VOLUME 148 ISSUE 31 | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2025
CHATHAMNEWSRECORD.COM
THE CHATHAM COUNTY EDITION OF NORTH STATE JOURNAL
Capture the flag Siler City Parks and Recreation’s fall season of youth flag football wrapped up this week at Bray Park, including these youngsters in the age 4-5 division last Wednesday evening. Turn to Sports for more on the burgeoning flag football leagues in Chatham County.
PJ WARD-BROWN / CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD
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BRIEF this week
Trump tells UN in speech it’s “not even coming close to living up” to potential President Donald Trump has returned to the United Nations to boast of his second-term foreign policy achievements and lash out at the world body as a feckless institution. He also warned Europe it would be ruined if it doesn’t turn away from a “double-tailed monster” of ill-conceived migration and green energy policies. World leaders listened closely to his Tuesday remarks at the U.N. General Assembly as Trump has already moved quickly to diminish U.S. support for the world body in his first eight months in office. After his speech, Trump met with Secretary-General António Guterres and told the top U.N. official that the U.S. is behind the global body “100%” amid fears among members that he’s edging toward a full retreat.
Secret Service dismantles telecom threat around UN capable of crippling cell service in NYC The U.S. Secret Service has dismantled a massive hidden telecom network in New York. Investigators say the system could have crippled cell towers and jammed 911 calls. The cache included over 300 SIM servers with more than 100,000 SIM cards. It was located within 35 miles of the United Nations. The network could have blacked out cellular service, especially during the United Nations General Assembly. Officials have not uncovered a direct plot against the assembly. Authorities suspect nationstate actors.
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Commissioners consider potential expansion of metal fabrication plant The rezoning request would allow Bear Creek Fabrication to grow its business By Ryan Henkel Chatham News & Record PITTSBORO — The Chatham County Board of Commissioners met Sept. 15 for its regular business meeting.
The board held three public hearings, with one being for a rezoning request for approximately 10 acres of property located at 1656 Campbell Road from residential to heavy industrial. “The neighboring property,
where Bear Creek Fabrication is currently located, was initially zoned R1 back in 2016 when we zoned the county,” said planner Hunter Glenn. “In 2018, it was rezoned as heavy industrial as part of a commissioner initiated rezoning for businesses that were formerly in the unzoned portions of the county.” According to attorney Nick
Robinson, who was representing the applicant, the company has been experiencing steady growth and is looking for an opportunity to expand their operations on the parcel northwest of the current metal fabrication plant. “The parcel that they already own and use is zoned heavy See PLANT, page A2
Siler City commissioners presented with greenway expansion study The study indentified four major connection upgrades for the Loves Creek Greenway By Ryan Henkel Chatham News & Record SILER CITY — The Town of Siler City Board of Commissioners were presented with the find-
ings from its Loves Creek Greenway Phase 2 and 3 feasibility study at its Sept. 15 meeting. The study, which was funded through the Central Pines Regional Council and done by
McAdams, looked into the potential expansion of the Loves Creek Greenway, a 1.4-mile paved trail. “Loves Creek Greenway was a project we did many years ago,” said Planning Director Timothy Mack. “It was our first phase, and we got it completed. Thankfully it was DOT fund-
Ukrainian refugee’s train stabbing death becomes early flashpoint in 2026 Senate race “It’s pretty simple: A vote for Roy Cooper is a vote for more crime, more violence, more criminals.” Michael Whatley, GOP candidate
Republicans target Democratic candidates over criminal justice policies By Gary D. Robertson The Associated Press RALEIGH — Republicans in North Carolina and beyond are making a concerted effort to turn the stabbing death of a Ukrainian woman on a Charlotte commuter train into a political liability for Democratic former Gov. Roy Cooper in his bid to win a key U.S. Senate race that is still more than a year away.
GOP candidate Michael Whatley has said Cooper bears “direct responsibility” for the deadly Aug. 22 attack on Iryna Zarutska because of a commission he created in June 2020 to address racial inequity in the criminal justice system. The panel’s unveiling occurred weeks following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. But Cooper’s campaign said Whatley, a recent Republican National Committee chairman, was lying about the task force. Cooper “knows North Carolinians need to be safe in See RACE, page A10
ed and it was our first take at greenways.” “A feasibility study is really a bridge between planning projects and construction projects,” said Will Washam, McAdams senior greenway planner. “The town has done the pedestrian See GREENWAY, page A7