Chatham News & Record Vol. 148, Issue 50

Mr. Plow

North Carolina’s limited number of plow trucks were pushed to the max as a winter storm blanketed the area with more snow than many have seen in years.

the BRIEF this week

Signs of forced entry found at Arizona home of “Today” show host Guthrie’s mother Tucson, Ariz.

Investigators have found signs of forced entry at the Arizona home of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie’s mother. That’s according to a person familiar with the investigation who spoke Tuesday to The Associated Press. Meanwhile, the host asked for prayers to help bring back the 84-year- old, whom authorities believe was taken against her will. The sheri said Nancy Guthrie must be found soon because she could die without her medication.

Investigators also found evidence showing there was a nighttime kidnapping. Several of Guthrie’s personal items, including her cellphone, wallet and her car, were still at the home.

NASA delays astronauts’ lunar trip after hydrogen leaks mar fueling test

Cape Canaveral, Fla.

NASA’s long-awaited moonshot with astronauts is o until at least March because of leaking hydrogen fuel. The space agency announced the news Tuesday following a critical fueling test of its giant moon rocket in Florida. Hydrogen seeped from the base of the rocket during Monday’s dress rehearsal, which went into overtime Tuesday because of all the problems. O cials say the delay will allow the launch team to conduct another practice countdown before committing four astronauts to humanity’s rst moonshot in more than half a century.

$2.00

Brothers carry on family tradition of serving others

Giving back to the community through faith and friendship

By Bob Wachs For Chatham News & Record

WHAT DO ROADSIDE trash, popsicles and basketball have in common?

They’re all part of some of what Siler City brothers Ronnie and Billy Siler Jr. do to serve their hometown and community.

The two, both in their early 70s and born 18 months apart, say in addition to being brothers they’re also best friends — “always have been,” Billy said — and that makes what they do special to them.

For starters, they recently received a plaque from the state of North Carolina recognizing 25 years of “distinguished service” in the state’s “Adopt a Highway” trash and litter removal program. Today, that program has more than 120,000 participants overseeing 10,000 miles of state roads, collecting millions of pounds of trash annually.

Stories bring Bynum together at Front Porch series

Mill Town Yarns series fuses tradition and connection inside the historic general store

By Melinda Burris Chatham News & Record

BYNUM — The nonpro t Bynum Front Porch, operating at the historic Bynum Gener-

“We do four miles,” Ronnie said, “two miles on both sides of the road” — U.S. 64 (East 11th Street in town) from the bridge on the east side of Siler City over 421 to the bridge over North Second Avenue near the highway patrol station. “We do it four times a year; some of the timing depends on the weather,” Billy said. That stretch of road is dedicated to the memory of their parents — Billy Sr. and Marie Siler. It’s the third di erent sign that has been up through the years. The rst went up in 1998 when Ronnie, who was on

thing, so I realized that to market the idea of this, I had to include music and other things.”

The Carolinas overtook Florida and Texas as top destinations for Americans on the move

By Mike Schneider

Associated Press

The

ORLANDO, Fla. — Move over Florida and Texas. The United States has new hot spots for growth, and they both have Carolina in their name.

North Carolina last year attracted more new residents, 84,000 people, from other parts of the country than any other state, a title held by Texas in 2024 and Florida in the two years before that. South

Carolina had the highest overall growth rate last year at 1.5%, a distinction among states held by Florida in 2024, according to U.S. Census Bureau gures released this past week. Domestic migration, or people moving within the U.S., slowed in Texas. The 67,300 domestic migrants heading to the second most populous state year over year barely squeaked by South Carolina, which had the third highest number of domestic migrants at 66,600. The appeal of Florida, the nation’s third most populous state, dimmed. It dropped to No. 8 for state-to-state migration, as

At rst, Bland admits she underestimated the challenge.

“I thought, this ought to be pretty easy, but then I realized, storytelling is not something that people say, they just don’t know what it is,” Bland said. “They think it’s that person who came to their elementary school and told the story about the white-mouthed frog or some-

al Store, began hosting storytelling as a regular event in late 2015 under the leadership of Cindy Raxter, herself a storyteller. Eight years later, she approached Ellen Bland, a former Bynum resident and theater professional who estimates she has directed about 100 community theater productions in Chatham County over four decades, to take over as curator of the storytelling program.

She expanded the programming last year, announcing a full season in advance. The newly christened Mill Town Yarns monthly series runs from September to April, with a regular music series taking over during the summer months. The name was suggested by volunteer Susie Worley.

“It ts,” Bland said, “because this is a former mill town, and the Bynum Mill was actually a yarn mill.”

But the name doesn’t limit the

“North Carolina is attracting younger folks because we have so many nice areas in North Carolina.”

Michael Cline, state demographer

Share with your community! Send us your births, deaths, marriages, graduations and other announcements: community@ chathamnewsrecord.com

Weekly deadline is Monday at noon

Trump administration cuts number of sites for testing upcoming

2030 census, focusing on South

A practice test was reduced to two Southern locations despite undercounting concerns

By Mike Schneider The Associated Press

THE TRUMP administration is eliminating four out of the six locations that had been slated for a practice test to try out new methods for the 2030 census, raising concerns that the U.S. Census Bureau might not learn enough about communities that have been traditionally di cult to count.

The test, which started Monday, will be conducted only in Huntsville, Alabama, and Spartanburg, South Carolina, according to a notice submitted by the Commerce Department that will be formally published on Tuesday. The Commerce Department oversees the Census Bureau.

Four other sites — Colorado Springs, Colorado, tribal lands in Arizona, western North Carolina and western Texas — originally were included when the Census Bureau announced the locations in 2024.

The bureau didn’t respond to an emailed inquiry on Monday about the reasons for the reduced number of sites. In a statement on its website, it said it “remains committed to conducting the most accurate count in history for the 2030 Census and looks forward to the continued partnership with local communities.”

SERIES from page A1

subject matter. Bland is quick to point out that the material performers share is rarely about mills.

“It’s di erent every time,” she said.

The stories and presentations span a wide range of subjects nearly everyone can relate to, from modern takes on folktales to stories rooted in rural farm life.

Bland acknowledged that building an audience for storytelling has taken patience and intention. She has alternated between booking local storytellers who perform for free — though donations are encouraged — and established professionals who require ticketed events because they work through agents and contracts. Some programs are storytelling only, while others blend storytelling and music to broaden appeal.

In November, a show featuring six storytellers from the North Carolina Storytelling Guild drew a standing-room-only crowd.

“I nally drew a full house for something that was only storytelling, so we’ve had to try to build it, and then it has been pretty robust,” Bland said.

Despite featuring multiple performers with di erent styles, Bland emphasizes that each participant is part of a cohesive whole.

“They’re there to perform their parts,” she said, “but they’re also there to be part of a whole show, and the quality of the whole show matters as much as their individual performances.”

Audience engagement is central to her approach. Performers work within strict time limits to keep the program moving at what Bland calls “a brisk clip.”

“It’s not reasonable to expect an audience member, even the older audiences, to have the kind of attention span they used to have,” she said. Bland believes storytelling o ers something increasingly rare — sustained human connection.

“It’s a respite from the burden of constantly being vigilant with our attention,” she said. “We get a relief from that to just drop all that and just be connected with the storyteller and have this one-on-one

Mark Mather, an associate vice president at the Population Reference Bureau, a nonpartisan research group, said limiting the test to just two metro areas in the South would be “a step backward.”

“The Census Bureau would be essentially ying blind into communities that need testing most — tribal lands, rural areas with limited connectivity and places with historically low response rates,” Mather said. “You can’t x what you don’t test.”

The test is supposed to give the statistical agency the chance to learn how to better tally populations that were undercounted in the 2020 census and improve methods that will be used in 2030. It also allows it to test its messaging and its ability to process data as it’s being gathered.

Among the new methods being tested for 2030 is the use of U.S. Postal Service workers to

Two young children hold signs through the car window that make reference to the 2020 U.S. Census as they wait in the car with their family at an outreach event in Dallas in June.

conduct tasks previously done by census workers. The original six test sites had been picked for a variety of reasons, including a desire to include rural areas where some residents don’t receive mail or have little or no internet service. Others, including tribal land, fast-growing locations with new construction, and dorms, care facilities and military barracks had been picked because their residents are traditionally hard to count.

Ahead of the last census in 2020, the only start-to- nish test of the head count was held in Providence, Rhode Island, in 2018. Plans for other tests were canceled because of a lack of funding from Congress. The once-a-decade head count determines how many congressional seats and Electoral College votes each state gets. It also guides the distribution of $2.8 trillion in annual federal spending.

relationship that is rare.”

Programs take place inside the historic Bynum General Store, which Bland describes as “very, very small, intimate, tight and rustic.”

“There’s nothing shabby about it,” she said. “It’s not a bar where people are making noise and clinking glasses and still only partially focused on what’s happening.”

Audience members are asked to turn o their phones. Because space is limited, people sit closely together, often beside strangers, reinforcing a sense of shared experience.

A successful storyteller, Bland said, must establish a near-instant connection to hold an audience’s attention and draw listeners into the narrative.

When asked why preserving storytelling matters, Bland pointed to generational change.

“If we don’t start getting some young people continuing this tradition, it’s going to fade out,” she said. “That’s our primary goal is passing the baton, and the same is true for storytelling, particularly now that everybody’s brain is being rewired … even older people feeling isolated.”

Steven Tate, a member of the North Carolina Storytelling Guild who has performed at Bynum Front Porch and venues across the state, said storytelling reshapes how people view everyday life.

“You begin to look for things that happen or things you learn about that are story-worthy,” Tate said. “It might happen in the grocery store. It might be a memory of when

Here’s a quick look at what’s coming up in Chatham County:

Feb. 7

Michael Reno Harrell and Josh Goforth

7-8:30 p.m.

An evening of storytelling and singing by two popular performers presented as part of the Milltown Yarns series.

Bynum Front Porch 950 Bynum Road Bynum

Feb. 12

Bynum Bite Night at BFP

6-8 p.m.

If you are an area teen with an inner geek — embrace it with kids who have similar interests at this bi-monthly event at BFP. There is a virtual reality (VR) headset on-site so you can go beyond this world for a short time. Bring your projects and games and be ready to discuss your personal passion of the moment! Questions? Call Helbragga (John G.) at 919-593-3559.

Bynum Front Porch 950 Bynum Road Bynum

Feb. 19 -26

Virtual Film Screening: “From Sea to Shining Sea”

you were a youngster playing in your grandma’s attic.”

The key, he said, is to “choose this thing that moves you, that stimulates your curiosity.”

“If it causes this reaction in you, you can use it to engage and spark a similar reaction from your audience,” Tate said.

He describes storytelling as a shared visual experience.

“When I tell a good story, I go into my heart and see a movie,” Tate said. “I tell you what’s happening in the movie so you can see it too. So we see it together and we go along, and we go on this trip.”

Engaging the senses — taste, sound, smell and emotion — keeps listeners immersed.

“I don’t say things that distract you and get you o the subject because I don’t want to take you out of the story,” he said.

Even stories told many times remain dynamic.

“I end up never telling the same story in exactly the same way,” Tate said. “The audience gives energy back, and that changes how the story unfolds.”

Fellow guild member Willa Brigham agreed that energy drives the experience.

“A storyteller needs to have enough energy to take your audience on the journey with you, rather than just standing on stage telling a story,” Brigham said. “Bring them in.” She often meets audience members before performances to establish rapport.

“I’m not this stando sh individual they cannot feel connected to,” she said. “I’m just somebody on stage.”

The Chatham Community Library will present this lm virtually all day on Feb. 19 as part of its America 250 celebrations. The 2025 lm tells the story of Katharine Lee Bates, the woman who penned the poem upon which the song “America the Beautiful” is based. The link to log in to the movie will be available on Vimeo PRO beginning Feb. 19. A password is required to view; contact social. library@chathamlibraries. org to request one.

Feb. 21

The History Between the Lines Book Club

9:30 a.m.

Delve into Thomas Healy’s 2021 book, “Soul City: Race, Equality, and the Lost Dream of an American Utopia,” in honor of Black History Month. Participation is free. Chatham County Historical Museum 9 Hillsboro St. Pittsboro

Groundhog Club handler A.J. Dereume holds Punxsutawney Phil, the weather-prognosticating groundhog, during the 137th celebration of Groundhog Day on Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, on Monday.

Punxsutawney

Tens of thousands gathered at Gobbler’s Knob for the famous forecast

By Mark Scolforo and Tassanee Vejpongsa

The Associated Press

PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. — Punxsutawney Phil is said to be predicting six more weeks of wintry weather after he saw his shadow Monday. His annual prediction was translated by his handlers at Gobbler’s Knob in western Pennsylvania.

The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club says that when Phil is deemed to have not seen his shadow, that means there will be an early spring. When he does see it, it’s six more weeks of winter.

Phil tends to predict a longer winter far more often than an early spring.

It’s already been a long, cold winter across much of the United States, and on Monday, Punxsutawney Phil’s handlers were poised to announce whether the weather-predicting groundhog says there’s more of the same to come.

When Phil is said to have seen his shadow upon emergence from a tree stump in rural Pennsylvania, that’s considered a forecast for six more weeks of winter. If he doesn’t see his shadow, an early spring is said to be on the way.

Tens of thousands of people were on hand at Gobbler’s

“It just breaks up the doldrums of winter. It’s like Halloween and New Year’s Eve all wrapped up into one holiday.”

Lisa Gibson

Knob for the annual ritual that goes back more than a century, with ties to ancient farming traditions in Europe. Punxsutawney’s festivities have grown considerably since the 1993 movie “Groundhog Day,” starring Bill Murray.

Lisa Gibson was at her 10th Groundhog Day, wearing a lighted hat that resembled the tree stump from which Phil emerges shortly after daybreak.

“Oh man, it just breaks up the doldrums of winter,” said Gibson, accompanied by her husband — dressed up as Elvis Presley — and teenage daughter. “It’s like Halloween and New Year’s Eve all wrapped up into one holiday.”

Gibson, a resident of Pittsburgh, was rooting for Phil to not see his shadow and therefore predict an early start to spring.

Rick Siger, Pennsylvania’s secretary of community and economic development, said the outdoor thermometer in his vehicle read 4 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 15 degrees Celsius) on his way to Gobbler’s Knob.

“I think it’s just fun — folks

having a good time,” said Siger, attending his fourth straight Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney. “It brings people together at a challenging time. It is a unifying force that showcases the best of Pennsylvania, the best of Punxsutawney, this area.”

Last year’s announcement was six more weeks of winter, by far Phil’s more common assessment and not much of a surprise during the rst week of February. His top-hatted handlers in the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club insist Phil’s “groundhogese” of winks, purrs, chatters and nods are being interpreted when they relate the meteorological marmot’s muses about the days ahead.

AccuWeather’s chief longrange weather expert, meteorologist Paul Pastelok, said early Monday some clouds moved into Punxsutawney overnight, bringing urries he called “micro akes.”

Pastelok said the coming week will remain cold, with below-average temperatures in the eastern United States.

Phil isn’t the only animal being consulted for long-term weather forecasts Monday. There are formal and informal Groundhog Day events in many places in the U.S., Canada and beyond.

Groundhog Day falls on Feb. 2, the midpoint between the shortest, darkest day of the year on the winter solstice and the spring equinox. It’s a time of year that also gures in the Celtic calendar and the Christian holiday of Candlemas.

Church News

OAKLEY BAPTIST CHURCH

As Oakley Baptist Church (2300 Siler CityGlendon Road, Siler City) seeks to begin its next chapter, we are enjoying hearing a word from the Lord from various old and new friends. Our service begins at 10:30 a.m., but we also have Sunday School classes for every member of the family at 9:30 a.m. We would be blessed if you joined us for any and all of these speakers in the coming weeks.

Feb. 8 brings us Chance Walters (chancewalters.org). Chance grew up at Oakley Baptist Church and started Chance Walters Ministries, through which he evangelizes all over the world.

The service on Feb. 15 will feature a message from Jason Jones, son of the Rev. Walter Jones, an experienced lay speaker from an area church.

On Feb. 22, we’ll hear from Stephanie Moody Sha er, manager of Chaplaincy and Faith Relations for Baptist Retirement Homes (thrivemorenc.org). This is a faith-based, not-for-pro t organization committed to providing quality care and a meaningful way of life for older adults through senior living communities across North Carolina and is linked to the Southern Baptist Convention.

And nally, Spencer Andrews will return on March 1 to speak. Andrews is the former youth pastor at Oakley and is currently ministering at Grace Hill Church in Pittsboro (gracehillchatham.com), a church he helped plant.

We look forward to meeting you at any of these services and in the future, and invite you to pray with us as we seek a new pastor. To learn more, go to oakleybaptist.org or email us at oakleybaptistchurch@gmail.com.

To be eligible to apply, the student must be in the sixth or seventh grade during the upcoming school year, have permission from a parent or guardian to attend the overnight camp and must provide their own transportation if selected to attend. Scan the QR code or visit CEMCPower.com for more information or to apply. e deadline for applications to both camps is March 31.

Brown, White, and all-colored brothers and sisters, beware of listening to that other voice. We all must learn from our mistakes and keep reaching for the mark in Christ Jesus. We must be humble and admit when we’re wrong, and God will forgive us. Also, we must forgive one another, for all eternity. When God says, “Where are you? Will you try to hide?” just look at the punishment on Adam, Eve, the serpent, and everyone that would be born of a man and a woman. Take a look at the evil serpents today, that can’t tell the difference between a man and a woman. A serpent doctor couldn’t answer if a man could get pregnant. You that support or vote for these serpents, you have been taken over by Satan. We don’t need to blame anyone for our sins. We are born with a free will, just like Adam and Eve. Satan used the woman to bring down the human race. God used the woman to bring the Redeemer, Jesus Christ, into the world, who will save all who are willing. God sent His Son, Jesus, to pay our sin debt.

THE CONVERSATION

Trip Ho end, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

On small kindnesses

Wise elders say su ering is not comparative. We are all going through something.

MY KIDS WERE gung-ho for my sledding adventure until we got to the top of the snowy hill, and then their instinct for self-preservation kicked in.

I decided that I would show them how it’s done. Pride goeth before the fall. I went down feet rst, mind you, unlike the headlong days of my youth. But the plastic sled ran over a rock, chucking me into the air. Once I rolled to a stop, I felt a stabbing pain in my Sitz eisch. The rock had ripped a hole through the sled and the seat of my pants, and I may have taught my children a few four-letter words.

I have never thought about my coccyx before, but now it’s constantly on my mind. Even after treatment with a bag of frozen peas and three Ibuprofen, I have to sit with my tailbone between the cushions to relieve pressure on it. I hobble to the bathroom like an old man.

It is also Groundhog Day, and I understand that Punxsutawney Phil

COLUMN | BOB WACHS

saw his shadow. Apparently, we will have six more weeks of winter, which is yet another pain in the you-knowwhere.

Of course, plenty of other people are dealing with far greater pains with grace under duress. Not only are people protesting in the streets of Minneapolis, but they sing hymns in four-part harmony in sub-zero temperatures. Wise elders say su ering is not comparative. We are all going through something, which makes the advice “weep with those who weep” always appropriate (Romans 12:14). Recognition of the common human predicament can result in seeing each other with empathy. We can also look for kindness, which truly makes a country great.

From my bedroom window, I can see a fuzzy pink mitten that hangs on a bare tree branch. It belongs to a small child, likely lost while sledding. Rather than leave this article of clothing in the

snow, a passerby has displayed it for its owner to nd. The tree has become a makeshift lost and found. I’m reminded of the poem by Danusha Laméris titled “Small Kindnesses,” which describes “the way, when you walk down a crowded aisle, people pull in their legs to let you by.” The poet names such “brief moments of exchange” as “the true dwelling of the holy.”

At the entrance to the wooden trail near the bottom of that now infamous sledding hill, you can always nd a halfdozen or more walking sticks propped up against a tree. It’s like a lending library; take one, leave one. The point is that we help each other get along.

Let’s all be tender with each other. Pass me the frozen peas.

Andrew Taylor-Troutman’s newest book is “This Is the Day.” He serves as pastor of Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian Church as well as a writer, pizza maker, co ee drinker and student of joy.

Furry little rodent vs. high-tech gadgets

I would like to suggest a more accurate forecasting system than the groundhog.

THROUGHOUT MY young life, there have been many things I wanted to be and do, both professionally and personally.

It’s been interesting how some of them turned out happening while others were far from the mark.

For instance, on the professional level, as a youngster when I realized I would never pitch in Yankee Stadium or even be on the grounds crew or sweep the stands or clean the toilets, I decided I wanted to be the next great sports writer. I did write some sports stories as a youngster, most notably Pittsboro High School football and basketball game recaps for the Chatham Record in the 1960s when the late Mr. Willie Morgan was the editor.

In the early 1970s, after I had unked out of Carolina for the umpteenth time and the late Alan Resch had hired me to replace Mr. Willie, I covered Northwood games. When the late Jack Shaner was coaching football there, he called me “Grantland Rice” (look it up if you don’t know). I, in turn, called him Knute Rockne (again, look it up if you don’t know who he was). While in that period of my life, I saw what I think is the best high school football game I ever saw — Northwood-Jordan Matthews in 1971. Northwood came back from a 13–7 fourth-quarter de cit to win 20–13. All the stands were packed, and fans were standing around the eld ve- and six-deep.

As things turned out, I never made it to my dream job upon graduating from

high school — a job with the Durham Morning Herald to cover UNC football, sit in the Kenan Stadium press box on Saturday afternoons, eat fried chicken box lunches and get paid for it all. Forty- ve years in vocational ministry was nowhere on my radar at the time.

I’ve often wondered about that turn of events, not that I’m unhappy with my life’s work. Quite the opposite. But as Ol’ Man Winter cranks up toward high gear, I wonder about some other professions, namely Weather Geek, especially as folks pay attention to the groundhog this time of year.

You know the story. When Punxsutawney Phil in Pennsylvania or whomever sticks his furry little nose out of the ground on Groundhog Day, if he sees his shadow we’re in for six more weeks of winter, and folks around here are saying they’ve enjoyed their free one-week trial run of Alaska and could it please end. If he doesn’t see his shadow, well, then better days are coming. The issue with all that is some folks put more stock in the little guy than in the weather forecasters with all their high-tech gadgets. That has to drive them bonkers.

No doubt, it’s especially painful when circumstances such as the snows of the last two weekends don’t materialize as had been forecast for so many days. Weather forecasting has one thing in common with baseball in that you can be wrong more times than you’re right and still have job security. Try as they might, the folks on channels 5 and 11

can punch all the right buttons and eventually say it didn’t happen like they said it would. And in baseball, if you have a .300 batting average, you’re a good candidate for the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. That, of course, also means you miss getting a hit seven times out of 10 at-bats. Imagine that kind of percentage for a surgeon or attorney. Doesn’t bode well for public con dence.

In an e ort to do my part and be a good citizen, I would like to suggest a more accurate forecasting system than the groundhog. I call it “Bob’s Weather String,” and it works like this.

I have a piece of string tied to a tree limb right outside my study window. That way I can forecast the day’s weather without having to go outside; instead, I just sneak a peek at the string.

If it’s hanging sideways, that means we’re going to have high winds. If it’s wet, expect rain. If it’s hanging all frayed, that means dry conditions. If it’s all white, we’re having snow. If there is smoke coming from it, it’s hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk. If it’s gone, watch out for tornadoes or hurricanes. I hope this brief explanation will be a help to those considering meteorology as a career and to the rest of us who just want to know tomorrow’s weather.

Bob Wachs is a native of Chatham County and emeritus editor at Chatham News & Record. He serves as pastor of Bear Creek Baptist Church.

Permission given …

I – do – not – like – being – cold!

(Do you?)

WHAT’S WITH THIS permission given business? Permission given to do what?

Stick with me, OK?

Have you looked around our country lately? Of course you have. Not pretty, not pretty at all. In the midst of our national plagues of anger and sadness, are there safe harbors for sore hearts? Maybe an ocean cruise? A one-way ticket to the Bahamas? Spending two weeks, daily, at a feel-good spa? Camping out in the woods?

Whoops. My bank account just called my blu on most of these options. And the woods thing? I – do – not – like –being – cold! (Do you?) So what the hell to do? I don’t drink or smoke and have been rmly advised by my MD to reduce my chocolate intake. (Hair pulling, in process, over that last one.)

What’s left? What’s a ordable?

Ah, I’ll share with you my, up till now, secret peccadillos. Peccadillos for heart respite. Boy, do you rate.

Ready?

Beginning with the rst heart-support stop of my morning, Brownville Maine’s Food Pantry For Deer. Yep, you read that correctly. Some good-hearted folks in the (brrr) state of Maine built eight large wooden troughs on their family’s acreage. They were tired of watching deer starve during their frigid winters. Every morning, and I do mean every morning, no matter what the weather, these folks have a nifty little vehicle for food delivery to the troughs. And there’s also a load of cut-up apples and nuts

COLUMN | LARRY ELDER

dumped on top of the deer food. I just love (did I say love?) watching the deer come running, crackling over the snow, from various parts of the woods and dig in, big time. (Approximately 250 deer daily.) Two video cameras are streaming online for those whose hearts are in need of nurture, like mine. Deer-city! shorturl. at/NdZ4K and shorturl.at/dQ9kO

My next heart support visitation is a bit embarrassing. Over our increasingly digitalized years, I’ve purchased quite a few of my favorite movie videos, having viewed some of these faves many times. When my heart is in need of much greater nurture than The New York Times can provide, I know exactly where to go. My good-feeling movie endings (just the endings, by the way) are revisited again and again. (Can you see why I’m embarrassed?) “You’ve Got Mail,” “Independence Day,” “Hairspray,” “Billy Elliott,” “Tender Mercies” and that beat just goes rolling on and on. A spoonful of the “You’ve Got Mail” denouement and I’m a lovely and relaxed puddle. Oh, no, I completely forgot the recently released Clydesdale 2026 Super Bowl Budweiser commercial. Talk about being lifted up, way, way up … shorturl.at/IhYs3

I’ve certainly not erased my pain about our country, but I’m setting it aside, for the moment, to take care of me. A “me” who needs periodic nurturance so I can return, with wider emotional margins, to our perilous present.

Jan Hutton, a resident of Chatham County and retired hospice social worker, lives life with heart and humor.

12 Question quiz: What ‘fascist’ ‘xenophobe’ ‘tyrant’ said this?

We simply cannot allow people to pour into the United States undetected, undocumented, unchecked.

1. “I’m really good at killing people. Didn’t know that was going to be a strong suit of mine.”

a. President Donald Trump, 2019

b. President Barack Obama, 2012

2. “But, let me tell you, we can build a fence 40 stories high — unless you change the dynamic in Mexico and — and you will not like this, and — punish American employers who knowingly violate the law when, in fact, they hire illegals. Unless you do those two things, all the rest is window dressing.”

a. President Donald Trump, 2017

b. Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.), 2006

3. “Today, I will issue a national security memorandum directing every federal department and agency to do even more to stop the ow of narcotics — including fentanyl — into our country. It will increase intelligence collection on tra ckers’ evolving tactics to smuggle narcotics into our country. And it will help our law enforcement personnel seize more deadly drugs before they reach our communities.”

a. President Donald Trump, 2025

b. President Joe Biden, 2024

4. “The United States and the world faced a choice. (The dictator) declared he would show ‘no mercy’ to his own people. He compared them to rats and threatened to go door to door to in ict punishment. In the past, we have seen him hang civilians in the streets and kill over a thousand people in a single day. It was not in our national interest to let that (massacre) happen. I refused to let that happen.”

a. President Donald Trump, 2026, about Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro

b. President Barack Obama, 2011, about Libya’s Muammar Gadda

5. “We simply cannot allow people to pour into the United States undetected, undocumented, unchecked and circumventing the line of people who are waiting patiently, diligently and lawfully to become immigrants in this country.”

a. President Donald Trump, 2025

b. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), 2005

6. “Real reform means stronger border security ... putting more boots on the southern border than at any time in our history and reducing illegal crossings to their lowest levels in 40 years.”

a. President Donald Trump, 2026

b. President Barack Obama, 2013

7. “Illegal immigration is wrong, plain and simple. ... People who enter the United States without our permission are

illegal aliens and illegal aliens should not be treated the same as people who enter the U.S. legally. ... Until the American people are convinced that we will stop future ows of illegal immigration, we will make no progress on dealing with the millions of illegal immigrants who are here now. ... When we use phrases like undocumented workers, we convey a message to the American people that their government is not serious about combatting illegal immigration. If you don’t think it’s illegal, you’re not going to say it. I think it is illegal and wrong.”

a. President Donald Trump, 2017

b. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), 2009

8. “Because we do need to address the issue of immigration and the challenge we have of undocumented people in our country. We certainly don’t want any more coming in.”

a. President Donald Trump, 2019

b. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), 2008

9. “All Americans ... are rightly disturbed by the large numbers of illegal aliens entering our country. ... We are a nation of immigrants. But we are also a nation of laws.”

a. President Donald Trump, 2020

b. President Bill Clinton, 1995

10. “I think we can enforce our borders. I think we should enforce our borders.”

a. President Donald Trump, 2018

b. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), 1994

11. “If making it easy to be an illegal alien isn’t enough, how about o ering a reward for being an illegal immigrant? No sane country would do that. Right?

... If you break our laws by entering this country without permission and give birth to a child, we reward that child with U.S. citizenship.”

a. President Donald Trump, 2017

b. Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), 1993

12. “A biometric-based employment veri cation system with tough enforcement and auditing is necessary to signi cantly diminish the job magnet that attracts illegal aliens to the United States.”

a. President Donald Trump, 2020

b. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), 2009 Hint: If it’s not too late, consider betting on “b.”

Larry Elder is a bestselling author and nationally syndicated radio talk-show host. To nd out more about Larry Elder, or become an “Elderado,” visit www.LarryElder.com. (Copyright 2026 Creators.com)

COLUMN | DAVID HARSANYI

Price controls won’t work any better for Republicans than it does Democrats

DEMONIZING GREEDY BANKERS

and landlords is the last refuge of the poorly polling politician.

And, as a ordability remains a leading issue among voters, the Trump administration has regularly used rhetoric and ideas that mirror those of progressive Democrats like New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

Take the president’s recent idea for capping credit card interest rates at 10%.

Or rather, the idea that’s already proposed in a bill sponsored by Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.). “They’ve really abused the public,” the president said of credit card companies. “I’m not going to let it happen.”

This probably feels good to hear. But if you nd an APR on a new credit card o er “predatory,” de nitely do not sign up for it. You don’t owe the bank anything, and it doesn’t owe you.

An interest rate, though, re ects risk. It’s the entry price for obtaining credit. If you have a good credit score, you get lower rates and vice versa.

Thomas Sowell points out that the typically “mundane” explanations for economic activity are “far less emotionally satisfying than an explanation which produces villains to hate and heroes to exalt.”

Capping the rate won’t eliminate credit risk factors, though it will likely shrink available money for people who need it most: lower-income and young workers, or anyone else trying to build up their credit. Lots of entrepreneurs and small-business owners also rely on credit cards to tide them over for a season or help with up-front capital.

And those who are denied cards will still need funds. They’ll inevitably seek out other means of borrowing, probably at even higher rates. Maybe they’ll go to payday loans and cash checking places. Maybe they’ll take second mortgages. Maybe they’ll go to the black market.

There are those who argue that Americans already borrow far too much and that limiting access to credit would be good for them. Rest assured, these nannies almost surely own their homes and cars — purchases that become even more prohibitive for people unable to improve their credit scores.

Trump likes to explicitly threaten or jawbone companies into doing his bidding. Bank of America, for example, is reportedly considering o ering a credit card with interest capped at 10% to placate the administration.

Well, there’s no federal cap on what APRs banks can o er on credit cards. If providers want to undercut competition, nothing is stopping them. Banks are businesses, after all, not charities.

But if banks lose out charging riskier customers lower interest rates to get on the good side of the administration, they’ll simply raise fees elsewhere, pull back on rewards and nd other creative ways to make their reliable consumers pay.

Price xing never alleviates cost — it merely displaces it.

Take Mamdani as he “cracks down,” as one travel magazine referred to it, on “junk fees” in city hotels.

“Junk” is just a description of a cost that consumers and politicians have arbitrarily decided shouldn’t be paid. But they will be. Hotels will almost inevitably raise prices elsewhere or decrease services to make up for it.

Economic magical thinking never dies, however, because it’s tethered to envy and anger rather than rational thinking.

Thomas Sowell points out that the typically “mundane” explanations for economic activity are “far less emotionally satisfying than an explanation which produces villains to hate and heroes to exalt.”

And there is no more convenient villain than a faceless pro t-mongering landlord.

Take another price control policy championed by Mamdani: rent control, a practice that’s been failing to lower housing costs since Roman times, at least.

A slew of studies and empirical evidence nds that rent control doesn’t work. The vast majority of economists, both on the right and left, believe it’s a bad idea. Still, most polls nd that rent “stabilization” is supported by around 80% of New Yorkers.

Every generation, it seems, convinces itself it possesses the best technocrats and formula to properly control economic activity to make it fairer and decent. Mamdani is just another in a long line of politicians who play the role.

But Trump? He should know better.

David Harsanyi is a senior writer at the Washington Examiner. Harsanyi is a nationally syndicated columnist and author of ve books — the most recent, “How To Kill a Republic,” available now. (Copyright 2026 Creators.com)

obituaries

Catherine O’Hara, comic actor of ‘Schitt’s Creek,’ ‘Home Alone’ fame, dead at 71

She was the iconic suburban mom for millions of millennials

By Andrew Dalton and Jocelyn Noveck

The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — Catherine O’Hara, a gifted Canadian-born comic actor and “SCTV” alum who starred as Macaulay Culkin’s harried mother in two “Home Alone” movies and won an Emmy as the dramatically ditzy wealthy matriarch Moira Rose in “Schitt’s Creek,” died Friday. She was 71.

O’Hara died at her home in Los Angeles “following a brief illness,” according to a statement from her representatives at Creative Artists Agency. Further details were not immediately available.

O’Hara’s career was launched with the Second City comedy group in Toronto in the 1970s. It was there that she rst worked with Eugene Levy, who would become a lifelong collaborator — and her “Schitt’s Creek” costar. The two would be among the original cast of the sketch show “SCTV,” short for “Second City Television.” The series, which began on Canadian TV in the 1970s and aired on NBC in the U.S., spawned a legendary group of esoteric comedians that O’Hara would work with often, including Martin Short, John Candy, Andrea Martin, Rick Moranis and Joe Flaherty.

O’Hara would win her rst Emmy for her writing on the show. Her second, for best actress in a comedy series, came four decades later, for “Schitt’s Creek,” a career-capping triumph and the perfect personi cation of her comic talents. The small CBC series created by Levy and his son, Dan, about a wealthy family forced to live in a tiny town would dominate the Emmys in its sixth and nal season. It brought O’Hara, always a beloved gure, a new generation of fans and put her at the center of cultural attention.

She told The Associated Press that she pictured Moira, a former soap opera star, as someone who had married rich and wanted to “remind everyone that (she was) special, too.” With an exaggerated Mid-Atlantic accent and obscure vocabulary, Moira spoke unlike anyone else, using words like “frippet,” “pettifogging” and “unasinous,” to show her desire to be di erent, O’Hara said. To perfect Moira’s voice, O’Hara would pore through old vocabulary books, “Moira-izing” the dialogue even further than what was already written.

O’Hara also won a Golden Globe and two SAG Awards for the role. At rst, Hollywood didn’t entirely know what to do with O’Hara and her scattershot style. She played oddball supporting characters in Martin Scorsese’s 1985 “After Hours” and Tim Burton’s 1988 “Beetlejuice” — a role

Catherine O’Hara, a cast member in the Apple+ series “The Studio,” poses for a portrait last March in Los Angeles.

she would reprise in the 2024 sequel.

She played it mostly straight as a horri ed mother who accidentally abandoned her child in the two “Home Alone” movies. The lms were among the biggest box o ce earners of the early 1990s and their Christmas setting made them TV perennials. They allowed her moments of unironic warmth that she didn’t get often.

Her co-star Culkin was among those paying her tribute Friday.

“Mama, I thought we had time,” Culkin said on Instagram alongside an image from “Home Alone” and a recent recreation of the same pose. “I wanted more. I wanted to sit in a chair next to you. I heard you. But I had so much more to say. I love you.”

Meryl Streep, who worked with O’Hara in “Heartburn,” said in a statement that she “brought love and light to our world, through whipsmart compassion for the collection of eccentrics she portrayed.”

Roles in big Hollywood lms didn’t follow “Home Alone,” but O’Hara would nd her groove with the crew of improv pros brought together by Christopher Guest for a series of mockumentaries that began with 1996’s “Waiting for Gu man” and continued with 2000’s “Best in Show,” 2003’s “A Mighty Wind” and 2006’s “For Your Consideration.”

“Best in Show” was the biggest hit and best-remembered lm of the series. She and Levy play married couple Gerry and Cookie Fleck, who take their Norwich terrier to a dog show and constantly run into Cookie’s former lovers along the way.

“I am devastated,” Guest said in a statement to the AP. “We have lost one of the comic giants of our age.”

Born and raised in Toronto, O’Hara was the sixth of seven children in a Catholic family of Irish descent. She graduated from Burnhamthorpe Collegiate Institute, an alternative high school. She joined Second City in her early 20s, as an understudy to Gilda Radner before Radner left for “Saturday Night Live.” (O’Hara would brie y be hired for “SNL” but quit before appearing on air.)

Nearly 50 years later, hernal roles would be as Seth Rogen’s reluctant executive mentor and freelance xer on “The Studio” and a dramatic turn as therapist to Pedro Pascal and other dystopia survivors on HBO’s “The Last of Us.” Both earned her Emmy nominations. She would get 10 in her career.

“Oh, genius to be near you,” Pascal said on Instagram. “Eternally grateful. There is less light in my world.”

Earlier this month, Rogen shared a photo on Instagram of him and O’Hara shooting the second season of “The Studio.”

O’Hara is survived by her husband, Bo Welch, sons Matthew and Luke, and siblings Michael O’Hara, Mary Margaret O’Hara, Maureen Jolley, Marcus O‘Hara, Tom O’Hara and Patricia Wallice.

Barbara Coward Phillips

July 27, 1937 – Jan. 30, 2026

Barbara Coward Phillips, 88, of Siler City, was surrounded by her loved ones when she went home to be with the Lord on Friday Jan 30, 2026.

Barbara was born July 27, 1937, in Liberty NC to her late parents John and Ometer Ward Coward. She worked at Kellwood Hosiery for many years before

IN MEMORY

nding her passion in working with children at Chatham Child Development Center as a Teacher Assistant and retired after 41 years. Beyond her work, Barbara’s life was centered on her faith, her family and her dear friends. She was a devoted and active member of First Wesleyan Church for over 60 years, where she found great joy in fellowship and service. Barbara had a vibrant spirit and was lovingly called “The Queen” because she loved to be doted on and complimented. She never turned down a hug and would seek you out if she didn’t get one. She loved to tease friends and even strangers because she knew it would bring a smile to their face. It also brought her joy to cook her specialty dishes or no bake cookies for her friends and family. Other than her family and friends, her 2 favorite people were Elvis and John Cena. Her love for gira es is evident if you have ever visited her.

We offer an on-site crematory with many options of Celebration of Life services, Traditional, and Green Burials. Call us to set an appointment to come by and learn more.

In addition to her parents, Barbara was preceded in death by her husband Bill Phillips, her son Keith Phillips, her brothers Jimmy Coward, Fid Coward, Bill Coward, Charles Coward and her sisters Lee Pet York, Betty Beard, Louise Overman, Mildred Breedlove, and Marie Cox.

Left to cherish Barbara’s memories are her daughters, Deanna Jones of High Point, Sheila Carlberg (Daniel) of Holly Springs, Jennifer Phillips of Siler City; Daughter-in-Law Patty Phillips of Asheboro; grandchildren Leandra Parker (Jammi), Andrew Phillips (Corinne), Stephanie Phillips, Zoe Carlberg, Isaiah Roberson and great-grandchildren Landon, Jordan, Jaxon, Leanna, Becca and Hannah; several nieces and nephews and her many special friends who became family.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday Feb 7th at 1pm at First Wesleyan Church Siler City o ciated by Pastor Don Southern and Pastor Dennis Boone.

FRANCES HICKS ELLIS

JAN. 27, 2026

Frances Hicks Ellis went Home to be with Jesus on, Tuesday, January 27, 2026, at home surrounded by her loving family. She was born in Durham, North Carolina to Alfred and Hazel Hicks. She was preceded in death by her parents, daughter, Judy Carol Carter; grandson, Joseph Lynn Perry, Jr.; and ve brothers.

Frances was a Christian who loved her Lord and enjoyed sharing her testimony when you visited her. When her health was good, she was an active member in Tyson’s Creek Baptist Church and and the W.M.U., as well as the Bereavement Committee.

She enjoyed taking food to anyone in need. She was a great cook, a hard worker, and always had a beautiful garden. When a neighbor, or a friend passed away, she was usually the rst one to visit or deliver food. She was also a caregiver and was always there to serve and help anyone who needed her. She was a great mother, nannie, friend, and neighbor to us all, and always enjoyed someone’s company.

She is survived by her husband Dink, who she shared 63 years of marriage with. She is also survived by her children, her daughter Diane Ellis and her son, Gary Ellis (Angela); her grandson, who she adored, Heath Ellis (Judy); Godson, Casey Duckworth (Jamie) and special friends, Lynn Glasser and Debbie Wilkie. She also had many nieces and nephews that loved her and called her “Nannie”.

MARTHA ANN CORLEY MASHBURN

APRIL 23, 1953 – FEB. 1, 2026

Martha Ann Corley Mashburn, 72, of Cameron, peacefully entered into eternal rest on Sunday, February 1, 2026 at First Health Hospice House in Pinehurst. Born April 23, 1953, in Saluda County, South Carolina, Martha was the daughter of the late Henry Byrnes Corley and Lessie Shealy Corley. She was also preceded in death by her cherished mama, Sarah “Lelia” Corley, and her beloved husband, Charles “Junior” Mashburn. Martha leaves to cherish her memory her brother, James “Bucky” Corley (Beverly) of Sanford; sister, Jeanette Sellars of Carthage; niece, Sherri Sellars; and nephews, Travis Corley (Megan) and Joey Sellars (Danielle), whom she loved as her own. She is also survived by her stepson, Joel Mashburn; six grandchildren, their mother, Karen Marsh; and ve greatgrandchildren. A Holy Ghost- lled woman of faith, Martha dearly loved her church family at Calvary United Pentecostal Church. She was a faithful member who treasured worship, fellowship, and her time with the “Classic Seniors” until her health no longer permitted attendance. Her devotion to God was evident in her life and testimony. The family extends sincere gratitude to the First Health Hospice House sta , Dr. Michael, Dr. Walker, and the FirstHealth OSU nurses, especially Miranda Weeks for their compassionate care.

LAURA MAE HARWARD KELLY MAY 7, 1935 – JAN. 30, 2026

Laura Mae Harward Kelly, age 90, of Carthage, NC, passed away Friday, January 30, 2026, at Peak Resources-Pinelake. She was born in Anson County on May 7, 1935, to the late Amos Harward and Sallie Caudle Harward. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband Lee Ervin Denny, brothers Elder Calvin Harward, Daniel Harward and sisters Martha Harrington, Gracie Harrington and Alice Rosser. Laura retired from Moen, Inc. after 20 plus years of service. Before starting to work at Moen she cared for many, many children in her home. She enjoyed her garden and owers before her health declined. She enjoyed her visits from her family members. She also enjoyed her oatmeal cookies, Reese’s mini peanut butter cups and her cup of co ee. She is survived by her daughters Juanita Arnold (Eddie), Audrey Farrar (Edward); grandchildren Amanda Turner (Jason), Lindsey Clarke (Sam), Mitchell Arnold, Brandy Farrell (Ryan), great-grandchildren Jessee Strange (Hanah), Emily Turner, Brianna Turner, Rachel Farrell, Hunter Farrell, Logan Fields; sister Ruby Hendrick and numerous nieces and nephews. Her daughters would like to thank the sta of Peak Resources-Pinelake in Carthage for all the love and compassion they showed to their Mama.

Celebrate the life of your loved ones. Submit obituaries and death notices to be published in Chatham News & Record at obits@chathamnewsrecord.com

Chuck Negron, voice of Three Dog Night’s ‘Joy to

the World,’ dead at 83

The founding member powered hits for the top rock act of late ’60s and early ’70s

The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — Chuck Negron, a founding member of Three Dog Night whose lead vocals powered a string of hits including “Joy to the World,” “One” and “An Old Fashioned Love Song” for one of the top rock acts of the late 1960s and early ‘70s, died Monday. He was 83. He died of complications from heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at his home in the Studio City neighborhood of Los Angeles, according to his publicist Zach Farnum. Negron also sang lead on “Easy To Be Hard” and “The Show Must Go On.” The band’s other hits include ”Black and White,” “Mama Told Me (Not to Come),” ”Never Been to Spain” and “Shambala.”

In December 1972, the band hosted and performed on the inaugural edition of Dick Clark’s “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.”

By 1975, album sales had declined and the band had its last Billboard Hot 100 hit with “Til the World Ends.” Internal strife fractured the group and it fell apart the next year.

In 1981, the group reunited, but Negron was dismissed in late 1985 because of recurring drug issues.

In 1967, Negron joined Danny Hutton and Cory Wells to form Three Dog Night, a vocal trio with roots in R&B,

rock ‘n’ roll, and urban doo wop. They found success two years later with their rst million-selling single “One,” written by Harry Nilsson. Negron engaged in heavy drug use during the band’s quick ascension to the top of the charts. He spent his fortune on drugs and even ended up on Los Angeles’ Skid Row for a time.

After numerous stints in rehab, he became sober in 1991 and went on to have a successful solo career, releasing seven albums between 1995 and 2017. His 1999 book, “Three Dog Nightmare,” detailed his ups and downs.

After decades of estrangement between him and Hutton, the two men reconciled last year. Hutton and Michael Allsup are the lone surviving members.

Born Charles Negron II on June 8, 1942, he grew up in the Bronx singing in doo wop groups from an early age. His parents divorced when he was 2. He was recruited by California State University to play basketball, which brought him to Los Angeles, where he began working in the music industry.

In his later years, Negron toured through chronic COPD for three decades. The COVID-19 pandemic sidelined him permanently. Negron is survived by wife Ami Albea Negron and ve children, including Berry Oakley Jr., the son of Allman Brothers Band bassist Berry Oakley, who was killed in a 1972 motorcycle accident. Negron was for a time married to Julia Negron, the younger Oakley’s mother, and helped raise infant Berry Jr.

Chuck Negron, former lead singer of Three Dog Night, sings to a crowd during a Christmas Eve party in 1997 at the Union Rescue Mission in Los

sta at the Randolph County Correction Center in Asheboro, secured one in memory of their grandfather, Herman Siler.

“I got it as a surprise for our father,” he said. “One day when I came home from work, I said to my father, ‘Let’s go for a ride.’ So we headed west toward Asheboro. When we got to the patrol station, we turned around and headed back the other way so the sign would be on Daddy’s side, and he said to me, ‘Why are you turning around?’ I said, ‘Daddy, look at that sign.’ He said, ‘What sign?’ and then he saw it, and I wouldn’t take anything for his reaction. He started crying, and when we got home, he called his brothers in Washington, D.C., and told them and one of them said, ‘I’m coming down this weekend to see it’ and he did.”

When Billy Sr. died in 2005, the brothers had the sign changed to one in memory of their father. The current one reads, “In Loving Memory of Billy and Marie Siler,” erected after Marie’s death.

While memories are a big part of their service to the community, it’s not the only thing driving the pair; the present is also a big deal for them. To that end, they’re the driving force behind the open gym for basketball play at Ernest Ramsey Gym on Wednesdays and Sundays from 6 to 9 p.m.

“We had been renting it,” Billy Jr. said, “to start with for people over 40 but there weren’t all that many that age playing. So the town board approved having it open for younger folks, so now they sponsor it

“We try to represent the right direction and be conscious of right and wrong.”

Ronnie Siler

and we don’t have to pay rent.”

So while there’s free play and pick-up games, there are still some rules.

“No cussing allowed,” Ronnie said, “and no rough play. We try to represent the right direction and be conscious of right and wrong.”

Billy echoed that attitude, noting, “If someone gets rough with us, we try not to get back at them. But we tell them if you want to get rough, don’t cry when you get it back. They’re surprised that even though we’re in our 70s that we can do that.”

Their goal with play at the gym is more than 3-pointers, layups, dunks and defense. In a nod to their mother and father, Billy said, “We’re trying to help kids and young men learn respect.”

Ronnie said, “We know we had direction and discipline from our parents. A lot of kids today don’t have it; that’s one reason prisons are overcrowded.”

And while the Siler brothers have a keen interest in young folks, they also have a heart for older people. For the past 13 years, they’ve been coming every Sunday to Siler City Center, a care facility for the aged and people in need, to distribute popsicles to the 150 peo -

ple who live in the building. For residents needing help eating the cold treat, the brothers often feed them.

In a note to the brothers, Genesis Director of Social Ser-

vices Lisa Miller called those visits “a gift” for the residents.

“They have felt this is their mission, and along with the popsicles, they interact with the residents and

spread their own joy,” she wrote.

Here again the brothers remember the example their parents set before them years ago.

“Mama and Daddy were coming there in the 1970s,” they said.

“We go now for the human interaction as well as the popsicles. Many of them,” Billy said, “just want a human touch.”

Ronnie notes that while they go to all ve halls and all residents are appreciative, “the residents in the memory care hall seem to be the most appreciative. It may be that the popsicles jog a childhood memory. Their faces just light up.”

The brothers said it’s their intention and desire to continue the activities.

“We did get it from our parents,” they said. “It’s all we’ve ever known.

“Daddy worked at Kellwood as well as serving churches — some with black and white members — as a pastor and district and state leader. Some of the churches he served — seven as a pastor and 18 as a church planter — were a long way from here. We’d leave home early in the morning and sometimes get there before the members.”

So while they have a lengthy past, Ronnie and Billy know the direction they want to continue traveling.

“We know we’re far from perfect,” they said almost at the same time, “but what we’re doing isn’t about us. It’s about God and the community. God’s been good to us.

“Daddy used to tell us years ago it’s God rst, others second and we’re third.

“That’s what we try to do.”

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IN SEARCH OF SOMEONE

I met you at Dollar Tree in Siler City, you paid for a Birthday Gift Bag. I want to meet you again to thank you. I live on Hwy.902 at 11348, Bear Creek, NC. My phone # is 919-837-5280.

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY FILE#26E000007-180

The undersigned EILEEN S. COWEL,

2026. EILEEN S. COWEL, ADMINISTRATOR 4108 WALLINGFORD PLACE DURHAM, NC 27707 Run dates: J29,F5,12,19p

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY

FILE#26E000051-180 The undersigned DANNY M. WATSON, having quali ed on the 22ND Day of JANUARY 2026 as ADMINISTRATOR of the Estate of JEFFREY FLOYD HAWK, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them on or before the 29TH Day OF APRIL 2026, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This, the 29TH DAY OF JANUARY 2026. DANNY M. WATSON, ADMINISTRATOR 436 GLENDALE AVE. THOMASVILLE, NC 27360 Run dates: J29,F5,12,19p

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY

All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This, the 22ND DAY OF JANUARY 2026. MAURICE A. WICKER, ADMINISTRATOR 369 RC OVERMAN ROAD SILER CITY, NC 27344 Run dates: J22,29,F5,12p

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY

FILE#25E000693-180

The undersigned RICKY DAYE, aka RICHARD L. DAYE, having quali ed on the 30TH Day of DECEMBER 2025 as EXECUTOR of the Estate of MARY H. MERTENS, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify

rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to

on or before the 15th Day OF APRIL 2026, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This, the 15th DAY OF JANUARY 2026. RICKY DAYE aka RICHARD L. DAYE, EXECUTOR 5328 CHIMNEY SWIFT DRIVE WAKE FOREST, NC 27587 Run dates: J15,22,29,F5,p

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

26E000060-180 NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY

The undersigned, Linda Sue Eubanks, having quali ed as Administrator of the Estate of Susan D. Eubanks, deceased, late of Chatham County, this is to notify all persons having claims against said estate to present them to the undersigned on or before the day of May 6, 2026 or this notice will be plead in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This the 5th day of February 2026.

Linda Sue Eubanks Administrator Marie H. Hopper Attorney for the Estate Hopper Cummings, PLLC Post O ce Box 1455 Pittsboro, NC 27312

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of HELEN FAYE FITTS a/k/a FAYE PHILLIPS FITTS, of Chatham County, NC, this is to notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the estate of said deceased to exhibit them to the undersigned Executor at the Law O ce of Richard L Cox, 113 Worth Street, Asheboro, NC 27203 on or before April 27th 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of heir recovery. All persons indebted to said estate please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This the 22nd day of January 2026. William Robert Fitts, III, Executor HELEN FAYE FITTS a/k/a FAYE PHILLIPS FITTS, Estate Richard L. Cox, Attorney Gavin & Cox 113 Worth Street Asheboro, NC 27203 Telephone: 336-629-2600

NOTICE TO CREDITORS STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF CHATHAM

The undersigned, Autumn Shuke Norris, having quali ed as Administrator CTA of the Estate of Joyce Carter Shuke, Deceased, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, hereby notify all persons, rms, and corporations having claims against the Estate to present such claims to the undersigned in care of the undersigned’s Attorney at their address on or before April 24, 2026 or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, rms, and corporations indebted to the said Estate will please make immediate payment to the above named Administrator CTA. This the 22nd day of January, 2026. Autumn Shuke Norris, Administrator CTA Estate of Joyce Carter Shuke Daniel Jenkins, Esq. Carolina Estate Planning 380 Knollwood St. Suite 500 Winston Salem, NC 27103 January 22, 29, Feburary 5 and 12, 2026

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

All persons, rms and corporations having claims against Dorothy Mae Foxx Shamburger aka Dorothy Shamburger Clemmons, deceased of Chatham County, North Carolina, are hereby noti ed to present them to Robert A. Shamburger, Administrator of the Estate of Dorothy Mae Foxx Shamburger aka Dorothy Shamburger Clemmons, Estate File Number 26E000045-180, on or before May 4, 2026, in care of the undersigned attorney at her address, or this notice will be pleaded in a bar of recovery. All persons, rms and corporations indebted to Dorothy Mae Foxx Shamburger aka Dorothy Shamburger Clemmons, please make immediate payment to the Estate of Dorothy Mae Foxx Shamburger aka Dorothy Shamburger Clemmons. This is the 29th day of January, 2026. Pamela E. Whitaker Attorney at Law 4145 Randolph Church Road Liberty, NC 27298 (336) 622-3553 telephone (336) 622-3240 facsimile pwhitakerlaw@gmail.com

PUBLICATION DATES: January 29, 2026, February 5, 12, 19, 2026

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

ALL PERSONS, rms and corporations having claims against Christopher J Luscri, deceased, of Chatham County, N.C., are noti ed to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before (April 30, 2026), or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment. This January 29, 2026. Donna-Jean Keim 402 Ramsey Hill Dr Cary, North Carolina 27519

NOTICE

ALL PERSONS, rms and corporations having claims against Carol Triplett Robbins a/k/a Carol T. Robbins, deceased, of Chatham County, N.C., are noti ed to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before April 15th, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment. This 15th day of January 2026. Antony Derek Roberson, Executor Estate of Carol Triplett Robbins c/o Roberson Law Firm 1829 E. Franklin St., Ste. 800C Chapel Hill, NC 27514 Run Dates: 1/15, 22, 29, 2/5

NOTICE

NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND DEBTORS OF ANNETTE ANN MORDUS All persons, rms, and corporations having claims against Annette Ann Mordus, now deceased, are noti ed to exhibit them to Sandrah Pederson, Executor of the decedent’s estate, on or before the 5th day of May, 2026, at Post O ce Box 2290, Burlington, North Carolina 27216, or be barred from their recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment to the above-named Executor. Sandrah Pederson Executor of the Estate of Annette Ann Mordus (25E000646-180) Nathan R. Adams Pittman & Steele, PLLC Post O ce Box 2290 Burlington, NC 27216 336-270-4440 The Chatham News & Record February 5, 12, 19 and 26, 2026

PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE The Chatham County Board of Commissioners will hold a Special Session on Wednesday, February 11, 2026, beginning at 4:00 p.m. The public hearing will be held in the courtroom of the Historic Courthouse in Pittsboro, North Carolina at 9 Hillsboro Street, Pittsboro NC 27312. Additional information is available at the Chatham County Planning Department o ce. Speakers are requested to sign up at the meeting prior to the hearing. You may also sign up on the county website prior to the meeting at www.chathamcountync.gov by selecting the heading County Government, then Commissioner Meetings, then Public Comment. The public hearing may be continued to another date at the discretion of the Board of Commissioners. The purpose of the Public Hearing is to receive input, both written and oral, on the issues listed below: Legislative Request: A

§160D-107. Substantial changes may be made following the public hearing due to verbal or written comments received or based on the Board’s discussions. Notice to people with special needs: If you have audio or visual impairment, unique accessibility requirements or need language assistance, please call the number listed below prior to the hearing and assistance may be provided. If you have any questions or comments concerning these issues, please call the Chatham County Planning Department at 919-542-8204 or Ms. Jenifer Johnson, Clerk to the Board of County Commissioners, at 919-542-8200, or write to P.O. Box 54, Pittsboro N.C. 27312. Please run in your paper: January 29th and February 5th, 2026

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

25E000680-180 NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY The undersigned, Walter D. Jones, having quali ed as Administrator of the Estate of John T. Jones, deceased, late of Chatham County, this is to notify all persons having claims against said estate to present them to the undersigned on or before the day of April 15, 2026 or this notice will be plead in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned.

This the 15th day of January 2026.

Walter D. Jones

Administrator

Marie H. Hopper

Attorney for the Estate Hopper Cummings, PLLC Post O ce Box 1455 Pittsboro, NC 27312

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

26E000025-180 NORTH CAROLINA

CHATHAM COUNTY

The undersigned, Barbara Moore, having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of James McGrath, deceased, late of Chatham County, this is to notify all persons having claims against said estate to present them to the undersigned on or before the day of April 20, 2026 or this notice will be plead in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned.

This the 22nd day of January 2026.

Barbara Moore Executor

Marie H. Hopper

Attorney for the Estate Hopper Cummings, PLLC Post O ce Box 1455 Pittsboro, NC 27312

Notice to Creditors

ALL PERSONS, rms and corporations having claims against Susan Trivitt Dotson, deceased, of Chatham County, NC, are noti ed to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before May 8, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment. This the 5th day of February, 2026. William Claude Cornette III, Executor, c/o Bagwell Holt Smith P.A., 111 Cloister Court, STE 200, Chapel Hill, NC 27514

NOTICE TO CREDITORS:

26E000050-180 The undersigned, having quali ed as Administrator of the Estate of Gilbert Thomas Berg late of CHATHAM County, NC, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said estate to present them to the undersigned at the address below on or before the 30th day of April, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery.

All persons indebted to said estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This, the 29th day of January, 2026. Margaret B. Mullinix, Administrator of the Estate of Gilbert Thomas Berg, c/o The Law O ce of Anne Page Watson, PLLC, 3400 Croasdaile Drive, Suite 205, Durham, NC 27705.

NOTICE

NOTICE TO CREDITORS OF THE ESTATE OF CAROL ELAINE HARTMAN HALL All persons, rms, and corporations having claims against Carol Elaine Hartman Hall, deceased, of Chatham County, N.C., are noti ed to exhibit the same to William Leslie Hall, Executor, at 300 Kildaire Woods Drive, Apt 129, Cary, NC 27511, on or before May 4th, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the deceased are asked to make immediate payment. This the 29th day of January, 2026.

Notice to Creditors

Having quali ed as Administrator of the Estate of Antje W. Bruschke aka Ann Bruschke, late of Chatham County, North Carolina (26E000052-180), the undersigned does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the estate of said decedent to exhibit them to the undersigned on or before the 4th day of May, 2026 or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, rms and corporations indebted to the said estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This is the 29th day of January 2026. Michael A. Bruschke Administrator Estate of Antje W. Bruschke 344 Chestnut Way Chapel Hill, NC 27516 (For publication: on January 29, February 5, February 12, February 19, 2026)

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY FILE#26E000022-180 The undersigned JEREMY KNOTT AND TRACEY JONES, having quali ed on the 9TH Day of JANUARY 2026 as CO-ADMINISTRATORS of the Estate of CAROLYN ANNE KNOTT aka ANNE PRINCE KNOTT, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them on or before the 15th Day OF APRIL 2026, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This, the 15th DAY OF JANUARY 2026. JEREMY KNOTT, CO-ADMINISTRATOR 430 JOHNSON FARM ROAD NEW HILL, NC 27562 MAIL TO: TRACY JONES, CO-ADMINSTRATOR 791 KODIR WOMBLE DRIVE NEW HILL, NC 27562 Run dates: J15,22,29,F5,p

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY FILE#26E000002-180 The undersigned BARBARA GILMORE, having quali ed on the 2ND Day of JANUARY 2026 as ADMINISTRATOR of the Estate of DAVID CLARK GILMORE, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them on or before the 22ND Day OF APRIL 2026, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This, the 22ND DAY OF JANUARY 2026.

BARBARA GILMORE, ADMINISTRATOR 217 QUINTER DRIVE CARY, NC 27519 Run dates: J22,29,F5,12p

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF CHATHAM The undersigned, having quali ed as Executor, the Estate of Robert E. Allen, deceased, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms, and corporations having claims against said Decedent to present them to the undersigned on or before April 30, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment. This the 16 day of January, 2026. Vicky LeGrys, Executor 111 Pokeberry Lane, Pittsboro NC 27312

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA

CHATHAM COUNTY

FILE#26E000027-180

The undersigned STACIA DARK, having quali ed on the 12TH Day of JANUARY, 2026 as ADMINISTRATOR of the Estate of GEORGE DARK, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them on or before the 29TH Day OF APRIL 2026, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This, the 29TH DAY OF JANUARY 2026. STACIA DARK, ADMINISTRATOR 621 WOMBLE STREET SILER CITY, NC 27344 Run dates: J29,F5,12,19p

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA

CHATHAM COUNTY

FILE#25E000683-180

The undersigned ANGELA CAMILLE CLINE, having quali ed on the 22ND Day of DECEMBER 2025 as ADMINISTRATOR of the Estate of BLANCHE

ELIZABETH CLINE, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them on or before the 22ND Day OF APRIL 2026, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This, the 22ND DAY OF JANUARY 2026. ANGELA CAMILLE CLINE, ADMINISTRATOR 1268 WILSON ROAD GOLDSTON, NC 27252

MAIL AFFIDAVIT TO: LEWIS FADELY, PLLC 119 N FIR AVE. SILER CITY, NC 27344 Run dates: J22,29,F5,12p

NOTICE OF TAX FORECLOSURE SALE

Under and by virtue of an order of the District Court of Chatham County, North Carolina, made and entered in the action entitled COUNTY OF CHATHAM vs. EMMETT W. CALDWELL and spouse, if any, and all possible heirs and assignees of EMMETT W. CALDWELL and spouse, if any, or any other person or entity claiming thereunder, et al, 08CVD000616180, the undersigned Commissioner will on the 18th day of February, 2026, o er for sale and sell for cash, to the last and highest bidder at public auction at the courthouse door in Chatham County, North Carolina, Pittsboro, North Carolina at 12:00 o’clock, noon, the following described real property, lying and being in State and County aforesaid, and more particularly described as follows: Beginning at an iron pipe which is located at the intersection of Jones Ferry and River Ave., running thence with the North side of that road 370 feet to an iron stake, the intersecting with the Coggin Lot 1528 running thence with the lot line of that lot towards River Road 290 feet more or less to an iron pipe the intersecting with lot 1539 running thence with that lot’s line approximately 120 feet to a stake on River Road., running thence with that road Northeast side approximately 34 feet to the beginning. Subject to restrictive covenants and easements of record. Parcel Identi cation Number: 0073058

The undersigned Commissioner makes no warranties in connection with this property and speci cally disclaims any warranties as to title and habitability. This property is being sold as is, without opinion as to title or any other matter.

This sale will be made subject to all outstanding city and county taxes and all local improvement assessments against the above described property not included in the judgment in the above-entitled cause. A cash deposit of 20 percent of the successful bid will be required. In addition, the successful bidder will be required, at the time the Deed is recorded to pay for recording fees and revenue stamps assessed by the Chatham County Register of Deeds.

This sale is subject to upset bid as set forth in N.C.G.S. Section 1-339.25.

This the 9th day of January, 2026.

Mark D. Bardill/Mark B. Bardill, Commissioner P.O. Box 25 Trenton, NC 28585 Publication dates: February 5, 2026 February 12, 2026

NOTICE

NORTH CAROLINA NOTICE TO CREDITORS CHATHAM COUNTY

HAVING QUALIFIED as Executor of the Estate of William Larry Cockman late of Chatham County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the estate of said deceased to present them to the undersigned on or before the 16th day of April, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery.

This the 6th day of January, 2026.

Kimberly Rose Cockman, Executor Of the Estate of William Larry Cockman 1034 Stage Coach Road Siler City, North Carolina 27344 MOODY, WILLIAMS, ATWATER & LEE

ATTORNEYS AT LAW BOX 629

SILER CITY, NORTH CAROLINA 27344 (919) 663-2850

4tp

NOTICE

NORTH CAROLINA NOTICE TO CREDITORS

CHATHAM COUNTY

HAVING QUALIFIED as Executor of the Estate of Sue Loy late of Chatham County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the estate of said deceased to present them to the undersigned on or before the 16th day of April, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. This the 8th day of January, 2026.

Robyn Thomas Walker, Executor Of the Estate of Sue Loy 69 Fox Chapel Lane Pittsboro, North Carolina 27312 MOODY, WILLIAMS, ATWATER & LEE

ATTORNEYS AT LAW BOX 629 SILER CITY, NORTH CAROLINA 27344 (919) 663-2850 4tp

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA

CHATHAM COUNTY

25E000671-180 ALL persons having claims against June A. Keefe, deceased, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, are noti ed to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before May 05 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment. This the 5th day of February, 2026. KEVIN KEEFE, Co-Executor JOSEPH KEEFE, Co-Executor C/O Howard Stallings Law Firm PO Box 12347 Raleigh, NC 27605 F5, 12, 19 and 26

NOTICE

NORTH CAROLINA NOTICE TO CREDITORS CHATHAM COUNTY

HAVING QUALIFIED as Administrator of the Estate of Seth Andrew Laws late of Chatham County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the estate of said deceased to present them to the undersigned on or before the 16th day of April, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. This the 8th day of January, 2026. Kelli Denise Laws, Administrator Of the Estate of Seth Andrew Laws 2621 Arthur Teague Road Siler City, North Carolina 27344 MOODY, WILLIAMS, ATWATER & LEE ATTORNEYS AT LAW BOX 629 SILER CITY, NORTH CAROLINA 27344 (919) 663-2850 4tp

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY 25E000017-180 ALL persons having claims against Robert James Gabor, deceased, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, are noti ed to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before Apr 22 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment. This the 22nd day of January, 2026. Robert Gabor, Jr., Executor C/O Alisa Hu man, PLLC 701 E. Chatham Street, Ste. 209 Cary, NC 27511 J22,

NOTICE

Court Greensboro, North Carolina 27406 J29, 5, 12 and 19

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY FILE#25E000655-180 The undersigned JAMES B. LEACH, having quali ed on the 23RD Day of DECEMBER 2025 as EXECUTOR of the Estate of BARBARA JEAN PERRY, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them on or before the 29TH Day OF APRIL 2026, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This, the 29TH DAY OF JANUARY 2026. JAMES B. LEACH, EXECUTOR 123 PAINTED TURTLE LANE CARY, NC 27519 Run dates: J29,F5,12,19p

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY FILE#25 E 00695-180

The undersigned LYNN S. CRAYCROFT, having quali ed on the 30TH Day of DECEMBER 2025 as EXECUTOR of the Estate of ARLINE J. SENKPIEL, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them on or before the 15th Day OF APRIL 2026, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This, the 15th DAY OF JANUARY 2026. Run dates: J15,22,29,F5,p

NOTICE

NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION BEFORE THE CLERK FILE No. 24SP000053-180

Gladys C. Burnette, Petitioner, vs. Lillian Cabrera, Dorothy Chapman, Thomas Suitt, Sr., William Gattis, Wilma Gattis Brittain, Howard Lee Clark, Jr. Shondrea Thornton, Wanda Clark Fearrington, Norman V. Clark, George Randy Brown, Julius Allen Clark, Johnette Y. Smith Jones Julina Waden, John Dorsey Caldwell, Jr. Linda Clark, Robert Lee Clark, Jr. Andrea Nicky Clark, Sandi Abbo, Rossa V. Clarke-White, Wanda K. Williams, Zipporah W. Clark Baldwin, Macon David Clark, Jr., Amy M. Clark, Wallace Earl Perry, Lillie Perry Atwater, Clyde Douglas Perry, Hampton M. Perry as Guardian for Delaine Perry Norwood, Susan Gayle Perry, LeAnn Golden, Michael J. Sulick as Trustee of the Sulick Family Rev. Trust, Joy Young, Thomas Perry, Phyllis Cameron, Gloria Perry, Julia Perry, Rhonda Perry, and all unknown

more U.S. residents preferred to move elsewhere, including Alabama.

Sabrina Morley and Steven Devereaux sold their Tampa-area house last year, moved out of Florida and landed outside Valencia, Spain. Growing up in the 1990s, they both enjoyed Florida’s diversity and being able to run around freely outdoors. But in recent years, as they planned to have children, they had grown wary of the state’s costs, regular threats of mass shootings at schools, the quality of education and political divisiveness. They are expecting a daughter in the spring.

“I had a pretty good childhood, but I don’t think we’d be able to give our child the same quality of life because of the cost of living, food quality, and guns have become more prevalent,” Devereaux said. “We think where we are now, it’s the best decision we could make to give any future children the best quality of life.”

Younger folks and nice areas

North Carolina state demographer Michael Cline credited the state’s growth to high-paying jobs in banking and tech, the topographical diversity and having smaller big-cities than Florida and Texas.

“North Carolina is attracting younger folks because we have so many nice areas in North Carolina — the mountains and beaches and lakes in between — that we’re bene ting from younger people who decided they can work from anywhere and would rather be in a nice area,” Cline said. “One of the things about North Carolina, our cities are not huge, and that may be attractive to folks, too.”

Last year’s changes among the states were signi cant because population growth brings more taxpayers, economic dynamism and demand for goods and services. It also signals potential changes in the nation’s political landscape after the next census in 2030, with certain states gaining or losing clout in Congress and the Electoral College.

In the next few years, domestic migration is going to play a larger role in states’ growth or population decline. That is because the Trump

24SP001151-180 NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE

NORTH CAROLINA, CHATHAM COUNTY

administration’s immigration crackdown has contributed to a signicant reduction in migration from abroad, which had been the prime driver of growth in most states for the rst half of this decade.

Without immigration growth, the U.S. population will start shrinking in ve years as deaths outpace births, according to the Congressional Budget O ce.

Pandemic boom peters out

Despite the comparative yearover-year slowdown in domestic migration, Texas’ overall growth of 391,000 people and Florida’s overall growth of 196,000 people were still the two highest in the U.S. last year.

In Florida, it was driven by international migration, and in Texas by international migration as well as births outpacing deaths. Both states boomed during the early part of the decade, when pandemic-era lockdowns and remote work encouraged residents from other states to move to Florida and Texas, where coronavirus restrictions were more lax.

“The sharp domestic migrations they observed during the pandemic have now petered out, especially for Florida, at the same time that immigration is being diminished,” said Brookings demographer William Frey.

Demographers in Florida and Texas said they were not entirely sold on the accuracy of the Census Bureau’s migration numbers, which are the hardest variables to pin down because they uctuate the most year to year, although they did not question the rigor of the bureau’s work. The

Children walk through a sports eld in Independence Park under the skyline of Charlotte last March.

NOTICE OF PRIMARY ELECTION

CHATHAM COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA

The statewide primary election will be held on Tuesday, March 3, 2026.

Voters will be asked to show photo ID when they vote. All voters will be allowed to vote with or without ID. Voters who lack ID can get one for free from their county board of elections. Find out more at ncsbe.gov/voter-id.

Polls will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Election Day. The following precincts will be open

bureau uses data from the IRS and its American Community Survey to calculate migration, although the ACS data lags by a year and requires statisticians to project the data forward.

The Bureau of Economic and Business Research at the University of Florida uses a method di erent from the Census Bureau’s to calculate growth — electrical customer data, said research demographer Richard Doty.

There are no de nitive explanations for why domestic migration to Florida went from almost 319,000 people in 2022 to 22,500 people in 2025. Doty said some factors might include the state no longer being the bargain it once was, a series of hurricanes and return-to-o ce employer mandates.

“The cost of housing, in particular, is driving young people and retirees to other states,” he said. “Also, insurance is higher in Florida than most other states.”

When asked about the decline, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ press secretary, Molly Best, noted in an email that Florida had a signi cant in ux of new residents during the pandemic. It remains a top-ranked placed to live, she said.

The Texas economy has been growing, but that is not the only thing that in uences the in ow of potential migrants. Conditions outside the state also do, Texas state demographer Lloyd Potter said in an email.

“If jobs are plentiful, living is affordable, and the overall quality of life is good, they will be less likely to move for an opportunity outside that community,” Potter said.

EXCEPT AND LESS All of Parcel A, containing 0.227 acre according to a plat entitled “Survey for Kevin L. Corns - Ollie Burnette Heirs”, prepared by Van R Finch, PLS dated March 11, 2010, and recorded in Plat Slide 2010-127, Chatham County Registry, reference to which plat is hereby made for a more particular description.

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

Said property is commonly known as 428 Jeremiah Drive, Chapel Hill, NC 27517-9619.

A Certi ed Check ONLY (no personal checks) of ve percent (5%) of the purchase price, or Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, will be required at the time of the sale.

Following the expiration of the statutory upset bid period, all the remaining amounts are immediately due and owing. THIRD PARTY PURCHASERS MUST PAY THE EXCISE TAX AND THE RECORDING COSTS FOR THEIR DEED.

Said property to be o ered pursuant to this Notice of Sale is being o ered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS WHERE IS.” There are no representations of warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at, or relating to the property being o ered for sale. Substitute Trustee does not have possession of the property and cannot grant access, prior to or after the sale, for purposes of inspection and/or appraisal. This sale is made subject to all prior liens, unpaid taxes, any unpaid land transfer taxes, special assessments, easements, rights of way, deeds of release, and any other encumbrances or exceptions of record. To the best of the knowledge and belief of the undersigned, the current owner(s) of the property is/are Kevin L. Corns, a single person.

An Order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to G.S. 45-21.29 in favor of the

Under and by virtue of a Power of Sale contained in that certain Deed of Trust executed by Kevin L. Corns, Franklin D. Corns and Eleanor Corns to Jerone C. Herring, Trustee(s), which was dated March 30, 2001 and recorded on March 30, 2001 in Book 860 at Page 1014 and rerecorded/modi ed/ corrected on June 3, 2010 in Book 1514, Page 1239 and rerecorded/modi ed/corrected on August 5, 2025 in Book 2480, Page 584, Chatham County Registry, North Carolina. Default having been made of the note thereby secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC, having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust, and the holder of the note evidencing said default having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will o er for sale at the courthouse door of the county courthouse where the property is located, or the usual and customary location at the county courthouse for conducting the sale on February 12, 2026 at 10:00 AM, and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following described property situated in Chatham County, North Carolina, to wit: Lying and being in Williams Township, Chatham County, North Carolina, and being all of Lot #1, containing 40,271 square feet, more or less, as shown on a plat entitled “recombination Survey for Tomi G Constant & Patricia B Learned and Minor Subdivision of a Portion of the hero Stone Bunker Lands”, dated April 22, 1999, prepared by Absolute Land Surveying and Mapping, P.C. and recorded in Plat Slide 99-236, Chatham County Registry, to which plat reference is hereby made for a more accurate description; and All of Parcel B, containing 0.261 acre, according to a plat entitled “Survey for Kevin L. Corns - Ollie Burnette Heirs”, prepared by Van R Finch, PLS dated March 11, 2010, and recorded in Plat Slide 2010-127, Chatham County Registry, reference to which plat is hereby made for a more particular description.

NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE FILE NUMBER: 24SP001080-180 Under and by virtue of the power of sale contained in a certain Deed of Trust executed by FRANCES M. ALDRIDGE AND T. VICTOR ALDRIDGE, SR., dated June 6, 2003 in the amount of $77,000.00 and recorded in Book 01027, Page 0436 and further modi ed by Agreement recorded on January 25, 2017 in Book 1903, Page 599 of the Chatham County Public Registry by ANTHONY MASELLI OR GENEVIEVE JOHNSON, EITHER OF WHOM MAY ACT, Substitute Trustee, default having been made in the terms of agreement set forth by the loan agreement secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, ANTHONY MASELLI OR GENEVIEVE JOHNSON, EITHER OF WHOM MAY ACT, having been substituted as Successor Trustee in said Deed of Trust by an instrument duly recorded in the O cial Records of Chatham County, North Carolina, in Book 2417, Page 993, and the holder of the note evidencing said indebtedness having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will o er for sale at the courthouse door in Chatham County, North Carolina, or the customary location designated for foreclosure sales, on February 12, 2026 at 11:30 AM, and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following real estate situated in the County of Chatham, North Carolina, and being more particularly described as follows: PARCEL IDENTIFICATION NUMBER(S): 0013972 ADDRESS: 20 FAIRWAY DR SILER CITY, NC 27344 PRESENT RECORD OWNER(S): UNKOWN HEIRS OF FRANCES M. ALDRIDGE AND T. VICTOR ALDRIDGE, SR. THE LAND DESCRIBED HEREIN IS SITUATED IN THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA, COUNTY OF CHATHAM, AND IS DESCRIBED IN DEED BOOK 01027, PAGE 0436, AS FOLLOWS: BEING ALL OF LOT 47 CONTAINING 0.719 ACRES

IN PLAT

SLIDE 96-13, CHATHAM COUNTY REGISTRY, TO WHICH PLAT REFERENCE IS HEREBY MADE FOR

GREATER CERTAINTY OF DESCRIPTION. (1) THE ABOVE DESCRIBED PROPERTY IS SUBJECT TO RESTRICTIVE AND PROTECTIVE COVENANTS OF PINE FOREST, INCORPORATED SUBDIVISION RECORDED IN BOOK 290, PAGE 203, CHATHAM COUNTY REGISTRY. PARCEL ID NUMBER: 0013972 ALSO KNOWN AS: 20 FAIRWAY DR, SILER CITY, NORTH CAROLINA 27344 Trustee may, in the Trustee’s sole discretion, delay the sale for up to one hour as provided in N.C.G.S. §45-21.23. Should the property be purchased by a third party, that party must pay the excise tax, as well as the court costs of Forty-Five Cents ($0.45) per One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) required by N.C.G.S. §7A-308(a)(1). The property to be o ered pursuant to this notice of sale is being o ered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS, WHERE IS.” Neither the Trustee nor the holder of the note secured by the deed of trust/security agreement, or both, being foreclosed, nor the o cers, directors, attorneys, employees, agents or authorized representative of either the Trustee or the holder of the note make any representation or warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at or relating to the property being o ered for sale, and any and all responsibilities or liabilities arising out of or in any way relating to any such condition are expressly disclaimed. Also, this property is being sold subject to all taxes, special assessments, and prior liens or prior encumbrances of record and any recorded releases. Said property is also being sold subject to applicable Federal and State laws. A deposit of ve percent (5%) of the purchase price, or seven hundred fty dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, is required and must be tendered in the form of certi ed funds at the time of the sale. If the trustee is unable to convey title to this property for any reason, the sole remedy of the purchaser is the return of the deposit. Reasons of such inability to convey include, but are not limited to, the ling of a bankruptcy petition prior to the con rmation of the sale and reinstatement of the loan without the knowledge of the trustee. If the

purchaser and against the party or parties in possession by the clerk of superior court of the county in which the property is sold. Any person who occupies the property pursuant to a rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2007, may, after receiving the notice of sale, terminate the rental agreement by providing written notice of termination to the landlord, to be e ective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 10 days, but no more than 90 days, after the sale date contained in the notice of sale, provided that the mortgagor has not cured the default at the time the tenant provides the notice of termination [NCGS § 45-21.16A(b)(2)]. Upon termination of a rental agreement, the tenant is liable for rent due under the rental agreement prorated to the e ective date of the termination.

Pursuant to NCGS §45-21.25A, this sale may be subject to remote bids placed by bidders not physically present at the place of sale, which may be accepted by the person conducting the sale, or their agent”.

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

Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC

Substitute Trustee Brock & Scott, PLLC Attorneys for Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC 5431 Oleander Drive Suite 200 Wilmington, NC 28403

PHONE: (910) 392-4988

File No.: 24-24851-FC01

CHATHAM SPORTS

Seaforth rains 3s in varsity

double-header against DSA

McDonald’s All American nominee Katie Leonard hit eight 3-pointers Friday

By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record

Boys: Seaforth 75, Durham School of the Arts 28

Seaforth seniors Declan Lindquist and Campbell Meador combined for 38 points in the rst half to help the Hawks down Durham School of the Arts 75-28 Friday in Pittsboro.

Lindquist nished with

a team-high 23 points, and Meador contributed 16 points, which all came in the rst half. Both hit four 3s apiece before halftime, leading to a commanding 51-19 lead at the break.

“The o ense just worked perfectly,” Lindquist said. “It works as a unit, so everybody’s working together and taking excellent shots.”

Said Meador, “I felt like both of us got really good shots. They were open and in rhythm.”

Defensively, Seaforth came away with 10 steals and held the Bulldogs to single digits in three quarters.

The heat stayed on with the reserves entering the game late in the third quarter. Junior Justin Torres came in and shot 3 for 3 from the eld for eight points. In total, 10 Hawks made a shot in the game as the team nished the night with a 55% shooting clip.

Seaforth earned its third win in a row, moving to 12-5 overall and 7-1 in Big 7 4A/5A conference play. The Hawks sit rst in the conference with J.F Webb (5-1), Orange (5-2) and South Granville (5-2) close behind. Seaforth, pursuing its rst conference title since 2023, will play all three to close the season.

Consistency: Fowler balances life changes, high-level play

Cam Fowler and his mom, Kelly, have been displaced since December

By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record

PITTSBORO — Since the turn of the new year, Northwood boys’ basketball senior Cam Fowler has been arguably playing the best basketball of his high school career.

In the Chargers’ last ve games as of Sunday, Fowler has scored at least 20 points in four contests, including a career-high 31 points against Garner on Jan. 17.

It’s a consistency that has matured in his identity as a basketball player over the past two seasons. Fowler is a 20-point-per-game scorer for the second straight year while showing up as a leader — cheering on his teammates from the bench and holding them accountable — on one of coach Matt Brown’s most player-driven teams in his time at Northwood.

For the average spectator, it’s as if a life-changing tragedy that struck the day after Christmas never happened.

“I’ve had parents come up to me and they’re like, ‘You never would know that y’all went through what y’all went through’ because he just gets

See FOWLER, page B4

“The biggest thing with us is our superpower is our ability to play as a unit,” Seaforth coach John Berry said. “If we play as a unit — a pack of piranhas — move the ball, don’t care who scores, just make the best play for the team, then we’re very tough to deal with, especially if we’re making shots.”

Girls: Seaforth 61, Durham School of the Arts 38

Seaforth senior Katie Leonard knocked down eight 3s to lead the Hawks in a 61-38 rout over Durham School of the Arts on Friday.

8

Combined

Leonard nished the night with a team-highs of 26 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists, three steals and two blocks. She knocked down six 3s and scored 20 points in the rst half, securing her fourth straight game with that scoring mark. Leonard previously made eight threes against J.F Webb on Jan. 8.

“Just trying to nd the open person and make good looks,” Leonard said. “My teammates were able to nd me a lot, and I’m like, ‘This is a good shot.’

The last month saw multiple season highs from local recruits

By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record

CHATHAM COUNTY’S

own have shared the spotlight in the college basketball world lately.

Former Seaforth basketball star Gabby White had a career night in Virginia’s triple-overtime win over Wake Forest on Jan. 29. The freshman recorded a career-high 22 points on a team-high nine made eld goals, and she grabbed 12 rebounds to secure her rst collegiate double-double. White followed that with 15 points in a 76-64 loss to Virginia Tech Sunday, bringing her season scoring average to 7.4. On the men’s side of the ACC, Jarin Stevenson, another former Seaforth Hawk, saved the day in UNC’s win over a ranked Virginia team on Jan. 24. Stevenson scored all his season-high 17 points in the second half, helping the Tar Heels overcome a double-digit de cit. His dunk with under 12 minutes left to play gave UNC its rst lead since the game’s rst two minutes, and his 3 followed by a 3-point play in the last ve minutes helped the Tar Heels get the last say. After a seven-point

22

Points for

outing against Georgia Tech Saturday, Stevenson is averaging seven points and 2.7 rebounds per game. Here are the recent highlights from other local athletes in college.

BASKETBALL

Kenan Parrish (Northwood, Harvard)

Parrish played his best game of the season in Harvard’s 67- 65 win over Yale on Saturday. In a season-high 15 minutes played, the 7-foot forward scored a season-high 10 points as he shot 3 for 6 from the eld and knocked down two 3s.

Max Frazier (Northwood, Central Connecticut State) Frazier is starting to nd his groove despite his team’s overall inconsistency. The former Charger was nearly perfect from the eld in a win over Wagner on Jan. 29, shooting 7

page

Campbell Blackburn

Woods Charter, boys’ basketball

Woods Charter sophomore Campbell Blackburn earns athlete of the week honors for the week of Jan. 26.

Blackburn stepped up huge in the absence of Levi Haygood last week, pouring in a career-high 20 points in a 38-20 win over Raleigh Charter on Jan. 29 and 19 points in a loss to Durham Academy the following night.

As of Sunday, Blackburn has logged seven games with at least 10 points. Earlier this season, Blackburn hit a buzzer beater to defeat Phoenix Academy 69-68.

Local high school softball schedules

The rst games will be played Feb. 25

By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record

LOCAL SOFTBALL schedules for the 2026 season have been nalized and released. Here are the schedules for each local team.

* denotes conference game

Chatham Charter

Class/conference: 1A, Central Tar Heel Feb. 23 — at Chatham Central (scrimmage, 6 p.m.); Feb. 27 — at Southern Wake* (5 p.m.); March 3 — at Central Carolina* (5 p.m.); March 5 — at Providence Grove (6 p.m.); March 6 — vs. Ascend Leadership* (4:30 p.m.); March 10 — vs. River Mill* (4:30 p.m.); March 12 — vs. Providence Grove (5 p.m.); March 13 — vs. Clover Garden* (4:30 p.m.); March 17 — vs. Southern Wake* (5 p.m.); March 18 — at Northwood (6 p.m.); March 20 — vs. Central Carolina* (5 p.m.); March 23 — at Cornerstone Charter (5 p.m.); March 24 — at Ascend Leadership* (4:30 p.m.); March 26 — at River Mill* (at Bill Cooke Park, 3:30 p.m.); April 6 — at Clover Garden* (4:30 p.m.); April 9 — vs. Cornerstone Charter (5 p.m.); April 10 — at Southern Wake* (5 p.m.); April 14 — at Central Carolina* (5 p.m.); April 16 — vs. Northwood (5 p.m.); April 17 — vs. Ascend Leadership* (5 p.m.); April 21 — vs. River Mill* (5 p.m.); April 23 — vs. Clover Garden* (5 p. m.)

Chatham Central

Class/conference: 1A, Greater Triad 1A/2A Feb. 25 — at Southeast Alamance (6 p.m.); March 3 — vs. Overhills (6 p.m.); March 4 — vs. Lee County (6 p.m.); March 6 — vs. Falls Lake (6 p.m.); March 10 — at Providence Grove (6 p.m.); March 11 — vs. Ascend Leadership (6 p.m.); March 13 — vs. South Davidson* (6 p.m.); March 17 — at North Stokes* (6 p.m.); March 19 — vs. Providence Grove (6 p.m.); March 20 — at South Stokes* (double header, 5 p.m.); March 24 — at South Davidson* (6 p.m.); March 25 — at Apex Friendship (6 p.m.); March 27 — vs. North Stokes* (6 p.m.); April 8 — at Jordan-Matthews (6 p.m.); April 9 — vs. Jordan-Matthews (6 p.m.); April 10 — vs. Central Carolina (6 p.m.); April 14 — vs. South Stokes* (6 p.m.); April 15 — vs. Southeast Alamance

(6 p.m.); April 17 — at South Davidson* (6 p.m.); April 21 — vs. North Stokes* (6 p.m.); April 22 — at Wheatmore (6 p.m.); April 23 — vs. Western Harnett (6 p.m.)

Northwood

Class/conference: 3A, Four Rivers 3A/4A Feb. 26 — vs. Southern Lee (6 p.m.); March 2 — at Chapel Hill (6 p.m.); March 6 — vs. Carrboro (6 p.m.); March 10 — vs. Eastern Randolph* (6 p.m.); March 12 — at Southern Lee (6 p.m.); March 13 — at Eastern Randolph* (6 p.m.); March 17 — vs. Jordan-Matthews*; March 18 — vs. Chatham Charter (6 p.m.); March 20 — at Jordan-Matthews* (6 p.m.); March 24 — at North Moore* (6 p.m.); March 25 — vs. Cedar Ridge (6 p.m.); March 27 — vs. North Moore* (6 p.m.); April 7 — at Seaforth (6 p.m.); April 8 — vs. Seaforth (6 p.m.); April 9 — at Cedar Ridge (6 p.m.); April 14 — at Southwestern Randolph* (6 p.m.); April 16 — at Chatham Charter (5 p.m.); April 17 — vs. Southwestern Randolph* (6 p.m.); April 20 — at Southeast Alamance (6 p.m.); April 21 — Uwharrie Charter* (6 p.m.)

Jordan-Matthews

Class/conference: 4A, Four Rivers 3A/4A Feb. 23 — at Southeast Alamance (scrimmage); March 3 — at Carrboro (4 p.m.); March 4 — vs. Providence Grove (6 p.m.); March 6 — vs. Wheatmore (6 p.m.); March 10 — vs. North Moore* (6 p.m.); March 12 — at Wheatmore (6 p.m.); March 13 — at North Moore*

(6 p.m.); March 17 — at Northwood* (6 p.m.); March 20 — vs. Northwood* (6 p.m.); March 24 — vs. Southwestern Randolph* (6 p.m.); March 25 — vs. Central Carolina (6 p.m.); March 27 — at Southwestern Randolph* (6 p.m.); April 8 — vs. Chatham Central (6 p.m.); April 9 — at Chatham Central (6 p.m.); April 14 — at Uwharrie Charter* (6 p.m.); April 15 — vs. South Davidson (6 p.m.); April 17 — vs. Uwharrie Charter* (6 p.m.); April 21 — vs. Eastern Randolph* (6 p.m.); April 22 — at Providence Grove (6 p.m.); April 24 — at Eastern Randolph* (6 p.m.)

Seaforth

Class/conference: 5A, Big Seven 4A/5A Feb. 21 — at Fuquay-Varina (scrimmage, 9 a.m.); Feb. 25 — vs. Western Alamance (6 p.m.); March 4 — vs. Middle Creek (6 p.m.); March 10 — at Carrboro* (4 p.m.); March 13 — at Cedar Ridge* (6 p.m.); March 16 — at Chapel Hill (6 p.m.); March 17 — at Durham School of the Arts* (5 p.m.); March 18 — vs. Panther Creek (6 p.m.); March 24 — vs. Webb* (6 p.m.); March 26 — at South Granville* (6 p.m.); April 7 — vs. Northwood (6 p.m.); April 8 — at Northwood (6 p .m.); April 10 — vs. Carrboro* (6 p.m.); April 14 — vs. Cedar Ridge* (6 p.m.); April 15 — at Apex (6 p.m.); April 17 — vs. Durham School of the Arts* (6 p.m.); April 22 — at Apex Friendship (4:30 p.m.); April 23 — at Orange* (6 p.m.); April 24 — at Webb* (6 p.m.); April 28 — vs. South Granville* (6 p.m.); April 30 — vs. Orange* (6 p.m.)

Local swimmers set to compete in state championship meet

The state title meet begins Thursday

By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record

AFTER A WEEK of widespread rescheduling in North Carolina High School Athletic Association sports, the NCHSAA swimming and diving championships begins Thursday at Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary.

The swimming and diving regionals were canceled due to the recent winter storms. Because of that, quali cation to the state tournament is di erent this season.

Only individuals and relay teams that quali ed for this year’s regionals are considered for advancement to the state meet. Quali ers include the top 12 individual swimmers from the East and the top 12 individual swimmers from the West. The top eight relay teams from the East and the top eight relay teams from the West will qualify for the meet. The next fastest regional times, regardless of region, will also qualify for states until the eld reaches a maximum of 32 individual swimmers and 24 really teams. There could be an additional heat added if there are more than 32 automatic qualifying times from the regional entries or if there’s a tie for 32nd place.

Here are the local quali ers for the NCHSAA swimming and diving state championship (school, event)

1A/2A/3A Boys: Jesse Es-

State championships for Woods Charter’s Daisy Collins

kelund (Chatham Central, 50 free and 100 free); Drew White (Woods Charter, 200 free and 500 free); Derek White (Woods Charter, 50 free and 100 free); Elijah Su (Northwood, 500 free and 100 breaststroke); Tumanio Sissoko (Northwood, 100 back); Northwood (200 medley relay and 400 free relay)

1A/2A/3A Girls: Daisy Collins (Woods Charter, 200 free and 500 free); Ella Delgross (Woods Charter, 200 IM and 100 breaststroke)

5A Boys: Colton Roberts (Seaforth, 200 free and 500 free); Stuart Vaughn (Seaforth, 200 free and 500 free); Charles Mitler (Seaforth, 200 IM and 100 back); Aden George (Seaforth, 50 free and 100 free); Jason Krasovich (Seaforth, 100 free); Quinn Hepburn (Seaforth, 100 free and 100 breaststroke); Isaac Lindgren (Seaforth, 100 breaststroke); Seaforth (200 medley relay); Seaforth (200 free relay); Seaforth (400 free relay)

5A Girls: Sydney Haire (Seaforth, 200 free and 100 back); Natalie Hinde (Seaforth, 200 free and 500 free); Sydney Burleigh (Seaforth, 200 IM and 100 y); Alexandra Smith (Seaforth, 200 IM); Eva Wahieb (Seaforth, 50 free); Olivia Tewes (Seaforth, 1-meter dive); Sophie Jacobs (Seaforth, 100 y and 100 back);

Northwood’s Elijah Su will compete for state championships in two events. He was the Four Rivers Conference Male Swimmer of the Year.

Gillian Eriksen (Seaforth, 100 free and 100 breaststroke); Juliette Haire (100 back); Seaforth (200 medley relay); Seaforth (200 free relay); Seaforth (400 free relay)

COLLEGE from page B1

for 8 from the eld for 17 points.

With a 14-point performance against LIU on Saturday, Frazier, who’s averaging 11.9 points per night, has scored in double digits in six of his last seven games.

Colby Burleson (Northwood, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts)

In a 102-99 win over Worcester State on Saturday, Burleson logged his best game of January with 11 points. He shot 4 for 6 from the eld, including three triples. Burleson has recorded at least 10 points twice this season.

Olivia Porter (Marquette, Northwood)

Porter had a career night against Creighton on Jan. 8. In 32 minutes, Porter scored a career-high 23 points on 50% shooting. She shot 4 for 4 from 3-point land.

McKenna Snively (Christopher Newport,

Northwood/North Raleigh Christian Academy)

Snively has been productive o the bench of late, scoring in double digits in three of her last four outings. She matched her season high of 15 points in a close loss to Salisbury on Jan. 17, and she most recently recorded 12 points in a win over Southern Virginia on Jan. 28.

TRACK AND FIELD

Will Cuicchi (Seaforth, Charlotte)

Cuicchi moved up in the Charlotte record books after nishing second in the men’s 1,000 at the Hokie Invitational on Jan. 24. His time of 2 minutes, 27.24 seconds is eighth all time.

FENCING

Kaitlyn Zanga (Seaforth, UNC)

Zanga nished 17th in the Junior Women’s Epee at the Junior Olympics early in January.

Hurricanes score 3 times in nal 2 minutes, stun Mammoth in 5-4 win

Carolina became the third team in history to have the historic rally

By Cory Lavalette North State Journal

RALEIGH — In many ways, last Thursday’s game wasn’t one Hurricanes defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere will want to play on a loop at a family gathering.

His wipeout in the neutral zone early in the second period allowed Utah winger Kailer Yamamoto to score his rst of two goals and tie the game after Carolina dominated the opening 20 minutes.

Then with just 13 minutes left in the game, Yamamoto pestered the Hurricanes defenseman into a turnover and a goal by Michael Carcone to give the visiting Mammoth what seemed like a nail-in-the-co n twogoal lead.

But Gostisbehere — returning to the lineup after missing the last ve games — and the Hurricanes not only fought back, but they also pulled o one of the best rallies in NHL history.

Andrei Svechnikov, Gostisbehere and Jordan Staal scored three times in 89 seconds, with Staal’s goal coming with just under 30 seconds remaining, to turn a multigoal de cit into a 5-4 Hurricanes win at Lenovo Center.

“Just forget,” Gostisbehere said of moving past his miscues, “or score right after so you forget about it.”

It was just the third time in league history that a team trailing by two goals with under two minutes remaining ended up winning in regulation.

The rally started with Gostisbehere and Svechnikov.

With Carolina on a four-minute power play due to a high sticking penalty by Barrett

SEAFORTH from page B1

I tried not to force anything.”

Seaforth hit 13 3s as a team, notching its second straight game with at least 10 made triples. Junior Annika Johansson made two from beyond the arc on the way to a 10-point night.

The Hawks held the Bulldogs to single digits in each of the rst three quarters. Junior Faith Yon was the bright spot in DSA’s tough o ensive night, leading all scorers with 29 points, including 23 in the second half.

Seaforth cruised to its fourth straight win, improving to 13-3 overall and 7-1 in Big Seven 4A/5A conference play. The conference title is still up for grabs with the Hawks and South Granville tied for rst and Orange

FOWLER from page B1

out there and plays ball,” Fowler’s mother, Kelly, said. “That’s all he’s ever done.”

Around 6 a.m. on Dec. 26, a garbage truck pulled the power lines at Fowler’s Pittsboro home on Thompson Street, causing the fallen transformer to ignite, explode and set re to the house. Although the Fowlers didn’t lose everything in the ames, the home became unlivable, leaving Fowler, his mom and their pets displaced.

“We were very lucky and blessed to get out what we got out, which is ourselves,” Kelly Fowler said.

If it weren’t for his mom, who would sometimes be out of the home with her ancé, waking him up when the re started, Fowler wouldn’t have known what was happening. When the transformer exploded while Fowler and his mom were outside, he screamed for help.

“It sounded like a bomb,” he said.

Said Kelly Fowler, “The remen said that they could see it

“We were just kind of riding the wave. But obviously, things weren’t clicking and it nally clicked.”

Jordan Staal, Hurricanes captain

Hayton and Brandon Bussi (21 saves) on the bench for an extra attacker, Gostisbehere shot wide, but the puck hit the end boards and popped right to Svechnikov. He banged it into the vacant net for his second goal of the night and 20th of the season — matching last season’s total.

Gostisbehere, who had scored his seventh goal of the year on the power play to tie the game in the second period, got his second of the night 22 seconds after Svechnikov’s goal.

With Bussi again on the bench for a sixth skater, Jackson Blake zipped a diagonal pass to Gostisbehere at the right point for a one-timer that hit the cross bar and went in to tie the game.

“It is always about your next shift, good or bad,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “You score a goal, you don’t sit there patting yourself on the back. You’ve got to go do something about it. The same thing if you give up a goal. Ghost has been around. I don’t think he gets too ustered.”

Then the Hurricanes seized the momentum to get the winner.

Defenseman Jalen Chat eld took a shot from the outside edge of the right circle. Jordan Martinook tipped the shot, and the puck went to Staal at the left post, where he knocked it in for his 12th goal of the year.

“We were just kind of riding the wave,” Staal said. “But ob-

right behind them with one conference loss (6-1) as of Sunday. Seaforth will play both South Granville and Orange to close out the regular season.

For the second straight year, Seaforth will pursue a conference title and a deep playo run with a McDonald’s All American nominee. Leonard was one of 17 North Carolina girls nominated for the prestigious high school all-star event on Jan. 29.

Last year, Seaforth’s Gabby White earned the same honor before continuing her career at Virginia.

“I didn’t know I’d been up for consideration, but when I found out last night, I was really excited,” Leonard said. “I’m really grateful for all of my teammates and coaches who’ve helped me get here.”

from the circle when they got the rst call of the transformer being on re.” In the rst few days of navigating their next steps, the Fowlers were in “shock.”

The two had lived in that home for two and a half years after spending the previous seven to eight years in an apartment. When Cam was a boy, the two lived with Kelly’s mother and her brother Lukie Fowler until Kelly nished cosmetology school.

“I loved it,” Kelly Fowler said. “It was small. It was nice. I mean, it was perfect for me and him.”

After the re, Cam went to live with his grandmother and his uncle in Pittsboro while Kelly decided to stay with her ancé in Siler City.

“I think all the emotions ran high for me the rst week because I’ve only lived with (Cam),” Kelly Fowler said. “The rst couple of weeks is kind of hard because I was just like, ‘I don’t have anywhere to go.’ It’s like your safe spot or your safe space. I talk to (Cam) a lot because we’re apart now, and I

viously, things weren’t clicking and it nally clicked. To get those three goals that quickly and in that short period of time to win the game was really cool.”

Gostisbehere and Svechnikov each nished with three points.

“You saw him tonight,” Staal said of Svechnikov. “He was not only scoring goals, but he was physical, he was hard, he was skating well. And he’s got his strength back and his speed. … He’s the player that we all know he can be. And this year he’s

been solid all throughout.”

And despite struggling much of the night on the power play, Carolina managed to score two key goals on ve opportunities.

“It’s sticking with it,” Gostisbehere said. “The entries weren’t beautiful, but at the end of the day, when you get two goals on power play, you know it’s going to help you win.”

And it did the Hurricanes extended their point streak to six games and further tightened their grip on the Metropolitan

Division lead on Whalers Night.

“It’s always nice to score goals, especially game winners,” Staal said. “It’s making memories, and I love the game, I love being a part of of nights like this, and you want more of them. You’re chasing them, and you’re chasing those memories.

“And to do it alongside these guys in this room, the friends, and battle with each other is what I live for. It’s what I do this job for, and tonight was one of the good memories.”

“He just gets out there and plays ball.”

Kelly

Fowler

think that’s the hardest part for me because he’s graduating, and this is the last few months that I’m going to have with him.”

The sudden change has brought an early taste of independence for Fowler, and he unknowingly prepared for it. Just before the re, Fowler applied to a job at Domino’s to start making his own money, which has in turn taken some pressure o his mom during their displacement.

“Before he got a job, it was just, ‘Can I have $20?’” Kelly Fowler said. “‘Can you cash app me $20? Can you cash app me this? Can you cash app me that?’ And that was literally every day.”

For the past few weeks, Fowler has balanced evening and closing shifts with high ex-

pectations in basketball and school. It’s been “a lot” on him, but handling multiple responsibilities isn’t something he hasn’t seen before.

“When I was younger, (Kelly) had to go to school to get her cosmetology or hairstylist — what she wanted to be — so she (wasn’t) around me a lot,” he said. “But as I got older, she worked her butt o every single day — worked multiple jobs, paid the bills, made sure I can eat, made sure I got basketball shoes to hoop in, football shoes to play football in, gear, just anything. Taking me to AAU games, stu like that. Seeing her put all that work ethic in, it just rubbed o on me.”

Fowler’s willingness to put more on his plate earned him a nomination for the Jersey Mike’s Naismith Courage Award by his coach Brown. On Jan. 28, Fowler’s story was selected as one of the 10 nalists from hundreds of entries across the country. The two overall winners, chosen for being a “shining example of perseverance” and “demonstrat-

Seaforth’s Declan Lindquist (1) looks for an opening against Durham School of the Arts on Jan.30.

ing that true success is de ned not only by achievement on the court, but by the determination, resilience, and heart to keep going when life is at its hardest,” will earn their respective basketball programs $2,000 and an additional $5,000 for themselves.

“Cam is doing things I could never imagine doing as an 18-year-old, and he is doing them with courage and sel essness” Brown said. “Never once has he complained or felt sorry for himself.” Despite the pressure Northwood puts on itself in its chase of a championship and Fowler’s own pursuit of opportunities to play in college, basketball is where Fowler has found quiet in the storm.

After things were nally settled the day of the re, Fowler went to Northwood with his best friend and hooped for hours. The court is his therapy, and it stays the same no matter what changes around him.

“Basketball always calmed me down,” Fowler said. “So, that’s the rst thing I went to.”

SIDELINE REPORT

PGA

Rose sets scoring record, goes wire to wire at Torrey Pines

San Diego Justin Rose is the rst wire-to-wire winner at Torrey Pines in 71 years. Rose nished with a 70 to break the tournament scoring record set by Tiger Woods in 1999. He nished at 23-under 265. Rose started with a six-shot lead and never let anyone get any closer. Tommy Bolt in 1955 was the last player to win this tournament from start to nish without ties. Rose now moves to No. 4 in the world at age 45.

NBA NBA suspends 76ers’ George 25 games for violating anti-drug policy

Philadelphia Paul George of the Philadelphia 76ers was suspended 25 games for violating the NBA’s anti-drug program. The league did not disclose the substance involved. George released a statement saying he took something that was “improper.” He apologized to the team and its fans, saying he takes “full responsibility for my actions.” This is George’s rst violation. The suspension will cost him approximately $11.7 million of his salary.

BOXING

Miller’s hairpiece knocked upward by punch, then thrown into crowd

New York Jarrell Miller was hit with such a good punch it knocked his hair o . Heavyweight Kingsley Ibeh landed a punch in the second round that knocked Miller’s head backward, and his hairpiece popped upward from the front, revealing a large bald spot that covered most of his head. Miller nished the round with the hairpiece, then ripped it o in his corner between rounds and tossed it into the crowd at Madison Square Garden. Miller won by split decision, then rubbed the top of his head while doing a celebratory dance.

NBA Flagg breaks NBA teen record with 49 points in Mavs’ loss to Hornets

Dallas As Dallas rookie Cooper Flagg set the NBA record for points by a teenager with 49 in a loss to Charlotte, he broke the franchise rookie scoring record he shared with Mark Aguirre. Flagg turned 19 in December. Kon Knueppel, Flagg’s roommate as Blue Devils freshmen, had a career-high 34 points, hitting the two winning free throws with 4.1 seconds left after being fouled by Flagg. Cli Robinson set the previous NBA teen record of 45 points at age 19 in 1980.

LeBron’s All-Star streak at 22 years

Duren, Powell, Johnson, Murray, Holmgren, Avdija are rst-time All-Stars

By Tim Reynolds The Associated Press

LEBRON JAMES IS an All-Star again, extending his record streak of selections.

James was a pick for the 22nd consecutive year, one of 14 players who were announced Sunday as reserves for the Feb. 15 midseason showcase that’ll take place at the Los Angeles Clippers’ arena in Inglewood, California.

James is the All-Star record holder in a number of categories. Among them: his still-active streak of consecutive selections, along with 20 All-Star appearances and 434 points in those contests.

The Los Angeles Lakers star was not chosen as a starter this season in the process that includes voting from fans, media and other players. NBA coaches choose the reserves and, if necessary, Commissioner Adam

Silver will select any additional players necessary for the AllStar rosters should someone need to be replaced because of injury.

James did not play in last season’s All-Star event because of injury.

The reserves from the Eastern Conference: Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell, New York’s Karl-Anthony Towns, Indiana’s Pascal Siakam, Toronto’s Scottie Barnes, Detroit’s Jalen Duren, Miami’s Norman Powell and Atlanta’s Jalen Johnson., a former Duke Blue Devil And from the Western Conference, along with James: Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards, Denver’s Jamal Murray, Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren, Houston’s Kevin Durant, Phoenix’s Devin Booker and Portland’s Deni Avdija.

Duren, Powell, Johnson, Murray, Holmgren and Avdija were rst-time selections.

This season’s All-Star Game has a tournament format — U.S. vs. The World, with three teams of at least eight players going head to head in 12-min-

ute games. Each team is guaranteed two games in the round-robin event, with the best two meeting again in a championship game.

Starters previously announced

The players chosen last month as starters: Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, Boston’s Jaylen Brown, Detroit’s Cade Cunningham, Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey, New York’s Jalen Brunson, Golden State’s Stephen Curry, the Lakers’ Luka Doncic, Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Denver’s Nikola Jokic and San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama. Antetokounmpo will miss a few weeks with a calf injury, so it would seem unlikely that he plays. Silver would pick a replacement for Antetokounmpo if he pulls out. Brown, Cunningham, Maxey, Brunson and Curry would gure to be part of the two U.S. teams. Doncic, Gilgeous-Alexander, Jokic and Wembanyama

would play for the World team. The “starter” designation is a bit of a misnomer, since there will be at least 15 players who start for the three teams. By NBA rule, 10 players are chosen as o cial starters and the 14 others will be listed as reserves.

Coaches

Detroit’s J.B. Bickersta will coach one of the All-Star teams. Either San Antonio’s Mitch Johnson or Denver’s David Adelman will coach another — that will be decided by results of games on Sunday — and the NBA has not revealed how the coach of the third team will be decided.

Bickersta earned his nod because the Pistons lead the Eastern Conference. Johnson or Adelman will go by having the best record in the Western Conference among eligible coaches; Oklahoma City’s Mark Daigneault coaches the team with the West’s best record, but he cannot coach the AllStar Game this year because he coached at the event last season.

Alcaraz becomes youngest man to complete career

Grand

The 22-year-old denied Novak Djokovic a 25th Grand Slam title

By John Pye The Associated Press

MELBOURNE, Australia — Carlos Alcaraz had Novak Djokovic across the net from him and Rafael Nadal watching from above in Rod Laver Arena. His inspiration, and his idol. Alcaraz had visions of this as a kid — not entirely long ago, in the scheme of things — so there was no better time to show them what he’d learned from watching the two all-time greats, or borrowed from their aura. He had a comeback, fourset win over Djokovic and walked away from the Australian Open nal Sunday as the youngest man ever to complete a career Grand Slam — that’s winning all four of the tennis majors. At 22 and 272 days of age, he’s considerably younger than Nadal (24) and Djokovic (29) were when they achieved that milestone, lowering a mark that Don Budge set in 1938 when he was a couple of days shy of his 23rd birthday. No sooner had he completed the career Slam — adding his rst victory in Australia to his two each at Wimbledon, Roland Garros and the U.S. Open — than the question was posed about a run at the calendar

Slam; is calendar Slam next?

Grand Slam. That’s all four major titles in one season, something no man has achieved since Rod Laver in 1969.

“Those are big words, to be honest,” said Alcaraz, the twotime defending champion at Roland Garros. “You know, I just want it to be one at a time. Right now next one is French Open. I have great memories in that tournament. I feel really special every time that I go there.

“I don’t want to put myself in a really pressure position to have to do it, but you know, it’s going to be great. Right now I will try to be ready ... to play a good tournament in the next Grand Slam.”

A set down after Djokovic’s opening salvo, Alcaraz channeled the legends and changed up his game to upset the rhythm. It worked. He’s now the only man to capture seven major titles before his 23rd birthday.

Carlos Alcaraz of Spain reacts after winning the men’s singles nal against Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open.

Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have dominated the majors since Djokovic won the last of his 24 Grand Slam titles at the 2023 U.S. Open, with one or the other winning the last nine.

Sinner was aiming for a third consecutive title in Australia, but lost in ve sets to 10-time Australian champion Djokovic in the semi nals.

There were many who questioned the decision when Alcaraz and long-time coach Juan Carlos Ferrero parted ways after the young Spaniard won the last U.S. Open, and who doubted his chances of being ready to win a rst title in Australia.

Samuel Lopez stepped up to head the team, and Alcaraz admitted the pre-season had been “a roller coaster for me emotionally.”

“A lot of people were having doubts about my level in this tournament,” he said. “Every year that I came here to Aus-

tralia I was thinking about getting the trophy (but) couldn’t go further than quarter nals.”

In 2026, he said he arrived at Melbourne Park “hungry for more, ambitious for getting the trophy, and being strong mentally enough, not hearing anything or any words” from critics.

“And then just playing good tennis in this tournament means a lot, means the world to me,” he said, “and it is a dream come true for me.”

With his latest bid for an unprecedented 25th Grand Slam singles title stymied, Djokovic could at least joke about the 16-year age gap between himself and Alcaraz.

“Well, rst time I played him, he was, what, 11 or 12 years old?” he said, smiling. “No, he was, I think, 18 or 19. You could already see that he’s destined for great things.

“He has improved physically, mentally, game-wise. I mean, he’s constantly looking to innovate himself and his game, which is exactly the kind of mentality that needs to be nurtured for a champion.”

Asked about the potential for Alcaraz to be ranked among the greats of the sport, Djokovic said the career Grand Slam is “a testament to his already stellar career.”

“Of course, already a legendary tennis player that made already a huge mark in the history books of tennis,” he added.

“Everything is possible in his case, no question about it.”

In ‘A Poet,’ Colombian farce of literary failure, stubborn belief

The Spanish-language lm is now in theaters with English subtitles

By Jake Coyle The Associated Press

IN SIMÓN MESA Soto’s “A Poet,” Oscar Restrepo (Ubeimar Rios) is a failed Colombian writer who keeps a photo of the author José Asunción Silva above his mantle. Silva died at age 30, and even Oscar would admit his own career would be a lot better if he had died young, too.

Mid-aged in Medellín, Oscar is unemployed, divorced and living with his mother (Margarita Soto). His case isn’t one of misunderstood genius, either. Oscar is prone to self-made disaster. A more successful friend, Efrain (Guillermo Cardona), calls him “a walking problem.”

“You’re a poem,” Efrain tells him. “A pretty sad one.”

But in the pantheon of sad-sack protagonists, Oscar is a triumph. Rios, a nonprofessional actor who squints behind thick glasses and whose arms hang stubbornly low from his hunched shoulders, creates in Oscar a gure of farcical perfection: a tortured artist, equal parts comedy and tragedy.

is a guy who, on a rare visit to his teenage daughter (Alisson Correa), asks if he can borrow $10. At the same time, Oscar is a stout believer in the grandest ideals of art. Give him a drink, or a microphone, and he’ll soon be rhapsodizing about the power of “poesía.” For someone one step from the gutter, he’s comically high minded.

But it’s been decades since he was published. He declares: “I’m a poet.” His sister corrects: “You’re unemployed.” Yet Oscar manages to land a job teaching at a local high school. The students mostly laugh at him, but Oscar believes one, a soft-spoken young woman named Yurlady (Rebeca Andrade), shows tremendous potential.

Yurlady, herself, doesn’t have any real literary ambitions. But Oscar, resolving to mentor her, helps her apply to Poetry Viva, a workshop for young writers run by Efrain, a smooth talker acclaimed for his social issues writing. He’s the central foil to Oscar — a pompous but savvy achiever who urges Yurlady not to submit her simple from-the-heart poems but something about racism or poverty that will win over liberal-minded European judges.

“You’re a poem. A pretty sad one.”

Guillermo Cardona as Efrain

yond poetry. “A Poet” premiered at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, winning an award in the Un Certain Regard section. Soto rst broke out in Cannes with a prize-winning short in 2014. In the intervening years, as a Colombian lmmaker, he’s surely encountered some stereotypical expectations.

But while “A Poet” might remind you of some other lms — one would be Cord Je erson’s “American Fiction” — it is, like Oscar, steadfastly its own thing. Filmed on grainy 16mm, it’s even rough and dirty around the edges, as if the movie is wearing its protagonist’s clothes.

There’s little that’s lyrical or beautiful about Oscar’s life. This

But if Soto’s lm is loose and gritty, its satire is remarkably precise. This is a farce of creative life where the only pure artistic intention is a joke. Success belongs to hypocrites like Efrain. Yurlady’s working class family sees only a chance for money. But Oscar, for all his foolishness, is at least uncompromising. He’s wrong about almost everything, except what really counts. MOVIE REVIEW

In this, Soto’s lm is an ironic allegory about art worlds be-

this week in history

Mary, Queen of Scots, beheaded, The Beatles hit U.S., Baltimore in ames

FEB. 5

1917: Congress passed the Immigration Act of 1917 over President Woodrow Wilson’s veto, sharply restricting Asian immigration and requiring literacy tests for immigrants.

1918: During World War I, more than 200 people were killed when the Cunard liner SS Tuscania, carrying American troops to Europe, was torpedoed by a German U-boat o the coast of Ireland.

1971: Apollo 14 astronauts Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell stepped onto the moon in the rst of two lunar excursions.

FEB. 6

1778: During the American Revolutionary War, the United States won o cial recognition and military support from France with the signing of the Treaty of Alliance in Paris.

1862: During the Civil War, Fort Henry in Tennessee fell to Union forces.

1921: “The Kid,” Charlie Chaplin’s rst feature-length lm, was released across the United States.

1952: Britain’s King George

Springsteen sings out against Trump in ‘Streets of Minneapolis’

“The Boss” has been an outspoken voice against the president since his rst term

By Mark Kennedy

The Associated Press

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN is dedicating his new song to the people of Minneapolis, criticizing President Donald Trump’s ongoing immigration enforcement operations in the city.

The lyrics of “Streets of Minneapolis,” released Wednesday, describe how “a city a ame fought re and ice ‘neath an occupier’s boots,” which Springsteen calls “King Trump’s private army.”

Springsteen in a statement said he wrote and recorded the song over the weekend and released it in response to a second deadly shooting by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis.

“It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good,” he wrote, naming the two victims.

Abigail Jackson, a White House spokesperson, respond-

ed: “The Trump Administration is focused on encouraging state and local Democrats to work with federal law enforcement ofcers on removing dangerous criminal illegal aliens from their communities — not random songs with irrelevant opinions and inaccurate information.”

Springsteen’s slow-burning song builds from just acoustic guitar and voice to a fuller band tune, including a harmonica solo, and ends with chants of “ICE Out!”

“Oh, our Minneapolis, I hear your voice,” The Boss sings. “Singing through the bloody mist/We’ll take our stand for this land/And the stranger in our midst.”

The title echoes Springsteen’s “Streets of Philadelphia,” which served as a title song for the Tom Hanks-led 1993 lm “Philadelphia.” His song comes on the heels of English singer-songwriter Billy Bragg’s own “City of Heroes,” which the protest singer wrote Sunday and released the next day. Bragg said in a statement that the song was inspired by Pretti’s killing and centers “the bravery of the people of Minneapolis.” Springsteen has long been

American inventor Thomas Alva Edison, best known for inventions such as the phonograph, was born Feb. 11, 1847, in Milan, Ohio.

VI died at age 56. He was succeeded by his eldest daughter, 25-year-old Queen Elizabeth II.

FEB. 7

1964: The Beatles were met by thousands of screaming fans at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport as they arrived to begin their rst American tour.

1904: The Great Baltimore Fire began; one of the worst city res in American history, it destroyed more than 1,500 buildings in central Baltimore.

1943: The U.S. government announced that wartime rationing of shoes made of leather would soon take e ect, limiting the number of pairs a person could buy each year.

FEB. 8

1587: Mary, Queen of Scots, was beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle in England after being implicated in a plot against her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I.

1693: A charter was granted for the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg in the Virginia Colony.

1910: The Boy Scouts of America was incorporated by William D. Boyce, inspired by the British Boy Scout movement.

FEB. 9

1825: The House of Representatives elected John Quincy Adams president after no candidate won a majority of electoral votes.

1943: The World War II Battle of Guadalcanal in the southwest Paci c ended with an Allied victory over Japanese forces.

1950: In a speech in Wheeling, West Virginia, Republican Sen. Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin charged that the State Department

was riddled with communists.

1964: The Beatles made their rst live American television appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” broadcast from New York on CBS.

FEB. 10

1763: The Treaty of Paris was signed, ending the Seven Years’ War and transferring most of France’s Canadian territory to Great Britain.

1936: Nazi Germany’s Reichstag passed a law granting the Gestapo secret police sweeping authority, exempt from judicial review.

1962: On the Glienicke Bridge, the Soviet Union traded captured U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers for Soviet spy Rudolf Abel.

FEB. 11

1847: American inventor Thomas Alva Edison was born in Milan, Ohio.

1937: A six-week sit-down strike against General Motors ended after the company agreed to recognize and bargain with the United Auto Workers.

1975: Margaret Thatcher was elected leader of Britain’s opposition Conservative Party, setting the stage for her rise to prime minister in 1979.

Bruce Springsteen appears at the AFI Fest

Nowhere” in Los Angeles in October 2025.

“Oh, our Minneapolis, I hear your voice/ singing through the bloody mist/We’ll take our stand for this land/And the stranger in our midst.” Bruce Springsteen

critical of the president, who in turn has called the rock icon “overrated.” They last publicly clashed last year, when Springsteen on tour in England told his audience that America “is

currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration.” Trump responded by calling Springsteen a “dried out prune of a rocker.” In related news, Minneapolis’

First Avenue venue will host on Friday the bene t “A Concert of Solidarity & Resistance to Defend Minnesota,” featuring Tom Morello, Rise Against, Al Di Meola and Ike Reilly. All proceeds will go to the families of Good and Pretti.

“We are coming to Minneapolis where the people have heroically stood up against ICE, stood up against Trump, stood up against this terrible rising tide of state terror,” Morello said in a statement.

famous birthdays this week

Tom Brokaw hits 86, John Grisham turns 71, Tina Louise (“Gilligan’s Island”) turns 92

The Associated Press

THESE CELEBRITIES have birthdays this week.

FEB. 5

Tony-winning playwright John Guare is 88. Football Hall of Famer Roger Staubach is 84. Film director Michael Mann is 83. Racing Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip is 79. Actor Barbara Hershey is 78. Actor-comedian Tim Meadows is 65.

FEB. 6

Actor Mike Farrell is 87. Former NBC News anchorman Tom Brokaw is 86. Singer Fabian is 83. Filmmaker Jim Sheridan is 77. Tennis Hall of Famer Manuel Orantes is 77. Actor Kathy Najimy is 69. Actor-director Robert Townsend is 69. Rock singer Axl Rose (Guns N’ Roses) is 64.

FEB. 7

Author Gay Talese is 94. Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) is 74. Actor James Spader is 66. Country singer Garth Brooks is 64. Actor-comedian Eddie Izzard is 64. Actor-comedian Chris Rock is 61. Actor Ashton Kutcher is 48.

FEB. 8

Composer-conductor John Williams is 94. Broadcast journalist Ted Koppel is 86. Actor Nick Nolte is 85. Comedian Robert Klein is 84. Actor-rock musician Creed Bratton is 83. Actor Mary Steenburgen is 73. Author John Grisham is 71.

FEB. 9

Artist Gerhard Richter is 94. Nobel Prize-winning author J.M. Coetzee is 86. Singer-songwriter Carole King is 84. Actor Joe Pesci is 83. Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz is 83. Author Alice Walker is 82. Actor Mia Farrow is 81.

FEB. 10

FEB. 11

Actor Tina Louise (“Gilligan’s Island”) is 92. Musician Sergio Mendes is 85. Actor Philip Anglim (“The Thorn Birds”) is 74. Singer Sheryl Crow is 64. Actor Jennifer Aniston is 57.

Opera singer Leontyne Price is 99. Actor Robert Wagner is 96. Olympic swimming gold medalist Mark Spitz is 76. Golf Hall of Famer Greg Norman is 71. Basketball Hall of Fame coach John Calipari is 67. Filmmaker Alexander Payne is 65. TV host-political commentator George Stephanopoulos is 65. Actor Laura Dern is 59.

the stream

“Splitsville,” a

‘Splitsville,’

on Thursday.

‘Puppy Bowl,’ Keke Palmer,

J. Cole, Nick Jonas drops new solo album

A television adaptation the 80s dark comedy “The Burbs” lands on Peacock

The Associated Press

THE GOOFY AND wry relationship comedy “Splitsville” landing on Hulu and fresh albums by J. Cole and Nick Jonas are some of the new television, lms, music and games headed to a device near you.

Also, among the streaming o erings worth your time this week: Keke Palmer starring in a TV adaptation of the 1989 Tom Hanks movie “The ‘Burbs” for Peacock, gamers getting fast and bloody samurai action with Nioh 3 and Net ix’s “The Lincoln Lawyer” returning for Season 4.

MOVIES TO STREAM

One of last year’s funniest original movies, the goofy and wry relationship comedy “Splitsville,” is streaming on Hulu starting Thursday. Michael Angelo Covino and Kyle Marvin, the duo behind “The Climb,” bring the audience along on a metaphorical (and literal) roller coaster of a comedy about open relationships, divorce and human mistakes, in which they star opposite Dakota Johnson and Adria Arjona. In his review, AP Film Writer Jake Coyle wrote that, “though there are elaborately choreographed long takes that smack of contemporary moviemaking, ‘Splitsville’ belongs more to a screwball tradition stretching back to the 1930s,” adding “the performer here who would have been most at home in that bygone comedy heyday is Johnson.”

Also coming to Hulu on Thursday is James L. Brooks’ “Ella McCay,” a starry political dramedy with Emma Mackey playing an ambitious and idealistic lieutenant governor who has to take over for her boss. The lm was a major op with audiences and critics during its theatrical run. The AP’s Jocelyn Noveck, in her review, called it “ba ingly disjointed, uneven, unfunny and illogical,” adding that Mackey is the only reason to watch the lm. Filmmaker Rory Kennedy

(“Downfall: The Case Against Boeing”) tells the story of Judit Polgár, the Hungarian girl who dreamed of conquering men’s chess and defeat champion Garry Kasparov, in “Queen of Chess.” The documentary just premiered at the Sundance Film Festival but will already be available to stream on Net ix on Thursday.

MUSIC TO STREAM

Nick Jonas, the youngest of the Jonas Brothers trio and fresh o a successful stadium

run with his siblings, will release his rst solo album in just under ve years on Friday titled “Sunday Best.” The rst taste arrived in the form of lead single “Gut Punch.” It is smooth adult pop — as is his bread and butter — easy listening for those in need of a love song. Also on tap: the innovative rapper and producer J. Cole returns with his seventh studio album, “The Fall-O .” Some fans theorize it may be his nal record — and with good reason. The music video for “Disc 2 Track 2,” released in January,

begins with a note from Cole describing that he knew “in my heart I would one day get to the nish line.” That track recalls Nas’ 2001 hit “Rewind,” which may o er a tease as to what the album may sound like: a love letter to hip-hop, and the career it has given Cole.

SERIES TO STREAM

It may be cold outside, but there’s a heatwave on Bravo as the reality series “Summer House” returns for a 10th season. The show features Manhattanites sharing a shore house in the Hamptons, although recent seasons have also followed the gang when they’re back in New York during the week. It’s streaming now on Peacock. Net ix’s “The Lincoln Lawyer” is back for Season 4 beginning Thursday. Based on novels by Michael Connelly, the series follows talented Los Angeles attorney Mickey Haller (played by Manuel García-Rulfo) as he takes on high-pro le defendants. This season Haller is the one who needs a strong defense when he’s falsely accused of murder.

“Puppy Bowl,” the annual TV event promoting animal adoption, airs its 22nd iter-

“Though there are elaborately choreographed long takes that smack of contemporary moviemaking, ‘Splitsville’ belongs more to a screwball tradition stretching back to the 1930s.”

Jake Coyle, AP Film Writer

ation on Sunday. “Puppy Bowl XXII” will simulcast across Animal Planet, Discovery, TBS, truTV, HBO Max and discovery+. Another call-to-action special, the “Great American Rescue Bowl” also takes place Sunday. This one highlight both adoptable dogs and cats and will be available on Great American Pure Flix, Great American Family, and GFAM+. Palmer stars in a TV adaptation of the 1989 Hanks movie “The ‘Burbs” for Peacock. All eight episodes drop Sunday. Palmer and Jack Whitehall play a couple who move to suburbia with their new baby to live a nice, quiet life. The neighborhood seems less idyllic once the wife becomes xated on one of her neighbors, whom she connects with a decades-long missing person case.

VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY

Koei Tecmo’s Nioh series has built a cult audience among gamers who like their samurai action fast and bloody. Nioh 3, from Tokyo-based developer Team Ninja, adds some twists. Tokugawa Takechiyo is about to be appointed shogun when his jealous brother unleashes a horde of yōkai — ghouls, demons and other supernatural creatures drawn from Japanese folklore. Takechiyo can ght back with brute-force samurai skills, or switch to more acrobatic ninja tactics, all in a vast open world that promises more freedom than previous installments. Take up arms Friday on PlayStation 5 or PC.