VOLUME 148 ISSUE 38 | THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2025
CHATHAMNEWSRECORD.COM
THE CHATHAM COUNTY EDITION OF NORTH STATE JOURNAL
PJ WARD-BROWN / CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD.
Crosses placed in commemoration of Veterans Day line the side of West Street in Pittsboro.
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BRIEF this week
U.S. flight cancellations will continue even after shutdown ends Air travelers should expect worsening cancellations and delays this week even if the government shutdown ends. The Federal Aviation Administration is moving ahead with deeper cuts to flights at 40 major U.S. airports. After a weekend of thousands of canceled flights, airlines scrapped another 2,300 flights Monday and more than 1,000 for Tuesday. Air traffic controllers have been unpaid for nearly a month. Some have stopped showing up to work, citing the added stress and the need to take second jobs. Controller shortages led to average delays of four hours at Chicago O’Hare on Monday.
Record-low temps shock Southeast while snowfall blankets parts of Northeast The southeastern U.S. has plunged into record-low temperatures, affecting 18 million people under a freeze warning across Alabama, Florida and Georgia. The cold spell moved from the Northern Plains and brought an abrupt transition to wintry temperatures. Some daily records were shattered, including a low of 28 degrees in Jacksonville, Florida. In Florida, temperatures led to a “falling iguana advisory” as iguanas froze into survival mode and fell from trees. Meanwhile, parts of the Great Lakes and Northeast experienced significant snowfall, causing hazardous driving conditions. Forecasters expected temps to rise by the end of the week.
Grassroots effort puts vet crosses along street By Bob Wachs Chatham News & Record PITTSBORO — Sometimes a chance event leads to big things, and such is the case with the crosses lining West Street (U.S. 64) in Pittsboro from now until Saturday. They’re there in commem-
Day honors those who still wear the uniform; and Memorial Day honors those who never got to take off the uniform. Veterans Day was originally known as Armistice Day, marking the end of World War I, and celebrating the signing of that treaty on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918.
Superintendent speaks on unified stipend reductions The district is working toward a publicly accessible library catalog By Ryan Henkel Chatham News & Record PITTSBORO — In response to changes in the district’s unified stipend program, Chatham
County Schools Superintendent Anthony Jackson took time to discuss them at the Chatham County Schools Board of Education’s Nov. 3 meeting. The unified stipend program, which was first implemented in the spring semester last year, was intended to be inclusive of academics, arts and athletics. “Some parents came to this
dais and said our teachers are doing things outside of school, can we recognize them and provide some support for them via a stipend of some sort for the time they put in outside of school,” Jackson said. “That was our intent with this.” However, the initial stipend that was paid to teachers was greater than they were intend-
Siler City submits first of audit backlog to LGC “Between the start of 2021 and now, there’s been three different finance officers, which has delayed things significantly.” Jay Sharpe, auditor
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oration of Veterans Day, a day to remember veterans, both deceased and living, who wore the uniform of the nation’s armed forces whether in war time or peace. Veterans Day is one of three military national holidays celebrating armed forces. It honors those who served and took off the uniform; Armed Forces
The turnover of finance officers has led to issues with conducting audits for years By Ryan Henkel Chatham News & Record SILER CITY — The Town of Siler City looks to be finally starting to work through its backlog of financial audits. At the Siler City Board of Commissioner’s Nov. 3 meeting, the board was updated on the current status of its FY 2022 audit. “Field work has been completed, the financial statements have been prepared, and the audit has been submitted to the Local Government Com-
mission for their review and approval,” said Jay Sharpe, an audit partner at Sharpe Patel. “Once they do come back with that approval, we’ll be able to issue the June 30, 2022, audit.” According to Sharpe, the town received an unmodified opinion on their financial statements, which is the best opinion that they can receive. However, he did note multiple issues in the findings. “Obviously the scope and timing of the audit were not on track,” Sharpe said. “I think you’re already well aware of the significant turnover in the finance department. The first year we conducted the audit for the town was 2021, See AUDIT, page A2
The chance event which led to the local crosses which today are for both living and deceased veterans happened last year about this time when two friends, Lydia Karstaedt and Frances Wilson, traveled to Live Oak, Florida, to visit Wilson’s brothers. “When we rode into town,” Karstaedt said, “the streets were lined with crosses. It was so impressive. We stopped and talked with some local folks and said to each other, ‘Why can’t we do this in Pittsboro?’ “From there,” she said, See STREET, page A7
ed to be. District staff mistakenly paid stipends based on experience rather than it being just a flat rate stipend for all teachers. This resulted in a $118,000 overage that had to be paid out of fund balance. In response to this and in order to get the stipend back into a sustainable model, some academic stipend categories were discontinued or reduced. All 51 arts stipends were sustained but at a reduced flat rate. “There’s no ill intent here, but we’re running a $140 million business,” Jackson said. “We can’t run that on emotion.” See REDUCTIONS, page A7