest vehicle starting under $30k a selling point, especially when almost none of the cars will ship in that stripped configuration? Anyway. The Hornet started life as the

Italian-designed, and Italian-built Alfa Romeo Tonale, a luxury crossover meant to really, truly, wemean-it-this-time-for-real allow Alfa to compete with the Lexus and BMW, and Mercedes-Benzes of the world. It feels like an Alfa inside. Other than some trim components around the middle of the instrument panel and the dash cluster and infotainment screens, it is an Alfa inside.

Dodge made much of its tweaks, showing how the driver-focused cabin design is replicated from the other cars in the Dodge lineup, and that’s great. Still, company reps could not point to any performance features or hardware on the Hornet that didn’t come wholesale from the Tonale — though the car was “tuned” by the boys in Detroit, it’s still assembled in Italy. Frankly, it was all a bit confusing that Dodge reps barely wanted to acknowledge that the Tonale was even a thing when journalists gathered for the Hornet’s first drive event in Asheville.

It’s a weird rivalry between the various branches of the enormous Stellantis tree. But it’s good news for American consumers. By stripping out some of the lux bits, Dodge can lower the price and offer fundamentally the same vehicle, all presumably paid for out of Alfa’s R&D budget. As a result, it should be quite a good value for money. Ultimately, Stellantis R&D money is the same regardless of which brand spends it, but internal international geopolitics complicates the concept considerably.

It’s a sporty drive, which makes sense when you remember it was designed to be a sporty luxury SUV. The seats are supportive and comfortably bolstering, the steering is sharp and responsive, and the suspension supposedly tuned by Dodge remains firmly European — that is, firmly firm.

The exterior design has been tweaked with new lighting front and rear, and a new illuminated Dodge double rhombi logo sits in the middle of the full-width rear taillamp.

As a fun tease, a Hornet logo emblazons the front quarter panel just behind the front wheels. The overall design is lovely, standing out in a crowded, somewhat staid segment.

Under the hood of the Hornet GT is a zippy 268 horsepower, 295 torque 2.0-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder that can zip from 0-60 mph in 6.5 seconds — it’s the quickest, fastest, most powerful utility vehicle under $30,000 excluding destination, remember — paired with a terrific nine-speed transmission that goes unnoticed in the best way.

More interesting is the Hornet R/T, which arrives for the 2024

model year, but we were able to drive a bit early. Both GT and R/T have standard all-wheel drive, but for an extra $10,000 or so, the R/T swaps in a 1.3-liter turbo four-cylinder on the front axle and an electric motor on the rear. It’s linked to a 15.5-kWh lithium-ion battery to create a plug-in hybrid powertrain good for 30 miles of all-electric range and a boost to both horsepower and 0-60 time some 1.5 seconds faster when you engage the new “PowerShot” feature that boosts horsepower for 30 seconds by increasing the output of the electric drive temporarily.

Annoyingly, the PHEV isn’t available until late this year and, since the Hornet is assembled in Italy, is not eligible for any federal electric vehicle tax credit. Still, the Dodge Hornet is an exciting entrant to the

space. I suspect more than a few folks will eye it because it’s a bit different from the other crossovers on the market, and the Muscle Brotherhood marketing angle is rather clever.

The

CUV

internal combustion Dodge Hornet GT is available now.

AP PHOTO

Council of Economic Advisers Chair Cecilia Rouse speaks at a press briefing at the White House in Washington, Friday, March 10, 2023.

PHOTOS COURTESY DODGE

2023 DODGE HORNET

Workers work on equipment at the West End Substation, at

has caused a power outage to many around Southern Pines.

COUNTY NEWS

Central NC Council of the Boy Scouts awarded $125,000

The Central North Carolina Council of the Boy Scouts of America recently announced that a challenge grant of $125,000 had been awarded by an anonymous donor of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Salisbury. Stuart Williams, Scout Executive/CEO, announced the grant would be used to support operations in the Central North Carolina Council, which includes Anson, Cabarrus, Montgomery, Richmond, Rowan, Stanly, and Union Counties. “We are extremely grateful for this very generous grant which will allow us to meet our 2023 campaign goal and continue our scouting program throughout the district,” Williams said in a news release.

“We invite the general public and all Scout supporters to join us in this challenge campaign, which will match your new or increased gift up to $125,000.” Gifts may be made payable to Friends of Scouting, PO Box 250, Albemarle, NC 280002. For more information, please contact Williams by mail or at &704) 982-0141.

Clarkton’s Blackwater Band to play at Agri-Civic Center

Blackwater Band, a group based out of Clarkton, North Carolina, will be performing this Saturday at the Stanly County Agri-Civic Center as part of the Stanly County Concert Association. This homegrown band, which is known for its performance of Top 40, Blues, Funk, and Country tunes, will be making its firstever performance in Stanly County. Blackwater Band has been performing both original songs and covers since 2009. The band’s first single, “Staying With Me,” was released in 2010. The band is scheduled to play for at least two hours on Saturday, and the show will include a short intermission. Tickets to see this eight-man band are $20 for adults and $10 for students and can be purchased in advance at the Agri-Civic Center or at Starnes-Bramlett Jewelers. For more information about Blackwater Band, please visit their website at https://blackwaterband. com/.

NC Senate OKs harsher penalties for utility damage

The Associated Press

RALEIGH — The North Carolina Senate unanimously passed legislation Tuesday, March 14, that would increase punishments for intentionally damaging utility equipment after substation shootings in Moore County cut power to 45,000 homes and small businesses for several days last year.

Senators on last week opted to tack on new cybersecurity safeguards before sending the bill to the House.

The proposal would create a new statute making it a high-

grade felony to purposefully damage or attempt to damage an energy facility, including those that transmit or distribute electricity or fuel, and any associated hardware, software or digital infrastructure.

Sen. Tom McInnis, a Moore County Republican and primary sponsor, described statewide efforts to restore power to his district last December as residents struggled to stay warm and healthy. Attacks have persisted in North Carolina after the Moore County shootings, he said, noting a Janu-

ary substation attack in Randolph County. The Carolinas and Pacific Northwest have become hotspots for attacks on critical infrastructure in recent years.

“This bill will help deter anyone considering such an attack and harshly punishing anyone who commits these crimes,” McInnis said on the Senate floor. “We must send a message to the would-be bad actors that these attacks will not be tolerated and the perpetrators will be held responsible for the chaos and damage they create.”

The proposal would partially

City of Albemarle introduces new economic development director

By Jesse Deal North State Journal

ALBEMARLE — Beginning next month, Albemarle will have a new face in charge of overseeing its local economy. City Manager Michael Ferris announced in a March 16 press release that Albemarle native Lindsey Almond has been chosen as the city’s new economic development director.

With a resume of valuable economic experience in local, regional, and statewide functions, Almond was selected for the position after a nationwide search and recruitment process.

“Lindsey Almond’s professionalism and track record of getting results stood out during our evaluation process,” Ferris said. “Lindsey’s references highlighted not only her skills but also her outstanding qualities as a person. As an organization that places high value on character, we’re excited Lindsey is joining our team.”

Almond is slated to manage the upcoming Albemarle Business Center — with the development still in the construction process — and coordinate the City of Albemarle’s Main Street Program, which is designed to support and promote economic development in the city’s downtown area.

“I can’t wait to continue building on the positive momentum in Albemarle,” said Almond. “The City

has worked diligently to create an atmosphere where businesses and industry can thrive. The strategic plan Albemarle City Council has adopted is providing the direction and goals necessary for City Staff to turn vision into reality. I’m thrilled to join a team working collaboratively towards a common goal.”

Prior to her latest position, Almond was an economic development coordinator for Stanly County before working in various positions for the Tri-County Council for Southern Maryland. During that time period, she served as a business engagement and development manager, discretionary grant manager, and an equal opportunity officer.

Additionally, Almond gained economic experience during her

time as the vice president of operations for the Fayetteville Cumberland Economic Development Corporation.

Most recently, she worked as the director of Two Hawk Workforce Services, an employment and staffing agency that provides Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) services to multiple workforce boards.

During Almond’s time at Two Hawk Workforce Services, nearly 400 people were given access to on-the-job training programs while over 1200 were advised on increasing their occupational skills; nearly 2,200 businesses were advised on ways to improve their workforce.

In Almond’s new position as the City of Albemarle’s economic development director, she will be taking over for former director Keith Tunnell, who was hired back in 2020. Prior to Tunnell’s tenure, Mark Donham held the role for six years. While Tunnell was instrumental in the formation of the Pfeiffer University Health Sciences Center (Albemarle campus), he also assisted in the development of the Albemarle Business Center — a chief target of local economic development that will continue under Almond’s watch.

The 282-acre center is located on 4-lane NC Highway 24/27 and US Highway 52 and has been in the works for several years now.

replace an existing state law that makes utility damage a misdemeanor without jail time on a first offense.

Someone with no criminal history could serve just over six years in prison and face up to $250,000 in fines, according to a summary generated by the General Assembly’s nonpartisan staff. A person with a lengthy criminal record could receive a longer sentence. If the damage results in death, the offense would be punishable by up to 13 years in prison for those without a prior conviction, and just over 16 years for those with a criminal record.

A person who is injured or whose property is damaged by a utility attack could sue the perpetrator to cover the cost of related expenses. Senators adopted an amendment on last week to lift a cap on the punitive damages someone may seek.

Designed to help support economic development and provide quality jobs and careers in Albemarle, the center recently received (via the City of Albemarle) $763,100 in funding from the Golden LEAF Foundation to assist with construction costs.

“We’re grateful to the Golden LEAF Foundation for their support as we take this exciting step forward for our City,” Albemarle Mayor Ronnie Michael said in a December 26 press release. “The City has taken an active role in developing our economic future, and the Golden LEAF funding, combined with the City’s investment, creates an opportunity to be competitive for business investment and job creation.”

COURTESY PHOTO Lindsey Almond

Stanly County Journal

ISSN: 2575-2278

Companies are cashing in by targeting Gen Z, Millennials

By Catherine Collins Wealth of Geeks

A RECENT POLL shows 66% of Gen Zers say their age group is the least responsible with money, and 71% admit they’re the most susceptible to social media ads.

Weird flex, but OK.

Even without fluency in Gen Z expressions, it’s not hard to see how young Americans spending more time online could be convinced to spend more money on products pushed by online advertisers.

A new report from Real Estate Witch found the data to back up that hunch, revealing just how effective social media is for marketing to Gen Z and millennial Americans.

The report shows 81% of Americans ages 18 to 41 have made a purchase because of advertising on social media, compared to just 48% of baby boomers.

based on a recommendation from an online influencer - four times the share of baby boomers who have done the same (13%).

Companies competing in the space are searching both for macro-influencers, individuals with over 100,000 followers, and micro-influencers, those with 10,000 to 100,000 followers, to represent them. If you’ve scrolled through Instagram or TikTok, you’ve likely come across these profiles pitching anything from clothing to investment strategies.

The study found marketing that makes use of visual content is particularly effective. The three platforms with the highest rates of daily use among Gen Z Americans - YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram - each emphasize images and videos. Companies that master modern marketing

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Many brands already recognize the potential of online, viral marketing that targets younger consumers. More companies now advertise their products through influencers - individual social media users with large followings paid to market products on a corporation’s behalf.

About 58% of Gen Zers and 52% of millennials in Real Estate Witch’s survey say they’ve made a purchase

Il Makiage, a beauty brand that leverages influencer marketing, has seen remarkable growth in recent years, with its parent company now valued at $1.5 billion.

The company’s website features a search function that allows users to browse makeup looks by their favorite influencers. From there, customers can save the looks they like, watch influencer videos, and shop

for the products mentioned in the clips.

The company also offers a digital quiz that analyzes customers’ answers to suggest foundation shades. And new acquisitions of AI tech tools will enable an analysis of skin and hair through user photos, potentially reinventing the way young Americans shop for cosmetics.

Another company that has utilized influencer marketing for many years is Tuft & Needle, a brand that specializes in making mattresses. Today, mattresses that arrive in a box are relatively commonplace. But Tuft & Needle played the role of disrupter when they became one of the first companies to offer them in 2012.

Tuft & Needle’s Instagram account shows a mix of company photos as well as influencer content. Scrolling through each image, you notice the influencer photos are tagged with their username. If you click through to the influencer’s account, the same images are marked “Paid partnership with Tuft & Needle.” Tuft & Needle’s influencer marketing strategy is fairly seamlessit’s hard to decipher which images are professional brand photos and which are influencer marketing photos. That doesn’t bother Gen Z and

millennial shoppers. On the contrary, it’s seen as authentic. Consumers like to see content creators they trust using the products rather than conjuring thoughts of a faceless corporation trying to win them over.

The future of social media marketing

It’d be a mistake to think that influencer marketing is only for large companies, says Kelsey Hogan, founder of the Detroit-based social media agency Small Batch Social Co.

“Influencer marketing is an opportunity for companies - regardless of size,” Hogan said. “(User-generated content) is going to be bigger than ever before this year.”

These trends aren’t expected to slow down anytime soon. According to data by Million Insights, the revenue forecast for social media marketing in 2028 is more than $260 billion - more than double the $116 billion in revenue in 2021.

That could mean companies that haven’t yet pivoted toward social media marketing still have an opportunity to benefit from this evolving sales environment. But advertisers would do well not to wait too long to capitalize on this new clout economy.

Taylor Swift kicks off US Eras Tour at Super Bowl stadium

The Associated Press GLENDALE, Ariz. — Taylor

Swift opened her U.S. concert series with a three-hour tour of her career.

Swift kicked off the first concert of the 52-date Eras Tour with a six-song set from her album “Lover” on Friday night at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, where the Super Bowl was played a month ago.

“I don’t know how to address the way this is making me feel right now,” Swift, who hasn’t toured since 2018, said early in the show.

She ended the concert with a seven-song set from her latest album “Midnights,” closing with the song “Karma.” In between she played clusters

of songs from most of her albums — and just one, “Tim McGraw,” from her 2006 self-titled debut. In the end it took 44 songs and just over three hours for her to span her 17-year career.

Having not toured for her previous three albums, this concert series is intended to play catchup by providing the live debut of many of those songs. When Swift announced the tour in November she called it “a journey through the musical eras of my career (past and present!).”

After another show at the same venue Saturday night, the tour moves on to Allegiant Stadium outside Las Vegas and then AT&T Stadium near Dallas. It concludes with two Los Angeles-area shows in August.

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

Perspective on the lost Reaper drone

AS YOU WATCH the newly released declassified video of Russian pilots harassing and colliding with a U.S. Reaper drone over the Black Sea — and the dire media reports warning the U.S.-Russia conflict could heighten — it’s important to keep things in perspective.

Many were killed in combat, some were likely tortured and interrogated by KGB operatives, and others were sent to Soviet labor camps in the hinterlands of Siberia.

This incident is an expensive but minor challenge in a long-term, nuanced contest with Russia, whose leader is still operating with a Cold War mentality. At the end of the day, we lost an unmanned aircraft. It was valuable (in terms of monetary cost to produce, information gathering and technological capabilities) but it is not something to go to war over.

This is especially true when you consider the more than 200 U.S. airmen who were shot down and lost while surveilling the Soviet Union and China in the 1950s and 1960s. These were patriots who risked — and ultimately gave — their lives so that we could have a better understanding of Soviet radar and nuclear capabilities. Many were killed in combat, some were likely tortured and interrogated by KGB operatives, and others were sent to Soviet labor camps in the hinterlands of Siberia. Some of their families didn’t even learn of their deaths or whereabouts until the 1990s. In many other cases, families never learned the fates of their loved ones. If you are unfamiliar with the sacrifice these brave patriots made, Smithsonian magazine has an excellent feature on their service.

So, the downing of an expensive piece of spy equipment does not concern me too much.

I am far more concerned that our Defense Department leadership doesn’t have a larger long-term strategy to deal with Russia, the war in Ukraine or any of our other major challenges. Further, I’m concerned that they don’t have a real grip on what’s happening in the present.

Remember: More than one year ago, our top military official, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, publicly said Russia would take Kyiv in three days. This is the same general who said the Afghan military could potentially withstand the Taliban’s takeover of the country after the U.S. surrender. (Set aside the moronically disastrous decision to give up Bagram Airfield as our primary eyes on Chinese activity.)

After these two decisive failures, I am

amazed Milley has not been retired. What must our adversaries think about the United States’ quality of intelligence? How does this repeated, demonstrable incompetence impact Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping’s plans for Taiwan? What if we are as wrong about the Chinese threat to Taiwan as we were about the Taliban’s threat to Afghanistan or the Russian threat to Ukraine?

I am picking on Gen. Milley, but in some ways he’s a symptom of a much bigger problem. We have 18 intelligence agencies. Apparently, they were all wrong. My suspicion is they were wrong not because they have bad personnel but because they are part of a large bureaucratic system that rejects new ideas, punishes dissent and is primarily concerned with protecting itself rather than American interests.

The impact is these high-educated professionals bury their heads in the sand. They favor what they learned in graduate school — and what their peers say at cocktail parties — over what is really happening in the world. Our political leaders then get briefed on ideological rather than pragmatic intelligence. Consider that fewer than five years ago many people in the Washington establishment did not think China posed a significant threat. In 2019, thencandidate Joe Biden brushed off concerns over competition with China saying, “China is going to eat our lunch? Come on, man!” About two years later, he said exactly the opposite.

Bureaucratic incompetence is the biggest risk to America’s safety. Congress needs to get serious about modernizing our defense systems. You could likely reorganize our 18 intelligence agencies into about six. I often tell audiences that the Pentagon could be turned into a triangle and become much more efficient and effective at defending American interests.

With regard to the war in Ukraine and the long conflict with Russia, we need to learn from the failures in Afghanistan. Democracies don’t fight long wars well. We need to develop and successfully implement a strategy that results in the fastest, most decisive Ukrainian victory possible.

From China to Iran to South Korea, our adversaries are watching. America must not continue to fail.

Biden Admin’s healthcare prioritizes PBMs over patients

IT IS DISHEARTENING to read that the Biden Administration’s new healthcare priorities do not focus on the anti-patient practices of Pharmacy Benefit Managers or PBMs.

Not only do PBMs deny patients their necessary medications, but they are also an unnecessary step in an already complicated healthcare system. These intermediaries work with insurance companies, pharmacies, and drug manufacturers to secure the best rebates to help lower out-ofpocket costs for patients at the pharmacy counter. PBMs in theory sound great, but in practice they are the exact opposite. Instead of passing down these savings to the patients they serve, PBMs just keep the rebates for their company’s profit margins. This seems like a pretty clear issue in our nation’s healthcare system, but President Biden is instead pushing to expand government-led price-setting and risk the chances of new medications and treatments coming to market.

Patients across North Carolina are experiencing the negative impacts of PBMs every day, and President Biden and Congress have a chance this year to do something about it and provide relief. Lawmakers should focus on policies that help people access the care they need, not on policies that could harm them from ever being developed in the first place. Just a few weeks ago, Senator Ted Budd and others held a hearing on the dangerous practices of PBMs and publicly called for more oversight. I hope others in Congress join Senator Budd and support PBM reform policies that truly make sense for everyone.

Joseph Burleson

lives in Albemarle.

Michigan is headed back to rust belt poverty

SINCE THE EARLY DAYS of Henry Ford, Michigan was the proud symbol of America’s industrial might.

But then, starting in the 1970s, things went south — in part because of the might of the unions that ran the state’s political machine. That’s when Michigan transitioned into the sad symbol of closed factories: the American “Rust Belt.” Flint, Michigan, became a ghost town.

The Communist Party of America put out a press release celebrating the demise of “right to work” in Michigan.

From the 1970s to the early 2000s, Detroit lost nearly half its population. Whole neighborhoods were bulldozed, and homes were selling for less than $10,000 as poor and minority residents fled the area’s crime, lousy schools, high unemployment and political corruption.

If you traveled to Florida or Arizona, you saw lots of Michigan license plates.

But then, Michigan began to reform itself with tax cuts and leaner and cleaner government. One big reform was Michigan became a “right to work” state. The state went through an amazing economic renaissance. According to the American Legislative Exchange Council’s “Rich States, Poor States” report (which I co-wrote), few states rose on economic competitiveness faster than the home of the Wolverines. Prosperity returned.

Now the shine is off the engine. The Democrats took back control of the politics in the state, and the first thing they did was repeal “right to work” — a big wet kiss to the union bosses for all those campaign contributions.

“Right to work” is the law of the land in 26 states. These laws do not prohibit unions. There are many unions in these states. “Right to work” simply means that workers cannot be compelled to join a union.

Democrats are falsely advertising this as a restoration of workers’ rights. That’s a bald-faced lie. Now, to keep your job in Michigan, you must join the union, and you must pay dues to the union bosses. The United Auto Workers union has been plagued with corruption, including massive pay packages to the union leaders.

This bill will not only take away the right to choose from Michigan workers, but it will also do great damage to the state’s economy. States that have “right to work” laws create jobs at almost twice the pace of states with forced union policies.

Many businesses won’t even consider locating a new factory or blue-collar operation in a forced union state. The auto jobs in America will now accelerate their move to the Southern states, which happen to be “right to work.”

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI), a stooge of the unions, will sign the bill into law. And Michigan is about to see a return to the Rust Belt era.

Here is what’s really telling. The Communist Party of America put out a press release celebrating the demise of “right to work” in Michigan. They note correctly that Michigan is now the first state in more than half a century to turn back the clock and force union chains on workers. Most states have been moving in the opposite direction.

What is sadly ironic about this endorsement is that throughout the 20th century, the unions in America were staunchly anti-communist. It was Lech Walesa, the Polish union organizer, who stood up to the evil communist government that tried to outlaw unions. He and President Ronald Reagan and the AFL-CIO helped defeat the evil empire.

Now the communists in America cheer on the unions as they sow the seeds of their own demise — as well as the demise of a once-mighty state.

Stephen Moore is a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation and a co-founder of the Committee to Unleash Prosperity. His latest book is “Govzilla: How the Relentless Growth of Government Is Devouring Our Economy.”

COLUMN | STEPHEN MOORE

SIDELINE REPORT

FORMULA ONE

Haas dismisses a report alleging it broke Russian sanctions

Kannapolis

The Haas Formula One team has dismissed a report claiming its parent company broke sanctions by providing machinery to Russia as “simply false.” Haas was responding to a report by American broadcaster PBS on Tuesday alleging that the Haas Automation company had provided machines and parts to Russia. This would have been in violation of U.S. export control and sanctions regulations after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year. Haas says the story is false “both in its overall impression and in many of its particular statements.”

NHL Sharks goalie Reimer declines to wear Pride jersey

San Jose San Jose Sharks goalie

James Reimer didn’t take part in pregame warmups

Saturday night because the team’s decision to wear Pride-themed jerseys in support of the LGBTQ community runs counter to his religious beliefs. Reimer, a former Hurricanes goalie, said he made the decision based on his Christian beliefs. He adds that he “always strived to treat everyone with respect” and that members of the LGBTQ community should be welcome in hockey. Reimer is the second NHL player this season to refuse to take part in warmups with Pride-themed jerseys. Philadelphia’s Ivan Provorov declined to do it in January.

PGA

Moore tops Spieth, Schenk at Innisbrook

Palm Harbor, Fla.

Taylor Moore shot 67 to win the Valspar Championship, making key birdies on the 15th and 16th holes at Innisbrook. The victory sends the 29-year-old Moore to the Masters with his first PGA Tour victory.

Adam Schenk was tied for the lead when his drive landed next to a tree on the final hole, leading to a bogey. Jordan Spieth was also tied for the lead until hitting his drive into the water on the 16th. Spieth also missed a 6-foot birdie putt to get back in the mix.

MLB Astros’ Altuve suffers broken thumb at WBC

Miami The Astros are expecting to be without second baseman Jose Altuve for a while after he suffered a broken right thumb. The 2017 AL MVP was injured when he was hit by a pitch playing for Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic. The eighttime All-Star follows Mets All-Star closer Edwin Díaz to the injured list because of injuries during the WBC. Utilityman Mauricio Dubon, who batted .208 games last season, is expected to move into the Astros’ lineup to replace Altuve at second base.

Logano passes Keselowski on last lap to win at Atlanta

Chevrolet had won the first four races of the Cup season

The Associated Press HAMPTON, Ga. — Joey Logano dominated early and then passed Brad Keselowski on the final lap to win the NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway and end the early season domination of Chevrolet and Hendrick Motorsports on Sunday.

Logano won the pole and led a strong showing of three straight Team Penske drivers in qualifying, but Keselowski looked like the Ford driver to beat late in the race. Keselowski had help from Corey LaJoie, but Logano got a push from Christopher Bell that proved decisive on the final lap.

Bell finished third in a Toyota

and LaJoie finished a career-best fourth in a Chevrolet.

“The first win of the season always feels better,” said the reigning Cup champion, who led 141 of the 260 laps.

Logano’s win ended a streak of four consecutive victories by Chevrolet to open the NASCAR Cup season, including back-toback wins by William Byron of Hendrick.

Pushed by his Team Penske teammates Ryan Blaney and Austin Cindric, Logano passed Keselowski to regain the lead with 34 laps to go. Keselowski took back the lead to set up the last-lap drama.

After no cautions during the second stage, the competition — and crashes — picked up late in the race.

Kevin Harvick, who won in Atlanta in 2018 and 2020, was leading late when he lost control while

“The first win of the season always feels better.”

Joey Logano

being pushed by Ross Chastain. Replays indicated Chastain’s Chevrolet didn’t hit Harvick’s Ford, but Harvick’s spin caused a major crash.

“I think he was just so close to me he caught me right in the corner,” Harvick said of Chastain. “The way he came from right to left took the car away from me.”

Byron called the wreck “just a part of racing.”

Another wreck involving the leaders followed 20 laps later when Aric Almirola blew a tire, causing a spin that also took out Kyle Larson and Daniel Suarez.

Hendrick Motorsports’ four drivers had fill-in crew chiefs following the largest combined fine on one team in series history for modifying air-deflecting pieces last weekend at Phoenix Raceway. Hendrick was issued a combined $400,000 in fines along with four-race suspensions for the crew chiefs.

Chase Elliott, the Georgia native who won last summer’s race at his home track, continues to recover in Colorado from a broken tibia suffered while snowboarding month.

Elliott posted regrets on his Twitter account for being unable to participate in Sunday’s race: “This is gonna be a tough one today not being in atl for obvious reasons, but I can’t wait to see everyone down there in July!”

When Hendrick Motorsports tweeted to Elliott “Not the same without you here,” Elliott replied with hopes he would return “hopefully sooner than later my friends.”

The NASCAR Cup Series moves to Austin, Texas, and the Circuit of the Americas next Sunday. Chastain scored his first career Cup win on the road course last year.

Women’s March Madness finds foothold on national TV

ESPN’s deal with the NCAA is up after next season

The Associated Press WITH HOPES of a separate television contract in upcoming negotiations, the women’s NCAA Tournament keeps gaining momentum.

The national title game returns to network television for the first time since 1995, with an ABC broadcast on April 2 from Dallas and a one-hour pregame show.

ABC will feature at least six games from the women’s tournament, including two first-round games Saturday and a pair of second-round contests Sunday.

“Putting it on ABC, we’re giving it the best opportunity for success,” said Dan Ochs, who handles women’s basketball programming for ESPN. “This tournament continues to grow and deliver for us.”

South Carolina’s 64-49 victory over Connecticut in last year’s title game averaged 4.85 million viewers on ESPN — the mostwatched women’s championship game since 2004. It was also the fourth-largest audience for the title game since the network began airing the entire tournament in 1996.

The 2022 women’s tournament overall averaged 634,000 viewers per game, a 16% increase over 2021, with many of the rounds see -

ing their highest averages in more than 10 years.

ESPN has every reason to believe those numbers can increase: Regular season games on the network averaged more than 190,000 viewers, making it the most-viewed regular season since 2015. And a matchup of two undefeated teams on Feb. 12, in which South Carolina topped LSU, was the most-watched regular-season women’s game since 2010 with an average of 1.47 million viewers.

Advertising for the tournament has sold out for the second straight year, ESPN said, with 15 broadcast

4.85M

Average viewership for last year’s NCAA women’s basketball championship game on ESPN

sponsors and nearly 100 advertisers.

It’s the third year that all of the women’s NCAA Tournament games will have national airtime

between ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPNews. The staggered start times and multiple channels brings it in line with the men’s tournament in terms of access.

Up until 2019, ESPN used regional windows during the first two rounds, with the games mostly on ESPN or ESPN2.

ESPN’s current contract to broadcast the women’s tournament expires next year. Right now, the women’s tournament is part of a package with 28 other title events and does not include the men’s tournament. ESPN pays $34 million per year for the championships package, which it agreed to in 2011.

The NCAA is expected to decide by the fall if the women’s tournament will become a separate entity, along with how the other championships may be divided.

“I mean, all of the things and the investments that have been made from the NCAA over the last few years are really important, and greatly recognized and appreciated,” UCLA coach Cori Close said. “That being said, I’m also really excited for a few that still need to be attacked. And I think that, really being able to separate and go to market as the new ESPN contract comes up to bid, I think that’s an important next step as well as meaningful unit distribution as associated with the women’s tournament.”

AP PHOTO

Joey Logano leads a pack of cars through Turn 4 during his win Sunday in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

AP PHOTO

Illinois’ Makira Cook drives as Mississippi State’s Ramani Parker defends during a First Four game in the women’s NCAA Tournament last Wednesday in South Bend, Indiana.

The implementaton of a pitch clock during MLB spring training games has cut game times by 24 minutes to last year.

North Stanly baseball team wins 6th straight game

The Comets are undefeated in conference play

By Jesse Deal North State Journal

COMING

Clark: Rules changes would be smoother with player input

MLB’s new rules have been put in place for spring training

The Associated Press MIAMI — Union head Tony Clark claims Major League Baseball’s rules changes would have gone more smoothly during spring training if player thoughts had been incorporated.

MLB implemented its first pitch clock, limited defensive shifts and pickoff attempts and installed larger bases as part of the biggest alteration in playing rules since the mound was lowered for the 1969 season.

“My hope despite the fact that nearly all of the things that we have seen that would otherwise be characterized as challenges could have been avoided with the input that the players offered when these rules were being constructed,” Clark said Saturday before the United States played Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic quarterfinals.

“My hope is that moving forward that the league continues to take the input of players to heart, such that each of the adjustments

that we’ve seen that have been implemented this year are of benefit in the long run,” Clark said.

The average time of spring training games has dropped to 2 hours, 36 minutes, from 3:00 last year. The changes have had almost no impact on offense, with runs per game rising to 10.7 from 10.6 and batting average to .260 from .259. Stolen bases have gone up to 1.8 per game from 1.1.

“Spring training is spring training,” Clark said. “I appreciate everyone focusing on spring training game times have been shortened by `X’ number of minutes. I appreciate everyone’s focus on it. But when the lights come on and these count, count for the managers, count for the organizations, count for the players, we’ll see how all of these moving pieces come together.”

After the Mets’ Max Scherzer timed the pitch clock to throw a quick pitch to Washington’s Riley Adams on March 3, MLB reminded teams that a pitcher must wait until a hitter is reasonably set in the batter’s box to deliver a pitch.

Baseball’s 11-man competition committee, established in the labor agreement last March, adopt-

ed the pitch clock and shift limits last September over the opposition of the four players on the panel.

Saying it was responding to player concerns, MLB set the pitch clock at 15 seconds with no runners and 20 seconds with runners, up from 14/19 at Triple-A and 14/18 in the rest of the minors.

MLB also liberalized its planned limit for pickoff attempts, known as disengagements. In the minors, a pitcher had two pickoff attempts per plate appearance and a third would result in a balk unless there was an out. In the majors the limit resets if a runner advances.

MLB umpires also have permission to provide additional time if warranted, such as the catcher making the final out of a half-inning. MLB altered limits on mound visits, which started in 2018, adding an allowed trip in the ninth inning if a team has exhausted its total by the end of the eighth.

Clark also said it was feasible to reach an agreement on a collective bargaining agreement for minor leaguers by opening day on March 31.

“A lot of progress has been made,” he said. “We’ll see if we’re able to get it across the finish line before opening day.”

OFF a 22-3 season, the North Stanly baseball team — the reigning Yadkin Valley Conference champions — has carried over its momentum from last year and put together a 7-1 start to the 2023 season with a 3-0 conference record.

The Comets most recently took down the Gray Stone (2-5, 0-5 YVC) in a home doubleheader with 8-1 and 10-0 victories on March 16, increasing their win streak to six games. Coach Scott Clemons’ team has now outscored its eight opponents by a combined 52-16 over the last month. North traveled to Norwood on March 21 for a meeting with the South Stanly (6-3, 2-2 YVC) and will now head to Oakboro to face the West Stanly (4-2, 0-0 Rocky River Conference) on March 22.

West Stanly 12, Mount Pleasant 0

The Colts are coming off their best performance of the season, a 12-0 road win over fellow YVC frontrunner Mount Pleasant (63, 4-0 YVC).

With RRC conference play beginning this week, West is primed for another competitive season following last year’s 20-7 (13-2 YVC) campaign. The Colts hosted a doubleheader with Monroe (0-4, 0-0 RRC) on March 21 before a home game with North.

Mount Pleasant 5, South Stanly 4

So far this season, Mount Pleasant and West Stanly have been the lone thorns in the side of the South Stanly baseball team,

which has otherwise gotten off to a strong start to its year. The Colts picked up a decisive 19-1 home win over the Bulls earlier this month, while the Tigers have accounted for two victories amid South’s past three games.

L ooking to improve from last year’s 7-14 (4-6 YVC) record, the Bulls are set to travel to New London for a second-straight matchup against the Comets on March 24.

Albemarle 10, Monroe 0

Following four consecutive losses to start the season, Albemarle (2-4, 0-2 YVC) responded by reeling off 12-0 and 10-0 wins over Monroe in a March 14 doubleheader. With two games against Mount Pleasant following the previous matchups against the winless Redhawks, the Bulldogs will need to keep their offense flowing as they look to climb out of the cellar of the YVC standings. L ed by coach Corey Dick, Albemarle was only able to play a partial season last year due to a limited roster size, but the Bulldogs have a full conference slate of contests for the 2023 campaign.

Union Academy 10, Gray Stone 0

Union Academy (4-7, 1-2 YVC) picked up a 10-0 road win over Gray Stone on March 20 with a rematch that was played a day later.

It’s been a tough recent stretch for the Knights, who opened their season 2-0 but have since lost five games in a row. Last year’s team finished with a 6-12 record but lost all 10 of its YVC matchups. Gray Stone will get a chance to notch its elusive first conference win when it faces Robinson (2-6, 2-1 YVC) and South Stanly soon with a few nonconference games interspersed.

Alcaraz wins Indian Wells over

The 19-year-old Spainard won in straight sets

The Associated Press

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Carlos Alcaraz defeated Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-2 on Sunday to win the BNP Paribas Open title and regain the world’s No. 1 ranking.

The 19-year-old Spaniard will move from second to first in the ATP Tour rankings on Monday, displacing Novak Djokovic.

The Serb withdrew from Indian Wells before the tournament began when he couldn’t gain entry to the U.S. because he’s unvacci-

Medvedev, regains No. 1

rank

nated for COVID-19.

“For me, it’s a dream come true again,” Alcaraz said. “Obviously being in front of such great players like Novak, it’s an amazing feeling.”

“I would say this has been the perfect tournament,” he said.

In the women’s final, Elena Rybakina beat Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (11), 6-4 and handed the world’s second-ranked player just her second loss this year.

Last year, Alcaraz became the youngest man to reach No. 1 in ATP history after his title at the U.S. Open.

He achieved another mark in the third round at Indian Wells.

That’s when Alcaraz notched his

“For me, it’s a dream come true again.”

Carlos Alcaraz

100th career match victory, the second-quickest player behind John McEnroe to do so.

Alcaraz also became the first man to win the tournament without dropping a set since Roger Federer in 2017 and the youngest man to win the title in the desert.

Alcaraz hit 19 winners and had 10 unforced errors while keeping Medvedev off-balance

with a steady array of serve-andvolley and drop shots. The teenager never faced a break point while opening leads of 3-0 in the first set and 4-0 in the second.

“What I improve a lot is to don’t take the pressure, just to play relaxed,” Alcaraz said. “That’s why I show a great level, because I feel like I have no pressure. I enjoy. I’m playing relaxed.”

Medvedev’s 19-match winning streak ended. It went back to his title run in Rotterdam in February. He then won tournaments in Doha and Dubai.

“I want to congratulate you for the work you have done in the last few months,” Alcaraz told his opponent. “Winning three titles

in a row and reaching the finals here is an amazing achievement.” Alcaraz and Rybakina earned $1,262,220 each for their wins.

Rybakina carried the momentum from her straight-set semifinal upset of top-ranked Iga Swiatek into the final and beat Sabalenka for the first time in five career meetings.

For the first time in their budding rivalry, the match didn’t go three sets. Sabalenka went the distance to beat Rybakina in the Australian Open final in January. In that match, Sabalenka fired 17 aces and rallied from a set down to win her first Grand Slam title.

This time, the 10th-seeded Rybakina had seven aces and No. 2 seed Sabalenka committed 10 double faults. Sabalenka won just 11 of 35 second-serve points.

AP PHOTO

Carlos Alcaraz returns a shot against Daniil Medvedev during his men’s singles final win at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California.

AP PHOTO

Amazon cuts 9,000 more jobs, bringing 2023 total to 27,000

The Associated Press

NEW YORK — Amazon plans to eliminate 9,000 more jobs in the next few weeks, CEO Andy Jassy said in a memo to staff on Monday.

The job cuts would mark the second largest round of layoffs in the company’s history, adding to the 18,000 employees the tech giant said it would lay off in January. The company’s workforce doubled during the pandemic, however, in the midst of a hiring surge across almost the entire tech sector.

Tech companies have announced tens of thousands of job cuts this year.

In the memo, Jassy said the second phase of the company’s annual planning process completed this month led to the additional job cuts. He said Amazon will still hire in some strategic areas.

“Some may ask why we didn’t announce these role reductions with the ones we announced a couple months ago. The short an-

swer is that not all of the teams were done with their analyses in the late fall; and rather than rush through these assessments without the appropriate diligence, we chose to share these decisions as we’ve made them so people had the information as soon as possible,” Jassy said.

The job cuts announced Monday will hit profitable areas for the company including its cloud computing unit AWS and its burgeoning advertising business. Twitch, the gaming platform Amazon owns, will also see some layoffs as well as Amazon’s PXT organizations, which handle human resources and other functions.

Prior layoffs had also hit PXT, the company’s stores division, which encompasses its e-commerce business as well as company’s brick-and-mortar stores such as Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go, and other departments such as the one that runs the virtual assistant Alexa.

Earlier this month, the compa-

ny said it would pause construction on its headquarters building in northern Virginia, though the first phase of that project will open this June with 8,000 employees.

Like other tech companies, including Facebook parent Meta and Google parent Alphabet, Amazon ramped up hiring during the pandemic to meet the demand from homebound Americans that were increasingly buying stuff online to keep themselves safe from the virus.

Amazon’s workforce, in warehouses and offices, doubled to more than 1.6 million people in about two years. But demand slowed as the worst of the pandemic eased. The company began pausing or cancelling its warehouse expansion plans last year.

Amid growing anxiety over the potential for a recession, Amazon in the past few months shut down a subsidiary that’s been selling fabrics for nearly 30 years and shuttered its hybrid virtual, in-home care service Amazon Care among

other cost-cutting moves.

Jassy said Monday given the uncertain economy and the “uncertainty that exists in the near future,” the company has chosen to be more streamlined.

He said the teams that will be impacted by the latest round of layoffs are not done making final decisions on which roles will be eliminated. The company plans to finalize those decisions by mid to late April and notify those who will be laid off.

Haley, Ramaswamy among those taking on ‘woke ideology’ in SC

The Associated Press

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C.

— Republicans who are seeking to lead their party in the 2024 presidential race gathered in South Carolina this weekend with a goal at the forefront of their agenda: taking on “woke ideology.”

On Saturday in North Charleston, the group Palmetto Family, which lobbies for what it considers to be “biblical values,” hosted Vision ‘24, described by organizers as “casting the conservative vision” for the next White House race. Several hundred attendees heard from presidential hopefuls, including Nikki Haley, a former South Carolina governor who was Donald Trump’s U.N. ambassador, and tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

As organizers expected, issues such as gas prices and national security got plenty of attention, with former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson saying that, to fight inflation, “we’ve got to bring the federal government under control.”

But, as anticipated, much of the focus was on the pushback by some across the U.S. against what they perceive as affronts to conservative ways of life by efforts characterized as “woke.” It’s playing out in state-level debates over classroom instruction, gender-affirming care for minors and collegiate diversity programs.

The catch-all label of “woke” is taking on a leading a role within the burgeoning GOP presidential contest, with candidate-in-waiting Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor, emerging as a fierce opponent of policies designed to enforce equity when it comes to race, gender and public health.

Ramaswamy, who entered the race this month, wrote a book on the topic, particularly as it pertains to business: “Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America’s Social Justice Scam.”

The debate has spilled over into the finance space, too.

Nineteen Republican governors, including DeSantis and South Dakota’s Kristi Noem, another possible 2024 contender, signed a letter opposing the Biden administration’s support of a federal labor rule allowing retire -

ment plans to consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors when making investment decisions. Critics say the efforts are the latest example of the world trying to get “woke,” allocating money based on political agendas, like a drive against climate change, rather than on earning the best returns for savers.

DeSantis wasn’t on stage in South Carolina, but Ramaswamy and Haley were. At the Conservative Political Action Conference earlier this month, she said that “wokeness is a virus more dangerous than any pandemic, hands down.” On Saturday, Haley called transgender students competing in sports “the women’s issue of our time,” adding: “If we don’t stop all this woke ideology that’s happening in our schools, we will lose them.”

For Ramaswamy, being “anti-woke” is central to his political brand. Leaving his biotech company following pressures for him “make a statement in favor of the Black Lives Matter movement,” Ramaswamy called for “an opportunity for the conservative movement to rise to the occasion and fill that void with a vision of American national identity that runs so deep that it dilutes this woke poison to irrelevance.” He later launched his own firm intended to pressure companies to quit ESG initiatives.

It’s a similar vein of messaging that South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, yet to announce his own 2024 bid but in attendance Saturday, has been making for years.

In a 2021 op-ed, Scott wrote that, due to his status as the Senate’s sole Black Republican, he had

long endured critique from “woke folk” because “my ideology does not match that which they prescribe based on my complexion.”

“The radical left is trying to get people hooked on victimhood,” Scott said Saturday in North Charleston, adding that, according to Democrats, “if you’re white you must be an oppressor. If you’re Black or brown, you are the victim.”

Others took on the topic, too.

“Republicans are not perfect,” said Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana. “But the other side is crazy. ... The American people do not deserve to be governed by deeply woke ... people who hate George Washington, hate Thomas Jefferson ... who think our kids should be able to change genders at recess.”

Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard,

who left the Democratic Party last year, said her former party is being “driven by this motivation of cowardly wokeness” and has leaders who “advocate for the mutilation of children in the name of so called gender affirming care.”

South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Trav Robertson called the push by the “MAGA agenda” a “dog whistle” to some.

“If they’re talking about a culture war and woke, then you’re not paying attention to the fact that your rights and your freedom to make your health care decisions as a woman are being taken away,” Robertson said, referencing pushes for more restrictive abortion laws in a number of states. “They want to talk about woke because they aren’t capable of talking about anything of substance.”

“[W]e chose to share these decisions as we’ve made them so people had the information as soon as possible.”

CEO Andy Jassy

AP PHOTO

An Amazon logo appears on a delivery van, Oct. 1, 2020, in Boston. AP PHOTO

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley speaks at the Vision ‘24 conference on Saturday, March 18, 2023, in North Charleston, S.C.

STATE & NATION

Senate takes first step in repealing Iraq War authorizations

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Senate took a first step toward repealing two measures that give open-ended approval for military action in Iraq, pushing to end that authority as the United States marks the 20th anniversary of the Iraq War.

Senators voted 68-27 to move forward on legislation that would repeal the 2002 measure that greenlighted that March 2003 invasion of Iraq and also a 1991 measure that sanctioned the U.S.led Gulf War to expel Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein’s forces from Kuwait. Nineteen Republicans joined Democrats in supporting the repeal.

The bipartisan effort comes as lawmakers in both parties are increasingly seeking to claw back congressional powers over U.S. military strikes and deployments, arguing that the war authorizations are no longer necessary and subject to misuse if they are left on the books. President Joe Biden has backed the push, and the White House issued a statement in support. “Repeal of these authorizations would have no impact on current U.S. military operations and would support this administration’s commitment to a strong and comprehensive relationship with our Iraqi partners,” the White House said.

Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Todd Young, R-Ind., said they believe the 68 votes in support send a powerful message to Americans who believe their voice should be heard on matters of war and peace. Kaine and Young have led the push for repeal and have worked for several years on the issue.

“It is time for Congress to have its

voice heard on these matters, and I believe this will establish a very important precedent moving forward,” Young said.

It’s unclear whether leaders in the Republican-controlled House will bring the bill up for a vote, even if it passes the Senate. Forty-nine House Republicans supported the legislation when then-majority Democrats held a vote two years ago, but current House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., has opposed it.

Senate Republicans are also split on the legislation. While the 19 GOP senators voted for it, opponents argue that the repeal could project weakness to U.S. enemies. They have pointed out that Presi-

dent Donald Trump’s administration cited the 2002 Iraq war resolution as part of its legal justification for a 2020 U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassim Soleimani.

The October 2002 votes to give President George W. Bush broad authority for the invasion — coming just a month before the midterm elections that year — became a defining moment for many members of Congress as the country debated whether a military strike was warranted. The U.S. was already at war then in Afghanistan, the country that hosted the al-Qaida plotters responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, something Iraq played no part in.

Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, a Democrat who was in the Senate at the time and voted against the resolution, said on the floor before last week’s vote that “I look back on it, as I’m sure others do, as one of the most important votes that I ever cast.”

“The repeal of this authorization of use the use of military force does not mean the United States has become a pacifist nation,” Durbin said. “It means that the United States is going to be a constitutional nation and the premise of our Founding Fathers will be respected.”

The Bush administration had drummed up support among members of Congress and Americans for invading Iraq by promoting false

With overdoses up, states look at harsher fentanyl penalties

The Associated Press STATE LAWMAKERS nationwide are responding to the deadliest overdose crisis in U.S. history by pushing harsher penalties for possessing fentanyl and other powerful lab-made opioids that are connected to about 70,000 deaths a year.

Imposing longer prison sentences for possessing smaller amounts of drugs represents a shift in states that in recent years have rolled back drug possession penalties. Proponents of tougher penalties say this crisis is different and that, in most places, the stiffer sentences are intended to punish drug dealers, not just users.

“There is no other drug — no other illicit drug — that has the same type of effects on our communities,” said Mark Jackson, the district attorney for Douglas County, Nevada, and president of the Nevada District Attorneys Association, which is pushing for stricter penalties for fentanyl-related crimes. Since 2020, drug overdoses are now linked to more than 100,000 deaths a year nationally, with about two-thirds of them fentanyl-related. That’s more than 10 times as many drug deaths as in 1988, at the height of the crack epidemic.

Fentanyl mostly arrives in the U.S. from Mexico and is mixed into supplies of other drugs, including cocaine, heroin, methamphet-

amine and counterfeit oxycodone pills. Some users seek it out. Others don’t know they’re taking it.

Ingesting 2 milligrams of fentanyl can be fatal, meaning 1 gram — about the same as a paper clip — could contain 500 lethal doses.

That’s what’s driving some lawmakers to crack down with harsh penalties, along with adopting measures such as legalizing materials to test drug supplies for fen-

tanyl and distributing naloxone, a drug that can reverse overdoses.

Before this year’s legislative sessions began, a dozen states had already adopted fentanyl possession measures, according to tracking by the National Conference of State Legislatures.

In Nevada, where Democrats control the Legislature, a bill backed by Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford would give

one to 20 years in prison for selling, possessing, manufacturing or transporting 4 grams or more of fentanyl into the state, depending on the amount. It’s a change for Ford, who has supported criminal justice reforms including a sweeping 2019 law that, among other provisions, raised the threshold for such penalties to 100 grams. It would also remove fentanyl from the state’s “Good Samaritan” law, which exempts people from criminal drug possession charges while reporting an overdose.

“What we’ve learned is that lowering the thresholds for all drugs was overinclusive,” Ford said.

Harm reduction advocates are pushing Ford and others to rethink their support, arguing the thresholds for longer penalties can sweep up low-level users — not just the dealers the law is aimed at — as well as some who may not even know they are taking fentanyl. They warn that the state’s crime labs test only for the presence of fentanyl, not the exact amount in a mixture of drugs. Thus, people with over 4 grams of drugs containing a few milligrams of fentanyl could be subject to trafficking penalties, they say.

North Carolina’s Senate unanimously passed legislation two weeks ago to increase criminal penalties for drug dealers whose distribution of fentanyl and other controlled substances causes an

intelligence claims about Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction.

After the initial March 2003 invasion, American ground forces were unable to verify the nation’s nuclear or chemical weapons programs. But the U.S. overthrow of Iraq’s security forces precipitated a brutal sectarian fight and violent campaigns by Islamic extremist groups in Iraq. Car bombings, assassinations, torture and kidnapping became a part of daily life in Iraq for years.

Nearly 5,000 U.S. troops were killed in the war. Iraqi deaths are estimated in the hundreds of thousands.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in the hours before the vote that he was glad that the repeal is a bipartisan effort after the Iraq conflict was the cause of “so much bitterness” in the past.

“Americans are tired of endless wars in the Middle East,” Schumer said.

The Senate will consider the legislation this week, with possible amendments from both sides.

One of the amendments that could be considered would repeal a separate authorization of military force passed immediately after the 2001 attacks. It gave Bush broad authority for the invasion of Afghanistan and the fight against terrorism but did not name one country, instead broadly approving force “against those nations, organizations, or persons” that planned or aided the attacks on the U.S.

But there is less support in the Senate and Congress overall for repealing the broader authority. Biden and some lawmakers have supported replacing or revising that authorization in the future, but “not right now,” Kaine said, as it is still used by the military.

overdose death.

The proposal, which currently sits in the House, would create high-grade felony offenses for deaths caused by distributing the powerful synthetic opioid, and for doing so with malice.

It would also increase fines for trafficking heroin, fentanyl and carfentanil — a synthetic opioid generally used as a tranquilizer for elephants and other large mammals — and amend the state’s Good Samaritan law to create limited immunity for someone in possession of less than one gram of fentanyl who calls 911 to report an overdose.

“This piece of poison called fentanyl is killing people every day in North Carolina and all across America,” said Sen. Tom McInnis, a Moore County Republican and primary sponsor, during floor debate.

Fentanyl was likely involved in the overdose deaths of more than 3,000 North Carolinians in 2021, according to the most recent available data from the state’s Department of Health and Human Services.

The bill says dealers with lengthy records who commit these crimes with aggravating circumstances could face more than a decade in prison. Those who act with malice could face more than 30 years in prison. The proposal is supported by the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association.

A previous version of the bill moved through the Senate in 2019 but never made it to the House.

AP PHOTO

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., center, and Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., center left, are joined by representatives of the American Legion as they speak to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on March 16.

AP PHOTO

Leslie Maynor Locklear, a Robeson County mother who lost both her sons to overdose deaths in 2022, speaks in favor of increasing drug distribution penalties on Tuesday, March 7, 2023, at the Legislative Building in Raleigh.

Randolph record

Eighth

COUNTY NEWS

Body found in submerged vehicle linked to missing person

A body found in a vehicle submerged upside in a creek on Caraway Mountain Rd this past week was identified as a missing person from Thomasville. According to the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office, at approximately 10:20 am on March 17, a 911 caller reported a gray Nissan upside down in Caraway Creek. Ash-Rand Rescue, Westside Fire Department, Randolph County EMS and Emergency Management all responded to the incident, and emergency crews were able to extricate the subject, who was pronounced deceased at the scene. The sheriff’s office and NC Highway Patrol responded to investigate after the vehicle description and plate matched the missing person information of 36-yearold Steven Paul Soles, who was reported to be missing to the Thomasville Police Department earlier that week. Thomasville Police Department responded to the scene to assist in the investigation shortly after the connection was made. It is unknown if foul play is suspected at this time.

Over $12.5 million in funding approved for Liberty Wastewater Treatment Plant

Last month, Governor Cooper announced that millions of dollars in water and sewer infrastructure funding projects for communities would be given to communities across North Carolina, including more than $12.5 million for wastewater collection system improvements for the Town of Liberty. Along with the $12.5 million allocated for improvements in Liberty, an additional $400,000 grant has also been announced for preconstruction planning. At this time, approval is still needed from the Local Government Commission (LGC). This funding comes in part from billions of federal aid that have been made available through the American Rescue Plan and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Randolph County local makes NC All-State Honors Band

By Emmie Brooks North State Journal

TRINITY – Uwharrie Ridge

Six-Twelve in Randolph County has a vision to immerse students in 21st-century skills in order to guide them to make decisions related to their future goals. One particular student, Zane York, has taken up this vision and created an opportunity for himself through the AllState Honors Band.

The school’s band director, Angel Freeland, has now accomplished her lifelong goal through York’s hard work. She has been the band director for Uwharrie Ridge SixTwelve for 13 years.

“It’s really unique here being a six-twelve school; I really get to enjoy some of my students staying from sixth grade to twelfth grade,” Uwharrie Ridge Six-Twelve Band Director Angel Freeland said. “Our band may be a little bit smaller than some, but that allows us to do a lot of unique opportunities that they may not get elsewhere.”

York is in the eighth grade at Uwharrie Ridge Six-Twelve. He began his musical journey when he came to school just two years prior.

“She’s taught me everything I know. I love having Ms. Freeland as

my band teacher,” York said. “She’s really supportive in all that I do; I just love her.”

“I try to relate stuff to the real world. Sometimes we’ll play songs they might hear on the radio,” Freeland said. “I give them opportunities at concerts to learn solos and duets. Most of my students really like this because they get to go home and practice music that we may not practice in class.”

Through the school’s band pro-

gram, the students get to perform four concerts a year, and they also offer different honor bands, whose members have the opportunity to play at events and parades around the county.

“It’s a great way to make friends and express yourself. A lot of people love music, and for some of my students, that is just their thing,” said Freeland. “They look forward to coming to band so much, and it’s really like a family. We just have a lot

Board of Education approves changes to 2023-24 school calendar

Fees set for Summer 2023

of fun.”

To audition for All-State Honors Band, one begins with an All-District audition, which, if placed high enough, musicians turn to auditions for All-State. For the All-State auditions, the top two musicians from each instrument group from the seven districts of the state are invited to try out.

“He put in so much hard work to get there. He would come practice during PE. His teachers would let him come practice with me any time he could,” Freeland said. “I’m just really proud of him; he helped me achieve a goal I have always wanted to do.”

York’s original plan for auditioning for North Carolina’s All-State Honors Band was to only audition with the bass clarinet; he was later convinced by his band director to also audition with the bassoon. York then placed in first chair in the All-District round with bassoon.

“It has always been my goal as a teacher to have a student audition for All-State, and I’ve had several students come really close in the past,” Freeland said. “It’s just really special to me because not only did he make All-State, but he made it on bassoon, which is the instrument I played in college.”

There were fourteen bassoon players present for this year’s AllState Honors Band audition, and York placed as second chair, missing first chair by only five points.

“I was just so excited to be the first person to fulfill Ms. Freeland’s dream, and I was just so proud of myself,” said York.

prove an attendance fee of $545 for any second-grade student who has demonstrated appropriate developmental abilities in reading comprehension and for any thirdgrade student who has demonstrated proficiency on third-grade reading standards.”

Reading

Camp for proficient students

ed with the first draft of the proposed budget for Randolph County Schools’ 2023-24 budget.

students for the 2023 Summer Reading Camp Fee and Applications for proficient students.

According to Superintendent Dr. Stephen Gainey, the fee last

See BOE, page 2

By Ryan Henkel Randolph

Record

ASHEBORO — The Randolph

Board of Education met Monday, March 20, with a few budgetary updates and items on the agenda.

The board was presented with the outcome of a grant application submitted by New Market Elementary School.

“New Market Elementary School received a Donors Choose Grant in the amount of $224.00 on March 7, 2023,” said Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Cathy Waddell.

“The grant will provide funding to purchase items for students to prepare and track their running mileage in the school’s Go Far Club.”

The board was also present-

“We’ll bring it back next month for approval, and it will be delivered the next day [to the county commissioners],” said Finance Officer Todd Lowe. In terms of the projected budget for 2023-2024, the proposed increase in local funding is $1,428,000.

This accounts for a $711,000 increase for continuation costs (matching insurance, retirement, legislative salary, energy, etc. increases and charter school payments), a $173,000 salary increase for lead custodians and school treasurers, a $114,000 increase for additional SROs and a $430,000 increase for a 1.5% supplement increase for classified employees. There are no additional capital outlay requests with the proposed budget.

The board then approved a fee and application cost for proficient

“Local boards of education may request a fee amount to be equal to the per-student program cost of participating in the Reading Camp, not to exceed $825,” Waddell said. “Priority enrollment in the Reading Camp is for students offered a Reading Camp as a literacy intervention. The local board of education shall establish application procedures and enrollment priorities for reading camps for students demonstrating reading proficiency.

“The total cost for the Summer Reading Camps that were held at the end of the 2021-2022 school year was $220,693.38, and 405 students attended one of the reading camps in the school district. Based upon the cost of the 2022 reading camps and the number of students who attended, it is recommended that the Randolph County Board of Education ap -

EMMIE BROOKS | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

grader Zane York practicing the bassoon, the instrument he played to win second chair at NC’s All-State Honors Band auditions.

EMMIE BROOKS | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

Principle Brian Hill with Uwharrie Ridge Six-Twelve Band Director Angel Freeland and student Zane York.

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

Perspective on the lost Reaper drone

AS YOU WATCH the newly released declassified video of Russian pilots harassing and colliding with a U.S. Reaper drone over the Black Sea — and the dire media reports warning the U.S.Russia conflict could heighten — it’s important to keep things in perspective.

Many were killed in combat, some were likely tortured and interrogated by KGB operatives, and others were sent to Soviet labor camps in the hinterlands of Siberia.

This incident is an expensive but minor challenge in a long-term, nuanced contest with Russia, whose leader is still operating with a Cold War mentality. At the end of the day, we lost an unmanned aircraft. It was valuable (in terms of monetary cost to produce, information gathering and technological capabilities) but it is not something to go to war over.

This is especially true when you consider the more than 200 U.S. airmen who were shot down and lost while surveilling the Soviet Union and China in the 1950s and 1960s. These were patriots who risked — and ultimately gave — their lives so that we could have a better understanding of Soviet radar and nuclear capabilities. Many were killed in combat, some were likely tortured and interrogated by KGB operatives, and others were sent to Soviet labor camps in the hinterlands of Siberia. Some of their families didn’t even learn of their deaths or whereabouts until the 1990s. In many other cases, families never learned the fates of their loved ones. If you are unfamiliar with the sacrifice these brave patriots made, Smithsonian magazine has an excellent feature on their service.

So, the downing of an expensive piece of spy equipment does not concern me too much.

I am far more concerned that our Defense Department leadership doesn’t have a larger long-term strategy to deal with Russia, the war in Ukraine or any of our other major challenges. Further, I’m concerned that they don’t have a real grip on what’s happening in the present.

Remember: More than one year ago, our top military official, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, publicly said Russia would take Kyiv in three days. This is the same general who said the Afghan military could potentially withstand the Taliban’s takeover of the country after the U.S. surrender. (Set aside the moronically disastrous decision to give up Bagram Airfield as our primary eyes on Chinese activity.)

After these two decisive failures, I am amazed Milley has not been retired. What must our adversaries think about the United States’ quality of intelligence? How does this repeated, demonstrable incompetence impact Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping’s plans for Taiwan? What if we are as wrong about the Chinese threat to Taiwan as we were about the Taliban’s threat to Afghanistan or the Russian threat to Ukraine?

I am picking on Gen. Milley, but in some ways he’s a symptom of a much bigger problem. We have 18 intelligence agencies. Apparently, they were all wrong. My suspicion is they were wrong not because they have bad personnel but because they are part of a large bureaucratic system that rejects new ideas, punishes dissent and is primarily concerned with protecting itself rather than American interests.

The impact is these high-educated professionals bury their heads in the sand. They favor what they learned in graduate school — and what their peers say at cocktail parties — over what is really happening in the world. Our political leaders then get briefed on ideological rather than pragmatic intelligence. Consider that fewer than five years ago many people in the Washington establishment did not think China posed a significant threat. In 2019, thencandidate Joe Biden brushed off concerns over competition with China saying, “China is going to eat our lunch? Come on, man!” About two years later, he said exactly the opposite.

Bureaucratic incompetence is the biggest risk to America’s safety. Congress needs to get serious about modernizing our defense systems. You could likely reorganize our 18 intelligence agencies into about six. I often tell audiences that the Pentagon could be turned into a triangle and become much more efficient and effective at defending American interests.

With regard to the war in Ukraine and the long conflict with Russia, we need to learn from the failures in Afghanistan. Democracies don’t fight long wars well. We need to develop and successfully implement a strategy that results in the fastest, most decisive Ukrainian victory possible.

From China to Iran to South Korea, our adversaries are watching. America must not continue to fail.

Michigan is headed back to rust belt poverty

SINCE THE EARLY DAYS of Henry Ford, Michigan was the proud symbol of America’s industrial might.

But then, starting in the 1970s, things went south — in part because of the might of the unions that ran the state’s political machine. That’s when Michigan transitioned into the sad symbol of closed factories: the American “Rust Belt.” Flint, Michigan, became a ghost town.

From the 1970s to the early 2000s, Detroit lost nearly half its population. Whole neighborhoods were bulldozed, and homes were selling for less than $10,000 as poor and minority residents fled the area’s crime, lousy schools, high unemployment and political corruption.

If you traveled to Florida or Arizona, you saw lots of Michigan license plates.

But then, Michigan began to reform itself with tax cuts and leaner and cleaner government. One big reform was Michigan became a “right to work” state. The state went through an amazing economic renaissance. According to the American Legislative Exchange Council’s “Rich States, Poor States” report (which I co-wrote), few states rose on economic competitiveness faster than the home of the Wolverines.

Prosperity returned.

Now the shine is off the engine. The

Democrats took back control of the politics in the state, and the first thing they did was repeal “right to work” — a big wet kiss to the union bosses for all those campaign contributions.

“Right to work” is the law of the land in 26 states. These laws do not prohibit unions. There are many unions in these states. “Right to work” simply means that workers cannot be compelled to join a union.

Democrats are falsely advertising this as a restoration of workers’ rights. That’s a bald-faced lie. Now, to keep your job in Michigan, you must join the union, and you must pay dues to the union bosses. The United Auto Workers union has been plagued with corruption, including massive pay packages to the union leaders.

This bill will not only take away the right to choose from Michigan workers, but it will also do great damage to the state’s economy. States that have “right to work” laws create jobs at almost twice the pace of states with forced union policies.

Many businesses won’t even consider locating a new factory or blue-collar operation in a forced union state. The auto jobs in America will now accelerate their move to the Southern states, which happen to be “right to work.”

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI), a stooge

of the unions, will sign the bill into law. And Michigan is about to see a return to the Rust Belt era.

Here is what’s really telling. The Communist Party of America put out a press release celebrating the demise of “right to work” in Michigan. They note correctly that Michigan is now the first state in more than half a century to turn back the clock and force union chains on workers. Most states have been moving in the opposite direction.

What is sadly ironic about this endorsement is that throughout the 20th century, the unions in America were staunchly anti-communist. It was Lech Walesa, the Polish union organizer, who stood up to the evil communist government that tried to outlaw unions. He and President Ronald Reagan and the AFLCIO helped defeat the evil empire.

Now the communists in America cheer on the unions as they sow the seeds of their own demise — as well as the demise of a once-mighty state.

Stephen Moore is a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation and a co-founder of the Committee to Unleash Prosperity. His latest book is “Govzilla: How the Relentless Growth of Government Is Devouring Our Economy.”

COLUMN | NEWT GINGRICH

COLUMN | STEPHEN MOORE

The Communist Party of America put out a press release celebrating the demise of “right to work” in Michigan.

SIDELINE REPORT

FORMULA ONE

Haas dismisses a report alleging it broke Russian sanctions

Kannapolis

The Haas Formula One team has dismissed a report claiming its parent company broke sanctions by providing machinery to Russia as “simply false.” Haas was responding to a report by American broadcaster PBS on Tuesday alleging that the Haas Automation company had provided machines and parts to Russia. This would have been in violation of U.S. export control and sanctions regulations after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year. Haas says the story is false “both in its overall impression and in many of its particular statements.”

NHL Sharks goalie Reimer declines to wear Pride jersey

San Jose

San Jose Sharks goalie James Reimer didn’t take part in pregame warmups Saturday night because the team’s decision to wear Pridethemed jerseys in support of the LGBTQ community runs counter to his religious beliefs. Reimer, a former Hurricanes goalie, said he made the decision based on his Christian beliefs. He adds that he “always strived to treat everyone with respect” and that members of the LGBTQ community should be welcome in hockey. Reimer is the second NHL player this season to refuse to take part in warmups with Pride-themed jerseys. Philadelphia’s Ivan Provorov declined to do it in January.

PGA

Moore tops Spieth, Schenk at Innisbrook

Palm Harbor, Fla.

Taylor Moore shot 67 to win the Valspar Championship, making key birdies on the 15th and 16th holes at Innisbrook. The victory sends the 29-year-old Moore to the Masters with his first PGA Tour victory. Adam Schenk was tied for the lead when his drive landed next to a tree on the final hole, leading to a bogey. Jordan Spieth was also tied for the lead until hitting his drive into the water on the 16th. Spieth also missed a 6-foot birdie putt to get back in the mix.

Logano passes Keselowski on last lap to win at Atlanta

Chevrolet had won the first four races of the Cup season

The Associated Press

HAMPTON, Ga. — Joey Logano dominated early and then passed Brad Keselowski on the final lap to win the NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway and end the early season domination of Chevrolet and Hendrick Motorsports on Sunday.

Logano won the pole and led a strong showing of three straight Team Penske drivers in qualifying, but Keselowski looked like the Ford driver to beat late in the race. Keselowski had help from Corey LaJoie, but Logano got a push from Christopher Bell that proved decisive on the final lap. Bell finished third in a Toy-

ota and LaJoie finished a career-best fourth in a Chevrolet.

“The first win of the season always feels better,” said the reigning Cup champion, who led 141 of the 260 laps.

Logano’s win ended a streak of four consecutive victories by Chevrolet to open the NASCAR Cup season, including back-toback wins by William Byron of Hendrick.

Pushed by his Team Penske teammates Ryan Blaney and Austin Cindric, Logano passed Keselowski to regain the lead with 34 laps to go. Keselowski took back the lead to set up the last-lap drama.

After no cautions during the second stage, the competition — and crashes — picked up late in the race. Kevin Harvick, who won in Atlanta in 2018 and 2020, was leading late when he lost control while being pushed by Ross

6

Career victories for William Byron after picking up his second straight win Sunday at Phoenix.

Chastain. Replays indicated Chastain’s Chevrolet didn’t hit Harvick’s Ford, but Harvick’s spin caused a major crash.

“I think he was just so close to me he caught me right in the corner,” Harvick said of Chastain. “The way he came from right to left took the car away from me.”

Byron called the wreck “just a part of racing.”

Another wreck involving the leaders followed 20 laps later when Aric Almirola blew a tire, causing a spin that also took out

Kyle Larson and Daniel Suarez.

Hendrick Motorsports’ four drivers had fill-in crew chiefs following the largest combined fine on one team in series history for modifying air-deflecting pieces last weekend at Phoenix Raceway. Hendrick was issued a combined $400,000 in fines along with four-race suspensions for the crew chiefs.

Chase Elliott, the Georgia native who won last summer’s race at his home track, continues to recover in Colorado from a broken tibia suffered while snowboarding month.

Elliott posted regrets on his Twitter account for being unable to participate in Sunday’s race: “This is gonna be a tough one today not being in atl for obvious reasons, but I can’t wait to see everyone down there in July!”

When Hendrick Motorsports tweeted to Elliott “Not the same without you here,” Elliott replied with hopes he would return “hopefully sooner than later my friends.”

The NASCAR Cup Series moves to Austin, Texas, and the Circuit of the Americas next Sunday. Chastain scored his first career Cup win on the road course last year.

Women’s March Madness finds foothold on national TV

ESPN’s deal with the NCAA is up after next season

The Associated Press

WITH HOPES of a separate television contract in upcoming negotiations, the women’s NCAA Tournament keeps gaining momentum.

The national title game returns to network television for the first time since 1995, with an ABC broadcast on April 2 from Dallas and a one-hour pregame show.

ABC will feature at least six games from the women’s tournament, including two first-round games Saturday and a pair of second-round contests Sunday.

“Putting it on ABC, we’re giving it the best opportunity for success,” said Dan Ochs, who handles women’s basketball programming for ESPN. “This tournament continues to grow and deliver for us.”

South Carolina’s 64-49 victory over Connecticut in last year’s title game averaged 4.85 million viewers on ESPN — the most-watched women’s championship game since 2004. It was also the fourth-largest audience for the title game since the network began airing the entire tournament in 1996.

The 2022 women’s tournament overall averaged 634,000 viewers per game, a 16% increase over 2021, with many of the rounds seeing their highest averages in more than 10 years.

ESPN has every reason to believe those numbers can increase: Regular season games on the network averaged more than 190,000 viewers, making it the most-viewed regular season since 2015. And a matchup of two undefeated teams on Feb. 12, in which South Carolina topped LSU, was the most-

watched regular-season women’s game since 2010 with an average of 1.47 million viewers.

Advertising for the tournament has sold out for the second straight year, ESPN said, with 15 broadcast sponsors and nearly 100 advertisers.

It’s the third year that all of the women’s NCAA Tournament games will have national airtime between ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPNews. The staggered start times and multiple channels brings it in line with the

men’s tournament in terms of access.

Up until 2019, ESPN used regional windows during the first two rounds, with the games mostly on ESPN or ESPN2.

ESPN’s current contract to broadcast the women’s tournament expires next year. Right now, the women’s tournament is part of a package with 28 other title events and does not include the men’s tournament. ESPN pays $34 million per year for the championships package, which it agreed to in 2011.

The NCAA is expected to decide by the fall if the women’s tournament will become a separate entity, along with how the other championships may be divided.

“I mean, all of the things and the investments that have been made from the NCAA over the last few years are really important, and greatly recognized and appreciated,” UCLA coach Cori Close said. “That being said, I’m also really excited for a few that still need to be attacked. And I think that, really being able to separate and go to market as the new ESPN contract comes up to bid, I think that’s an important next step as well as meaningful unit distribution as associated with the women’s tournament.”

AP PHOTO

Illinois’ Makira Cook drives as Mississippi State’s Ramani Parker defends during a First Four game in the women’s NCAA Tournament last Wednesday in South Bend, Indiana.

Spring athletes hit strides

Randolph Record

THREE DAYS after appearing in the Class 1-A state championship game for boys’ basketball, Eastern Randolph’s Connor Carter shot 44 for second place in a Piedmont Athletic Conference boys’ golf match at Colonial Country Club.

Ryan Marshall of Wheatmore was the winner with 43.

In a PAC match Thursday at Tot Hill Farm, Carter topped the seven-team field by shooting 37 for a six-shot victory on runner-up Cooper Wright of Providence Grove.

Carter wasn’t the only Eastern Randolph basketball player in action in another sport last week.

Teammate Davonte Brooks placed second in the high jump by clearing 5 feet, 6 inches in a PAC tri-meet that also included host Providence Grove and Southwestern Randolph. Devonte Dukes of Southwestern Randolph won the event at 5-8.

Softball

Eastern Randolph’s Skylar Pugh

struck out 10 batters with one walk in a five-inning no-hitter against visiting Wheatmore in a 10-0 victory. Providence Grove’s Emma Mazzarone struck out 16 in a no-hitter of host Uwharrie Charter Academy in a 6-1 victory.

Baseball

Asheboro used a nine-run third inning in an 11-9 non-conference home victory against Eastern Randolph. Tanner Marsh’s threerun home run was the big blast. Stratton Barwick and Rayden West homered for Eastern Randolph, which lost twice during the week to the Blue Comets.

Trinity thumped Southwestern Randolph twice, winning 16-6 on the road and 10-5 at home. Trinity’s Jake Little homered in the first meeting and then drove in two runs, and was the winning pitcher in the rematch. Jaxson Coble knocked in four runs in the first matchup between the teams.

Randleman claimed two PAC victories against Wheatmore

by 9-4 and 12-2 counts. Then came Saturday’s 1-0 loss to undefeated High Point Christian in a non-conference loss in a neutral-site game at Finch Field in Thomasville.

Jake Hunter of UCA threw a nine-hitter with three strikeouts and no walks in a 5-0 decision against host Providence Grove.

That outcome avenged Providence Grove’s 3-2 victory earlier in the week. Andrew Thomas struck out nine UCA batters in the road victory.

Girls’ soccer

Ellie Garrison of Wheatmore registered seven goals in a 9-1 home victory against East Davidson. Summer Bowman had the other two goals for the Warriors.

Tess Moody scored three goals as Asheboro topped visiting Southwestern Randolph 5-1. Asheboro won again by defeating visiting UCA 3-1, with Moody scoring another goal in addition to goals from teammates Natalie Flores and Madison Luck.

Cade Hill

Trinity, baseball

Hill has helped Trinity to an unbeaten start in Piedmont Athletic Conference play through four games.

In last week’s series-opening victory against Southwestern Randolph, the senior right-hander was the winning pitcher by working five innings and allowing one earned run in Trinity’s 16-6 romp. Hill also had a double in that game.

The Bulldogs and defending champion Randleman were the only teams without a loss in league play through the first two weeks of the PAC season.

MID-PIEDMONT CONFERENCE ALL-CONFERENCE

Randolph Record

HERE’S A LIST of the Mid-Piedmont Conference’s major award winners, plus Asheboro’s all-conference selections for winter sports:

Boys’ basketball

Player of the Year: Jerquarius

Stanback (Asheboro)

Defensive Player of the Year:

Tanner Marsh (Asheboro)

Coach of the Year: Brian

Nance (Asheboro

Asheboro: Jerquarius Stanback, Tanner Marsh, Hakeeme Butler, D.J. Headen.

Girls’ basketball

Player of the Year: Trista

Charles Stanback (Oak Grove)

Defensive Player of the Year:

Haley Long (Oak Grove)

Coach of the Year: Sissy

Rauch (Oak Grove)

Asheboro: Sion Murrain

Boys’ swimming

Swimmer of the Year: Connor Cayer (Central Davidson)

Co-Coaches of the Year: Jennifer Brinkley (North Davidson), Brian Thoma (Ledford)

Asheboro: Tyler Smith

Girls’ swimming

Swimmer of the Year: Jenna Koh (Ledford)

Coach of the Year: Rachel Greene (Oak Grove)

Asheboro: Megan Becker, Maci Columbia, Madison Burnette, Fiona Wolfe-Roberts

Wrestling

Wrestler of the Year: Diego Gutierrez (Asheboro)

Coach of the Year: Jake Berrier (Asheboro)

Asheboro: Diego Gutierrez, Bearik Bigelow, Xavier Santos, Sammy Salinas, Michael Brady, Eddie Soto

Dalton drives to victory in Caraway opener

Randolph Record

SOPHIA — Ross “Boo Boo”

Dalton of Liberty won the 100lap feature for the Late Models division at Caraway Speedway on Sunday afternoon in the 58th season-opening event.

After past weather-related postponements, the track’s first event of the season was skated to consist of a total of 270 laps of racing.

Dalton survived a skirmish with Blaise Brinkley late in the feature to finish ahead of Jason

York and Toby Lane. Eric Wallace finished fourth ahead of Brian Rose and Camden Thomas.

Jaxson Casper captured the victory in the Modifieds feature. Rookie Justice Calabro, who was in his debut with GrayCo Performance Racing, finished second ahead of early race leader Cody Norman. Josh Lowder was the fast qualifier, but he finished in the pits and in 10th place.

In Challengers, Allen Vance started the season on a winning note. The runner-up was Anthony Bennett, and third place went

to D.J. Dean. Steven Collins took the victory in UCARs ahead of Daniel Hughes. In Bootleggers, Jon Morton was the winner, and Steven Collins was the runner-up.

In Legends Car, Alex Meggs drove to victory ahead of Conner Yonchuk.

In the Bandolero class, Bryson Brinkley was first and Alison Johnson took second.

For many drivers, it was the beginning of a hectic stretch near the start of the season.

For instance, Luke Baldwin was entered in the Modifieds, which was the beginning of five races across two weeks for the Tommy Baldwin Racing team.

On Saturday night, the SMART Modified tour roars into Caraway Speedway for the Warrior 100. This will be the second 2023 race on the SMART circuit after last weekend’s weather-related postponement of the Lonesome Pine card in Coeburn, Va.

Also on the docket for Saturday is racing for Challengers, UCARs, Modifieds, and Mini Stocks.

For many drivers, it was the beginning of a hectic stretch near the start of the season. ... The speedway’s first Saturday night racing of the year is coming later this week.

PJ WARD-BROWN | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

Logan Zepfir of UCA slides in safely at the plate as Trinity catcher Eva Porter applies a late tag during a PAC softball game earlier this season.

FILE PHOTO

Cade Hill of Trinity throws a pitch during a game last season. He has been helping the Bulldogs on the mound and at the plate this year.

PJ WARD-BROWN | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

Jerquarius Stanback of Asheboro takes a shot during a boys’ basketball game at Ledford in the MidPiedmont Conference. He was named the league’s Player of the Year.

Amazon cuts 9,000 more jobs, bringing 2023 total to 27,000

The Associated Press NEW YORK — Amazon plans to eliminate 9,000 more jobs in the next few weeks, CEO Andy Jassy said in a memo to staff on Monday.

The job cuts would mark the second largest round of layoffs in the company’s history, adding to the 18,000 employees the tech giant said it would lay off in January.

The company’s workforce doubled during the pandemic, however, in the midst of a hiring surge across almost the entire tech sector.

Tech companies have announced tens of thousands of job cuts this year.

In the memo, Jassy said the second phase of the company’s annual planning process completed this month led to the additional job cuts. He said Amazon will still hire in some strategic areas.

“Some may ask why we didn’t announce these role reductions with the ones we announced a couple months ago. The short an-

swer is that not all of the teams were done with their analyses in the late fall; and rather than rush through these assessments without the appropriate diligence, we chose to share these decisions as we’ve made them so people had the information as soon as possible,” Jassy said.

The job cuts announced Monday will hit profitable areas for the company including its cloud computing unit AWS and its burgeoning advertising business. Twitch, the gaming platform Amazon owns, will also see some layoffs as well as Amazon’s PXT organizations, which handle human resources and other functions.

Prior layoffs had also hit PXT, the company’s stores division, which encompasses its e-commerce business as well as company’s brick-and-mortar stores such as Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go, and other departments such as the one that runs the virtual assistant Alexa.

Earlier this month, the compa-

ny said it would pause construction on its headquarters building in northern Virginia, though the first phase of that project will open this June with 8,000 employees.

Like other tech companies, including Facebook parent Meta and Google parent Alphabet, Amazon ramped up hiring during the pandemic to meet the demand from homebound Americans that were increasingly buying stuff online to keep themselves safe from the virus.

Amazon’s workforce, in warehouses and offices, doubled to more than 1.6 million people in about two years. But demand slowed as the worst of the pandemic eased. The company began pausing or cancelling its warehouse expansion plans last year.

Amid growing anxiety over the potential for a recession, Amazon in the past few months shut down a subsidiary that’s been selling fabrics for nearly 30 years and shuttered its hybrid virtual, in-home care service Amazon Care among

other cost-cutting moves.

Jassy said Monday given the uncertain economy and the “uncertainty that exists in the near future,” the company has chosen to be more streamlined.

He said the teams that will be impacted by the latest round of layoffs are not done making final decisions on which roles will be eliminated. The company plans to finalize those decisions by mid to late April and notify those who will be laid off.

“[W]e chose to share these decisions as we’ve made them so people had the information as soon as possible.”

CEO Andy Jassy

Haley, Ramaswamy among those taking on ‘woke ideology’ in SC

The Associated Press

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C.

— Republicans who are seeking to lead their party in the 2024 presidential race gathered in South Carolina this weekend with a goal at the forefront of their agenda: taking on “woke ideology.”

On Saturday in North Charleston, the group Palmetto Family, which lobbies for what it considers to be “biblical values,” hosted Vision ‘24, described by organizers as “casting the conservative vision” for the next White House race. Several hundred attendees heard from presidential hopefuls, including Nikki Haley, a former South Carolina governor who was Donald Trump’s U.N. ambassador, and tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

As organizers expected, issues such as gas prices and national security got plenty of attention, with former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson saying that, to fight inflation, “we’ve got to bring the federal government under control.”

But, as anticipated, much of the focus was on the pushback by some across the U.S. against what they perceive as affronts to conservative ways of life by efforts characterized as “woke.” It’s playing out in state-level debates over classroom instruction, gender-affirming care for minors and collegiate diversity programs. The catch-all label of “woke” is taking on a leading a role within the burgeoning GOP presidential contest, with candidate-in-waiting Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor, emerging as a fierce opponent of policies designed to enforce equity when it comes to race, gender and public health.

Ramaswamy, who entered the race this month, wrote a book on

the topic, particularly as it pertains to business: “Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America’s Social Justice Scam.”

The debate has spilled over into the finance space, too.

Nineteen Republican governors, including DeSantis and South Dakota’s Kristi Noem, another possible 2024 contender, signed a letter opposing the Biden administration’s support of a federal labor rule allowing retirement plans to consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors when making investment decisions. Critics say the efforts are the latest example of the world trying to get

“woke,” allocating money based on political agendas, like a drive against climate change, rather than on earning the best returns for savers.

DeSantis wasn’t on stage in South Carolina, but Ramaswamy and Haley were. At the Conservative Political Action Conference earlier this month, she said that “wokeness is a virus more dangerous than any pandemic, hands down.” On Saturday, Haley called transgender students competing in sports “the women’s issue of our time,” adding: “If we don’t stop all this woke ideology that’s happening in our schools, we will lose them.”

For Ramaswamy, being “anti-woke” is central to his political brand. Leaving his biotech company following pressures for him “make a statement in favor of the Black Lives Matter movement,” Ramaswamy called for “an opportunity for the conservative movement to rise to the occasion and fill that void with a vision of American national identity that runs so deep that it dilutes this woke poison to irrelevance.” He later launched his own firm intended to pressure companies to quit ESG initiatives.

It’s a similar vein of messaging that South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, yet to announce his own 2024 bid

but in attendance Saturday, has been making for years. In a 2021 op-ed, Scott wrote that, due to his status as the Senate’s sole Black Republican, he had long endured critique from “woke folk” because “my ideology does not match that which they prescribe based on my complexion.”

“The radical left is trying to get people hooked on victimhood,” Scott said Saturday in North Charleston, adding that, according to Democrats, “if you’re white you must be an oppressor. If you’re Black or brown, you are the victim.”

Others took on the topic, too.

“Republicans are not perfect,” said Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana. “But the other side is crazy. ... The American people do not deserve to be governed by deeply woke ... people who hate George Washington, hate Thomas Jefferson ... who think our kids should be able to change genders at recess.”

Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who left the Democratic Party last year, said her former party is being “driven by this motivation of cowardly wokeness” and has leaders who “advocate for the mutilation of children in the name of so called gender affirming care.”

South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Trav Robertson called the push by the “MAGA agenda” a “dog whistle” to some.

“If they’re talking about a culture war and woke, then you’re not paying attention to the fact that your rights and your freedom to make your health care decisions as a woman are being taken away,” Robertson said, referencing pushes for more restrictive abortion laws in a number of states. “They want to talk about woke because they aren’t capable of talking about anything of substance.”

An Amazon logo appears on a delivery van, Oct. 1, 2020, in Boston.

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley speaks at the Vision ‘24 conference on Saturday, March 18, 2023, in North Charleston, S.C.

Viola Wright Davis

September 3, 1922 — March 17, 2023

Viola Wright Davis, 100, passed away peacefully at her daughters home on March 17, 2023 in Union Mills, NC. She was born on September 3, 1922 to Gaither and Ila Trogdon Wright.

Viola was a lifelong resident of Randleman where she was a member of Mount Lebanon United Methodist Church for many years. She retired from Salem Neckwear as a presser. She was preceded in death by her husband, Frank Davis, her parents, son, Herb Davis, and four brothers and a sister. She is survived by her children, Carl Davis, Ellyn Stott (Bill), and Jane Crotts (Chris); 6 grandchildren, Megan Fierschnaller (Mike), Ben Crotts, Caitlin Davis, Beth Gillie (John), Joey Stott (Brooke), Michelle Lingerfelt (Chad); 6 great grandchildren, Ethan, Owen, Carrie, Taylor, Jada, and Landri; 2 great great grandchildren, Kensington, and Lincoln; brother Jimmy Wright (Hilda); and several nieces and nephews.

The family would like to give a special, heartfelt “Thank You” to Cheryl Boone, and Nurse Megan, who lovingly helped them in caring for their mother.

Bruce Tinkler

November 12, 1941 — March 16, 2023

John Bruce Tinkler, age 81, of Asheboro passed away on Thursday, March 16, 2023, at the Randolph Hospice House.

Mr. Tinkler was born in Greenville, South Carolina, on November 12, 1941, to John and Gladys Kelley Tinkler, who preceded him in death. He was raised and graduated from high school in Cliffside, North Carolina. Bruce was a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, where he received a bachelor’s degree in history in 1963, and later returned to receive his degree in pharmacy in 1967. He was employed as a pharmacist with Revco/CVS Pharmacy in Asheboro for more than forty years and took pleasure from serving others through his profession. Bruce was a true southern gentleman who always remained a calm voice of reason and navigated life’s challenges with patience, kindness, and humor. He was an avid tennis player in his younger years and later enjoyed playing golf. Bruce was a diehard Tar Heel fan and for many years participated in shag dancing events at the beach.

He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Linda Routh Tinkler; daughter, Kelly Shipley (Curtis) of Asheboro; grandchildren, Finn, Georgia, Mac, and Piper Shipley; and Linda’s cousin, George Richard “Buster” Ward.

Gary Augusta Chriscoe

June 23, 1951 — March 14, 2023

Gary Augusta Chriscoe, age 71, of Franklinville passed away on Tuesday, March 14, 2023 at Randolph Hospital. Gary was a loving husband, father, and grandfather. A native of Randolph County, Gary graduated from Seagrove High School. He served 8 years in the United States Army and he retired from the US Post Office as a district manager of labor relations after 38 years. Gary was an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed fishing, hunting, and working on his farm and raising cattle. He loved to spend time with his grandchildren, children, and wife. Gary is survived by his wife Rosemary, son Brian, daughters Karen (Gunnar), Janet (Dylan), 7 grandchildren, 2 great grandchildren, his mother Virginia, and sister Angie (Benton). Gary was preceded in death by his father Thurman, brother Larry, and grandson, Thomas.

Gary Thomas "Bud" Goss

January 14, 2000 — March 13, 2023

Gary Thomas "Bud" Goss, age 23, of Franklinville passed away on Monday, March 13, 2023, as a result of an automobile accident.

Mr. Goss was born in Randolph County on January 14, 2000, and was a 2018 graduate of Southwestern Randolph High School. He was employed with Loflin Fabrication in Denton. Bud was fearless and lived life to the fullest. He loved riding and working on motorcycles. He enjoyed working on cars and mudding. Bud was preceded in death by his grandpas, Norman Goss, David Cox, and Roger Pickeral.

He is survived by his parents, Gary, and Beverly Cox Goss; sisters, Tiffany Goss (fiancé Scott Loflin) and Lindsey Goss-Parker (Eric); nephew, Jacob Parker; grandmothers, Kay Goss and Susan Pickeral; uncles, Travis Cook (Donna), Johnny Cox (Lisa) and Danny Goss; aunt, Angie McKenzie (Bryan); 5 cousins; and best friends, Matthew Leonard and Dakota Lee.

Patsy Anne Hopper Holyfield

July 15, 1939 — March 18, 2023

Patsy Anne Hopper Holyfield, 83, of Biscoe, passed away on March 18, 2023.

Patsy was born on July 15, 1939 to Ervin and Elizabeth Cayton Hopper. She worked at Springs Mill in the cafeteria and also in the supply room and she was coowner of Pat Holyfield trucking. She loved her boys and spoiled her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She was of the Baptist faith.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Franklin "Peanut" Holyfield and grandson, Wayne Holyfield.

She is survived by her sons; Preacher Mike Holyfield (Bobbie) of Biscoe and Andy Holyfield of Biscoe; sisters, Polly Poole of Biscoe and Linda Porter of Hoffman. Grandchildren, Ashley Chriscoe (Travis) of Troy and Eric Freeman of Candor; great grandchildren, Taylor Holyfield of Biscoe; Levi Cox and Mason Cox of Troy.

Leon Smith

December 11, 1944 — March 16, 2023

Leon Smith, 78, of Siler City, passed away on Thursday, March 16, 2023.

Mr. Smith was a Chatham County native, born on December 11, 1944, the son of Harvey and Jennie Clark Smith.

He was a proud US Army Veteran. Leon attended Rocky River Baptist Church. He liked to get outside and go fishing and play with his dogs. Leon enjoyed sitting down to a good western movie or listening to Elvis Presley sing, however the thing he loved the most was spending time with his granddaughters. In addition to his parents, he is preceded in death by his brother, Gene Smith. Leon is survived by his wife of 55 years, Chon "Sue" Smith; daughters, Tina Burwell and husband Jeff of Staley, and Connie Kidd and husband James of Siler City; brother, Wayne Smith and wife Edie of Siler City; sister, Sue Clark and husband Tommy of Staley; 3 grandchildren Jenna Burwell, and Lucy and Leah Kidd, and several nieces and nephews.

Michael Latham

June 19, 1958 - March 17, 2023

Michael George Latham, 64, of Seagrove, died Friday, March 17, 2023, at The Randolph Hospice House in Asheboro. Born in Randolph County on June 19, 1958, Michael was the son of the late Johnnie Fred Latham and Margie Marie Kennedy Latham. He worked at Luck's, Inc. for many years and after they closed he went to work and retired from the Randolph County Sheriff's Department. He enjoyed racing, hunting, fishing. Michael loved his family, and loved spoiling his grandchildren.

In addition to his parents, Michael was preceded in death by his wife, Debra Haddock Latham.

Surviving are his sons, Cale Latham and wife, Brianne, Eric Latham and wife, Elizabeth all of Seagrove; sister, Linda Latham Skeen and husband Rick of Asheboro; brother, Bruce Latham and wife, Janice of Asheboro; grandchildren, Ayden Latham, Caleigh Latham, Karson Latham, Remington Latham, Oakley Latham, all of Seagrove; very special friend, Kim Rutkowski; and faithful canine companion, Daisy.

Charles Lee "Bill" Moody

December 21, 1933 — March 14, 2023

Charles Lee "Bill" Moody, 89, of Siler City, went to be with his Lord and Savior on Tuesday, March 14, 2023, surrounded by his loved ones at his home.

Bill was a Chatham County Native, born on December 21, 1933 to Charles Lewis and Argie Gaines Moody.

He was a member at Plainfield Friends Meeting, where he served in many various offices, including Sunday School Superintendent, and teaching the Adult Sunday School Class. Bill was a workaholic who was always out in the garden, repairing things, or mowing his yard. He had a heart of gold, and was always doing for others. Bill was an extraordinary cook always making jelly, jams and pickles. He couldn't resist bringing you a homemade pie, or baking all kinds of cobblers and fruit cakes. He was a collector of many things, and loved to play a good round of golf. If you knew Bill or not, you were lucky enough to receive one of the many ink pens he would give away. Bill cherished his sweetheart Peggy, and held on long enough to spend one last anniversary with her. And even after the loss of his son, his love for Cathy never changed, he thought of her as his daughter. In addition to his parents, Bill is preceded in death by his son, James L. "Bo" Moody; and brothers, Roger Vann, Jimmy Earl, Randy Lewis, and Larry Moody.

Bill is survived by his wife of 71 years, Peggy Hargrove Moody; daughter in law, Cathy Moody; brothers, Jerry W. Moody and wife Ann of Goldston, and Kenneth Ross Moody of Siler City.

Joseph "J.C." Bischer

September 12, 1932 - March 17, 2023

Joseph Clarence "J.C." Bischer, 90, of Asheboro, died Friday, March 17, 2023, at The Randolph Hospice House in Asheboro.

Born in Randolph County, NC, Mr. Bischer was the son of the late Clarence Robert Bischer and Swannie Lee Burns Bischer. He served honorably in the US Navy during the Korean war. He was a loving husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather and uncle.

In addition to his parents, Mr. Bischer was preceded in death by his son, Lanny Joseph Bischer; sister, Etta Bischer Davis; and brothers, Robert Bischer and Vance Bischer.

Surviving are his wife, Rita Brown Bischer of the home; daughters, Cheryl Ann Hudson of Asheboro, Joan Elizabeth Bischer and husband Bruce Eitner of Concord; grandchildren, J. D. Hudson and wife Billie Jo, Beth Newcomb and husband Gary, Lucas Eitner, Katie Brown and husband Chris; great grandchildren, Case Anna Newcomb, Olivia Newcomb, Jesse Fesmire, Jake Fesmire, and multiple nieces and nephews that adored their Uncle J.

Betty Thomas

June 22, 1934 - March 15, 2023

Betty Bernice Phillips Thomas, 88, of Randleman, died Wednesday, March 15, 2023, at The Randolph Hospice House in Asheboro.

Born in Guilford County, NC on June 22, 1934, Betty was the daughter of the late Wiley Arthur Phillips and Alma Rouse Phillips. She retired from Drexel Heritage in High Point. She was a member of Dayspring Baptist Church in Randleman. Betty was also a licensed beautician.

In addition to her parents, Betty was preceded in death by her son, William Eugene "Gene" Hunsucker; sisters, Gertrude Stutts, Lessie Ledbetter; brothers, Grover Phillips, Arthur Phillips, Carl Phillips, Marvin Phillips, and Odell Phillips.

Betty is survived by her husband of 60 years, Alfred Thomas of the home; son, Michael Thomas and wife, Sharon of Archdale; grandchildren, Kimberly Hunsucker of Sophia, Scott Hunsucker and wife Shannon of Monroe; great grandchild, William "Will" Hunsucker; and several nieces and nephews. Memorials may be made to Daysping Baptist Church, 777 Bowers Lane, Randleman, NC 27317; Hospice of Randolph, 416 Vision Drive, Asheboro, NC 27203; or to Gentiva Hospice, 533 S. Fayetteville Street, Asheboro, NC 27203.

The family would like to extend a special thank you to family friend Kay, Hospice of Randolph, and Gentiva Hospice for their care shown to Betty.

Senate takes first step in repealing Iraq War authorizations

The Associated Press WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Senate took a first step toward repealing two measures that give open-ended approval for military action in Iraq, pushing to end that authority as the United States marks the 20th anniversary of the Iraq War.

Senators voted 68-27 to move forward on legislation that would repeal the 2002 measure that greenlighted that March 2003 invasion of Iraq and also a 1991 measure that sanctioned the U.S.led Gulf War to expel Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein’s forces from Kuwait. Nineteen Republicans joined Democrats in supporting the repeal.

The bipartisan effort comes as lawmakers in both parties are increasingly seeking to claw back congressional powers over U.S. military strikes and deployments, arguing that the war authorizations are no longer necessary and subject to misuse if they are left on the books. President Joe Biden has backed the push, and the White House issued a statement in support. “Repeal of these authorizations would have no impact on current U.S. military operations and would support this administration’s commitment to a strong and comprehensive relationship with our Iraqi partners,” the White House said.

Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Todd Young, R-Ind., said they believe the 68 votes in support send a powerful message to Americans who believe their voice should be heard on matters of war and peace. Kaine and Young have led the push for repeal and have worked for several years on the issue.

“It is time for Congress to have its

voice heard on these matters, and I believe this will establish a very important precedent moving forward,” Young said.

It’s unclear whether leaders in the Republican-controlled House will bring the bill up for a vote, even if it passes the Senate. Forty-nine House Republicans supported the legislation when then-majority Democrats held a vote two years ago, but current House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., has opposed it.

Senate Republicans are also split on the legislation. While the 19 GOP senators voted for it, opponents argue that the repeal could project weakness to U.S. enemies. They have pointed out that Presi-

dent Donald Trump’s administration cited the 2002 Iraq war resolution as part of its legal justification for a 2020 U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassim Soleimani.

The October 2002 votes to give President George W. Bush broad authority for the invasion — coming just a month before the midterm elections that year — became a defining moment for many members of Congress as the country debated whether a military strike was warranted. The U.S. was already at war then in Afghanistan, the country that hosted the al-Qaida plotters responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, something Iraq played no part in.

Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, a Democrat who was in the Senate at the time and voted against the resolution, said on the floor before last week’s vote that “I look back on it, as I’m sure others do, as one of the most important votes that I ever cast.”

“The repeal of this authorization of use the use of military force does not mean the United States has become a pacifist nation,” Durbin said. “It means that the United States is going to be a constitutional nation and the premise of our Founding Fathers will be respected.”

The Bush administration had drummed up support among members of Congress and Americans for invading Iraq by promoting false

With overdoses up, states look at harsher fentanyl penalties

The Associated Press STATE LAWMAKERS nationwide are responding to the deadliest overdose crisis in U.S. history by pushing harsher penalties for possessing fentanyl and other powerful lab-made opioids that are connected to about 70,000 deaths a year.

Imposing longer prison sentences for possessing smaller amounts of drugs represents a shift in states that in recent years have rolled back drug possession penalties. Proponents of tougher penalties say this crisis is different and that, in most places, the stiffer sentences are intended to punish drug dealers, not just users.

“There is no other drug — no other illicit drug — that has the same type of effects on our communities,” said Mark Jackson, the district attorney for Douglas County, Nevada, and president of the Nevada District Attorneys Association, which is pushing for stricter penalties for fentanyl-related crimes. Since 2020, drug overdoses are now linked to more than 100,000 deaths a year nationally, with about two-thirds of them fentanyl-related. That’s more than 10 times as many drug deaths as in 1988, at the height of the crack epidemic.

Fentanyl mostly arrives in the U.S. from Mexico and is mixed into supplies of other drugs, including cocaine, heroin, methamphet-

amine and counterfeit oxycodone pills. Some users seek it out. Others don’t know they’re taking it.

Ingesting 2 milligrams of fentanyl can be fatal, meaning 1 gram — about the same as a paper clip — could contain 500 lethal doses.

That’s what’s driving some lawmakers to crack down with harsh penalties, along with adopting measures such as legalizing materials to test drug supplies for fen-

tanyl and distributing naloxone, a drug that can reverse overdoses.

Before this year’s legislative sessions began, a dozen states had already adopted fentanyl possession measures, according to tracking by the National Conference of State Legislatures.

In Nevada, where Democrats control the Legislature, a bill backed by Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford would give

one to 20 years in prison for selling, possessing, manufacturing or transporting 4 grams or more of fentanyl into the state, depending on the amount. It’s a change for Ford, who has supported criminal justice reforms including a sweeping 2019 law that, among other provisions, raised the threshold for such penalties to 100 grams. It would also remove fentanyl from the state’s “Good Samaritan” law, which exempts people from criminal drug possession charges while reporting an overdose.

“What we’ve learned is that lowering the thresholds for all drugs was overinclusive,” Ford said.

Harm reduction advocates are pushing Ford and others to rethink their support, arguing the thresholds for longer penalties can sweep up low-level users — not just the dealers the law is aimed at — as well as some who may not even know they are taking fentanyl. They warn that the state’s crime labs test only for the presence of fentanyl, not the exact amount in a mixture of drugs. Thus, people with over 4 grams of drugs containing a few milligrams of fentanyl could be subject to trafficking penalties, they say.

North Carolina’s Senate unanimously passed legislation two weeks ago to increase criminal penalties for drug dealers whose distribution of fentanyl and other controlled substances causes an

intelligence claims about Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction.

After the initial March 2003 invasion, American ground forces were unable to verify the nation’s nuclear or chemical weapons programs. But the U.S. overthrow of Iraq’s security forces precipitated a brutal sectarian fight and violent campaigns by Islamic extremist groups in Iraq. Car bombings, assassinations, torture and kidnapping became a part of daily life in Iraq for years.

Nearly 5,000 U.S. troops were killed in the war. Iraqi deaths are estimated in the hundreds of thousands.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in the hours before the vote that he was glad that the repeal is a bipartisan effort after the Iraq conflict was the cause of “so much bitterness” in the past.

“Americans are tired of endless wars in the Middle East,” Schumer said.

The Senate will consider the legislation this week, with possible amendments from both sides.

One of the amendments that could be considered would repeal a separate authorization of military force passed immediately after the 2001 attacks. It gave Bush broad authority for the invasion of Afghanistan and the fight against terrorism but did not name one country, instead broadly approving force “against those nations, organizations, or persons” that planned or aided the attacks on the U.S.

But there is less support in the Senate and Congress overall for repealing the broader authority. Biden and some lawmakers have supported replacing or revising that authorization in the future, but “not right now,” Kaine said, as it is still used by the military.

overdose death.

The proposal, which currently sits in the House, would create high-grade felony offenses for deaths caused by distributing the powerful synthetic opioid, and for doing so with malice.

It would also increase fines for trafficking heroin, fentanyl and carfentanil — a synthetic opioid generally used as a tranquilizer for elephants and other large mammals — and amend the state’s Good Samaritan law to create limited immunity for someone in possession of less than one gram of fentanyl who calls 911 to report an overdose.

“This piece of poison called fentanyl is killing people every day in North Carolina and all across America,” said Sen. Tom McInnis, a Moore County Republican and primary sponsor, during floor debate.

Fentanyl was likely involved in the overdose deaths of more than 3,000 North Carolinians in 2021, according to the most recent available data from the state’s Department of Health and Human Services.

The bill says dealers with lengthy records who commit these crimes with aggravating circumstances could face more than a decade in prison. Those who act with malice could face more than 30 years in prison. The proposal is supported by the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association.

A previous version of the bill moved through the Senate in 2019 but never made it to the House.

AP PHOTO

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., center, and Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., center left, are joined by representatives of the American Legion as they speak to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on March 16.

AP PHOTO

Leslie Maynor Locklear, a Robeson County mother who lost both her sons to overdose deaths in 2022, speaks in favor of increasing drug distribution penalties on Tuesday, March 7, 2023, at the Legislative Building in Raleigh.

COUNTY NEWS

Fort Bragg soldier charged with murder in Raeford

A Fort Bragg soldier, who was recently accused of shooting his fiancee and injuring her child earlier this year, is now facing additional murder charges.

Brandon Allen Amos-Dixon, 25, has been charged with firstdegree murder in the death of Jimmy Lee Smith III, 24, which took place the same night as the aforementioned incident.

According to a press release from the Hoke County Sheriff’s Office, Smith was found with gunshot wounds on Hammond Lane in Raeford at about 10:30 pm on Jan. 18. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Amos-Dixon was arrested the following day after he was tracked down by Highway Patrol troopers in Bastian, Virginia. He has been held in the Bland County jail on warrants in connection to the shooting of his 29-year- old fiancée, Chelsea Ling Chung. Both Chung and her child were treated at a nearby hospital. In addition to the first-degree murder charge, Amos-Dixon has also been charged in Harnett County with two counts of attempted murder, 10 counts of shooting into an occupied vehicle, and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill/ inflicting serious injury. At this time, officials have not stated the motives for either shooting.

Smith, who was a staff sergeant and a culinary specialist in the 3rd Special Forces Group’s Support Battalion, was born in Rocky Mount and had served in the Army since 2016. Amos-Dixon was a sergeant and culinary specialist, who was assigned to the Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg prior to his arrest. He is currently awaiting extradition to North Carolina.

HOKE COUNTY

Cooper visits Scurlock Elementary to tout proposed budget

North State Journal

RAEFORD — North Carolina

Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper visited Raeford on Thursday, March 16, talking to students and staff at Scurlock Elementary and touting his budget recommendations to the General Assembly he unveiled a day earlier.

Cooper’s budget would offer what he called “significant teacher raises” with a goal of making North Carolina 1st in the southeast in teacher pay.

“North Carolina has the best teachers in the country,” said Cooper. “We must provide educators

with the pay and respect they deserve so we can keep and attract more of them, and my budget makes those critical investments.”

Cooper also made a point of noting he supports the full implementation of the controversial Leandro Comprehensive Remedial Plan ordered by the N.C. Supreme Court last year and chose to visit Scurlock as it was one of the original plaintiff school districts in the long-running case named after Robb Leandro. Scurlock Elementary serves Pre-K – 5th-grade students, and is one of four schools implementing a Rising Stars program, which

transitions pre-K students to kindergarten.

In comments during a media availability, Cooper addressed one of the disparities in his budget.

Teacher pay is slated to increase 18%, with pay for state workers significantly lower – those raises are around 8% statewide.

When asked about the difference, Cooper told North State Journal there is an acute shortage of teachers.

“We have 5,000 teacher vacancies across the state. We must have quality teachers if we are going to make it,” Cooper said.

Turning to state employees,

NC Senate OKs harsher penalties for utility damage

The Associated Press

RALEIGH — The North Carolina Senate unanimously passed legislation Tuesday, March 14, that would increase punishments for intentionally damaging utility equipment after substation shootings in Moore County cut power to 45,000 homes and small businesses for several days last year.

Senators on last week opted to tack on new cybersecurity safeguards before sending the bill to the House.

The proposal would create a new statute making it a highgrade felony to purposefully damage or attempt to damage an energy facility, including those that transmit or distribute electricity or fuel, and any associated hardware, software or digital infrastructure.

Sen. Tom McInnis, a Moore County Republican and primary sponsor, described statewide efforts to restore power to his district last December as residents struggled to stay warm and healthy. Attacks have persisted in North

Carolina after the Moore County shootings, he said, noting a January substation attack in Randolph County. The Carolinas and Pacific Northwest have become hotspots for attacks on critical

infrastructure in recent years.

“This bill will help deter anyone considering such an attack and harshly punishing anyone who commits these crimes,” McInnis said on the Senate floor.

Cooper said the 8% increases were the largest investment ever made for them in a state budget. In addition to that increase, bonuses and increases for those in “step” plans have an additional 1.5% increase.

“It’s a historic investment. The question is, are we going to choose to do it? I put education number 1 right now, and we have to do that,” Cooper said.

Hoke County Schools interim Superintendent Dr. Shannon Register said she was honored to have the state’s top executive visit the county.

“We were honored to have Gov. Cooper visit Hoke County and Scurlock Elementary School, and we are inspired by his commitment to public education,” she said. “We applaud his efforts to increase teacher and bus driver pay as well as increase the number of critically needed support staff in our schools.”

“We must send a message to the would-be bad actors that these attacks will not be tolerated and the perpetrators will be held responsi-

See SUBSTATION, page 2

Top: Gov. Roy Cooper made a stop in Hoke County on Thursday, March 16, to visit Scurlock Elementary School and visiting several classrooms. Bottom Left: Moriah Becker left, a second-grade teacher at Scurlock Elementary, teaches her class as Principal Demarious McNeill, Gov. Cooper, and state

Rep. Garland Pierce (D-Scotland) look on. Bottom Right: Interim Schools Superintendent Dr. Shannon Register addresses staff, media, and Gov. Cooper during an organized press conference at Scurlock Elementary.

AP PHOTO

Workers work on equipment at the West End Substation, at 6910 NC Hwy 211 in West End, N.C., Monday, Dec. 5, 2022.

differ ence of 423 students less than what was projected in our initial budget allotment.”

The difference accounts for about $804,520.52 in funding that will return to the state’s budget. Ac cording to Chavis, some of the dif ferences in actual enrollment num bers can be attributed to an uptick

in enrollment in charter schools.

Finally, the board approved a new partnership and contract with Global Teaching Partners for the acquisition of international teachers.

“This is a new organization that will be an international partnership that will sponsor our J-1 Visa teachers and international faculty, which was previously referred to as our visiting international faculty or VIF,” said Assistant Superintendent

According to O’Connor, Hoke County Schools currently has established partnerships with Participate (8 teachers in the district) and Education Partners Internationals (22 teachers), which are officially recognized cultural exchange programs by the US Department of

State and provide J-1 Visas, meaning these teachers go through federal screening. These visas cover three years and can be extended for an additional two.

North Carolina and South Carolina.

ble for the chaos and damage they create.”

The proposal would partially replace an existing state law that makes utility damage a misdemeanor without jail time on a first offense.

Some of the other services these partners cover are teaching experience reviews, educational program audits, instructional and behavioral interviews and observations, english language proficiency assessments, cultural adaptiveness assessments, state licensure reviews, international background checks, and specifically Global Teaching Partners helps provide specific NC teacher training.

Global Teaching Partners, however, is located in the Research Triangle Park in North Carolina, and they do all of their business only in

Someone with no criminal history could serve just over six years in prison and face up to $250,000 in fines, according to a summary generated by the General Assembly’s nonpartisan staff. A person with a lengthy criminal record could receive a longer sentence. If the damage results in death, the offense would be punishable by up to 13 years in prison for those without a prior conviction, and just over 16 years for those with a criminal record.

A person who is injured or whose property is damaged by a utility attack could sue the perpetrator to cover the cost of related expenses. Senators adopted an amendment on last week to lift a cap on the punitive damages someone may seek.

“We’re not just filling vacancies with these individuals,” O’Connor said. “The people that we have gotten, their attrition rate, which means they come back every year and don’t quit their job, is so much lower than all of our other teachers. They typically stay their five years, and a lot of them are very effective teachers. These are quality individuals who want to be here to teach our kids, and with the J-1 Visa, they’re here for five years.”

Hoke County Schools currently has 30 international employees from eight different countries across nine different schools. The Hoke County Board of Education will next meet February 14.

“This bill will help deter anyone considering such an attack and harshly punishing anyone who commits these crimes. We must send a message to the would-be bad actors that these attacks will not be tolerated and the perpetrators will be held responsible for the chaos and damage they create.”

North Carolina

Sen. Tom McInnis

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

Perspective on the lost Reaper drone

AS YOU WATCH the newly released declassified video of Russian pilots harassing and colliding with a U.S. Reaper drone over the Black Sea — and the dire media reports warning the U.S.Russia conflict could heighten — it’s important to keep things in perspective.

Many were killed in combat, some were likely tortured and interrogated by KGB operatives, and others were sent to Soviet labor camps in the hinterlands of Siberia.

This incident is an expensive but minor challenge in a long-term, nuanced contest with Russia, whose leader is still operating with a Cold War mentality. At the end of the day, we lost an unmanned aircraft. It was valuable (in terms of monetary cost to produce, information gathering and technological capabilities) but it is not something to go to war over.

This is especially true when you consider the more than 200 U.S. airmen who were shot down and lost while surveilling the Soviet Union and China in the 1950s and 1960s. These were patriots who risked — and ultimately gave — their lives so that we could have a better understanding of Soviet radar and nuclear capabilities. Many were killed in combat, some were likely tortured and interrogated by KGB operatives, and others were sent to Soviet labor camps in the hinterlands of Siberia. Some of their families didn’t even learn of their deaths or whereabouts until the 1990s. In many other cases, families never learned the fates of their loved ones. If you are unfamiliar with the sacrifice these brave patriots made, Smithsonian magazine has an excellent feature on their service.

So, the downing of an expensive piece of spy equipment does not concern me too much.

I am far more concerned that our Defense Department leadership doesn’t have a larger long-term strategy to deal with Russia, the war in Ukraine or any of our other major challenges. Further, I’m concerned that they don’t have a real grip on what’s happening in the present.

Remember: More than one year ago, our top military official, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, publicly said Russia would take Kyiv in three days. This is the same general who said the Afghan military could potentially withstand the Taliban’s takeover of the country after the U.S. surrender. (Set aside the moronically disastrous decision to give up Bagram Airfield as our primary eyes on Chinese activity.)

After these two decisive failures, I am amazed Milley has not been retired. What must our adversaries think about the United States’ quality of intelligence? How does this repeated, demonstrable incompetence impact Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping’s plans for Taiwan? What if we are as wrong about the Chinese threat to Taiwan as we were about the Taliban’s threat to Afghanistan or the Russian threat to Ukraine?

I am picking on Gen. Milley, but in some ways he’s a symptom of a much bigger problem. We have 18 intelligence agencies. Apparently, they were all wrong. My suspicion is they were wrong not because they have bad personnel but because they are part of a large bureaucratic system that rejects new ideas, punishes dissent and is primarily concerned with protecting itself rather than American interests.

The impact is these high-educated professionals bury their heads in the sand. They favor what they learned in graduate school — and what their peers say at cocktail parties — over what is really happening in the world. Our political leaders then get briefed on ideological rather than pragmatic intelligence. Consider that fewer than five years ago many people in the Washington establishment did not think China posed a significant threat. In 2019, thencandidate Joe Biden brushed off concerns over competition with China saying, “China is going to eat our lunch? Come on, man!” About two years later, he said exactly the opposite.

Bureaucratic incompetence is the biggest risk to America’s safety. Congress needs to get serious about modernizing our defense systems. You could likely reorganize our 18 intelligence agencies into about six. I often tell audiences that the Pentagon could be turned into a triangle and become much more efficient and effective at defending American interests.

With regard to the war in Ukraine and the long conflict with Russia, we need to learn from the failures in Afghanistan. Democracies don’t fight long wars well. We need to develop and successfully implement a strategy that results in the fastest, most decisive Ukrainian victory possible.

From China to Iran to South Korea, our adversaries are watching. America must not continue to fail.

Michigan is headed back to rust belt poverty

SINCE THE EARLY DAYS of Henry Ford, Michigan was the proud symbol of America’s industrial might.

But then, starting in the 1970s, things went south — in part because of the might of the unions that ran the state’s political machine. That’s when Michigan transitioned into the sad symbol of closed factories: the American “Rust Belt.” Flint, Michigan, became a ghost town.

From the 1970s to the early 2000s, Detroit lost nearly half its population. Whole neighborhoods were bulldozed, and homes were selling for less than $10,000 as poor and minority residents fled the area’s crime, lousy schools, high unemployment and political corruption.

If you traveled to Florida or Arizona, you saw lots of Michigan license plates.

But then, Michigan began to reform itself with tax cuts and leaner and cleaner government. One big reform was Michigan became a “right to work” state. The state went through an amazing economic renaissance. According to the American Legislative Exchange Council’s “Rich States, Poor States” report (which I co-wrote), few states rose on economic competitiveness faster than the home of the Wolverines.

Prosperity returned. Now the shine is off the engine. The

Democrats took back control of the politics in the state, and the first thing they did was repeal “right to work” — a big wet kiss to the union bosses for all those campaign contributions. “Right to work” is the law of the land in 26 states. These laws do not prohibit unions. There are many unions in these states. “Right to work” simply means that workers cannot be compelled to join a union.

Democrats are falsely advertising this as a restoration of workers’ rights. That’s a bald-faced lie. Now, to keep your job in Michigan, you must join the union, and you must pay dues to the union bosses. The United Auto Workers union has been plagued with corruption, including massive pay packages to the union leaders.

This bill will not only take away the right to choose from Michigan workers, but it will also do great damage to the state’s economy. States that have “right to work” laws create jobs at almost twice the pace of states with forced union policies.

Many businesses won’t even consider locating a new factory or blue-collar operation in a forced union state. The auto jobs in America will now accelerate their move to the Southern states, which happen to be “right to work.”

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI), a stooge

of the unions, will sign the bill into law. And Michigan is about to see a return to the Rust Belt era.

Here is what’s really telling. The Communist Party of America put out a press release celebrating the demise of “right to work” in Michigan. They note correctly that Michigan is now the first state in more than half a century to turn back the clock and force union chains on workers. Most states have been moving in the opposite direction.

What is sadly ironic about this endorsement is that throughout the 20th century, the unions in America were staunchly anti-communist. It was Lech Walesa, the Polish union organizer, who stood up to the evil communist government that tried to outlaw unions. He and President Ronald Reagan and the AFLCIO helped defeat the evil empire.

Now the communists in America cheer on the unions as they sow the seeds of their own demise — as well as the demise of a once-mighty state.

Stephen Moore is a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation and a co-founder of the Committee to Unleash Prosperity. His latest book is “Govzilla: How the Relentless Growth of Government Is Devouring Our Economy.”

COLUMN | STEPHEN MOORE

The Communist Party of America put out a press release celebrating the demise of “right to work” in Michigan.

SIDELINE REPORT

FORMULA ONE

Haas dismisses a report alleging it broke Russian sanctions

Kannapolis

The Haas Formula One team has dismissed a report claiming its parent company broke sanctions by providing machinery to Russia as “simply false.” Haas was responding to a report by American broadcaster PBS on Tuesday alleging that the Haas Automation company had provided machines and parts to Russia. This would have been in violation of U.S. export control and sanctions regulations after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year. Haas says the story is false “both in its overall impression and in many of its particular statements.”

NHL

Sharks goalie Reimer declines to wear Pride jersey

San Jose San Jose Sharks goalie James Reimer didn’t take part in pregame warmups Saturday night because the team’s decision to wear Pride-themed jerseys in support of the LGBTQ community runs counter to his religious beliefs. Reimer, a former Hurricanes goalie, said he made the decision based on his Christian beliefs. He adds that he “always strived to treat everyone with respect” and that members of the LGBTQ community should be welcome in hockey. Reimer is the second NHL player this season to refuse to take part in warmups with Pride-themed jerseys. Philadelphia’s Ivan Provorov declined to do it in January.

PGA

Moore tops Spieth, Schenk at Innisbrook

Palm Harbor, Fla.

Taylor Moore shot 67 to win the Valspar Championship, making key birdies on the 15th and 16th holes at Innisbrook. The victory sends the 29-year-old Moore to the Masters with his first PGA Tour victory. Adam Schenk was tied for the lead when his drive landed next to a tree on the final hole, leading to a bogey. Jordan Spieth was also tied for the lead until hitting his drive into the water on the 16th. Spieth also missed a 6-foot birdie putt to get back in the mix.

Logano passes Keselowski on last lap to win at Atlanta

Chevrolet had won the first four races of the Cup season

The Associated Press HAMPTON, Ga. — Joey Logano dominated early and then passed Brad Keselowski on the final lap to win the NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway and end the early season domination of Chevrolet and Hendrick Motorsports on Sunday.

Logano won the pole and led a strong showing of three straight Team Penske drivers in qualifying, but Keselowski looked like the Ford driver to beat late in the race. Keselowski had help from Corey LaJoie, but Logano got a push from Christopher Bell that proved decisive on the final lap.

Bell finished third in a Toyota and LaJoie finished a career-best fourth in a Chevrolet.

“The first win of the season always feels better,” said the reigning Cup champion, who led 141 of the 260 laps.

Logano’s win ended a streak of four consecutive victories by Chevrolet to open the NASCAR Cup season, including back-to-

AP PHOTO

Joey Logano leads a pack of cars through Turn 4 during his win Sunday in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

back wins by William Byron of Hendrick.

Pushed by his Team Penske teammates Ryan Blaney and Austin Cindric, Logano passed Keselowski to regain the lead with 34 laps to go. Keselowski took back the lead to set up the last-lap drama.

After no cautions during the second stage, the competition — and crashes — picked up late in

the race. Kevin Harvick, who won in Atlanta in 2018 and 2020, was leading late when he lost control while being pushed by Ross Chastain. Replays indicated Chastain’s Chevrolet didn’t hit Harvick’s Ford, but Harvick’s spin caused a major crash.

“I think he was just so close to me he caught me right in the corner,” Harvick said of Chastain.

“The way he came from right to left took the car away from me.”

Byron called the wreck “just a part of racing.”

Another wreck involving the leaders followed 20 laps later when Aric Almirola blew a tire, causing a spin that also took out Kyle Larson and Daniel Suarez.

Hendrick Motorsports’ four drivers had fill-in crew chiefs following the largest combined fine on one team in series history for modifying air-deflecting pieces last weekend at Phoenix Raceway. Hendrick was issued a combined $400,000 in fines along with four-race suspensions for the crew chiefs.

Chase Elliott, the Georgia native who won last summer’s race at his home track, continues to recover in Colorado from a broken tibia suffered while snowboarding month.

Elliott posted regrets on his Twitter account for being unable to participate in Sunday’s race: “This is gonna be a tough one today not being in atl for obvious reasons, but I can’t wait to see everyone down there in July!”

When Hendrick Motorsports tweeted to Elliott “Not the same without you here,” Elliott replied with hopes he would return “hopefully sooner than later my friends.”

The NASCAR Cup Series moves to Austin, Texas, and the Circuit of the Americas next Sunday. Chastain scored his first career Cup win on the road course last year.

Women’s March Madness finds foothold on national TV

ESPN’s deal with the NCAA is up after next season

The Associated Press WITH HOPES of a separate television contract in upcoming negotiations, the women’s NCAA Tournament keeps gaining momentum.

The national title game returns to network television for the first time since 1995, with an ABC broadcast on April 2 from Dallas and a one-hour pregame show. ABC will feature at least six games from the women’s tournament, including two first-round games Saturday and a pair of second-round contests Sunday.

“Putting it on ABC, we’re giving it the best opportunity for success,” said Dan Ochs, who handles women’s basketball programming for ESPN. “This tournament continues to grow and deliver for us.”

South Carolina’s 64-49 victory over Connecticut in last year’s title game averaged 4.85 million viewers on ESPN — the mostwatched women’s championship game since 2004. It was also the fourth-largest audience for the title game since the network began airing the entire tournament in 1996.

The 2022 women’s tournament overall averaged 634,000 viewers per game, a 16% increase over 2021, with many of the rounds seeing their highest averages in more than 10 years.

ESPN has every reason to believe those numbers can increase: Regular season games on the network averaged more than

Illinois’

190,000 viewers, making it the most-viewed regular season since 2015. And a matchup of two undefeated teams on Feb. 12, in which South Carolina topped LSU, was the most-watched regular-season women’s game since 2010 with an average of 1.47 million viewers.

Advertising for the tournament has sold out for the second straight year, ESPN said, with 15 broadcast sponsors and nearly 100 advertisers.

It’s the third year that all of the women’s NCAA Tournament games will have national airtime between ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPNews. The staggered start times and multiple

channels brings it in line with the men’s tournament in terms of access.

Up until 2019, ESPN used regional windows during the first two rounds, with the games mostly on ESPN or ESPN2.

ESPN’s current contract to broadcast the women’s tournament expires next year. Right now, the women’s tournament is part of a package with 28 other title events and does not include the men’s tournament. ESPN pays $34 million per year for the championships package, which it agreed to in 2011.

The NCAA is expected to decide by the fall if the women’s tourna-

AP PHOTO

ment will become a separate entity, along with how the other championships may be divided.

“I mean, all of the things and the investments that have been made from the NCAA over the last few years are really important, and greatly recognized and appreciated,” UCLA coach Cori Close said. “That being said, I’m also really excited for a few that still need to be attacked. And I think that, really being able to separate and go to market as the new ESPN contract comes up to bid, I think that’s an important next step as well as meaningful unit distribution as associated with the women’s tournament.”

Makira Cook drives as Mississippi State’s Ramani Parker defends during a First Four game in the women’s NCAA Tournament last Wednesday in South Bend, Indiana.

Clark: Rules changes would be smoother with player input

MLB’s new rules have been put in place for spring training

The Associated Press

MIAMI — Union head Tony Clark claims Major League Baseball’s rules changes would have gone more smoothly during spring training if player thoughts had been incorporated.

MLB implemented its first pitch clock, limited defensive shifts and pickoff attempts and installed larger bases as part of the biggest alteration in playing rules since the mound was lowered for the 1969 season.

“My hope despite the fact that nearly all of the things that we have seen that would otherwise be characterized as challenges could have been avoided with the input that the players offered when these rules were being constructed,” Clark said Saturday before the United States played Venezu-

ela in the World Baseball Classic quarterfinals.

“My hope is that moving forward that the league continues to take the input of players to heart, such that each of the adjustments that we’ve seen that have been implemented this year are of benefit in the long run,” Clark said.

The average time of spring training games has dropped to 2 hours, 36 minutes, from 3:00 last year. The changes have had almost no impact on offense, with runs per game rising to 10.7 from 10.6 and batting average to .260 from .259.

Stolen bases have gone up to 1.8 per game from 1.1.

“Spring training is spring training,” Clark said. “I appreciate everyone focusing on spring training game times have been shortened by `X’ number of minutes. I appreciate everyone’s focus on it. But when the lights come on and these count, count for the managers, count for the organizations, count for the players, we’ll

see how all of these moving pieces come together.”

After the Mets’ Max Scherzer timed the pitch clock to throw a quick pitch to Washington’s Riley Adams on March 3, MLB reminded teams that a pitcher must wait until a hitter is reasonably set in the batter’s box to deliver a pitch.

Baseball’s 11-man competition committee, established in the labor agreement last March, adopted the pitch clock and shift limits last September over the opposition of the four players on the panel.

Saying it was responding to player concerns, MLB set the pitch clock at 15 seconds with no runners and 20 seconds with runners, up from 14/19 at Triple-A and 14/18 in the rest of the minors.

MLB also liberalized its planned limit for pickoff attempts, known as disengagements. In the minors, a pitcher had two pickoff attempts per plate appearance and a third would result in a balk

The implementaton of a pitch clock during MLB spring training games has cut game times by 24 minutes to last year.

unless there was an out. In the majors the limit resets if a runner advances. MLB umpires also have permission to provide additional time if warranted, such as the catcher making the final out of a half-inning. MLB altered limits on mound visits, which started in 2018, adding an allowed trip in the ninth inning if a team has ex-

Alcaraz wins Indian Wells over Medvedev, regains No. 1 rank

The 19-year-old Spainard won in straight sets

The Associated Press

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Carlos Alcaraz defeated Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-2 on Sunday to win the BNP Paribas Open title and regain the world’s No. 1 ranking.

The 19-year-old Spaniard will move from second to first in the ATP Tour rankings on Monday, displacing Novak Djokovic. The Serb withdrew from Indian Wells before the tournament began when he couldn’t gain entry to the U.S. because he’s unvacci-

nated for COVID-19.

“For me, it’s a dream come true again,” Alcaraz said. “Obviously being in front of such great players like Novak, it’s an amazing feeling.”

“I would say this has been the perfect tournament,” he said.

In the women’s final, Elena Rybakina beat Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (11), 6-4 and handed the world’s second-ranked player just her second loss this year.

Last year, Alcaraz became the youngest man to reach No. 1 in ATP history after his title at the U.S. Open.

He achieved another mark in the third round at Indian Wells. That’s when Alcaraz notched his

100th career match victory, the second-quickest player behind John McEnroe to do so. Alcaraz also became the first man to win the tournament without dropping a set since Roger Federer in 2017 and the youngest man to win the title in the desert. Alcaraz hit 19 winners and had 10 unforced errors while keeping Medvedev off-balance

with a steady array of serve-andvolley and drop shots. The teenager never faced a break point while opening leads of 3-0 in the first set and 4-0 in the second.

“What I improve a lot is to don’t take the pressure, just to play relaxed,” Alcaraz said. “That’s why I show a great level, because I feel like I have no pressure. I enjoy. I’m playing relaxed.”

Medvedev’s 19-match winning streak ended. It went back to his title run in Rotterdam in February. He then won tournaments in Doha and Dubai.

“I want to congratulate you for the work you have done in the last few months,” Alcaraz told his opponent. “Winning three titles

hausted its total by the end of the eighth.

Clark also said it was feasible to reach an agreement on a collective bargaining agreement for minor leaguers by opening day on March 31.

“A lot of progress has been made,” he said. “We’ll see if we’re able to get it across the finish line before opening day.”

in a row and reaching the finals here is an amazing achievement.”

Alcaraz and Rybakina earned $1,262,220 each for their wins.

Rybakina carried the momentum from her straight-set semifinal upset of top-ranked Iga Swiatek into the final and beat Sabalenka for the first time in five career meetings.

For the first time in their budding rivalry, the match didn’t go three sets. Sabalenka went the distance to beat Rybakina in the Australian Open final in January. In that match, Sabalenka fired 17 aces and rallied from a set down to win her first Grand Slam title.

This time, the 10th-seeded Rybakina had seven aces and No. 2 seed Sabalenka committed 10 double faults. Sabalenka won just 11 of 35 second-serve points.

“For me, it’s a dream come true again.”

Carlos Alcaraz

AP PHOTO

Carlos Alcaraz returns a shot against Daniil Medvedev during his men’s singles final win at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California.

Amazon cuts 9,000 more jobs, bringing 2023 total to 27,000

The Associated Press

NEW YORK — Amazon plans to eliminate 9,000 more jobs in the next few weeks, CEO Andy Jassy said in a memo to staff on Monday.

The job cuts would mark the second largest round of layoffs in the company’s history, adding to the 18,000 employees the tech giant said it would lay off in January. The company’s workforce doubled during the pandemic, however, in the midst of a hiring surge across almost the entire tech sector.

Tech companies have announced tens of thousands of job cuts this year.

In the memo, Jassy said the second phase of the company’s annual planning process completed this month led to the additional job cuts. He said Amazon will still hire in some strategic areas.

“Some may ask why we didn’t announce these role reductions with the ones we announced a couple months ago. The short an-

swer is that not all of the teams were done with their analyses in the late fall; and rather than rush through these assessments without the appropriate diligence, we chose to share these decisions as we’ve made them so people had the information as soon as possible,” Jassy said.

The job cuts announced Monday will hit profitable areas for the company including its cloud computing unit AWS and its burgeoning advertising business. Twitch, the gaming platform Amazon owns, will also see some layoffs as well as Amazon’s PXT organizations, which handle human resources and other functions.

Prior layoffs had also hit PXT, the company’s stores division, which encompasses its e-commerce business as well as company’s brick-and-mortar stores such as Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go, and other departments such as the one that runs the virtual assistant Alexa.

Earlier this month, the compa-

ny said it would pause construction on its headquarters building in northern Virginia, though the first phase of that project will open this June with 8,000 employees.

Like other tech companies, including Facebook parent Meta and Google parent Alphabet, Amazon ramped up hiring during the pandemic to meet the demand from homebound Americans that were increasingly buying stuff online to keep themselves safe from the virus.

Amazon’s workforce, in warehouses and offices, doubled to more than 1.6 million people in about two years. But demand slowed as the worst of the pandemic eased. The company began pausing or cancelling its warehouse expansion plans last year.

Amid growing anxiety over the potential for a recession, Amazon in the past few months shut down a subsidiary that’s been selling fabrics for nearly 30 years and shuttered its hybrid virtual, in-home care service Amazon Care among

other cost-cutting moves.

Jassy said Monday given the uncertain economy and the “uncertainty that exists in the near future,” the company has chosen to be more streamlined.

He said the teams that will be impacted by the latest round of layoffs are not done making final decisions on which roles will be eliminated. The company plans to finalize those decisions by mid to late April and notify those who will be laid off.

Haley, Ramaswamy among those taking on ‘woke ideology’ in SC

The Associated Press

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C.

— Republicans who are seeking to lead their party in the 2024 presidential race gathered in South Carolina this weekend with a goal at the forefront of their agenda: taking on “woke ideology.”

On Saturday in North Charleston, the group Palmetto Family, which lobbies for what it considers to be “biblical values,” hosted Vision ‘24, described by organizers as “casting the conservative vision” for the next White House race. Several hundred attendees heard from presidential hopefuls, including Nikki Haley, a former South Carolina governor who was Donald Trump’s U.N. ambassador, and tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

As organizers expected, issues such as gas prices and national security got plenty of attention, with former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson saying that, to fight inflation, “we’ve got to bring the federal government under control.”

But, as anticipated, much of the focus was on the pushback by some across the U.S. against what they perceive as affronts to conservative ways of life by efforts characterized as “woke.” It’s playing out in state-level debates over classroom instruction, gender-affirming care for minors and collegiate diversity programs.

The catch-all label of “woke” is taking on a leading a role within the burgeoning GOP presidential contest, with candidate-in-waiting Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor, emerging as a fierce opponent of policies designed to enforce equity when it comes to race, gender and public health.

Ramaswamy, who entered the race this month, wrote a book on the topic, particularly as it pertains to business: “Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America’s Social Justice Scam.”

The debate has spilled over into the finance space, too.

Nineteen Republican governors, including DeSantis and South Dakota’s Kristi Noem, another possible 2024 contender, signed a letter opposing the Biden administration’s support of a federal labor rule allowing retirement plans to consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors when making investment decisions. Critics say the efforts are the latest example of the world trying to get “woke,” allocating money based on political agendas, like

a drive against climate change, rather than on earning the best returns for savers.

DeSantis wasn’t on stage in South Carolina, but Ramaswamy and Haley were. At the Conservative Political Action Conference earlier this month, she said that “wokeness is a virus more dangerous than any pandemic, hands down.” On Saturday, Haley called transgender students competing in sports “the women’s issue of our time,” adding: “If we don’t stop all this woke ideology that’s happening in our schools, we will lose

them.”

For Ramaswamy, being “anti-woke” is central to his political brand. Leaving his biotech company following pressures for him “make a statement in favor of the Black Lives Matter movement,” Ramaswamy called for “an opportunity for the conservative movement to rise to the occasion and fill that void with a vision of American national identity that runs so deep that it dilutes this woke poison to irrelevance.” He later launched his own firm intended to pressure companies to quit ESG

initiatives.

It’s a similar vein of messaging that South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, yet to announce his own 2024 bid but in attendance Saturday, has been making for years. In a 2021 op-ed, Scott wrote that, due to his status as the Senate’s sole Black Republican, he had long endured critique from “woke folk” because “my ideology does not match that which they prescribe based on my complexion.”

“The radical left is trying to get people hooked on victimhood,” Scott said Saturday in North Charleston, adding that, according to Democrats, “if you’re white you must be an oppressor. If you’re Black or brown, you are the victim.”

Others took on the topic, too.

“Republicans are not perfect,” said Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana. “But the other side is crazy. ... The American people do not deserve to be governed by deeply woke ... people who hate George Washington, hate Thomas Jefferson ... who think our kids should be able to change genders at recess.”

Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who left the Democratic Party last year, said her former party is being “driven by this motivation of cowardly wokeness” and has leaders who “advocate for the mutilation of children in the name of so called gender affirming care.”

South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Trav Robertson called the push by the “MAGA agenda” a “dog whistle” to some.

“If they’re talking about a culture war and woke, then you’re not paying attention to the fact that your rights and your freedom to make your health care decisions as a woman are being taken away,” Robertson said, referencing pushes for more restrictive abortion laws in a number of states. “They want to talk about woke because they aren’t capable of talking about anything of substance.”

“[W]e chose

share these decisions as we’ve made them so people had the information as soon as possible.”

CEO Andy Jassy

AP PHOTO

An Amazon logo appears on a delivery van, Oct. 1, 2020, in Boston.

AP PHOTO

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley speaks at the Vision ‘24 conference on Saturday, March 18, 2023, in North Charleston, S.C.

Carla Jo (Whitman) Stephens

August 23, 1962 ~ March 13, 2023

Carla Jo Whitman Stephens, of Raeford, NC went to be with her Lord and Savior on March 13, 2023, in her home, surrounded by her family.

Carla was born in Wilmington, NC on August 23, 1962, to Howard and Jean Whitman. She is preceded in death by her sister, Vicky Jo, and her brother Kenney Ray. She was full of life and adventure and loved to be outdoors. She enjoyed spending time with her family, friends, and animals. Carla had a very giving heart and would make friends wherever she went.

Carla is survived by her parents, Howard and Jean Whitman; two daughters, Amanda Mills, and Ashley Stephens; grandbabies, Kirsten, Johnathen, and Branden; one brother, Scott; her faithful pets; and many other family and friends who will miss her very much.

Willie Mae Anderson

April 23, 1946 ~ March 14, 2023

Ms. Willie Mae Anderson age, 76 went home to rest with her heavenly father on March 14, 2023. She was the daugter of the late Willie McNair and Lanie McNair Singletary. She leaves to cherish her loving memories her daughter, Tawanda Lucas; sister, Karla Williams; brother, Charles McNair, four grandchildren, six great grandchildren along with a host of other family and friends. Ms. Willie Mae will be greatly missed.

Vernon Lanair "Bun" McDougald

February 27, 1953 ~ March 15, 2023

Mr. Vernon McDougald departed this life on Wednesday, March 15, 2023 at Firsthealth Moore Regional Hospital in Pinehurst, NC.

Denise Antoinette Wallace

February 28, 1984 ~ March 11, 2023

Ms. Denise Wallace age, 39 transitioned from earth to glory on March 11, 2023.

Denise leaves to cherish her loving memories her parents, Steven L. Wallace, and Phyllis Clark Wallace; siblings: LaShonda White (Corey), Steven L. Wallace Jr., aunt, Vanzella Cooper, uncles: Zelma Clark, Archie Wallace, Mack Wallace, James Johnson; nephew, Jordan Wallace along with a host of other family and friends. She will be greatly missed.

Mae Emma McLaughlin

March 1, 1952 ~ March 14, 2023

Ms. Mae Emma McLaughlin age, 71 transitioned from earth to glory on March 14, 2023. She leaves to cherish her loving memories her children: Taundra Finkley, Latoya McLaughlin, Kelvin McLaughlin; sister, Kathleen Ferguson; brothers: King Henry Love, James Love, Willie Love, Gary Love along with a host of other family and friends. Mae Emma will be greatly missed.

STATE & NATION

Senate takes first step in repealing Iraq War authorizations

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Senate took a first step toward repealing two measures that give open-ended approval for military action in Iraq, pushing to end that authority as the United States marks the 20th anniversary of the Iraq War.

Senators voted 68-27 to move forward on legislation that would repeal the 2002 measure that greenlighted that March 2003 invasion of Iraq and also a 1991 measure that sanctioned the U.S.led Gulf War to expel Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein’s forces from Kuwait. Nineteen Republicans joined Democrats in supporting the repeal.

The bipartisan effort comes as lawmakers in both parties are increasingly seeking to claw back congressional powers over U.S. military strikes and deployments, arguing that the war authorizations are no longer necessary and subject to misuse if they are left on the books. President Joe Biden has backed the push, and the White House issued a statement in support.

“Repeal of these authorizations would have no impact on current U.S. military operations and would support this administration’s commitment to a strong and comprehensive relationship with our Iraqi partners,” the White House said.

Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Todd Young, R-Ind., said they believe the 68 votes in support send a powerful message to Americans who believe their voice should be heard on matters of war and peace. Kaine and Young have led the push for repeal and have worked for several years on the issue.

“It is time for Congress to have its

voice heard on these matters, and I believe this will establish a very important precedent moving forward,” Young said.

It’s unclear whether leaders in the Republican-controlled House will bring the bill up for a vote, even if it passes the Senate. Forty-nine House Republicans supported the legislation when then-majority Democrats held a vote two years ago, but current House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., has opposed it.

Senate Republicans are also split on the legislation. While the 19 GOP senators voted for it, opponents argue that the repeal could project weakness to U.S. enemies. They have pointed out that Presi-

dent Donald Trump’s administration cited the 2002 Iraq war resolution as part of its legal justification for a 2020 U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassim Soleimani.

The October 2002 votes to give President George W. Bush broad authority for the invasion — coming just a month before the midterm elections that year — became a defining moment for many members of Congress as the country debated whether a military strike was warranted. The U.S. was already at war then in Afghanistan, the country that hosted the al-Qaida plotters responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, something Iraq played no part in.

Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, a Democrat who was in the Senate at the time and voted against the resolution, said on the floor before last week’s vote that “I look back on it, as I’m sure others do, as one of the most important votes that I ever cast.”

“The repeal of this authorization of use the use of military force does not mean the United States has become a pacifist nation,” Durbin said. “It means that the United States is going to be a constitutional nation and the premise of our Founding Fathers will be respected.”

The Bush administration had drummed up support among members of Congress and Americans for invading Iraq by promoting false

With overdoses up, states look at harsher fentanyl penalties

The Associated Press STATE LAWMAKERS nationwide are responding to the deadliest overdose crisis in U.S. history by pushing harsher penalties for possessing fentanyl and other powerful lab-made opioids that are connected to about 70,000 deaths a year.

Imposing longer prison sentences for possessing smaller amounts of drugs represents a shift in states that in recent years have rolled back drug possession penalties. Proponents of tougher penalties say this crisis is different and that, in most places, the stiffer sentences are intended to punish drug dealers, not just users.

“There is no other drug — no other illicit drug — that has the same type of effects on our communities,” said Mark Jackson, the district attorney for Douglas County, Nevada, and president of the Nevada District Attorneys Association, which is pushing for stricter penalties for fentanyl-related crimes.

Since 2020, drug overdoses are now linked to more than 100,000 deaths a year nationally, with about two-thirds of them fentanyl-related. That’s more than 10 times as many drug deaths as in 1988, at the height of the crack epidemic.

Fentanyl mostly arrives in the U.S. from Mexico and is mixed into supplies of other drugs, including cocaine, heroin, methamphet-

amine and counterfeit oxycodone pills. Some users seek it out. Others don’t know they’re taking it.

Ingesting 2 milligrams of fentanyl can be fatal, meaning 1 gram — about the same as a paper clip — could contain 500 lethal doses.

That’s what’s driving some lawmakers to crack down with harsh penalties, along with adopting measures such as legalizing materials to test drug supplies for fen-

tanyl and distributing naloxone, a drug that can reverse overdoses.

Before this year’s legislative sessions began, a dozen states had already adopted fentanyl possession measures, according to tracking by the National Conference of State Legislatures.

In Nevada, where Democrats control the Legislature, a bill backed by Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford would give

one to 20 years in prison for selling, possessing, manufacturing or transporting 4 grams or more of fentanyl into the state, depending on the amount. It’s a change for Ford, who has supported criminal justice reforms including a sweeping 2019 law that, among other provisions, raised the threshold for such penalties to 100 grams. It would also remove fentanyl from the state’s “Good Samaritan” law, which exempts people from criminal drug possession charges while reporting an overdose.

“What we’ve learned is that lowering the thresholds for all drugs was overinclusive,” Ford said.

Harm reduction advocates are pushing Ford and others to rethink their support, arguing the thresholds for longer penalties can sweep up low-level users — not just the dealers the law is aimed at — as well as some who may not even know they are taking fentanyl. They warn that the state’s crime labs test only for the presence of fentanyl, not the exact amount in a mixture of drugs. Thus, people with over 4 grams of drugs containing a few milligrams of fentanyl could be subject to trafficking penalties, they say.

North Carolina’s Senate unanimously passed legislation two weeks ago to increase criminal penalties for drug dealers whose distribution of fentanyl and other controlled substances causes an

intelligence claims about Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction.

After the initial March 2003 invasion, American ground forces were unable to verify the nation’s nuclear or chemical weapons programs. But the U.S. overthrow of Iraq’s security forces precipitated a brutal sectarian fight and violent campaigns by Islamic extremist groups in Iraq. Car bombings, assassinations, torture and kidnapping became a part of daily life in Iraq for years.

Nearly 5,000 U.S. troops were killed in the war. Iraqi deaths are estimated in the hundreds of thousands.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in the hours before the vote that he was glad that the repeal is a bipartisan effort after the Iraq conflict was the cause of “so much bitterness” in the past.

“Americans are tired of endless wars in the Middle East,” Schumer said.

The Senate will consider the legislation this week, with possible amendments from both sides.

One of the amendments that could be considered would repeal a separate authorization of military force passed immediately after the 2001 attacks. It gave Bush broad authority for the invasion of Afghanistan and the fight against terrorism but did not name one country, instead broadly approving force “against those nations, organizations, or persons” that planned or aided the attacks on the U.S.

But there is less support in the Senate and Congress overall for repealing the broader authority. Biden and some lawmakers have supported replacing or revising that authorization in the future, but “not right now,” Kaine said, as it is still used by the military.

overdose death.

The proposal, which currently sits in the House, would create high-grade felony offenses for deaths caused by distributing the powerful synthetic opioid, and for doing so with malice.

It would also increase fines for trafficking heroin, fentanyl and carfentanil — a synthetic opioid generally used as a tranquilizer for elephants and other large mammals — and amend the state’s Good Samaritan law to create limited immunity for someone in possession of less than one gram of fentanyl who calls 911 to report an overdose.

“This piece of poison called fentanyl is killing people every day in North Carolina and all across America,” said Sen. Tom McInnis, a Moore County Republican and primary sponsor, during floor debate.

Fentanyl was likely involved in the overdose deaths of more than 3,000 North Carolinians in 2021, according to the most recent available data from the state’s Department of Health and Human Services.

The bill says dealers with lengthy records who commit these crimes with aggravating circumstances could face more than a decade in prison. Those who act with malice could face more than 30 years in prison. The proposal is supported by the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association.

A previous version of the bill moved through the Senate in 2019 but never made it to the House.

AP PHOTO

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., center, and Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., center left, are joined by representatives of the American Legion as they speak to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on March 16.

AP PHOTO

Leslie Maynor Locklear, a Robeson County mother who lost both her sons to overdose deaths in 2022, speaks in favor of increasing drug distribution penalties on Tuesday, March 7, 2023, at the Legislative Building in Raleigh.

End of an era

Gary Strickland worked the NCAA Tournament games in Greensboro last weekend, and, when the final horn sounded for the last game, the longesttenured official scorer in the ACC stepped down.

Strickland was hired as scorer for the 1981 season by Wake Forest in what was supposed to be a one-year favor to the school. After 42 years in the role, he announced earlier this year that this season would be his last.

COUNTY NEWS

SECU Foundation awards

$500K grant to Senior Services to support campus expansion

Forsyth County

SECU Foundation recently awarded a $500,000 grant to Senior Services, a Forsyth County nonprofit offering programs that respond to the needs of the elderly and their caregivers. The grant will support the campus expansion of a new Intergenerational Center for Arts and Wellness to provide comprehensive care for underserved and vulnerable seniors.

Through the Center, the nonprofit will offer collaborative senior adult services for physical health, dementia care, and experiential arts education, respite services for caregivers, and clinical services across the age spectrum.

“Senior Services has been a valuable resource in the greater Winston-Salem community for many years, and the demand for their services continues to escalate,” said Damian Carter, SECU regional senior vice president. “We are pleased to support their campus expansion as they work diligently to bring comfort and security to senior adults and their families.”

“We are honored and thrilled to have the SECU Foundation work with us to complete the construction of our new oneof-its-kind Intergenerational Center for Arts and Wellness,” said T. Lee Covington, Senior Services president and CEO. “SECU Foundation has a history of supporting impactful community projects. We believe our new Center will have a tremendous impact on the Forsyth County community, building on our 60year history of helping older adults remain at home, living with dignity, and aging with purpose.”

GLOBE NEWSWIRE

Board approves the funding of multiple projects with ARPA funding

By Ryan Henkel North State Journal

WINSTON-SALEM — The Forsyth County Board of Commissioners met Thursday, March 2 with multiple expenditure requests on the agenda.

The board held a public hearing to consider the expenditure of county money for a potential economic development project.

“The item is an incentive for TexTech Industries,” said Community and Economic Development Director Kyle Haney. “They are a company based in Kernersville. They manufacture specialty textile materials serving in a variety of industries – aerospace, defense, medical. They currently have 265

employees across North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah, Maine as well as offices in Europe as well.”

The sites that Tex-Tech is considering are Monmouth, Maine or Forsyth County. If they choose to expand in Forsyth County, they would go to a new Greenfield site off 3300 Old Lexington Road and construct a 170,000 square foot new manufacturing facility and invest $41.7 million total in capital investment, with $18.1 in real property and $23.6 in machinery and equipment.

The expansion in Forsyth County would also create 59 new full time jobs, created from 2023 to 2026, and with an average wage of $64,203.

The maximum incentive package that the board will offer to TexTech is a five-year incentive of 50% of its tax base resulting in a maximum incentive of $563,338. The county projects to make

$1,317,507 in net county taxes after 10 years. As such, and hearing no opposition to the request, the board approved the incentive package. According to Haney, other incentives under consideration around the area are $554,908 from the City of Winston-Salem, $125,000 from the NC Grant Funding and $100,300 from the NC Community College Customized Training.

The board also approved an amendment to the 2022 Pay-Go

Capital Projects Ordinance to appropriate $100,000 funds for photovoltaic solar and other projects at Forsyth County Parks/Facilities Project and tabled an amendment to the FY 22-23 budget ordinance to appropriate funds for a detention staffing contract extension.

“In speaking with the county manager, he actually has the authority to approve unspent salary dollars for this particular contract until such time as there aren’t any,” said Chairman Don Martin. “In a sense, we can actually do nothing until all of those funds are expended, then we’d have the ability to take a look at the fund balance for the entire payment.”

The board then approved five ARPA funded projects including an agreement with Legal Aid of North Carolina, Inc. for $380,200 to support its economic justice initiative to stabilize homeownership and opportunities for wealth, an agreement with Community Care Center for Forsyth County, Inc. for $431,142 to hire two full-time staff to expand behavioral health services, an agreement with the Shalom Project, Inc. for the Flourish

See COMMISSIONERS, page 2

Investigative audit of Town of Rural Hall finds multiple violations

By A.P. Dillon North

Journal

State

RALEIGH — An investigative audit of the town of Rural Hall conducted by the Office of the State Auditor has found multiple violations.

The town of Rural Hall in Forsyth County has an estimated 3,400 residents, according to a 2021 Census survey. Per the audit, the town operated on an annual budget of approximately $4.2 million for the General Fund, Fire Department Fund and Cemetery Fund for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2022.

The audit lists five key findings:

1) The public was denied access to public records; 2) The town council violated open meetings law by not properly entering into closed sessions; 3) The interim town attorney’s contract was not preaudited; 4) Bank reconciliations were not completed; 5) The town council appointed the town clerk in violation of state law.

Recommendations to correct the problems included ensuring that its town attorney is knowledgeable in legal matters relating to local government, including the North Carolina public records

law, North Carolina open meetings law and the council-manager form of government.

Additionally, the auditor’s office says the town council and town manager should ensure that all contracts are provided to the finance director to be preaudited prior to the obligation being incurred, and that the town council should seek legal advice regarding the potentially invalid contract.

Regarding failing to produce public records, the audit states: “Specifically, from November 2021 through June 2022, the town failed to produce 19 of 50 (38%) public records requested.”

The audit says the failure to produce those records limits the public’s ability to be informed about town operations and hold officials accountable. The town could also be liable for paying attorney’s fees if challenged on the issue.

The same transparency and accountability issues were raised over the failure to adhere to public meeting laws by discussing items in closed session that should have been done in an open session.

“As a result, the town council improperly limited public transparency and accountability,” the

audit states. “Additionally, any person may initiate a legal suit asking that any action taken in closed session, that should have been discussed in open session, be deemed null and void.”

In not performing a preaudit of the contract for the town attorney, “the town signed a contract without ensuring that there were sufficient funds to pay the amounts that would come due.” The contract was voted on during a closed session on Oct. 25, 2021.

The town also failed to complete monthly bank reconciliations which could lead to “an increased risk that accounting errors or the theft or misuse of cash could have occurred and not been detected,” according to the audit.

According to the findings, as of April 2022, the bank reconciliations had not been completed going back to November 2021. The average balance in the town’s General Fund was $1.1 million during that period.

The town’s finance director claimed the monthly bank reconciliations were not done because of “increased responsibilities,” and the town’s manager didn’t follow up to see if the items were performed.

The audit asserts the town clerk was appointed in violation of

See VIOLATIONS, page 2

Commissioners approve incentive package for Tex-Tech expansion

PHOTOS BY THE STRICKLAND FAMILY

#239 “Join the conversation”

COLUMN | STEPHEN MOORE

Michigan is headed back to rust belt poverty

SINCE THE EARLY DAYS of Henry Ford, Michigan was the proud symbol of America’s industrial might.

But then, starting in the 1970s, things went south — in part because of the might of the unions that ran the state’s political machine. That’s when Michigan transitioned into the sad symbol of closed factories: the American “Rust Belt.” Flint, Michigan, became a ghost town.

including massive pay packages to the union leaders.

This bill will not only take away the right to choose from Michigan workers, but it will also do great damage to the state’s economy. States that have “right to work” laws create jobs at almost twice the pace of states with forced union policies.

♦ Martha Culler Alley, 73, of Kernersville, died March 17, 2023.

♦ Larry Eugene Bodenheimer, 84, of Forsyth County, died March 17, 2023.

♦ Ralph Overton Bolt, 83, of Mocksville, died March 15, 2023.

♦ Mildred (Millie) Dexter, 68, died March 15, 2023.

♦ Betty Gentry, 94, of Winston-Salem, died March 16, 2023.

♦ Ruth Mellisa Westmoreland Holt, 96, of Colfax, died March 18, 2023.

♦ Gary Donald Mendenhall, 69, of Winston-Salem, died March 17, 2023.

♦ Michael “Mike” George Miller, 81, of Kernersville, died March 16, 2023.

♦ Clinton Gerald Morphies, 75, of Forsyth County, died March 18, 2023.

♦ Shirley Hege Myers, 87, of Forsyth County, died March 17, 2023.

♦ John Benbow Phillips, Jr., 90, of WinstonSalem, died March 18, 2023.

♦ Ronald Fredrick Sergeant, 88, of Forsyth County, died March 16, 2023.

♦ Barbara Weavil Shields, 80, passed of Davidson County, died March 15, 2023.

♦ Sadie Marie Reavis Testerman, 96, of Kernersville, died March 15, 2023.

♦ Rev. Dr. Randolph Phillip Waugh, 77, of Clemmons, died March 16, 2023.

♦ Shirley Kiger Whitaker, 89, of Kernersville, died March 19, 2023.

The Communist Party of America put out a press release celebrating the demise of “right to work” in Michigan.

From the 1970s to the early 2000s, Detroit lost nearly half its population. Whole neighborhoods were bulldozed, and homes were selling for less than $10,000 as poor and minority residents fled the area’s crime, lousy schools, high unemployment and political corruption.

If you traveled to Florida or Arizona, you saw lots of Michigan license plates.

But then, Michigan began to reform itself with tax cuts and leaner and cleaner government. One big reform was Michigan became a “right to work” state. The state went through an amazing economic renaissance. According to the American Legislative Exchange Council’s “Rich States, Poor States” report (which I co-wrote), few states rose on economic competitiveness faster than the home of the Wolverines. Prosperity returned.

Now the shine is off the engine. The Democrats took back control of the politics in the state, and the first thing they did was repeal “right to work” — a big wet kiss to the union bosses for all those campaign contributions.

“Right to work” is the law of the land in 26 states. These laws do not prohibit unions. There are many unions in these states. “Right to work” simply means that workers cannot be compelled to join a union.

Democrats are falsely advertising this as a restoration of workers’ rights. That’s a bald-faced lie. Now, to keep your job in Michigan, you must join the union, and you must pay dues to the union bosses. The United Auto Workers union has been plagued with corruption,

♦ Ali, Badi Missed (M/35) Arrest on chrg of 1) P/w/i/s/d Sched Vi (F), 2) Drugs-misd Poss (M), 3) Drugsmaintain (M), and 4) Attempt & Conspiracy (F), at 1481 River Ridge Dr, Clemmons, NC, on 3/16/2023 11:54.

♦ Alzawqari, Ameen Ali (M/32) Arrest on chrg of 1) P/w/i/s/d Sched Vi (F), 2) Drugs-poss Sched Vi (M), 3) Drugs-maintain (M), and 4) Attempt & Conspiracy (F), at 3193 Peters Creek Pw, Winston-salem, NC, on 3/16/2023 11:05.

♦ ANTHONY, ALKEISHA TOYVETTE was arrested on a charge of 2ND DEGREE TRESPASS at 1640 SILAS CREEK PW on 3/17/2023

♦ Baity, Darold Franklin (M/53) Arrest on chrg of 1) P/w/i/s/d Sched Vi (F), 2) Drugs-poss Sched Vi (M), 3) Drugs-maintain (M), and 4) Attempt & Conspiracy (F), at 1583 Hanes Mall Bv, Winston-salem, NC, on 3/16/2023 12:22.

♦ Baity, Justin D (M/33) Arrest on chrg of 1) Drugs-mfg Sched I (F), 2) Drugs-misd Poss (M), 3) Drugsmaintain (M), and 4) Attempt & Conspiracy (F), at 1583 Hanes Mall Bv, Winston-salem, NC, on 3/16/2023 13:18.

♦ Baker, Jeremy Allen (M/39) Arrest on chrg of Assault On Female (M), at 4499 Cotswold Rd, Pfafftown, NC, on 3/18/2023 23:19.

♦ BAKER, RONALD ALAN was arrested on a charge of POSS COCAINE FEL at 1199 MANLY ST/W TWELFTH ST on 3/16/2023

♦ BENTHALL, ABRAHAM was arrested on a charge of 2ND DEGREE TRESPASS at 1 MEDICAL CENTER BV on 3/19/2023

♦ BROWN, QUAESHAUN ALONZO

was arrested on a charge of CCWFIREARM at 399 N SPRUCE ST/W FOURTH ST on 3/18/2023

♦ BYNUM, MICHAEL DOMINIQUE was arrested on a charge of WEAPPOSS BY FELON at 201 N CHURCH ST on

♦

Many businesses won’t even consider locating a new factory or blue-collar operation in a forced union state. The auto jobs in America will now accelerate their move to the Southern states, which happen to be “right to work.”

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI), a stooge of the unions, will sign the bill into law. And Michigan is about to see a return to the Rust Belt era.

Here is what’s really telling. The Communist Party of America put out a press release celebrating the demise of “right to work” in Michigan. They note correctly that Michigan is now the first state in more than half a century to turn back the clock and force union chains on workers. Most states have been moving in the opposite direction.

What is sadly ironic about this endorsement is that throughout the 20th century, the unions in America were staunchly anti-communist. It was Lech Walesa, the Polish union organizer, who stood up to the evil communist government that tried to outlaw unions. He and President Ronald Reagan and the AFL-CIO helped defeat the evil empire.

Now the communists in America cheer on the unions as they sow the seeds of their own demise — as well as the demise of a once-mighty state.

Stephen Moore is a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation and a co-founder of the Committee to Unleash Prosperity. His latest book is “Govzilla: How the Relentless Growth of Government Is Devouring Our Economy.”

♦ Clement, Tremayne Andrew (M/35) Arrest on chrg of 1) Child Abuse (M) and 2) Resisting Arrest (M), at 5124 Tall Tree Dr, Winston-salem, NC, on 3/17/2023 22:29.

♦ Davis, Anthony Alvin (M/18) Arrest on chrg of Weap-school Property, M (M), at 5705 Shattalon Dr, Winstonsalem, NC, on 3/17/2023 15:03.

♦ DRUMMOND, MICAH STEPHAN was arrested on a charge of ASSAULT ON FEMALE at 100 AZALEA TERRACE CT on 3/15/2023

♦ EDWARDS, KENDRICK QUSHAN was arrested on a charge of ASSAULT ON FEMALE at 201 N CHURCH ST on 3/15/2023

♦ Ferguson, Devarya Jarae (M/25) Arrest on chrg of 1) Vand-real Property (M), 2) Vand-real Property (M), 3) 2nd Degree Trespass (M), and 4) 2nd Degree Trespass (M), at 201 N Church St, Winston-salem, NC, on 3/15/2023 18:55.

on 3/16/2023

♦ KING, DOMONIQUE MONTE was arrested on a charge of IMPAIRED DRIVING DWI at 418 JONESTOWN RD/JONESTOWN RD_NB 421 RA on 3/19/2023

♦ LEE, LARRY LOUIS was arrested on a charge of 2ND DEGREE TRESPASS at 717 OAK ST on 3/17/2023

♦ LOPEZMARTIN, DIANA LICET was arrested on a charge of ASSAULTSIMPLE at 499 W FOURTH ST/N SPRUCE ST on 3/18/2023

♦ Marion, Wayne (M/52) Arrest on chrg of Assault On Female (M), at 4125 Limestone Ct, Clemmons, NC, on 3/18/2023 22:10.

♦ Masten, Brandon Everette (M/31) Arrest on chrg of 1) Sex Offender Residency Violations (F), 2) Fail To Register - Sex Offender Registration (F), and 3) Fail To Register - Sex Offender Registration (F), at 204 Plaza Hollow Dr, Winston-salem, NC, on 3/17/2023 09:55.

22) Drive Wrong Side - Highway (M), and 23) Stop Light Violation (M), at 1610 Hartman Plaza Dr, Winston Salem, NC, on 3/17/2023 14:45.

♦ CARVER, SEAN GARY was arrested on a charge of ASSAULT-SIMPLE at THOMASVILLE RD/CEDAR SPRINGS DR on 3/19/2023

♦ CHANDLER, KEVIN DWAYNE was arrested on a charge of COMMUNICATE THREATS at 624 VOSS ST on 3/19/2023

♦ Chavez, Yisel Silva (F/31) Arrest on chrg of 1) Impaired Driving Dwi (M), 2) Contrib Delinq Minor (M), and 3) Contrib Delinq Minor (M), at 1433 Lewisville-clemmons Rd, Clemmons, NC, on 3/18/2023 20:45.

VIOLATIONS from page 1 COMMISSIONERS from page 1 state law and alleges the town’s attorney did not advise the town council of the violation.

The town’s response to the audit disputed nearly all the claims, including the denial of public records requests, violations of open meeting laws, hiring of the town clerk and the preauditing of the contract for the town’s attorney. The town’s letter overall said they had interpreted state law properly despite the audit’s findings to the contrary.

Program for $50,000 to provide mental health counseling, and an agreement with Smart Start of Forsyth County for $3.7 million to support Pre-K Priority Coalition in Forsyth County and an agreement with Old Salem, Inc. for $391,875 for restoration and improvements to buildings related to Old Salem’s Hidden Town Project,

“I feel wholeheartedly that I am a representative of all Forsyth County citizens, but the citizens of District A as constituents voted me in and are primarily African-Americans

♦ Galindo, Manuel Gonzalez (M/38) Arrest on chrg of 1) Child Abuse (M), 2) Child Abuse (M), 3) Poss Cocaine Fel (F), and 4) Impaired Driving Dwi (M), at 1433 Lewisville-clemmons Rd, Clemmons, NC, on 3/18/2023 20:40.

♦ GONZALEZ, ALEXANDRA MARIELA was arrested on a charge of RESISTING ARREST at 6029 UNIVERSITY PW/HARMONY ST on 3/15/2023

♦ Hannah, Aki Jamah Sincere (M/19) Arrest on chrg of 1) Poss Marijuana Fel (F), 2) P/w/i/s/d Marijuana (F), and 3) Drug Paraphernalia (M), at 200 Tabor View Ln, Winston-salem, NC, on 3/17/2023 13:58.

♦ HARRIS, ANTWAN LAMONT was arrested on a charge of ASSAULT ON FEMALE at 994 W SECOND ST

and directly connect to the Hidden Town Project by being descendants of the enslaved and free people of African descent,” said commissioner Malishai Woodbury. “I wanted to make sure that the voices of the constituents were heard absolutely with this project, but lastly and most importantly, it gives us an opportunity to leverage community cooperation and collaboration in order to complete the project.”

The board also approved six contracts spanning the expenditure of opioid funds, $129,612 for the purchase of contraceptive devices and pharmaceuticals with Title C

♦ MCKINNEY, DOMINIQUE ONEAL was arrested on a charge of B&EVEHICLE at 4216 OAKSBURG CT on 3/17/2023

♦ MYERS, ISHMON DEVON was arrested on a charge of B&EVEHICLE at 4216 OAKSBURG CT on 3/17/2023

♦ NARVAEZ SANDOVAL, HUMBERTO DAVID was arrested on a charge of VIO. PROTECTIVE ORDER BY COURTS ANOTHER STATE/ INDIAN TRIBE at 5085 POLK AV on 3/17/2023

♦ PEREZ, ENRIQUE VALADEZ was arrested on a charge of IMPAIRED DRIVING DWI at 4261 OLD GREENSBORO RD on 3/19/2023

- Family Planning Services Funding, an agreement with Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center for a three year, $2,384,133 to provide wellness services, $939,700 for the construction of the Fleet Addition Project, an $1,489,057 amendment to the Public Safety Center Upfit Project for the third floor upfit, and $76,500 for the selection of a landscape architectural firm to provide landscape architecture services for the Horizons Park Multimodal Nature Trail Project. The Forsyth County Board of Commissioners will next meet March 16.

SIDELINE REPORT

FORMULA ONE

Haas dismisses a report alleging it broke Russian sanctions

Kannapolis

The Haas Formula One team has dismissed a report claiming its parent company broke sanctions by providing machinery to Russia as “simply false.” Haas was responding to a report by American broadcaster PBS on Tuesday alleging that the Haas Automation company had provided machines and parts to Russia. This would have been in violation of U.S. export control and sanctions regulations after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year. Haas says the story is false “both in its overall impression and in many of its particular statements.”

NHL Sharks goalie Reimer declines to wear Pride jersey

San Jose San Jose Sharks goalie

James Reimer didn’t take part in pregame warmups

Saturday night because the team’s decision to wear Pride-themed jerseys in support of the LGBTQ community runs counter to his religious beliefs. Reimer, a former Hurricanes goalie, said he made the decision based on his Christian beliefs. He adds that he “always strived to treat everyone with respect” and that members of the LGBTQ community should be welcome in hockey. Reimer is the second NHL player this season to refuse to take part in warmups with Pride-themed jerseys. Philadelphia’s Ivan Provorov declined to do it in January.

PGA

Moore tops Spieth, Schenk at Innisbrook

Palm Harbor, Fla.

Taylor Moore shot 67 to win the Valspar Championship, making key birdies on the 15th and 16th holes at Innisbrook. The victory sends the 29-year-old Moore to the Masters with his first PGA Tour victory.

Adam Schenk was tied for the lead when his drive landed next to a tree on the final hole, leading to a bogey. Jordan Spieth was also tied for the lead until hitting his drive into the water on the 16th. Spieth also missed a 6-foot birdie putt to get back in the mix.

MLB Astros’ Altuve suffers broken thumb at WBC

Miami

The Astros are expecting to be without second baseman Jose Altuve for a while after he suffered a broken right thumb. The 2017 AL MVP was injured when he was hit by a pitch playing for Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic. The eighttime All-Star follows Mets All-Star closer Edwin Díaz to the injured list because of injuries during the WBC. Utilityman Mauricio Dubon, who batted .208 games last season, is expected to move into the Astros’ lineup to replace Altuve at second base.

Logano passes Keselowski on last lap to win at Atlanta

Chevrolet had won the first four races of the Cup season

The Associated Press HAMPTON, Ga. — Joey Logano dominated early and then passed Brad Keselowski on the final lap to win the NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway and end the early season domination of Chevrolet and Hendrick Motorsports on Sunday.

Logano won the pole and led a strong showing of three straight Team Penske drivers in qualifying, but Keselowski looked like the Ford driver to beat late in the race. Keselowski had help from Corey LaJoie, but Logano got a push from Christopher Bell that proved decisive on the final lap.

Bell finished third in a Toyota

and LaJoie finished a career-best fourth in a Chevrolet.

“The first win of the season always feels better,” said the reigning Cup champion, who led 141 of the 260 laps.

Logano’s win ended a streak of four consecutive victories by Chevrolet to open the NASCAR Cup season, including back-toback wins by William Byron of Hendrick.

Pushed by his Team Penske teammates Ryan Blaney and Austin Cindric, Logano passed Keselowski to regain the lead with 34 laps to go. Keselowski took back the lead to set up the last-lap drama.

After no cautions during the second stage, the competition — and crashes — picked up late in the race.

Kevin Harvick, who won in Atlanta in 2018 and 2020, was leading late when he lost control while

“The first win of the season always feels better.”

Joey Logano

being pushed by Ross Chastain. Replays indicated Chastain’s Chevrolet didn’t hit Harvick’s Ford, but Harvick’s spin caused a major crash.

“I think he was just so close to me he caught me right in the corner,” Harvick said of Chastain. “The way he came from right to left took the car away from me.”

Byron called the wreck “just a part of racing.”

Another wreck involving the leaders followed 20 laps later when Aric Almirola blew a tire, causing a spin that also took out Kyle Larson and Daniel Suarez.

Hendrick Motorsports’ four drivers had fill-in crew chiefs following the largest combined fine on one team in series history for modifying air-deflecting pieces last weekend at Phoenix Raceway. Hendrick was issued a combined $400,000 in fines along with four-race suspensions for the crew chiefs.

Chase Elliott, the Georgia native who won last summer’s race at his home track, continues to recover in Colorado from a broken tibia suffered while snowboarding month.

Elliott posted regrets on his Twitter account for being unable to participate in Sunday’s race: “This is gonna be a tough one today not being in atl for obvious reasons, but I can’t wait to see everyone down there in July!”

When Hendrick Motorsports tweeted to Elliott “Not the same without you here,” Elliott replied with hopes he would return “hopefully sooner than later my friends.”

The NASCAR Cup Series moves to Austin, Texas, and the Circuit of the Americas next Sunday. Chastain scored his first career Cup win on the road course last year.

Women’s March Madness finds foothold on national TV

ESPN’s deal with the NCAA

is up after next season

The Associated Press WITH HOPES of a separate television contract in upcoming negotiations, the women’s NCAA Tournament keeps gaining momentum.

The national title game returns to network television for the first time since 1995, with an ABC broadcast on April 2 from Dallas and a one-hour pregame show.

ABC will feature at least six games from the women’s tournament, including two first-round games Saturday and a pair of second-round contests Sunday.

“Putting it on ABC, we’re giving it the best opportunity for success,” said Dan Ochs, who handles women’s basketball programming for ESPN. “This tournament continues to grow and deliver for us.”

South Carolina’s 64-49 victory over Connecticut in last year’s title game averaged 4.85 million viewers on ESPN — the mostwatched women’s championship game since 2004. It was also the fourth-largest audience for the title game since the network began airing the entire tournament in 1996. The 2022 women’s tournament overall averaged 634,000 viewers per game, a 16% increase over 2021, with many of the rounds see -

ing their highest averages in more than 10 years.

ESPN has every reason to believe those numbers can increase: Regular season games on the network averaged more than 190,000 viewers, making it the most-viewed regular season since 2015. And a matchup of two undefeated teams on Feb. 12, in which South Carolina topped LSU, was the most-watched regular-season women’s game since 2010 with an average of 1.47 million viewers.

Advertising for the tournament has sold out for the second straight year, ESPN said, with 15 broadcast

4.85M

Average viewership for last year’s NCAA women’s basketball championship game on ESPN

sponsors and nearly 100 advertisers.

It’s the third year that all of the women’s NCAA Tournament games will have national airtime

between ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPNews. The staggered start times and multiple channels brings it in line with the men’s tournament in terms of access.

Up until 2019, ESPN used regional windows during the first two rounds, with the games mostly on ESPN or ESPN2.

ESPN’s current contract to broadcast the women’s tournament expires next year. Right now, the women’s tournament is part of a package with 28 other title events and does not include the men’s tournament. ESPN pays $34 million per year for the championships package, which it agreed to in 2011.

The NCAA is expected to decide by the fall if the women’s tournament will become a separate entity, along with how the other championships may be divided.

“I mean, all of the things and the investments that have been made from the NCAA over the last few years are really important, and greatly recognized and appreciated,” UCLA coach Cori Close said. “That being said, I’m also really excited for a few that still need to be attacked. And I think that, really being able to separate and go to market as the new ESPN contract comes up to bid, I think that’s an important next step as well as meaningful unit distribution as associated with the women’s tournament.”

AP PHOTO

Joey Logano leads a pack of cars through Turn 4 during his win Sunday in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

AP PHOTO

Illinois’ Makira Cook drives as Mississippi State’s Ramani Parker defends during a First Four game in the women’s NCAA Tournament last Wednesday in South Bend, Indiana.

STATE & NATION

Senate takes first step in repealing Iraq War authorizations

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Senate took a first step toward repealing two measures that give open-ended approval for military action in Iraq, pushing to end that authority as the United States marks the 20th anniversary of the Iraq War.

Senators voted 68-27 to move forward on legislation that would repeal the 2002 measure that greenlighted that March 2003 invasion of Iraq and also a 1991 measure that sanctioned the U.S.led Gulf War to expel Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein’s forces from Kuwait. Nineteen Republicans joined Democrats in supporting the repeal.

The bipartisan effort comes as lawmakers in both parties are increasingly seeking to claw back congressional powers over U.S. military strikes and deployments, arguing that the war authorizations are no longer necessary and subject to misuse if they are left on the books. President Joe Biden has backed the push, and the White House issued a statement in support. “Repeal of these authorizations would have no impact on current U.S. military operations and would support this administration’s commitment to a strong and comprehensive relationship with our Iraqi partners,” the White House said.

Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Todd Young, R-Ind., said they believe the 68 votes in support send a powerful message to Americans who believe their voice should be heard on matters of war and peace. Kaine and Young have led the push for repeal and have worked for several years on the issue.

“It is time for Congress to have its

voice heard on these matters, and I believe this will establish a very important precedent moving forward,” Young said.

It’s unclear whether leaders in the Republican-controlled House will bring the bill up for a vote, even if it passes the Senate. Forty-nine House Republicans supported the legislation when then-majority Democrats held a vote two years ago, but current House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., has opposed it.

Senate Republicans are also split on the legislation. While the 19 GOP senators voted for it, opponents argue that the repeal could project weakness to U.S. enemies. They have pointed out that Presi-

dent Donald Trump’s administration cited the 2002 Iraq war resolution as part of its legal justification for a 2020 U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassim Soleimani.

The October 2002 votes to give President George W. Bush broad authority for the invasion — coming just a month before the midterm elections that year — became a defining moment for many members of Congress as the country debated whether a military strike was warranted. The U.S. was already at war then in Afghanistan, the country that hosted the al-Qaida plotters responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, something Iraq played no part in.

Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, a Democrat who was in the Senate at the time and voted against the resolution, said on the floor before last week’s vote that “I look back on it, as I’m sure others do, as one of the most important votes that I ever cast.”

“The repeal of this authorization of use the use of military force does not mean the United States has become a pacifist nation,” Durbin said. “It means that the United States is going to be a constitutional nation and the premise of our Founding Fathers will be respected.”

The Bush administration had drummed up support among members of Congress and Americans for invading Iraq by promoting false

With overdoses up, states look at harsher fentanyl penalties

The Associated Press STATE LAWMAKERS nationwide are responding to the deadliest overdose crisis in U.S. history by pushing harsher penalties for possessing fentanyl and other powerful lab-made opioids that are connected to about 70,000 deaths a year.

Imposing longer prison sentences for possessing smaller amounts of drugs represents a shift in states that in recent years have rolled back drug possession penalties. Proponents of tougher penalties say this crisis is different and that, in most places, the stiffer sentences are intended to punish drug dealers, not just users.

“There is no other drug — no other illicit drug — that has the same type of effects on our communities,” said Mark Jackson, the district attorney for Douglas County, Nevada, and president of the Nevada District Attorneys Association, which is pushing for stricter penalties for fentanyl-related crimes. Since 2020, drug overdoses are now linked to more than 100,000 deaths a year nationally, with about two-thirds of them fentanyl-related. That’s more than 10 times as many drug deaths as in 1988, at the height of the crack epidemic.

Fentanyl mostly arrives in the U.S. from Mexico and is mixed into supplies of other drugs, including cocaine, heroin, methamphet-

amine and counterfeit oxycodone pills. Some users seek it out. Others don’t know they’re taking it.

Ingesting 2 milligrams of fentanyl can be fatal, meaning 1 gram — about the same as a paper clip — could contain 500 lethal doses.

That’s what’s driving some lawmakers to crack down with harsh penalties, along with adopting measures such as legalizing materials to test drug supplies for fen-

tanyl and distributing naloxone, a drug that can reverse overdoses.

Before this year’s legislative sessions began, a dozen states had already adopted fentanyl possession measures, according to tracking by the National Conference of State Legislatures.

In Nevada, where Democrats control the Legislature, a bill backed by Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford would give

one to 20 years in prison for selling, possessing, manufacturing or transporting 4 grams or more of fentanyl into the state, depending on the amount. It’s a change for Ford, who has supported criminal justice reforms including a sweeping 2019 law that, among other provisions, raised the threshold for such penalties to 100 grams. It would also remove fentanyl from the state’s “Good Samaritan” law, which exempts people from criminal drug possession charges while reporting an overdose.

“What we’ve learned is that lowering the thresholds for all drugs was overinclusive,” Ford said.

Harm reduction advocates are pushing Ford and others to rethink their support, arguing the thresholds for longer penalties can sweep up low-level users — not just the dealers the law is aimed at — as well as some who may not even know they are taking fentanyl. They warn that the state’s crime labs test only for the presence of fentanyl, not the exact amount in a mixture of drugs. Thus, people with over 4 grams of drugs containing a few milligrams of fentanyl could be subject to trafficking penalties, they say.

North Carolina’s Senate unanimously passed legislation two weeks ago to increase criminal penalties for drug dealers whose distribution of fentanyl and other controlled substances causes an

intelligence claims about Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction.

After the initial March 2003 invasion, American ground forces were unable to verify the nation’s nuclear or chemical weapons programs. But the U.S. overthrow of Iraq’s security forces precipitated a brutal sectarian fight and violent campaigns by Islamic extremist groups in Iraq. Car bombings, assassinations, torture and kidnapping became a part of daily life in Iraq for years.

Nearly 5,000 U.S. troops were killed in the war. Iraqi deaths are estimated in the hundreds of thousands.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in the hours before the vote that he was glad that the repeal is a bipartisan effort after the Iraq conflict was the cause of “so much bitterness” in the past.

“Americans are tired of endless wars in the Middle East,” Schumer said.

The Senate will consider the legislation this week, with possible amendments from both sides.

One of the amendments that could be considered would repeal a separate authorization of military force passed immediately after the 2001 attacks. It gave Bush broad authority for the invasion of Afghanistan and the fight against terrorism but did not name one country, instead broadly approving force “against those nations, organizations, or persons” that planned or aided the attacks on the U.S.

But there is less support in the Senate and Congress overall for repealing the broader authority. Biden and some lawmakers have supported replacing or revising that authorization in the future, but “not right now,” Kaine said, as it is still used by the military.

overdose death.

The proposal, which currently sits in the House, would create high-grade felony offenses for deaths caused by distributing the powerful synthetic opioid, and for doing so with malice.

It would also increase fines for trafficking heroin, fentanyl and carfentanil — a synthetic opioid generally used as a tranquilizer for elephants and other large mammals — and amend the state’s Good Samaritan law to create limited immunity for someone in possession of less than one gram of fentanyl who calls 911 to report an overdose.

“This piece of poison called fentanyl is killing people every day in North Carolina and all across America,” said Sen. Tom McInnis, a Moore County Republican and primary sponsor, during floor debate.

Fentanyl was likely involved in the overdose deaths of more than 3,000 North Carolinians in 2021, according to the most recent available data from the state’s Department of Health and Human Services.

The bill says dealers with lengthy records who commit these crimes with aggravating circumstances could face more than a decade in prison. Those who act with malice could face more than 30 years in prison. The proposal is supported by the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association.

A previous version of the bill moved through the Senate in 2019 but never made it to the House.

AP PHOTO

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., center, and Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., center left, are joined by representatives of the American Legion as they speak to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on March 16.

AP PHOTO

Leslie Maynor Locklear, a Robeson County mother who lost both her sons to overdose deaths in 2022, speaks in favor of increasing drug distribution penalties on Tuesday, March 7, 2023, at the Legislative Building in Raleigh.

COUNTY NEWS

FirstHealth Dental

awarded grant from Delta Dental Foundation

FirstHealth Dental is one of 39 nonprofit organizations in North Carolina to be awarded a 2023 Smile for Kids Grant from the Delta Dental Foundation to support oral health care services for underserved children in our state.

The $2,118 grant from the Delta Dental Foundation will support FirstHealth Dental in its mission to provide quality dental care to underserved children in Moore and Montgomery counties. The grant will provide vital oral care supplies to children, including toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, and more, as the clinics prepare to expand their outreach to daycares in the service area in the upcoming months.

“Providing quality health care to children who otherwise would not receive it is at the heart of what we do,” said Sharon Nicholson Harrell, DDS, MPH, director of FirstHealth Dental. “Community support from organizations like the Delta Dental Foundation is vital in helping us improve the oral health of the communities we serve, and we are incredibly grateful to receive this grant.”

The dentist and staff at FirstHealth Dental provide care for children from birth to 21 years of age who receive Medicaid, Health Choice, or are uninsured and qualify by income level. Since 1998, the program has provided dental care to more than 30,000 underserved children in Moore and Montgomery counties.

Since the inception of the Smiles for Kids Grant program in 2011, the Delta Dental Foundation has invested more than $750,000 in grants, which has touched the lives of more than 500,000 children and families in more than half of North Carolina counties.

MOORE COUNTY

NC Senate OKs harsher penalties for utility damage

The Associated Press RALEIGH — The North Carolina Senate unanimously passed legislation Tuesday, March 14, that would increase punishments for intentionally damaging utility equipment after substation shootings in Moore County cut power to 45,000 homes and small businesses for several days last year.

Senators on last week opted to tack on new cybersecurity safeguards before sending the bill to the House.

The proposal would create a new

statute making it a high-grade felony to purposefully damage or attempt to damage an energy facility, including those that transmit or distribute electricity or fuel, and any associated hardware, software or digital infrastructure.

Sen. Tom McInnis, a Moore County Republican and primary sponsor, described statewide efforts to restore power to his district last December as residents struggled to stay warm and healthy.

Attacks have persisted in North Carolina after the Moore County shootings, he said, noting a Janu-

ary substation attack in Randolph County. The Carolinas and Pacific Northwest have become hotspots for attacks on critical infrastructure in recent years.

“This bill will help deter anyone considering such an attack and harshly punishing anyone who commits these crimes,” McInnis said on the Senate floor. “We must send a message to the would-be bad actors that these attacks will not be tolerated and the perpetrators will be held responsible for the chaos and damage they create.”

The proposal would partially

replace an existing state law that makes utility damage a misdemeanor without jail time on a first offense.

Someone with no criminal history could serve just over six years in prison and face up to $250,000 in fines, according to a summary generated by the General Assembly’s nonpartisan staff. A person with a lengthy criminal record could receive a longer sentence. If the damage results in death, the offense would be punishable by up to 13 years in prison for those without a prior conviction, and just over 16 years for those with a criminal record.

A person who is injured or whose property is damaged by a utility attack could sue the perpetrator to cover the cost of related expenses. Senators adopted an amendment on last week to lift a cap on the punitive damages someone may seek.

Southern Pines approves resolution of intent for YMCA

Budget increased for Pickleball Court Project

By Ryan Henkel North State Journal

SOUTHERN PINES — The Southern Pines Town Council met Tuesday, March 14, with a land lease agreement and budgetary amendments on the agenda.

The council approved a resolution of intent to lease 49 acres of land located on the north side of Morganton Road along Henley Street to the YMCA of the Sandhills for the purpose of constructing a recreation facility (YMCA) for the provision of recreation and other services to citizens of Southern Pines.

While questions were raised by council member Ann Petersen surrounding the lease agreement that the town would enter into with the YMCA (the land has to be used solely for a YMCA for the length of the lease or else it goes back to the town), the council ultimately agreed to set their initial resolution of intent as the maximum allowed 90-years.

“I feel like the YMCA is a huge benefit to the town, and so I’m inclined to approve this transfer of property at the given price purely for the sake of moving forward,” said council member Taylor Clement. “I think a long lease may maintain something in years to come,

The resolution advertises the town’s intent to move forward with the deal, but the agreement still needs to be approved by the YMCA of the Sandhills and then formally by the town.

but I think it’s important that we get the YMCA. I don’t want it to not happen in exchange for a lease that we end up with.” Mayor Pro Tem Paul Murphy echoed that sentiment, citing the need to get this deal underway.

“I don’t want to run the risk of losing this opportunity,” Murphy said. “The reality is that we certainly want to be amenable to the needs of the town. But I think, as we define the town and consider that just two weeks ago a young lady riding down the road had a gun pulled on her by some kids walking out in the middle of the road, these types of opportunities can help to socially alleviate certain problems and to play around with that urgent timing, I think it would be possibly insensitive on our part.”

The resolution advertises the town’s intent to move forward with the deal, but the agreement still needs to be approved by the YMCA

of the Sandhills and then formally by the town.

The council also approved the expansion of the recreation improvements budget for construction and repair costs associated with the installment of new pickleball courts in order to better line up with the bid offers the town had been receiving.

“Staff started contacting contractors to try and see if we could move this project along just out of the off chance that a window was going to open up,” said Town Manager Reagan Parsons. “We are still awaiting at least one, if not two, bid or price offers, but they are getting multiple quotes on this, and, to date, none of the quotes are coming in at $32,000.”

The approval moves the budget amount from $32,00 to $40,000, but according to Parsons, the full $40,000 shouldn’t be necessary, so the leftover amount would go back into the fund balance once the project is completed.

The full $40,000 just gives town staff the flexibility to work within the bids that have come in without having to come back to the council for another budgetary amendment.

The council finally approved the appointments of Kira Shoenfelder and Shawna Fink to the Library Advisory Board.

“I want to thank the people that have volunteered to go on the advisory board because it is a very im-

portant part of our community, people who volunteer and give up their time and talents,” said Mayor Carol Haney.

The Southern Pines Town Council will next meet April 11.

$1.00

North Carolina Sen. Tom McInnis, a Moore County Republican, presents a bill on the Senate floor that would stiffen penalties for intentionally damaging utility equipment, Tuesday, March 14, 2023, in Raleigh, N.C. The North Carolina Senate unanimously passed the legislation after substation shootings in Moore County cut power to 45,000 homes and business for several days last year.

CRIME LOG

Michigan is headed back to rust belt poverty

SINCE THE EARLY DAYS of Henry Ford, Michigan was the proud symbol of America’s industrial might.

But then, starting in the 1970s, things went south — in part because of the might of the unions that ran the state’s political machine. That’s when Michigan transitioned into the sad symbol of closed factories: the American “Rust Belt.” Flint, Michigan, became a ghost town.

From the 1970s to the early 2000s, Detroit lost nearly half its population. Whole neighborhoods were bulldozed, and homes were selling for less than $10,000 as poor and minority residents fled the area’s crime, lousy schools, high unemployment and political corruption.

If you traveled to Florida or Arizona, you saw lots of Michigan license plates.

But then, Michigan began to reform itself with tax cuts and leaner and cleaner government.

One big reform was Michigan became a “right to work” state. The state went through an amazing economic renaissance. According to the American Legislative Exchange Council’s “Rich States, Poor States” report (which I co-wrote), few states rose on economic competitiveness faster than the home of the Wolverines.

Prosperity returned.

Now the shine is off the engine. The Democrats took back control of the politics in the state, and the first thing they did was repeal “right to work”

— a big wet kiss to the union bosses for all those campaign contributions.

“Right to work” is the law of the land in 26 states.

These laws do not prohibit unions. There are many unions in these states. “Right to work” simply means that workers cannot be compelled to join a union.

Democrats are falsely advertising this as a restoration of workers’ rights. That’s a bald-faced lie. Now, to keep your job in Michigan, you must

join the union, and you must pay dues to the union bosses. The United Auto Workers union has been plagued with corruption, including massive pay packages to the union leaders.

This bill will not only take away the right to choose from Michigan workers, but it will also do great damage to the state’s economy. States that have “right to work” laws create jobs at almost twice the pace of states with forced union policies.

Many businesses won’t even consider locating a new factory or blue-collar operation in a forced union state. The auto jobs in America will now accelerate their move to the Southern states, which happen to be “right to work.”

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI), a stooge of the unions, will sign the bill into law. And Michigan is about to see a return to the Rust Belt era.

Here is what’s really telling. The Communist Party of America put out a press release celebrating the demise of “right to work” in Michigan. They note correctly that Michigan is now the first state in more than half a century to turn back the clock and force union chains on workers. Most states have been moving in the opposite direction.

What is sadly ironic about this endorsement is that throughout the 20th century, the unions in America were staunchly anti-communist. It was Lech Walesa, the Polish union organizer, who stood up to the evil communist government that tried to outlaw unions. He and President Ronald Reagan and the AFL-CIO helped defeat the evil empire.

Now the communists in America cheer on the unions as they sow the seeds of their own demise — as well as the demise of a once-mighty state.

Stephen Moore is a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation and a co-founder of the Committee to Unleash Prosperity. His latest book is “Govzilla: How the Relentless Growth of Government Is Devouring Our Economy.”

Here’s a quick look at what’s coming up in Moore County:

March 23

Moore County Farmers Market

9am – 1pm Enjoy the Moore County Farmers Market at the Armory Sports Complex, which is located at 604 W. Morganton Road in Southern Pines! Buy local and fresh seasonal produce and products every Thursday morning from 9 am until 1pm!

Trivia Thursday at the Brewery

6pm

Come out for Trivia at the Southern Pines Brewery! Enjoy fun and prizes each Thursday. Southern Pines Brewing Company is located at 565 Air Tool Dr., Southern Pines, NC.

March 24

Live Music – Mary Stone 5pm – 8pm

Come out to James Creek Cider House in Cameron for some cider, live music, and great food! Mary Stone will be performing from 5 pm until 8 pm. The Tasty Turkey Que food truck will be on site from 3 pm until 8 pm.

The SpongeBob Musical at North Moore High

7pm

The North Moore Theatre presents The SpongeBob Musical! The musical is based on the Nickelodeon series by Stephen Hillenburg and book by Kyle Jarrow. Tickets are $15 and will be available at the door.

Southern Pines

PD, Simple Assault

♦ BULLOCK, JONATHAN MAURICE, 46, B, M, 3/17/2023, Moore County Sheriff’s Office, Robbery, Conspiracy Armed Robbery Business Person, Possess Marijuana up to 1/2 oz, Possess Drug Paraphernalia

♦ ROBINSON, REBECCA IRENE, 25, W, F, 3/16/2023, Moore County Sheriff’s Office, Possess

Heroin, Maintn Veh/Dwell/ Place CS, Possess Marijuana

Paraphernalia, Felony Probation

Violation (x3)

♦ ROBINSON, JAMAR DANIEL, 27, B, M, 3/16/2023, Moore County Sheriff’s Office, Possess

Methamphetamine, Maintn Veh/ Dwell/Place CS, Possess Drug Paraphernalia, Felony Probation

Violation (x2)

March 25

Robbins Spring CruiseIn Fundraiser

1pm – 4pm

Come out for the annual Robbins Spring Cruise-In on Saturday! This year’s event is a special fundraiser to benefit Emma Upchurch and her family for continued recovery and rehabilitation. This event will take place in the Fidelity parking lot, located at 130 E. Salisbury Street.

COLUMN | STEPHEN MOORE

SIDELINE REPORT

FORMULA ONE

Haas dismisses a report alleging it broke Russian sanctions

Kannapolis

The Haas Formula One team has dismissed a report claiming its parent company broke sanctions by providing machinery to Russia as “simply false.” Haas was responding to a report by American broadcaster PBS on Tuesday alleging that the Haas Automation company had provided machines and parts to Russia. This would have been in violation of U.S. export control and sanctions regulations after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year. Haas says the story is false “both in its overall impression and in many of its particular statements.”

NHL Sharks goalie Reimer declines to wear Pride jersey

San Jose San Jose Sharks goalie James Reimer didn’t take part in pregame warmups Saturday night because the team’s decision to wear Pridethemed jerseys in support of the LGBTQ community runs counter to his religious beliefs. Reimer, a former Hurricanes goalie, said he made the decision based on his Christian beliefs. He adds that he “always strived to treat everyone with respect” and that members of the LGBTQ community should be welcome in hockey. Reimer is the second NHL player this season to refuse to take part in warmups with Pride-themed jerseys.

Philadelphia’s Ivan Provorov declined to do it in January.

PGA

Moore tops Spieth, Schenk at Innisbrook

Palm Harbor, Fla.

Taylor Moore shot 67 to win the Valspar Championship, making key birdies on the 15th and 16th holes at Innisbrook. The victory sends the 29-year-old Moore to the Masters with his first PGA Tour victory.

Adam Schenk was tied for the lead when his drive landed next to a tree on the final hole, leading to a bogey.

Jordan Spieth was also tied for the lead until hitting his drive into the water on the 16th. Spieth also missed a 6-foot birdie putt to get back in the mix.

Logano passes Keselowski on last lap to win at Atlanta

Chevrolet had won the first four races of the Cup season

The Associated Press

HAMPTON, Ga. — Joey Logano dominated early and then passed Brad Keselowski on the final lap to win the NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway and end the early season domination of Chevrolet and Hendrick Motorsports on Sunday.

Logano won the pole and led a strong showing of three straight Team Penske drivers in qualifying, but Keselowski looked like the Ford driver to beat late in the race. Keselowski had help from Corey LaJoie, but Logano got a push from Christopher Bell that proved decisive on the final lap. Bell finished third in a Toyota

and LaJoie finished a career-best fourth in a Chevrolet.

“The first win of the season always feels better,” said the reigning Cup champion, who led 141 of the 260 laps.

Logano’s win ended a streak of four consecutive victories by Chevrolet to open the NASCAR Cup season, including back-to-back wins by William Byron of Hendrick.

Pushed by his Team Penske teammates Ryan Blaney and Austin Cindric, Logano passed Keselowski to regain the lead with 34 laps to go. Keselowski took back the lead to set up the last-lap drama.

After no cautions during the second stage, the competition — and crashes — picked up late in the race.

Kevin Harvick, who won in Atlanta in 2018 and 2020, was leading late when he lost control while

6

Career victories for William Byron after picking up his second straight win Sunday at Phoenix.

being pushed by Ross Chastain.

Replays indicated Chastain’s Chevrolet didn’t hit Harvick’s Ford, but Harvick’s spin caused a major crash.

“I think he was just so close to me he caught me right in the corner,” Harvick said of Chastain.

“The way he came from right to left took the car away from me.”

Byron called the wreck “just a part of racing.”

Another wreck involving the leaders followed 20 laps later when

Aric Almirola blew a tire, causing a spin that also took out Kyle Larson and Daniel Suarez.

Hendrick Motorsports’ four drivers had fill-in crew chiefs following the largest combined fine on one team in series history for modifying air-deflecting pieces last weekend at Phoenix Raceway. Hendrick was issued a combined $400,000 in fines along with four-race suspensions for the crew chiefs.

Chase Elliott, the Georgia native who won last summer’s race at his home track, continues to recover in Colorado from a broken tibia suffered while snowboarding month.

Elliott posted regrets on his Twitter account for being unable to participate in Sunday’s race: “This is gonna be a tough one today not being in atl for obvious reasons, but I can’t wait to see everyone down there in July!”

When Hendrick Motorsports tweeted to Elliott “Not the same without you here,” Elliott replied with hopes he would return “hopefully sooner than later my friends.”

The NASCAR Cup Series moves to Austin, Texas, and the Circuit of the Americas next Sunday. Chastain scored his first career Cup win on the road course last year.

Women’s March Madness finds foothold on national TV

ESPN’s deal with the NCAA is up after next season

The Associated Press

WITH HOPES of a separate television contract in upcoming negotiations, the women’s NCAA Tournament keeps gaining momentum.

The national title game returns to network television for the first time since 1995, with an ABC broadcast on April 2 from Dallas and a one-hour pregame show.

ABC will feature at least six games from the women’s tournament, including two first-round games Saturday and a pair of second-round contests Sunday.

“Putting it on ABC, we’re giving it the best opportunity for success,” said Dan Ochs, who handles women’s basketball programming for ESPN. “This tournament continues to grow and deliver for us.”

South Carolina’s 64-49 victory over Connecticut in last year’s title game averaged 4.85 million viewers on ESPN — the mostwatched women’s championship game since 2004. It was also the fourth-largest audience for the title game since the network began airing the entire tournament in 1996.

The 2022 women’s tournament overall averaged 634,000 viewers per game, a 16% increase over 2021, with many of the rounds seeing their highest averages in more than 10 years.

ESPN has every reason to believe those numbers can increase: Regular season games on the network averaged more than 190,000 viewers, making it the most-viewed regular season since 2015. And a matchup of two undefeated teams on Feb. 12, in which South Carolina topped LSU, was

the most-watched regular-season women’s game since 2010 with an average of 1.47 million viewers.

Advertising for the tournament has sold out for the second straight year, ESPN said, with 15 broadcast sponsors and nearly 100 advertisers.

It’s the third year that all of the women’s NCAA Tournament games will have national airtime between ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPNews. The staggered start times and multiple channels brings it in line with the

men’s tournament in terms of access.

Up until 2019, ESPN used regional windows during the first two rounds, with the games mostly on ESPN or ESPN2.

ESPN’s current contract to broadcast the women’s tournament expires next year. Right now, the women’s tournament is part of a package with 28 other title events and does not include the men’s tournament. ESPN pays $34 million per year for the championships package, which it agreed to in 2011.

The NCAA is expected to decide by the fall if the women’s tournament will become a separate entity, along with how the other championships may be divided.

“I mean, all of the things and the investments that have been made from the NCAA over the last few years are really important, and greatly recognized and appreciated,” UCLA coach Cori Close said. “That being said, I’m also really excited for a few that still need to be attacked. And I think that, really being able to separate and go to market as the new ESPN contract comes up to bid, I think that’s an important next step as well as meaningful unit distribution as associated with the women’s tournament.”

AP PHOTO

Illinois’ Makira Cook drives as Mississippi State’s Ramani Parker defends during a First Four game in the women’s NCAA Tournament last Wednesday in South Bend, Indiana.

Wanda Gail Holden Scheipers

June 2, 1950 - March 14, 2023

Wanda Gail Holden Scheipers, 72, of Pinebluff, surrounded by her loving family, went home to her Lord Tuesday, March 14th.

Born in the family home in 1950, she was the daughter of the late Rifton and Vara Green Holden. Wanda attended Aberdeen High School and enjoyed many activities among which was cheerleading. After her high school graduation, class of 1968, she went on to earn her Associates Degree from Sandhills Community College. Later, she furthered her education at UNC Wilmington. On Nov. 10, 1973, she married her high school sweetheart, Guy Matthews Scheipers. Being a wife of a military man, they would relocate to Sumter, SC; Crete Greece; Bossier Parish, LA and Pope AFB, NC.

Wanda had a long career in healthcare working for many local doctors’ offices. She had worked at the Fayetteville Diagnostic Center, FirstHealth Moore Regional, Family Care Center of Southern Pines, Dr. Lineburgers’ office and Dr. Hall’s office before her retirement in 2010. Wanda had been a long-time member of the Ives Memorial Baptist Church in Pinebluff, having joined when she was 5 years old. Over the years she had always been faithful to the church and its congregation; having served as a Sunday School teacher, singing in the choir or with the children at VBS.

Wanda was known for her generous and gentle spirit, coupled with her love of family.

Wanda is survived by her husband, Guy Scheipers. Her sons include Guy Matthews (“Matt”) Scheipers II and wife Elizabeth Scheipers of Charlotte, and also Patrick Scheipers of Sanford. She is survived by her two sisters, Sharon McDonald and Terre Currie. Wanda was the aunt of Molly Strickland, Whitney Kinneer, Caroline Currie, Katie Currie and Wilbur Currie. She is also survived by many cousins, aunts and uncles.

In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to the Ives Memorial Baptist Church Building Fund, 365 E. Philadelphia Ave, Pinebluff, NC, 28373 or to the Alzheimer’s Association.

Jerry F. Gerdes

August 31, 1938 - March 15, 2023

Jerry F Gerdes, 84, passed away March 15, 2023. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio August 31, 1938, Jerry spent his career in marketing, beginning with YSI in Ohio and then owned his own company in New York, representing scientific instrument manufacturers in the US and Europe. Jerry enjoyed golf, fine dining and flying his aerobatic airplane in competitions. He was also a respected judge in the International Aerobatic Club. In retirement Jerry and his wife Sandy moved to Whispering Pines, NC where they were active members of The Golf Club of Whispering Pines and played golf at many local courses. He is survived by his wife, Sandy; son, Michael Gerdes and wife, Marilee; daughter, Mary Gerdes and husband, Larry Weber; his sisters, Gail Dolan and Mary Beth Hausman and brother, Tom Gerdes.

Fred Michael Lance

October 4, 1955 - March 13, 2023

Fred Michael Lance, 67 of Carthage, passed away on March 13, 2023 at his home.

Born on October 4, 1955 in Toledo, Ohio to the late Fred Dever and Betty Jean Lance. Fred enjoyed working in his yard and tinkering around with projects. He adored his granddaughter and time spent with her.

He is survived by his wife, Mollie Lance; two daughters, Stephanie Jarrell (Jason Jarrell) and Rachel Lance (Craig Locklear); and one granddaughter, Makenzie Jarrell.

In lieu of flowers, the family would like for you to extend an act of kindness to someone in your life in memory of Fred.

Jay Allen Kenzel

March 29, 1932 - March 13, 2023

Jay Allen Kenzel, 90, passed peacefully on Monday, March 13th, 2023 at First Health Moore Regional Hospital.

Born on March 29, 1932 in Milwaukee, WI. He was the son of the late Richard “Dick” Kenzel and Ruth Thompson Kenzel. He lived in New England and Michigan before moving to the Sandhills in February 1977, when he and his wife, Judy, bought and ran The Fairway on US 1 in Southern Pines until retiring to Seven Lakes in December 2004. Prior to the Fairway, he was in the insurance industry. He also served in leadership roles with the Southern Innkeepers, American Hotel Motel Association and Moore County Chamber.

Jay graduated from Whitefish Bay High School in Wisconsin before graduating from DePauw University where he was a Delta Upsilon Brother and was the sports photographer for the University. After college he served in the US Air Force as a 2nd Lieutenant. His true passion was sailing and supporting the Green Bay Packers. Jay also served his community through the Shriners, Masons where he achieved a 32nd degree, Salvation Army and Kiwanis. His many memorable times was playing bridge with his wife.

Jay was the loving husband of the late Judith Ann Reif Kenzel for 58 years, and was blessed with four children: Jean Ann, Jo Ann, Jeffrey Allen (Jeannine), Jerry Allen (Faye), and two grandchildren: Jonathan and Jaclyn. Jay also leaves several nephews and nieces and their families from Wisconsin, Arizona, California and New Jersey. In addition, his beloved rescue dog, Annie.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that a donation be made to the Moore Humane Society in Jay’s name.