VOLUME 147 ISSUE 33 | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2024
CHATHAMNEWSRECORD.COM
Make it count Yards were tough to come by in the Battle for Pittsboro, but Seaforth sophomore quarterback Duncan Parker (7) lowered his shoulder to earn a few more. He finished with a team-high 89, but the Hawks lost to Northwood, 9-6. For more sports, turn to page B1.
GENE GALIN FOR CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD
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BRIEF this week
Patriots will go with Drake Maye, benching Brissett The New England Patriots reportedly are planning to give first-round draft pick Drake Maye his first pro start in the hopes of ending a four-game losing streak under veteran journeyman quarterback Jacoby Brissett. The decision was first reported by NFL Network. Maye, an N.C. native and star at UNC, made one previous appearance for New England, coming in at the end of a Week 3 loss to the New York Jets and going 4 for 8 with 22 yards. Brissett was 79 for 135 with two touchdowns and one interception in five starts this season. He never threw for more than 150 net yards in a game. The Patriots host the Houston Texans on Sunday.
FEMA administrator decrys false claims as Helene death toll hits 230 The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency is again forcefully pushing back against false claims and conspiracy theories about how her agency is responding to Hurricane Helene. FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell appeared Monday in Asheville, North Carolina, to assure residents that the government is ready to help. Misinformation has spread over the past week in communities hit the hardest. Former President Donald Trump and other prominent Republicans have questioned FEMA’s response and claimed that its funding is going to migrants or foreign wars. The death toll from Helene has risen to at least 230.
Chatham County Many voters in NC have bigger problems than politics considering Helene changed everything for many in western NC By Makiya Seminera The Associated Press VILAS — Brad Farrington pulls over to grab a case of water bottles being passed out in Vilas, a small rural community tucked away in the Blue Ridge Mountains. He’s on his way to help a friend who lost much of what he owned when Hurricane Helene blew through last weekend. His friend, like countless others across western North Carolina, is starting over, which explains why Farrington isn’t thinking too much about politics or the White House race between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris right now. “I don’t believe people’s hope is in either people that are being elected,” he said. Farrington pauses, then gestures toward a dozen volunteers loading
water and other necessities into cars and trucks. “I believe we’re finding a lot more hope within folks like this,” he said. In the election’s final weeks, people in North Carolina and Georgia, influential swing states, are dealing with more immediate concerns: widespread storm damage. If that weren’t enough, voters in Watauga County, a ticket-splitting Appalachian county that has become more Democratic in recent years, must contend with politicians laying blame while offering support as they campaign in a race that could be decided by any small shift. Large uprooted trees litter the sides of roads, sometimes blocking driveways. Some homes in Vilas are inaccessible after bridges collapsed and roads crumbled. More populous areas like Boone, home of Appalachian State, saw major flooding. Residents wonder where are missing friends and relatives, is there See POLITICS, page A10
Inside the mountain town Helene nearly wiped out Chimney Rock Village was one of the hardest hit By Allen G. Breed The Associated Press CHIMNEY ROCK VILLAGE — The stone tower that gave this place its name was nearly a half billion years in the making — heated and thrust upward from deep in the Earth, then carved and eroded by wind and water. But in just a few minutes, nature undid most of what it has taken humans a century and a quarter to build in the North Carolina mountain town of Chimney Rock. “It feels like I was deployed, like, overnight and woke up in ... a combat zone,” Iraq War veteran Chris Canada said as a massive twin-propped Chinook helicopter passed over his adopted hometown. “I don’t think it’s sunk in yet.”
Nearly 400 miles from where Hurricane Helene made landfall Sept. 26 along Florida’s Big Bend, the hamlet of about 140 souls on the banks of the Broad River has been all but wiped from the map. The backs of restaurants and gift shops that boasted riverfront balconies dangle ominously in mid-air. The Hickory Nut Brewery, opened when Rutherford County went “wet” and started serving alcohol about a decade ago, collapsed last Wednesday, nearly a week after the storm. See CHIMNEY ROCK, page A3
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merger with TriRiver Water The county could soon see itself under a singular water and wastewater service provider By Ryan Henkel Chatham News & Record
PITTSBORO — Chatham County and the Town of Siler City are considering merging water and wastewater services with TriRiver Water, a new combined utility serving Sanford and Pittsboro. The merger would combine the majority of Chatham County under a single water and wastewater service umbrella. Per a TriRiver press release, the merger would add approximately 15,000 customers to TriRiver Water’s existing 23,000-customer base. TriRiver states that the benefits of the merger would include reduced operational costs, greatSee WATER, page A3