VOLUME 2 ISSUE 45
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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2017
‘The nation that forgets its defenders will itself be forgotten.’ Calvin Coolidge, president of the United States from 1923-1929
EAMON QUEENEY | NORTH STATE JOURNAL
James Cox, commandant of the Marine Corps League’s Detachment #733, lights a candle on a table set for one before the Veterans Day Ceremony at Wake Tech Community College in Raleigh on Nov. 7. The place setting symbolizes soldiers lost in service to the country. The ceremony celebrated the more than 1,800 veterans who are now students at Wake Tech.
the Wednesday
NEWS BRIEFING
NC schools chief points out waste at DPI Raleigh N.C. School Superintendent Mark Johnson told the state’s Board of Education that a $1 million audit of the Department of Public Instruction will likely pinpoint more cases of wasteful spending. In a board meeting last week, Johnson said that since taking office from three-term DPI veteran June Atkinson, he’s found a number of headquarters and public relations expenditures that could be spent on classrooms instead. BOE Chairman Bill Cobey praised Johnson’s reform efforts. Results of the audit are due in April.
Western Governors University offers scholarships Raleigh North Carolina’s new nonprofit online university announced this week two scholarship programs. The “Salute to Veterans” scholarships are valued at up to $2,500 per student who is either a military veteran, active-duty or retired military, reservist, or military dependent. In addition, the new “Take Flight” scholarships are valued up to $2,000 per six-month term for general population students enrolled in one of WGU’s 60 online undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
Two NC flu deaths reported Raleigh The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on Monday announced the state’s first flurelated deaths of the 2017-18 season after two adults died of complications from influenza infection. Flu infections are most common from late fall to early spring, with peak activity in January or February. Visit flu.nc.gov for vaccine information
NORTH
STATE
JOURNaL ELEVATE THE CONVERSATION
Changing the culture of teen drinking The North Carolina ABC Commission is tackling teen alcohol use head-on with a new statewide multimedia campaign to give parents the tools they need By Laura Ashley Lamm North State Journal
KINSTON — It’s a fact that young teens in North Carolina know about or have tried alcohol. “North Carolina has an underage drinking problem, but so do all the other states. We’re just the state that is doing something about it,” said Kat Haney, director of the Initiative to Reduce Underage Drinking. According to recent reports from the North Carolina ABC Commission on the State of Underage Drinking in North Carolina, nearly two-thirds of middle school- and high school-aged youth know people around their age who have tried alcohol. “Our statistics show the first time youth try alcohol is around the age of 14,” said Haney. “We know that at that stage the parents are still thinking of their kid as a little child, and kids are See TALK IT OUT, page A3
INSIDE Reps. Richard Hudson and G.K. Butterfield’s key bill to help paramedics heads to the President Donald Trump’s desk. Jones & Blount
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really looking to their parents for context and guidance. In junior high, our data comes back over and over that parents are the No. 1 influencer.” In an effort to assist parents in discussing underage drinking with their children and to help the state combat the drinking epidemic, the ABC Commission established Talk It Out, a statewide multimedia campaign targeted at middle school parents. How do parents talk with children about alcohol? How does the conversation start? What effect does alcohol have on the growing brain of a teenager? “This doesn’t have to be a production for parents. It just needs to be an open conversation you have frequently, openly and honestly with children,” said Haney. “We want to help move parents into action.” Through multimedia sites like its website, talkitoutnc.org, Talk it Out offers a variety of resources for parents from YouTube videos to visual graphics on the brain, all supported by medical research from doctors. Even Duke men’s basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski donated his time to speak in a vid-
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Veterans Day is every day for these North Carolinians Benefits for veterans in tuition, job training, home loans and money are out there — but many service members don’t even know about it By Donna King North State Journal GARNER — Patriotism ran high on campus at Wake Technical Community College this week as the school took a morning to recognize the nation’s and the state’s veterans. At Wake Tech the Military and Veterans Programs is working to help nearly 2,000 students ease the transition from military service to school, and build a plan for their future. Wake Tech’s Veteran’s Resource Center was built especially for that purpose. “We want them to know how much work they can already get curriculum credit for, but at the same time we want to connect them with the outside agencies that can provide the resources that we can’t such as housing, medical treatment, those kinds of things,” said Dr. Samuel Strickland, senior vice president for Military and Veterans Programs. “The Veterans Center is a hub for those resources. They and their fami-
“Service members are the best our nation has to offer. Regardless of branch, they are the heart and soul of the best nation on the planet.” — Col. Rock Booze, U.S. Army
See VETERANS, page A2
KOJI SASAHARA | REUTERS
President Donald Trump reviews an honor guard during a welcome ceremony with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Akasaka State Guest House in Tokyo, on Nov.6.
Trump to give North Korea speech, then press China to do more Insiders say the president may crack open the door to diplomacy in an important speech Wednesday By Matt Spetalnick and Steve Holland Reuters SEOUL, South Korea — President Donald Trump will wrap up his visit to Seoul on Wednesday with a major speech on North Korea and then shift focus to China, where he is expected to press a reluctant
President Xi Jinping to tighten the screws further on Pyongyang, U.S. officials say. Trump’s address to South Korea’s National Assembly will come a day after he seemed to take a more balanced approach: threatening to use America’s full military might against North Korea if needed, but also offering it a diplomatic opening to “make a deal” to end the nuclear standoff. While Trump presented no specific solution to his toughest global security challenge, his more conSee ASIA, page A3
North State Journal for Wednesday, November 8, 2017
A2 WEDNESDAY
11.08.17 #101
Republicans are gearing up for next year’s elections With the 2018 midterms one year from this week, Republicans say they are on track for victory By Donna King North State Journal
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North State Journal (USPS PP 20451) (ISSN 2471-1365) Neal Robbins Publisher
RALEIGH — The 2018 midterm elections is a year away, but you wouldn’t know it. The flurry of fundraising, candidate shuffling and teaming up is at a fevered pitch among Republicans and Democrats as they look at November 6, 2018 as a sort of day of reckoning; a test of how Trump voters will view their Congressional accomplishments and whether President Trump has the coattails to bring them back for another term or will voters decide to put a Democrat, or a different Republican, in their seat? “After the election of 2016, conservatives — now unquestionably dominant in the GOP — re-engaged the conversation of what it meant to be a conservative and whether a new type of candidate should replace the old model,” said Matt Schlapp, president of the American Conservative Union. Schlapp runs an organization whose issues have helped shaped thousands of Republican campaigns over the year. Their annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), will be held in February in Baltimore and will likely serve again as a jumping off point for the 2018 campaigns – With the theme “Reclaiming America’s Promise,” it will highlight the key
issues, players and challenges of the national races. The four-day event is seen as a crash course on the state of the nation and the Constitution. Republicans hold 52 seats in the 100-member U.S. Senate, and Democrats and independents will be defending 25 of the 34 seats up for re-election in 2018. In the U.S. House of Representatives, Democrats hold 194 of 435 seats and all are up for re-election next year. The grassroots movement helped the Republicans gain steam over the last decade, building support among conservatives who felt unheard in Washington. The Democratic party lost nearly 1,000 state legislative seats nationally during former President Barack Obama's two terms in the White House, and hold the fewest governor's offices in nearly a century. His two successful campaigns left the Democrats national party nearly bankrupt. Republicans are hoping to continue that trend. The RNC has outraised the DNC since Trump took office, particularly among those donating less than $200. “We are training volunteers, getting our technology in order, raising money; it’s an exciting time,” said NCGOP Chairman Robin Hayes. An early test of the 2018 election is already underway. A bitterly fought governor's race in Virginia leads a slate of state and local elections on Tuesday tests Trump’s political influence and possible strategies for both parties in next year's midterm elections. Republican Ed Gillespie is a for-
mer RNC chairman running ads hitting his opponent, Democrat Ralph Northam, the state's Lieutenant Governor, on issues like immigration, gang crime and Confederate statues, but his key message is stagnant economic growth in Virginia. The race is considered the most competitive in the nation, too close to call as of Tuesday. A win for Gillespie would be the latest in a series of setbacks for Democrats, who lost four contested congressional special elections earlier this year despite grassroots liberal enthusiasm for resisting Trump. Schlapp called the race on Twitter, a “test of Trump’s rural coalition today in #VAGOV” Meanwhile, Republicans on Capitol Hill are moving forward with a tax reform package that will be the biggest in thirty years and potentially the key talking point in the 2018 races. As the proposal heads through Congress, a repeal of the Obamacare mandate could be added. Repealing Obamacare was a key part of Republican platforms across the country in 2016. U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan said his colleagues might use the tax overhaul to repeal the Affordable Care Act provision that mandates individuals buy health insurance. "We have an active conversation with our members and a whole host of ideas on things to add to this bill," Ryan said in an interview on Fox News Sunday. "And that’s one of the things that’s being discussed." If Republicans pass tax legisla-
tion, it will be the first major legislative achievement since Republicans took control of the White House and Congress in January and a rebound from their failure to overturn the Affordable Care Act earlier this year. “There appears to be widespread agreement among congressional Republicans that moving on from Obamacare is bad policy and bad politics,” said Dan Holler, vice president for Heritage Action for America, the lobbying affiliate of The Heritage Foundation. According to analysts, voters will be looking at the economy for guidance in the voting booth, regardless of protests and Facebook posts. As the one-year anniversary of Trump’s presidency nears, the U.S. Department of Commerce released GDP figures last week that the U.S. U.S. economy grew at a solid 3 annual pace for the last two quarters, despite two devastating hurricanes. Friday's figures marked the first time in three years that the economy has expanded at a 3 percent or more annual rate. In addition, the unemployment rate is at a 16-year low. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said that Friday's GDP report "proves that President Trump's bold agenda is steadily overcoming the dismal economy inherited from the previous administration. ... And as the president's tax cut plan is implemented our entire economy will continue to come roaring back." For information on attending CPAC visit cpac.conservative.org
Donna King Editor Cory Lavalette Managing/Sports Editor Frank Hill Senior Opinion Editor
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Don’t Miss it! In honor of Veterans Day, N.C. Department of Military and Veterans Affairs Secretary Larry Hall will hold a wreath laying ceremony to cap a week of activities across the state. State Capitol Wreath Laying Ceremony Saturday, Nov. 11 at 11 a.m. 1 E. Edenton St., Raleigh, NC 27601
“Every day that we enjoy the freedoms we have should be a reminder of the reason we honor and appreciate our veterans and military personnel. Veterans Day is just one of the days of the year that we should celebrate all of our dedicated men and women who currently serve as well as those who served us in the past.” — Secretary Larry Hall
VETERANS from page A1 lies can connect with each other, use the computer lab, and learn more about what’s available to them. Veterans are very special, and they have unique needs and they come into the college.” But here on Tuesday, of the 150 students and staff at the ceremony, the number of those who traded their uniform for a backpack and jeans far outnumbered those who haven’t served. They are studying everything from engineering to education to information and technology. Each stood in honor of their branch as the 82nd Airborne Division Brass Quintet played. “Veterans do not leave their values and skills when they take off their uniform,” said Col. Rock Booze, U.S. Army, who was there to address the veteran audience. “They use their skills to continue serving the community as teachers, elected officials, first responders. They use their skills for positive impact. A service member is one for life, and it is our duty to support them and inspire the next generation to serve.” At the U.S Department of Veterans Affairs they couldn’t agree more. Regional teams are holding Veterans Community Action Center open houses across the state to help veterans, whether they are in school or not, apply for benefits that many may not even know they have. The agency offers monetary benefits, job training, tuition assistance and even home loans.
“We pay for the most part monetary benefits, if a veteran is injured in the military or during active duty and they have residual disability from that we can compensate them for that,” said Mark Bilosz, the VA’s Winston-Salem Regional Office director. “There are also various disabilities that we can compensate, especially Vietnam-era veterans who may have been exposed to Agent Orange. Everybody could get a benefit all the way from zero up to 100 percent, which could mean anywhere from a $100 all the way up to several thousand dollars a month, and those are tax-free benefits.” At the open houses veterans can sit down with a professional and sometimes get a decision right away. Bilosz estimated that there are thousands of veterans in N.C. that are not collecting their benefits for one reason or another. Often older veterans don’t know what’s available to them. Younger people right out the military get extensive briefings on benefits, but those outreach efforts are relatively new. “Some folks don’t trust VA, and a good percentage are Vietnam-era folks,” said Bilosz. “When they came back from Vietnam they were not treated very well by society, not like veterans today. “Some folks say, ‘My condition isn’t that bad, and there are other folks out there that are worse than me, and by coming in it’s taking away from someone else.’ That absolutely isn’t true, each case is looked at individually,” he added.
EAMON QUEENY | NORTH STATE JOURNAL
The Wake Tech Police Department’s Honor Guard gets ready to present the colors during the Veterans Day Ceremony
For Lorena Manzanares, all the resources available to her when she was medically discharged from the service last year helped her find a new path. A mom of three, a veteran and a student, Manzanares is looking forward to a bright future out of uniform, and hopefully at the front of an elementary school classroom. “I’ve always known I want to work with children, and teachers are developing our future leaders,” she said. “Here they are giving us a great foundation to build those skills for the next step.” Manzanares said that friends who are student veterans in other parts of the country don’t enjoy the same support as she gets here. “My friend is a student in Portland, Ore., and when she identi-
fied herself as a veteran in class someone vandalized her car and spray painted ‘babykiller’ on it,” Manzanares said. “I’m so glad we live in N.C. where we understand and appreciate veterans.” She in the vice president of Wake Tech’s Student Veterans Association and part of the next generation of N.C. veterans who will continue the leadership the nation needs in a time of change and division. “No matter what branch of service, we live an uncommon life under a common flag,” said Booze. “But what matters most is that we are Americans first. All of us.” For more information on resources available to N.C. veterans visit www.milvets.nc.govor www. benefits.va.gov/winstonsalem
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North State Journal for Wednesday, November 8, 2017
Democrats say they’re energized for 2018 The North Carolina Democratic Party is hoping to turn early enthusiasm into votes By Laura Ashley Lamm North State Journal KINSTON — This week marks one-year until the 2018 midterm elections and one-year since the 2016 election. The lines are drawn between Republicans and Democrats on issues, candidates and government policies. Since Democrats lost seats and the presidential race in 2016, the charge is on to strengthen momentum and gain back control. “Democrats are energizing and actively preparing candidates running for office. The Democratic Party as a whole is more organized and engaged as I’ve seen it in a long time,” said Morgan Jackson, Democratic strategist at Nexus Strategies in Raleigh. “Volunteers are starting to come together not only at the state level, but at the local level in North Carolina.” North Carolina Democrats have organized in an additional 240 voting districts in an effort to gain more supporters. The party is hoping to turn this early and strong enthusiasm into votes that break Republican supermajorities in the state legislature and flip Congressional seats in the Republican-run U.S. House. “The key for Democrats moving into the next election cycle is to put in the hard work now, stay focused and organized, and maintain a strong infrastructure in the party,”
added Jackson. In the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll conducted nationally, using a hypothetical national ballot, Democratic congressional candidates hold a robust 11-point lead over their GOP counterparts, 51 percent to 40 percent, among registered voters overall. When narrowed down to those who say they voted in the last midterms and are certain to do so again, the contest snaps essentially to a dead heat, 48 to 46 percent. This shift is due in part because the 2014 midterms were so successful for the Republicans. The GOP won the Senate and padded their House majority that year. Past voting is often the best predictor of future voting, making it clear that the Democrats will have to change the dynamic to prevail in the next midterms a year from now. The North Carolina Democratic Party (NCDP) has been diligently working this year to create tools to make bringing together party supporters easier. The NCDP recently launched a new website with sleek design and quick-access links to make finding information, volunteer opportunities and events simple with the click of a button. New features include the action center and events page. The action center serves as a one-stop shop for Democrats who want to get involved whether it’s a seasoned activist or someone wishing to participate for the first time. Over on the events page, affiliates can locate parties, rallies and fundraisers near their location. According to the State Board of Elections, there are more than
“The Democratic Party as a whole is more organized and engaged as I’ve seen it in a long time.” — Morgan Jackson, Democratic strategist at Nexus Strategies 2.6 million registered Democrats. That’s 2.6 million potential voters for the midterm elections in 2018. While North Carolina is preparing for local and statewide elections, the prospective Democratic national candidate to face President Donald Trump in 2020 is still on people’s minds. Former Interim Democratic National Committee chair Donna Brazile released a tell-all book about the 2016 presidential race in which she stated she seriously considered replacing Hillary Clinton on the presidential ticket with Vice President Joe Biden after Clinton collapsed at a 9/11 memorial service. Brazile also describes the Clinton campaign as “badly mismanaged and spiritless,” and allowed an excerpt of her memoir to be published by POLITICO Magazine in which she wrote she discovered the Clinton campaign had essentially rigged the DNC in Clinton’s favor long before she became the nominee. In response to Brazile’s memoir and statements, DNC Chairman Tom Perez said in a statement this week that the 2020 nominating process would be “unquestionably fair and transparent.” Perez said he is “more committed than ever before to restoring voters’ faith in our democratic process because even the perception of impartiality or an unfair advantage undermines our ability to win. That is unacceptable.”
CHRIS KEANE | REUTERS
A voter casts her ballot on election day for the U.S. presidential election in Smithfield, on Nov. 8, 2016
JONATHAN DRAKE | REUTERS
U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl walks out of the courthouse after the judge said he would continue deliberating on his sentence during Bergdahl’s court martial at Fort Bragg, on Nov. 3.
U.S. Army’s Bergdahl spared prison time for deserting Soldier who left post was captured by Taliban
permission. Defense lawyers had said Bergdahl, who experts testified has several mental health conditions, should not go to prison. By Greg Lacour Bergdahl's case made him a poReuters larizing figure. He drew withering FORT BRAGG — U.S. Army criticism from political leaders in Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl on Friday was Washington and fellow soldiers, spared prison time for endanger- both for the dangerous efforts to ing fellow troops when he deserted find him and the 2014 Taliban his post in Afghanistan in 2009, prisoner swap brokered by the but a military judge ordered he Democratic Obama administrashould be dishonorably discharged tion that secured his release. During his successful campaign from the service. Bergdahl was captured by the for the presidency last year, RepubTaliban and spent five years under lican Donald Trump called Bergbrutal captivity by the insurgent dahl "a no-good traitor who should group. He had faced up to life in have been executed." Nance, acting on a defense moprison after pleading guilty to desertion and misbehavior before the tion, ruled that Trump's comments had not influenced him nor affectenemy. ed Bergdahl's chances of The 31-year-old Idaho a fair sentence, but said native trembled in a milhe would consider them itary courtroom at Fort a mitigating factor. Bragg as he waited to hear “The Defense attorneys arhis punishment. decision on gued at Bergdahl's senArmy Col. Jeffery Sergeant tencing hearing that he Nance delivered the senwas a young, hardworktence in a hearing that Bergdahl is ing soldier who did not lasted just two minutes, a complete understand the full conand did not comment on and total sequences of his actions his decision. He also recwhen he deserted. ommended Bergdahl be disgrace to Bergdahl, who has demoted to private. our Country said he wanted to report President Donald and to our problems in his unit, Trump condemned apologized in court this Nance's order in a Twitter Military.” week for the suffering post Friday afternoon. he caused his comrades "The decision on Ser- — President and admitted he had geant Bergdahl is a commade "a horrible misplete and total disgrace Donald Trump take." to our Country and to our on Twitter Prosecutors, however, Military," Trump wrote in said Bergdahl knew his disappeara post on Twitter. Bergdahl and lawyers in the ance would trigger alarm in the war zone. case had no immediate comment. Prosecutors acknowledged Prosecutors had asked Nance to send Bergdahl to prison for 14 that Bergdahl suffered during his years for the hardships and inju- years as a prisoner of the Taliban, ries endured by service members but argued that did not diminish who searched for the soldier after the pain of fellow service members he left his combat outpost in Pakti- who were injured during the futile ka province in June 2009 without hunt for him.
ASIA from page A1
TALK IT OUT from page A1
ciliatory rhetoric toward North Korea could help lower tensions between Washington and Pyongyang that have put much of the east Asian region on edge over the prospects for military conflict. It contrasted markedly with Trump’s earlier threats to “totally destroy” North Korea if it threatened the United States, and the personal insults he exchanged with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. It remains to be seen, however, whether Trump, in his final day on North Korea’s doorstep, will build on this approach or return to the strong language that has characterized his handling of the North Korean issue. Trump’s official “talking points” for his Asia tour show he intends to use the speech in part to contrast South Korea’s “amazing rise” with North Korea’s “sad, backward state” and to urge resolve against Pyongyang, according to a confidential document reviewed by Reuters. He is also expected to condemn Pyongyang for its poor human rights record. Trump will then fly to Beijing where, according to senior administration officials, he will try to convince Xi to squeeze North Korea further with steps such as limits on oil exports, coal imports and financial transactions. Previewing his Beijing visit, Trump told a news conference in Seoul on Tuesday that China and North Korea’s other giant neighbor, Russia, were among countries whose cooperation will be crucial in getting North Korea to rein in its nuclear and missile programs. “President Xi … has been very helpful. We'll find out how helpful
eo about the importance of not drinking under the age of 21. “A conversation about underage drinking doesn’t have to be a set conversation or ‘the’ conversation,” said Haney. “It is a customized, often and regular thing that happens during a sports game, or out in the car traveling with your kid. It’s an opportunity to talk with your child about an issue that will be in their life.” Alcohol consumption is illegal for those under 21. It’s illegal to buy, provide and supervise the drinking of alcohol for those under 21. But still, there are youth consuming and parents buying, and the state of North Carolina wants to see this trend end. “Caring adults should say, ‘No,’” said Haney. “We are offering you resources to help your children make healthy decisions and for adults to understand how to have this conversation with youth.” A shocking point to note with kids is that alcohol affects the adolescent brain differently than it does the adult brain because the human brain isn’t fully developed until around age 25. Physicians and researchers from Duke Health, Duke Social Science Research Institute, UNC, UNC School of Medicine, UNC Charlotte and the Wake Forest School of Medicine partnered together to release a report of behalf of the Talk It Out campaign, “Alcohol and the Adolescent Brain: Immediate Impairment, Long-term Consequence.” Here’s are just a few facts in the research: “Alcohol slows down brain activity, and the negative effect of alcohol lasts far longer in a teenager’s brain than in an adult’s
TORU HANAI | REUTERS
President Donald Trump feeds carps with Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe before their working lunch at Akasaka Palace in Tokyo, on Nov. 6.
soon,” Trump said. But it is far from clear if Xi, who has just consolidated his power at a Communist Party congress, will agree to do more. China says its leverage over Pyongyang is exaggerated by the West, and points to its support in the U.N. Security Council for recent sanctions on North Korea as evidence that it is doing all it can to curtail the isolated nation's nuclear and missile tests. “On this issue, China’s position and stance is already very clear and staunch,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Monday. “Everyone can see clearly that we don’t need anybody to tell us what we should be doing.” But with Trump appearing to crack open the door to diplomacy with North Korea — something that China has long urged — he may have a better chance of securing further promises to intensify economic pressure on North Korea, which relies on Beijing for more than 90 percent of its trade. North Korean leader Kim Jong
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Un, however, has seemed willing to risk snubbing China when he deems it useful as he pursues development of a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the U.S. mainland. At the same time, Xi may be mindful that Trump has held off on trade actions against China that he loudly threatened during the 2016 presidential campaign to give Beijing more time to make progress on North Korea. For his part, Xi will also be looking to maintain the good personal chemistry the two leaders developed when Trump hosted him at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida in April. The "bromance" is set to continue when Xi returns the favor by laying on a lavish welcome for Trump's visit starting on Wednesday. Trump is expected to go to the Forbidden City, possibly guided by Xi, and participate in an inspection of Chinese troops, though China has released few other details.
— up to two weeks. If a teenager uses alcohol before his or her brain is fully developed, it can keep the good judgment and impulse-control part of the brain from properly developing. Alcohol can also damage the memory and learning areas of the brain.” In addition, alcohol exposure in youth can cause a dramatic shutdown of the process by which the hippocampus forms new cells. When parents are ready to start the conversation with their children, Haney offers these four points to help get parents started: 1. Gather Some Facts Start by familiarizing yourself with current statistics and real facts about underage drinking. Kids have access to Google, but they need parents to put all that information into context. 2. You Know Your Kid Tailor your conversations based on both age and interests. Explain the risks of underage drinking in age-appropriate terms and ask questions along the way to make sure that your child understands the details. Utilize their interests (science, sports, etc.) to emphasize how those risks may impact what is important to them. 3. You’ve Got This! Capitalize on everyday opportunities — mealtime, doing chores, driving in the car, watching television — to start up a conversation. Parents having uncomfortable conversations with their children is nothing new. 4. Rinse and Repeat Open, honest and often-occurring conversations are the key to underage drinking prevention success. If you need a boost of confidence, view the Talk It Out videos to remind yourself that it doesn’t have to be a big production.
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North State Journal for Wednesday, November 8, 2017
Nation & WORLD
Sen. Paul suffers five broken ribs after assault Bowling Green, Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul's return to Washington may be delayed after he suffered five broken ribs during an assault at his Kentucky home, media reported on Sunday, citing a senior adviser to the Republican lawmaker. Paul's neighbor, Rene Boucher, has been charged with one count of fourthdegree assault causing minor injury in connection with the incident on Friday, according to authorities. Boucher, 59, was released on bond.
Brandy Jones prays in front of 26 crosses erected near the site of the shooting at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Texas, on Nov. 6.
Supreme Court reverses ruling sparing killer who forgot the crime Washington, D.C. The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday overturned a lower court ruling that an Alabama man convicted of killing a police officer in 1985 was no longer legally eligible to be executed because strokes wiped out his memory of committing the murder. The nine justices ruled unanimously that Alabama can execute 67-year-old Vernon Madison, who has spent decades on death row.
Mattis backs Geneva process on Syrian conflict Arlington, Va. U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Monday he backed diplomatic efforts to bring an end to the Syrian civil war, which has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives over more than six years of conflict, as Islamic State militants near defeat. Mattis was traveling to Finland to meet with leaders from the Northern Group, a forum for 12 northern European countries, where concern about Russia is growing after it annexed Crimea from Ukraine and gave its backing to eastern Ukraine separatists fighting against the Kiev government.
Iraq court rules no region can secede after Kurdish independence bid Washington, D.C. Iraq's Supreme Federal Court ruled on Monday that no region or province can secede, strengthening the government's hand as it seeks to prevent a repeat of September's Kurdish independence vote. The ruling was a response to a request from the central government in Baghdad to put an end to any "wrong misinterpretation" of the constitution and assert the unity of Iraq, a court spokesman said.
Saudi-led forces close air, sea and land access to Yemen Riyadh, Saudi Arabia A Saudi-led military coalition will temporarily close all air, land and sea ports to Yemen to stem the flow of arms to Houthi rebels from Iran, it said in a statement on Monday carried by the state news agency SPA. The move, which follows the interception of a missile fired toward Riyadh on Saturday, is likely to further worsen Yemen's humanitarian crisis, which has pushed some 7 million to the brink of famine and left more than half a million infected with cholera, according to the United Nations.
Defense rests in senator’s bribery trial Washington, D.C. The federal corruption trial of Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) could have repercussions in Washington, where Republicans hold a narrow 52-48 edge in the Senate. If Menendez is convicted and either resigns or is expelled before Republican New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s term expires in January, the governor would presumably name a Republican to replace him. However, the Senate would need twothirds majority to expel him and some say no Democrats will vote to give that seat up to a Republican.
RICK WILKING | REUTERS
U.S. Air Force error allowed Texas church gunman to buy weapons Authorities put the death toll at 26 in the Texas shooting that now ranks as the fifth-deadliest by a single gunman in U.S. history By Jon Herskovitz and Lisa Maria Garcia Reuters WASHINGTON, D.C. — The man who carried out one of the deadliest U.S. mass shootings was able to buy guns legally because a prior domestic violence conviction while he was in the Air Force was never put into an FBI database used in background checks, officials said. Devin Kelley, the gunman in Sunday's massacre at a church in rural southeastern Texas, was convicted by court-martial of assaulting his first wife and stepson while serving in the U.S. Air Force in 2012, according to the Pentagon. The Air Force said it had failed to transmit information about Kelley's conviction to the National Criminal Information Center system, a U.S. government database used by licensed firearms dealers to check prospective gun buyers for criminal backgrounds. The Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, which oversees the military, called the failure to enter Kelley's record into the database
"appalling." "I don't believe that the Air Force should be left to self-police after such tragic consequences," Representative Mac Thornberry of Texas said in a statement. "The failure to properly report domestic violence convictions may be a systemic issue." The dead ranged in age from 18 months to 77 years. Twenty others were wounded, with 10 still in critical condition late on Monday, officials said. Among the dead are a deeply religious couple, R. Scott Marshall and Karen Marshall, who met while serving at North Carolina’s Seymour Johnson Air Force Base more than 32 years ago, his sister, Holly Hannum, told reporters. “They lasted,” Hannum said. “They had kids, they traveled. They had a love that lasted over time.” Texas hero Kelley died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in his getaway vehicle, where authorities found two handguns, Freeman Martin, a spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety, told a news conference on Monday. Kelley was also wounded by a resident who heard the gunshot, grabbed his own licensed rifle and raced to the church, shooting the 26-year-old twice as he fled. "That's it. I mean that's the bottom line, he needed to be stopped," Johnnie Langendorff told Reuters. "He was stopped and he's not going to hurt
Purge of Saudi princes, businessmen widens, travel curbs imposed Among those detained are 11 princes, four ministers and tens of former ministers, according to Saudi officials By Stephen Kalin and Reem Shamseddine Reuters RIYADH — A campaign of mass arrests of Saudi Arabian royals, ministers and businessmen expanded on Monday after a top entrepreneur was reportedly detained in the biggest anti-corruption purge of the kingdom's affluent elite in its modern history. The reported arrest of Nasser bin Aqeel al-Tayyar followed the detention of dozens of top Saudis including billionaire investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal in a crackdown that the nation’s attorney general described as "phase one." The purge is the latest in a series of dramatic steps by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to assert Saudi influence internationally and amass more power for himself at home. The campaign lengthens an already daunting list of challenges undertaken by the 32-year-old since his father, King Salman,
ascended the throne in 2015, including going to war in Yemen, cranking up Riyadh's confrontation with arch-foe Iran and reforming the economy to lessen its reliance on oil. "The kingdom is at a crossroads: Its economy has flatlined with low oil prices; the war in Yemen is a quagmire; the blockade of Qatar is a failure; Iranian influence is rampant in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq; and the succession is a question mark," wrote ex-CIA official Bruce Riedel. "It is the most volatile period in Saudi history in over a half-century." The crackdown has drawn no public opposition within the kingdom either on the street or social media. Many ordinary Saudis applauded the arrests, the latest in a string of domestic and international moves asserting the prince's authority. But abroad, critics perceive the purge as further evidence of intolerance from a power-hungry leader keen to stop influential opponents blocking his economic reforms or reversing the expansion of his political clout. Prominent Saudi columnist Jamal Kashoggi applauded the campaign, but warned: "He is im-
anyone else ever again." Langendorff was driving his pickup truck in Sutherland Springs on Sunday when he saw a local man, Stephen Willeford, trading rifle fire with a black-clad stranger who had just emerged from the First Baptist Church. "He jumped in my truck and said 'He just shot up the church, we got to get him' and I said 'OK, let's go,'" Langendorff said. The pursuit lasted about 10-12 minutes, Langendorff said. Then Kelley lost control and crashed into a ditch. They stopped too and Willeford trained his rifle on the disabled vehicle, Langendorff added, but the gunman never emerged. Willeford's cousin Ken Leonard told CNN that Willeford shot Kelley where there was a gap in his vest. Willeford is also an NRA-trained instructor. "Stephen is the best shot that I know," Leonard told CNN. "He without armor and barefooted ran into the fire and put his own life at risk, took return fire and fired accurately three times. That's an amazing accomplishment." Speaking to reporters on Monday, Freeman Martin, a regional director for the Texas Department of Public Safety, described Willeford as a good Samaritan and a "Texas hero." U.S. President Donald Trump on an Asia trip told reporters he believed stricter reviews of gun purchases would
posing very selective justice." "The demand for complete loyalty with a significant 'or else' - remains a serious challenge to the crown prince’s desire to be seen as a modern, enlightened leader," he said. Dozens of people have been detained in the crackdown, which have alarmed much of the traditional business establishment. Billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, Saudi Arabia's best-known international investor, is also being held. The attorney general said on Monday detainees had been questioned and "a great deal of evidence" had been gathered. "Yesterday does not represent the start, but the completion of Phase One of our anti-corruption push," Saud al-Mojeb said. Probes were done discreetly "to preserve the integrity of the legal proceedings and ensure there was no flight from justice." Investigators had been collecting evidence for three years and would "continue to identify culprits, issue arrest warrants and travel restrictions and bring offenders to justice," anti-graft committee member Khalid bin Abdulmohsen Al-Mehaisen said. A no-fly list has been drawn up and security forces in some Saudi airports were barring owners of private jets from taking off without a permit, pan-Arab daily AlAsharq Al-Awsat said. Among those detained are 11 princes, four ministers and tens of former ministers, according to Saudi officials. The allegations include money laundering, bribery, extortion and taking advan-
have had no effect on Sunday's massacre, adding that stricter gun laws might have prevented the man who shot Kelley from acting as he did. "You would have had hundreds more dead," Trump said. Air force inquiry The Air Force opened an inquiry into how it handled the former airman's criminal record, and the U.S. Defense Department has requested a review by its inspector general to ensure that other cases "have been reported correctly," Pentagon officials said. Firearms experts said the case involving Kelley, who spent a year in military detention before his bad-conduct discharge from the Air Force in 2014, has exposed a previously unnoticed weak link in the system of background checks. It is illegal under federal law to sell a gun to someone who has been convicted of a crime involving domestic violence against a spouse or child. Federal databases did not contain any information that would have barred Kelley from legally buying any of three weapons police recovered from their investigation, said Christopher Combs, special agent in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation office in San Antonio. Authorities said Kelley had been involved in a domestic dispute with the parents of his second wife, whom he married in 2014, and had sent threatening text messages to his mother-inlaw before the shooting. Martin said investigators found hundreds of spent shell casings inside the church after the shooting as well as 15 empty 30-round ammunition magazines.
tage of public office for personal gain, a Saudi official told Reuters. Those accusations could not be independently verified and family members of those detained could not be reached. The new anti-corruption committee has the power to seize assets at home and abroad before the results of its investigations are known. Investors worry the crackdown could ultimately result in forced sales of equities, but the extent of the authorities' intentions was not immediately clear. Among those detained is Prince Miteb bin Abdullah, who was replaced as minister of the National Guard, a pivotal power base rooted in the kingdom's tribes. That recalled a palace coup in June which ousted his elder cousin, Mohammed bin Nayef, as heir to the throne. The moves consolidate Prince Mohammed’s control of the internal security and military institutions, which had long been headed by separate powerful branches of the ruling family. Consultancy Eurasia Group said the "clearly politicized" anti-corruption campaign was a step towards separating the Al Saud family from the state: "Royal family members have lost their immunity, a long standing golden guarantee." The Saudi-led military coalition said on Monday it would temporarily close all air, land and sea ports to Yemen to stem the flow of arms from Iran to Houthi rebels after a missile fired towards Riyadh was intercepted over the weekend.
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NEWS IN IMAGES
DAVID W CERNY | REUTERS
A participant wearing historical costume rides her high-wheel bicycle before the annual penny farthing race in Prague, Czech Republic, on Nov. 4.
WOLFGANG RATTAY | REUTERS
Riot police run past an excavator, during a demonstration against open-cast brown coal mining of Garzweiler, northwest of Cologne, Germany, on Nov. 5.
DAVID W CERNY | REUTERS
Zoo keepers catch a pelican to move it to its winter enclosure at Liberec Zoo in Liberec, Czech Republic, on Nov. 6.
HANNAH MCKAY | REUTERS
Photographers help a Rohingya refugee to come out of Nad River as they cross the Myanmar-Bangladesh border in Palong Khali, near Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, on Nov. 1.
Pittenger bill to toughen U.S. foreign investment rules By Donna King North State Journal WASHINGTON, D.C. — Rep. Robert Pittenger (R-N.C.) introduced a bill in the U.S. House this week that would toughen U.S. foreign investment rules amid growing concern about Chinese deals. The bill has bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, a member of the Republican leadership who is on the Senate Intelligence Committee, is introducing an identical bill in the Senate. The measures broaden the government's power to stop foreign purchases of U.S. firms by strengthening the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). CFIUS is an interagency panel led by the Treasury Department that reviews proposed transactions to review national security concerns. "These are dramatic increases, particularly when you consider many Chinese investments are coordinated, state-driven efforts to target critical American infrastructure and disrupt our defense
The U.S. Capitol stands in Washington, U.S., Nov. 7, 2016.
JOSHUA ROBERTS | REUTERS
supply chain requirements," said Pittenger. At least four Democrats will back the bills, including Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Dave Loebsack (D-Iowa), said a source who spoke on background to protect business relationships. "The
likelihood of Congress acting on this is pretty significant," said the source. Rep. Denny Heck (D-Wash) said he was concerned about China at least partly because of allegations of stolen U.S. intellectual property. "China’s actions are clear — they are cheating the system. They are
evading the rules meant to prevent them from accessing technology critical to our national security and we need to do something to stop them sooner rather than later," he said in a statement. "With these changes, we hope to modernize and update the law in order to meet today’s threats from around
the globe." CFIUS already has a reputation for being tough on high-tech deals involving China in particular, and has blocked transactions that involve sophisticated semiconductors. It has become more conservative since President Donald Trump was inaugurated amid growing political and economic tensions between the U.S. and China. Since the inauguration, the panel has balked at approving a broader range of deals from China, according to lawyers who specialize in representing proposed transactions to the board. The bills would expand CFIUS' power to look at smaller investments and joint ventures, according to sources who have read drafts of the bills. There have been calls for "green field" investment to be subject to CFIUS scrutiny, but under the bills CFIUS will only review these to ensure they are not close to sensitive military installations, the first source said. A green field investment is when a parent company starts a new firm overseas from the ground up.
NOT ALL VODKA IS MADE FROM POTATOES SWEET POTATOES ARE VEGETABLES VEGETABLES ARE GOOD FOR YOU
— YOU’RE WELCOME Covington vodka is available in 750 mL and 1.75 L. covingtonvodka.com
North State Journal for Wednesday, November 8, 2017
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North State Journal for Wednesday, November 8, 2017
Murphy to Manteo
Celebrate Veterans Day
Mooresville Veterans Day Parade & Celebration
Veterans Day, recognized every Nov. 11 in the United States, falls on Saturday this year. Go out, thank a veteran, and enjoy some time with friends and family at local events celebrating those who served. The map below includes Veterans Day parades being held across the state. For more information on these parades and other Veterans Day activities, visit the U.S. Veterans Day Parade Directory at www.vetfriends.com.
Mooresville
Veterans Day Parade
Randolph County Veterans Day Parade Asheboro
Lexington
Veterans Day Ceremony
Chatham County Veterans Day Parade
Mebane
Jones & Blount jonesandblount.com @JonesandBlount
Veterans Day on the Commons
North Carolina 32nd Annual Veterans Day Parade
Trump fills key NC agriculture posts
Tarboro
Raleigh
Siler City
By NSJ Staff
Veterans Day Ceremony Plymouth
Pamlico County Veterans Day Parade Bayboro
Veterans Day Parade Hendersonville
Veteran Day Parade
Patriots Salute to Veterans Parade
Gastonia
Columbus
Veterans Day Services
Salute to Veterans Parade Veterans Day Troy
The United States Armed Forces were founded in 1775 (with the establishment of the Continental Army) — that was over 242 years ago!
American Legion Post 117
Hudson, Butterfield bill heads to Trump’s desk
Cumberland County Veterans Day Parade
Maxton
Fayetteville
7th Annual Veterans Day Ceremony
Weddington North Carolina Veterans Day Parade
Maxton
Matthews
Portrait of America: Honoring Our Veterans
By Donna King North State Journal
Wilmington
COURTESY PHOTO
WEST
PIEDMONT
20 NC students selected for national science convention
Biltmore Estate owner dies Buncombe County Hundreds of mourners turned out to remember the owner of the iconic Biltmore Estate in funeral services over the weekend. William Amherst Vanderbilt Cecil, 89, died Tuesday in Asheville. Cecil had a career in finance before his work in 1960 to preserve his childhood home, which was the private estate of his grandfather, George Washington Vanderbilt III. Cecil turned the 8,000-acre estate, built in the 1890s, into a premier N.C. tourist attraction that draws 1.4 million visitors a year. CITIZEN-TIMES
Transylvania County The TIME 4 Real Science Program is seeking donations to help send seven student scientists from Transylvania County to present their original, award-winning science research at the 2018 American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting this February in Austin, Texas. Travel support for the students has been provided by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, the Duke Energy Foundation, and the students’ families. However, a balance of $1,200 remains prior to the Nov. 13 deadline. A total of 20 students from across N.C. were invited to be a part of the delegation. TRANSYLVANIA TIMES
Nursing home to close amid investigations Alexander County The license for the Alexander Assisted Living Center will expire on Nov. 8 and officials say it will not be renewed. The state gave the facility zero stars and fined it thousands of dollars over the past year after state inspectors found deficiencies in food safety measures and health standards. The Alexander County Sheriff’s office is also reportedly investigating reports of stolen medication. In August, the facility’s director was arrested for substituting prescription pain medicine with Tylenol. There are still 15 to 20 residents at the facility. WBTV
Escaped inmate captured near Biltmore Forest Buncombe County Police apprehended escaped prisoner Michael Calloway last week, less than 24 hours after he got away. He escaped from authorities during a doctor’s visit when his restraints had to be removed for a procedure. Sheriff Jack Van Duncan said the 42-year-old prisoner has a long history of violence, including armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon, dating back to 1992. Van Duncan said he assaulted a police officer in the escape into Biltmore Forest near Hendersonville Road. He is now back in custody. WLOS
WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump has appointed Len McBride to lead the North Carolina Farm Service Agency (NC FSA) and Bob Chandler Jr. to lead the North Carolina Rural Development office. McBride is currently an agricultural supervisory district director with the NC FSA and is a long-time employee of the agency. He has significant experience working with farmers on the agricultural programs available through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Both candidates were recommended for the jobs by North Carolina’s U.S. senators, Thom Tillis and Richard Burr. “With nearly 50,000 farming operations in the state, Mr. McBride’s long history in the agricultural community makes him
well qualified to lead the NC FSA and I believe he will be a tremendous asset to North Carolina’s producers,” said Tillis. “His extensive knowledge with both direct and guaranteed loans will be invaluable as the agricultural industry deals with low commodity prices, and I look forward to working with him.” Chandler is a former USDA Rural Development employee. He currently works with farmers to navigate USDA regulations and their interactions with the federal agency. “Mr. Chandler’s more than 30 years of experience working for and with USDA will be invaluable for this position,” said Burr. “As North Carolina’s USDA Rural Development State Director, Bob will be able to serve the people of North Carolina with knowledge and expertise that is unrivaled. I look forward to his consideration and confirmation by the U.S. Senate.”
Jacksonville
Charlotte
Did you know?
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EAST
Wake County woman wins lottery twice in one day
Officers use a drone to find missing woman Randolph County An officer with the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office used a drone to find a missing elderly woman with dementia in minutes on Sunday. The 81-year-old was found sitting in a cornfield several hundred feet from her home. Officer Adam Krolfifer deployed a small, remote-controlled aircraft from near the family home. The sheriff’s office has had the drone for about six weeks. It has been used to document a pair of crime scenes from the air. It was also used recently in a search for a suspect in northwestern Randolph.
Wake County Kimberly Morris of Wake Forest won the lottery twice in Wake County. She won $1 million total on two tickets bought the same day. Morris had the choice of taking a $1 million annuity that has 20 payments of $50,000 a year or a lump sum of $600,000. She chose the lump sum, taking home $417,012 after federal tax withholdings. She plans to share some of the money with her three children and invest the rest. N.C. LOTTERY
15 more homes get bottled water in GenX tests
Textile manufacturer to close plant Duplin County The National Spinning Company is closing its Beulaville plant in eastern N.C. and laying off 152 employees effective Dec.31, 2017. The company filed a notice with the N.C. Department of Commerce on Nov. 3 of the closure. The employee-owned company has facilities in Burlington and Whiteville with more than 600 employees, and manufactures and distributes yarn, nonwovens and craft items. It has been a textile manufacturer in North Carolina since 1921. TRIANGLE BUSINESS JOURNAL
ASHEBORO COURIER-TRIBUNE
First Cat Cafe opens in Greensboro Guilford County The Crooked Tail Cat Cafe opened last week in Greensboro. The concept of cat cafes originated in Taiwan as places where people can interact with cats without actually owning one. However, Crooked Tail also works to have patrons adopt cats. Because of health regulations, the food service and cat center are separate. The front of the shop is focused on cat interactions while the back serves food. Crooked Tail Cat Cafe is located at 604 South Elm St. in Greensboro.
Durham man accused on luring victims with ice cream truck Durham County An N.C. man is accused of using an ice cream truck in October to lure and sexually assault at least two young boys, according to police. Isam Fathee Mohamed Rahmah, 51, of Durham, faces charges of first-degree kidnapping and indecent liberties with a child. Rahmah reportedly surrendered to authorities late Friday. He is being held on a $1 million bond, according to Durham County records. Authorities said two boys reported being sexually assaulted by Rahmah inside the truck in separate incidents, which happened in late October. FOX 8
SPECTRUM NEWS
Washed up sperm whale euthanized Dare County A male sperm whale that washed up on an Oak Island beach was euthanized over the weekend. Marine biologists from the University of North Carolina Wilmington said the whale was emaciated and far from home, usually residing on the continental shelf about 100 miles offshore. It appeared to have propeller injuries on its dorsal fin. The whale washed up near the Ocean Crest Fishing Pier on Thursday. WWAY
Cumberland County State officials have directed Chemours to provide bottled water to 15 more well owners near the company’s Fayetteville Works facility after the most recent test results showed GenX above the provisional state health goal of 140 parts per trillion in their wells. Residents who draw drinking water from the Cape Fear River or area wells have been vocal about their concerns that their water could be contaminated with GenX, a chemical compound produced as a byproduct of manufacturing nonstick coatings. Scientists at UNCW and the Centers for Disease Control are studying the long-term health effects of GenX. In the meantime, 50 residential well owners living near Chemours’ Fayetteville Works facility are receiving bottled water because of test showing GenX. According to DEQ, discussions are underway with Chemours about possibly installing home filter systems or connecting affected homes to an uncontaminated well source or a nearby public water supply. N.C. DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A bill co-sponsored by Rep. Richard Hudson (N.C.-08) and Rep. G. K. Butterfield (N.C.-01) passed Congress Friday with widespread bipartisan support. The Protecting Patient Access to Emergency Medications Act is now headed to the White House for Trump’s signature. The bill affirms the use of standing orders by Emergency Medical Services personnel who need to administer emergency controlled substances in the field, and gives them some legal protection if they do. Without the bill, recent DEA interpretations of controlled substance regulations may have stopped that field use without a doctor’s direct supervision. “After more than a year of hard work, I’m pleased to see this important bill finally head to President Trump’s desk,” said Rep. Hudson. “This is an example of how to get things done — finding common ground and advancing bipartisan solutions to get results people deserve.” The bill updates regulations in the Con-
trolled Substances Act (CSA) so paramedics can deliver things like morphine, fentanyl or other controlled substances in emergencies. However, given the current opioid crisis in the U.S., sponsors also built in what they say are safeguards to track controlled substances and prevent diversion. The bill strengthens the Drug Enforcement Agency’s (DEA) oversight of EMS with clearer protocols on how to use controlled substances in an emergency response. “Through this bill, we hope to ensure patients receive treatment when they need it most, particularly in rural communities like those in eastern North Carolina where the patient may be far removed from an emergency room,” said Butterfield. The following organizations have expressed their strong support for the legislation: American Ambulance Association, American College of Emergency Physicians, Association of Critical Care Transport, Emergency Nurses Association, National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians, National Association of EMS Physicians, and National Association of State EMS Officials.
NC Railroad taps new chairman By NSJ Staff RALEIGH — The North Carolina Railroad Company’s (NCRR) Board of Directors elected Michael Walters to be its new chairman. Walters, of Fairmont, succeeds Franklin Rouse, of Leland, who served as chairman since 2014 and will remain on the board. “I’m excited to work with my fellowdDirectors, NCRR President Scott Saylor and the staff of this historic company, as we manage the North Carolina Railroad, make strategic
investments in freight rail infrastructure and spur job growth for our state,” said Walters. Walters has served on the NCRR Board of Directors since 2015 and was chairman of the Audit and Finance Committee from 2015-2017. In addition to his service on the North Carolina Railroad Board of Directors, Walters is a member of the Board of Directors of the Forestry Mutual Insurance Company as well as the North Carolina Forestry Association. He served three terms in the North Carolina Senate.
On behalf of Governor Roy Cooper, Secretary Larry Hall would like to thank all veteran and military families for their service to our state and country.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2017
BUSINESS
AARON P. BERNSTEIN | REUTERS
Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX), Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, holds a briefing for reporters on the Republican tax reform plan on Capitol Hill in Washington, Nov. 2. Republicans plan to put a bill to overhaul the U.S. tax system to a vote in the House of Representatives next week, a senior lawmaker said on Tuesday. Senate Republicans are slated to unveil their own tax proposal on Friday.
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Focused on improving the economic well-being and quality of life for all North Carolinians, a collaborative team of regional partners, allies and education institutions represents the economic interests of businesses and towns from across the state. Approved Logos
This week, NSJ highlights the Wilmington Regional Film Commission.
The Wilmington region has been an active production hub since the early 1980s and has the production infrastructure and experience to support big-budget feature films, TV series, independent films, commercials, and more. The Wilmington region accommodates on-location filming, with a variety of locations available. The region offers bridges, barns, riverfront, beaches, marshlands, downtown buildings, college campuses, Victorian houses, fields, harbors, and more. The local crew database contains over 700 professionals ready to work. The Wilmington region also features an extensive assortment of companies that provide goods and services tailored to the film and TV industry. The area’s caterers, equipment rentals, construction companies, transportation services, audio and video companies, and hotels providers have successfully serviced hundreds of productions in the area and throughout the Southeast.
RTP data giant QuintilesIMS becomes IQVIA An anchor for tech development in Research Triangle, Quintiles IMS, founded in 1982, unveils new name, renewed vision for healthcare data innovation By Emily Roberson North State Journal RTP — QuintilesIMS (NYSE:Q) announced Monday that it will be changing its name to IQVIA, a company dedicated to using analytics and science to help healthcare stakeholders find better solutions for their patients. Beginning on November 15, 2017, equity shares of the company will trade on the NYSE under the new name and new ticker symbol “IQV.” Until then, IQVIA will continue to be listed under QuintilesIMS and symbol “Q” per the listing notification requirements of the NYSE. IQVIA’s client solutions are powered by the IQVIA CORE™. According to a press statement, the CORE enables IQVIA to provide customized solutions for clients leveraging the world’s largest curated healthcare information source, advanced analytics, leading technologies and extensive industry knowledge across diseases, geographies and scientific methods. The company states that its primary focus is on human data science, including faster, more predictable clinical development, innovative approaches to generating real-world evidence, machine
learning to improve patient care, and strategies for precision commercial engagement. IQVIA prioritizes “the seamless integration of these elements from molecule to market enables our customers to drive enhanced value, access and health outcomes around the world.” “Today is a defining moment for our organization as we introduce a new name that aligns with our vision to help stakeholders drive healthcare forward,” said IQVIA Chairman and CEO Ari Bousbib. “Our clients have been instrumental in our becoming IQVIA. IMS Health and Quintiles came together because our clients were asking for better, faster ways to bring innovations to patients and capture the improvements the industry has been pursuing for years. Since the merger, we’ve worked to integrate our capabilities in advanced analytics, leading technologies and therapeutic expertise into powerful, differentiated offerings. Our vision is to outpace the inevitable progress of change across the life sciences and accelerate our ability to empower healthcare decision makers to meet the future head on.” The IQVIA team says it hopes to continue Quintiles’ ongoing commitment to data security and privacy protection measures and decades of deep, practical experience that engaged in global leadership. “As a company, we will continue to focus on a wide variety of governance practices and administrative, technical and physical safeguards and controls to protect individual privacy. We work
“Our vision is to outpace the inevitable progress of change across the life sciences and accelerate our ability to empower healthcare decision makers to meet the future head on.” — IQVIA Chairman and CEO Ari Bousbib closely with data protection authorities, trusted third parties and privacy experts around the world to ensure we are diligent in the protection of individual privacy,” Monday’s announcement stated. In 1982, Dennis Gillings founded and incorporated Quintiles Transnational in RTP. Since that time, Quintiles Transnational established Quintiles Pacific Inc. and Quintiles Ireland Ltd. in 1990, and in 1991 Quintiles GmbH was established in Germany, and Quintiles Laboratories Ltd. was established in Atlanta. In September 1996, Quintiles purchased Innovex Ltd. of Britain for $747.5 million in stock, and in 1997 Quintiles went public, completing a successful secondary stock offering. Most recently, in 2016 Quintiles underwent a $17.6 billion merger with IMS Health becoming QuintilesIMS. As QuintilesIMS now transitions into IQVIA, the company has approximately 55,000 employees in more than 100 countries.
n.c.
COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT Sponsored by
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No. It’s a warbird! Looking for a great way to honor those who’ve served this Veteran’s Day weekend? Attend the amazing Warbirds Over Monroe Air Show in the North Carolina public power city of Monroe. It’s an incredible opportunity to get an up-close look at vintage aircraft—to touch them, tour them and see them in action— and learn about the veterans who flew them. It’s also tons of fun and one of the coolest history lessons you’ll ever experience. Festivities kick off Friday night with a modified USO show. The event goes full throttle Saturday morning and continues Sunday. All weekend, performers and re-enactors will have you oohing and aahing as bombers from WWII and beyond streak through the sky, some accompanied by exploding orange fireballs and billowing black smoke. It’s shock and awe, Greatest Generation style. Learn more at www.warbirdsovermonroe.com.
1982 Dennis Gillings founds Quintiles Transnational (RTP)
1991 Quintiles GmbH (Germany) and Quintiles Laboratories (Atlanta)
1990 Quintiles Pacific and Quintiles Ireland
1996 Quintiles purchases Innovex of Britain
1997 Quintiles goes public 2016 Quintiles merges with IMS Health, becoming QuintilesIMS
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North State Journal for Wednesday, November 8, 2017
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THE BRIEF
Businesses and state attractions honor service members Day. Must have valid identification. Additionally, November 12 through November 16, military members will receive 20% off their check and, beginning November 17, Military, Fire and Police heroes will receive 10% off their check.
By Donna King North State Journal RALEIGH — Operation Homefront and Dollar Tree will join forces again this year to help military families make the holidays a little brighter. The nonprofit’s Holiday Toy Drive will have collection boxes at Dollar Tree stores to help enlisted families with holiday expenses. Operation Homefront volunteers collect these toys to be distributed at the nonprofit’s holiday events and through on-base Family Readiness Groups. “Our work together over this holiday season continues to demonstrate our collective appreciation for their exceptional service and the importance of our efforts to help this very special group of our fellow Americans thrive in the communities they have worked so hard to protect,” said Brig. Gen. (ret.) John I. Pray Jr., president & CEO of Operation Homefront. Other businesses across the state are honoring service members on Veteran’s Day with free meals and special discounts this weekend. Here are a few, but for a full list, visit militarybenefits.info. Cape Fear Botanical Garden – Fayetteville, NC Free admission between 9am-5pm on November 11, for veterans and active duty. Discount applies to service member only. Cape Fear Serpentarium – Wilmington, NC Veterans are free now 11.5.17 through Veteran’s Day 11.11.17. Active Military is FREE with ID. Military dependents, retired are discounted. Carolina Butcher Shop – Angier, NC Veterans Day free lunch. Discovery Place, Inc. Museums – Charlotte, NC Veterans and military personnel are invited to receive free admission on Veterans Day. Tickets for accompanying family are available at a discounted rate of $2 off. JJ’s Red Hots – Charlotte, NC Veterans can enjoy a free meal on Veterans Day, Saturday, November 11, 2017. Offer includes unlimited hot dogs, sausages, sides and nonalcoholic drinks all day. North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island – Manteo , NC Visit the aquarium for free on November 11th in honor of Veterans Day and donate to our food drive. Sabor Latin Grill – Charlotte, NC Veterans are invited to try a free arepa on Veterans Day, Saturday, November 11, 2017.
CVS to start next-day delivery amid potential Amazon entry Woonsocket, R.I. U.S. drugstore chain CVS Health Corp said on Monday it would start next-day delivery from its stores in 2018, a move some analysts said was in response to Amazon. com's potential entry into prescription drug sales. Shares of drugstore operators have been under pressure on fears that the online retailer will use its vast ecommerce platform to disrupt the pharmaceutical supply chain. "We will bring the pharmacy to our patients' doorsteps, with nationwide next-day delivery from our stores," CVS Chief Executive Larry Merlo said. The pharmacy store operator, which also reported better-than-expected quarterly profit on Monday, said it would offer same-day delivery in select metro areas and free same-day delivery for drugs in Manhattan starting on Dec. 4. Mizuho Securities USA analyst Ann Hynes said the plan could be seen by some as a defensive move in the face of Amazon's potential entry. CVS' shares fell as much as 4 percent in early trading before easing to trade down 1.4 percent at $68.30. The company said it was open to working with Amazon, adding that it would never close the door on any type of partnership.
Red Lobster To thank Veterans, active duty military and reservists, Red Lobster will offer a free appetizer or dessert from their select Veterans Day menu. To receive offer, show a valid military ID on Saturday, November 11th. Red Robin ROBERT HANASHIRO | USA TODAY SPORTS IMAGES
Vietnam veterans stand as the United States flag is presented before game two of the 2017 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Houston Astros at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
Ruby Tuesday
Applebee’s
Dunkin’ Donuts
Veterans and Active Duty Military can select a free meal from a limited menu on Veteran’s Day. Provide proof of service required.
On November 11, Veterans and active duty military can enjoy a free donut at Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants nationwide, no purchase necessary.
Arooga’s Grille House & Sports Bar This Veterans Day, Saturday November 11, 2017 get a free soft, buffalo or crab pretzel. Back Yard Burgers Military veterans with valid ID, and active duty servicemembers in uniform, can enjoy a free ‘Classic Burger’ on Veterans Day 2017.
Hooters Free Meal Hooters invites all veterans and current servicemen and women to a Hooters Veterans Day free meal from their select Veterans Day menu by presenting a military ID or proof of service at participating Hooters locations across the country on 11-11. K&W Cafeteria
Bob Evans Restaurants are offering free select menu items to Veterans and Active Duty Military on Veterans Day, Sat., Nov. 11.
Free meal that includes choice of entrée, two vegetables, bread and beverage, with the presentation of your military ID on Veterans Day. Offer valid from 11a.m. to closing.
Bonanza Steakhouse
Little Caesars Pizza
Bob Evans
Ready. Set. Grow.
On Veterans Day, all former and current military service men and women enjoy a free buffet (beverage not included), at all participating Bonanza Steakhouses. Contact your local Bonanza for more details.
Menchie’s Free Frozen Yogurt
U.S. Military Veterans and active military members who show ID and proof of service can receive a Free Small Drip Coffee. No purchase necessary. California Pizza Kitchen
O’Charley’s
On Veterans Day, all veterans or active duty military personnel will be able to select a free entree from a special Veterans Day menu including pizza, salads and pasta. Please come in uniform or bring your military ID or other proof of service.
O’Charley’s will honor our military on Veterans Day by offering veterans and active duty service members a free $9.99 entree at any location on November 11th. Additionally, O’Charley’s offers a 10 percent military discount all year long.
Cicis Pizza
On The Border Free Entree
Ready. Set. Grow. Ready. Set.
Grow.
Tryon Palace – New Bern, NC
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store
On November 11th, all active duty and military veterans will receive free admission with the presentation of their military ID. Discounted admission is offered for immediate family members.
Veterans receive a complimentary Double Chocolate Fudge CocaCola® Cake dessert to veterans and an opportunity for guests to make purchases that support Operation Homefront. Veterans Day only.
Ready. Set.
Ready. Set. Grow.
Texas Roadhouse
On Saturday November 11th, select from a free special veterans lunch menu including a beverage and sides. TGI Fridays Free Lunch
Ready. Set. Grow.
Guests who show valid military ID can enjoy a free lunch menu item up to $12. This offer is valid on Saturday, November 11th, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. local time. Buffalo Wild Wings Free Wings All day long on Saturday, November 11, veterans and active duty military who dine at their local B-Dubs can receive a free small order of 10-12 traditional or boneless wings and a side of fries.
‘Female Viagra’ creators, Sprout Pharmaceuticals, reacquiring business from Valeant
Grow. Ready. Set.
On Saturday, November 11, from 11am to 2pm, veterans and active military members can receive a free $5 HOT-N-READY® Lunch Combo.
On Veterans Day, all Veterans and military personnel with a military ID or dressed in uniform will receive a free six ounce frozen yogurt any time of day on Veterans Day 11.11. Show a valid ID or be in uniform to receive.
Free pizza buffet if you show a valid Military ID.
This Veterans Day, all former and active duty service members of the military can enjoy a free appetizer.
Ready. Set.
Ready. Set. Grow.
Bruegger’s Bagels
All Veterans and Active Duty Military get a free dine-in Red’s Tavern Double Burger and Bottomless Steak Fries on Veterans Day 11/11.
This Veterans Day, all veterans and active duty military will receive a free combo meal at OTB’s. The meal is from the “Create Your Own Combo menu,” which is a “choose 2” or “choose 3” menu. Outback Steakhouse Free Bloomin’ Onion® and a beverage All active, retired military and veterans get a free Bloomin’ Onion® and a beverage on Veterans
Grow.
Raleigh The founders of Sprout Pharmaceuticals are reacquiring Sprout from drug giant Valeant. Investors sold the company that commercialized a nicknamed "female Viagra" pill to Valeant two years ago for $1 billion. The drug is known as Addyi, also nicknamed the "little pink pill,” and was approved by the FDA in 2015. In a deal announced Monday, Valeant said it is essentially giving the company back to its founders and helping restart it with a $25 million loan. The deal also means the dropping of a lawsuit against Valeant by Sprout shareholders who charged the drug giant didn't do enough to promote sales of the sexual enhancement drug after acquiring it. Sprout shareholders had charged Valeant was not doing enough to drive sales of Addyi. Sales had been expected to run as much as $2 billion but have been sluggish. “Valeant predatorily priced Addyi at $800 a month even though Sprout had established a price point of approximately $400 a month for the drug based on market research,” Sprout investors said in a letter acquired by Bloomberg news. Cindy Whitehead, the CEO who led the original sale of Sprout, is involved in the new deal, but her role is not clear.
Chili’s Free Meal
Veterans and active-duty military receive a free meal on Veterans Day from a special Veterans Day menu. Must show proof of military service.
Grow.
Dickey’s Barbecue Pit Veterans and active military who eat at Dickey’s on Friday, November 11th, may enjoy a free meal which includes a sandwich, side and a Big Yellow Cup, up to a $12 total value. Anyone who dines with a veteran is offered a free Big Yellow Cup with applicable purchase. Don Pablo’s Free Appetizer Don Pablo’s is honoring all Veterans and Active Duty Military this Veterans Day with a free appetizer.
Ready. Set. Grow.
Einstein Bros.
Free Bagel and shmear with purchase for any retired or active service members on 11/11. Just stop on in and ask. FATZ Cafe All military veterans and active duty may receive a free Calabash Chicken entrée. Offer valid for lunch or dinner on Friday, November 11th, and includes a Signature Sidekick and choice of soup or salad.
Ready. Set.
Grow!
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North State Journal for Wednesday, November 15, 2017
A10
north STATEment Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor | Troy Kickler, deputy opinion editor
VISUAL VOICES
EDITORIAL | FRANK HILL
Founders’ vision is worth preserving We all owe it to each other to keep working on the American Experiment until everyone can be proud to say they are American.
A YOUNG PERSON said this recently: “The Founders were all white privileged men” To which the answer was: “Yes. And your point is?” “They wrote the Constitution to protect their interests. It was stacked for rich white men from the beginning.” Which is also mostly true at the time. “Do you know what the ‘true’ Miracle was in Philadelphia in that hot summer of 1787?” he was asked. The real miracle was that they did not establish a kingdom or an oligarchy forever. Which they very easily could have done and some, including Alexander Hamilton, wanted to see done. The Founders turned to the writings of John Locke and other classical liberal thinkers not only to set the predicate for the Constitution with the immortal words “all men are created equal” in Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence in 1776, but also to pour the concrete foundation of our country with principles to establish the first free democratic republic which has been copied the world over to set people free for the last 228 years. Our Founders had every power at their disposal to set up a parliamentary government to serve a king. But they didn’t. George Washington voluntarily retired to his farm and distillery at Mount Vernon and set the paradigm for citizenpoliticians ever since. Our Founders had every power at their disposal to set up an oligarchical form of government similar to the ancient Greeks in Athens. The “rich white privileged men” in Philadelphia didn’t have to mention equality for everyone or free speech, religion, press, assembly or the right to petition the government for anyone else but members of the oligarchy, but they did. Instead of 100 percent serving their own narrow interests, they fought tooth-and-nail over provisions in the Constitution to enable a free flow of commerce and trade, a strong centralized national defense and individual freedoms and liberties unlike the world had ever seen before. Their aversion to total concentration of power in the hands of King George
III led them to go to the other end of the spectrum to set up a system of government that does its darndest to frustrate and prevent capricious actions on the part of a president or even small groups of one faction or the other in the U.S. Senate versus the U.S. House. Granted, many rights were restricted to landed gentry early in our history. But the other part of the “Miracle” in Philadelphia is that they set up a means to amend and change the very Constitution they ratified so that over time, the new republic could grow and adapt to where we are today. I had the opportunity to speak to the government of Estonia in 1995 after they declared freedom from Soviet Union dictatorship in 1990. We were told to bring a suitable gift to give to the leader of the parliament as a gesture of friendship. I bought a copy of James Madison’s “Notes on The Constitution,” which had been kept private in his and wife Dolley’s hands for 51 years after ratification of the Constitution and only published after the fourth president passed away. Upon opening the gift, the leader of the Estonian parliament literally broke down in tears. “You Americans don’t realize how special your Constitution is to us or any other nation now freed from the Soviet Union,” he said. “We are doing everything we can to have a free democratic republic here in Estonia as Mr. Madison and the other Founders did in America long ago.” The United States may not be perfect today in your opinion. The U.S. Constitution was not perfect in its original form either. But we all owe it to each other to keep working on the American Experiment until everyone can be proud to say they are American. They gave us a gift. It is worth preserving.
EDITORIAL | TROY KICKLER
Bobby v. Bobo: A bombastic battle of bravado The “poor man’s Hemingway” had learned to swing hard, even if sometimes ineffectively and wildly, to gain the spotlight.
UNLESS YOU have been living under rock, you know that the Houston Astros recently won the World Series. Growing up, I played only backyard baseball with friends, but I learned to appreciate the subtle (and not-so-subtle) attempts to gain a mental advantage in the sport. This past week, I was reminded of the mental games between pitcher Louis Norman “Bobo” Newsom and North Carolina writer Robert “Bobby” Ruark in 1939. Their brief locker room altercation made national news. Bobo frequently made national headlines, but the budding novelist, then a sports writer, wanted the spotlight to turn on him. Bobo Newsom was born in Hartesville, S.C. He was one of the winningest pitchers with a less than .500 record (211-222) during his 20-plus-year career. He was a “traveling man,” a journeyman as some today call a player who plays every couple years or so with a different team. One sports writer remarked that Newsom talked his way onto some rosters. Newsom was superstitious concerning baseball. No one, for example, was supposed to touch his glove, and when the other team was on the field, he placed his glove in the same spot. He wanted a clean pitcher’s mound with no debris. Opponents sometimes purposefully left torn paper near the mound to annoy Newsom and distract him from concentrating on his fastball. Newsom made national headlines
because he publicly predicted some wins, and when talking to reporters, he referred to himself as “Bobo” and called almost everyone else “Bobo.” At Bobo’s expense, Ruark, a sports writer for Washington Daily News, positioned himself to gain national attention. A Southport native, Ruark was an outdoorsman and a truly gifted writer. He eventually authored bestsellers, including “Something of Value,” and was a popular columnist for decades, especially for Field and Stream. His best work may be one of his collections of outdoorsman columns, “The Old Man and the Boy.” Although agreeable and benevolent among friends, Ruark acquired a caustic public reputation. And he celebrated this reputation in some of his novels in which his life provided material. With their somewhat similar personalities, Bobo and Bobby eventually clashed in the locker room, after the Detroit Tigers played the Washington Senators. In print, Ruark accused Newsom of being a showoff and a blowhard who berated Senators fans in a hotel lobby. Any press, it seems, for Newsom was good press. Ruark’s column, however, provoked the ire of Bobo, who threatened to “knock his block off” if he ever saw the writer. Never one to avoid controversy, Ruark showed up in the Tigers locker room and made his presence known. After
labeling each other with unwanted characteristics, Ruark threw a wild punch. Big Bobo Newsom, meanwhile, held Ruark at arm’s length with one arm, while holding and drinking a soda with the other. Some accounts have an unorthodox Ruark also falling over benches. Players eventually separated them and ended the “Newsom-Ruark War.” Ruark was glad players held him back. A lot of damage can be done during a fight — especially when it’s Newsom, Ruark later commented, doing the pummeling. The Southport native’s publicity stunt had worked. The altercation was retold in papers across the country, and Ruark made national news. Ruark frequently applied this abrasive approach in his columns. For instance, lamenting the state of boxing in 1964, Ruark made a bold claim: “I never made a dent in Bobo Newsom’s chin, but I reckon I can whip Patterson, Johansson, Liston, and Clay in a heat each.” The “poor man’s Hemingway” had learned to swing hard, even if sometimes ineffectively and wildly, to gain the spotlight.
North State Journal for Wednesday, November 15, 2017
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GUEST OPINION | DALE R. FOLWELL, CPA, NORTH CAROLINA STATE TREASURER
WALTER E. WILLIAMS
Ignorance versus stupidity NE OF THE MOST challenging and important jobs for an O economics professor is to teach students
KEVIN LAMARQUE | REUTERS
President Donald Trump smiles after signing an Executive Order to make it easier for Americans to buy bare-bone health insurance plans and circumvent Obamacare rules at the White House in Washington on Oct. 12.
The health insurance tax must be delayed The clock is ticking on the end of our reprieve.
THE NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT of State Treasurer (DST) touches the lives of one in 10 North Carolinians every month. We manage the 26th-largest pool of money in the world valued at more than $110 billion. We also have the responsibility for the state’s pension and health care plans. Next to their relationship with their family and their faith, we impact the things that people value the most — their money and their health care. Our loyalty and fiduciary duty is to the partipants of these plans and to the taxpayers of this state. The DST, through the State Health Plan, provides Medicareeligible retirees with Medicare Advantage health insurance. Recently, we were able to renegotiate our contract with UnitedHealthcare to freeze premiums for 2018. We were able to achieve this despite the impact of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) Health Insurance Tax (HIT), which was not assessed in 2017, but is scheduled to come back in 2018 if Congress does not act. New data from actuarial firm Oliver Wyman shows that the return of the ACA’s HIT will cost the taxpayers of North Carolina $366 million in additional premiums next year. If repealed, the state would save approximately $45 million in 2018 just with retired state employees. The HIT is an Obamacare tax on health insurance
premiums designed to help offset the cost of the tax credits for ACA exchange enrollees. Recognizing the negative impact the tax was having across the nation, Congress worked across the aisle in late 2015 to pass a bipartisan one-year moratorium on the tax for 2017, saving the nationwide health care system $21.4 billion. But the clock is ticking on the end of our reprieve. Republicans were expected to tackle the HIT through the repeal of the ACA. The House-approved measure to repeal and replace the failing law and the two main Senate bills all included provisions to end this irresponsible tax. But, unfortunately, congressional lawmakers weren’t able to pass the legislation. We have an obligation to teachers, law enforcement officers, firefighters as well as other state and local retirees who served our state and now find that inaction by Congress could cost them dearly. Seniors, other than state retirees, in Medicare Advantage programs will see their premiums increase an average of $490 per couple next year. In North Carolina, premiums for Medicare Advantage plans would be 30 percent lower if Congress extends the moratorium on the tax. Right now, Congress is considering legislation that will prevent this tax from being assessed in 2018. Congress needs to act quickly. We appreciate and look forward to the N.C. congressional delegation taking the lead.
COLUMN | SUSAN ESTRICH
Treatment? For what? So what kind of treatment is Spacey getting? What kind of treatment are some of these other men supposedly getting, or not getting? And why should we care? He is not going to get “better.”
KEVIN SPACEY is the latest in a long list of men who, in the wake of allegations of sexual abuse, announce that they are seeking treatment. In politics, we used to call such announcements “Betty Ford statements.” That was back in the days when most of these incidents involved such things as drunken plunges with prostitutes, for which a program to deal with alcoholism might actually be an appropriate response. But exactly what treatments are men accused of sexual abuse signing up for? Spacey stands out in this mess, and not because this is one of the first high-profile instances in which men are speaking out about being sexually abused by other men. No, Spacey stands out because of how badly he handled the whole thing — using his apology as an “opportunity,” he apparently thought, to come out as a gay man. As if one thing had anything to do with the other. As if coming out as gay somehow excused his behavior. As if the gay community should be so happy to count him as one of their own that they wouldn’t mind that he allegedly jumped a thenteenage actor, literally pushing him down on his bed and getting on top of him. The gay community was not happy. Spacey has been widely attacked, with reason, for trying to use his sexual orientation to excuse his unlawful behavior. If anyone read his so-called apology before he published it, they should have told him it was unacceptable. It was a bomb waiting to explode. And it did. His series got put on hold. No one wants to see a guy who is accused of sex abuse playing the president on a fictional show. (It’s bad enough to see it on the news. By the way, watch out for more news from Donald Trump’s accusers. If such accusations are enough to take down actors and producers, why should politicians be any different?) It doesn’t matter if abuse is gay or straight. It doesn’t matter for
MARIO ANZUONI | REUTERS | FILE
Cast member Kevin Spacey poses at the premiere for the second season of the television series “House of Cards” at the Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles on February 13, 2014.
any number of reasons, but this is the most fundamental: At its core, sexual harassment is not about sex. It is about power; specifically, it is the abuse of power. Rape is not about sex. It is about violence, the ultimate abuse of power. Twelve-step programs have helped millions, but they are not a cure for the abuse of power. Rehab? Exactly what is the rehabilitation program for someone who abuses power by stripping those less powerful than him of their humanity, their dignity, their fundamental right to sexual autonomy? As for “sex addiction” (which I’m not even sure is a “thing”), whatever it might be, it is not the abuse of people over whom you have power; it is not the use of that power to force people, men or women, young or old, to relinquish their autonomy. That’s not a problem with sex. So what kind of treatment is Spacey getting? What kind of treatment are some of these other men supposedly getting, or not getting? And why should we care? He is not going to get “better.” Maybe he will control himself in the future. More likely, he will have
fewer opportunities to be out of control, because he will have less power. But the larger question is whether this burst of outrage, the sheer volume of #MeToos from women of every age, race and background, will mark a real change, or is just another flash in the pan, an “Anita Hill moment” that gives way to decades of abuse. I’m not holding my breath. Actually, I’m holding onto my chair, waiting for the backlash. Waiting for the whispers about how men’s careers are being ruined by ancient history. Waiting for the accusers to be accused. It’s not treatment programs for the men I want to hear about. It’s programs to make sure that in the future, victims have a place to turn; that companies have programs in place; that we deal with harassment by creating workplaces where it is simply not accepted. And if such an atmosphere makes going to work a little less fun for some people, maybe they should remember what my father taught me: There’s a reason they call it work. It’s a fourletter word that has nothing to do with sex.
how little we know and can possibly know. My longtime friend and colleague Dr. Thomas Sowell says, “It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance.” Nobel laureate Friedrich August von Hayek admonished, “The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.” The fact that we have gross ignorance about how the world operates is ignored by the know-it-all elites who seek to control our lives. Let’s look at a few examples of the world’s complexity. According to some estimates, there are roughly 100 million traffic signals in the U.S. How many of us would like the U.S. Congress, in the name of public health and safety, to be in charge of their actual operation? Congress or a committee it authorizes would determine the length of time traffic lights stay red, yellow and green and what hours of the day and at what intersections lights flash red or yellow. One can only imagine the mess Congress would create in the 40,000 cities, towns and other incorporated places in the U.S. But managing traffic lights — and getting good results — is a far less complex task than managing the nation’s health care system and getting
Free markets, accompanied by free trade, including international free trade, make us richer by economizing on the amount of knowledge or information needed to produce things.
good results, which Congress tries to do. Here’s another task I’d ask whether you would like Congress to control. The average well-stocked supermarket carries 60,000 to 65,000 different items. Walmart carries about 120,000 different items. Let’s suppose Congress puts you in total control of getting just one item to a supermarket — say apples. Let’s not make it easy by having the help of apple wholesalers. Thus, you would have to figure out all of the inputs necessary to get apples to your local supermarket. Let’s look at just a few. You need crates to ship the apples. Count all the inputs necessary to produce crates. There’s wood, but you need saws to cut down trees. The saws are made of steel, so iron ore must be mined, and mining equipment is needed. The workers must have shoes. The complete list of inputs to get apples to the market comes to a very large, possibly an unknowable, number. Forgetting any one of them, such as spark plugs, would probably mean no apples at your supermarket. The beauty of market allocation of goods and services, compared with government fiat, is no one person needs to know all that’s necessary to get apples to your supermarket. Free markets, accompanied by free trade, including international free trade, make us richer by economizing on the amount of knowledge or information needed to produce things. Think about this morning’s breakfast. Let’s suppose you and your spouse each had four slices of bacon and two eggs. You had coffee, and your spouse had cocoa. The breakfast might have cost you $22. But what might it have cost you if instead of being dependent upon others, you were independent and produced your own breakfast? What do you know about raising pigs and their subsequent slaughter? Do you know how to cure pork to make bacon? Then there are the eggs, which require knowledge about the care of chickens. What about getting pig and chicken feed? You’d have a big problem with the coffee and cocoa. I doubt whether you could simulate the growing conditions in Brazil and West Africa. One thing that’s guaranteed is that your breakfast would be far costlier than in the case where you depended upon the benefits of skills of others that emerge from the division of labor and trade. The bottom line is that each of us is grossly ignorant about the world in which we live. Nothing’s wrong with that ignorance, but we are stupid if we believe that a politician can produce a better life than that which is obtained through peaceable, voluntary exchange with our fellow man anywhere on earth. Walter E. Williams is a professor of economics at George Mason University.
Dr. Gregory Chadwick (L), dean of the ECU School of Dental Medicine and recipient of the 2017 Governor James E. Holshouser Jr. Award for Excellence in Public Service, awarded by the UNC Board of Governors.
Creating smiles. Changing lives. A 68-year-old Ahoskie, NC, woman couldn’t afford to address worsening dental problems, and there was little hope for relief— until the ECU School of Dental Medicine opened one of its eight community service learning centers in town. After five years of fillings, implants, a root canal, bone grafts and, as she put it, “everything that can be done to a tooth,” her smile has returned. Finding a dentist isn’t always easy in a state that ranks 47th in dentists per capita. It’s even more challenging in the rural areas these ECU clinics serve. Today, five years after the first clinic opened, nearly 50,000 patients have been treated. The clinics are a dream that came true for Dr. Gregory Chadwick, dean of the ECU dental school. His vision: send dental students into rural communities to serve, create high-tech clinics with state-of-the-art equipment, establish video links to specialists on campus and enjoy putting smiles back on thousands of faces.
Expanding access to dental care for all North Carolinians
99 100 out of
NC counties served through ECU’s campus clinics and service learning centers
76
NC counties are represented by students admitted to the School of Dental Medicine
Nearly
50,000
patients treated statewide
Targeting disparities that affect the people of our state and beyond. Developing new strategies to find real solutions. Working with communities toward a prosperous future. These are hallmarks of a great university. These are hallmarks of ECU.
www.ecu.edu C.S. 18-676
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2017
KEVIN R. WEXLER | NORTHJERSEY.COM
Shalane Flanagan, a cross country star at UNC in the early 2000s, celebrates after becoming the first American woman to win the New York City Marathon in 40 years.
the Wednesday SIDELINE REPORT
SPORTS
NC State looks ahead after Clemson loss
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
ECU, Charlotte schedule football home-and-home East Carolina and Charlotte have agreed to a two-year home-and-home series, with the Pirates traveling to the 49ers’ Jerry Richardson Stadium on Aug. 31, 2024, and Charlotte returning the favor at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium the following year in a season opener on Aug. 30. Although the games that were announced Thursday will be the first ever between the schools on the gridiron, ECU and Charlotte have a well-established rivalry in other sports — including a 24-game men’s basketball series that began in 1981 and will be renewed on Dec. 18 at Minges Coliseum.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
UNC wins ACC women’s soccer tournament The Tar Heels won their first women’s soccer ACC Tournament since 2009 on Saturday, beating top-seeded Duke 1-0 in the championship game at MUSC Health Stadium in Charleston, S.C. UNC sophomore forward Zoe Redei scored the game’s only goal in the opening minute of the second half. The Tar Heels are one of six N.C. teams to earn a bid in the 64-team NCAA tournament field, joining Duke, High Point, NC State, Wake Forest and UNCG. Georgetown plays Friday at Wake Forest at 7 p.m., while on Saturday NC State hosts Arkansas and UNC is visited by High Point UNCG (both 1 p.m. games) and Duke is at home against UNCG at 7 p.m. North Carolina and Duke each received No. 1 seeds.
The Wolfpack still has a slim chance of reaching the ACC Championship Game By Shawn Krest North State Journal
CHRISTINE T. NGUYEN | THE NORTH STATE JOURNAL
Mike Krzyzewski, pictured last February at Cameron Indoor Stadium, has his Blue Devils at No. 1 in the preseason Associated Press poll.
Duke, UNC lead the way in NC basketball ACC schools rank at the top, but several others could earn NCAA bids By Brett Friedlander and Shawn Krest North State Journal NORTH CAROLINA boasts both the NCAA defending champions and the 2017-18 season’s preseason No. 1. It’s no surprise to see the former, UNC, and the latter, Duke at the top of the heap, but each of North Carolina’s 18 Division I programs enter the season with hopes of an NCAA Tournament bid — and more. Here’s North State Journal’s ranking of all of N.C.’s programs with the season getting underway this week.
1. Duke Blue Devils 2016-17: 28-9, 11-7 ACC
— Dave Doeren
See NC STATE, page B3
What’s new: An eight-man freshman class is headlined by Marvin Bagley III, who is a national freshman of the year candidate. Point guard Trevon Duval, big man Wendell Carter Jr. and shooter Gary Trent Jr. will also star. What to expect: The Blue Devils are primed for a deep tournament run, followed by mass one-and-done defections. 2. North Carolina Tar Heels 2016-17: 33-7, 14-4 ACC What’s new: Pittsburgh transfer Cameron Johnson and a See RANKINGS, page B4
ROB KINNAN | USA TODAY SPORTS
Jaylen Samuels and NC State still have a slim chance at an ACC Championship Game berth if they can win out.
INSIDE
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
The Carolina Hurricanes have started the 2017‑18 season much the same way they’ve began each of their campaigns for nearly a decade: behind in the standings. Heading in to Tuesday night’s games — including Carolina hosting Florida at PNC Arena — the Hurricanes were last in the Metropolitan Division with 11 points in 12 games. General manager Ron Francis has rebuilt Carolina’s prospect pool and added talent by cleaning up the salary cap mess left by predecessor Jim Rutherford, but one thing is still missing — a make‑or-break move by the GM that will set the course for the team for years to come. B4
NCHSAA football playoffs start Friday Round 1 of the North Carolina high school football playoffs kicks off Friday with games across the state. All roads lead to the state championship games on Dec. 9 at four FBS college stadiums: 1A/1AA in Raleigh (Carter-Finley Stadium); 2A/2AA in Chapel Hill (Kenan Stadium); 3A/3AA in Durham (Wallace Wade Stadium); and 4A/4AA in Winston-Salem (BB&T Field).
RALEIGH — Officiating, fan behavior and a mystery laptop clouded the immediate aftermath of NC State’s loss to Clemson on Saturday. As the controversies fade into the background, however, the Wolfpack must prepare for a crucial game against Boston College with the possibility of altering the team’s goals for the season. “Our team was great (Sunday),” Dave Doeren said. “I think that they understood the value of the film, and also the importance of moving forward. With this senior class, there’s an opportunity to play for a lot. We talked about that a lot with our guys. It’s still a 1-0 mentality with a lot out there. A team that, if they could win out, could win 10 games, and it’s been done once in program history. That’s where our eyes are right now.” The 38-31 loss to Clemson did serious damage to the team’s initial goals. A College Football Playoff bid is off the table, and State no longer controls its own destiny in the Atlantic Division. There’s still a slight chance that the Pack could move higher than a 10-win season, however. The possibility of playing in the ACC Championship Game may be fading from view, but there’s still a path to Charlotte. Here’s how it looks: Win out: Clearly any scenario that puts State atop the ACC’s Atlantic Division requires the Pack to win their final three conference games. Cur-
“Our team was great. ... I think that they understood the value of the film, and also the importance of moving forward.”
EAMON QUEENEY | NORTH STATE JOURNAL
North State Journal for Wednesday, November 8, 2017
B2 WEDNESDAY
11.8.17
TRENDING
John Isner: The Greensboro native failed to qualify for the ATP Tour finals after suffering a three-set upset in a semifinal match to Serbian qualifier Filip Krajinovic on Saturday at the Paris Masters. The 32-yearold Isner was ranked No. 9 in the world, while Krajinovic was 77th before the win.
Georges St-Pierre: Canadian Georges St-Pierre (26‑2), the former longtime UFC welterweight champion, came out of a four-year hiatus and stunned Britain’s Michael Bisping (30-8) to capture the middleweight title at UFC 217. St-Pierre used a giant left hook late in the third round to set up a rear-naked choke submission at the 4:23 mark. With the win, StPierre became just the fourth fighter in UFC history to win titles in two different weight classes.
Deshaun Watson: The former Clemson star and standout rookie quarterback for the Texans tore his right ACL last Thursday and will miss the rest of the season. Watson had just been named NFL Offensive Player of the Month and AFC Offensive Rookie of the Month for October, the first rookie quarterback in league history to be named player of the month. Geno Auriemma: The UConn women’s basketball coach is in a familiar spot — at No. 1. The Huskies were a unanimous No. 1 in the Associated Press poll, a record-tying 12th time in school history UConn will start on top, matching Tennessee’s dozen preseason No. 1s. Duke came in at No. 12, while UNC (nine votes) and NC State (six) each received votes.
beyond the box score POTENT QUOTABLES
NASCAR
Kevin Harvick claimed his second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win of 2017 and clinched his spot in the Championship Four with his victory on Sunday in the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Martin Truex Jr. finished second and also clinched the opportunity to race for the championship in the season finale by virtue of points. Denny Hamlin finished third, Matt Kenseth was fourth and Brad Keselowski rounded out the top five.
BOB DONNAN | USA TODAY SPORTS
“We’ll miss him, but the Titanic has to keep moving forward.” Panthers quarterback Cam Newton showed a lack of nautical knowledge when asked about the trade of wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin to Buffalo.
JEROME MIRON | USA TODAY SPORTS
NBA
NHL
ROB KINNAN | USA TODAY SPORTS
“I’ve been watching Boston College film and didn’t know anything about it.” NC State coach Dave Doeren on the actions of some NC State fans who threw debris at officials following the Wolfpack’s 38-31 home loss to Clemson.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
0 Wins for North Carolina’s FBS teams last weekend. NC State lost at home to Clemson in one of the week’s marquee matchups, while Wake Forest, App State, East Carolina and Charlotte all lost on the road. Duke and UNC — riding five- and six-game losing streaks, respectively — each had bye weeks. Meanwhile, three N.C. FCS schools — No. 7 N.C. A&T, No. 9 Elon and No. 25 Western Carolina — are currently ranked.
CHRISTOPHER HANEWINCKEL | USA TODAY SPORTS
JEREMY BREVARD | USA TODAY SPORTS
Colorado center Matt Duchene was a rumored target of Hurricanes GM Ron Francis, but the former third overall pick is headed north of the border after a three-team trade sent him to Ottawa while former Senators pivot Kyle Turris was flipped to Nashville and then signed a six-year, $36 million extension.
Hornets newcomer Dwight Howard ranked third in the NBA in rebounding heading into Tuesday night’s games. The 13-year veteran was averaging 13.8 rebounds per game through 10 games, trailing only Clippers forward DeAndre Jordan (15.1) and Detroit’s Andre Drummond (14.7).
NFL
Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins orchestrated a 70-yard drive in just 35 seconds, concluded with a 1-yard touchdown run by Rob Kelley, to lead Washington to a 17-14 win in Seattle. Cousins threw for 247 yards on 21-of-31 passing and saved his best for last, responding to the Seahawks’ go-ahead score with 1:34 left by making 31- and 38-yard completions on the final drive. The win moved the Redskins back to .500 at 4-4. KIRBY LEE | USA TODAY SPORTS
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North State Journal for Wednesday, November 8, 2017
B3
TEAM PREVIEWS
Duke at Army Michie Stadium Saturday, Noon CBS Sports Network Preview: It’s senior day, and Army will attempt to go undefeated at home for the first time since 1996. That’s also its last home win over Duke. Players to watch: Army QB Ahmad Bradshaw has 1,182 yards rushing and 190 passing. Duke DB Mark Gilbert has four interceptions. Fast fact: Army has not completed a pass in four different games this season, going 3-1. Last week Army became the first team not to attempt a pass since 2012. What to expect: Duke has a good chance to snap its fivegame losing streak, but bowl-bound Army is no pushover. — Shawn Krest
Wake Forest at Syracuse Carrier Dome Saturday, 3 p.m. RSN ELON UNIVERSITY
First-year Elon coach Curt Cignetti has led the Phoenix to eight straight wins and has the Phoenix ranked No. 7 in the FCS poll.
Fiesty Phoenix find way to rise to the occasion Elon football has won eight straight by thriving in tight games By Brett Friedlander North State Journal STATISTICS can be an effective means of evaluating the performance of a team or player, especially in this day and age of advanced analytics. But they aren’t always perfect. Sometimes the numbers on the stat sheet and the numbers on the scoreboard just don’t add up. That’s been the case with the Elon football team this season, which despite being outscored 223-220 by its opponents, has reeled off eight straight wins and risen to No. 7 in the national FCS rankings. The disparity is as much a product of the Phoenix’s innate knack for winning close games as it is the hole it dug for itself with an opening week 47-13 loss to FBS opponent Toledo. First-year coach Curt Cignetti’s team showed off its cool under pressure again Saturday by withstanding a fourth quarter comeback to hold off Colonial Athletic Association rival Towson 33-30 in double overtime. “I think our team has a great mindset and at the end of these
games, when they’re close, we believe we’re going to find a way,” said Cignetti, a former NC State assistant who inherited a team that finished 2-9 last season. “We play with great poise, getting 11 guys doing their job, kind of playing it like it’s 0-0. “In about three of these games, we’ve had the opportunity to win by 10, 14, 17 points. I’d like to see us take that step. But right now I’ll take the result.” Elon (8-1, 6-0 CAA) will try to make things easier on itself Saturday when it takes to the road to play 16th-ranked New Hampshire. It had a chance to take some of the pressure off itself last week building a 27-10 lead early in the fourth quarter of its homecoming game behind the passing of quarterback Davis Cheek and the 100yard rushing efforts of Brelynd Cyphers and De’Sean McNair. But Towson nearly spoiled the celebration by rallying to tie the score in the final 10½ minutes. It took a late defensive stand that forced the Tigers to settle for a 27-yard field goal to send the game into overtime. After the teams traded field goals on the first extra possession, Dondre Howell opened the door for Elon by blocking Towson’s attempt at a go-ahead field goal. Owen Johnson then delivered the
victory with a 26-yard kick of his own. It was Johnson’s third game-winning kick this season and the Phoenix’s fifth win by three points or less. Its largest margin of victory was just eight points, 25-17 against William & Mary on Oct. 7. Despite all the close calls, Cignetti isn’t worried about his team running out of luck with a game on the line. “I don’t really think that way,” he said. “We just prepare daily the best we can to put ourselves in the best position to have success. We’re 8-1. That’s our body of work. When these games go down to the wire, the last three or four minutes, our guys have proven that they can and will make the play.” As for the scoring disparity over the course of the season, that’s just one of those statistical anomalies that happen from time to time. “We played a really good Toledo team in our first game and the game really was a lot closer than the score ended up being,” Cignetti said, adding that conference standings, wins and losses, and national rankings are much more important than the cumulative number of points it has scored and allowed. And if there’s anything Cignetti and the Phoenix know well, it’s a close game.
Players to watch: Cuse WR Steve Ishmael is second nationally in catches. Wake WR Alex Bachman had a career day with 116 yards last week. Fast fact: An on-field ceremony will honor former walk-on Mike Chemotti, 103 years old, who enlisted in the Army in 1942, and current junior WR Ben Brickman, who walked-on after serving two tours of duty in Afghanistan. What to expect: It has the makings of an offensive shootout, something rarely said about Wake-Syracuse games. — Shawn Krest
Charlotte vs. Middle Tennessee Richardson Stadium Saturday, 2 p.m. beIN Sports
Preview: MTSU is trying to win its second straight game for the first time this year. Charlotte is trying to win its second game overall. Players to watch: MTSU QB Brent Stockstill has thrown for a touchdown in 19 straight games, fourth longest streak in the nation. Charlotte LB Anthony Butler had 14 tackles last week. Fast fact: MTSU has two former ACC head coaches on its staff in defensive coordinator Scott Shafer (Syracuse) and defensive line coach Tommy West (Clemson). What to expect: Charlotte needs a spark after getting shut out by ODU last week. — Shawn Krest
North Carolina at Pittsburgh Heinz Field Thursday, 7:30 p.m. ESPN
Preview: The Tar Heels look to end a seven-game losing streak against an opponent they’ve beaten all four times since the Panthers joined the ACC. Players to watch: Pitt RB Darrin Hall has averaged 182.5 yards on the ground in his last two games. UNC WR Anthony Ratliff-Williams threw for a touchdown, caught two passes and had a 45-yard kickoff return two weeks ago against Miami. Fast fact: The Tar Heels lost their first two games off a bye under coach Larry Fedora, but have won with the extra week in each of the past three seasons.
NC STATE from page B1 rently 4-1, NC State would need to win at Boston College, at Wake Forest and home against North Carolina. The Pack will be heavily favored in the season finale against the Tar Heels, but that contest is always a “throw out the records” game, and UNC coach Larry Fedora would like nothing better than to be the one to throw a roadblock up in front of Doeren. The Pack must clear two steep hurdles before returning to Carter-Finley for that game, however. Wake Forest has a vastly improved offense, led by quarterback John Wolford. State likely has the defensive edge over the Deacs, but a shootout in Winston-Salem remains a troubling proposition. This week’s game against Boston College, who has always seemed to be a thorn in NC State’s side, will likely be the toughest remaining test. “We move forward with an opportunity to play maybe the hottest team in the league in Boston College coming off a bye week,” Doeren said. “They’ve won four of their last five — three in a row. They’ve averaged over 35 points a game the last three games. They’ve found a really impressive running back in AJ Dillon. Their quarterback, Anthony Brown, has gotten better and batter and batter. An offense that’s only been sacked seven times. “Defensively, they’re really sound,” he continued. “I like what they do schematically, and their kids understand it. Active front with Harold Landry and Zach Allen on the edges, and a secondary that’s tied with Miami for the most interceptions with 13. A safety, Lukas Denis that has five interceptions. Not a lot of stuff that they do, they just do it really well.” Even if NC State pulls off the trifecta, beating all three remain-
Preview: Wake looks to get bowl eligible for the second straight year.
What to expect: Pitt is a 7-point favorite, but UNC should have QBs Chazz Surratt and Brandon Harris healthy again after last week’s bye. — Brett Friedlander
ECU vs. Tulane Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium Saturday CBS Sports Network
Preview: The Pirates take on a Tulane team that is 3-6 (1-4 AAC) and has lost four straight.
CHARLES LECLAIRE | USA TODAY SPORTS
NC State coach Dave Doeren and the Wolfpack still have plenty to play for despite back-to-back losses at Notre Dame and at home against Clemson.
NC State at Boston College When Saturday, noon Where Alumni Stadium Watch ABC/ESPN2
ing opponents, that would leave the Wolfpack at 7-1 in the ACC, which, at best, would tie them with Clemson. By virtue of Saturday’s win, Clemson would have the tiebreaker advantage and head to Charlotte. So, in addition to winning out, State needs some help. Clemson loses to Florida State: The Tigers’ schedule was front-loaded with ACC games. At 6-1 in the ACC, Clemson has two nonconference games in its final three. That leaves Saturday’s game against Florida State as the
only opportunity for the Tigers to pick up a second conference loss, rendering their tiebreaker advantage over State irrelevant. The Seminoles have had a down year after losing star quarterback Deondre Francois with a season-ending injury in the opener. In addition to the rivalry game against Clemson, Florida State is playing to keep its bowl hopes alive. With a 3-5 record and four games remaining, the Noles need to win three of four to extend their 35-year streak of making the postseason. Clemson will be heavily favored at home against the depleted Seminoles, but there’s at least a chance that Florida State will provide an assist. Of course, the Wolfpack players can’t worry about what happens in Death Valley. Doeren is confident his team will be ready to take care of its business. “They’ve got grit. They’re tough kids. They want to win,” he said. “It starts with this game,” he added. “We’ve got to get back. We don’t have any time to lick our wounds.”
Players to watch: QB Gardner Minshew set ECU records with 52 completions and 68 passing attempts against Houston. WR Darnell Mooney had seven catches for a career-high 115 yards in the Green Wave’s 17-16 loss to Cincinnati last week. Fast fact: ECU has allowed 52 or more points five times this season and rank last among FBS teams in both scoring and total defense. What to expect: Despite last week’s regression, this is a winnable game for the Pirates (2-7, 1-4). — Brett Friedlander
App State vs. Georgia Southern Kidd Brewer Stadium Thursday, 7:30 p.m. ESPNU
Preview: The Mountaineers try to get back on track after their Sun Belt Conference hopes took a hit against LouisianaMonroe last week. Georgia Southern is 0-8. Players to watch: App State WR Ike Lewis had three touchdown catches in Saturday’s loss, including a 20-yarder that tied the game with 53 seconds left. Safety R.J. Murray had nine tackles and one of the Eagles’ four sacks in last week’s 21-17 loss to Georgia State. Fast fact: Georgia Southern fired coach Tyson Summers after six games. Assistant Chad Lunsford is the team’s interim coach. What to expect: The Mountaineers couldn’t have asked for a better opponent to help break a two-game losing streak than the winless Eagles. — Brett Friedlander
North State Journal for Wednesday, November 8, 2017
B4
It’s on Francis to shake up the Hurricanes Carolina GM needs to make a defining move By Cory Lavalette North State Journal
KIM KLEMENT | USA TODAY SPORTS
Panthers wide receiver Curtis Samuel is one of several young players getting more opportunities for Carolina as the season moves on.
Panthers’ youth movement gaining momentum Rookies getting more opportunities while Carolina battles for NFC South By Shawn Krest North State Journal CHARLOTTE — If an offensive lineman gets attention during a game, it’s usually something bad has happened, and it’s his fault. Rookie lineman Taylor Moton wears No. 72. Anyone in attendance at the Panthers’ win over the Falcons last Sunday knows that by now, because officials announced “No. 72” a dozen times during the game. The newfound attention wasn’t a bad thing, in fact, just the opposite. Moton didn’t get called for any penalties during the game. Instead, he entered for 12 offensive snaps as the sixth lineman — an extra blocker that the team went to instead of a skill-position player in specific situations. There are strict rules about how that personnel package needs to be handled. “When I go into the game, I have to find the referee. He’s the one with the white hat,” Moton explained. “I have to do it before we huddle. After that it’s too late. “I have to rub my jersey with my hands and tell him my number and that I’m eligible,” Moton added while demonstrating with a motion that looked like he might be pulling his shirt over shoulder pads. The referee then announces over the stadium PA system that Moton is reporting as an eligible receiver.
RANKINGS from page B1 trio of freshman big men — 6-foot9 Garrison Brooks, 6-10 Brandon Huffman and 6-11 Sterling Manley — will try to fill the void left by the graduation of frontcourt starters Justin Jackson, Kennedy Meeks and Isaiah Hicks. What to expect: The return of Final Four MVP Joel Berry, along with veterans Theo Pinson, Luke Maye and Kenny Williams give the Tar Heels a strong perimeter, along with national championship experience. 3. Wake Forest Demon Deacons 2016-17: 19-14, 9-9 ACC What’s new: French fourstar center Olivier Sarr, swing man Melo Eggleston and guard Chaundree Brown lead a four-man recruiting class. Wake also added Marshall grad transfer Terrence Thompson. What to expect: Losses of John Collins and Dinos Mitoglou set back Danny Manning’s rebuild. The Deacs are picked near the bottom of the ACC and struggled to beat Queens in an exhibition. 4. NC State Wolfpack 2016-17: 15-17, 4-14 ACC What’s new: Former UNCW coach Kevin Keatts, who replaced Mark Gottfried, looks to turn the Wolfpack’s fortunes around with a high-energy, up-tempo style and a pair of grad transfers — Allerik Freeman from Baylor and Sam Hunt from NC A&T. What to expect: This figures to be a year of adjustment for the Wolfpack, but there is enough talent on hand, led by senior forward Abdul-Malik Abu, to surprise if its chemistry jells. 5. Davidson Wildcats 2016-17: 17-15, 8-10 Atlantic 10 What’s new: Four freshmen
It’s a quirky rule, one of several in the NFL, but it emphasizes the new direction the Panthers are taking this season. While a youth movement generally means a team has given up on the season and is looking toward the future, the Panthers are attempting to give their young players a bigger role while contending for the NFC South divisional title. Moton’s 12 snaps on Sunday were a season high for him. In the last two weeks, he’s been on the field for 23 offensive plays. In the first seven weeks of the season, he saw just eight snaps of action. “We’re finding chances to use him,” Rivera said of the team’s second-round draft pick. Moton is one of four rookies who have seen their playing time and roles expanded significantly in recent weeks. “It’s nice to see those guys get opportunities,” Rivera said. “I thought we brought in some really good players. We drafted really well. To be successful, you’ve got to have that happen. They’re good young men who work hard when they do get the chance.” First-round pick Christian McCaffrey has gradually worked his way into the team’s offense. After getting snap counts in the 30s and 40s for the first five weeks of the season, McCaffrey has been used on more than 50 offensive plays in three of the last four games. He played 53 on Sunday, tied for second-most of his short career. Over that time, he’s also seen his special teams usage dwindle. After being on the field for six or seven
arrive, including Chapel Hill PG Carter Collins, All-Massachusetts SG Kellan Grady and Charlotte’s Bates Jones, brother of Duke QB Daniel. What to expect: Coach Bob McKillop loses one starter, but otherwise, everyone is back. Look for the Wildcats to push for an NCAA bid and strike fear in the heart of whoever draws them. 6. UNC Asheville Bulldogs 2016-17: 23-10, 15-3 Big South What’s new: Freshmen Jalen Seegars, LJ Thorpe and Tajion Jones bolster a veteran team picked as the Big South preseason favorite. What to expect: The Bulldogs will go as far as their talented backcourt of leading scorer Ahmad Thomas and Big South Freshman of the Year MaCio Teague will take them as they seek a third 20-plus win season. 7. Elon Phoenix 2016-17: 18-14, 10-8 CAA What’s new: Three freshmen join redshirt freshman Seth Fuller. Former NBA vet Dino Radja’s son Duje will patrol the paint, and guard Nathan Priddy should provide scoring punch. What to expect: The Phoenix return all five starters and seven of their top eight scorers. The freshmen class will provide depth and may help Elon reach the NCAAs. 8. UNC Wilmington Seahawks 2016-17: 29-6, 15-3 CAA What’s new: Former UNC assistant C.B. McGrath faces a major rebuild job as he looks to replace four starters from the team Kevin Keatts coached to the NCAA tournament last year. What to expect: The Seahawks will have a much different look this season, but will at least have two familiar faces around which
kicking plays in five different games earlier in the year, he’s had just one special teams snap in the last two weeks. “C-Mac’s a dynamic player,” quarterback Cam Newton said. “You can feel the vibe around him. He feels as if he’s not doing enough. But when a guy’s touched, and he’s blessed, you’ve just got to give him the ball, step back and be in awe. I’m a proponent of seeing how much he can digest before we ease off of him, because when the ball’s in his hand, man that’s a good thing for us as an offense.” Second-rounder Curtis Samuel is also seeing his role grow as the team finds ways to take advantage of the wide receiver’s speed on the field. He played 49 snaps on Sunday, after averaging 19 in his first six games. A month ago, Rivera talked about scaling things back for Samuel, worried he was overwhelmed by getting too much information too fast. This past week, the team traded veteran wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin in part to open up more playing time for him. “He’s getting his opportunity,” Rivera said. “He plays very strong and fast. There’s a lot of energy to the way he does things. He’s exciting to watch. He’s explosive. We’ve got to find ways to get the ball in his hands even more so. Fullback Alex Armah, promoted from the practice squad after tight end Greg Olson’s injury, had 17 of his 23 career snaps on Sunday, playing both fullback and tight end. “He’s a young man that gets it, already,” Rivera said. “He beats a lot of us into the office.” The Panthers’ youth movement seems to be gaining momentum, which means that 72 could be on its way to becoming a household number. “I’m too busy to hear when they announce my number,” Moton said, “but my family in the stands thinks it’s pretty cool.”
to build in All-CAA big man Devontae Cacok and senior guard Jordon Talley. 9. Campbell Camels 2016-17: 19-18, 7-11 Big South What’s new: Freshman guard Jordan Whitfield challenged Chris Clemons’ scoring records at Raleigh Millbrook. He’s joined by guard Ja’Cor Nelson, redshirt freshman Nick Greely and forward Brooks Cluxton. What to expect: Scoring machine Clemons is back for his junior year after considering the NBA. He should help the Camels contend for the Big South title. 10. UNC Greensboro Spartans 2016-17: 25-10, 14-4 Southern What’s new: This year’s Spartans will have a familiar look to them with 11 of 13 players returning from last year’s Southern Conference co-champions. What to expect: UNCG, with junior sharpshooter Francis Alonso leading the way, gave a glimpse of its potential by besting defending national champion UNC in a 13-minute scrimmage Sunday. 11. East Carolina Pirates 2016-17: 15-18, 6-12 American What’s new: Coach Jeff Lebo is back after missing 14 games due to surgery. Hawaii transfer Isaac Fleming is eligible. Akron grad transfer Aaron Jackson and four freshman also restock the roster. What to expect: ECU has found it hard to make headway in the AAC, and the addition of Wichita State will make the climb harder. 12. Charlotte 49ers 2016-17: 13-17, 7-11 Big South What’s new: Charlotte’s downfall last season was its lack of a solid post presence, a problem coach Mark Price addressed by
RALEIGH — Every NHL team goes through peaks and valleys. The best teams of the last decade — the Penguins, Blackhawks and Kings — all bottomed out and were rewarded with high draft picks that turned around their fortunes. High draft picks alone, however, do not lead to Stanley Cup success. The general managers for each of those teams made pivotal moves that defined their tenures and steered their team in the right direction. Stan Bowman signed two-way star Marian Hossa to a 12-year contract that helped bring three Cups to Chicago. Dean Lombardi’s acquisition of Mike Richards and Jeff Carter (and, to a lesser extent, Justin Williams) bolstered a Kings roster that had draft picks Drew Doughty and Anze Kopitar as cornerstones. And Jim Rutherford — the guy who traded for Rod Brind’Amour in Carolina — added Phil Kessel to an attack that already had Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Another of those tenure-defining deals came Sunday when Colorado GM Joe Sakic finally traded away Matt Duchene in a threeteam deal that set in motion the Avalanche’s full rebuild. The Carolina Hurricanes, despite being pegged by some as a perfect suitor for Duchene, were not one of the teams involved. Which brings us to Carolina’s man in charge, Ron Francis. Francis’ three-plus years helming the the Hurricanes have been a master class in building from the ground up. Carolina stockpiled assets and rebuilt the farm system. He took aim at cap-troubled teams (see Chicago and Bowman) to add young, talented players. And he targeted coveted free agents (signing the aforementioned Williams and trading for the rights and inking goaltender Scott Darling) to plug holes. But while Nashville GM David Poile waited almost two decades to make his blockbuster deal, trading Shea Weber for P.K. Subban, Francis can’t afford to have that kind of patience. The hard reality is that Carolina is a team that has spun its wheels for too long — eight seasons outside the playoffs — and has sold hope without yet delivering it. There’s no doubt Bill Peters is a good coach. He implemented structure when there was none under his predecessor, Kirk Muller. He has been willing to give young
bring in 6-10 JUCO Jailan Haslem and 6-8, 235-pound freshman Milos Supica. What to expect: The addition of some size inside and the return of point guard Jon Davis and backcourt mate Andrien White give the 49ers a realistic shot at moving up the CUSA standings this season. 13. High Point Panthers 2016-17: 15-16, 9-9 Big South What’s new: Three transfers help bolster the roster: Brandon Kamga (Northeastern), center Sam Berlin (Div II St. Thomas Aquinas) and Jahaad Proctor (Iona). The team also adds three freshmen, headlined by guard Denny Slay. What to expect: Coach Scott Cherry adds the new blood to four returning starters, which could lead to a promising year for High Point. 14. Gardner-Webb Bulldogs 2016-17: 19-14, 11-7 Big South What’s new: Freshman Jaheam Cornwell, a former teammate of Kentucky recruit Hamidou Diallo, will try to help make up for the loss of Big South assists leader LaQuincy Rideau, who transferred to USF. What to expect: Even with Rideau’s departure, the Bulldogs shouldn’t experience much of a dropoff with three returning starters, including honorable mention all-conference selection David Efianayi. 15. N.C. Central Eagles 2016-17: 25-9, 13-3 MEAC What’s new: Coach LeVelle Moton is rebuilding his roster through transfers, including Zacarry Douglas from Cal State Northridge, Drexel’s Rashann London, Niagara’s Dominique Reid and Kent State’s Raasean Davis. What to expect: The two-time
players important, prominent roles, something that was always in question under two-times former coach Paul Maurice. And he hasn’t been shy about making it public that he had asked Francis for more talent. One can question if his message has grown stale with the players, but rest assured that if Peters was dismissed from the Hurricanes he wouldn’t stay unemployed long. Like Pierre Dorion in Ottawa, Francis has a good coach in place but there is something missing. Dorion put his job on the line by acquiring Duchene, an unquestionably talented player whose contract — he’s an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2019 — made it tough to part with major assets. However, Dorion knows he needs to convince superstar Erik Karlsson — also a free agent in two summers — to stay, and adding a world-class talent like Duchene is a good start. Francis needs to do the same if he wants to keep Jeff Skinner beyond next season. More importantly, he needs to put his stamp on the franchise the way Rutherford did in 2000 by dealing for Brind’Amour, the player who would captain the Hurricanes to the 2006 Stanley Cup. Passing on the high-priced Duchene is understandable — it never felt like a perfect fit for the Hurricanes, even though they had to the assets to make the move. A coaching change doesn’t feel right either. Former Francis teammate Dave Tippett immediately comes to mind when considering a big-name coach who is available, but he is coming off an oh-so-familiar five-year stretch outside the playoffs with the similarly budget-conscious Coyotes and his price tag might be too hefty for an owner who is in the midst of trying to sell the franchise. Charlotte Checkers coach Mike Vellucci has no shortage of experience behind the bench, even if its not in the NHL, but would not be a shocking jolt to the organization. No, a coaching change doesn’t feel like enough. And Francis — for all the positive things he has done in rekindling the Hurricanes in Rutherford’s aftermath — needs to light a fire under his team. Francis has long been “The Franchise” for the organization, both in Raleigh and in Hartford. His steady guidance as a player has carried over to his role as an executive. His playing career was defined by his trade to Pittsburgh, where he won his two Stanley Cups. His managerial legacy needs to be cemented — one way or the other — by a similar gamble.
MEAC champs lost all five starters. Moton is used to blending transfers into his program, but this might be a transition year. 16. Appalachian State Mountaineers 2016-17: 9-21, 4-14 Sun Belt What’s new: Freshman guard Justin Forrest, the son of former Georgia Tech star James Forrest, will be counted on to make an immediate impact, as will junior college transfer O’Showen Williams. What to expect: Even with the return of leading scorer Ronshad Shabazz, the Mountaineers’ prospects for improvement don’t look good after being picked to finish last in the Sun Belt Conference. 17. Western Carolina Catamounts 2016-17: 9-23, 4-14 Southern What’s new: A four-man recruiting class is highlighted by JUCO forward Mike Amius and freshman PG Desmond Johnson, who was All-City in Memphis last year. What to expect: They’re coming off a 23-loss season, but the Catamounts return eight of their top nine scorers, so the team should show improvement. 18. NC A&T Aggies 2016-17: 4-28, 1-15-3 MEAC What’s new: A&T’s hopes this season are centered around three transfers who sat out last season under NCAA rules — point guard Aaren Edmead and 6-7 forward Japhet Kadji, both from Wagner, and 6-8 post Femi Olujobi from Oakland. What to expect: Just about anything the Aggies do this season will be an improvement after winning just four games all last season.
WEDNESDAY
11.08.17
NORTH
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Biltmore tree arrives, Page 6
the good life IN A NORTH STATE OF MIND
play list
Nov. 8-12 Cucalorus Film Festival Wilmington This noncompetitive independent film festival showcases more than 200 films and attracts an audience of more than 14,000 travelers from all over the world. cucalorus.org
Nov. 10 Christmas Open House at Childress Vineyards Lexington Uncork holiday cheer and experience Christmas at Childress Vineyards! Enjoy a complimentary glass of wine and light hors d'oeuvres, along with live holiday music while you shop for new Christmas gift selections.
Nov. 10-12 TowneBank Outer Banks Marathon Nags Head The TowneBank Outer Banks Marathon is a Boston Marathon qualifying race. Runners may also participate in the Southern Fried Half Marathon, Southern 6 miler, OBX 8K & 5K and Family Fun Run. obxmarathon.com PHOTO COURTESY OF AESTHETIC IMAGES PHOTOGRAPHY
Members of the United States Senate, state and local officials, and staff of the Veterans Life Center in Butner gathered for the official groundbreaking of the Veterans Life Center. The Center is designed to have a series of services and programs that will return homeless, troubled and at-risk veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars to civilian life.
Ground broken for Veterans Life Center in Butner
The Polar Express Train Ride Bryson City This 1.25-hour round-trip excursion comes to life as the train departs the Bryson City depot for a journey through the quiet wilderness for a special visit to the North Pole. gsmr.com
Nov. 10-12 NC Comicon Durham Meet your favorite artists. Includes panel discussions, vendors, art contests, costum contests and more.
By Laura Ashley Lamm North State Journal BUTNER — With the turning of the dirt for the groundbreaking on the Veterans Life Center in Butner, a first-of-its-kind facility to focus on 21st century veterans, service men and women in need have new hope. The Veterans Life Center is designed to have a series of services and programs that will return homeless, troubled and at-risk veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars to civilian life. “Global War on Terror veterans have seen the worst of humanity,” said U.S. Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), “Initiatives like this provide a glide path to help them reintegrate and create as many new opportunities for them as we could ever imagine.” There are approximately 775,000 Veterans are living in North Carolina, one of the most military-friendly states in the nation. Those that have served since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks have waged the global war on terror for more than a decade. “The Veterans Life Center is going to be critical to some of those who have the visible and invisible wounds of war,” added U.S. Sen. Tom Tillis (R-N.C.). “These veterans are facing one of four things: homelessness, incarceration, suicide or premature death,” said Jay Bryant, communications director for the center. “Some may already be homeless, facing legal trouble or suffering from substance abuse problems. Some of these disabilities may have occurred in service such as post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury.” Residents will help develop their own customized plans, of varying length, all designed to return them to self-sufficiency in communities throughout the
Nov. 10 - Dec. 31
Nov. 11 Mooresville Veterans Day Celebration Mooresville The parade begins at Richards following a brief ceremony and travels to Mooresville Town Hall lawn, where celebrations will include complimentary food and live music.
There are approximately 775,000 Veterans are living in North Carolina, one of the most military-friendly states in the nation. Those that have served since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and have fought the global war on terror for more than a decade.
state. Programs areas include: mental fitness and behavioral health care; physical care (daily adult living skills); life skills training; family reunification; spiritual counseling; education certification; and community reintegration. Readjusting to civilian life includes the center’s ability to help veterans make and keep medical appointments, take prescription drugs for treatments as scheduled, assess family relationships, as well as helping veterans establish a career path or continued education. “Many veterans enter the service out of high school and never experience living as a regular person in a civil society,” said Bryant. “We have excellent programs that
“Initiatives like this provide a glide path to help them reintegrate and create as many new opportunities for them as we could ever imagine.” —Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) include helping them understand regulations, financial obligations, grooming, behavior for society and more. Jobs are key to veterans being integrated into a community. We’re going to help them enroll at a community college
like Vance-Granville and find the skills necessary for the job path they choose.” Burr and Tillis, along with many state and federal officials, joined the Veterans Life Center community for the groundbreaking on Oct. 27. The Veterans Life Center is slated to open in early 2019 with approximately 100 beds, with space to grow to 150 beds. The facility also includes a full kitchen and dining room, various activity rooms and offices for a staff of 30-40 including case managers, counselors, nurses and other professionals. Male and female residents will receive services on-site or in nearby hospitals, treatment centers and educational institutions.
Richmond County Veterans Day Event Rockingham The event starts with a memorial program, followed by a free lunch and parade. Event will be held at the Richmond County Veterans Memorial Park.
Nov. 11-12 Warbirds Over Monroe Air Show Monroe One of the largest civilian air shows on the East Coast, Warbirds Over Monroe has jets and warbirds, aeribatics, comedy, choppers and reenactors.
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North State Journal for Wednesday, November 8, 2017
NeCessities! history marked Nov. 9, 1973
Nov. 13, 1867
Floyd McKissick and Soul City
Jane McKimmon was born
Civil rights activist Floyd McKissick broke ground on Soul City in rural Warren County. The Soul City project sought to improve the economic prospects of underprivileged AfricanAmericans by providing them with affordable housing and an alternative to urban slums. Warren County was chosen for the project because it was one of the poorest areas in the state. McKissick, the driving force behind the project, was the first African-American man to go to law school at the University of North Carolina and thought that economic power was the first step to political freedom. The project received several million dollars in support from the state and federal government, as well as from private donors. The first facility constructed at Soul City was an impressive water system and factory named SoulTech I. However, the project was largely derailed by a 1975 exposé in the Raleigh News & Observer that charged McKissick with corruption. Even though the accusations were found to be false, the controversy that surrounded the article led the project to be audited and caused it lose support from the business community. The project fell into a slump and effectively ended when the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development withdrew its support in 1979.
Jane McKimmon, leader of North Carolina’s home demonstration movement, was born. State-sponsored home demonstration work began in North Carolina in 1911. McKimmon, who was known for keeping a neat garden on Raleigh’s Blount Street, was hired to “take charge of the ‘girl’s canning work.’” McKimmon expanded the size and scope of the program, growing its enrollment from 416 women in 14 counties to 75,000 women in all of North Carolina’s 100 counties by 1941. Her work, by one estimation, “led rural women and girls to a fuller, more comfortable, and efficient life.” McKimmon was the first woman in the nation to receive the “Distinguished Ruby Award” of Epsilon Sigma Phi, the honorary extension fraternity. In 1966, she was elected to the North Carolina Agricultural Hall of Fame. The continuing education center at NC State University, built in 1975, is named in her honor.
November 10, 1898
Wilmington Race Riots
Nov. 8, 1965
Lawrence Joel wounded in Vietnam Specialist/SFC Lawrence Joel of Winston-Salem, a Korean War veteran, began a routine patrol near Bien Hoa, Vietnam. Joel and his unit, the 1st Battalion of the 503rd Airborne Infantry, were ambushed by a Viet Cong battalion that outnumbered them six to one. Wounded twice by machine gun fire, Joel, who was a medic, bandaged his wounds, self-administered a shot of morphine and continued to tend to his unit’s many wounded paratroopers. The fighting continued for nearly 24 hours and, during that time, Joel put his life at to risk saving the wounded in his company and another unit. After the battle he spent three months in Saigon and Tokyo hospitals before returning to the United States. In March 1967, Joel received the Congressional Medal of Honor from President Lyndon B. Johnson. He was the first medical airman to ever receive the award, the first living African-American to receive the award since the Spanish-American War, the first enlisted man to receive the award from Johnson and the first soldier from Winston-Salem to be so honored. A career soldier, Joel retired from the service in 1973 and died in 1984. He is buried in Arlington Cemetery. The Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem is named in his honor.
On Nov. 10, 1898, the year’s white supremacy campaign culminated with a race riot in Wilmington, marking the onset of the Jim Crow era of segregation in the state. Though traditionally termed a “race riot,” many have called the event a massacre. In the days preceding the November election, a local citizen named Alfred Mooree Waddell called for the removal of the Republicans and Populists then in power in Wilmington. He proposed in a speech that the white residents, if necessary, “choke the Cape Fear with carcasses.” Tensions came to a head on Nov. 10 when Waddell led about 500 white men to the office of the Daily Record, a local blackowned newspaper. The mob broke into the building, a fire broke out, and the top floor of the building was consumed. The crowd swelled to nearly 2,000 as it moved across town, spreading violence. The number of dead is disputed but the coroner’s office reported 14.
Nov. 14, 1953
Andy Griffith’s “What It Was, Was Football” recorded On Nov. 14, 1953, the Colonial label in Raleigh released Andy Griffith’s monologue “What It Was, Was Football.” Colonial was owned by Chapel Hill newspaper publisher Orville B. Campbell, who had heard Griffith perform the comedy bit at a luncheon earlier that year. The narrator of the story is a young man who happens upon a football game — something he had never experienced before. His retelling of the game included a description of the football: “It was that both bunches full of them wanted this funny looking little pumpkin to play with. They did. And I know, friends, that they couldn’t eat it because they kicked it the whole evening and it never busted.” “What it Was, Was Football” helped launch Griffith’s career, which ultimately took him from North Carolina to Broadway. He went on to star in movies and television shows and became a Grammy Award-winning singer. After many years in front of the camera, Griffith returned to North Carolina, and settled in Manteo, where he remained until his death on July 3, 2012.
Nov. 11, 1949
Long-delayed dedication of NCSU Belltower The Memorial Belltower, a prominent landmark on the campus of NC State University, was dedicated. Gov. Gregg Cherry was one of the many dignitaries in attendance. Conceived as a memorial to those alumni who died in service to the country during World War I, the belltower is a symbol of the university and a gathering point for the campus community. The cornerstone was laid in 1921, with sections added in 1924, 1925 and 1926. Despite the Great Depression and World War II, construction continued through the 1930s and 1940s. The Depression-era federal Works Progress Administration program supplied the funds to complete construction of the stone tower in 1937, and the class of 1938 donated a clock and the class of 1939 added flood lighting. Subsequent alterations include the addition of chimes, a shrine room and a memorial plaque. The plaque lists 35 alumni who died, but one name was listed in error. That name was changed and left on the plaque to represent the unknown soldiers from NSCU and elsewhere.
Information courtesy of N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
light it up
Oorah!
Biltmore Christmas Tree arrives
Happy birthday to the U.S. Marine Corps By NSJ Staff
PHOTO COURTESY OF BILMORE ESTATE
A 35-foot North Carolina Fraser fir tree arrived at Biltmore this week as staff finished decorating America's largest home for Christmas. The tree came from Andrews Nursery in Avery County and is decorated with 500 ornaments and wrapped packages tucked into its branches. It serves as the seasonal centerpiece in the home's Banquet Hall. Christmas at Biltmore runs through Jan. 7, 2018.
Nov. 10, 1775, marks the official birthday of the United States Marine Corps. On that day the Second Continental Congress established the Continental Marines with the following decree: “RESOLVED: That two battalions of Marines be raised consisting of one Colonel, two lieutenant-colonels, two majors and other officers, as usual in other regiments; that they consist of an equal number of privates as with other battalions, that particular care be taken that no persons be appointed to offices, or enlisted into said battalions, but such as are good seamen, or so acquainted with maritime affairs as to be able to serve for and during the present war with Great Britain and the Colonies; unless dismissed by Congress; that they be distinguished by the names of the First and Second Battalions of Marines." The first recruitment of Marines took place at Tun Tavern, a brew house in Philadelphia which was the location for the founding of other groups like the St. George's Society and St. John's #1 Lodge, a Grand Lodge of the Masonic Temple which was later led by Grand Master Benjamin Franklin.
North State Journal for Wednesday, November 8, 2017
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ENTERTAINMENT FILM REVIEW: ‘MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS’
‘Thor: Ragnarok’ rules with $121 million weekend Disney-Marvel’s “Thor: Ragnarok” is heading for a stellar opening weekend with $121 million at 4,080 North American locations — the fourth-best launch of 2017. The third Thor movie is also putting an emphatic end to the month-long box office slump that saw the worst October in a decade. Among 2017 titles, its debut weekend trails only “Beauty and the Beast” at $174.8 million, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” at $146.5 million and “It” at $123.4 million.
Kenneth Branagh stars in Twentieth Century Fox’s “Murder on the Orient Express.” PHOTO COURTESY OF TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX
By Peter Debruge Variety LOS ANGELES — Over the course of his 28-year directing career, Kenneth Branagh has adapted everything from literary classics (Shakespeare’s “Henry V”) to comic book pulp (putting a distinctive Dutch-angle slant on Marvel’s “Thor”). Now, with “Murder on the Orient Express,” the audacious multitalent forsakes brows both high and low in favor of the most extravagant mustache moviegoers have ever seen: a flamboyant spun-sugar swirl of silvery whiskers better suited to a circus strongman, or perhaps a turn-ofthe-century unicycle salesman — than Agatha Christie’s beloved Belgian sleuth. “My name is Hercule Poirot, and I am probably the greatest detective in the world,” Branagh pronounces from behind his elaborate lip toupee — which the crew called “the Badger,” seeing as how the furry salt-and-pepper pelt transforms the actor’s mug into a muzzle of sorts. From a character perspective, such ostentatious facial hair is clearly compensating for something (not intellect, for Poirot is notoriously gifted when it comes to using his “little grey cells”), though it requires an actor who is completely confident in his own abilities to pull off, as a lesser thespian might be upstaged by it entirely. As it happens, Christie saw Poirot’s mustache as an over-thetop indulgence, an eccentric extension of the detective’s personality, and she took great pleasure in letting various characters poke fun at it over the course of the 33 novels in which Poirot appeared. (She was reportedly never satisfied with the wax-tipped falsie Albert Finney wore in the 1974 version, directed by Sidney Lumet.) That film has its charms, among them an all-star
cast ranging from Ingrid Bergman to Sean Connery, but hasn’t held up particularly well, leaving room for Branagh to give the classic mystery a fresh spin — although the undertaking also presents a formidable challenge, considering that its solution is one of the worstkept secrets in English literature. For those who know the outcome of “Murder” going in, the question isn’t so much whodunit as how Branagh will keep audiences guessing, and though he succeeds in creating the most memorable incarnation of Poirot ever seen on-screen (upstaging even Johnny Depp’s competing cameo), the movie is a failure overall, juggling too many characters to keep straight, and botching the last act so badly that those who go in blind may well walk out not having understood its infamous twist ending. By contrast, the film’s opening is as elegant as they come, an invention of screenwriter Michael Green that introduces the world-renowned detective (whom Branagh plays himself) as a cultivated gentleman, obsessing over whether his Jerusalem hosts can prepare the perfect hard-boiled egg when the theft of an important relic demands his attention. In the most theatrical fashion imaginable, Poirot examines the scant evidence and delivers what for him can be the only logical conclusion to the crowd, anticipating even the guilty party’s escape plan. This is how Branagh ought to handle the script’s central mystery — the murder of a dastardly criminal who had it coming (Depp, looking every bit the rake) — but instead he and Green seem overly worried that audiences might lose interest if they followed Christie’s clockwork-precise novel to the letter, concocting a dizzying series of diversions to suggest that the case might unfold otherwise
(which, to some extent, it does). Meanwhile, the setup remains constant as Depp’s Samuel Ratchett (an alias for notorious sleaze Lanfranco Cassetti, responsible for the kidnapping and murder of 3-year-old American heiress Daisy Armstrong) dies aboard the Orient Express, stabbed a dozen times during the night by someone still aboard the train. When a freak avalanche forces the Orient Express to stop on a precarious (and breathtakingly cinematic) stretch of track, Poirot finds the time to interview each and every one of the suspects — confined to the 12 first- and second-class passengers who might have had access to Ratchett’s cabin. Poirot, whose black-and-white worldview insists, “There is right, there is wrong, and nothing in between,” finds this to be his most difficult case yet, in part because each of these peculiar strangers could conceivably have a motive — yielding a complex dance of candor and deceit that invites audiences to test their detective skills to see who might be the most likely killer. Among the ensemble, too many and ultimately too confusing to enumerate, are an unpleasant Russian princess (Judi Dench, all scowls and vinegar), an undercover detective (Willem Dafoe, assuming a showy Austrian accent), a fire-and-brimstone Spanish missionary (Penelope Cruz, playing the zealot) and an opportunistic widow (Michelle Pfeiffer, quite the minx), plus a handful of younger actors (Josh Gad, Daisy Ridley and Leslie Odom Jr.) who may well have been chosen to balance the studio’s potential-box-office algorithm for this pricey production — which is not to say that there’s a weak link among them. It’s just that Branagh finds himself wrangling a dozen wildly different character types, positioning them amid production designer Jim Clay’s
meticulously recreated train set, and then permitting each to chew as much of said scenery as he or she can devour. What a shame that the director, whose decision to shoot on 65 mm gives the detail-oriented production a surreal (if rather unfortunate) “Polar Express”-like feel at times, wasn’t able to sustain the sense of wonder established in the film’s opening reel — especially during the pair of stunning tracking shots with which he unveils the Orient Express. For some reason, he privileges Poirot’s character (who is there to solve the case, not steal the show) and the train itself over his accomplished cast, even going so far as to invent an unnecessary love interest for the detective, deepening his character at the expense of the others, whose ostensible ties to the victim are barely explained. As if to inject a bit of extra excitement into the whole affair, the movie manifests two weapons — a gun and a dagger — which serve to create a frisson of jeopardy while seriously undermining the solution to Christie’s intricate puzzle. When it does come time for Poirot to present his theory of what really happened, he lines everyone up like the disciples in Leonardo’s “The Last Supper” but fails to articulate how he untangled the far-fetched plot. Even Christie realized that she was going out on a limb with “Murder,” having one character exclaim: “This is more wildly improbable than any Roman policier I have ever read!” But Branagh deflects, shifting the focus from the big reveal to what his character will decide to do about it, then letting him off the hook by suggesting that his skills are otherwise needed to investigate a death on the Nile — a nod to another Christie mystery that might have been better served by Branagh’s scene-stealing Poirot.
Kenny Chesney’s live ‘American Idol’ premiere date revealed album scores No. 1 on Billboard 200 chart By Variety
LOS ANGELES — “American Idol” will premiere on Sunday night, March 11 at 8 p.m., Ryan Seacrest announced on “Live with Kelly and Ryan” Monday morning. The ABC reboot features judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie and auditions have been taking place throughout the country for the last month. Seacrest returns as host of the series which launched his career back in 2002. ABC’s revival of the long-running Fox series was announced back in May. Perry was revealed to be a judge shortly after the deal at ABC was made, for a salary of $25 million, with Bryan’s announcement coming in September and Richie rounding out the panel shortly after. The network and producers
had trouble filling out the show’s talent roster after signing Perry’s deal. Seacrest later struck a deal that gave him $15 million to host this season, and the Perry and Seacrest agreements left fewer than $10 million in the initial talent budget ABC laid out for the show. But Richie and ABC were finally able to come to terms after a search that saw names such as Charlie Puth, Keith Urban, Scooter Braun, Dolly Parton, Common and Troy Carter rumored and considered. High Point’s Fantasia Barrino (Season 3), Garner’s Scotty McCreery (Season 10) and Asheville’s Caleb Johnson (Season 13) all won during Idol’s original 15-season run on Fox, and several other North Carolinians like Kellie Pickler, Chris Daughtry and Clay Aiken launched their careers on the show.
By Variety LOS ANGELES — Country star Kenny Chesney took the top spot on the Billboard 200 album chart on Monday with his new live album, while releases by pop singer Kelly Clarkson and rapper Chris Brown debuted in the top three. Chesney’s “Live in No Shoes Nation” sold more than 218,000 units, according to the latest weekly data from Nielsen SoundScan. The vast majority were in traditional album sales. Billboard said it was the eighth No. 1 album for Chesney, 49, one of country music’s most popular performers. The Billboard 200 chart tallies units from album sales, song sales (10 songs equal one album) and streaming activity (1,500 streams
equal one album). Former “American Idol” winner Clarkson landed in second place with more than 79,000 sales of her album “Meaning of Life,” while Brown took the No. 3 spot with “Heartbreak on a Full Moon.” The Halloween collaboration “Without Warning” by rappers Savage and Offset and music producer Metro Boomin debuted at No. 4. The busy week of new releases pushed pop star Pink down to 21st place on the Billboard 200 after the No. 1 debut last week of her album “Beautiful Trauma.” On the digital songs chart, which measures online single sales, alt-rockers Imagine Dragons retained their No. 1 spot with another 54,000 units sold for “Thunder.”
‘Tonight Show’ tapings canceled following death of Jimmy Fallon’s mother Tapings of “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” have been canceled for the week of Nov. 6-10 following the death of Fallon’s mother, according to a statement from NBC. Repeat episodes will be scheduled. Fallon’s mother, Gloria, died Saturday at a hospital in New York, Variety confirmed. Her death came one day after NBC canceled a taping of “The Tonight Show” due to her illness. Fallon’s mother was ill and in a hospital at the time of “The Tonight Show” cancellation, said a person familiar with the matter. The Nov. 3 episode was replaced with a rerun from September.
Netflix cuts ties with Kevin Spacey after sexual misconduct allegations Netflix severed ties on Friday with Kevin Spacey, one of its biggest stars and the lead in its popular drama “House of Cards,” after a number of allegations of sexual misconduct against the Oscar-winning actor. The streaming company suspended production earlier this week of the upcoming sixth and final season of the political intrigue drama, in which Spacey plays U.S. president Frank Underwood.
‘Walking Dead’ zombie game seeks Pokemonstyle success Finnish game studio Next Games said on Friday it will launch a new augmented reality smartphone game in the coming months based on AMC Networks’ hit TV show “The Walking Dead.” The game, in which players fight zombies that are superimposed onto the real world on smartphone screens, is tapping into the trend of augmented reality (AR) which gained mass adoption last year with the release of Niantic’s Pokemon Go.
Country music awards show reverses ban on questions about Vegas shooting The Country Music Association (CMA) on Friday reversed a ban on journalists asking questions at its annual awards show about last month’s Las Vegas mass shooting, hours after singer Brad Paisley criticized the rules as “ridiculous.” In media guidelines issued earlier this week, the CMA asked reporters not to focus their coverage of the Nov. 8 awards show red carpet on “the Las Vegas tragedy, gun rights, political affiliations or topics of the like.” It said credentials could be revoked for any media doing so.
North State Journal for Wednesday, November 8, 2017
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North Carolina Arts, History & Nature
Fall in One Place Autumn is a perfect time to celebrate everything North Carolina has to offer, from the gorgeous weather to local foods to traditional music. From the annual tradition of the North Carolina State Fair to Wide Open Bluegrass to local county fairs and festivals, North Carolina has it all, all in one place. Explore our complete list of Fall Festivals and Fairs across the state.
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NC DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL AND CULTURAL RESOURCES
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