VOLUME 147 ISSUE 18 | THURSDAY, JUNE 27, 2024
CHATHAMNEWSRECORD.COM
inside Autos editor Jordan Golson found himself in Peoria, the midwest of the midwest, last week to check out Caterpillar’s most advanced machines and technology. Turn to NSJ page A12 for all the details.
JORDAN GOLSON / CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD
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BRIEF this week
Siler City robbery and shooting under investigation A robbery and shooting incident in Siler City last Thursday is under investigation by the Chatham County Sheriff and Siler City PD. The incident began around 11:30 p.m. when a juvenile was robbed on Fairfax Street. The victim and another juvenile pursued the suspect, leading to a shooting near Bray Park on Alston Bridge Road. One juvenile was injured and airlifted to UNC Hospitals. Authorities believe this was an isolated incident with no ongoing threat to public safety. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Chatham Sheriff’s Office.
Briscoe tapped to replace retiring Truex at Joe Gibbs Racing Chase Briscoe and Joe Gibbs Racing confirmed that the NASCAR driver will replace the retiring Martin Truex Jr. in the No. 19 Toyota for the 2025 Cup Series season. The annoucement came days after driver Christopher Bell accidentally spoiled the surprise at a press conference. Briscoe is set to become the first driver among the four at Stewart-Haas Racing to land a Cup ride for 2025. SHR announced last month it would close its organization at the end of this season. Briscoe is currently 16th in the Cup points standings.
Boy who died at nature therapy camp couldn’t breathe in tentlike structure Medical examiners say a boy who died while enrolled in a nature therapy camp couldn’t breathe in the tentlike structure he was sleeping in. The 12-year-old died in February in western NC while participating in the Trails Carolina wilderness program for troubled youths. An autopsy report was released Monday. It focused on the boy’s damaged bivy, or small camping enclosure. The bivy’s internal mesh door was torn, and a weather-resistant door was used instead to secure the opening. Medical examiners noted that fully securing a bivy’s weather resistant opening can lead to “breathing restriction.”
VINFAST HANDOUT
The VinFast VF3 electric car on display at CES in Las Vegas in January.
VinFast puts Chatham on hold, hopes tiny, sub-$10K EV will change its fortunes The new car, aimed at Asian markets, could buy enough time to crack the U.S. market (maybe) By Aniruddha Ghosal The Associated Press HANOI, Vietnam — Vietnamese automaker VinFast, for a short time the third-most valuable car company in the world, has a big problem: It just can’t sell enough cars.
Idle factories bleed money and the company’s financial health is at stake. After finding the U.S. market a tough nut to crack, VinFast is hoping its tiniest and cheapest car yet — a roughly 10-foot-long pure battery electric mini-SUV priced at $9,200 and called the VF3 — will become Vietnam’s “national car” and win over consumers in Asian markets. Designed specifically for the Vietnamese and other Asian markets, the VF3 is priced for
Traveling Vietnam War Memorial makes stop in North Carolina Visitors to “The Wall That Heals” bring sentiment and reflection By Bob Sutton Chatham News & Record ASHEBORO — They came for many reasons, but those gathering across several days at “The Wall That Heals” had something in common. They wanted to recognize the sacrifices of Vietnam War veterans and pay tributes to the military in general. “The Wall That Heals” was set up on the South Asheboro Middle School baseball field from last Wednesday through early Sunday afternoon. “It’s more than I expected,”
said Shawn Parrish, a Randleman resident who had served in the Air Force. Asheboro’s Carlene and Renee Corder arrived with a specific purpose: to honor Charles R. Chriscoe, who grew up with Carlene in the Seagrove community. “It’s a lot of names,” Carlene Corder said after finding Chriscoe’s name on the wall. “The Wall That Heals” is a three-quarter scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall in Washington, D.C., that travels around the country. The names of 58,281 men and women who died in the Vietnam War are listed. “It’s something you should See MEMORIAL, page A10
“mass appeal,” according to VinFast. It expects bigger sales for it than from earlier models that were meant mainly for export to Western countries, Le Thi Thuy, Vingroup’s chairperson, said in an earnings call in April. VinFast was dreaming of breaking into the big leagues of global automakers when it launched sales in the U.S. last year and listed its shares on the
VinFast is reviewing and evaluating “all aspects of the construction process” for its Chatham County facility.
See VINFAST, page A10
Chapel Hill bond referendum heads to voters in November Affordable housing, public facilities and streets and sidewalks to benefit By Ryan Henkel Chatham News & Record CHAPEL HILL — The Town Council wrapped up its last two meetings in mid-June before heading off for a summer break, and voted to put a major bond referendum before voters in November. The bond issuance would total $44 million — the maximum amount of debt the town can take on without raising taxes — with $15 million earmarked for affordable housing, another $15 million for public facilities,
$7.5 million for streets and sidewalks, $4.5 million for parks and recreation facilities, and $2 million for open spaces and greenways. The referendum will be on the Chapel Hill ballots alongside votes for president and governor. In other business, the council approved a 15-year building See CHAPEL HILL, page A7
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