VOLUME 10 ISSUE 15 | THURSDAY, JUNE 5, 2025
NSJONLINE.COM
DAVID ZALUBOWSKI / AP PHOTO
“Act of terror”
Flowers are placed along a makeshift barrier outside of the Boulder County, Colo., courthouse Monday a day after what officials have labeled as a terror attack that targeted Jewish demonstrators. See more on page A8.
Some state tax refunds delayed
the
BRIEF this week
The North Carolina Department of Revenue said printed checks were running behind after a vendor went out of business
1 dead, 11 hurt in Catawba shooting Hickory One person was killed and 11 others were hurt when gunfire erupted outside a house party in Catawba County. Some suffered gunshot wounds and others were injured fleeing the shooting in a usually quiet residential neighborhood, sheriff’s deputies said. Authorities said at least 80 shots were fired in the shooting that began at about 12:45 a.m. A statement from the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office said a 58-year-old man, Shawn Patrick Hood, of Lenoir, was killed, the oldest of the victims who ranged in age from as young as 16. Authorities believe there was more than one shooter, a sheriff’s spokesperson said.
Former state representative Ager dead at 91 Raleigh Former N.C. statehouse Rep. Efton Medford Ager died May 27 while in the care at the Brookdale Assisted Living in Goldsboro. He was 91. Sager represented the 11th District (including part of Wayne County) from 2009 to January 2013. He was born on June 10, 1933, in Galena, Missouri, where he lived for most of his youth, later graduated from Pierce City High School in 1950. Prior to entering politics, Sager served in the U.S. Air Force from 195071, achieving the rank of master sergeant. In 2017, he was presented with the state’s highest honor, the Order of the Long Leaf Pine. Sager is survived by his children, David Arthur Sager of Goldsboro and Debra Ann Kornegay of Hillsborough, as well as two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
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By A.P. Dillon North State Journal
Audit: Sandhills CC has $6.2M in reporting errors The report cited over and understatement of certain receipts, projects By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — A financial audit of Sandhills Community College identified “$6.2 million in financial reporting errors.” According to the Office of the
RALEIGH — North Carolinians expecting a paper tax refund check should expect delays. The state Department of Revenue (NCDOR) issued a statement May 15 indicating that the print and mail vendor used for refund checks had unexpectedly gone out of business. The vendor, Professional Mail Services Inc., had been used by the department since 2014. See REFUNDS, page A2
House Speaker Destin Hall (R-Granite Falls)
North Carolina Department of Revenue
State Auditor (OSA), the audit covered the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024. “OSA has determined these errors occurred because there were no detailed year-end procedures planned, and a lack of knowledge and experience to perform the duties required for critical financial reporting decisions,” the OSA’s report states. See AUDIT, page A2
DOJ files lawsuit against NC elections board “If we don’t have clean voter rolls, we don’t have fair elections. North Carolina must lead on election integrity. No excuses.”
“We have a dedicated team focused on addressing refund and notice delays resulting from issues with print and mail services vendor.”
State Republican lawmakers praised the move by the Trump administration By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — North Carolina’s top Republican lawmakers praised the announcement of a Trump administration lawsuit filed against the State Board of Elections last week. In a May 27 press release, the Department of Justice announced it was suing the State Board of Elections (NCSBE) over its “failure to maintain an accurate voter list in violation of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA).” The move was praised
by GOP leaders in the state. “If we don’t have clean voter rolls, we don’t have fair elections,” House Speaker Destin Hall (R-Granite Falls) said in a post on X. “North Carolina must lead on election integrity. No excuses.” Hall added that he was confident the NCSBE would cooperate with the DOJ. “It is far past time for the @NCSBE to clean up the voter rolls,” Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Eden) wrote in an X post. “This is a commonsense way to increase voter confidence, and why I believe shifting the Board to the Auditor’s Office was the right thing for NC.” The DOJ complaint took See LAWSUIT, page A3
COURTESY NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE