VOLUME 147 ISSUE 40 | THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2024
CHATHAMNEWSRECORD.COM
Mat history JordanMatthews’ Ruth Interiano (center) and Alexandria Zumano (right) meet with the captain of Apex Friendship before the first girls’ wrestling dual meet in school history. Interiano wrestled the first match in J-M school history, while Zumano picked up the first win. J-M lost to Apex Friendship 30‑6. We have more on the start of girls’ wrestling in the county on B1.
@JMHS_LIVE / X)
the
BRIEF this week
County commissioners adopt new Unified Development Ordinance
Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson walks off the stage after speaking at an election night watch party in Raleigh.
Chatham gas station sells winning $5K lottery ticket Pittsboro A lucky lottery ticket buyer in Pittsboro won $5,000 on a Lucky for Life ticket, the N.C. Education Lottery shared in a post on X last week. The ticket was sold at Neal’s Gas & Convenience on East Street and required the buyer to match four white balls plus the Lucky ball. Had they matched all five white balls and the Lucky ball, the winner would have won $1,000 per day for life, albeit before taxes. A player at the same store won the same prize on the same game back in July. It is not known if it was the same person who won the prize both times, though that would be very improbable.
Statewide holiday “Click It or Ticket” campaign kicks off Last year in North Carolina, 495 people died in unbuckled crashes, and Thanksgiving marks the launch of a statewide Click It or Ticket enforcement campaign. From Nov. 25 to Dec. 1, law enforcement officers across all 100 counties will increase patrols to keep everyone safe during the holiday travel period. Choosing not to buckle up is dangerous and can be expensive. Drivers in North Carolina can face up to $187 in fines and fees if anyone in their vehicle is not wearing a seat belt. Half of those killed in crashes in North Carolina were not wearing their seat belt.
$2.00
CHUCK BURTON / AP PHOTO
“Robinson did not and cannot plausibly allege facts that show that CNN published the Article with actual malice.” Mark Nebrig, CNN attorney
CNN wants Robinson’s defamation lawsuit thrown out by courts The network says N.C.’s lieutenant governor has provided no evidence of wrongdoing By Gary D. Robertson The Associated Press RALEIGH — CNN wants a court to dismiss a defamation lawsuit filed by Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson that attacks its report that he made explicit posts on a pornog-
The new UDO will take effect July 1, 2025 By Ryan Henkel Chatham News & Record
raphy website’s message board. The network says Robinson presented no evidence that the network believed its story was false or aired it recklessly. The September report says Robinson, who ran unsuccessfully for governor this month, left statements over a decade ago on the message board in which, in part, he referred to himself as a “black NAZI” and said
PITTSBORO — Chatham County will be operating under a new land use plan in the coming year after the Chatham County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the adoption of the Recode Chatham Unified Development Ordinance which will be implemented on July 1, 2025. The UDO is a “transformative initiative aimed at streamlining land use and development processes, fostering balanced community growth, and preserving the county’s cherished rural character for generations to come.” It has been in development for approximately three years and is designed to work alongside Plan Chatham, the county’s comprehensive plan. “My fellow Commissioners and I are so grateful for the great work of staff, the consultants and everyone involved in this essential project over the last three years,” said Chatham County Board of Commissioners Chair Mike Dasher in a press release.
See LAWSUIT, page A9
See COUNTY, page A3
Whistleblower sounds alarm about destruction of tribal sites in NC A USFS archeologist says irresponsible behavior has damaged historic sites By Susan Montoya Bryan The Associated Press SPEAR POINTS, hammer stones and picks lost to history under layers of leaves, roots and rocks — it was the evidence Scott Ashcraft was looking for. The ancient tools were inadvertently unearthed in 2021 by a bulldozer fighting a wildfire along a steep slope in western North Carolina. Ashcraft, a career U.S. Forest Service archaeologist, knew these wooded mountainsides held more
clues to early human history in the Appalachian Mountains than anyone had imagined. He tried for years to raise the alarm to forest managers, saying outdated modeling that ignored the artifacts sometimes hidden on steep terrain — especially sites significant to Native American tribes — needed to be reconsidered when planning for prescribed fires, logging projects, new recreational trails and other work on national forest lands. Instead, Ashcraft says managers retaliated against him and pushed ahead with their plans, often violating historic preservation and environmenSee LAND, page A10
What’s happened at the forest unit and the regional level is egregious. It’s unconscionable.” Valerie Grussing, National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers executive director