Chatham News & Record Vol. 148, Issue 51

Runner-up

North Carolina native and New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye walks o the eld after being sacked six times in a bruising loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl 60 on Sunday.

TriRiver provides updates on Pittsboro water projects

The county handed over control of its water systems about a year and a half ago

ICE chief defends o cers’ actions before Congress after deaths of 2 protesters Washington, D.C.

The head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement is defending his o cers, saying they won’t be intimidated while carrying out President Donald Trump’s deportation agenda. Todd Lyons, along with other agency leaders, faced tough questions from Democrats during a congressional hearing Tuesday. Lyons blamed elected o cials for rhetoric that endangers o cers. The hearing followed recent scrutiny after two protesters were shot and killed by Homeland Security o cers in Minneapolis. Democrats have criticized the administration’s immigration policies, while o cials argue their actions make the country safer. The hearing marks the rst time these leaders have appeared in Congress since receiving increased funding.

Trump set to change U.S. climate change policy, environmental regulations

A White House o cial said the Trump administration is expected this week to revoke a scienti c nding that long has been the central basis for U.S. action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and ght climate change. The EPA will issue a nal rule rescinding a 2009 government declaration known as the endangerment nding. That Obama-era policy determined that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare. Legal challenges are certain.

$2.00

By Ryan Henkel Chatham News & Record

PITTSBORO — The Town of Pittsboro Board of Commissioners was presented with an update from TriRiver

Water at its Feb. 9 meeting.

Chatham County merged with TriRiver just under two years ago, handing over the handling of their water and wastewater systems to the City of Sanford.

Republican legislators grilled Charlotte o cials over recent rail stabbings

By Gary D. Robertson The Associated Press

RALEIGH — North Carolina Republican lawmakers pressed Charlotte-area leaders on Mon-

day about crime- ghting e orts following recent light-rail stabbings in the Democratic-led city, with a committee head citing failures in carrying out criminal justice functions.

“Over a year and a half, we feel like we’ve gotten a pretty good idea and comfort with the Pittsboro system, and we feel like we’re in a pretty good spot with what we’ve seen operationally and where we’re headed moving forward,” said TriRiver Director of Business and Management Dick Fortune.

TriRiver’s presentation pri-

marily focused on current projects related to Pittsboro, with a centering theme of building capacity and system resiliency.

“We’ve been merged for about a year and a half, and we’re still continuing to learn things throughout the system,” said Director of Engineering Jason Bertoncino.

The rst project TriRiver provided an update on was the Pittsboro to Sanford Pump Station and Wastewater Force Main Project.

“The project is underway and on schedule,” Bertoncino said. “We have all the pipe on-site and

Large crowds marked the end of their 2,300-mile journey

By Ti any Stanley and Deepa Bharath The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. —

A group of Buddhist monks reached Washington, D.C., on foot Tuesday, walking single le across a bridge over the Potomac River to cap a 15-week trek from Texas that has captivated the country.

The monks in their sa ron robes have become xtures on social media, along with their rescue dog Aloka. After spend-

ing Monday night at Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia, they crossed over the Chain Bridge into the District of Columbia shortly after 8 a.m. on Tuesday. They walk to advocate for peace. That simple message has resonated across the U.S. as a welcome respite from con ict and political divisions. Thousands gathered along Southern roadsides — often in unusually chilly weather — to watch the monks’ quiet procession that began in late October.

Large crowds greeted them during their two-day stay in Washington. The Metropolitan

The August fatal stabbing death of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, followed in December by a nonfatal stabbing on the same Charlotte rail system, are among the chief reasons for GOP critiques of area law enforcement. The suspect in each stabbing faces charges in state and federal court.

“In these divisive times, we saw entire towns in the Bible Belt coming out for these monks ... but being uplifted and moved by it.”

Mark Duykers, retired engineer from Michigan

GOP Rep. Brenden Jones, co-chairman of the state House oversight committee that took testimony from several o cials, attributed Zarutska’s killing to broad “incompetence.” Zarutska had “come to America for a better life. She didn’t get

THURSDAY 2.12.26

Collins announces reelection run in pivotal Maine US Senate race

The bid for a sixth term could decide Senate control

By Patrick Whittle and Kimberlee Kruesi

The Associated Press

PORTLAND, Maine — Republican Sen. Susan Collins announced her reelection bid Tuesday, betting that she can hold onto her coveted Maine seat despite a renewed Democratic e ort to oust her in a race that could determine control of the U.S. Senate.

The campaign will test Collins’ political survival skills. The 73-year-old has won ve terms by casting herself as a re ection of Maine’s independent spirit, occasionally clashing with President Donald Trump while also largely supporting his agenda.

As she now seeks a sixth term, Collins faces outrage over immigration enforcement tactics that could become a political liability for Republican candidates across the country. A recent operation in Maine led to hundreds of arrests but also criticism that people were being rounded up even if they didn’t have criminal records.

Collins has taken credit for stopping the surge of federal agents in Maine after she spoke directly with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. However, Democrats accused Collins of not going far enough, pointing to her refusal to call for Noem’s ouster and her vote in favor of a bipartisan Homeland Security funding bill. The party needs to net four seats to retake the Senate majority, and they are aiming to do that in Maine, North Carolina, Alaska and Ohio.

CRIME LOG

Feb. 2

• Melissa Leann Perry, 42, of Chapel Hill, was arrested for interference with emergency communication.

Feb. 3

• Franklin Dekova Brown, 36, of Staley, was arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia, simple possession of schedule IV controlled substance, possession of marijuana, misdemeanor larceny, possession of stolen goods/ property, felony possession of cocaine and possession of controlled substance on prison/jail premises.

Feb. 4

• Justin Brooks Sanders, 40, of Bear Creek, was arrested for second degree kidnapping and assault in icting serious injury.

• Jasmyn Rebecca Clapp, 23, was arrested for access government computers to defraud, identity theft, obtaining property by false pretense, common law forgery and common law uttering.

Feb. 5

• Eddie Leon Alston, 43, was arrested for possession of rearm by felon.

Feb. 6

• Cameron Ray Barth, 27, of Siler City, was arrested for trespassing and possession of drug paraphernalia.

• Dylan Bryant Fleming, 31, was arrested for possession of weapon of mass destruction, misdemeanor child abuse, driving while license revoked, DWI level 1, reckless driving, expired registration card/tag, operating vehicle without insurance, failure to secure passenger under 16, communicating threats, injury to real property and breaking and entering.

Feb. 7

• Jamie Aliss Webster, 39, of Chapel Hill, was arrested for possession of stolen motor vehicle, breaking and entering motor vehicle with theft and motor vehicle theft.

Gov. Janet Mills and oyster farmer Graham Platner are among Collins’ top Democratic challengers. While many establishment Democrats and

J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE / AP PHOTO

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) departs the chamber at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on July 24, 2025.

in uential left-leaning groups have backed Mills, Platner has gained traction with his anti-establishment image and economic equality message. He’s campaigned aggressively while facing revelations of problematic social media posts and having to cover up a tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol.

Mills has accused Collins of governing “without any courage” shortly after the Republican voted in favor of funding the DHS and several other agencies in January. Platner has demanded that the agency be dismantled and said he did not believe Collins or the Trump administration’s promise to leave Maine.

Platner recently outraised both Mills and Collins in campaign fundraising, according to the latest federal lings. The rst-time candidate collected nearly $4.6 million, while Mills raised $2.7 million. Collins, who had not yet o cially launched her campaign during the ling period, had more than $8 million in cash on hand at the end of 2025.

Collins, who has said she didn’t vote for Trump in 2016, voted to convict Trump after his 2021 impeachment over his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. After Collins joined a handful of Republican colleagues in

CHATHAM happening

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

Feb. 12

Bynum Bite Night at BFP

6-8 p.m.

backing a failed e ort to limit the president’s ability to unilaterally use force in Venezuela, Trump said on social media that they “should never be elected to o ce again.”

But Collins has also broadly backed Trump’s agenda, including his tax and spending bill, and his nominees.

Notably, Collins voted to con rm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Trump’s choice to be secretary of Health and Human Services. Kennedy has since espoused anti-vaccine policy and ousted public health ocials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

She has faced down tough challenges before. Democrat Sara Gideon raised $69 million in 2020, outspending Collins in a bid to help take back the Senate during a presidential election year when the Democrats won the top of the ticket. Collins defeated Gideon by more than 8 points.

Collins has remained in ofce despite Maine becoming increasingly blue. The proportion of registered Democrats has increased since her last reelection campaign, when “unenrolled” independent voters outnumbered Democrats in 2019 but now trail them in 2026. Republicans have trailed both groups for years.

US adds surprising 130K jobs last month, revisions cut 400K job gains from 2025

By Paul Wiseman The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. —

U.S. employers added a surprisingly strong 130,000 jobs last month, but government revisions cut 2024-25 U.S. payrolls by hundreds of thousands.

The unemployment rate fell to 4.3%, the Labor Department said Wednesday.

The report included major revisions that reduced the number of jobs created last year to just 181,000, the weakest since the pandemic year of 2020, and less than half the previously reported 584,000. The job market has been sluggish for months even though the economy is registering solid growth.

But the January numbers came in stronger than the 75,000 economists had expected. Health care accounted for nearly 82,000, or more than 60%, of last month’s new jobs. Factories added 5,000,

PROJECTS from page A1

most of it is fused together too. Now they’re going to start working on bores and burying pipes and so it will start disappearing from the side of the road hopefully here pretty soon.”

According to Bertocino, the project is on track for a summer 2027 completion. The project will increase the sanitary sewer capacity for the town, thereby allowing for more tributaries.

“We sort of had a self-imposed moratorium on anything

that was tributary to the current plant because we didn’t want to get into a situation with the state, but we now feel like we’re at the point where we’re far enough along with the project with dates certain enough on the completion that we’ve started signing permits again that are tributary to the Pittsboro Wastewater Treatment Plant,” Bertocino said. There was also an update on the Moncure to Pittsboro Water Main Connection and Booster Pump Station. “That project is getting close

snapping a streak of 13 straight months of job losses. The federal government shed 34,000 jobs.

Average hourly wages rose a solid 0.4% from December to January.

The unemployment rate fell from 4.4% in December as the number of employed Americans rose and the number of unemployed fell.

Weak hiring over the past year re ects the lingering impact of high interest rates, billionaire Elon Musk’s purge last year of the federal workforce and uncertainty arising from President Donald Trump’s erratic trade policies, which have left businesses unsure about hiring.

Dreary numbers have been coming in ahead of Wednesday’s report. Employers posted just 6.5 million job openings in December, fewest in more than ve years.

Payroll processor ADP reported last week that private

to 90% designed, and we’re getting ready to start real estate acquisition on the project,” Bertocino said. “We don’t have an exact timeline on the construction, but at the moment, there’s no reason why we’d slow down once we get all the rights signed away and the easements in place.”

Finally, the board was presented with potential upgrades for both the Pittsboro and Sanford Wastewater Treatment Plants.

The Pittsboro plant upgrades are focused on optimizing and modernizing things such as

employers added 22,000 jobs in January, far fewer than economists had forecast. And the outplacement rm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported that companies slashed more than 108,000 jobs last month, the most since October and the worst January for job cuts since 2009. Several well-known companies announced layo s last month. UPS is cutting 30,000 jobs. Chemicals giant Dow, shifting to more automation and arti cial intelligence, is cutting 4,500 jobs. And Amazon is slashing 16,000 corporate jobs, its second round of mass layo s in three months.

Wednesday’s report included the government’s annual benchmark revisions, meant to take into account the more-accurate jobs numbers that employers report to state unemployment agencies. They cut 898,000 jobs from payrolls in the year ending March 2025.

chemical usage, odor control and just overall processes, while the Sanford plant is projected to nish a capacity upgrade in the summer of 2027, increasing the treatment capacity to 30 million gallons.

“The facilities will have the capability to send water both ways,” Bertocino said. “So we have future additional capacity here, and we’re just trying to build resiliency throughout the system for our customers.”

The Town of Pittsboro Board of Commissioners will next meet March 9.

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.

14

Bluegrass Jam Circle 10 a.m. to noon

This free acoustic jam session is open to musicians and singers of all ages and skill levels. There is no admission fee, and the public is welcome to attend.

Front Porch, Bynum General Store 950 Bynum Road Bynum

Feb. 19 -26

Virtual Film Screening: “From Sea to Shining Sea”

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 beginning Feb. 19 at Vimeo PRO. 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

Feb. 25

Paint & Sip Gathering for Chatham Young Professionals

5-7 p.m.

This guided painting experience is sponsored by the Chatham Chamber and is a networking opportunity for professionals 40 and under. For more information, contact Cheryl Littleton, at 984-265-9172.

Inspire Briar Chapel 152 Market Chapel Road Pittsboro

What new Gallup poll shows about depth of Americans’ gloom

Americans’ optimism about their future is at a record low

By Linley Sanders The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Americans’ hope for their future has fallen to a new low, according to new polling.

In 2025, only about 59% of Americans gave high ratings when asked to evaluate how good their life will be in about ve years, the lowest annual measure since Gallup began asking this question almost 20 years ago.

It’s a warning about the depth of the gloom that has fallen over the country over the past few years. In the data, Gallup’s “current” and “future” lines have tended to move together over time — when Americans are feeling good about the present, they tend to feel optimistic about the future. But the most recent measures show that while current life satisfaction has declined over the last decade, future optimism has dropped even more.

The nding comes from a longstanding Gallup question that asks Americans to rate their current and future lives on a scale from 0 to 10. Those who give themselves an 8 or higher on the question about the future are categorized as optimists.

“While current life is eroding, it’s that optimism for the future that has eroded almost twice as much over the course of about that last 10 years or so,” said Dan Witters, the research director of the Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index.

Gallup assesses people who rate their current life at a 7 or higher and their anticipated future at an 8 or higher as “thriving.” Fewer than half of Americans, about 48%, are now in that category.

Democrats and Hispanic Americans, in particular, were in a darker mood last year. But even with President Donald Trump back in the White House and his party in control of both houses of Congress, Republicans aren’t feeling nearly as good about the future as they were in the last year of Trump’s rst term.

Democrats’ optimism fell signi cantly

Americans’ attitudes toward the future tend to shift when a

“While current life is eroding, it’s that optimism for the future that has eroded almost twice as much over the course of about that last 10 years or so.”

Dan Witters, research director, Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index

new political party enters the White House — generally, the party in power grows more optimistic, while the party without control is more down. For instance, Democrats became more positive about the future after Joe Biden won the presidency, while Republicans’ outlook soured.

Witters notes that these changes typically happen “by roughly the same amount, same level of magnitude, so they cancel each other out.”

That didn’t happen in 2025.

Toward the end of Biden’s term and the start of Trump’s second term, Democrats’ optimism fell from 65% to 57%.

Republicans grew more hopeful, but not enough to o set Democrats’ drop.

“The regime change in the White House almost certainly was a big driving factor in what’s happened,” Witters said. “And a lot of that was just because the people who identi ed as Democrats really took it in the chops.”

But Republicans are still quite a bit gloomier about the future than they were in the last year of Trump’s rst term.

A January AP-NORC poll

found that while the vast majority of Republicans are still behind the president, his work on the economy hasn’t lived up to many people’s expectations.

Hispanic adults grew more pessimistic

Hispanic adults’ optimism for the near future also declined during Trump’s rst year in o ce, dropping from 69% to 63%.

That decrease was sharper than among white and black Americans, something that Witters said could be tied to overall cost concerns, health care worries or alarm about Trump’s recent immigration policies.

Last year, a survey by the American Communities Project found that people living in heavily Hispanic areas were feeling less hopeful about their future than in 2024. Trump’s favorability fell among Hispanics over the course of 2025, according to AP-NORC polling, which also found that Hispanic adults reported higher levels of economic stress than other groups.

A Pew Research Center poll conducted in October found that the administration’s tough immigration enforcement is highly visible in Hispanic communities. About 6 in 10 Latinos said they had seen or heard of Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids or arrests in their community in the past six months.

“(Deportations are) something that everybody can see and look at with their own eyes,” Witters added. “But if you’re Hispanic, I think it’s fair to think that that might hit a little closer to home.”

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.

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.

attend the Wolfpack Women’s Basketball Camp at N.C. State University in Raleigh.

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.

THE CONVERSATION

Trip Ho end, publisher | Frank Hill,

senior opinion editor

“You can’t be the salt of the earth if you are disabled by fury. You can’t be the light of the world if you are blinded by anger.”

SURELY, READERS know of the story of Liam Conejo Ramos, the 5-year-old little boy who wore a blue bunny hat and was hustled o to Texas with his father. In ruling in favor of their release and return to Minneapolis, the judge a xed a scripture verse to his verdict, which one would think would appeal to religious conservatives. But apparently, Christ’s command found in Mateo 19:14 to “welcome the little children” doesn’t apply equally.

Equally infuriating, school children in suburban Minneapolis now attend school with their passports strung over their heads by lanyards in hopes of preventing their arrest. Day after day, parents and children are seized at bus stops or other public places, sometimes pulled through the smashed windows of their cars.

Referring to other words from Jesus found in his Sermon on the Mount, a friend’s pastor preached, “You can’t be the salt of the earth if you are disabled by fury. You can’t be the light of the world if you are blinded by anger.”

This point brings me to the Super Bowl halftime show.

My Spanish is very limited (muy poco); I speak baby Spanish. However, I approached Bad Bunny’s performance with a sense of childlike curiosity and wonder. Bad Bunny infuses his modern music with traditional forms of Puerto Rican dance music, like the bomba and salsa. For me, this meant his performance included unfamiliar melodies as well as Spanish lyrics that I did not understand.

But I easily related to the joy of dancing, particularly across generations.

And then there was a wedding! Just like I would expect, the minister pronounced a blessing, and then the groom kissed the bride. How beautiful! The happy couple had invited the pop star to their wedding, and he proposed they hold their ceremony on the biggest stage in the world. Bad Bunny shared the spotlight and shined it not only on other pop stars, like Lady Gaga, but also upon far less famous people.

Of course, neither football nor fútbol was around when Jesus played on Earth. But he attended a wedding in Cana, and if turning water into wine serves as evidence, he enjoyed himself. He knew that there were times to protest civil and religious authorities. He showed righteous anger. Jesus also modeled joy as resistance. Music helps us nd joy amid meanness. A celebration, like a wedding or a concert, is more than a diversion from hard times; it o ers the opportunity to proclaim hope that good will prevail even in times of greatest fear. As the sign read in English during Bad Bunny’s performance, “The only thing more powerful than hate is love.” I think many people can say, “Amen,” even though that word is Hebrew.

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.

Finding time to turn bucket list into reality

Among them are not skydiving. I’m now afraid of heights, although years ago I rode in the front car of any roller coaster I could nd.

THE 2007 MOVIE “The Bucket List,” starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, touched the nerves of a number of folks.

Mainly those nerves belonged to people who’d had a few birthdays as they realized they had more behind them than in front. The movie told the tale of two aging friends who took o on a number of adventures — skydiving, seeing the pyramids of Egypt, climbing the Himalayas, eating mounds of caviar, spending late nights in casinos, to name a few — that they want to enjoy before they die or, in the language of slang, “kick the bucket.”

As I began to re ect on my number of birthdays, as well as those of some folks near and dear to me, I realized I’ve got a bucket list, too … well, sort of one anyway.

Among them are not skydiving. I’m now afraid of heights, although years ago I rode in the front car of any roller coaster I could nd. You will not catch me climbing Mount Everest; it’s too cold. And while I like wood heat, I don’t care for cold weather. And de nitely you will not catch me sitting down to a big ol’ meal of sh eggs or sushi. I would, however, like sometime (which makes this qualify as a bucket list wish) to sit down to a big ol’ meal of thick cut bacon and see just how much I could eat. I think it would be a lot; unfortunately, that may never happen because the folks who got me through my cardiac rehab program said there’s too much salt in bacon. Actually, they said a great deal about my diet, namely that if something tastes good, I should spit it out.

There are other items on my list. Some are major; others not so. One of the major ones is that I’d like to clean out and clean up my study, to go through the piles of newspapers and magazines and books and stu on the

shelves that I’ve saved for some time, all with the intention of reading them “later.” Some of them are stories I’ve started reading, while others are copies of stories I’ve written. And books? The only local place with more books than I have is the Chatham County Library or maybe Barnes & Noble. And all that, of course, doesn’t cover the boxes of souvenirs or memorabilia like notes from my children when they lived with me before they were teenagers or those from their children.

In addition to that room in the house, there’s also the same wish for our attic and a storage/utility building out back. The former contains some really nice clothes I had when I wore a 15½ shirt and a 34-inch waist; to be sure those same days are just around the corner once again. And the latter? Well, in that outbuilding there are some really nice boxes of materials from jobs I had 50 years ago and a number of items that belonged to my parents that they used almost daily years ago.

Sometimes bucket list items can border or come near not only the not major but also the silly. One of those for me is I want to sit in my car when it goes up on the garage lift to have it serviced. I just want to see what it looks like as I gaze out the window. I think that wish comes from a story my father used to tell me about a preacher he knew who did that and sat in his car reading before opening the door to get out … before the car was back on the oor.

There’s one more wish that lurks in the back of my mind. It has to do with a young man my mama named me after — her brother Robert (Bob) Cooper. He was a corporal in the U.S. Army Air Corps, the forerunner to today’s Air Force, when his B-29 bomber crashed and burned near Copelan, Kansas, in 1944 on its last training

ight before going overseas in World War II. Not only did all the crew perish, but so too did a grandfather and infant grandchild when the plane hit their farmhouse.

Some years ago, a cousin did some exhaustive research on now-declassi ed documents and produced a play-by-play account of the accident and its investigation. Turns out the co-pilot was ying the big bird and he buzzed the town at tree-top level to impress his girlfriend. When he banked the plane to turn, a wing hit the ground and that was that. The data my cousin produced revealed there are still a few townspeople alive who were there that night; I’d surely like to talk with them.

No doubt you too may have such a list. In the movie, the two men wrote theirs down and crossed them o when each was met, and it helped that for them that money was no object in ying a private jet all over the world. For me, money is also no object; most of what I want to do requires only some time. And it’s my fault, to a degree, if I don’t rearrange my time to t some of those wants.

So perhaps that’s true for all of us. We can and should control what we can while realizing there are some things we have no control over. I remember a painting of a large sailing ship plowing through turbulent ocean waters as a storm raged all around. Underneath the picture were the words “It’s not which way the wind blows but how you set your sails.”

Today may be the day you pick up your bucket and get started.

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

Re-learning to fly

Let’s get something straight: There’s magic to be had at any age.

I’M ALL IN for pixie dust.

Excuse me?

With unabashed honesty, I’m sharing my love of fairies and extolling the value of magical pixie dust. Pixie dust? Give me a break.

Have you truly forgotten Peter Pan? Please tell me “no!” Peter Pan is essential childhood reading. Did you ever dream of ying? Blame Peter Pan and the fairy, Tinker Bell. It’s pixie dust, emanating from Tinker Bell’s magic wand, and whoosh, suddenly we have the power to y! Doesn’t get better than that. (At least when I was 9 years old, it didn’t.)

Excuse me, last I was aware, you appeared to be an adult with the requisite number of birthdays to prove it. Kind of wondering if strongly positing your continued love of pixie dust might be a bit embarrassing at your age? Isn’t it time to grow up, discern more adult models beyond the fantasy world of Peter Pan, Tinker Bell and, especially, ying?

Let’s get something straight: There’s magic to be had at any age. By magic, I mean a belief in the scintillating possibilities of ight toward unexpected changes in each of us. Scattering pixie dust illumines each of us from the inside out. I adore watching someone’s eyes come alive. Don’t you?

I know I’m harping on this, but wondering if your beliefs about ying are a bit too fantasy driven?

Oh, you mean childish, right? Not beating around the bush. That’s exactly what I mean. Grow up!

Emulating Tinker Bell, even at my august

COLUMN | LARRY ELDER

age, is still a gift of aliveness. I would love an endless supply of pixie dust to spread around, seeing each of us wake others (and ourselves) to states of vibrancy and liveliness that, perhaps, we’ve forgotten about.

As further incentive for continuing pixie dust showers, please consider this exchange from my childhood bible of Peter Pan.

“Why can’t you y now, mother?”

“Because I am grown up, dearest. When people grow up they forget the way.”

Oh, no!

We now possess a greater awareness of impediments to taking ight within ourselves. Might you jump on the pixie dust bandwagon with me?

Oh, wait, you do want to join me? I’m so glad you’re willing to consider an ongoing investment in pixie dust usage. Although sparkly, pixie dust tends to be on the less visible side, publicly, so others really can’t see it. (Much less embarrassing if you’re a pixie dust adherent.)

Shades of Tinker Bell, here you go. Grab a handful of that putative pixie dust and toss it over yourself. Your hand rises up, and down skitters the pixie dust, settling around you. Discerning lights coming on inside you? Where did that smile come from? You know, the one on your face. Eyes sparkling with aliveness. Buoyant. Your ight path, whatever it may be, is calling you …

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

Mass deportation: Who was more

‘inhumane’ —

Obama did not inherit an administration that allowed in 10 million to 15 million illegal aliens.

Obama or Trump?

THOSE WHO CLAIM President Barack Obama deported illegal aliens more “humanely” make the following assertions:

a) ICE didn’t go into the streets under Obama; b) there were no street activists/ protesters/agitators; c) ICE only deported those with criminal records beyond illegal entry or illegally overstaying; d) Obama’s deportation numbers largely include “returns” or those deported at the border; e) the Obama administration did not engage in “lawlessness”; and f) ICE and/or Customs and Border Patrol arrested only illegal aliens after rst securing a judicial warrant.

As for a), under Obama, ICE did go into the streets, including into the interior and into “sanctuary” cities like Chicago. Watch “Lost in Detention,” a 2011 episode of the PBS “Frontline” program, where, for example, an illegal alien mother stopped in Illinois for making an illegal lane change was ultimately deported back to Mexico.

Consider this X post:

“... As someone who worked during (the Obama administration), it’s simple. All the ‘sanctuary cities,’ including mine, cooperated fully with ICE and Homeland. ... So this, in fact, is politicians’ fault because they pick and choose who they want to cooperate with ...”

As for b), the media/Dems loved Obama, so they looked the other way. Again, under Obama, there was greater cooperation between local, state and federal o cials. In fact, several cities and states adopted sanctuary policies because of this cooperation. The think tank Niskanen Center wrote: “The Secure Communities program allowed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to issue detainers for anyone detained by local law enforcement. ... Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano (in October 2010) stated that DHS ‘did not view (Secure Communities) as an opt-in, opt-out program ... “In response, multiple local jurisdictions, including Cook County, Illinois, and Washington, D.C., passed legislation to limit local compliance with immigration detainers, thus creating sanctuary cities.” There was no “ICE Watch” to alert activists and protesters. And Obama did not inherit an administration that allowed in 10 million to 15 million illegal aliens.

As for c), deporting only those with “criminal records,” this is from the “nonpartisan” factcheck.org, in January 2026, about the Trump administration: “Those with criminal convictions or pending charges represented 66% of arrests, which the administration has rounded up to 70%.” About deportations with criminal

records under Obama, in April 2016, The Washington Post wrote:

“While the number of deportations of illegal immigrants with criminal records has declined in recent years, last year this group made up almost 60 percent of the total number expelled from the country, the largest percentage in recent memory.”

As for d) that Obama deportation numbers mostly included those at the border, the left-leaning fact-check site snopes.com wrote:

“The claim that immigration authorities deported more than 3 million people during the Obama administration (2009-17) is accurate based on ‘formal removal’ gures reported by the DHS. When including ‘returns’ (those removed at the border), however, the total exceeds 5 million.”

As for e), Trump’s supposed lawless deportations, economist John Lott of the Crime Prevention Research Center wrote:

“The 170 ICE-detained US citizens ... included about 130 arrested for interfering with or assaulting o cers ... justi able under any reading of the law ...

“Only about 40 or so of those who were detained claimed to be US citizens accidentally or erroneously arrested by ICE. ... Most were released in a few hours. ... 40 mistakes out of 595,000 arrests amounts to an error rate of just 0.0067% — roughly one wrongful detention for every 14,925 arrests.

“By contrast (during the Obama administration) ... in scal years 2015 and 2016, ICE recorded 263 mistaken arrests, 54 mistaken detentions (book-ins), and four mistaken removals ... about one mistake for every 4,444 arrests ...

“During the course of Obama’s two terms, from 2009 to 2017, 56 individuals died in ICE custody. ... 56 deaths translates into a rate of 0.007% — roughly one death for every 14,314 detainees.

“By comparison, the rate last year under Trump was slightly lower: 0.0054%, or one death for every 18,594 detainees.

“... Trump made no erroneous deportations through November.”

This brings us to f) about judicial warrants. Snopes.com wrote: “Over the eight-year period of the Obama administration, the percentage of removals carried out without a hearing before an immigration judge ranged from approximately 58% to 84%, averaging roughly 74%.”

What a di erence an administration makes. Or rather, what a di erence the media coverage of an administration makes. Larry Elder is a bestselling author and nationally syndicated radio talk-show host. (Copyright 2026 Creators.com)

Don’t abuse the word ‘protest’

ALEX PRETTI WASN’T killed while “protesting.”

This is a common description of what he was doing on a Minneapolis street the fateful morning when a confrontation with federal immigration agents ended in his tragic shooting. But if Pretti had been a mere protester, he’d very likely be alive today. Now that we’ve seen videos of an earlier struggle with federal agents and learned more about the organized nature of the anti-ICE resistance, it’s become clear that the better word for Pretti was agitator, or perhaps even operative.

If Pretti was an “observer,” he was observing how much unhinged behavior he could get away with.

A protester, as typically understood, is someone who is making a point, often as part of a gathering of other like-minded people and, usually but not always, in opposition to something.

A protester might hold a sign outside a coal- red power plant calling for it to shut down. He might go to Union Square Park to hear speeches from bullhorns whenever something happens that outrages the left. He might march against the Iraq War or the Vietnam War — or in favor of Hamas.

This kind of activity is not to everyone’s taste — personally, I hate the drums and the chants — but there is no doubt that it is a legitimate form of political advocacy. Depending on the cause, it can even be admirable.

What we’ve seen in Minneapolis, though, is often quite di erent. Run-ofthe-mill protesters don’t seek out federal agents and harass and obstruct them. They don’t follow and block their vehicles or establish a robust communications network to deploy resources to create maximum disruption of their operations.

Pretti was part of this e ort, which is more a form of low-level and (by and large) nonviolent insurgency than conventional protest. In his rst confrontation, 11 days before his death, Pretti was every bit an anti-ICE street brawler. He challenged, at close quarters, an agent to assault him while screaming insults at him. He spat on a federal vehicle and kicked out its taillight.

If Pretti was an “observer,” in the euphemism preferred by anti-ICE politicians and activists, he was observing how much unhinged behavior he could get away with. There’s no doubt that at this event, he was the violent instigator.

After Pretti damaged the vehicle, agents got out and pushed him to the ground. For all the talk of ICE being the equivalent of the Gestapo, they didn’t even bother to arrest him despite his having committed a crime. If he’d been arrested and charged, Pretti might never have shown up at the other ICE operation and would still be with us today.

That Pretti, we now know, made it a practice to court violent encounters with federal agents while armed was incredibly irresponsible. He was fortunate that the rst struggle didn’t escalate into something much more hazardous to him and to others if an agent had noticed his gun.

The rearm wouldn’t have been an issue in the second incident, meanwhile, if he’d really been protesting. If that were the case, he would have stayed on the sidewalk and held up a sign, or chanted, “ICE go home,” and the o cers might have been annoyed, but there never would have been an interaction to potentially go catastrophically wrong.

The calculation in Minneapolis, though, has been that this kind of benign activity is less e ective than direct action, and unfortunately — with public opinion swinging against Operation Metro Surge — this assessment looks to be accurate.

Why simply express a point of view when you can act to stop arrests and to create a hostile, threatening environment for agents?

This doesn’t mean that Pretti got what he deserved or that the o cers acted appropriately. It does mean that the state and city o cials should have been telling people not to “monitor” DHS activity, but to stay well clear of legitimate lawenforcement activities.

Reasonable people can disagree about the desirability of the goal that Pretti was pursuing, but there’s no doubt about how he was going about it, and it didn’t involve conventional protest.

Rich Lowry is editor of the National Review.

BE IN TOUCH

Letters to the editor may be sent to letters@nsjonline.com or mailed to P.O. Box 290, Siler City, NC 27344. Letters must be signed; include the writer’s phone number, city and state; and be no longer than 300 words. Letters may be edited for style, length or clarity when necessary. Ideas for op-eds should be sent to opinion@nsjonline.com.

obituaries

John Wayland Farrell Sr.

May 8, 1937 – Feb. 6, 2026

John Wayland Farrell Sr., born May 8, 1937, to John Marvin Farrell and Maud Poplin Farrell, passed away on February 6, 2026.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Barbara Farrell; his parents; his brother, Thomas Morris; and his sister, Lucille Morris Farrell.

He is survived by his three children: Donna Robosson (Clint) of Cumberland, Maryland; Bonnie Strowd of Pittsboro; and John Wayland Farrell Jr. (Sheryl) of Hewitt, Texas. He is also survived by six grandchildren: Amy and Chris (Donna); Faith and Olivia (Bonnie); John III and Courtney (John Jr); and eight great-grandchildren: Nicholas and Greyson (Donna); Madelyn; Charlotte and Miller (Bonnie); and Harvey, Harrison, and Harlan (John Jr).

John was a proud veteran of the United States Army, where he served in the 3rd Infantry Regiment, better known as “The Old Guard.” This is the Army’s premier

IN MEMORY

ceremonial unit providing military funeral honors with horse-drawn caissons at Arlington National Cemetery for fallen soldiers.

He served his community for many years with Gri n Funeral Home in Pittsboro and was well known around town for his distinctive white hair worn in a at-top haircut and his dapper dress. John was a devoted member of the Masonic Lodge for 62 years, having been inducted in 1964 and served as Master of Columbus Lodge in 1988.

John was a long-time member of Hanks Chapel United Church of Christ where his family attended for generations. He most recently attended Gum Springs Baptist Church. Both his church families blessed his life in many ways and he treasured the friendship and fellowship from both church families.

Services for John will be held on Saturday February 14, 2026 at Hanks Chapel Church at 1:00 pm.

Visitation and fellowship will follow at the church fellowship hall.

The family would like to recognize the care and comfort given to their dad and their family by Transitions Hospice Home in Raleigh.

In lieu of owers, memorial gifts may be made to The Masonic Home for Children in Oxford NC.

Make donations in honor of Worshipful Brother John Farrell Columbus Lodge #102. 600 College Street Oxford, NC 27565. https://mhc-oxford.org/

JERRY “RONNIE” BROWN

SEPT. 22, 1950 – FEB. 5, 2026

Jerry “Ronnie” Brown, 75, of Bennett, passed away on Thursday, February 5, 2026 at Moses Cone Hospital. Visitation will be at Joyce-Brady Chapel from 5:00-7:00 p.m. on Sunday, February 8, 2026. The funeral will be held at Bennett Baptist Church at 2:00 p.m. on Monday, February 9, 2026 with Rev. Dr. Jason Whitehurst and Rev. Tim Strider presiding. Burial will follow in the church cemetery. The family will receive friends in the Narthex prior to the service from 1:00-1:45 p.m. The family will return to the fellowship hall after the committal.

Ronnie was born on September 22, 1950 to Albert Stacey Brown and Ethel Cox Brown. He was a member of Bennett Baptist Church, where he served on the Building and Grounds Committee, Handyman Ministry and helped with the Outdoor Christmas Drama. He retired from Townsend after 39 years of service. After his retirement, he worked several years at Routh’s Grocery, where he loved interacting with people. He was loved and admired by all that came in contact with him. Ronnie enjoyed shing, going to the beach, old westerns, NASCAR, wrestling and cutting grass. He cherished time with his family and especially all of his grandchildren. Ronnie’s hard work and dedication to his family, friends and occupation were his greatest assets.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by sisters, Catherine Binkley, Velma Welch, Ruby Branson, Linda Brown and brothers, Glen, Bill, Larry and Junior.

Ronnie is survived by his wife of 55 years, Patsy Scott Brown, of the home; children, Nina Beavers, of Bennett, Jerry Polston (Theresa), of Bennett, Billy Brown (Brook), of Robbins, Crystal Cox (Tracy), of Bear Creek; sisters, Irene McNeil, of Coleridge and Brenda Albright, of Bennett; grandchildren, Trea Beavers (Alex), Hayleigh Smith (Dallas), Scotty Polston (Abby), Lindsay Polston (Huston Causey), Will Brown, Dylan Brown and Preston Cox; greatgrandchildren, Presleigh Smith, Kinsleigh Smith, Truitt Beavers, Lane Beavers, Myers Polston and Marshall Beavers and a host of family and friends.

Brad Arnold, lead singer of Grammy-nominated rock band 3 Doors Down, dead at 47

He died after a battle with kidney cancer

The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — Brad Arnold, the lead singer of the Grammy-nominated rock band

3 Doors Down, died Saturday, months after he announced that he had been diagnosed with Stage 4 kidney cancer. He was 47.

The band said in a statement that Arnold “passed away peacefully, surrounded by loved ones, in his sleep after his courageous battle with cancer.”

3 Doors Down formed in Mississippi in 1995 and four years later received a Grammy nomination for the breakout hit “Kryptonite.” Arnold wrote the song in math class when he was 15 years old, according to the band statement.

Their debut album, “The Better Life,” sold over 6 million copies. A second Grammy nomination came in 2003, for the song “When I’m Gone.”

The band said Arnold “helped rede ne mainstream rock music, blending post-grunge accessibility with emotionally direct songwriting and lyrical themes that resonated with everyday listeners.”

3 Doors Down released six albums, most recently “Us And

The Night” in 2016. Singles included “Loser,” “Duck and Run” and “Be Like That,” which appeared on the soundtrack for the 2001 lm “American Pie 2.”

While promoting their 5th album, “Time of My Life,” Arnold said he considered himself lucky to have carved out a career in the music business.

“If you do something as long as we’ve done it, you can’t help but get better at it, you know?” Arnold told The Associated Press in 2011. In 2017, 3 Doors Down per-

formed at the rst inauguration concert of President Donald Trump. Arnold announced his cancer diagnosis last May, saying clear cell renal carcinoma had metastasized to his lungs. The band was forced to cancel a summer tour.

“His music reverberated far beyond the stage, creating moments of connection, joy, faith, and shared experiences that will live on long after the stages he performed on,” the band said.

Hall of Fame trainer King Leatherbury, who won 6,508 races over six decades, dead at 92

The legendary trainer known as “King of the Claimers” leaves a racing legacy

The Associated Press

KING LEATHERBURY, a Hall of Fame trainer known as “King of the Claimers” for his ability to turn cheaper horses in lower-level claiming races into winners for more than six decades, died Tuesday. He was 92. He died at his home, according to the Maryland Jockey Club, which was informed by his son Taylor Leatherbury. No cause of death was provided.

Leatherbury retired in 2023 as the third trainer in history, behind Dale Baird and Jack Van Berg, to win at least 6,000 races. His nal total was 6,508 to go with purse earnings of $64,693,537, according to Equibase. He won 52 training titles in Maryland — 26 each at Pimlico and Laurel — and four at Delaware Park.

“He’s one of a kind,” Taylor Leatherbury told Laurel Park. ”There’s never been a man more appropriately named than my father.”

Leatherbury, along with fellow Hall of Famer Bud Delp, Richard Dutrow Sr., and John Tammaro Jr., were known as the Big Four of Maryland racing. They dominated the state in the 1960s and ‘70s and

helped modernize training of thoroughbreds for speed and stamina.

“I really enjoyed the days of the Big Four,” Leatherbury told Laurel Park in 2013. “It was fun trying to compete with them and it made us all better trainers.”

Leatherbury led North American trainers in wins in 1977 and 1978, and won 300 or more races each year from 1975 to 1978.

He was a rst-ballot inductee to the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame in 2015.

Leatherbury saddled one horse in the Kentucky Derby, with I Am the Game nishing 13th in 1985. That horse was fourth in the Preakness that year, one of Leatherbury’s four starters in the second leg of the Triple Crown.

A Maryland native, Leatherbury took out his trainer’s license in 1958 and won his rst race the next year at Sunland Park, now known as Tampa Bay Downs.

“I got started because my father had horses, a breeder and owner and I just enjoyed betting on them, really, so I decided to get in the game,” Leatherbury told Laurel Park in 2013.

“I have never really considered this work. I enjoy it, which has probably made the di erence.”

After earning a business administration degree from the University of Maryland, he

“There’s never been a man more appropriately named than my father.”

Taylor Leatherbury

mastered the claiming game, in which owners buy horses from designated races for a speci c price, by studying race charts and past performance statistics. He did much of his work from home rather than at his barn, where a devoted sta carried out his orders.

“Back in those days, the early ‘60s, no one claimed horses,” Leatherbury told The Washington Post in 2005. “Those were the days people started managing horses in a business-like way.”

The best horse of Leatherbury’s career was Ben’s Cat, whom he bred, owned and trained to 32 wins — 26 in stakes races — and more than $2.6 million in purse earnings from 2010-17. Ben’s Cat died in 2017 and his remains are buried near the paddock at Laurel.

He also trained Grade 1 winners Catatonic and Taking Risks. He claimed Port Conway Lane three times, and the horse won 52 of 242 starts from 1971 to 1983, racing until age 14. He is survived by Linda, his wife of 62 years, and twin sons Taylor and Todd.

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

Navy leader wants to move faster, leaner instead of turning to aircraft carriers in crisis

An admiral pushed for smaller deployments over big strike groups

By Konstantin Toropin The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy’s top uniformed o cer wants to convince commanders to use smaller, newer ships and other assets for missions instead of consistently turning to huge aircraft carriers — as seen now in the American military buildups o Venezuela and Iran.

Adm. Daryl Caudle’s vision — what he calls his “Fighting Instructions” — calls for the Navy to deploy more tailored groups of ships and equipment that would o er the sea service more exibility to respond to crises as they develop.

Caudle spoke to The Associated Press before the rollout of the new strategy, which comes as the Trump administration has moved aircraft carriers and other ships to regions around the world to address emerging concerns. This has disrupted standing deployment plans, scrambled ships to sail thousands of miles and put increasing strain on vessels and equipment that are already facing mounting maintenance issues.

The world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, was redirected late

last year from the Mediterranean Sea to the Caribbean Sea, where the crew ultimately supported last month’s operation to capture then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. And two weeks ago, the USS Abraham Lincoln arrived in the Middle East as tensions with Iran rise, having been pulled from the South China Sea.

In an interview, Caudle said his strategy would make the Navy’s presence in regions like the Caribbean much leaner and better tailored to meet actual threats.

He said he’s already spoken with the commander of U.S. Southern Command, which encompasses the Caribbean and Venezuela, “and we’re in negotiation on what his problem set is — I want to be able to convey that I can meet that with a tailored package there.”

Admiral sees a smaller contingent in the Caribbean in the future

Speaking broadly, Caudle said he envisions the mission in the Caribbean focusing more on interdictions and keeping an eye on merchant shipping.

The U.S. military has already seized multiple suspicious and falsely agged tankers connected with Venezuela that were part of a global shadow eet of merchant vessels that help

governments evade sanctions.

“That doesn’t really require a carrier strike group to do that,” Caudle said, adding that he believes the mission could be done with some smaller littoral combat ships, Navy helicopters and close coordination with the Coast Guard.

The Navy has had 11 ships, including the Ford and several amphibious assault ships with thousands of Marines, in South American waters for months. It is a major shift for a region that has historically seen deployments of one or two smaller Navy ships.

“I don’t want a lot of destroyers there driving around just to actually operate the radar to get awareness on motor vessels and other tankers coming out of port,” Caudle said. “It’s really not a well-suited match for that mission.”

Turning to drones or robotic systems

To compensate, Caudle envisions leaning more heavily on drones or other robotic systems to o er military commanders the same capabilities but with less investment from Navy ships. He acknowledges this will not be an easy sell.

Caudle said even if a commander knows about a new capability, the sta “may not know how to ask for that, integrate it, and know how to employ it in an e ective way to bring this new niche capability to bear.”

“That requires a bit of an education campaign here,” he later added.

President Donald Trump has favored large and bold responses from the Navy and has leaned heavily toward displays of repower.

Trump has referred to aircraft carriers and their accompanying destroyers as armadas and otillas. He also revived the historic battleship title for a

CRIME from page A1

that experience,” Jones said. “Her life was cut short not by one individual but by a system that allowed a career criminal to roam your streets.”

Decarlos Brown Jr., the man accused in Zarutska’s death, had more than a dozen prior criminal arrests before the most recent charge, and concerns had been raised about his mental health. Republican lawmakers, as well as President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, blamed Democratic leaders in Charlotte and statewide for soft-on-crime policies they allege allowed Brown to stay out of custody.

Jones kept to a similar theme, accusing the leaders in Charlotte — with a population of more than 940,000 — and surrounding Mecklenburg County of prioritizing liberal-leaning policy choices over keeping people safe.

“Her blood is on your hands,” he added.

Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles, who was among those testifying Monday, wrote soon after Zarutska’s death that it was a “tragic failure by the courts and magistrates.” She and others have since highlighted additional safety measures for the light rail system.

Most of the committee’s vitriol was targeted at the Mecklenburg County sheri , who operates the local jail.

Despite the harsh opening attack by Jones, committee members were cordial in their questioning of Lyles, new Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Estella Patterson and Mecklenburg District Attorney Spencer Meriweather.

During testimony, Meriweather suggested the need for more assistant prosecutors, earlier mental health interventions and combating more onerous crimes by juveniles. Patterson also outlined additional measures aimed at further reducing violent crime, building on last year’s declines.

The meeting “really lets me know that the General Assembly cares about Charlotte and they want to work with us to make our city safer,” Patterson told reporters.

Still, in a news release after the meeting, a pair of Democrats on the committee accused the panel of engaging in “cynical partisan theatre to paint Charlotte in a negative light.”

Zarutska’s death has already resulted in a new state law that bars cashless bail for certain violent crimes and many repeat o enders. It also

planned type of ship that would sport hypersonic missiles, nuclear cruise missiles, rail guns and high-powered lasers.

If built, the proposed “Trump-class battleship” would be longer and larger than the World War II-era Iowa-class battleships, though the Navy has not only struggled to eld some of the technologies that Trump says will be aboard but it has had challenges building even smaller, less sophisticated ships on time and on budget.

Given this trend, Caudle said if the Lincoln’s recent redeployment to the Middle East were to happen under his new plan, he would talk with the Indo-Paci c commander about how to compensate for the loss.

“So, as Abraham Lincoln comes out, I’ve got a three ship (group) that’s going to compensate for that,” Caudle suggested as an example.

Caudle argues that his vision already is in place and working in Europe and North America “for the last four or ve years.”

He said this could apply soon in the Bering Strait, which separates Russia and Alaska, noting that “the importance of the Arctic continues to get more and more prevalent” as China, Russia and the U.S. prioritize the region.

Trump has cited the threat from China and Russia in his demands to take over Greenland, the Arctic island overseen by NATO ally Denmark.

Caudle said he knows he needs to o er the commanders in that region “more solutions” and his “tailored force packages would be a way to get after that.”

“Her life was cut short not by one individual but by a system that allowed a career criminal to roam your streets.”

Rep. Brenden Jones

seeks to ensure more defendants undergo mental health evaluations. Democratic Gov. Josh Stein last week issued an executive order designed in part to address mental health treatment for people whom police confront and who are incarcerated.

Sheri Garry McFadden has clashed for years with lawmakers who accused him for failing to cooperate with immigration agents seeking to apprehend defendants in his jail. A recent state law has now made it mandatory for sheri s to honor detainers, who are requests by ICE to hold an arrested immigrant so agents can take custody of them.

A federal immigration crackdown that started in November in Charlotte and spread elsewhere in North Carolina resulted in hundreds of arrests over several days. At the time, the Department of Homeland Security said about 1,400 detainers across North Carolina had not been honored since 2020.

McFadden said Monday that his jail o cials “have always followed the law in notifying ICE” but it’s up to agents to decide “what they do after that noti cation.” But Jones said later that data “indicates the sheri ’s not doing his job in Mecklenburg County.” Brown has been jailed due to the charges. A federal court ordered last month that he undergo a psychiatric examination to determine whether his legal case can proceed. A similar exam was ordered in state court months ago. Brown’s lawyers for the federal case declined comment. His state court lawyer didn’t respond to emails.

The suspect in the second light-rail attack — identi ed in federal records as Oscar Gerardo Solorzano-Garcia and in state court as Oscar Solarzano — is from Central America and had been transported out the country twice since 2018 — having been convicted of illegal reentry into the U.S., according to an FBI a davit. Solarzano is also jailed, and an attorney representing him in state court didn’t respond to emails. There is no lawyer listed in his federal case.

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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

There will be a Siler City Board of Commissioners Community Forum on Thursday, February 12, 2026, at First Baptist Missionary Church 914 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. This forum will begin at 6:00pm. This Community Forum is an informal event. Attendees may bring comments and questions regarding community topics for the Town to address. Since this is a public meeting, a quorum of the Board of Commissioners may be present, but no town business will be conducted. For more information, please contact Town of Siler City’s Town Clerk Briana Martinez at bmartinez@silercity.gov or by 919-7268658.

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

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

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

Public Notice

Chatham County Schools’ federal projects under

Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015 are presently being developed. Projects included:

Title I (Helping Disadvantaged Children Meet High Standards)

Title II (High Quality Teachers and Principals)

Title III (Language Acquisition)

Title IV A (Student Support and Academic Enrichment) Migrant Education Program (MEP) Career and Technical Education (CTE)

High school students can enroll, without cost, in college credit classes through the Career and College Promise program. This includes Career and Technical Education pathways of study.

IDEA (Students with Disabilities)

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA-

Part B, Public Law 108.446) Project is presently being amended. The Project describes the special education programs that Chatham County Schools proposes for Federal funding for the 2026-2027 School Year. Interested persons are encouraged to review amendments to the Project and make comments concerning the implementation of special education under this Federal Program. All comments will be considered prior to submission of the amended Project to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction in Raleigh, North Carolina These projects describe the programs that Chatham County Schools proposes for federal funding for the 2026-2027 school year. Non-pro t private schools and interested persons are encouraged to review these federal guidelines for the above listed projects and indicate their interest in participation in the projects if quali ed. These projects are being developed during April and May and are due to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction on June 30, 2026. The initial Equitable Services for Private Schools meeting will be held on March 4, 2026, at 2:00 PM, in person, at the address listed below. Interested parties are encouraged to contact the o ce of Carol Little, Executive Director Federal Programs and School Improvement, at Chatham County Board of Education, P.O. Box 128, 468 Renaissance Dr, Pittsboro, N.C.

Spanish Version below:

Aviso público Los proyectos federales de las Escuelas del Condado

Chatham bajo la Ley Cada Estudiante Triunfa (ESSA) de 2015 están en proceso de plani cación. Los proyectos incluidos son: Título I (Ayuda a los niños desfavorecidos a alcanzar altos estándares) Título II (Maestros y directores de alta calidad) Título III (Adquisición del Lenguaje) Título IV A (Apoyo al Estudiante y Enriquecimiento Académico) Programa de Educación para Familias Migrantes (MEP, por sus siglas en Inglés)

Carreras y Educación Técnica (CTE, por sus siglas en Inglés) Los estudiantes de preparatoria pueden inscribirse, sin costo, en clases de créditos universitarios a través del programa Career and College Promise. Esto incluye vías de estudio de Educación Técnica y Profesional. IDEA (Estudiantes con Discapacidades) Actualmente se encuentra en proceso de modi cación el Proyecto de Ley de Educación para Personas con Discapacidad (IDEA-Parte B, Ley Pública 108.446). El Proyecto describe los programas de educación especial que las Escuelas del Condado Chatham proponen para nanciamiento federal para el año escolar 20262027. Se anima a las personas interesadas a revisar las enmiendas al Proyecto y hacer comentarios sobre la implementación de la educación especial bajo este Programa Federal. Todos los comentarios serán considerados antes de la presentación del Proyecto modi cado al Departamento de Instrucción Pública de Carolina del Norte en Raleigh, Carolina del Norte. Estos proyectos describen los programas que las Escuelas del Condado Chatham proponen para nanciamiento federal para el año escolar 20262027. Se anima a las escuelas privadas sin nes de lucro y a las personas interesadas a revisar estas pautas federales para los proyectos enumerados anteriormente e indicar su interés en participar en los proyectos si cali can. Estos proyectos se están desarrollando durante abril y mayo y deben entregarse al Departamento de Instrucción Pública de Carolina del Norte el 30 de junio del 2026. La reunión inicial de Servicios Equitativos para Escuelas Privadas se llevará a cabo el 4 de marzo del 2026 a las 2:00 PM, en persona en la dirección listada abajo. Se anima a las partes interesadas a comunicarse con la o cina de Carol Little, Directora Ejecutiva de Programas Federales y Mejoramiento Escolar, en la Junta de Educación del Condado de Chatham, P. O. Box 128, 468 Renaissance Dr, Pittsboro, N.C.

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 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

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

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:

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 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

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

ALL PERSONS, rms and corporations having claims against Suzanne Duvall Steward, deceased, of Chatham County, NC, are noti ed to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before May 15, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment. This the 12th day of February, 2026. Laura Strickler, Executor, c/o Bagwell Holt Smith P.A., 111 Cloister Court, STE 200, Chapel Hill, NC 27514

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, 29, 5 and 12

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA

CHATHAM COUNTY

26E000026-180

ALL persons having claims against Reggie Kenneth Lane, deceased, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, are noti ed to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before Apr 29 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment. This the 29th day of January, 2026. Travis Anthony Harris, Administrator C/O Kenneth M. Johnson, P.A. 817 Quailcove Court Greensboro, North Carolina 27406 J29, 5, 12 and 19

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA

CHATHAM COUNTY

FILE#25E000660-180 The undersigned ANN PATRICIA RILEY, having quali ed on the 14TH Day of JANUARY 2026 as EXECUTOR of the Estate of MARY RILEY SEGAL, 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 12TH Day OF MAY 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 12TH DAY OF FEBRUARY 2026. ANN PATRICIA RILEY, EXECUTOR 19 CHEMIN LEFEBVRE LA MINERVE QC J0T 150 CANADA MAIL TO: MICHAEL RILEY 154 HICKORY HILL RD. MOORESVILLE, NC 28117 EMAIL TO: annpriley@hotmail.com Run dates: F12,19,26,M5p

NOTICE

NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND DEBTORS OF Mary Jane C. McKenney All persons, rms and corporations having claims against Mary Jane C. McKenney, late of Chatham, North Carolina, are noti ed to exhibit them to William P. McKenney, Esq. as Executor of the decedent’s estate on or before May 15, 2026, c/o Janet B. Witchger, Attorney at Law, 1414 Raleigh Rd., Ste. 203, Chapel Hill, NC 27517, or be barred from their recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment to the above-named Executor. This the 12th day of February 2026. William P. McKenney, Esq., Executor c/o Janet B. Witchger, Atty. TrustCounsel 1414 Raleigh Rd., Ste. 203 Chapel Hill, NC 27517

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY FILE#26E000007-180 The undersigned EILEEN S. COWEL, having quali ed on the 7TH Day of JANUARY, 2026 as ADMINISTRATOR of the Estate of ALLAN S. COWEL, 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. EILEEN S. COWEL, ADMINISTRATOR 4108 WALLINGFORD PLACE DURHAM, NC 27707 Run dates: J29,F5,12,19p

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#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 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

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#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

FILE#24E001413-180 The undersigned MAURICE A. WICKER, having quali ed on the 5TH Day of AUGUST 2024 as ADMINISTRATOR of the Estate of LORENA EASTRIDGE WICKER aka LORENA E. WICKER, 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. MAURICE A. WICKER, ADMINISTRATOR 369 RC OVERMAN ROAD SILER CITY, NC 27344 Run dates: J22,29,F5,12p

US’s largest public utility says it now doesn’t want to close two coal- red plants

TVA reverses course on ahead of Trump-appointed board meeting

By Jonathan Mattise The Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The nation’s largest public utility says it now would prefer to keep operating two coal- red power plants it had planned to shutter, changing course before a meeting of its board, which has a majority of members picked by the coal-friendly Trump administration.

In new lings, the Tennessee Valley Authority’s signaled that it wants to ditch closure dates for the Kingston Fossil Plant and Cumberland Fossil Plant in Tennessee, which would require further action from its board. The new plan would still include introducing natural gas- red plants at both locations.

TVA had intended to shutter its remaining, aging coal plants by 2035 in an e ort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that spur climate change. But the utility, which partners with local power companies to serve roughly 10 million people in seven states, said it is rethinking the coal plant closures because of regulatory changes and increasing demand for electricity.

“As power demand grows, TVA is looking at every option to bolster our generating eet to continue providing a ordable, reliable electricity to our 10 million customers, create jobs and help communities thrive,” TVA spokesperson Scott Brooks said in a statement Tuesday.

But several clean energy groups said extending the coal plants would raise serious questions about TVA’s decision-making process, since the utility has said more natural gas plants were needed to retire polluting coal plants.

“Without even a public meeting, TVA is telling the people who live near these coal plants that

MONKS from page A1

Police Department issued a trafc advisory announcing there would be “rolling road closures” along the monks’ route to ensure safety for them and spectators.

“My hope is, when this walk ends, the people we met will continue practicing mindfulness and nd peace,” said the Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara, the group’s soft-spoken leader who has taught about mindfulness at stops along the way.

The monks planned to mark the last days of their Walk for Peace with outdoor appearances at Washington National Cathedral on Tuesday and the Lincoln Memorial on Wednesday.

“Their long journey and gentle witness invite us all to deepen our commitment to compassion and the work of peace in our communities,” said Washington Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde, who will help host an interfaith reception for the monks at the cathedral.

The monks have been surprised to see their message transcend ideologies. Millions have followed them online, and crowds have greeted them at numerous venues, from a church in Opelika, Alabama, to City Hall in Richmond, Virginia.

Mark Duykers, a retired mechanical engineer who practices mindfulness, said he and his wife will drive 550 miles from Ann Arbor, Michigan, to Washington, D.C., to see the monks.

“In these divisive times, we saw entire towns in the Bible Belt coming out for these monks — having no idea of what Buddhism is — but being uplifted and moved by it,” he said. “That’s inspirational.”

Nineteen monks began the 2,300-mile journey from the Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth on Oct. 26, 2025. They came from Theravada Buddhist monasteries around the globe, led by Pannakara, who is vice president of the Fort Worth temple.

While in the U.S. capital, they planned to submit a request to lawmakers to declare

“As power demand grows, TVA is looking at every option to bolster our generating eet to continue providing a ordable, reliable electricity to our 10 million customers, create jobs and help communities thrive.”

Scott Brooks, TVA spokesperson

they will breathe in toxic pollution from not one, but two major power plants for the foreseeable future,” Gabi Lichtenstein, Tennessee Program Coordinator for Appalachian Voices, said in a news release. “This decision

is salt in the wound after ignoring widespread calls for cleaner, cheaper replacements for the Kingston and Cumberland coal plants.”

President Donald Trump red enough TVA board members picked by his predecessor to leave the utility without a quorum. Without one, the board could only take actions needed for ongoing operations, not to jump into new areas of activity, start new programs or change the utility’s existing direction. Trump then signed executive orders aimed at helping the coal industry. Last May, TVA’s president and CEO, Don Moul, told investors that the utility would reevaluate the lifespan of its coal plants, saying o cials were evaluating Trump’s executive orders.

The U.S. Senate con rmed four Trump board nominees in December. With the quorum restored, TVA’s board is

scheduled to meet Wednesday in Kentucky.

TVA had already faced advocates’ criticisms for planning to open more natural gas plants as the utility was winding down its eet of coal plants, instead of more quickly moving away from fossil fuels and into solar and other renewables.

TVA’s goal for years has been an 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2035 over 2005 levels, and net-zero emissions by 2050, with a heavy emphasis on nuclear power and hopes for next-generation reactors. Biden had gone further, calling for a carbon-pollution-free energy sector by 2035.

Clean energy groups have noted that the rapid building of data centers that support arti cial intelligence is partly to blame for growing power demand. In an investors call last week, TVA President and CEO Don Moul said data center de-

mand grew to 18% of its industrial load in 2025, and by 2030, the utility expects it to double across the service region. Moul said the fairness of new data center pay rates is a priority for TVA.

Under a 2024 nal decision, TVA planned for a 1,500-megawatt natural gas facility with 4 megawatts of solar and 100 megawatts of battery storage at the Kingston Fossil Plant, a 2,470-megawatt coal plant nished in 1955, and the site of a massive 2008 coal ash spill. The coal plant was slated to close and the gas plant to come online by the end of 2027.

The new proposal would keep the coal, gas and battery, but drop the solar.

In a 2023 decision, TVA planned to mothball its two-unit Cumberland coal plant in two stages — one, by the end of 2026, to be replaced this year by the 1,450-megawatt natural gas plant; and the second, shuttered by the end of 2028, with options open on its replacement. The 2,470-megawatt Cumberland coal plant, completed in 1973, is the largest generating asset in TVA’s eet.

Trump tussled with TVA during his rst term, including when he opposed a coal plant closure. Ultimately, in 2019 the board still voted to close the Paradise Fossil Plant in Kentucky. Its last towers were demolished in 2024.

In 2020, Trump red the former TVA board chairman and another board member and drove TVA to reverse course on hiring foreign labor for information technology jobs. He also criticized the pay scale for the CEO at the time, which was $7.3 million for the 2020 budget year and topped $10.5 million for 2024. TVA stressed that it doesn’t receive federal taxpayer money and instead is funded by electricity customers, and that the CEO pay fell in the bottom quartile of the power industry.

Vesak — Buddha’s birthday — a national holiday. But, Pannakara and others have emphasized that is not the goal of the walk. Long Si Dong, a spokesperson for the temple, said the walk

is neither a political movement nor is it focused on advocacy or legislation.

“It’s a spiritual o ering, an invitation to live peace through everyday actions, mindful steps

and open hearts,” he said. “We believe when peace is cultivated within, it naturally ripples outward into society.”

The trek has had its perils, and local law enforcement ocers have provided security. In November outside Houston, the monks were walking on the side of a highway when their escort vehicle was hit by a truck. Two monks were injured; one had his leg amputated.

Some of the monks, including Pannakara, have walked barefoot or in socks for most of the journey to feel the ground directly and be present in the moment. As they have pressed on through snow and cold, they’ve at times donned winter boots.

Peace walks are a cherished tradition in Theravada Buddhism. Pannakara rst encountered Aloka, an Indian Pariah dog whose name means “divine light” in Sanskrit, during a 112- day journey across India in 2022.

Buddhist monks who are participating in a Walk for Peace are escorted by Metropolitan Police o cers as they walk along the C&O Canal and Potomac River on Tuesday in Washington, D.C.

The monks practice and teach Vipassana meditation, an ancient Indian technique taught by the Buddha as core to attaining enlightenment. It focuses on the mind-body connection, observing breath and physical sensations to understand reality, impermanence and su ering.

On Tuesday, the monks will complete 108 days of walking. It’s a sacred number in Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism. It represents spiritual completion, cosmic order and the wholeness of existence.

The monks’ return trip should be less arduous. After an appearance at Maryland’s Capitol, a bus will take them back to Texas, where they expect to arrive in downtown Fort Worth early on Saturday.

From there, the monks will walk together again, traversing 6 miles to the temple where their trip began.

CHATHAM SPORTS

Fowler has historic

night,

Chargers extend win streaks

By Asheebo Rojas

Chatham News & Record

basketball

Boys’

Northwood dominated North Moore 103-23 behind a historic performance from se-

nior Cam Fowler on senior night. Fowler dropped 51 points on a 62% shooting clip, setting the school record for the most points in a game.

He also knocked down a school-record 11 3s and nished the night with 10 re -

bounds, six assists and six steals. Northwood senior Bakari

Watkins had himself a night with a season highs of 26 points and 16 rebounds (12 o ensive boards) in the Chargers’ 81-53 rout over Eastern Randolph on Saturday. The Chargers have

Chatham Charter boys edge Woods in double overtime thriller

The Knights swept the Wolves in boys’ and girls’ competition

By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record

Boys: Chatham Charter 56, Woods Charter 54

Clutch shots and close misses determined an exhilarating ending to Chatham

won eight straight games since Dec. 22. Earlier in the week, the Chargers completed the season sweep over Jordan-Matthews 83-47.

Chatham Charter fell to Southern Wake 60-48 in a

Katie Leonard scored a career-high 36 points

By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record

Boys: Seaforth 52, Webb 51

Seaforth moved a step closer to a conference title after rallying from down seven in the fourth quarter to beat Webb 52-51 Friday in Oxford.

“It’s one of the top one, two wins I think we had all season,” Seaforth coach John Berry said. To bounce back from a slow individual start, senior Campbell Meador came alive with six fourth quarter points, including the go-ahead layup that gave the Hawks a 50-49 lead with under three minutes left to play. Both teams then went scoreless for a couple of minutes until senior Declan Lindquist, who nished with a team-high 26 points, dished his sole assist to sophomore Jackson Butcher, putting Seaforth ahead by three with less than a minute remaining.

Webb responded with a drive and nish by junior Donovan Yancey, who led the Warriors with 16 points.

Following a foul by Webb to save time on the next possession, Lindquist was called

showdown between the top two teams in the Central Tar Heel conference Friday. The Knights bounced back with a 70-21 win over Central Carolina

for an o ensive foul on the inbound, giving the Warriors one last chance to reclaim the lead with 14 seconds left. Yancey took an open 3-pointer, but it didn’t hit anything at thenal buzzer.

“I told them listen, ‘They’re out toughing us,’” Berry said. “They’re going to keep coming at us. It’s just like a bully, right? If a bully can come at you, push you and call you names, throw punches at you, and you don’t do anything back, that’s what’s going to happen. They’re going to continue to do it.”

Said Berry, “I thought our guys did a very, very good job at stepping up to that challenge, matching that physicality.”

Lindquist started the game on re as he knocked down three 3s and helped the Hawks to a 20-9 lead with 15 rst quarter points.

“They went zone in the rst half, in the rst quarter at least, and we’ve been working on that all season,” Lindquist said. “Coach, as an o ense, put us in

Cam Fowler

Northwood, boys’ basketball

Cam Fowler earns athlete of the week honors for the week of Feb. 2.

In Northwood’s 103-23 win over North Moore on Friday, Fowler put on a historic 51-point, 10-rebound performance. His new scoring career high set the school record for the most points in a game, and he made a school-record 11 3s in the process.

Fowler’s 51 points are the 52nd-most scored in a game in NCHSAA boys’ basketball history. He tied Jordan-Matthews’ Jerry Webster, who scored 51 points against Pittsboro in 1957, for the most points scored by a Chatham County player.

Ty Willoughby, Seaforth’s golf state champion, signs to continue his career on the next level.

Local athletes sign to college programs

Seaforth had seven athletes make their big decision nal

By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record

AS NATIONAL SIGNING Day passed by Feb. 4, local high school athletes have signed to their future college homes over the past two weeks. Here’s a look at who is going where.

Colton Roberts (Pace University, swimming)

Seaforth’s Colton Roberts will join the Pace University men’s swimming program. Roberts has performed well in state championship meets, nishing as a runner-up in the 200 free, 500 free, 400 free relay and 200 medley relay in 2024. Last winter, Roberts once again helped his team nish second in the 2A 200 medley relay and 400 free relay state championship races. He entered this week’s state championship meet seeded rst in the 200 free (1 minute, 50.18 seconds) and second in the 500 free (5:05.37) on the 5A psych sheet. Pace University is an NCAA Division II program located in New York City.

Ty Willoughby (Georgia College and State University, golf)

Seaforth’s Ty Willoughby will continue his gol ng career at Georgia College and State University, an NCAA Division II program located in Milledgeville, Georgia. Willoughby won the 2A individual state title while also helping Seaforth n-

ish rst as a team in 2024. Last year, he placed fourth in the 2A state competition and led his team to third (two strokes from rst place).

Ryan Yoder (University of Lynchburg, track and eld)

Seaforth’s Ryan Yoder will join the University of Lynchburg track and eld program. Yoder was part of Seaforth’s rst boys’ indoor state championship team in 2025 as he took the state title in the pole vault. In outdoor competition, Yoder has nished as a state runner-up in 2024 and 2025. The University of Lynchburg, located in Lynchburg, Virginia, competes in the NCAA Division III.

Zane McMahon (Cape Fear Community College, men’s soccer)

Seaforth’s Zane McMahon will continue his soccer career at Cape Fear Community College. McMahon scored six goals in varsity competition while recording 217 steals. He notched a career-high 128 steals in the fall, leading the team in that stat. McMahon helped the Hawks earn their rst win in a playo game in 2024. Cape Fear CC, located in Wilmington, competes in the NJCAA Division II.

Caidence Bazemore (Winthrop, cross-country and track and eld)

Seaforth’s Caidence Bazemore will run both cross-country and track at Winthrop, an NCAA Division I program located in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Bazemore competed in multiple national

cross-country meets in the fall. In the 2025 NCHSAA 2A outdoor state championships, Bazemore nished ninth in the 3,200.

Sydney Burleigh (NYU, swimming)

Seaforth’s Sydney Burleigh will join the NYU women’s swimming program. Burleigh won back-to-back 2A 100 butter y state titles in 2024 and 2025. Ahead of this week’s state championships, Burleigh is seeded rst in the 100 buttery (1:00.97) and second in the 200 individual medley (2:14.29). NYU is an NCAA Division III program located in New York City.

Ivan Grimes (North Greenville, men’s lacrosse)

Seaforth’s Ivan Grimes will head to North Greenville, an NCAA Division II program in Tigerville, South Carolina, to continue his lacrosse career. In three seasons, Grimes has recorded 142 goals and 116 assists. Last year, he led the team in assists and points, helping the Hawks to an 18-4 record and a rst-round bye in the state playo s.

Jace Young (Guilford, baseball)

Chatham Charter catcher Jace Young will join Guilford’s baseball program. Last year, Young led the Knights in batting average (.416), hits (32), RBIs (25) and slugging percentage (.584). Guilford, located in Greensboro, competes in the NCAA Division III.

Locals take the eld for 2026 college baseball, softball season

Jaylee Williams jumps up to Big 10 competition

By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record

THE COLLEGE BASEBALL and softball seasons have arrived, setting a clean slate for Chatham County natives to continue their athletic careers. Some of the veterans have moved to new homes, while the newcomers are looking to make their mark on the next level. Here’s a look at where to follow the former Chatham standouts.

BASEBALL

Anthony Lopossay (Cleveland Community College, Chatham Central)

Former Chatham Central pitcher Anthony Lopossay will return to Cleveland CC for his sophomore season. Last year, he made six appearances and pitched nine innings, striking out three batters and walking ve.

Aidan Allred (William Peace University, Chatham Charter)

a win against Robeson CC on Feb. 8, Cartrette pitched ve innings and struck out eight batters while giving up four hits and two runs.

Jackson Shaner (Guilford, Northwood)

Jackson Shaner, the former Northwood in elder, will play his junior season at Guilford this spring.

Carson Whitehead (Pfei er, Jordan-Matthews)

Chatham Central)

Former Chatham Central catcher Caleigh Warf will play her freshman year at N.C. Wesleyan.

Logan Gunter (Furman, Jordan-Matthews)

Former Jordan-Matthews standout Logan Gunter is looking to return from a knee injury that cut her freshman season short. The sophomore did not appear in Furman’s rst ve games.

Jaylee Williams (Maryland, Chatham Central)

Jaylee Williams, the former Chatham Central out elder, transferred from App State to Maryland for her junior year after making 13 starts as a sophomore.

Daniel White (Wake Tech, Seaforth)

Former Chatham Charter shortstop Aidan Allred transferred from Brunswick CC to William Peace for his sophomore year.

on Saturday behind 15 points each from sophomores Ryder Murphy and Jalen McSwain. Woods Charter snapped a two-game skid with a 66-55 win over Central Carolina on Friday. Junior Alden Phelps led the way with 12 points and six rebounds.

Conference standings as of Sunday (overall, conference)

Daniel White, the former Seaforth standout, will begin his college career at Wake Tech

Big Seven 4A/5A: 1. Seaforth (14-5, 9-1); 2. Orange (81-2, 7-2); 3. South Granville (10-8, 6-2); 4. Webb (8-10, 5-3); 5. Durham School of the Arts (7-14, 2-8); 6. Cedar Ridge (3 -15, 1-7); 7. Carrboro (1-18, 1-8)

this spring. White is listed as a pitcher and out elder.

Zach Cartrette (Guilford Tech, Chatham Charter)

Former Chatham Charter pitcher Zach Cartrette will play his freshman season at Guilford Tech. For his rst start in

Carson Whitehead, the former Jordan-Matthews catcher, will play his senior season at Pfei er. Whitehead transferred to Pfei er for his junior season after previously playing at Brevard. Last year, Whitehead logged 79 putouts and a .968 elding percentage.

SOFTBALL

Caleigh Warf (North Carolina Wesleyan,

Delana Lo in (Blue eld University, Chatham Charter)

Former Chatham Charter standout Delana Lo in is returning to Blue eld University as a utility player for her sophomore season. Last year, Loflin recorded the fth-most hits on the team (26) with 12 RBIs, two home runs and a .232 batting average.

Central Tar Heel 1A: 1. Southern Wake (14-4, 6-0); 2. Chatham Charter (15-8, 7-1); 3. Clover Garden (7-9, 5-2); 4. Woods Charter (14-7, 6-3); 5. Ascend Leadership (5-17, 3-5); 6. River Mill (1-18, 1-8); 7. Central Carolina Academy (1-19, 0-9) Greater Triad 1A/2A: 1. South Stokes (16-2, 7-0); 2. Bishop McGuinness (13-5, 5-2); 3. Winston-Salem Prep (8-11, 4-3); 4. Chatham Central (12-6, 3-4); 5. College Prep and Leadership (5-15, 3-5); 6. North Stokes (4-14, 2-4); 7. South Davidson (0-16, 0-6) Four Rivers 3A/4A: 1. Northwood (15-4, 7-0); 2. Uwharrie Charter (12-6, 3-1); 3. Southwestern Randolph (8 - 8, 2-2); 4. Jordan-Matthews (9-10, 2-3); T5. North Moore (4-10, 0-4); T5. Eastern Randolph (3-14, 0-4)

Power rankings (week of Feb. 2): 1. Northwood; 2. Seaforth; 3. Chatham Central; 4. Jordan-Matthews; 5. Chatham Charter; 6. Woods Charter Previous power rankings: 1. Northwood; 2. Seaforth; 3. Chatham Central; 4. Jordan-Matthews; 5. Chatham Charter; Woods Charter Girls’ basketball

Woods Charter senior Wesley Oliver torched Central Carolina with a career-high 36 points in a 56-8 win Friday. She notched four 3s and recorded a team-high eight steals to go along with her second 30-point game of the season.

Northwood sophomore Noelle Whitaker scored a career-high 16 points to help the Chargers defeat Jordan-Matthews 66-22 on Feb. 5. The following night, Northwood dominated North Moore 63-15 for its sixth win in a row.

Clover Garden (11-5, 7-0); 2. Chatham Charter (10-13, 7-1); 3. Woods Charter (13-8, 6-3); 4. Southern Wake (7-4, 4-2); 5. River Mill (3-17, 3-6); 6. Ascend Leadership (1-17, 1-7); 7. Central Carolina (1-18, 0-9) Greater Triad 1A/2A: 1. Bishop McGuinness (14 - 3, 5-0); 2. North Stokes (8-9, 4-1); 3. College Prep and Leadership (15-6, 4-3); 4. South Stokes (9-9, 3-3); 5. Chatham Central (9-8, 1-5); 6. South Davidson (0-16, 0-5) Four Rivers 3A/4A: 1. Northwood (13-5, 6-0); 2. Southwestern Randolph (13 -3, 3-1); 3. Uwharrie Charter (15-3, 3-1); 4. Jordan-Matthews (415, 1-4); T5. Eastern Randolph (1-13, 0-3); T5. North Moore (3 -12, 0-4) Big Seven 4A/5A: 1. Seaforth (15-3, 9-1); 2. Orange (13-6, 8-1); 3. South Granville (11-6, 7-1); 4. Durham School of the Arts (7-14, 3-7); 5. Webb (6-12, 2-6); 6. Carrboro (5-12, 2-7); 7. Cedar Ridge (2-15, 0-8) Power Rankings (week of Feb. 2): 1. Seaforth; 2. Northwood; 3. Chatham Central; 4. Chatham Charter; 5. Woods Charter; 6. Jordan-Matthews Previous power rankings: 1. Seaforth; 2. Northwood; 3. Chatham Central; 4. Chatham Charter; 5. Woods Charter; 6. Jordan-Matthews ROUNDUP from page B1

Chatham Charter junior Camille Alston led the Knights

with 11 points and eight rebounds in a 46-20 win over Southern Wake on Friday. The Knights rolled to their sixth straight win Saturday after de -

feating Central Carolina 56-7. Conference standings as of Sunday (overall, conference) Central Tar Heel 1A: 1.

Meet person behind Super Bowl’s annual confetti blizzard

The same man has done the postgame celebration for 30 years

By Donna Gordon Blankinship The Associated Press

NOAH WINTER brags he’s been to way more Super Bowls than Tom Brady.

Brady competed in 10 — more than any other player. But Winter was part of the Super Bowl spectacle for his 30th straight year this year, not in uniform but as the guy in charge of the celebratory confetti after the game ends.

Winter’s company, Artistry in Motion, also makes confetti for rock concerts, movies, political conventions and the Olympics. But the annual blizzard of color falling onto the eld at the end of each Super Bowl is probably what he’s best known for.

It certainly is what he’s most likely to get asked about at dinner parties.

“It’s become an iconic moment,” Winter marvels, sitting in his Northridge, California, ofce and confetti factory.

Jane Gershovich, a photographer who worked for the Seattle Seahawks when they won the Super Bowl in 2014, said that when the confetti falls, everyone wants to play in it. The players and their families have been known to toss it in the air and make confetti angels.

“Just seeing the players and their kids engage with it at such a wholesome level, it brings a lot of joy to everyone on the eld,” she said.

So, what goes into planning and executing a giant confetti drop? Winter elded some questions.

What happens to the losing team’s confetti?

ti because it turns on its axis and hangs in the air.

“Over the 30 years, we never have launched the wrong color or launched too early.”

Confetti expert Noah Winter

Even if the teams stream onto the eld before the clock runs out, the confetti waits until the timer shows the game is o cially over. And the winners’ colors get the go-ahead.

“It’s always better to be late then early,” Winter explained.

“Sometimes players go out and shake hands. We don’t launch until triple zero on the clock. Over the 30 years, we never have launched the wrong color or launched too early.”

The color mix is not 50-50, because some colors dominate on video, so the company has to experiment to nd the correct mix.

Massachusetts company Sea-

Artistry in Motion trucks 300 pounds of two-colored confetti for each of the teams to the Super Bowl. They bring confetti cannons onto the eld with about 4 minutes remaining, and line them up around the stadium walls.

from page B1

the best position, and it’s all on my teammates for giving me the looks that I needed.”

However, the Hawks quickly cooled down in the second period. Webb nished the rst half outscoring Seaforth 17-4 and took a 26-24 lead at halftime.

Out of the break, both teams exchanged baskets until Webb grew its lead with a late third quarter 7-0 run.

Meador nished the game with 13 points, ve assists and three steals, and Butcher nished with six points to round out the Hawks’ top scorers.

With the win, Seaforth improved to 13-5 and took full control of rst place in the Big Seven conference (8-1). Depending on the results of the last week of conference play, the Hawks could clinch their rst conference title since 2022 at home against second-place Orange Thursday at 8 p.m.

Girls: Seaforth 87, Webb 44

Seaforth senior Katie Leonard notched a new career-high

CHARTER from page B1

o the rim at the buzzer.

The moments leading up to overtime were just as dramatic.

Woods Charter trailed 35 -30 halfway through the fourth quarter before going on an 8-1 run to take a two-point lead with less than two minutes left.

Murphy’s heroics began with a baseline jumper to tie the game at 38 with 37 ticks remaining. The Wolves quickly responded with senior Maxwell Carr’s sixth point of the fourth quarter.

With eight seconds remaining, junior Charlie Jester fouled Murphy on a 3-pointer, sending him to the line for potential go-ahead free throws. He missed all three, but the Knights kept the ball after the last miss bounced o a Woods Charter defender.

On the nal play of regulation, sophomore Ethan Cheek

in an 87-44 rout over Webb on Friday.

Leonard dropped a personal-best 36 points on a 60% shooting clip, including ve made 3s. She set a new record for the most points scored by a girl in a single game in Seaforth history.

Seaforth took a 57-25 lead at halftime thanks to Leonard’s 27 rst half points.

Senior Mia Moore also had a big night as she knocked down three 3s on the way to 12 points (all in the rst half). Junior Annika Johansson scored eight of her 10 points in the second half, which was mostly played under a running clock.

The Hawks’ 87 points were the most they scored in a game in program history.

With the win, they improved to 14-3 overall and 8-1 in Big Seven Conference play. As of Sunday, Seaforth, Orange and South Granville all have one league loss. The Hawks could determine their conference title fate in the season nale against Orange at home Thursday at 6:45 p.m.

found sophomore Breylan Harris under the basket on the inbound, and Harris converted the layup with a foul.

“We knew they were going to go man,” Chatham Charter coach Jason Messier said. “I’ve seen our girls’ basketball team run it, and I knew it was something that would work if we could isolate, open up the seal and get Harris.” Harris missed the free throw, and Woods Charter got one more chance for the win.

With four seconds left, junior Alden Phelps raced his way to a wide open layup, but his shot also bounced out at the buzzer.

Early in the rst overtime period, Chatham Charter’s only senior Kymani Wagner-Jatta, who nished the night with 15 points (nine in the rst half) and 10 rebounds, fouled out. Harris also fouled out early in the second overtime.

man Paper has for 25 years manufactured the tissue paper that Artistry in Motion turns into confetti, said Jamie Jones, one of Seaman’s owners. A lot of New England Patriots fans who work there are particularly excited about their part in this year’s Super Bowl.

The company makes about 150,000 pounds of tissue paper a day — mostly for gift wrapping and food service.

“It’s a very prestigious but not big order,” Jones said of the Super Bowl paper.

How do you get the best utter?

Winter has found that a rectangular shape is best for confet-

But TV viewers might not realize that there are actually two confetti drops at the Super Bowl — one at game’s end, and the other when the Vince Lombardi Trophy is presented to the winning team. That second round of confetti is cut in the silhouette of the trophy.

Messages can be printed on the tiny rectangles too. For a handful of Super Bowls, Artistry in Motion printed social media messages on each tiny ag at the request of event sponsor Twitter.

Some people ask whether the confetti is cut by hand (it isn’t), and Winter jokes that his hands get tired.

How do you get into the confetti business?

Winter studied lighting design in college and did pyrotechnic work at venues including the Hollywood Bowl before Disney asked his team to recreate

leaves falling and twirling for a live “Pocahontas” show in the mid-1980s. Soon, he was creating confetti for Disney’s daily parade at Disneyland.

In 1986, Mick Jagger saw the confetti at Disney and asked Artistry in Motion to make some for a Rolling Stones’ concert at Dodgers Stadium. Then, he brought the edgling confetti company on tour. Other artists, including Bono from U2, asked that confetti be made for their shows as well.

Stadium concerts led to sporting events. The company’s rst Super Bowl was in 1997. The year before that, Winter had been a pyrotechnician at the Super Bowl, making this year’s game his 30th.

Winter wouldn’t admit to having a favorite team, but he did say he has two brothers who are New York Jets fans, and he has promised to bring them to the Super Bowl to work a confetti cannon if their team ever returns.

Murphy, who nished with 16 points, picked up the slack with nine overtime points. Drew Rippe, the only freshman on the team, also chipped in with a huge basket in the second overtime.

“I’m proud of all my guys,” Wagner-Jatta said. “All the people that came o the bench in overtime, they really stepped up. Can’t overstate how important they were.”

Said Murphy, “I had my team. I knew they had my back, so they were helping me all the way through.”

Chatham Charter improved to 14-7 overall and 7-1 in Central Tar Heel Conference play, taking full control of second place in the conference standings.

The Wolves, now fourth in the Central Tar Heel Conference, fell to 13-7 overall and 5-3 in league play. Woods Charter will end its regular sea-

son against Southern Wake at home Friday at 7:30 p.m. The Knights, who have played three times since the win over Woods Charter, will play their regular season nale at Clover Garden Friday at 5 p.m.

Girls: Chatham Charter 44, Woods Charter 38

Chatham Charter held o Woods Charter’s second-half comeback e ort in a 44-38 win on Feb. 5.

Sophomore guard Peyton York led the Knights with 22 points and ve steals. After Woods Charter made a game-changing run in the third quarter, York scored seven fourth quarter points, including three free throws, to keep Chatham Charter on top.

Like the rst meeting of the year won by the Knights, Chatham Charter’s zone created turnovers and limited

the Wolves to 16 points in the rst half. Senior Wesley Oliver scored 12 of those points. With the Wolves trailing by nine going into the third quarter, Oliver led a 12-4 run to bring her team within one at the start of the fourth.

Chatham Charter junior Maggie Rippe also provided crucial fourth quarter buckets to help Chatham Charter close the deal. She nished the night with 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds.

The Knights won their fourth straight game to improve to 8-13 overall and 5-1 in Central Tar Heel Conference play. Meanwhile, the Wolves fell to 12-8 and 6-3 in the league. Woods Charter lost consecutive games for the rst time this season.

The Wolves will end their regular season against Southern Wake at home Friday at 6 p.m. Chatham Charter.

SIDELINE REPORT

COLLEGE ATHLETICS

17 former NC State athletes join abuse lawsuit bringing total to 31

Raleigh Seventeen additional former N.C. State male athletes have joined a state lawsuit alleging sexual abuse under the guise of treatment and harassment by the Wolfpack’s former director of sports medicine. That pushes the total number to 31 in a case that began with a federal lawsuit from a single athlete more than three years ago. The complaint expands a case alleging years of misconduct by Robert L. Murphy Jr. Allegations include improper touching of the genitals during massages and intrusive observation while collecting urine samples during drug testing.

NBA Arbitrator rules

Rozier should receive

$26.6M salary despite gambling charges

Miami An arbitrator ruled

Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier should receive his $26.6 million salary this season despite being on administrative leave because of federal gambling-related charges. Rozier’s paychecks are currently in an interest-bearing account. The National Basketball Players Association argued his case didn’t warrant salary withholding under the collective bargaining agreement. Rozier was arrested in October in a probe involving more than 30 people. He has pleaded not guilty to wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering charges. Rozier is due back in court in March.

NASCAR

Spire Motorsports extends Hocevar’s contract into next decade

Charlotte Spire Motorsports signed Carson Hocevar to a long-term extension, keeping him in the No. 77 Chevrolet “into the next decade.” The deal ensures the 2024 Cup Series rookie of the year stays with the team for at least four more seasons. The 23-year-old Hocevar won his rst career Cup Series pole last year and had nine top-10 nishes. Spire is now majority owned by TWG Motorsports.

AUTO RACING

Palou headlines

5 drivers to be featured on regional milk products

Indianapolis Indianapolis 500 fans will have a chance to toast one of sports’ most iconic victory celebrations — sipping milk with former race winners. Indianapolis Motor Speedway, American Dairy Association Indiana and Prairie Farms Family of Companies will team up to o er single-serve milk bottles and cartons to fans in 20 states. The products will feature race winners on ve di erent kinds of milk. Defending champion Alex Palou headlines a group that includes 2023 and 2024 race winner Josef Newgarden, four-time race winner Helio Castroneves, 2016 race winner Alex Palou and 2008 race winner Scott Dixon.

Teen sensation Zilisch most hyped NASCAR rookie since possibly Gordon

The Charlotte native is ready to race in his rst Daytona 500

By Jenna Fryer The Associated Press

CHARLOTTE — As sleet pelted Bowman Gray Stadium during NASCAR’s preseason warm-up race, multiple drivers complained about poor visibility and the wet track conditions.

One of them — the youngest driver in the eld — hit the button on his radio and grumbled it was time to get back to racing no matter the conditions.

“We’re professional race car drivers — it’s our job to go gure it out,” 19-year-old Connor Zilisch radioed to his team.

The teenager is the most hyped rookie to join the top-level Cup Series in decades.

“I would have to say Je Gordon, honestly,” AJ Allmendinger said of the four-time NASCAR champion who was 20 in his rst Cup Series season in 1992. “There was Joey (Logano) and the whole ‘Sliced Bread’ thing, but I think straight-up hype? Connor is the deal and has already delivered. He’s jumping in everything and performing at very high levels.”

Zilisch will make his Daytona 500 debut on Feb. 15 — four years after attending the race for the very rst time. He was fairly new to racing at the time, had very few connections and sat in the grandstands with tickets as a regular fan as Austin Cindric won as a rookie.

“I think it’s very cool that people think that highly of me, when you are getting compared to Kyle Busch and Joey Logano, there’s nothing to complain about — they have ve Cup championships between them,” Zilisch told The Associated Press. “If I can have a career half as good as either of them, I think that would be a successful career. But I’ve got a lot of time to get to their level. I mean, four years ago I was in the grandstands for the Daytona 500, and to think I’m now going to be in the race is just crazy.”

Not as crazy as it may seem

“Four years ago I was in the grandstands for the Daytona 500 and to think I’m now going to be in the race is just crazy.”

Connor Zilisch

considering the resume of the Charlotte native.

Zilisch started go-karting ve or six years ago and irted brie y with pursuing a career racing in Europe. That dedication has given him a maturity far behind his years that Justin Marks, owner of Trackhouse Racing, recognized immediately as he set a path to get Zilisch to the Cup Series.

In two years of racing sports cars and various NASCAR series, he’s won at almost every level. In 2024 he was part of the class-winning team that scored back-to-back victories at the Rolex 24 at Daytona and then the 12 Hours of Sebring, and the next year returned to the Rolex as teammates with Australian V8 Super Cars champions Scott McLaughlin and Shane van Gisbergen.

McLaughlin is now an In-

dyCar winner for Team Penske and van Gisbergen, who made the Cup Series playo s as a rookie last year, will be Zilisch’s teammate at Trackhouse this year.

“He’s just very mature, but there’s de nitely times when you talk to him and you realize, ‘Oh yeah, you’re 18.’ Like, he’s young, but when he’s on track, he’s very smart and understands how to go about it in a respectful way,” McLaughlin said. “He’s got raw speed, he’s got no fear because he’s young, but at the same time, dudes like that are very temperamental.

“You hope a guy like that has the right environment, and it looks like a good environment for him with Trackhouse.”

Zilisch won a series-high 10 races last year in NASCAR’s second-tier national series but was denied the title in the win-

ner-take-all nale when Jesse Love beat him head to head. That format has been scrapped for 2026, but Zilisch said, after mourning the title loss for a week or so, he’s moved on and accepted Love has a trophy he never will.

The focus is fully on 2026, which is in full swing already. He was part of the second-place nishing team in the Rolex 24 at Daytona in the car owned by NASCAR chairman Jim France. He’ll race this season as teammates to van Gisbergen — and he and the New Zealander should be next to unbeatable on road courses — as well as Ross Chastain, who is eager to help the teen. Zilisch replaced Daniel Suarez in the Trackhouse lineup.

“I want Connor to succeed. If he succeeds, it’s good for me,” Chastain said. “If I can’t win, a Trackhouse win is really good. De nitely want that for Connor, want that for me and want that for Shane. I’m the one clapping the loudest when they’re winning. I want to be right there competing with them and winning races.”

Jurgensen, strong-armed QB whose personality made him beloved football gure, dead at 91

The Hall of Fame quarterback was a two-way star at Duke

By Barry Wilner and Stephen Whyno The Associated Press

SONNY JURGENSEN, the Hall of Fame quarterback whose strong arm, keen wit and a able personality made him one of the most beloved gures in Washington football history, has died. He was 91.

Jurgensen’s family said he died of natural causes in Naples, Florida, after a brief stay in hospice care.

“We are enormously proud of his amazing life and accomplishments on the eld, marked not only by a golden arm but also a fearless spirit and intellect that earned him a place among the legends in Canton,” his family said in a statement. “He lived with deep appreciation for the teammates, colleagues and friends he met along the way. While he has taken his nal snap, his legacy will remain an indelible part of the city he loved and the family he built.”

Jurgensen arrived in Washington in 1964 in a surprise quarterback swap that sent Norm Snead to the Philadelphia Eagles. Over the next 11 seasons, Jurgensen rewrote the team’s record books.

He topped 3,000 yards in a season ve times, including twice with Philadelphia, in an era before rules changes opened up NFL o enses. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983 and remains the only Wash-

ington player to wear the No. 9 jersey in a game.

“Sonny Jurgensen is, and always will be, one of the dening legends of Washington football,” said controlling owner Josh Harris, who grew up a fan. “For me, Sonny was the embodiment of what it means to don the burgundy and gold: tough, smart and endlessly devoted to this franchise and its fans.”

Jurgensen’s four-plus decades of association with the franchise in Washington as a quarterback and then as a broadcaster made him a one -name celebrity in the nation’s capital. He was the one and only Sonny, contrary but loyal: the everyman red-headed football player with the out-of-shape belly who kept a connection with fans but could also pull out a cigar and hobnob with the team owner.

“Sonny Jurgensen is, and always will be, one of the de ning legends of Washington football.”

Josh Harris, Washington Commanders owner

Notorious for breaking curfew, Jurgensen was also known for ignoring coaches and joking about his less-than-ideal physique. He more than compensated with his pinpoint passing from the pocket, helping make the then-Redskins exciting and competitive again, leading the team to more victories in his rst three seasons than the club had won in its previous six.

“All I ask of my blockers is 4 seconds,” he once said. “I try to stay on my feet and not be forced out of the pocket. I beat people by throwing, not running.”

Jurgensen played through numerous injuries and even won over the notoriously tough Vince Lombardi, who coached Washington to its rst winning season in more than a decade in 1969. Lombardi said of Jurgensen, “He is the best I have seen.”

“Few players could rival Sonny Jurgensen’s genuine love of the game that continued long after his playing days,” Hall of Fame president Jim Porter said. “Watching Sonny throw a football was like watching a master craftsman create a work of art.”

Jurgensen nished his career with 2,433 completions for 32,224 yards and a 57.1 completion percentage. He threw 255 touchdown passes, 189 interceptions and had

a career rating of 82.6. He made the Pro Bowl ve times, led the NFL in passing yards ve times and will always be in the record books for an untoppable 99-yard touchdown pass to Gerry Allen in 1968. Washingtonians too young to remember Jurgensen as a player came to adore him for his astute observations as part of the radio broadcast.

Jurgensen wouldn’t hesitate to question decisions and performances he didn’t like, especially when it came to quarterbacks. He often pined for the days when quarterbacks were allowed to call their own plays.

Born Christian Adolph Jurgensen III in Wilmington on Aug, 23, 1934, Jurgensen was a two-way star at Duke and was drafted in the fourth round by the Eagles in 1957. He sat behind Norm Van Brocklin until 1961, when he took over the starting job and threw for 3,723 yards, 32 touchdown and 24 interceptions — all league highs.

Three years later he found himself on the way to Washington on April 1, 1964.

“Someone came in and said, ‘You were traded to the Redskins,’ ” Jurgensen said in a 2007 interview. “I said ‘No, it’s April Fools’ Day, you’re kidding.’ He said, ‘No, I’m not kidding. I just heard it on the radio.’

“So I was shocked.”

Actor Keaton honored by theater as Harvard’s Hasty Pudding Man of the Year

Je rey Epstein was a longtime donor of the theater group

By Michael Casey and Leah Willingham The Associated Press

BOSTON — Actor Michael Keaton jousted with an Oscar statue and made burgers last Friday night as he was roasted before receiving the 2026 Man of the Year by Harvard University’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals.

The theater group, which dates to 1844 and claims to be the world’s third oldest still operating, presented Keaton with his Pudding Pot award during the evening celebration. Afterward, he attended a performance of Hasty Pudding’s 177th production, “Salooney Tunes.”

Hasty Pudding Theatricals gives out its Man and Woman of the Year awards to people who have made lasting and impressive contributions to the world of entertainment.

Keaton, an Academy Award-nominated and Emmy-winning actor, is known for roles in such lms as “Batman,” “Birdman,” “Beetlejuice” and “Spotlight.” More recently, he starred in and directed the short lm “Sweetwater” and starred in and was executive producer on the eight-part Hulu miniseries “Dopesick.”

“I thought your performance in ‘Birdman’ was subpar.”

Micheal Keaton

The ceremony opened with Keaton donning a Batman costume and chasing after an Oscar statue — a nod to the fact he never won one, though he was nominated in 2015 for “Birdman.” Keaton then jousted with the gure before stabbing it after the statue told him, “I thought your performance in ‘Birdman’ was subpar.”

He later was dressed up as a McDonald’s worker, a reference to his role-playing Ray Kroc in a movie about the making of the fast-food megachain. Armed with a spatula, he served a single customer who increasingly demanded bigger and bigger burgers while Keaton tried his best.

“You didn’t think I could do this. Make a huge burger for the guy,” Keaton said.

Keaton then received his Pudding Pot. After spending the day on campus, he praised Harvard students.

Afterward he took questions from reporters and recalled his time working with Catherine O’Hara, the Canadian-born comic actor and “SCTV” alum

who died last week. Keaton starred alongside O’Hara in “Beetlejuice” and “The Paper,” along with the small movie “Game 6,” in which she played the ex-wife of Keaton’s character.

“I was just always a giant fan like everyone else,” Keaton said while recalling the early days of her career. “What was great about Catherine’s career to me was ... inside the comedy world, she was already kind of a goddess. ... She wasn’t really famous or anything, but we all knew how brilliant she was and how great she was and what a nice woman she was. And so then it started to take o for her.”

Keaton also recalled how much he came to admire Kroc in the making of the movie and made sure Kroc understood they would not “sugarcoat” or “soften” his portrayal.

Keaton added that for all Kroc’s faults, “He was an unbelievably hard worker. That was the thing I hung on to, that determination.”

Last week’s event came days after the Justice Department released a huge trove of records surrounding Je rey Epstein, a longtime donor to the organization. The documents provided new details about the amount of money Epstein had given to Hasty Pudding roughly between 2013 and 2019, regularly donating $50,000 each year to secure top-tier donor status.

this week in history

Dresden rebombed, NAACP founded, King Tut’s tomb unsealed, Pluto discovered

FEB. 12

1554: Lady Jane Grey, who claimed the English throne for nine days, and her husband, Guildford Dudley, were beheaded after being convicted of high treason.

1809: Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, was born in a log cabin at Sinking Spring Farm near Hodgenville, Kentucky.

1909: The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was founded in New York City.

FEB. 13

1935: A jury in Flemington, New Jersey, found Bruno Richard Hauptmann guilty of rst-degree murder in the kidnap-slaying of Charles A. Lindbergh Jr., the 20-month- old son of Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh. (Hauptmann was executed the following year.)

1945: Allied forces in World War II began a three - day bombing raid on Dresden, Germany, killing as many as 25,000 people and triggering

Olympic art project in Milan Park invites public to ‘re ect’ on Games’ spirit

Students, teachers and local citizens helped create the art installation

By María Teresa Hernández

The Associated Press

MILAN— A project in Olympics host city Milan has invited parkgoers to re ect on the values of sport — both guratively and literally.

“Together to Re ect” was conceived as a collective artwork that takes shape as slender stakes topped with mirrors, on which people write their thoughts about sports and the Games.

Anthony Cardamone was scrolling through Instagram when the initiative caught his eye. That prompted him to head to a corner of the public park known by its Italian acronym BAM with his wife and 7-year-old daughter on Sunday. It was the only day scheduled for people to write their messages.

“For me, sport is about being

“The idea is that, for a moment, the written thoughts and the person expressing it overlap. So, your re ection and your message become one.”

Chiara Vico, NABA professor

together, it’s about sharing and measuring your own abilities,” said Cardamone, whose daughter wrote the word “brave” on one of the dozens of mirrored owers.

“This activity helps her understand why sport is important and how beautiful it can be,” he added.

The project was developed by BAM and NABA, Milan’s academy of ne arts.

“When people think about the Olympics, they often think only about sports, but the Games are not just about the athletes and

a restorm that swept through the city center.

1965: During the Vietnam War, President Lyndon B. Johnson authorized Operation Rolling Thunder, an extended bombing campaign against the North Vietnamese.

FEB. 14

1779: English explorer James Cook was killed on the island of Hawaii during a confrontation after Cook’s attempt to kidnap Hawaiian monarch Kalaniʻōpuʻu as leverage to recover a boat stolen from one of Cook’s ships.

1876: Inventors Alexander Graham Bell and Elisha Gray applied separately for patents related to the telephone. (The U.S. Supreme Court eventually ruled Bell the rightful inventor.)

1929: The “St. Valentine’s Day Massacre” took place in a Chicago garage as seven rivals of Al Capone’s gang were gunned down.

FEB. 15

1879: President Rutherford B. Hayes signed legislation allowing female attorneys to argue cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.

1898: The battleship USS Maine mysteriously explod-

16, 1959,

and

ed in Havana Harbor, killing more than 260 crew members and pushing the United States closer to war with Spain.

1933: President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt survived an assassination attempt in Miami that mortally wounded Chicago Mayor Anton J. Cermak.

FEB. 16

1862: The Civil War Battle of Fort Donelson in Tennessee ended with the surrender of about 12,000 Confederate

soldiers, a Union victory that earned Gen. Ulysses S. Grant the nickname “Unconditional Surrender Grant.”

1923: The burial chamber of King Tutankhamen’s recently discovered tomb was unsealed in Egypt by English archaeologist Howard Carter.

1959: Fidel Castro was sworn in as premier of Cuba, six weeks after dictator Fulgencio Batista was overthrown and ed into exile.

FEB. 17

1801: The U.S. House of Representatives broke an electoral tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, electing Je erson president and making Burr vice president.

1864: During the Civil War, the Union ship USS Housatonic was rammed and sunk in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, by the Confederate hand-cranked submarine HL Hunley in the rst naval attack of its kind; the Hunley also sank.

FEB. 18

1885: Mark Twain’s “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” was published in the U.S. 1930: The dwarf planet Pluto was discovered by American astronomer Clyde Tombaugh.

the medals,” said Francesca Colombo, BAM’s cultural general director. “They are about values and this is where culture is so powerful; because through art — music, dance, ballet — it can transmit these values.”

Roberta Massaccesi, a sports enthusiast who happened to be strolling through BAM when she

spotted the mirrors, said her son asked to participate. He made a drawing expressing that sports are good for everyone.

“We just went to a hockey match, and it was the rst time for me and him to join an Olympic event,” Massaccessi said. “It was amazing!” Students from NABA were

among volunteers at the exhibition. Professor Chiara Vico said the mirrors enable people to see their face as they share their thoughts.

“The idea is that, for a moment, the written thoughts and the person expressing it overlap,” Vico said. “So, your re ection and your message become one.”

famous birthdays this week

Judy Blume celebrates 88, Henry Rollins turns 65, John McEnroe is 67, Yoko Ono hits 93

THESE CELEBRITIES have birthdays this week.

FEB. 12

Film director Costa-Gavras is 93. Author Judy Blume is 88. Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak is 84. Country singer Moe Bandy is 82. Musician Michael McDonald is 74.

Actor-talk show host Arsenio Hall is 70. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh is 61.

FEB. 13

Actor Kim Novak is 93. Actor Stockard Channing is 82.

Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut is 80. Basketball Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski is 79. Musician Peter Gabriel is 76. Musician Peter Hook is 70. Singer-writer Henry Rollins is 65.

FEB. 14

Former New York City mayor and businessman Michael Bloomberg is 84. Saxophonist Maceo Parker is 83. Journalist Carl Bernstein is 82. Magician Teller (Penn and Teller) is 78. Opera singer Renée Fleming is 67. Actor Meg Tilly is 66.

FEB. 15

Actor Claire Bloom is 95. Songwriter Brian Holland is 85. Jazz musician Henry Threadgill is 82. Composer John Adams is 79. Cartoonist Art Spiegelman is 78. Actor Jane Seymour is 75. Actor Lynn Whit eld is 73. “The Simpsons” creator Matt Groening is 72.

FEB. 16

Businessman Carl Icahn is 90. Author Eckhart Tolle is 78. Actor William Katt is 75. Actor LeVar Burton is 69. Actor-rapper Ice-T is 68. Tennis Hall of Famer John McEnroe is 67. Football Hall of Famer Jerome Bettis is 54.

FEB. 17

Artist-singer Yoko Ono

Irma

Actor Brenda Fricker is 81. Actor Rene Russo is 72. Actor Lou Diamond Phillips is 64. Basketball Hall of Famer Mi-

the stream

Timothée Chalamet in ‘Marty Supreme,’ Charli xcx, Ethan Hawke, ‘Cross’ returns

Director Richard Linklater’s “Blue Moon” lands on Net ix Saturday

The Associated Press

TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET

starring as a table tennis wizard in “Marty Supreme” and Charli xcx’s soundtrack to Emily Brontë’s “Wuthering Heights” 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: Richard Linklater’s deliciously wistful “Blue Moon” starring Ethan Hawke, Aldis Hodge returning for Season 2 of “Cross” and Nintendo may have its most frenetic tennis game yet with Mario Tennis Fever.

MOVIES TO STREAM

Pull up a chair to listen to Hawke’s Lorenz Hart hold court in Linklater’s deliciously wistful “Blue Moon” (Saturday on Net ix). Linklater’s lm spends one night with the celebrated lyricist who is watching his longtime songwriter partner, Richard Rodgers (Andrew Scott) move on with the premiere of “Oklahoma!” on Broadway. Hawke is nominated for best actor by the Oscars. In his review, AP Film Writer Jake Coyle called Hawke’s Hart “extraordinarily good company.”

The A24 romance “Eternity” (Friday on Apple TV) stars Elizabeth Olsen in an afterlife conundrum. In a kind of weigh-station purgatory, she must choose how to spend her afterlife, with her longtime husband (Miles Turner) or her rst love (Callum Turner), who died in World War II. In her review, AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr called “Eternity” “imaginative and shrewdly whimsical with an utterly charming cast.”

Another A24 hit, “Marty Supreme,” is now streaming on premium video-on-demand. It’s the rst chance to watch one of 2025’s most acclaimed and Oscar-nominated movies at home. In her review, AP’s Jocelyn Noveck called it “a nerve-busting adren-

CHRIS

Timothée Chalamet poses in the press room with the award for best performance by a male actor in a motion picture — musical or comedy for “Marty Supreme” at the 83rd Golden Globe Awards on Jan. 11. The lm is available on premium video-on-demand.

aline jolt of a movie.” Chalamet stars as a 1950s shoe salesman in New York hellbent on becoming the world’s top professional ping-pong player.

MUSIC TO STREAM

Patience is a virtue and time is luxury, particularly for those subject to the music industry. Luckily, Jill Scott, the once-in-a-generation R&B, neo-soul-and-then-some singer, plays by her own rules. On Friday, she will release “To Whom This May Concern,” her sixth studio album and rst full-length project in a decade. Lead singles “Beautiful People” and “Pressha” make it clear that this a meditative release born of experience — lush production, live instrumentation and at its center, the intimacy of Scott’s unmistakable voice like a musical north star. The album will also feature Ab-Soul, J.I.D., Tierra Whack and Too $hort. Charli xcx’s rst full-length album since “Brat” summer came and went is the soundtrack

to Emerald Fennell’s starry adaptation of Emily Brontë’s “Wuthering Heights,” out Friday. It might be wise not to expect the neon chartreuse of her rave work; the rst taste came in the form of “House” featuring John Cale, an industrial, goth-

ic introduction to the romance. That song, to quote Charli quoting Cale, is both “elegant and brutal.” Other moments contain Charli’s signatures: autotuned vocals, unexpected production, shackled pop hooks. If that resonates, begin with

“Marty Supreme” is a nerve-busting adrenaline jolt of a movie.”

Jocelyn Noveck, AP Film Writer

“Wall of Sound” and “Chains of Love.”

SERIES TO STREAM

Hodge is back as Alex Cross, the detective created by novelist James Patterson, in Season 2 of “Cross” for Prime Video. In the new episodes, Cross is on the case of a serial killer hunting corrupt billionaire.

VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY

While most of the world is watching the Winter Olympics, our friends in the Mushroom Kingdom are hitting the courts in Mario Tennis Fever. This could be Nintendo’s most frenetic tennis game yet, thanks to “fever rackets” that let you uncork reballs, lightning bolts, tornadoes and other e ects against your opponents. You can play singles or doubles matches against friends, choosing from a cast of 38 favorites like Princess Peach, Donkey Kong and Yoshi. Or you can play solo in an adventure that turns Mario and company into babies who have to learn tennis skills before they can grow up. Opening serve comes Thursday on Switch 2.

Tokyo’s Grasshopper Manufacture has built a reputation over the years with extravagantly gory games like No More Heroes and Lollipop Chainsaw. Its latest is Romeo is a Dead Man, in which the studio promises “super bloody action” and “crazy twists and turns to blow players’ minds.” Romeo Stargazer is an FBI agent hunting fugitives across multiple universes after the space-time continuum collapses. He can wield swords, guns and more futuristic weapons, and he can summon small minions to attack en masse. And yes, there is a missing girlfriend named Juliet. Let these violent delights commence on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S and PC.