North State Journal Vol. 10, Issue 49

Abbey road

The Theravada Buddhist monks’ 2,300-mile Walk for Peace from Fort Worth, Texas, to Washington, D.C., took them through North Carolina the past two weeks. Day 88 of their trek saw them greeted by crowds in Liberty on Jan. 21.

Duke, Mensah reach agreement, clearing way for transfer

Durham

The legal ght between Duke and Darian Mensah is over. Now the quarterback can transfer elsewhere after bringing the Blue Devils an unexpected Atlantic Coast Conference title. The school and Mensah’s agency released statements Tuesday con rming they had reached a settlement without providing any details. It came roughly a week after Duke led a lawsuit seeking to block Mensah’s e orts to transfer and reach a contract with another school to play elsewhere next season. The case was scheduled for a hearing Thursday in Durham County Superior Court, with a judge having granted Duke’s request for a temporary restraining order (TRO) blocking Mensah from doing anything beyond entering his name into the transfer portal. Attorneys for both sides led a joint motion with the court Tuesday morning for dismissal.

Trump wants “honest” investigation into Minn. ICE shooting

Washington, D.C.

President Donald Trump said a “big investigation” was underway into the killing of protester and ICU nurse Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis. Trump’s comment Tuesday is the latest marker of his sudden turnabout on the issue as his administration confronts growing pushback on federal agents’ tactics in the second fatal shooting from the aggressive immigration operation in Minnesota. The White House on Monday tried to distance Trump from comments by high-ranking administration o cials who branded Pretti as a domestic terrorist.

Races to watch ahead of NC’s March primaries the BRIEF this week

North Carolina mostly spared by massive winter storm

Children’s hospital funding part of budget impasse

Republican leadership in both houses of the General Assembly remain at odds

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal

RALEIGH — The budget impasse in the North Carolina General Assembly between the Republican-controlled Senate and House has continued into

2026, with the issue of funding for the proposed N.C. Children’s Hospital resurfacing this week.

Speci cally at issue between the two chambers is releasing the nal third year obligation of $103.5 million for the N.C. Children’s Hospital, as well as disagreements about health care-related “mini-budgets” amid broader state budget negotiations that stalled in mid-2025.

See BUDGET, page A3

Schools and businesses throughout the state closes, and thousands of ights were canceled across the country

By Kate Brumback and Julie Walker The Associated Press

A MASSIVE winter storm dumped sleet, freezing rain and snow across much of the U.S. in the early part of the week, bringing subzero temperatures and halting air and road tra c. Hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses in the Southeast were left without electricity, but North Carolina avoided the worst of what was expected to be a catastrophic event.

In a video statement Monday on his o cial government X account, Gov. Josh Stein thanked North Carolinians for staying o the road during icy

conditions, saying there were no tra c fatalities caused by the storm in the state. Stein also said the majority of power outages were in the western part of the state. As of Monday night, there were just over 2,300 homes and business without power in the state, with more than half located in Transylvania and Henderson counties.

“It is a unique storm in the sense that it is so widespread,” weather service meteorologist Allison Santorelli said in a phone interview. “It was affecting areas all the way from New Mexico, Texas, all the way into New England, so we’re talking like a 2,000-mile spread.”

President Donald Trump approved emergency declarations for at least a dozen states, including North Carolina, by Saturday. The Federal Emergency Management

General Assembly incumbents who are running unopposed this year

Some Democrats and una liateds are reportedly running as Republicans

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal

RALEIGH — With the March 3 primary approaching and early voting underway, there are several key races worth keeping an eye on.

Key General Assembly races include the primary between Trump - endorsed Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Eden) and Rockingham Sheri Sam Page.

House Speaker Destin Hall, who just nished his rst year in that role, has drawn Dem-

ocrat Iris Bender from Lenoir as a challenger. Several House members are not seeking reelection, including Democratic Rep. Brian Cohn (Granville), and Republican Reps. William Brisson (Bladen), Ted Davis (New Hanover), Stephen Ross (Alamance) and Matthew Winslow (Franklin). The rst three Republicans cited retirement as the reason.

Rep. Kelly Hastings (R- Gaston) had initially said he would not seek reelection, citing term limits. However, after no other Republican candidates chose to run, he reconsidered. Notably, some Democrats and independents have been

See PRIMARIES, page A2

the

“Because there is wrath, beware lest He take you away with one blow.” Scripture does not present this warning as theory, but as a present and personal danger.

In view of this terri c fact, sinners are even now threatened with God’s wrath. Yes, they are by nature “children of wrath.” It is true that God’s wrath now slumbers for a while, because this is the day of salvation. It is true that the time for the full and nal and open manifestation of God’s wrath has not yet arrived. It is true that sinners often defy God now with apparent impunity. “Yet they say to God: Leave us alone! We have no desire to know your ways. Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him? What would we gain by praying to him?” (Job 21:14, 15).

Let all such heed the Divine warning, “Because there is wrath, beware lest He take you away with one blow.”

Sinner, do not be deceived, God is not mocked. “O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end! To Me belongs vengeance and recompense; their foot shall slide in due time, for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste!” (Deuteronomy 32).

The sinner is treading a path more slippery than ice, and unless he forsakes it, in due time his foot shall slide. The bow of God’s wrath is already bent! The arrow of His vengeance is even now tted to the string, and nothing but His in nite forbearance stays its release.

My reader, the only reason why you have not already been cast into Hell- re, is because it has been the good pleasure of the Most High to stay your doom. Flee then from the wrath to come while there is yet time.

“O man, do you think that you shall escape the judgment of God?” (Romans 2:3). Did Adam escape the judgment of God? Did Cain, Pharaoh, Achan, Haman? The only reason God has not “taken you away with one blow” before this, is because He endures with much long-su ering the vessels of wrath tted to destruction.

The time of the sinner’s opportunity for eeing from God’s wrath is exceedingly brief and limited. The sad and tragic thing is that so few realize it. The sinner sees little cause for alarm and fails to apprehend his imperative need of promptly believing and repenting. He imagines himself secure. He goes on in his sin, and because judgment against his wicked work is not executed speedily, he increases in his boldness against God.

But God’s ways are di erent to ours. There is no need for God to be in a hurry — all eternity is at His disposal. When one man robs another, instantly the cry is raised, “Stop thief!” lest he should soon be out of reach. When a murder is committed, the hounds of the law at once seek to track down the guilty one. A reward is o ered lest he should succeed in escaping justice. But it is di erent with God. He is in no haste to execute judgment because He knows that the sinner cannot escape Him.

It is impossible to ee out of His dominions. In due time every transgression and disobedience shall receive a just recompense of reward.

“Because there is wrath, beware lest He take you away with one blow!” The immediate reference is to death — the removal of the sinner from this earth to su er the vengeance of eternal re. Scripture furnishes many solemn examples of God’s stroke suddenly cutting o sinners from the land of the living.

“Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put re in them and added incense; and they o ered unauthorized re before the Lord, contrary to his command. So re came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord!” (Leviticus 10:1, 2).

Again, “Belshazzar the king made a great feast for a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand. In the same hour ngers of a man’s hand came forth, and wrote on the wall of the King’s palace. And this is the writing that was written, You are weighed in the balances, and are found wanting! In that night was Belshazzar the King of the Chaldeans slain” (Daniel 5).

Unsaved reader, you may be enjoying the health and strength of youth, yet, you know not how soon the dread summons shall come, “This night shall your soul be required of you.”

Arthur W. Pink, born in Nottingham, England, in 1886, pastored churches in Colorado, California, Kentucky and South Carolina. His works are now in the public domain.

Challenge to NC 2026 congressional maps dropped

The plainti ’s request for dismissal is with prejudice and cannot be re led

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal

RALEIGH — A federal court challenge to North Carolina’s new congressional map was dropped earlier this month, with the two sets of plainti s ling a stipulation of dismissal.

The cases involved are Williams et al. v. Hall and NAACP v. Berger, and neither set of plainti s can re le suit challenging the new congressional map as the cases were dismissed with prejudice.

reported to be running as Republicans. At least two dozen party-switching candidates have led to run for legislature seats, as well as scores of others in down-ballot races statewide.

Wake County Republican Reps. Erin Paré and Mike Schietzelt will try to keep their seats. Paré doesn’t have a primary challenger but will face whoever emerges from the Democratic primary: Ralph Clements, Winn Decker or Marcus Gadson.

Schietzelt has one Democratic challenger, Evonne Hopkins, but will have to get through a primary against Michele Joyner-Dinwiddie, one of the candidates this year who ipped their registration to Republican before ling to run.

The same situation is unfolding for Rep. Tricia Cotham (R-Mecklenburg), who is being challenged by Kelly Van Horn, a Democrat who ipped to Republican in an e ort to knock Cotham out in a primary. Democrat Ken McCool has led for Cotham’s seat.

Joyner-Dinwiddie and Van Horn are two of six candidates running as a slate under “Educators on the Ballot” who have all changed their party a liation to Republican.

The four others under that banner include Pamela Ayscue, who is facing Republican Frank Sossamon; Pamela Zan-

Last fall, a three -judge panel refused to block the map for this year’s elections, issuing a Nov. 26 ruling ve days before candidate ling opened for the 2026 elections.

Plainti s made malapportionment claims from mid- decade redistricting, but the court said it found no evidence of severe deviations and noted a Supreme Court precedent allowing the use of 2020 census data in the redraw. The court also said plainti s failed to “make it clear” there would be minority voter dilution in those districts.

The Republican-led General Assembly redrew the map last October through Senate Bill 249, shifting two districts:

CHRIS SEWARD / AP PHOTO Rep. Tricia Cotham (R-Mecklenburg), pictured last September in Raleigh, will face a primary challenge from Kelly Van Horn, who changed her registration to Republican to challenge the former Democrat in March.

ni, who is challenging incumbent Rep. Larry Potts (R-Davidson); Lisa Deaton Koperski versus incumbent Rep. Mitchell Setzer (R- Catawba); and Christopher Wilson taking on incumbent Rep. Jennifer Balkcom (R-Henderson). In the Senate, Minority Leader Sen. Sydney Batch (D -Wake) will face one of two Republicans after the March primary: Sarah Al-Baghdadi or Shirley Johnson. Sen. Terence Everitt (D -Wake) has two challengers:

Seats in Congress held by Republicans; Democrats hold four

District 1, currently held by Rep. Don Davis (D - Snow Hill), and District 3, held by Rep. Greg Murphy (R- Greenville).

There are no other challenges to the new map, which could potentially shift the state’s U.S. House delegation by ipping Davis’ seat, giving Republicans an 11-3 advantage in the 2026 midterms.

Libertarian Brad Hassel and whoever wins the Republican primary between Wake County School Board member Cheryl Caul eld and Chris Stock, a Wake Forest substitute teacher.

Sen. Sophia Chitlik (D -Durham) has drawn DeDreana Freeman, a former Durham City Council member, as a primary challenger.

Lakeshia Alston, a Democrat who led to run for Sen. Graig Meyer’s District 22 seat as a Republican, made headlines after wearing a niqab covering her face for her initial candidate photo. Alston will have to defeat Republican Laura Pichardo to face Meyer in November.

Certain Democrats who voted to override Gov. Josh Stein’s vetoes appear to have gained primary challengers as well, such as Reps. Carla Cunningham (D -Mecklenburg), Nasif Majeed (D -Mecklenburg) and Shelly Willingham (D -Edgecombe).

According to Axios, North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton said those seats are all “deep -leaning Democratic districts,” which is why challengers have stepped forward.”

Twenty Democrats and one Republican are running unopposed this year.

For congressional races, all 14 North Carolina U.S. House members led for reelection, including 1st District Democrat Don Davis, whose district was

redrawn this year by the General Assembly.

The already crowded District 1 Republican eld in that race includes N.C. statehouse Sen. Bobby Hannig, Lenoir County commissioner Eric Rouse, Carteret County Sheri Asa Buck and attorney Ashley-Nicole Russell.

Former congressional candidate Laurie Buckhout also joined the District 1 race near the end of ling in December. Rocky Mount Mayor Sandy Roberson was also going to run for the seat but dropped out. Libertarian Tom Bailey is also running.

Former N.C. House Speaker Tim Moore, who now represents the state’s 14th Congressional District, has also drawn a party-switching primary challenger: Katie Barr.

District 4 Democratic Congresswoman Valerie Foushee drew a primary challenger: Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam, known as a progressive Democrat and far-left activist.

The race to replace Republican Thom Tillis in the U.S. Senate will involve primaries on both sides of the aisle.

The Democratic primary includes former governor and frontrunner Roy Cooper, as well as Robert Colon, Justin Dues, Daryl Farrow, Marcus Williams and Orrick Quick.

On the Republican side, the current frontrunner is for-

mer North Carolina Republican Party Chair and Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley. Other candidates in the Republican primary include Don Brown, Richard Danise, Margot Dupre, Thomas Johnson, Michele Morrow and Elizabeth Temple.

Morrow, who ran unsuccessfully for North Carolina state superintendent in 2024, joined the race just before the end of ling last year.

Statewide judicial races this year include one Supreme Court seat and three Court of Appeals seats.

Rep. Sarah Stevens (R- Surry) is challenging Democrat Associate Justice Anita Earls for her Supreme Court seat.

On the Court of Appeals, Republicans Michael Byrne or Matt Smith will face Democratic incumbent Judge John Arrowood for Seat 1. For Seat 2, Democratic incumbent Judge Toby Hampson is facing Republican George Cooper Bell. Judge Allegra Collins, who holds Seat 3, announced in spring 2025 that she was not seeking reelection. Democrats James Whalen and Christine Walcyzk led to run for that seat, as did Republican Craig Collins, who is no relation to Allegra Collins. Candidate lists, as well as primary and general election voting information, can be found on the State Board of Elections website at NCSBE.gov.

FBI closed case on Orange Co. GOP rebombing

echoed some of those sentiments in a statement to North State Journal late last year.

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal

RALEIGH — “Nazi Republicans leave town or else.” That was the message spray-painted alongside a swastika on the side of Orange County Republican Party headquarters in October 2016.

While the outside was vandalized, the inside was lled with soot and ash due to a re caused by a Molotov cocktail thrown into the building through a window.

At the time of the attack, Waddy Davis was the chairman of the Orange County Republican Party. He told North State Journal the rebombing was “not just an attack on Orange County; it was an attack on democracy.”

Davis’ successor, Larry Smith,

Agency had rescue teams and supplies in numerous states, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said.

In New York, communities near the Canadian border saw record-breaking subzero temperatures, with Watertown registering minus 34 degrees and Copenhagen minus 49 F, Gov. Kathy Hochul said.

Freezing rain that slickened roads and brought trees and branches down on roads and power lines were the main peril in the South.

It already was Mississippi’s worst ice storm since 1994 with its biggest- ever deployment of ice -melting chemicals — 200,000 gallons — plus salt and sand on roads,

In 2023, both chambers approved nearly $320 million over three scal years for the project.

The Senate also passed a mini-budget in September 2025 called the Healthcare Investment Act (House Bill 562), which increased Medicaid rebase funding but also included $51.8 million for N.C. Children’s Hospital. The House did not take up the measure. A subsequent October 2025 press release from the o ce of Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Eden) noted the hospital funding “is not new money and was included in the 2023 budget agreement.”

Citing Berger’s spokeswoman, Lauren Horsch, Business North Carolina had reported that Senate budget negotiators are “not asking for any new money” beyond the $103.5 million for N.C. Children’s Hospital. Business NC’s report said the Senate had previously sought an additional $638.5 million but cited Horsch as saying, “Senate budget writers have moved” away from their previous position. However, Horsch clari ed

“The 2016 rebombing of our o ce was an attack meant to instill fear and dissuade our party from continuing our conservative message,” Smith said. “It had the opposite e ect in that it strengthened our resolve.”

Smith became chairman in April 2025. He is a former Durham Police o cer who rose to the rank of interim chief of police before his retirement in 2016.

The rebombing took place a month before the November 2016 election, and then-presidential candidate Donald Trump responded on social media by stating, “Animals representing Hillary Clinton and Dems in North Carolina just rebombed our o ce in Orange County because we are winning @NCGOP.”

Nearly 10 years later and with Trump back in the White House, the case remains un-

Gov. Tate Reeves said at a news conference.

Elsewhere, deep snow more than a foot (in a 1,300-mile swath from Arkansas to New England — halted tra c and canceled ights.

Tennessee and Mississippi were hit particularly hard by power outages, and some 12,000 ights were canceled Sunday and nearly 20,000 were delayed, according to the ight tracker ightaware.com. Airports in Philadelphia, Washington, Baltimore, North Carolina, New York and New Jersey were among those impacted.

The bitter cold made things worse for those in the storm’s path.

In New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said at least ve people who died were

“If new information comes to light, the FBI is prepared to reopen the case.” Charlotte FBI o ce

solved, and North State Journal has learned the case had been closed by the FBI o ce in Charlotte due to a lack of “viable leads.”

“In coordination with the U.S. Attorney’s O ce Eastern District of North Carolina, the case was closed after all viable leads were exhausted,” the Charlotte FBI’s media communications o ce wrote in an email to North State Journal. “If new information comes to light, the FBI is prepared to reopen the case.” Smith said he is thankful for those who supported the Orange GOP during the time of

found outside as temperatures plunged Saturday, though the cause of their deaths remained under investigation.

Two men died of hypothermia related to the storm in Caddo Parish in Louisiana, according to the state health department.

Across the a ected areas, schools and universities announced that classes would be canceled or held remotely early in the week. Several school systems remained closed across North Carolina on Tuesday, while others shifted to remote learning to keep buses and parents o the road as snow, sleet and ice melted during the day Monday but created black ice conditions overnight.

North State Journal contributed to this report.

her remarks to North State Journal.

“The Senate believes the previously approved commitments for N.C. Children’s and N.C. Care should be upheld. The funding for N.C. Care supports vital rural healthcare initiatives,” Horsch said in an email.

“That is why as negotiations for the healthcare mini-budgets have progressed, budget writers have been pushing for thenal tranche of funding — $103.5 million for N.C. Children’s and $105 million for N.C. Care — to be released.

“The Senate has made mul-

the rebombing and still hopes the case may nd resolution.

“We wish to thank everyone for their show of support during that time both with words andnances, including many Democrat friends that also viewed this as an attack on the entire political process,” Smith said. “We would also like to thank all the law enforcement agencies that worked on this case and still hope that someone will come forward with information that may lead to an arrest in this case.”

The $20,000 reward o ered following the attack for information helping solve the rebombing apparently bore no tips.

The only lead dried up nine months after the attack when a self- described “social worker and artist” named Kathleen “Katie” Yow refused to answer questions in front of a federal grand jury. Publicly available information shows Yow received her master’s degree from the UNC School of Social Work in 2018.

Yow, who also worked as a teacher in Guilford County Public Schools at some point, was the only individual subpoenaed to testify about the case, likely due to her interest in and ties to anarchism. In an August 2017 article published by The Nation about her refusal to comply with the grand jury, Yow was described as an “anarchist.” Yow also received a nod of thanks in the acknowledgments section of “The ABCs of Anarchy,” a 40 -page book published in 2012 by High Point University professor Brian Heagney. In 2014, Yow was arrested along with dozens of other protesters for failure to disperse and impeding tra c outside the Durham Performing Arts Center during a Black Lives Matter-related protest. Durham Police later said that a Molotov cocktail had been found at the scene.

An attempt to contact Yow for comment was unsuccessful.

tiple o ers to release those funds, but the House has thus far been unwilling to accept our o ers. Additional funding for N.C. Children’s beyond the previously approved amounts would be part of a broader budget negotiation.”

North State Journal reached out to the o ce of House Speaker Rep. Destin Hall (R- Granite Falls), which indicated the House was open to the Senate speaking directly to them.

“Considering the many healthcare needs across the state, House members continue to have serious concerns with the necessity and wisdom of this project,” Demi Dowdy, Hall’s spokeswoman, told North State Journal. “We remain open to engaging with the Senate to reach a responsible budget.”

Hall and the House budget writers have stood rm on the need to update the economic trigger schedule currently in place for further tax reductions in the state, citing possible future budget de cits if no corrections are made.

General Assembly’s Fiscal Research Division and the Ofce of State Budget and Management have both issued pre-

dictions of revenue drops leading to de cits starting in scal year 2027 if the state stays on the current trigger schedule.

Gov. Josh Stein has concurred with House and the scal assessments, warning of a possible “ scal cli .” Stein’s also remarked that on the current reduction scheduled the state would see $2.3 billion dollars less in the next two years.

The proposed N.C. Children’s Hospital is being built through a partnership between UNC Health and Duke Health. The facility, which would be located in Apex in southern Wake County, would be the state’s rst freestanding children’s hospital.

Groundbreaking for the hospital project is tentatively set for 2027, and construction is expected to take years.

The hospital will be part of a massive mixed-use area called Veridea, which will encompass retail, commercial, residential and a proposed Wake Tech Community College expansion site. Clearing and construction is underway for the Veridea complex, located in Apex between Highways 55 and 1, as well as the I-540 Raleigh outer beltline.

THE CONVERSATION

Trip

Ho end, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

VISUAL VOICES

EDITORIAL | FRANK HILL

So what is the big deal with Greenland anyway?

As you try to shake the wheat of truth from the cha of ction in any news account about Greenland, put on a long-term strategic thinking cap.

FOR A COUNTRY MOST Americans have never visited or considered very much, Greenland sure took front and center on the world stage when President Donald Trump announced his intent to buy it from Denmark. When he said he intended to impose tari s not only on Denmark but also on other NATO allies to get them to the bargaining table, stock markets were roiled worldwide.

Why would a territory that is part of the kingdom of Denmark generate so much interest and controversy unless it was very important or some other underlying issues were at stake for America?

Greenland has a population not much larger than Chapel Hill spread across a vast and often cold and desolate landscape. It is a strategic chokepoint near the Arctic through which Russian and Chinese military ships and nuclear submarines could pass should they ever choose to attack the United States and western Europe.

Greenland has deposits of rare earth minerals, lithium and uranium, all of which are critical in the manufacture of semiconductors and batteries, along with the production of nuclear energy. It will take the full combined e orts of all NATO allies to protect Greenland and to undergo the dangerous but important mining e orts to extract these strategic minerals. Many of these deposits may lie beneath three kilometers of ice, which will take years if not decades to nd and extract.

Denmark does not have the resources

to protect Greenland from any attack — missile or otherwise. Like every other NATO country, Denmark has relied on American military protection since World War II. There is some military involvement from other NATO nations in Greenland today, but not to any signi cant degree compared to American forces or installations.

Greenland has provided Trump with an opportunity to nally get NATO countries — now close to a century after World War II — to take responsibility and make their taxpayers pay for their national defense and our shared common freedoms around the globe, including Greenland.

For much of the post-World War II era, American taxpayers paid for roughly twice the amount of military spending relative to GDP than any in NATO alliance countries.

Once America exed its transformative in uence during and after World War I, the United States of America became seen as the only world superpower who could help others withstand the dictatorial might of others soon to come.

Try to imagine what a sad and dangerous world it would be today had there never been a United States of America to do what it has done to protect freedom and democracy in Europe and around the globe since 1917.

Not only did America once again come to the rescue of its European allies in World War II, but it also remained the only world power capable of helping destroyed

economies rebuild and retool after the war.

To do so, American troops and military installations stayed in Europe, where oftentimes they were the only defense force that could face o against the threats o ered by the new Soviet Union.

Since the recovering NATO allies were having to rebuild destroyed economies, they were unable to rebuild their military forces at the same time, so American forces remained as the only defense possible. German and Japanese military forces were rightly restricted from rebuilding, for obvious reasons.

During the 1980s, a growing number of American politicians began to question the fairness of asking U.S. taxpayers to foot the bill not only of protecting America but also of fully covering the cost of defending European allies under the umbrella of “protecting American interests” overseas. They were rebu ed by defenders of the status quo who said “peace was easier to fund than war,” which is true to an extent.

As you try to shake the wheat of truth from the cha of ction in any news account about Trump and Greenland, put on a long-term strategic thinking cap and see what is best for the United States over the next 100 to 1,000 years in terms of access to strategic minerals, shipping and commerce lanes, and having allies who share in paying for all of it.

History is rife with nations and kingdoms rising to power only to fail at some point to think far enough ahead in time to protect their interests and remain not only as a superpower but as a national entity at all.

Greenland may be one of those important hinge points in history people need to take seriously — which has nothing to do with whether Trump was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize or not.

The joys of winter storm prep in the South

One of the most persistent jabs revolves around letting school out early at the rst sign of a snow ake.

BY THE TIME THIS column goes to publication, hopefully most, if not all, of what is left from this past week’s winter storm will be behind us.

Winter storm prep in the South is always interesting and is often the subject of jokes and mockery from people up north, as well as northern transplants who moved down here in part to get away from the frequency of snowstorms they went through in their previous residences.

Perhaps one of the most persistent jabs revolves around letting school out early at the rst sign of a snow ake or canceling classes for the same reason. My philosophy on that is it’s better to be safe than sorry because, unlike up north, even though storm prep down south has much improved over the years, it’s still not on the level of New York or Maine.

Another one is “this ain’t nothin’!” which actually isn’t true when one considers that oftentimes, what we get here in the South is more slushy and freeze-prone than what you typically see up north. This winter storm was a classic example of that, where we saw more sleet and freezing rain (bad for roads, power lines and trees) and a lot less of the white u y stu . Still, storm prep among the citizenry down

here can be fun, with people running to the stores well ahead of an anticipated winter event in hopes of beating the crowds. There are runs on milk, bread, water, toilet paper, diapers, batteries, etc., all the things one might need to have a little extra of if they can’t get out for a while.

There are even runs on lottery tickets, which I saw one woman do when I was out shopping for a bag of ice. I joked with her that it would be a story to tell if she managed to hit the jackpot in the middle of this storm.

On social media, there were the hilarious AI-generated images of snowplow trucks “salting” the roads with Bojangles seasoning, with people bundled up nearby eating their biscuits. Trust me when I say that is not far o the mark at all here.

We love us some Bo’s chicken, and I felt like I had won the lottery when I scored a tailgate box Saturday, hours before the storm hit. The line was wrapped around the store with people who presumably had the same idea I did.

What I was most pleased to see, however, amid my storm preparations, was that every time I went out, whether it was the grocery store, drug store, fast food, the gas station, etc., most people were just as nice as they could be.

There was very little grumpiness from fellow shoppers and store associates. In general, there just seemed to be this sense of togetherness, like everyone was keen on being calm and trying to keep things in perspective.

As of this writing, the storm is just getting started here in Charlotte, and we’ve done all the storm prep we can. In addition to stocking up on all essentials, I’ve put tarps out on the sidewalk that is closest to the front door and spread some ice melt the rest of the way in hopes it will make it easier to get the ice o once I’m able to.

Mom and I are worried about whether we’ll lose power, but the good news is that we’ve got tons of throw blankets, quilts, jackets and candles in the event that happens. Hopefully we won’t need them, though, because the thought of Mom shivering in her recliner doesn’t compute with me.

Here’s hoping everyone made it through the storm OK. And here’s praying that it’s the last one we’ll have to deal with this winter.

North Carolina native Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym Sister Toldjah and is a media analyst and regular contributor to RedState and Legal Insurrection.

Can the Vances make it cool to have kids?

Modern society put a man on the moon but can’t reproduce itself as well as civilizations that used stone tools.

VICE PRESIDENT JD Vance is putting his own spin on MAGA — Make America Grow Again.

Vance and second lady Usha Vance recently announced that she is pregnant. Their fourth child, a boy, is due in June. Usha isn’t the only woman connected to the White House who is expecting. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and Katie Miller, wife of Deputy Chief of Sta Stephen Miller, are both pregnant too.

Talk about leading by example. This baby boom ts perfectly with the vision JD Vance articulated at last year’s March for Life.

“I want more babies in the United States of America,” Vance said. “I want more happy children in our country, and I want beautiful young men and women who are eager to welcome them into the world and eager to raise them.”

Sadly, an increasing number of people aren’t interested. A recent New York Times poll found that among childless 18-to-29-year-olds, just 57% said they would like children in the future.

Among all childless women, the rate was 32%, while among men it was 43%. There’s a stark partisan divide here too. Just 25% of former Vice President Kamala Harris voters said they wanted kids. Among President Donald Trump voters, it was 43%. These percentages are lower because the sample includes those aged 45 and older.

It’s unsurprising then that America’s fertility rate hit a record low in 2024. The fertility rate has been below replacement level for more than 15 years. This baby bust will have signi cant negative consequences in the future.

The problem is worse in other countries, especially in Asia. Last year, China had the same number of births as in around 1738, Reuters reported. Its population is now shrinking. South Korea’s anemic fertility rate is on pace to cut the country’s population in half within 60 years.

Governments around the world have tried in vain to reverse this trend. Their main strategy has been throwing money at it, which hasn’t worked. That’s because raising a child requires far more work and commitment than a full-

COLUMN | DAVID HARSANYI

time job. Even payments worth thousands of dollars do little to change that calculus.

Think of the irony. Modern society put a man on the moon but can’t reproduce itself as well as civilizations that used stone tools. Here are some reasons why.

First, the sexual revolution disconnected sex from marriage and reproduction. Young men have always wanted to have sex. Throughout human history, societies steered that desire toward marriage, a foundational pillar of civilization. This bene tted societies by channeling the strength and competitiveness of young men into something productive — providing for their families. It also led to more babies.

Today, teenagers can readily view pornography on their phones. Sex isn’t saved for marriage but treated as a recreational activity. If that leads to pregnancy, the next step isn’t for a man to marry his girlfriend but to drive her to an abortion clinic.

America slaughters 1 million preborn babies annually. Experts then wonder why the birth rate is so low.

Next, modern feminism told women to nd ful llment in climbing the corporate ladder, not motherhood. That’s the path to misery. As the Institute for Family Studies has detailed, marriage and children bring parents greater connection and happiness.

Finally, popular culture doesn’t promote marriage and motherhood. Social media glamorizes vacation sel es, not comforting a crying baby three times in one night. Mothers, especially moms of large families, should be treated like societal rock stars.

What’s needed isn’t just better laws but a change in personal priorities. People need to believe the truth.

For a married couple, having kids is one of the most meaningful and rewarding things anyone could ever do. The Vance family is living proof of that.

Victor Joecks is a columnist for the Las Vegas Review-Journal and host of the “Sharpening Arrows” podcast. Copyright 2026 Creators.com

Protest culture is annoying and un-American

They are well funded and well managed by organizations that see political bene t in creating chaos and turning our country into a revolutionary battleground.

REP. ALEXANDRIA Ocasio-Cortez

(D-N.Y.) likes to argue that the “whole point” of protesting is to make people “uncomfortable.”

Debate. Dissent. Running highly misleading political ads on TV. These are all part of our great tradition of political discourse. In this as in so much else, the Democratic darling is incorrect. Taking to the streets to disrupt the lives of average citizens is a leftist ideal, not an American one. It’s antithetical to the highest virtue of republicanism, namely minding your own business.

But decades ago, American leftists began con ating “activism” with patriotism, and millions of young people were convinced that protesting was an expression of good citizenry. These days, caring is often given more reverence than wisdom, knowledge or achievement, let alone patriotic activities like working, getting married and raising kids.

An equally intolerable and parallel notion has also sprung up: It says the rest of us have a patriotic duty to admire anyone who’s “making a di erence” or engaged in “participatory democracy,” no matter how insu erable or wrong they are. And protesters are almost always insu erable and wrong. Every loudmouth ignoramus with an opinion has a First Amendment right. You’re not special.

Yet modern left-wing protesters believe their passion and anger imbue them with moral license to demand things and speak over their fellow citizens.

Just watch the video of those self-righteous “activists” disrupting church services in St. Paul the other day, or global warming cultists shutting down tra c in major cities, or college students using their heckler’s veto to disrupt speeches and debates.

Then again, most of these e orts aren’t organic or spontaneous expressions of political anger anymore. They are well funded and well managed by organizations that see political bene t in creating chaos and turning our country into a revolutionary battleground.

From Lenin to Alinsky, forced confrontation has been a tactic of Marxist activism.

Every bully, of course, sees themselves as the embodiment of Martin Luther King Jr., though most of them lack dignity and a worthy cause. It’s amusing hearing these self-aggrandizing activists treat protests as great acts of bravery. But wake up: You’re not actually living in a fascist state.

Those marching against the clerics in Iran risk their lives. As did those who marched in Tiananmen Square in 1989, who rose up against the communists during the Prague Spring of 1968 or engaged in civil disobedience against the Stamp Act in 1765.

You can be as passionate as you like here in these United States, but our laws governing the

border and immigration, and ICE itself, were all democratically instituted.

You’re free to vote in the next election.

Failing to get your preferred legislation passed isn’t repression, and you’re not Gandhi.

Though it’s heartening for the rest of us to know that most protests are merely performative acts with little political consequence.

Demonstrations are rarely a barometer of public sentiment.

In the left’s hagiographic rendering of the 1960s, peace-loving demonstrators took to the streets and ended the Vietnam War.

In the real world, Richard Nixon, who won a historic landslide victory in 1972 against peacenik George McGovern, ended the con ict. Anti-war protesters couldn’t stop the Iraq War either. Or any American war, for that matter. Tea Partiers couldn’t stop Obamacare. “Occupy Wall Street” was unable to overturn the laws governing basic economics. Pink hat marchers embarrassed themselves, but they didn’t stop Trump from occupying the White House — any more than Jan. 6 marchers and rioters did Joe Biden. And the anti-ICE nuts disrupting church services who accuse parishioners of being “white supremacists” will likely have similar luck.

That’s good news.

The “right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances” is our inheritance. It guarantees anyone can march without worrying about punishment or reprisals from the state. Though it shouldn’t escape our attention that many of the same progressives who treat public demonstration as the purest form of “democracy” advocate for censoring views they nd dangerous and regularly con ate speech with “violence.”

Democratic socialists nearly always shed the adjective as soon as they gain power.

Let’s face it, though: Most unhinged activists you see ranting and raving act like children. And children have trouble comprehending the distinction between things you can do and things you should do. You can cosplay Islamic revolutionaries on campus. What you should do is read some books about the Middle East.

But nothing in a free country compels the rest of us to celebrate spoiled adults making a spectacle of themselves — or to treat them as anything but nuisances.

David Harsanyi is a senior writer at the Washington Examiner. Harsanyi is a nationally syndicated columnist and author of ve books — the most recent, “How To Kill a Republic,” available now. Copyright 2026 Creators.com

This is no way to gimme shelter

AMERICANS TODAY are justi ably angry about the price of rents and mortgages. Home prices have roughly tripled over the last 25 years, and the median home price is now $415,000.

The 30- and 40-somethings are having a tough time buying a rst home. Young families may need to pay a whopping $75,000 on a down payment.

Democrats and some populist Republicans have convinced the Trump administration to pin the blame on institutional investors, including large banks, private equity rms and hedge funds. The Trump administration is endorsing a proposal to prohibit these rms from buying homes and apartments.

This is a classic boogeyman solution that will make the housing shortage worse. The investment funds are an easy target, but they have never gobbled up more than a tiny percentage of the housing market. On average, less than 2.5% of homes are purchased by banks and speculative investors. How can that tiny market share be blamed for a near doubling in home prices?

The houses don’t disappear when investors buy them. Investors often renovate and upgrade the xer-upper houses, then place them on the market for a higher price. Why should this be illegal?

Banning these acquisitions ignores the main reason home prices are rising so rapidly. The supply of new homes is constrained by “not in my backyard” zoning laws and a ordable housing bans. These laws arti cially reduce the supply of new homes and hand a windfall bene t to incumbent homeowners by arti cially in ating their property values. These rules violate the private property rights of landowners and shrink the supply of homes. This bene ts baby boomers at the cost of their children. Those laws should be invalidated.

The government-in ated value of homes was made worse by the Biden administration, which gave us 40-year-high in ation and the fastest jump in interest rates in just as long. Biden’s regulatory agenda just added insult to injury because it drove up the cost of building homes even further. Trump’s tari s on lumber, steel and aluminum are driving up new home prices too.

We were building plenty of housing from 1980 to 2000, but the pace of construction slowed dramatically after the turn of the millennium because government regulation strangled supply growth. If the prior pace of housing construction had continued for another 20 years, we’d have 15 million more housing units today, and prices would be much lower. One smart way for Congress to increase the supply of housing immediately would be to index for in ation the capital gains tax on the sale of residential real estate. This would free up millions of homes for sale.

Under current law, if someone bought a house for $500,000 25 years ago and the house is now worth $1.5 million, they get a $500,000 exemption but pay a 23.8% tax on $500,000. But almost all their “gain” was due to in ation. This causes a lock-in e ect where older baby boomers who want to downsize can’t a ord to sell the house because the taxes are too high. So they avoid the tax by dying in the home. Everyone loses.

As for the boogeyman of investors, take a look at the housing situation in major metropolitan areas. Tampa, Florida, and Austin, Texas, have seen investment and construction booms over the last several years due in part to investors being allowed to pour in capital to revitalize the housing stock. This dramatically increased the number of homes available.

What was the result? Collapsing rent prices and more a ordable housing. In Austin, median rents have plunged from their peak under former President Joe Biden, falling more than 20% while incomes rose. Deregulation and an in ux of investment added tens of thousands of housing units to the city, and rents are now about the same percentage of renters’ income as in 2019.

If Congress and the White House believe in the power of free markets, they should see real estate investors as part of the solution to the housing shortage, not as villains.

Stephen Moore is a former Trump senior economic adviser and the cofounder of Unleash Prosperity, which advocates for education freedom for all children. Copyright 2026 Creators.com

BE IN TOUCH

Letters addressed to the editor may be sent to letters@nsjonline.com or 1201 Edwards Mill Rd., Suite 300, Raleigh, NC 27607. Letters may be edited for style, length or clarity when necessary. Ideas for op-eds should be sent to opinion@ nsjonline.com.

Contact a writer or columnist: connect@northstatejournal.com

Murphy to Manteo Jones & Blount

Cabin fever xes

If you’re experiencing a little restlessness in the midst of harsh winter weather in North Carolina, there are plenty of great ways to get out and enjoy yourself around the state. Basketball fans can catch the Charlotte Hornets in action during their 2025 -26 NBA regular season at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, where star players like LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller bring exciting hoops to town. The Hornets face the San Antonio Spurs in Charlotte on Saturday. Meanwhile, hockey fans can look out for the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh, as they continue their competitive season with games that draw passionate crowds and lots of energy on the ice, taking on the Utah Mammoth at home this weekend. For a festive winter experience, visit Haywood Ice Fest Weekend in Haywood County featuring four days of ice carving, skating, games, a Frosty 5K, and more across towns near Maggie Valley and Waynesville. And if you’re near the coast, the Johnnie Mercer’s Pier Dog sh Tournament at Wrightsville Beach is a classic winter shing event where anglers compete and enjoy beachside fun — and hopefully a little sunshine.

PIEDMONT

Suspect, o cer wounded during arrest

Guilford County

Sheri ’s o ce cadet dies during training Jackson County The Jackson County Sheri ’s O ce is mourning the loss of one of its own. According to the county’s local government Facebook post, cadet Ryan Philip Ferreira, 26, was conducting law enforcement cadet training with Basic Law Enforcement Training (BLET) Class 93 on the morning last Thursday at Southwestern Community College’s Jerry Sutton Public Safety Training Center when he su ered a medical emergency. SCC instructors and cadets administered lifesaving measures as Macon County EMS and re-rescue personnel arrived at the training center within seven minutes. According to the post, Ferreira was transported to Angel Medical Center, where he died. “This is an extremely di cult day for Ryan’s family, the Jackson County Sheri ’s O ce, his fellow cadets, SCC training sta and the Western North Carolina community,” said Jackson County Sheri Doug Farmer in a social media post. “We are grateful for his dedication to serve our community, and his loss is devastating.”

WLOS

A man was hospitalized this weekend after being shot by a Greensboro Police o cer during an attempted arrest, police said. GPD Watch Operations said o cers were investigating the area of Veasley Street near West Gate City Boulevard and searching for a suspect wanted in connection with an incident last week in the parking lot of the Studio 6 hotel. One o cer was injured at the scene, police said. The o cer was treated at a local medical facility and released.

WFMY

Teen, parents charged after man shot inside home

EAST

Cary Hindu temple vandalized

Wake County

The Cary Police Department is asking for the public’s help after a vandalism incident at a Hindu temple in the town.

Local man wins $2M lottery prize

Randolph County

A Randolph County man is the lucky winner of a $2 million Mega Millions prize, according to the North Carolina Education Lottery. Stephen Poindexter Jr., of Sophia, bought his winning Quick Pick ticket from the H&M Grocery on U.S. 311 South in his hometown of Sophia. The ticket matched all ve white balls to win $1 million, and he doubled his winnings up to $2 million with the new built-in multiplier. The odds of Poindexter’s lottery win were 1 in 12.6 million.

NSJ

Forsyth County The Winston-Salem Police Department is investigating a shooting that left one man injured last week, according to local outlets. The WSPD responded to a shooting in the 1600 block of West Northwest Boulevard and found a 55-year-old man su ering from a gunshot wound. He was taken to a local hospital for non-life -threatening injuries, according to police. An investigation determined that a disturbance occurred between occupants of adjacent apartments involving Nathaniel Best, 16, and the man who was shot. The disturbance became physical, and Best allegedly shot into the man’s apartment, hitting him in the back. Best was arrested and charged with multiple o enses, including assault with a deadly weapon and possession of a rearm by a minor. Best was taken to the Juvenile Detention Facility in Taylorsville. Best’s father and stepmother, who were at the scene during the investigation, were charged with unlawful storage of rearms to protect minors.

WGHP

According to Cary police, the incident happened at Sri Venkateswara Temple, which is located o Chapel Hill Road, last weekend. Police said ve people were caught on the temple’s surveillance cameras leaving the place of worship in the early morning hours in a small sedan. Shortly after that, police said, “The Dvarapalaka statue located in front of the temple was discovered damaged.”

WNCN

Police say missing woman believed to have died

Carteret County

Swansboro police say an investigation into the disappearance of an 84-year- old woman has led investigators to believe she has died. According to the Swansboro Police Department, a multiagency investigation began looking into the disappearance of 84-year-old Katy Gordon Hiatt, who was last seen at her home in Swansboro in October. Based on information uncovered during the investigation, police said they now believe Hiatt has died. Authorities have not released additional details about the circumstances surrounding her death.

WCTI

Greenville woman killed in log truck collision

Pitt County One person was killed Friday afternoon in a crash involving a log truck in Pitt County, according to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol. Troopers said the collision happened around 2:32 p.m. at the intersection of N.C. Highway 118 and Cannon Price Road. Investigators said a log truck was traveling westbound on N.C. 118 when a 2005 Toyota Camry attempted to turn left onto the highway from Cannon Price Road. The woman driving the Toyota failed to yield the right of way and collided with the log truck. The driver of the Toyota sustained fatal injuries, per NCSHP. Following the crash, the log truck left the roadway, struck a ditch and overturned. N.C. 118 was closed for approximately three hours while troopers conducted the investigation and crews removed logs from the roadway. The crash remains under investigation.

WITN

“Charlotte is not just where we built our careers, it is home, and we both feel a deep responsibility to give back to the city that gave us so much,” Bokhari said in a press release.

“We look forward to using our skills, experiences and connections to help shape the future of our city and state,” said Egleston.

“We know this community, from neighborhoods and nonpro ts to boardrooms and government o ces,” said Bokhari. “We are known for helping people and organizations cut through complexity and actually get things done.”

The new partners noted that Charlotte lags behind comparable cities in government relations infrastructure. Cities like Tampa and Orlando have three to ve times more lobbying rms despite similar

metro economy sizes, according to the announcement.

“As Charlotte continues to grow, we have to make sure that growth translates into real opportunity for more people, whether through upward mobility, a ordable housing, safer neighborhoods or better outcomes for our kids,” Egleston said.

“We are excited to use this platform not only to help businesses succeed, but to support the organizations and community leaders

NATION & WORLD

Man shot, killed by ICE in Minneapolis

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz activated the National Guard to quell crowds

The Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS — A federal immigration o cer shot and killed a man Saturday in Minneapolis, drawing hundreds of protesters onto the frigid streets and ratcheting up tensions in a city already shaken by another fatal shooting weeks earlier.

Family members identied the man who was killed as Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care unit nurse who had protested President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in his city. After the shooting, an angry crowd gathered and protesters clashed with federal immigration o cers, who wielded batons and deployed ash bangs.

The Minnesota National Guard was assisting local police at the direction of Gov. Tim Walz, o cials said. Guard troops were sent to both the shooting site and to a federal building where o cials have squared o with protesters daily.

Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that federal o cers were conducting an operation and red “defensive shots” after a man with a handgun approached them and “violently resisted” when o cers tried to disarm him.

In bystander videos of the shooting that emerged soon after, Pretti is seen with a phone in his hand, but none appears to show him with a visible weapon.

O’Hara said police believe the man was a “lawful gun owner with a permit to carry.”

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said during a news conference that Pretti had shown up to “impede a law enforcement operation.” She questioned why he was armed but did not o er detail about whether Pretti drew the weapon or brandished it at o cers. The o cer who shot the man

nee Good on Jan. 7, sparking widespread protests.

“We urge everyone to remain peaceful.”

Brian O’Hara, Minneapolis Police chief

is an eight-year Border Patrol veteran, federal o cials said. Trump weighed in on social media by lashing out at Walz and the Minneapolis mayor. Trump shared images of the gun that immigration ofcials said was recovered and said, “What is that all about?

Where are the local Police? Why weren’t they allowed to protect ICE O cers?”

Trump, a Republican, said the Democratic governor and mayor are “are inciting Insurrection, with their pompous, dangerous, and arrogant rhetoric.”

Pretti was shot just over a mile from where an Immigration and Customs Enforcement o cer shot and killed 37-year-old Re-

Pretti’s family released a statement Saturday evening saying they are “heartbroken but also very angry” and called him a kindhearted soul who wanted to make a di erence in the world through his work as a nurse.

“The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting. Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump’s murdering and cowardly ICE thugs. He has his phone in his right hand and his empty left hand is raised above his head while trying to protect the woman ICE just pushed down all while being pepper sprayed,” the family statement said. “Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man.”

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara appealed for calm, both from the public and from federal law enforcement.

“Our demand today is for

Zelenskyy says trilateral talks ended constructively

More talks to end the Russia-Ukraine con ict are possible this week

The Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine — Two days of talks involving representatives from Ukraine, Russia and the United States wrapped up Saturday with “constructive” discussions on “possible parameters” for ending the war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Negotiators will return to the United Arab Emirates for the next round on Feb. 1, according to a U.S. ocial who described the meetings as upbeat and positive.

The talks are the rst known instance that o cials from the Trump administration have sat down with both countries as part of Washington’s push for progress to end Moscow’s nearly 4 -year- old invasion.

“All parties agreed to report to their capitals on each aspect of the negotiations and to coordinate further steps with their leaders,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram.

The meetings covered a broad range of military and economic matters and included the possibility of a cease re before a deal, said the o cial. There was not yet an agreement on a nal framework for oversight and operation of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which is occupied by Russia and is the largest in Europe.

The power generated from the plant will be shared “on an equitable basis,” according to the o cial, but control of it was still undecided.

Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said there was “an understanding of the need for American monitoring and control of the process of ending the war and ensuring real security.”

U.S. envoys Steve Witko and Jared Kushner participated alongside Ukrainian ofcials, including chief negotiator Rustem Umerov and Kyrylo Budanov, Zelenskyy’s chief of sta . Russia sent military intelligence and army

“All parties agreed to report to their capitals on each aspect of the negotiations and to coordinate further steps with their leaders.”

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian president

representatives, according to Zelenskyy.

While Zelenskyy said in Davos, Switzerland, last

FEMA extends housing aid for Maui wild re survivors

Honolulu

U.S. o cials have granted a request to extend housing assistance for survivors of catastrophic 2023 wild res, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said last week. Nearly 1,000 households displaced by re were anxiously awaiting word on whether federal assistance helping them stay housed will be left to expire, forcing them to nd new housing or pay more for it in one of the tightest and most expensive rental environments in the country. U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem approved Hawaii’s request to extend Federal Emergency Management Agency temporary housing assistance for Maui wild re survivors until February 2027, Green said in a news release.

Car crashes into Mich. airport entrance, injures 6

those federal agencies that are operating in our city to do so with the same discipline, humanity and integrity that effective law enforcement in this country demands,” O’Hara said. “We urge everyone to remain peaceful.”

Gregory Bovino of U.S. Border Patrol, who has commanded the Trump administration’s big-city immigration campaign, said the o cer who shot the man had extensive training as a range safety o cer and in using less-lethal force.

“This is only the latest attack on law enforcement. Across the country, the men and women of DHS have been attacked, shot at,” he said.

Amid the unrest, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats will not vote for a spending package that includes money for DHS. Schumer’s statement increases the possibility that the government could partially shut down on Jan. 30 when funding runs out.

Thursday that a potential peace deal was “nearly ready,” certain sensitive sticking points — most notably those related to territorial issues — remain unresolved.

The U.S. o cial said Russian and Ukrainian o cials likely would need to hold further talks in Russia or Ukraine before there was a chance of Zelenskyy meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, or even a joint session with President Donald Trump. There seemed to be momentum to reach the stage of leader meetings, according to the ocial, who spoke to reporters in Washington, D.C., on condition of anonymity to describe the private talks in Abu Dhabi.

Just hours before the three-way talks began Friday, Putin discussed a Ukraine settlement with Witko and Kushner during marathon overnight talks. The Kremlin insists that to reach a peace deal, Kyiv must withdraw its troops from the areas in the east that Russia illegally annexed but has not fully captured.

The second day of talks came as Russian drone attacks killed one person and wounded four in the capital, Kyiv, according to Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko. In Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, drone attacks wounded 27 people, Kharkiv regional head Oleh Syniehubov said Saturday.

“Cynically, Putin ordered a brutal massive missile strike against Ukraine right while delegations are meeting in Abu Dhabi to advance the America-led peace process,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X. “His missiles hit not only our people, but also the negotiation table.”

Detroit

A car crashed through the entrance of the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport on Friday evening, striking a ticket counter and injuring six people, airport o cials said. The driver was taken into custody, the Wayne County Airport Authority said in a statement. The cause of the crash was not yet known, and airport police were investigating. The WCAA Fire Department treated six people at the site. Video posted on social media showed a blue, four- door sedan stopped, with its hood and trunk popped open, in front of Delta Air Lines counters in what appeared to be a departure lobby.

Landslide in Indonesia kills 8, scores missing Jakarta, Indonesia

A predawn landslide triggered by torrential rains on Indonesia’s main island of Java killed at least eight people on Saturday and left 82 missing as rescuers struggled through deep mud, searching for survivors. Days of torrential rains had caused rivers to burst their banks, tearing through Pasir Langu village in the West Bandung district of West Java province. Mud, rocks and trees tumbled down mountainside hamlets, burying some 34 houses. Rescuers were searching for the 82 residents feared buried under heaps of mud and debris, while 24 people managed to escape the disaster, said a spokesperson. Some eight bodies were pulled out in the worst-hit hamlet of Pasir Kuning.

Pakistani human rights lawyers jailed for 17 years

Islamabad A Pakistani court on Saturday sentenced two human rights lawyers to 17 years in prison each over social media posts the authorities claimed were hostile to the state and its security institutions. Judge Afzal Majoka announced the verdict a day after Zainab Mazari and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, were arrested in Islamabad, according to court documents. The couple appeared brie y via video link but boycotted the hearing, prompting the court to conclude the trial and deliver the verdict. The couple denied all the charges.

Toyota recalls 162K trucks over faulty screens

New York Toyota announced last Friday it would recall about 162,000 pickup trucks in the United States after it was discovered that the vehicles’ multimedia displays could compromise driver safety. The recall a ects the company’s model year 2024-2025 Tundra and Tundra Hybrid line of trucks. A ected customers are currently being noti ed, according to a statement from Toyota.

TikTok nalizes deal to form new American entity

Washington, D.C.

TikTok has nalized a deal to create a new American entity, avoiding the looming threat of a ban in the U.S. that has been in discussion for years. The social video platform company signed agreements with major investors including Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX to form the joint venture. The company said in a statement that the new version will operate under “de ned safeguards” with an emphasis on data protections and software assurances for U.S. users. The establishment of a U.S. unit ends years of uncertainty about the fate of the popular video-sharing platform in the United States.

Toymaker Hasbro moves to Boston

Pawtucket, R.I.

Rhode Islanders have long been able to choose Mr. Potato Head for their specialty license plates. However, Hasbro’s decision to move its headquarters to Boston has motivated two lawmakers to propose ending the option of Mr. Potato Head plates. The proposal was introduced earlier this month. Currently, the plate costs $40, with half supporting the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. Mr. Potato Head plates were rst issued in 2002 to mark the toy’s 50th anniversary. The toy, which debuted in 1952, originally required kids to use a real potato before Hasbro added a plastic version.

Paramount extends Warner Bros. tender o er deadline

New York

Skydance-owned Paramount is again extending the tender o er window in its $77.9 billion hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery while doubling down on a coming proxy ght. Warner stockholders now have until Feb. 20 to sell shares for $30 each. This marks the second extension since Paramount challenged Warner’s merger with Net ix and went hostile last month. As of last Wednesday, more than 168.5 million Warner shares were tendered, still far below the 50% needed for control. Paramount has also promised a proxy ght — and led preliminary materials to solicit proxies in opposition to the Net ix merger.

Saks’ bankruptcy ling creates uncertainty for iconic stores, suppliers, shoppers

More store closures are expected

By Anne D’Innocenzio

The Associated Press

NEW YORK — An appeal for bankruptcy protection ling of the operator of Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus has left the luxury department stores’ suppliers with unpaid bills and caused a rift with Amazon, one of Saks Global’s minority investors.

Saks Global said last week it had secured roughly $1.75 billion to help nance the company toward hoped-for pro tability. The company said it would honor all customer loyalty programs, compensate vendors and pay employees while seeking approval for its plan to pay o outstanding liabilities, which range from $1 billion to $10 billion, according to court documents.

Many brands stopped shipping their goods weeks ago as Saks Global’s nancial distress became more evident and bankruptcy appeared inevitable, experts said. A visit to Saks Fifth Avenue’s agship store in Manhattan last week revealed noticeable merchandise gaps, including handbags and shoes spread out along shelves.

Neil Saunders of GlobalData Retail, a research rm, noted it’s critical for Saks to have a good assortment, including trendy items from small niche brands.

The bankruptcy occurred a little over a year after the parent company of Saks Fifth Avenue agreed to buy the Neiman Marcus Group, its upscale rival, for $2.65 billion. Amazon took a minority stake in the deal, which saddled the new holding company with signi cant debt at a time of rising competition and a slowdown in luxury spending.

Many suppliers face unpaid bills

Major brands like Chanel and Kering — the parent of Gucci and Saint Laurent, among others— top the list of creditors owed the most money. But bankruptcy lawyers and industry executives expect that luxury conglomerates will be ne.

“This is very painful,” said Joseph Sarachek, a lawyer who represents roughly 30 brands owed money by Saks. “A lot of these guys are going to go out of business.”

Sarachek declined to name his clients for fear of retribution by Saks but said that they’re owed anywhere from $600,000 to $10 million. He said his clients don’t operate their own stores, and for some, Saks had been their only big retail account.

He said he has recommended to his clients not to ship to Saks unless they get more clarity on payment terms.

Over the past year, that relationship only worsened, with management changing the

payment terms for brands that supplied the stores, according to Gary Wassner, CEO of Hildun Corp. which provides credit guarantees to roughly 120 brands that sell to Saks.

Amazon’s ire

Amazon invested $475 million as part of Saks’ purchase of Neiman Marcus in December 2024 in exchange for selling Saks products on the online behemoth’s website under the “Saks at Amazon” shop.

The partnership was supposed to further Amazon’s goal of attracting more luxury brands on its site.

But, as Amazon argued in a court ling to block thenancing plan hours after Saks led for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, “That equity investment is now presumptively worthless.”

“Saks continuously failed to meet its budgets, burned through hundreds of millions of dollars in less than a year, and ran up additional hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid invoices owed to its retail

California Post brings brash New York-style, right-leaning tabloid news to West Coast

The publication hopes to curry favor with people in power on the right

By Christopher Weber The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — Aiming to shake up the Golden State’s media landscape, the California Post launched Monday with a new tabloid newspaper and news site that brings a brash, cheeky and conservative-friendly xture of the Big Apple to the West Coast.

The Los Angeles outpost of the New York Post will be “digital rst” — with social media accounts and video and audio pieces — but for $3.75, readers can also purchase a daily print publication featuring the East Coast paper’s famously splashy front-page headlines. Perhaps most memorably: 1983’s “Headless Body in Topless Bar.”

“The most iconic thing about the New York Post, and now the California Post, is that front page,” said Nick Papps, editor-in-chief of the LA newsroom. “It has a unique wit and is our calling card, if you like.”

partners,” the court ling said. Amazon had argued Saks’nancing plan hurts the retailer, and other creditors, because it loads down Saks with additional debt.

Fate of stores

Saks had already revealed plans back in November to close nine Saks O 5th stores starting this month. That brings the total of Saks O 5th locations to 70. There are also 33 Saks stores and 36 Neiman Marcus locations, as well as two Bergdorf Goodman stores.

Saks said this week it was evaluating its “operational footprint” to ensure it was well positioned to invest in areas with the best opportunities for growth. Experts think it will close a bulk of Saks O 5th stores as well as several Saks and Neiman Marcus stores.

David Tawil, president of ProChain Capital, a cryptocurrency hedge fund and a former bankruptcy lawyer and distressed investor, believes the most vulnerable will be Saks O 5th locations, which haven’t fared well and have faced sti competition from the likes of T.J. Maxx.

Discounts for shoppers

Shoppers are seeing generous discounts at Saks, Neiman Marcus and Saks O 5th.

Saks’ website shows up to 70% o on select designer clothing, while Neiman Marcus is marking down select styles at up to 75% o , according to its website. The Saks O 5th website is promoting up to 85% o items.

Still, don’t expect to grab a Chanel or Louis Vuitton handbag at 75%, Tawil said. Many of the major iconic brands have clauses triggered by a bankruptcy ling that limit discounts.

come a Republican boogeyman. Readers shouldn’t anticipate that the new publication will become known for breaking big stories through old-fashioned journalism, Kahn said.

“There’s a crass cleverness in the way that tabloids present news that actually works well on social media,” he said. “It could be entertaining.”

Kahn doesn’t expect the California Post will turn a pro t. He points out that the New York Post isn’t a big moneymaker for News Corp. but rather serves another purpose, which is “to bludgeon its enemies.”

Nonetheless, the corporation’s New York Post Media Group, which includes several media properties, is a player in both local and national politics. It routinely pushes on culture-war pressure points, and it has broken such political stories as the Hunter Biden laptop saga. The Post has an avid reader in President Donald Trump, who gave its “Pod Force One” podcast an interview last summer.

Launch during volatile moment for industry

NCDOT CASH REPORT FOR THE WEEK ENDING JAN. 23

Beginning Cash

$2,276,163,926

Receipts (income)

$188,477,784

Disbursements

$108,602,524

Cash Balance

$2,356,039,186

Monday’s inaugural edition goes straight at Hollywood during awards season with the full-page headline: “Oscar Wild - Shocking truth behind director Safdie brothers’ mystery split.”

Page Six gets a Hollywood edition

Papps declined last week to reveal what stories his reporters were chasing and what bombs the political columnists will throw in its rst editions.

But he promised the growing sta of between 80 and 100 will focus on issues important

to “everyday, hardworking” Californians, including homelessness, a ordability, technology and “law and order.”

Of course, the Post’s infamous gossip column will get a Tinseltown version, Page Six Hollywood, that will keep a snarky eye on red carpets and celebrity culture. And sports fans can expect comprehensive coverage of the state’s major league teams, as well as the upcoming World Cup and Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, Papps said.

“No matter what your politics are, sports are the great connector,” he said.

Adding another title to Rupert Murdoch’s media empire, the California Post will draw from and build on the venerable New York paper’s national coverage, which is known for its relentless and skewering approach to reporting and its facility with sensational or racy subject matter.

“There is no doubt that the

Post will play a crucial role in engaging and enlightening readers, who are starved of serious reporting and puckish wit,” Robert Thomson, chief executive of Post corporate parent News Corp., said in a statement last year announcing the move. In typically punchy Post fashion, he portrayed California as plagued by “jaundiced, jaded journalism.”

Journalism or clickbait?

The California Post could make an impact with its combative style and conservative stance, said Gabriel Kahn, professor at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, who added, “Our statewide press is boring as bathwater,” especially when it comes to politics. He expects a major target to be Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has possible presidential aspirations and has be-

However bold its intentions, the venture is being launched into a turbulent atmosphere for the news business, particularly print papers. More than 3,200 of them have closed nationwide since 2005, according to gures kept by Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.

California, with a population of nearly 40 million, still has dozens of newspapers, including dailies in and around Los Angeles and other major cities. But the nation’s second-most-populous city hasn’t had a dedicated tabloid focused on regional issues in recent memory.

The launch of a paper edition of the Post “de es logic” as news outlets in major metro areas are rapidly shrinking their print footprint, said Ted Johnson, a media and politics editor for Deadline in Washington, D.C., who reported in Los Angeles for 28 years.

“But Rupert Murdoch, his rst love is print,” Johnson said.

Kendrick Lamar, Bad Bunny, Lady Gaga go head to head at 2026 Grammys

Comedian Trevor Noah, formerly of “The Daily Show,” will host

By Maria Sherman The Associated Press

NEW YORK — The 68th annual Grammy Awards will take place Sunday at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. This year marks a return to normalcy after the 2025 award show was altered to focus on supporting relief e orts following the devastating Los Angeles-area wild res.

“I think we will see some history-making moments,” Recording Academy CEO and President Harvey Mason Jr. told The Associated Press. “With artists being nominated in categories they haven’t been previously nominated in, and a new crop of talent coming through the system this year — I think we’re going to see some really exciting results.”

Here’s what you need to know about the 2026 Grammys, including how to stream and where you can see music’s biggest stars walking the red carpet.

When are the Grammys, and how can I watch or stream the show?

The main show will air live on CBS beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern on Sunday.

The Grammys can also be watched through live TV streaming services that include CBS in their lineup, like Hulu

+ Live TV, YouTube TV and FuboTV.

Paramount+ premium plan subscribers will be able to stream the Grammys live; Paramount+ essential subscribers will have on demand access the next day.

The premiere ceremony will take place just ahead of the Grammys’ ceremony at 3:30 p.m. Eastern, 12:30 p.m. Paci c at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. It can be streamed at the Recording Academy’s YouTube channel and on live. GRAMMY.com.

Who is performing at the Grammys?

The 2026 award show will feature a special segment in which all eight of this year’s best new artist nominees will perform. That means Leon Thomas, Olivia Dean, global girl group Katseye, The Marías, Addison Rae, sombr, Alex Warren and Lola Young will all share the stage before going head to head for one of the night’s biggest prizes.

Sabrina Carpenter will also perform at the Grammys. Carpenter is a leading nominee at this year’s ceremony, with six nods for record, album and song of the year as well as pop solo performance, pop vocal album and music video.

Who is hosting the Grammys?

Comedian Trevor Noah will host the show for the sixth consecutive time — and it will be his last.

“I think we will see some history-making moments.”

Harvey Mason Jr., Recording Academy CEO and president

“I am beyond thrilled to welcome Trevor Noah back to host the Grammys for his sixth, and sadly, nal time,” Grammys’ executive producer Ben Winston said in a statement. “He’s been the most phenomenal host of the show. He’s so smart, so funny, and such a true fan of the artists and music. His impact on the show has been truly spectacular, and we can’t wait to do it together one last time.”

The only other people to host six or more Grammy telecasts were musical artists: Andy Williams hosted seven shows, followed by John Denver with six. Noah previously tied LL Cool J, with ve.

Noah himself is a four-time Grammy nominee and is up this year in the audio book, narration, and storytelling recording category for “Into The Uncut Grass,” a children’s story.

“He’s a special host,” Mason Jr. said. “He really nds the right balance between being funny and smart and knowledgeable but also being a fan of music. And I love that. It’s so hard to nd that combination.”

As for Noah’s departure? “Every person at some point in their career, they decide they want

to do something else,” Mason Jr. said. “And we’re so appreciative of the years that we got from Trevor. He’s really helped de ne the show and make the show what it’s become over the last six years.”

How can I watch the red carpet?

The Associated Press will stream a four-hour red carpet show with interviews and fashion footage. It will be streamed on YouTube and Associated Press News.

Who is nominated for the Grammys?

Kendrick Lamar leads the nominations with nine total. He’s up for record, song and album of the year — marking the

third time he’s had simultaneous nominations in those big categories — as well as pop duo/ group performance, melodic rap performance, rap song and rap album. He’s also nominated twice in the rap performance category.

Lady Gaga, Jack Antono and Canadian record producer/ songwriter Cirkut follow Lamar with seven nominations each. Thomas, Bad Bunny, Serban Ghenea and the aforementioned Carpenter all boast six nominations. Andrew Watt, Clipse, Doechii, Sounwave, SZA, Turnstile and Tyler, the Creator have ve each.

There are several rst-time nominees as well this year, including Tate McRae, Zara Larsson, PinkPantheress, JID and … Timothée Chalamet. You read that correctly.

‘Mercy’ unseats ‘Avatar: Fire & Ash’ atop box o ce on snow-blanketed weekend in theaters across US

Chris Pratt’s futuristic thriller came in rst but drew poor reviews

By Jake Coyle The Associated Press

NEW YORK — With a winter storm blanketing a large swath of the country, Hollywood had its quietest weekend of the year at the box o ce. The Amazon MGM sci- thriller “Mercy” dethroned “Avatar: Fire and Ash” from the No. 1 spot with $11.2 million in North America, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Some 250 theaters were forced to close, from Texas to Maine, according to data rm Comscore. More than 140 million Americans were under winter storm warnings, depressing moviegoing.

But the weekend was never going to be a blockbuster one, anyway. “Mercy,” a $60 million thriller starring Chris Pratt as a man in a near-future standing trial before an AI judge, was the top new release. It arrived with withering reviews (20% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and an equally poor reception (a “B-” CinemaScore) from audiences.

That was still enough tonally dislodge James Cameron’s third Pandora epic from its monthlong perch atop the box o ce. “Avatar: Fire and Ash” slid to second place with $7 million. While The Walt Disney Co. release is starting to peter out domestically, it remains a top draw overseas. It took in $28.1 million internationally in its sixth weekend.

“Avatar: Fire and Ash” isn’t going to come close to the box-o ce heights of the previous two “Avatar” movies. The 2009 original grossed $2.9 billion and the 2022 sequel, “The Way of Water,” tapped out at $2.3 billion. “Fire and Ash” has now cleared $1 billion interna-

tionally, but its domestic haul ($378.5 million) is well o the pace of the other two lms. The “Oscar bump” that lms once saw following nomination is largely a thing of the past. The

lead movies in Thursday’s nominations — “Sinners” and “One Battle After Another” — long ago completed their theatrical runs. But a handful of nominees saw strong business.

Chloé Zhao’s “Hamnet,” nominated for eight Oscars including best picture, collected $2 million in its rst weekend of wide release. The Shakespeare drama, starring Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal, has been in theaters for two months, steadily increasing its theatrical footprint. It’s up to $17.6 million domestically and $42.1 million worldwide.

Josh Safdie’s “Marty Supreme,” nominated for nine Oscars, earned $3.5 million in its sixth weekend of release. The A24 title, starring Timothée Chalamet, this week crossed $100 million globally. It’s made $86.2 million domestically thus far.

But newer releases struggled. “Return to Silent Hill,” the third installment in a horror series

kick-started with 2006’s “Silent Hill,” opened with $3.2 million. Though Sony released the 2006 lm and Open Road distributed the 2012 follow-up, the low-budget “Return to Silent Hill” was put out by Iconic Events.

In its second week of release, “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple” dropped swiftly. The Sony release, directed by Nia DaCosta, opened last week to a disappointing $13.3 million in sales despite good reviews. But its second weekend was even worse, dropping 71% with $3.6 million.

Other new releases opped.

Roadside Attractions’ “H Is For Hawk,” starring Claire Foy, took in just $150,000 from 472 theaters. Sony’s “Clika,” about a migrant worker with music aspirations, managed only $1.2 million in 522 locations.

Top 10 movies by domestic box o ce

With domestic gures released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:

1. “Mercy,” $11.2 million 2. “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” $7 million 3. “Zootopia 2,” $5.7 million 4. “The Housemaid,” $4.2 million 5. “28 Years Later: The

Inside Super Bowl week’s concerts, parties, celebrity scene heading into big game

Green Day, Bad Bunny, Dave Chappelle, and Post Malone are set to perform

The Associated Press

SUPER BOWL week will unfold across several days in the Bay Area, with the game itself serving as the nal act in a tightly coordinated mix of sports, music, media and celebrity appearances.

From league-run press events to invitation-only gatherings in San Francisco, the jam-packed week draws athletes, entertainers and executives together in the days leading up to the league’s championship game. Early programming sets the stage for nights headlined by gures such as Shaquille O’Neal and Dave Chappelle along with a variety of performances spread out through San Francisco by Kehlani, Post Malone and Calvin Harris.

High-pro le stops like the Sports Illustrated celebration — tied to Tight End University collaborators Travis Kelce and George Kittle — help de ne the celebrity-driven stretch of the week before fan-focused experiences take over on game day. For rst-timers and returning visitors alike, Super Bowl week moves quickly.

Here is a day-by-day look at how each day takes shape starting Feb. 4.

Wednesday, Feb. 4: Power brunch and early arrivals

Super Bowl week begins with events centered on leadership, media and behind-the-scenes in uence.

The day’s marquee event is the Sports Power Brunch: Celebrating the Most Powerful Women in Sports with attendees including Becky Hammon, Maria Taylor and Elle Duncan at the Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco. The invitation-only gathering brings together

Green Day is set to help open the 60th Super Bowl with an anniversary ceremony honoring generations of MVPs.

executives, broadcasters and athletes for panels and honors spotlighting women shaping the sports industry.

Thursday, Feb. 5: Bad Bunny, NFL Honors and big concert night

Thursday combines league-run programming with the rst major wave of concerts.

The day begins with the Super Bowl halftime and pregame performers media event, hosted at the NFL’s media hub. Reporters and the public will hear directly from the game’s performers including Bad Bunny, Charlie Puth, Brandi Carlile and Coco Jones.

After that, attention shifts to the NFL Honors, hosted by Jon Hamm at the Palace of Fine Arts. There’s a red carpet followed by the awards show, blending sports with entertainment.

But the fun doesn’t stop, launching more into the con-

cert calendar. Fall Out Boy performs an intimate show at The Regency Ballroom as part of the Wells Fargo Autograph Card Exclusives series, a ticketed event limited to cardholders.

At Pier 80 Warehouse, Illenium hosts an album release show tied to his upcoming project “Odyssey,” opening one of the weekend’s largest warehouses. Meanwhile, Grammy-nominated singer Noah Kahan will headline SiriusXM’s concert at The War eld.

Friday, Feb. 6: Shaq, Post Malone, Kehlani and Madden Bowl

On one of the busiest nights, you can’t really go wrong. Across San Francisco, multiple large-scale concerts and fan-facing experiences run at the same time. Make your choices early.

At the Cow Palace, Shaq’s Fun House returns as a carni-

val-style nightlife event hosted by Shaquille O’Neal, who performs as DJ Diesel alongside a rotating lineup of DJs. The event is a ticketed experience with immersive activations ranging from an all-inclusive general admission for $249.99 to a shared VIP table ticket, which starts at $1,550.

Uber One will hold a members-only event featuring a performance by Olivia Dean and Shaboozey at Pier 48. Music continues across the Bay Area. Kehlani headlines a ticketed pre-Super Bowl block party at San Jose City Hall, one of the closest major concerts to Levi’s Stadium. At the Chase Center, EA Sports’ Madden Bowl combines football and music with performances from Luke Combs and LaRussell, athlete appearances and a livestreamed blue carpet, hosted by New York Giants quarterback Jameis Winston and sports commentator Kay Adams.

‘The Secret Agent’ earns 4 Oscar nominations, boosting Brazilian cinema

The lm is in the running for best picture and actor

By Eléonore Hughes The Associated Press

RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazilians celebrated the nomination of “The Secret Agent” to four Oscar categories, which many said con rmed the rise of Brazilian cinema and its universal appeal.

“The Secret Agent” — nominated for best picture, best actor, best international lm and achievement in casting — now shares Brazil’s record for nominations alongside the famed 2002 lm “City of God,” set in a favela in Rio de Janeiro.

“The Secret Agent” follows a widowed father — played by Wagner Moura — who becomes a target of Brazil’s military dictatorship in the 1970s simply because he stands up to a business owner with ties to the regime.

Director Kleber Mendonça Filho said that more than 1 million spectators have seen the lm in a video posted on social media last Thursday following the nominations.

Last year, the Brazilian feature lm “I’m Still Here” was also a box o ce success, drawing millions of moviegoers. It was nominated in three categories and won best international feature, giving Brazil its rst Oscar.

The back-to-back successes are leading many to say that Brazil is living a particularly fruitful moment for its cinema — including President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who said that the local industry is currently “experiencing one of the best moments in its history.”

The nominations are “recog-

ANDRE PENNER / AP PHOTO

A billboard promoting the Oscar-nominated lm “The Secret Agent” is displayed outside a movie theater in Sao Paulo last Thursday.

nition of our culture and of Brazil’s ability to tell stories that move the world,” he said on social media.

“I’m Still Here” is also set during the dictatorship, and observers say both lms have contributed to nationwide discussion about the dark period in Brazil’s history from 1964 to 1985, when people were tortured and disappeared.

Reaction to political turmoil

Lúcia Espírito Santo, a 78-year-old retired lawyer, said that she had to watch her words when she was studying law at university for fear of disappearing.

“What we see in the lm hap -

pened a lot,” she said after seeing the lm. “People would disappear, and you didn’t know why. Friends of mine from college disappeared because they spoke out; they advocated for freedom and democracy.”

Sabrina Guimarães, a 20-year-old student at a Rio de Janeiro university who went to see the lm last Thursday, said learning about the country’s history is essential.

“Even though we learn this stu at school, we don’t spend much time on it and it’s not very speci c,” she said. “Feeling like you’re there in the person’s shoes, knowing what was happening at the time, is very interesting.

“It’s good to understand

Green Day, which will open the 60th Super Bowl with an anniversary ceremony celebrating generations of MVPs, will hit the stage along with Counting Crows at the FanDuel and Spotify party at Pier 29.

Saturday, Feb. 7: Dave Chappelle and Wale anchor Super Bowl eve

Saturday serves as the peak of celebrity-driven Super Bowl weekend activity.

Dave Chappelle headlines an already sold-out comedy show at Chase Center, one of the most in-demand tickets of the weekend. At the Cow Palace, Sports Illustrated hosts SI The Party, a ticketed and VIP event with performances by The Chainsmokers, Ludacris, DJ Irie and Xandra. The costs range from $450 to $1,750 for VIP shared table tickets.

Rapper Wale will hit the stage at Pier 27, T-Pain and Sean Paul will have a show called R&B and Ribs at Pier 80 Warehouse, while Chris Stapleton and Sierra Ferrell will perform at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium.

Sunday, Feb. 8: Game day and fan experiences

Game day opens with large -scale fan events leading into kicko . Guy Fieri’s Flavortown Tailgate runs for four hours starting at 11:30 a.m. PT, o ering free general admission with registration alongside paid upgrades. The event blends live music, food and sponsor activations ahead of the game.

The Chainsmokers will perform at On Location’s Club 67, Champions Club and Touchdown Club pregame parties just outside Levi’s Stadium.

Also, near the stadium, The Players Tailgate delivers a premium pregame experience featuring chefs, NFL players and live entertainment.

and three months in prison for attempting a coup.

But the lm also dialogues with the political climate in other places around the world, he said in an interview with The Associated Press last Thursday.

“The lm is very Brazilian, but it’s also universal, so it can be used to discuss issues in the United States, in Europe or in Brazil,” Mendonça Filho said. “The theme of power being used to crush people and social classes is a theme that’s current, not just historical.”

“Intense emotion”

Casting director Gabriel Domingues, who was nominated in the new category of “achievement in casting,” said the outpouring of support for the lm re ects broader enthusiasm for Brazilian cinema.

“Brazilian cinema is really in a moment of intense emotion, beyond just excitement. People get very moved with this participation in international events and awards and everything,” Domingues told The Associated Press, comparing it to Brazil’s atmosphere around soccer.

“It’s good to understand what happened in the past so we don’t repeat these things in the future.”

Kleber Mendonça Filho, director

what happened in the past so we don’t repeat these things in the future.” Director Mendonça Filho said the lm is a reaction to Brazil’s past decade of political turmoil, including the far-right administration of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who last year was sentenced to 27 years

Ana Paula Sousa, an expert in cinema and teacher at the ESPM University in Sao Paulo, said that the achievements of “I’m Still Here” and “The Secret Agent” are changing Brazilians’ relation to the lm industry in a country where movie attendance is historically low.

“People are talking about Brazilian cinema and thinking it’s cool to talk about it. … That’s something we didn’t see before, and it’s really great,” she said.

Sousa said she hopes the successes will spark more consistent movie attendance among Brazilians.

Espírito Santo, the elderly moviegoer in Rio, said that she was incredibly proud of Brazilian cinema following the Oscar nominations.

“We’re showing up, stepping onto the red carpet abroad,” she said. “Brazil is starting to look like a producer of lms, of well-told stories.”

Pro softball comes to Durham, B4

the Thursday SIDELINE REPORT

NFL Maye headed to Super Bowl

Denver

Former UNC quarterback Drake Maye ran for 68 yards and threw for 86 in sloppy, snowy conditions, scored New England’s only touchdown on a 6-yard keeper and propelling the Patriots to their 12th Super Bowl with a 10-7 win Sunday over the Denver Broncos. The Patriots iced their rst playo win in Denver when Maye ran for 7 yards on third-and-5 from his 41.

NBA NBA postpones

Timberwolves-Warriors game in Minneapolis after fatal ICE shooting

Minneapolis

Last Saturday’s game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Golden State Warriors was postponed following a fatal shooting by a federal o cer in Minneapolis. The league announced the decision was made to “prioritize the safety and security of the Minneapolis community” after 37-year-old Alex Pretti was killed in a confrontation with o cers less than two miles from Target Center, where the Timberwolves play. The game was rescheduled for Sunday afternoon.

NCAA SPORTS

NCAA approves uniform patches, opening up revenue possibilities for athletic departments

NCAA Division I leaders approved a move to generate millions to fund athletic departments looking for new ways to pay players. Beginning Aug. 1, Division I teams can place up to two patches of no more than 4 square inches on uniforms for regular-season games, in addition to the logos already allowed for the uniform manufacturers. Rules committees will decide how to handle March Madness, the College World Series and other playo tournaments.

Hurricanes’ Tulsky re ects on season so far

The Carolina general manager is in his second season leading the front o ce

By Cory Lavalette North State Journal

IN THE FIRST part of a two-part interview with North State Journal, GM Eric Tulsky discussed the rst 52 games of the season.

How would you assess the season so far?

There are a lot of ways we could be better. That said, we have dealt with the kind of injury trouble that can absolutely wreck a season, but we still sit in a tie for rst in

the conference and have a six-point lead in the division. I can’t wait to someday see what this team looks like when it is healthy.

What improvement has this season’s team shown compared to what you saw from last year’s team?

The depth has really stood out this year. Last year, we were so tight against the cap that we had to run a very lean roster, and we were lucky to stay healthy for most of the year. But when we lost a couple of players in the playo s, we really felt it. This year, we’ve had stretches where we were missing six or seven players and, well, of course we still felt it, but we were more equipped to get through it.

How do you think your two biggest o season additions, Nikolaj Ehlers and K’Andre Miller, have t in on and o the ice in their rst months with the team?

They’ve been great. Coming to a new team and adapting is harder than people might think. A player can go over video and understand what we want them to do in

certain situations, but hockey is an extremely fast game, and it takes time to get to the point where those decisions are instinctive and immediate. Both players had the physical tools to do what we need, and they have the mental drive to contribute at the highest level they can, and now you can see it in their game. And you asked about o -ice t — they’re both

See TULSKY, page B3

Driving legends Busch, Gant, Hendrick inducted into NASCAR Hall of Fame

Kurt Busch included a tribute to Greg Bi e in his speech

By Steve Reed The Associated Press

CHARLOTTE — For most of his career, Kurt Busch had a tough-guy persona on and o the racetrack.

But the 47-year-old Busch showed a softer side during his NASCAR Hall of Fame acceptance speech last Friday night as he paused to honor his former Roush Racing teammate Greg Bi e, who died in a plane crash along with his wife, two children and three others on Dec. 18. “I can’t put the words together, but you and I were like peanut butter and jelly when we raced Cup together,” Busch said, addressing Bi e. “And you were instrumental in helping me win a (Cup) championship.

“You will always be the Bi . Everyone be like Bi .” Busch was inducted along with fellow drivers Harry Gant and Ray Hendrick.

Busch, who won the rst Cup Chase in 2004, was selected in his rst year of eligibility by the NASCAR Hall of Fame Voting Panel last May.

Busch got his start driving dwarf cars in his home state of Nevada and made the fast acceleration to the Cup Series after bypassing what was then known as the Busch Series because of his talent as a driver.

“It’s an amazing feeling,” Busch said. “It’s a journey that this blue-collar kid from Vegas never expected. All of these trips down memory lane talking with everyone and the di erent teams I was with, all the great racers that I raced against. It’s been an amazing journey.”

His younger brother Kyle Busch presented him for the Hall, saying he was immensely proud.

“This award is about resilience and heart, and Kurt earned every bit of it,” Kyle Busch said.

Nicknamed “The Outlaw,” Busch was known for his ery temper and often found himself at the center of controversy.

THU

TRENDING

Viktor Neuchev:

The Hurricanes acquired the Russian forward prospect from the Sabres for defenseman Gavin Bayreuther Neuchev 22 was a 2022 thirdround draft pick He had six goals and 16 points for Rochester in the AHL this year Bayreuther has played in 122 NHL games most recently three years ago

Mak Lind:

The former coach of Swedish club BK Häcken Women was named head coach of the North Carolina Courage of the NWSL Lind led Häcken to a 21-1-4 record and the Damallsvenskan title this past season He joined Häcken in 2023 and took the team of the 2023-24 UEFA Women s Champions League Lind 37 replaces Sean Nahas who

Daniel Naroditsky:

The American chess grandmaster died of an abnormal heartbeat caused by an accidental overdose, according to a newly released toxicology report

The 29-year-old was found dead in his North Carolina home in October The report says he tested positive for methamphetamine and kratom Naroditsky a child prodigy who became a grandmaster at 18 was known for livestreaming his matches and sharing commentary

Beyond the box score

POTENT QUOTABLES

“Our coach is teaching us the r ight thing ”

UNC s Caleb Wilson, defending coach Huber t Davis after back-to-back Tar Heels losses UNC beat Virginia over the weekend for a much-needed qualit y win

“Still waiting on a tex t/ca ll af ter I got like a piece of garbage ”

Former Panthers quar terback Baker coach with Cleveland, Kevin Stefanski getting hired by division rival Atlanta

20.64

Average age, in years, of the Wa shing ton Wizards star ting lineup in a loss to Charlotte la st week It wa s the youngest lineup in NBA histor y, beating an Ok la homa Cit y lineup in 2021 by 0 1 years

NCA A FOOTBALL

Clemson coach Dabo Sw inney accused Mississippi coach Pete Golding of tampering w ith a transfer player Sw inney said he ev idence to the NCA A “If you tamper w ith my players, I’m going to turn you in,” Sw inney said, criticizing a system that would end up producing some screwed-up 30 -year-olds that have no degrees, that have spent their money, that can’t play football any more and aren’t connected to any thing ”

Former Charlotte Checkers and Carolina Hurr icanes goalie A lex Nedeljkov ic became par t of NHL lore when he fought Flor ida’s Sergei

Fr iday San Jose’s Nedeljkov ic became involved w ith Panthers players af ter a hit, and Bobrovsk y beelined from his crea se to even things up

Former NC State quar terback Philip Bills for their head coaching job The 44 -year-old R ivers ha s no prev ious NFL coaching exper ience, hav ing worked a s a high school coach in his native A labama La st month, he the Indianapolis Colts

Roger Penske’s team won the Rolex 24 at Day tona , becoming the third team in the event’s 64 -year histor y to three-peat Brazilian dr iver Felipe Na sr (lef t, w ith Penske), the only constant in the lineup, secured the w in, holding

R acing’s Cadillac in the a record-long si x-hour caution because of fogg y conditions

Not done after one: Returning players lead Duke

Last year’s understudies have shown they’re ready for the spotlight

By Shawn Krest North State Journal

THE MOST productive component of Duke’s basketball team this season has put up a stat line that should have NBA scouts salivating.

As if the 23 points per game scoring average weren’t enough.

This Blue Devil hits 8 of 15 shots a night, 2 of 7 from 3-point range, 6 of 8 from the free throw line. He also averages eight rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.9 blocked shots.

He also turns in an average of 44 minutes per game, and he is not a twin, nor did his father play for Duke.

While Cameron Boozer is putting together an ACC Player of the Year caliber season and stating a case that he’s the best freshman in the nation, the most productive piece of the Duke lineup is the improvement of the returning players in the lineup.

Isaiah Evans, Patrick Ngongba, Caleb Foster, Maliq Brown and Darren Harris spent last season as understudies to the NBA-bound Blue Devils. Evans was Duke’s sixth man and best 3-point shooter, with a percentage even higher than Kon Knueppel. Foster was seventh in the rotation, which meant getting little or no minutes one night and a spot in the regular rotation the next, depending on matchups and other coaching strategies. Ngongba developed

into a 10-minute-a-night player and valuable inside presence by tournament time. The veteran Brown battled injury but provided defensive clamps and size. Harris spent much of his freshman year watching the action but showed he had a promising outside shot.

As a group, they made the most of their minutes behind Knueppel, top draft pick Cooper Flagg, and the rest of the stars of the Final Four team. Then, unlike … basically every other college athlete these days, all ve decided to forgo the transfer portal and return to Duke. That gives Jon Scheyer’s Blue Devils the old-school bene t of player improvement, a throwback to the days when coaches said the biggest jump a player made was from year one to year two.

“You’re going to go through your moments of ups and downs.”

Jon Scheyer, Duke coach

This year, the ve returnees have seen their minutes jump from 60 per game put to 104.5, and the improvement in their stat lines has given Scheyer the equivalent of adding an NBA lottery pick to the lineup.

Evans and Foster have started every game this season. Ngongba all but one. They rank two, three and four on the team in scoring, behind Boozer. Ngongba leads the team in blocks and is second in rebounding. Foster and Ngong-

Women’s basketball o to strong start around state

The Triangle currently boasts three top- ve ACC teams

By Ryan Henkel North State Journal

THE 2025-26 college basketball season is well into conference play at this point in the year, so we’re starting to get a good idea of where teams actually stand throughout the country. Here’s a look at ve best local women’s hoops programs.

Duke (14-6; 9-0 ACC)

After a slow start to the season featuring six losses in their rst nine games, Duke has since ipped a switch following a four-game losing streak that started the end of November and carried into the start of December.

Kara Lawson nally got her squad to click, and Duke has since been perfect, sitting tied with Louisville atop the ACC as it was projected to nish per the conference’s preseason poll.

The Blue Devils are a stingy group and one of the best at defending beyond the arc.

Sophomore Toby Fournier, the ACC’s 2024-25 Rookie of the Year, is leading the way for the Blue Devils on both sides of the ball, averaging 17.6 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game.

But overall, Duke has enjoyed a balanced o ense and deep bench with a pair of senior guards in Ashlon Jackson and Taina Mair providing excellent ball movement (9.9 combined assists per game) on top of consistent production (23.8 points per game).

ECU (15-6; 7-1 AAC)

The ECU Pirates have been one of the biggest surprises so far this season.

Despite being tabbed as the seventh-best team in the conference preseason poll and without a single player selected to a preseason all-conference team, the Pirates currently sit at No. 2 in the American Athletic Conference and tied for the most wins.

They’re averaging the most

BEN MCKEOWN / AP PHOTO

NC State’s guard Zoe Brooks handles the ball during a December game.

points per game (74.0) while also holding opponents to the fourth-best points against average (66.0) in the conference.

The Pirates are getting to the charity stripe more than any other team, and that, combined with an average turnover margin per game of 5.95, is giving them the edge over a lot of their opponents and making up for their middle-of-the-pack shooting and rebounding.

Senior guard Kennedy Fauntleroy has been leading the way for ECU, with 12.7 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.6 steals and 4.4 assets per game.

NC State (14-6; 7-2 ACC)

Much like Duke, NC State struggled early in its schedule but has since found itself back on track for the most part.

Coach Wes Moore went for the trial-by- re approach for his squad, with a very tough nonconference schedule (four ranked opponents), and it seems that the approach was helpful to bring together a group looking to ll the shoes of multiple prominent starters.

The Wolfpack are leading the conference in rebounding and are scoring the thirdmost points per game in the ACC, but they are also forcing the fewest turnovers in the conference.

Junior transfer Kham-

il Pierre has been big for NC State, averaging 16.3 points,

11.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists, but the backcourt duo of Zoe Brooks and Zamareya Jones have been just as vital to the Wolfpack’s success.

UNC (17-5; 6-3 ACC)

The Tar Heels have had a strong start to their season, with their only losses of the year coming against either ranked opponents, in overtime or when facing the best player in the conference. They’ve been one of the best two-way groups in the ACC, with the second-best scoring margin so far this year (18.1).

Currently sitting with the fourth-best record in the conference, the Tar Heels’ biggest strength has been their depth, with 10 players averaging more than 10 minutes per game and only two north of 25.

But a few players are standing out above the crowd, namely senior guard Indya Nivar, who’s averaging 10.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 3.0 steals, and sophomore forward Ciera Toomey, who’s averaging 10.5 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.5 blocks.

Wake Forest (12-9; 2-7 ACC)

It’s been tough sledding for women’s hoops at Wake Forest for most of its existence, and this year has been no di erent.

After nine straight wins to open up their season, the Demon Deacons alternated wins and losses before landing in a six-game rut.

Wake Forest is doing well in terms of containing opponents, holding them to an average eld goal percentage of just .363, but they’re just not getting enough possessions, with the fth-most turnovers and fewest o ensive rebounds grabbed in the conference. They also rank last in the ACC in terms of both free throws earned and free-throw percentage (.653). Only two players — Grace Oliver and Mary Carter — are averaging more than 10 points a game.

The Demon Deacons have a lot of work ahead of them if they don’t want yet another season with a losing record.

thing from tonight’s game where he’s pissed at what didn’t do as well. … That is what makes him special. He’s wired where he’s all about his teammates. He’s not about numbers. He’s about winning. I think when your best player’s that way, it becomes contagious and has a big e ect on the rest of the group.”

The others in the freshman class are lling the roles played by Evans, Ngongba and company last year — playing tambourine, supporting the key players and waiting for their opportunity. That includes a pair of McDonald’s All-Americans in Cayden Boozer (Cam’s twin) and Nik Khamenia, as well as highly rated European veteran Dame Sarr.

ba are two-three in assists. Healthy this year, Brown is still a defensive stopper, and even Harris, ninth in the rotation, has seen a hike in playing time and production.

The contributions of the team means that Duke has one of the most talented benches in college basketball in what arrived on campus last summer as part of the nation’s top freshman class. Boozer has emerged as a legitimate superstar and is coming closer than most expected to lling the shoes left by Flagg.

“Cam is never satis ed,” Scheyer said after his star freshman’s 32-point, nine-rebound, four-assist night against Wake Forest that earned Boozer his eighth ACC Rookie of the Week award.

“I think that’s a great thing about him. He will always nd some-

from page B1

just really good people who have t well into our family.

The team was labeled as “boring” by some last season. I know those statements didn’t impact how the team wants to play, however, it does seem you rely more on rush chances this season than in previous years. What led to the shift from being a primarily dump-and-chase team to one that is perhaps leaning more on high-end skill?

That label always struck me as crazy. We pressure all over the ice and constantly attack, and I think that makes the game much more exciting than when a team just packs it in defensively and waits for a mistake. As for the play o the rush, we’ve just been steadily adding skill to the roster over the years. (Jordan) Staal and (Jordan) Martinook are still playing the same game they always have, but as we’ve added forwards like Ehlers and (Taylor) Hall and (Jackson) Blake and (Logan) Stankoven to the mix, we’ve become more and more dangerous o the rush.

Depth has been important this season with the number of injuries on your roster. How much of a focus last summer was getting deeper with signings like Mike Reilly and Cayden Primeau?

Yeah, that was a real goal for us last summer. Our cap situation left us room to have a little more depth than last year, when we spent most of the rst half of the year with just 12 and six on the roster. We wanted to take advantage of that exibility to add a little more veteran depth — we knew we had prospects like (Joel) Nystrom, (Charles Alexis) Legault, (Bradly) Nadeau and (Justin) Robidas who would be in the mix, but it is good to be able to ease them into the transition to the NHL.

Have you been surprised by the impact made by some of your young players who were perhaps not expected to make a big impact this soon, particularly your young defensemen?

Yes and no. I know Nystrom’s impact came as a big surprise to a lot of people, but internally we knew this was a possibility. Even going back to last year, if

Khamenia had one of those games that Evans turned in at times last season, shining once Scheyer called his number. He scored 14 second-half points against No. 20 Louisville—Duke’s seventh win this season over a ranked foe. The explosion included three shots from 3-point land, as well as a breakaway dunk.

“He’s still in rare air in terms of making an impact on one of the best teams in the country,” Scheyer said. “But you’re going to go through your moments of ups and downs, and I think he’s guring out how to be really successful in college and how to adjust in certain areas, but also how to have that belief in yourself still.”

And if you do that, at least in Durham, you might help next year’s Duke team create the equivalent of another NBA prospect out of thin air.

he hadn’t gotten hurt, he would have been in the conversation to play games when we had injuries in the playo s. So I guess I’d say that we hoped he could step in and play like this, but it’s a positive to see things play out the way we hoped. And I’d say the same for Legault looking comfortable in early action before his injury.

Speaking of young defensemen, expectations were high for Alexander Nikishin. How do you feel he’s handled his rst full NHL season?

He’s been very good. You make an interesting comparison about expectations. The public wasn’t talking about Nystrom much, and people who didn’t know much about him were surprised at how good he’s been. Expectations for Nikishin were sky-high, and even going back to last year, I’ve been trying to caution people that the expectations are fair, but the timeline might not be what they thought. There was a lot for him to learn — not just understand on paper, but like we said about Ehlers and Miller, it had to get built into his instincts so he can make decisions without hesitation. That takes time, especially for a rookie who’s learning so much about the way we play. He’s made a lot of progress in the rst half of the year, and we just expect that to continue. What’s your assessment of how the coaching sta has handled Nikishin’s development and how the player has reacted to that?

Coaches see a lot about the game that fans don’t see. There are always going to be things that you won’t pick up if you don’t know what to look for. On our rst goal against Buffalo the other day, maybe you noticed (Sean) Walker stepping up in the neutral zone to break up an exit and create the chance for us. But if his gap is a little bit looser there and he can’t jump the pass, I don’t think many people will notice something like that. It just looks like a routine exit by Buffalo that you don’t think twice about. But the coaches would notice and would be talking to him about it and trying to help him improve. That’s not being unnecessarily hard on a player; it’s doing their job. We all know his potential is extremely high, and coaching him on the details of the game is part of how they help him reach his potential.

AUSL brings pro softball to Durham

Carolina

The

Blaze will begin play in June

By Asheebo Rojas North State Journal

DURHAM — Duke has been home to some of the nation’s top softball players in its short history.

That’ll be the case once again this year, especially in the summer.

The Athletes Unlimited Softball League, a professional league launched in 2025, announced Durham as the home of the Carolina Blaze last week. The Blaze, keeping their black, orange, pink and white colors from its inaugural season, are scheduled for 25 games from June through July and will play their home games at Duke’s Smith Family Stadium.

“We are thrilled to become part of your community,” AUSL Commissioner Kim Ng said. “This is a major step in the evolution of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League, moving from a touring model to a city-based professional league.”

Carolina will be coached by Kara Dill, who served as the Blaze’s associate head coach last year and is the current coach at UT Arlington. Dana Sorensen, a former player at Stanford and a pitching performance coach with Sorensen Elite, will serve as the team’s general manager for the second straight year.

After the AUSL expansion and allocation drafts on Dec. 1, the Blaze’s current roster consists of 13 players, including former Duke standouts Ana Gold, an inelder, and pitcher Jala Wright.

Gold won AUSL Rookie of the Year honors in 2025 and was

named to the AUSL All-Defensive Team after leading all rookies with a .373 batting average. She also tied fourth in the league with ve home runs. At Duke, Gold helped the program to its rst Women’s College World Series in 2024.

“This league has the best players in the world,” Gold said. “Being able to play against that competition, I got better. And I think if you make it to the AUSL in softball, you made it. This is the MLB for softball.”

Wright, the unanimous 2024 ACC Pitcher of the Year, also played a huge role in the Blue Devils’ World Series berth, posting a 1.50 ERA as a senior. After spending last season as a

graduate assistant at Tennessee, Duke hired Wright as an assistant coach in August.

“There’s a group of women who came to our games when we were at Duke, and they would always bring us little pieces of bubble gum,” Wright said. “To think we can get that same experience back at Duke now as professional softball players, it’s just unreal.”

In addition to Gold, the Blaze will return six other players from last year’s team, including former NCAA champion pitcher Aleshia Ocasio. Ocasio has played professional softball since 2018, and in 2021, she won the AU Pro Softball Championship title with a league-high six wins and the league’s second-best ERA (2.32).

Queens men’s basketball surges in conference standings

The Royals are nally eligible for the NCAA Tournament

By Jesse Deal North State Journal

CHARLOTTE — After opening the season 5-8 overall, the Queens University men’s basketball team has now jumped to the top of the Atlantic Sun Conference standings in its rst season of NCAA Tournament eligibility.

Queens has ipped the script, going 7-1 in ASUN action and climbing into a three-way tie for rst place with Lipscomb and Austin Peay.

Now 12-9 overall, Queens began conference play with seven consecutive wins for its best start in ASUN play since joining the league in 2022. The fast start has positioned the Royals in legitimate NCAA Tournament contention for the rst time since transitioning to Division I.

After years as one of Division II’s premier programs, Queens made the jump to Division I ahead of the 2022-23 season.

Under NCAA rules, transitioning programs must wait three years before becoming postseason eligible. During that span, the Royals compiled a 64 -58 record — an uncommon level of success for a pro-

NASCAR from page B1

He won his only Cup Series championship at age 26 in his fourth year on the circuit. It was the rst championship contested under the 10-race Chase format, and it came in dramatic fashion.

Busch’s right front tire broke loose from his No. 97 Roush Racing Ford and rolled to the right of the pit wall as he steered to the left of the barrier. He managed to nish fth and secured the title.

“There was this weird vibration happening with the right front,” Busch said in a video he posted on social media before his induction. “So I was coming down on the access road, and

COURTESY QUEENS ATHLETICS

Queens senior guard Nasir Mann evades North Alabama’s Dallas Howell for a dunk.

gram navigating the jump amid the rise of NIL and the transfer portal.

This season marks the rst opportunity for Queens to compete for an automatic NCAA Tournament berth, and coach Grant Leonard believes his roster is built to capitalize.

“We have guys that can really shoot it and then we have our nishers,” Leonard said.

“We have some guys that can do both, like (Yoav) Berman. For us, having the guys that can really nish at an elite level at the rim like Avantae (Parker) and

it’s starting to vibrate bad like it’s coming apart. Something’s going down.

“It broke right there. I know I’m wrecking, and I’m like, ‘My day’s done.’ Something took my left foot o the brake pedal to allow that left front tire just to gain a little bit of turn and to stay away from the barrels and the embarrassment of running into the end of the pit wall.”

Busch won 43 races across NASCAR’s three national series, including 34 at the Cup level. He won the 2017 Daytona 500 and retired in 2023 after sustaining a concussion following a crash at Pocono.

Gant, 86, known as “The Bandit,” joined Busch as a Modern Era selection in

Jordan Watford, Nasir Mann and Berman really puts the defense in a quandary.”

Queens enters the week averaging 83.5 points per game, the top o ensive mark in the ASUN. While the Royals surrender 83.1 points per contest, ranking 11th among the league’s 12 teams, Leonard said the team’s o ensive balance has been a driving force behind its surge.

“People think that it’s all the 3s we’re hitting that’s winning,” Leonard said. “We’re actually No. 1 in the league in two-point eld goal percentage and we

his seventh year of eligibility.

“I was hoping to get in here sooner or later,” Gant joked.

Gant raced late into his career. The Taylorsville native had 18 victories, with ve of them — including four straight wins at Darlington, Richmond, Dover and Martinsville — coming after he turned 51.

“I have been able to take a car and make it win,” Gant said. “I have had several cars. To make a car that becomes a winner, it’s like a person — it becomes your best friend then. Not your wife, but your best friend.”

Gant also won 21 races in the O’Reilly Series, captured the IROC Series title in 1985 and nished second to NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip

Volts and Utah Talons. Ng, who became the rst woman to be the general manager of a men’s team in North American sports history when she was hired by the Miami Marlins in 2020, said the league chose Durham because of the area’s support for women’s sports.

“A number of di erent entities and organizations that were really sel ess in their approach, and that they just wanted another women’s pro sports team here, I think said a lot about the community,” Ng said.

Duke University partnered with the Durham Sports Commission to give Carolina access to its facilities. The DSC has helped promote the team’s brand and garner support ahead of the season.

Ng announced the AUSL will play a three-game series at Durham Bulls Athletic Park from June 25-27.

The Blaze went 7-17 in their inaugural season, going 2-10 in June and 5-7 in July. Ocasio hopes the team will have a “hotter” start this summer.

Carolina will have the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming college draft.

Last year, the Blaze were one of four teams that introduced the AU traditional softball league through a touring model. The Blaze, alongside the Volts, the Talons and the Bandits, played games in 12 cities across the country.

This season, the AUSL transitioned to a city-based league with six teams, including the Chicago Bandits, Oklahoma City Spark, Portland Cascade, Texas

were crushing people in the paint, so we’re proud of our guys for making the right decisions.”

That balance shows up throughout the stat sheet.

Queens has ve players averaging double gures in scoring, led by senior guard Mann at 13.5 points per game. He also leads the team in rebounding at 5.7 per contest.

Seven Royals — Mann, Parker, Berman, Chris Ashby, Watford, Carson Schwieger and Maban Jabriel — average at least seven points per game, giving Queens multiple scoring options on any given night.

That depth has proven critical, particularly when one of the team’s primary scorers has an o night.

Ashby, the ASUN Preseason Player of the Year, was held scoreless in Queens’ recent home game against North Alabama. The senior guard’s scoring average has dipped from 12.7 points per game last season to 11 this year.

Still, Queens rolled to a 25-point win, fueled by a season-high 23 points from Watford. The Royals used a dominant second half, outscoring North Alabama 45-29 over the nal 20 minutes to secure the victory inside Curry Arena.

Leonard pointed to that performance as evidence of how this year’s team di ers from prior Queens squads.

“Last year, when we had games like that, we really couldn’t get over the hump in those games,” Leonard said. “This year, it really hasn’t a ected us. I’m really proud of our guys because they don’t get rat-

in the inaugural All-Star Race.

Hendrick, known as “Mr. Modi ed,” accumulated more than 700 victories in modi ed and late model sportsman racing from 1950 through 1988. He was chosen from a group of ve Pioneer Ballot nominees. Although he never won a modi ed championship, Hendrick nished in the top 10 nine times from 1960-69.

“He was almost unbeatable on short tracks,” said Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick, who is unrelated to Ray Hendrick but worked on Ray’s cars as a teenager.

Hendrick’s son Ronnie accepted the award for his father, who died in 1990.

“If my dad was here tonight

“Our goals are clear,” DSC Executive Director Marcus Manning said. “Fostering community pride through a collective e ort. Providing fans with access and opportunities to a unique and top-tier professional softball experience. Supporting our leadership and our athletes as the Carolina Blaze pursue an AUSL championship.”

Prior to the AUSL, Athletes Unlimited launched the AU Pro Softball Championship in 2020 in which 60 players competed for the most individual points on four captain-drafted teams. The team rosters were rearranged in each of the season’s four weeks. AU still uses this format for the AUSL All-Star Cup, which is played after the AUSL season. In October, ESPN and AUSL announced a three-year rights extension in which ESPN will carry 50 AUSL games annually beginning this season.

The Blaze will open their season at home against Portland on June 9.

“I’m really proud of our guys because they don’t get rattled.” Grant Leonard, Royals coach

tled. These guys believe in each other, and they just try to make the right play. And while di erent defenses are going to guard us in di erent ways, we just take what the defense gives us.” Queens’ seven-game winning streak came to an end Saturday in Carrollton, Georgia, where West Georgia handed the Royals a 74-66 loss. The setback marked Queens’ lowest scoring output in nearly a month.

The Royals now turn their attention back to the ASUN title chase, where they remain locked in a tight battle with Lipscomb and Austin Peay as the league’s only other teams with winning records both overall and in conference play.

In October, ASUN head coaches voted Queens atop the preseason poll after the Royals reached the ASUN Championship semi nals and captured a win in the 2025 Purple College Basketball Invitational.

Through the rst half of conference play, Queens has shown it was worthy of that preseason con dence.

The Royals hosted Central Arkansas on Wednesday night at Curry Arena and will travel to Louisville, Kentucky, on Friday afternoon for a conference matchup at Bellarmine as they continue their push toward a March run.

he would be so honored to be recognized with so many other great drivers,” Ronnie Hendrick said.

Track promoter H.A. Wheeler was honored with the Landmark Award for contributions to the sport.

The longtime president and general manager of Charlotte Motor Speedway, Wheeler became know for his over-the-top promotional events, including a staged battle in the in eld with giant “Robosaurus” breathing re and devouring cars during prerace ceremonies.

Speedway Motorsports CEO Marcus Smith called him “the P.T. Barnum of motorsports.” Wheeler died last August at age 86.

CUMBERLAND

Administrator’s Notice to Creditors

The undersigned, having quali ed as Administrator CTA of the Estate of Anthony Nathaniel Avrette, deceased, late of Cumberland County, hereby noti es all persons, rms, and corporations having claims against said estate to present their claim to the undersigned on or before April 24, 2026, which date is three months after the day of the rst publication of this notice, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All Debtors of the decedent are requested to make immediate payment to the undersigned. This 12th day of January, 2026. Jonathan David Avrette, Administrator 1082 Keith Hills Road Lillington, NC 27546 Of the Estate of Anthony Nathaniel Avrette Notice to Creditors The undersigned, having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Cynthia A Birth, deceased, late of Cumberland County, hereby noti es all persons, rms, and corporations having claims against said estate to present their claim to the undersigned on or before the 8th day of April, 2026, (which date is 3 months after the day of the rst publication of this notice) or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All Debtors of decadent are requested to make immediate payment to the undersigned. This 8th day of January, 2026. Shenita M Branson Executor 905 Flintwood Road Fayetteville, NC 28314 Of the Estate of Cynthia A Birth, Deceased

NOTICE TO CREDITORS ESTATE OF Michael David Barbour FILE NO. 26E000087-250 THE UNDERSIGNED having quali- ed as Administrator for the estate of Michael David Barbour, Deceased, in the O ce of the Clerk of Superior Court of Cumberland County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all per- sons, rms and corporations having claims against the said Decedent to present the same to the undersigned on or before May 4, 2026, said date being at least three months from the date of the rst publication or posting of this Notice as indicated below, or the same will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate, please make immediate payment. This Notice is given pursuant to the provisions of G.S. 28A-14-1. This the 29th day of January 2026. Name and Address of Administrator Ellen Jaye Barbour, Administrator 612 Country Club Dr. Fayetteville, NC 28301 North State Journal January 29, February 5, 12, 19, 2026

NOTICE TO CREDITORS STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA, CUMBERLAND COUNTY IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE OF SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION 25E001951-250. Having quali ed as the Administrator of the Estate of Derrick lynn Bledsole,deceased,late of Cumberland County,North Carolina,This is to notify all persons, rms and corporations against the Estate of Derrick Lynn Bledsole to present them to the undersigned on or before the APRIL 8TH 2026( This day begin 3months from the rst publication date of this notice) or same will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to the estate please make immediate payment .This is the 31st day of December 2025 Admistrator Ronnie Dale Bledsole 2014 center st fayetteville north carolina 28306 Executor of the estate of Derrick Lynn Bledsole deceeased July 25th 2025 25e001951-250 Send claims to 2014 center st fayetteville nc 28306 Administrator’s Notice

The undersigned, having quali ed as Administrator of the estate of Fredrick Green, deceased, late of Cumberland County, hereby noti es all persons, rms, and corporations having claims against said estate to present their claim to the undersigned on or before the 22nd day of April, 2026, (which date is three months after the day of the rst publication of this notice) or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All Debtors of the decedent are requested to make immediate payment to the undersigned. This 16th day of January, 2026. Sharon Davis 1800 Williamsburg Road, 1b Durham, NC 27707

NOTICE TO CREDITORS ESTATE OF NANCY GREER CUMBERLAND County Estate File No. 25E001724-250 All persons, rms and corporations having claims against Nancy Greer, deceased, of Cumberland County, North Carolina, are noti ed to present their claims to Davis W. Puryear, Administrator, at 4317 Ramsey St., Fayetteville, NC 28311, on or before the 23rd day of April, 2026 (which date is three months after the day of the rst publication of this notice), or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. Debtors of the Decedent are requested to make immediate payment to the Administrator named above.

the 15th day of January, 2026.

undersigned having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of, Malenna May Donley Orndorf, Deceased, late of Cumberland County, this is to notify all persons having claims against said estate to present them to the undersigned on or before the 29 of April, 2026 (which

NOTICE

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA County of Cumberland

In The General Court of Justice Superior Court Division Estate File #26E000021-250

Executor’s Notice The undersigned, having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Elbert Anderson, Jr., deceased, late of Cumberland County, hereby noti es all persons, rms, and corporations having claims against said estate to present their claim to the undersigned on or before the 29th day of April, 2026, (which date is three months after the day of the rst publication of this notice) or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All Debtors of the decedent are requested to make immediate payment to the undersigned.

This 29th day of January, 2026.

Amanda Carrasquillo Pemberley –Executor 2280 Center Court North, Apt. 5 Grand Island, NY 14072 Of the Estate of Elbert Anderson, Jr., Deceased

NOTICE

In the General Court of Justice Superior Court Division Before the Clerk State of North Carolina Cumberland County Administrator Notice The Undersigned having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Wadell Brown, deceased late of Cumberland County, this is to notify all persons having claims against said estate to present them to the undersigned on or before the 29th day of April, 2026, which date is three months after the day of the rst publication of this notice, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. All persons indebted to make estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned this the 26th, day of January 2026. Paula Brown 1234 Hunters Trail Hope Mills, North Carolina 28348 Administrator of the estate of Wadell Brown.

NOTICE

In The General Court of the Justice Superior Court Division Before the Clerk Estate File #: 26E000095-250. STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA CUMBERLAND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR

NOTICE The undersigned having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Lillie F. McDu e McKoy, deceased, late of Cumberland County, this is to notify all persons having claims against said estate to present them to the undersigned on or before the April 29, 2026, (which date is three months after the day of the rst publication of the notice) or this notice will be pleaded in bar of the recovery. All persons indebted to the estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. The 22nd day of January, 2026. Sonyas Renee Willis - Administrator 1113 Penselwood Drive Raleigh, NC 27604

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of Dorothy Mae McNeill, Deceased Cumberland County, North Carolina Probate Court Case No. 26E000052-250

Notice is hereby given that the undersigned has been appointed as the personal representative of the above-named estate.

All persons having claims against the estate are required to present them, along with proper supporting documentation, to the undersigned at 1713 Royal Gorge Rd. Fayetteville, NC 28304, within 90 days after the date of rst publication of this notice, April 29th 2026 or such claims will be forever barred. Date of rst publication: January 29th 2026 - April 29th 2026 Administrator for the Estate: Tonya L. McNeill 1713 Royal Gorge Rd Fayetteville, NC 28304 Phone: (910) 835-8256

NOTICE

The undersigned having quali ed as executor of the estate of Willie Richard McLaurin decease late of Cumberland County, This is to notify all persons having claims against said estate to present them to the undersigned on or before the date of April 8, 2026 or this notice will pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to the estate and please make immediate payment to the undersigned this 8th of January, 2026. Administrator of the estate of Willie Richard McLaurin Linda Faye McLaurin 1132 Stamper Road Fayetteville, NC 28303 Contact number: (910) 584-8817

NOTICE

In The General Court of Justice Superior Court Division Before the Clerk Estate File # 26E000013-250 STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA CUMBERLAND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR NOTICE The undersigned,having quali ed as Executor Of the Estate of Joseph Thomas Burke Jr. Deceased, late of Cumberland County, hereby Noti es all persons, rms,and corporations having Claims against said Estate to present their claims To the undersigned on or before the 15 day of April 2026( which date is 3 months after the day of the First publication of this notice) or this notice will be Pleaded in bar of their recovery. All Debtors of the Decedent are requested to make immediate payment To the undersigned. This the 7th day of January 2026 Executor: Jody Lamone Akers 3530 Treymore Dr Crouse , NC 28033 Of the Estate of Joseph Thomas Burke Jr.,Deceased

NOTICE

Estate File#25E001639-250 Administrator’s/Executor’s Notice

The undersigned, having quali ed as Executor of the estate of Angela Marie Saxon deceased, late of Cumberland County, hereby noti es all persons, rms, and corporations having claims against said estate to present their claim to the undersigned on or before the 29th day April of, 2026, (which date is three months after the day of the rst publication of this notice) or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All Debtors of the decedent are requested to make immediate payment to the undersigned.

This 29th day of January, 2026. James R. Saxon, Executor 205 Crystal Sand Lane Dunn, North Carolina 28334 Of the Estate of Angela Marie Saxon, Deceased.

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of Dorothy Jackson Burns a/k/a Dorothy J. Burns a/k/a Dorothy A. Burns

Cumberland County Estate File No. 25E001847-250

All persons, rms and corporations having claims against Dorothy Jackson Burns a/k/a Dorothy J. Burns a/k/a Dorothy A. Burns, Deceased, of Cumberland County, North Carolina, are noti ed to present their claims to David Hyatt Thompson, II, Executor of the Estate of Dorothy Jackson Burns a/k/a Dorothy J. Burns a/k/a Dorothy A. Burns, at 203 Fox Den Lane, Goldsboro, NC 27534, on or before the 24th day of April, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. Debtors of Dorothy Jackson Burns a/k/a Dorothy J. Burns a/k/a Dorothy A. Burns are requested to make immediate payment to the Executor named above. This the 22nd day of January, 2026. David Hyatt Thompson, II, Executor of the Estate of Dorothy Jackson Burns a/k/a Dorothy J. Burns a/k/a Dorothy A. Burns Williford McCauley - Attorney for the Estate of Dorothy Jackson Burns a/k/a Dorothy J. Burns a/k/a Dorothy A. Burns

Mailing address: P. O. Box 53606

Fayetteville, NC 28305

Physical address: 235 Green Street Fayetteville, NC 28301

NOTICE In The General Court of Justice Superior Court Division Before the Clerk Estate le #23 E State of North Carolina

CUMBERLAND COUNTY

ADMINISTRATOR NOTICE

The undersigned having quali ed as Executrix of the Estate of John Archie Butler, deceased, late of Cumberland County, this is to notify all persons having claims against said estate to present them to the undersigned on or before the 8th day of April, 2026, (which date is three months after the day of the rst publication of this notice) or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to the estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This the 5th of January, 2026. Administrator of the Estate of John Archie Butler Executrix. Carolyn B. Hardin 890 Three Wood Drive Fayetteville, North Carolina, 28312 of the Estate of John Archie Butler, deceased

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

ESTATE OF RUTH IRENE CHRISTIE

CUMBERLAND County Estate File No.

25E000985-250

All persons, rms and corporations having claims against Ruth Irene Christie, deceased, of Cumberland County, North Carolina, are noti ed to present their claims to Davis W. Puryear, Administrator, at 4317 Ramsey St., Fayetteville, NC 28311, on or before the 16th day of April, 2026 (which date is three months after the day of the rst publication of this notice), or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. Debtors of the Decedent are requested to make immediate payment to the Administrator named above.

This the 9th day of January, 2026.

Davis W. Puryear Public Administrator of the Estate of Ruth Irene Christie Davis W. Puryear Hutchens Law Firm Attorneys for the Estate 4317 Ramsey Street Fayetteville, NC 28311 Run dates: January 15, January 22, January 29 and February 5, 2026

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

ESTATE OF GEORGE THOMAS HILL, JR.

CUMBERLAND County Estate File No. 26E000121-250

All persons, rms and corporations having claims against George Thomas Hill, Jr., deceased, of Cumberland County, North Carolina, are noti ed to present their claims to Timothy Hill, Administrator, at 6607 Winthrop Dr., Fayetteville, NC 28311, on or before the 30th day of April, 2026 (which date is three months after the day of the rst publication of this notice), or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. Debtors of the Decedent are requested to make immediate payment to the Administrator named above.

This the 23rd day of January, 2026. Davis W. Puryear Administrator of the Estate of George Thomas Hill, Jr. Davis W. Puryear Hutchens Law Firm Attorneys for the Estate 4317 Ramsey Street Fayetteville, NC 28311 Run dates: January 29, February 5, February 12 and February 19, 2026

NOTICE

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF CUMBERLAND IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE

SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION

ESTATE FILE 25E001374-250 IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF CHONG SUN HOLMES Administrator’s NOTICE The undersigned, having quali ed as Administrator of the estate of Chong Sun Holmes, deceased, late of Cumberland County, this to notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said estate to present them to the undersigned on or before the 30th day of April, 2026, (which date is three months after the day of the rst publication of this notice) 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 22nd day of January, 2026. William Holmes 1925 Caviness St., Fayetteville, NC 28314 Administrator of the estate of Chong Sun Homes deceased January 22nd, January 29th, February 5th, and February 12th , 2026.

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA CUMBERLAND COUNTY IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION 26E000049-250 Having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Joyce Shipman Howard, deceased, late of Cumberland County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the Estate of said Joyce Shipman Howard to present them to the undersigned on or before the 29 day of April, 2026 (this date being 3 months from the rst publication date of this notice) or same will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate please

of Joyce Shipman Howard January 29, February 5,12, 19 2026

NOTICE NORTH CAROLINA CUMBERLAND COUNTY IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION BEFORE THE CLERK FILE NUMBER: 25E001949-250 In the Matter of the Estate of: DAVID E. MAXWELL, SR. Deceased.

EXECUTOR’S NOTICE

The undersigned, having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of David E.

Sr., deceased, late of Indianna County, Pennsylvania, this is to notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to present them to the undersigned on or before April 8, 2026 (which is three (3) months after the day of the rst publication of this notice), or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, rms and corporations indebted to said estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned.

THIS the 8th day of January, 2026. David Emmitt Maxwell, Jr., Executor of the Estate of David E. Maxwell, Sr, Deceased c/o J. Thomas Neville Yarborough, Winters & Neville, P.A. P.O. Box 705 Fayetteville, NC 28302-0705 Publish: 01/08/2026, 01/15/2026, 01/22/2026 and 01/29/2026

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Willa Marie McMillan, deceased, late of Cumberland County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, rms, and corporations having claims against the estate of said decedent to present them to the undersigned on or before April 22, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, rms, and corporations indebted to said estate are requested to make immediate payment. This the 15th day of January, 2026. Charlene Hepburn, Executor Estate of Willa Marie McMillan c/o Charlene Hepburn 6218 Dunbane Court Fayetteville, NC 28311

NOTICE TO CREDITORS IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION ESTATE FILE NO. 26E000034-250 STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF CUMBERLAND

Having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Joyce Shirley Metacarpa AKA Joyce Williamson Metacarpa, late of Cumberland County, North Carolina, the undersigned does hereby notify all persons, rms, and corporations having claims against the estate of said decedent to exhibit them to the undersigned at 2517 Raeford Road, Fayetteville, NC 28305, on or before April 15, 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. Dated this 15th day of January, 2026. Nicole A. Corley, Executor of the Estate of Joyce Shirley Metacarpa AKA Joyce Williamson Metacarpa 2517 Raeford Road Fayetteville, NC 28305 (910) 483 – 4990

Notice to Creditors

Estate of Margaret A. Owens NOTICE TO CREDITORS All persons, rms, and corporations having claims against the Estate of Margaret A. Owens, also known as Margaret T. Owens and Margaret Tucker, deceased, are hereby noti ed that the undersigned has quali ed as Executor of the Estate in the Clerk of Superior Court of Cumberland County, North Carolina. Pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes, all claims against the Estate must be presented, duly veri ed, to the Clerk of Superior Court of Cumberland County, North Carolina, on or before three (3) months from the date of rst publication of this notice, which date is April 22, 2026, or said claims will be forever barred. This the 22nd day of January,2026. Mail to Clerk of Court Superior Court 117 Dick St. Fayetteville NC 28301

NOTICE

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA

In The General Court Of Justice County of Cumberland Superior Court Division Estate File # 26E000046-250 Administrator’s/Executor’s Notice The undersigned, having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Arthur Richard Schmidt, deceased, late of Cumberland County, hereby noti es all persons, rms, and corporations having claims against said estate to present their claim to the undersigned no later than the 22nd of April 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All Debtors of the decedent are requested to make immediate payment to the undersigned. This 22nd day of January, 2026. Cheryl Anne M. Rico Administrator/Executor 8258 Egret Pointe NE Address Leland, North Carolina 28451 City, State, Zip Of the Estate of Arthur Richard Schmidt, Deceased

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

ESTATE OF TODD KEVIN WADDINGTON CUMBERLAND County Estate File No. 24E000725-250 All persons, rms and corporations having claims against Todd Kevin Waddington, deceased, of Cumberland County, North Carolina, are noti ed to present their claims to Davis W. Puryear, Administrator, at 4317 Ramsey St., Fayetteville, NC 28311, on or before the 23rd day of April, 2026 (which date is three months after the day of the rst publication of this notice), or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. Debtors of the Decedent are requested to make immediate payment to the Administrator named above. This the 14th day of January, 2026. Davis W. Puryear Administrator of the Estate of Todd Kevin Waddington Davis W. Puryear Hutchens Law Firm Attorneys for the Estate 4317 Ramsey Street Fayetteville, NC 28311 Run dates: January 22, January 29, February 5 and February 12, 2026.

Administrator’s/Executor’s Notice In the state of North Carolina and county of Cumberland the Court of Justice of Superior Court division of estate le 25E001954-250 in the matter of the estate of Esther Johnson Shuler deceased late of Cumberland County, hereby noti es all persons, rms, corporations having claims against said estate to present their claim to the undersigned on or before the 8th day of April, 2026, (which date is three

Johnathan Blake Hartley, having quali ed on the 12th day of January 2026, as Executor of the Estate of Sharon B. Hartley (26E000030640), deceased, does hereby notify all persons, rms, and corporations having claims against said Estate that they must present them to the undersigned at DAVID E. ANDERSON, PLLC, 9111 Market Street, Suite A, Wilmington, North Carolina, 28411, on or before the 20th day of April, 2026, or the claims will be forever barred thereafter, and this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. All persons, rms, and corporations indebted to said Estate will please make prompt payment to the undersigned at the above address. This 15th day of January 2026. Johnathan Blake Hartley Executor ESTATE OF SHARON B. HARTLEY David Anderson Attorney at Law 9111 Market St, Ste A Wilmington, NC 28411 Publish: January 15, 2026 January 22, 2026 January 29, 2026 February 5, 2026

NOTICE

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF NEW HANOVER NOTICE TO CREDITORS The undersigned, SHARON CROSS PORTER, having quali ed as the Executor of the Estate of JEFFREY WILLIAM PORTER, Deceased, hereby noti es all persons, rms or corporations having claims against the Decedent to exhibit same to the said SHARON CROSS PORTER, at the address set out below, on or before APRIL 19, 2026, or this notice may be pleaded in bar of any payment or recovery of same. All persons indebted to said Decedent will please make immediate payment to the undersigned at the address set out below. This the 9th day of January. SHARON CROSS PORTER Executor OF ESTATE OF JEFFREY WILLIAM PORTER c/o ROBERT H. HOCHULI, JR. 219 RACINE DR., SUITE #A6 Wilmington, NC 28405 ORANGE

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Probate #25E000754-670 All persons, rm and corporations having claims against Frederick Otten Behrends , late of Orange County, North Carolina are hereby noti ed to present them to James Maurer, as Executor of the decedent’s estate in care of Kendall H. Page, Attorney, 210 N Columbia Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27514 on or before the 15th day of April, 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 Executor. Kendall H. Page 210 N Columbia Street Chapel Hill, NC 27514 Bar # 14261 Notice to Run: 01/15/2026, 01/22/2026, 01/29/2026 & 02/05/2026

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Probate #26E000002-670

All persons, rm and corporations having claims against Carolyn J. Davenport , late of Orange County, North Carolina are hereby noti ed to present them to Traci Ann Davenport, as Executor of the decedent’s estate in care of Kendall H. Page, Attorney, 210 N Columbia Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27514 on or before the 22nd day of April, 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 Executor.

Kendall H. Page

210 N Columbia Street Chapel Hill, NC 27514 Bar # 14261 Notice to Run: 01/22/2026, 01/29/2026, 02/05/2026 & 02/12/2026

RANDOLPH

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Melodie Jane Barber, late of Randolph County, North Carolina, the undersigned does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the estate of the decedent to exhibit them to the undersigned at the o ce of Ivey & Eggleston, Attorneys at Law, 111 Worth Street, Asheboro, North Carolina 27203, on or before April 20, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, rms or corporations indebted to said estate should make immediate payment to the undersigned.

This 15th day of January, 2026

Cinnamon N. O enbacker Executor of the Estate of Melodie Jane Barber MARION “BETH” MCQUAID, Attorney IVEY & EGGLESTON, ATTORNEYS AT LAW 111 Worth Street Asheboro, NC 27203 (336) 625-3043

PUBL/DATES: 01/15/26 01/22/26 01/29/26 02/05/26

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Gary Quincy Caviness, late of Randolph County, North Carolina, the undersigned does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the estate of the decedent to exhibit them to the undersigned at the o ce of Ivey & Eggleston, Attorneys at Law, 111 Worth Street, Asheboro, North Carolina 27203, on or before April 13, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, rms or corporations indebted to said estate should make immediate payment to the undersigned.

This 8th day of January, 2026

Phyllis Williamson Caviness Executor of the Estate of Gary Quincy Caviness Marion “Beth” McQuaid, Attorney

IVEY & EGGLESTON, ATTORNEYS AT LAW 111 Worth Street Asheboro, NC 27203 (336) 625-3043

PUBL/DATES: 01/08/26 01/15/26 01/22/26 01/29/26

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Having quali ed as Administrator of the Estate of Charles Edward Nichols, late of Randolph County, North Carolina, the undersigned does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the estate of the decedent to exhibit them to the undersigned at the o ce of Ivey & Eggleston, Attorneys at Law, 111 Worth Street, Asheboro, North Carolina 27203, on or before April 13, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, rms or corporations indebted to said estate should make immediate payment to the undersigned.

This 8th day of January, 2026

Timothy Jay Nichols Administrator of the Estate of Charles Edward Nichols Marion “Beth” McQuaid, Attorney IVEY & EGGLESTON, ATTORNEYS AT LAW 111 Worth Street Asheboro, NC 27203 (336) 625-3043

PUBL/DATES: 01/08/26 01/15/26 01/22/26 01/29/26

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Dorothy Ann Lemons Richardson, of Randolph 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 Andrew J. Weiner, 113 Worth Street, Asheboro, NC 27203 on or before April 13th 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 8th day of January 2026. Angie Richardson Turner a/k/a Angela Richardson Turner Dorothy Ann Lemons Richardson, Estate Andrew J. Weiner, Attorney Gavin & Cox 113 Worth Street Asheboro, NC 27203 Telephone: 336-629-2600

ROBESON

NOTICE NORTH CAROLINA ROBESON COUNTY IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION FILE NO. 25CV003973-770 PENNYMAC LOAN SERVICES, LLC, Plainti , v. JASON BURKLE, and Spouse of, if any; ELISABETH BURKLE a/k/a Elisabeth Barbee, and Spouse of, if any; SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS, AN OFFICER OF THE UNITED STATES; and SUBSTITUTE TRUSTEE SERVICES, INC., Substitute Trustee; Defendants. NOTICE OF SERVICE OF PROCESS BY PUBaLICATION TO: Jason Burkle Take notice that a pleading seeking relief against you has been led in the above entitled action. The nature of the relief being sought is as follows: The Plainti in the above entitled action has led with the Clerk of Superior Court’s o ce of Robeson County, North Carolina,

Notice to Creditors Having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of BETTY ENNIS HOCKADAY, late of Wake County, North Carolina (25E004825910), the undersigned

Dates of Publication: January 15, 2026; January 22, 2026; and January 29, 2026.

WAKE

Notice to Creditors

Having quali ed as Administrator-CTA of the Estate of Tula W. Garner, late of Wake County, North Carolina (25E004878910), 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 25th day of April, 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 the 22nd day of January 2026. Linda Funke Johnson Administrator-CTA Estate of Tula W. Garner Attorney at Law P.O. Box 446 114 Raleigh Street Fuquay Varina, NC 27526 (For publication: 1/22, 1/29, 2/5, 2/12/2026)

undersigned, the current owner(s) of the property is/are Shandon Wilson and Naomi Tunstall. PLEASE TAKE NOTICE: An order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes §45-21.29 in favor of the purchaser and against the party or parties in possession by the Clerk of Superior Court of the county in which the property is sold. Any person who occupies the property pursuant to a rental agreement entered into or renewed

transfer and conveyance AS IS WHERE IS. There are no representations of warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at, or relating to the property being o ered for sale. This sale is made subject to all prior liens, unpaid taxes, special assessments, land transfer taxes, if any, and encumbrances of record. To the best of the knowledge and belief of the

North Carolina, in Map Book 25, Page I7, speci c reference thereto being made for a more complete description thereof by metes and bounds. Parcel: 5610-26-6688-0000 Physical Address: 3358 Chadburry Drive NW, Concord, NC 28027 Together with improvements located hereon; said property being located at 3358 Chadbury Drive NW, Concord, NC 28027 Tax ID: 5610 26 6688 0000 Third party purchasers must pay the recording costs of the trustee’s deed, any land transfer taxes, the excise tax, pursuant North Carolina General Statutes §105228.30, in the amount of One Dollar ($1.00) per each Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or fractional part thereof, and the Clerk of Courts fee, pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes §7A-308, in the amount of Forty- ve Cents (0.45) per each One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) or fractional part thereof with a maximum amount of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00). A deposit of ve percent (5%) of the bid or Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, will be

to First American Title Insurance Company, Trustee(s), dated January 20, 2022, and recorded in Book No. 11372, at Page 0535 in Cumberland County Registry, North Carolina, default having been made in the payment of the promissory note secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Substitute Trustee Services, Inc. having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust by an instrument duly recorded in the O ce of the Register of Deeds Cumberland County, North Carolina and the holder of the note evidencing said indebtedness having directed that the Deed of Trust be

NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE

25SP001273-250

Under and by virtue of the power of sale contained in a certain Deed of Trust made by Johnathan Steven Fishel (PRESENT RECORD OWNER(S): Johnathan Steven Fishel) to Pamela S. Cox, Trustee(s), dated May 8, 2024, and recorded in Book No. 11966, at Page 0628 in Cumberland County Registry, North Carolina, default having been made in the payment of the promissory note secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Substitute Trustee Services, Inc. having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust by an instrument duly recorded in the O ce of the Register of Deeds Cumberland County, North Carolina and the holder of the note evidencing said indebtedness having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will o er for sale at the courthouse door in Fayetteville, Cumberland County, North Carolina, or the customary location

25SP000371-250 NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE NORTH CAROLINA, CUMBERLAND COUNTY

Under and by virtue of a Power of Sale contained in that certain Deed of Trust executed by JAMES LEE LARKINS JR a/k/a JAMES L. LARKINS and CAROLYN E. LARKINS to Khechok Langchung, Trustee(s), which was dated May 25, 2022 and recorded on June 1, 2022 in Book 11486 at Page 694, Cumberland County Registry, North Carolina. Default having been made of the note thereby secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC, having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust, and the holder of the note evidencing said default having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will o er for sale at the courthouse

foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will o er for sale at the courthouse door in Fayetteville, Cumberland County, North Carolina, or the customary location designated for foreclosure sales, at 12:00 PM on February 9, 2026 and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following real estate situated in Fayetteville in the County of Cumberland, North Carolina, and being more particularly described as follows: Being all of Lot 204, in a subdivision known as SCOTTS MILLSOUTH AT TREYBURN, SECTION TWO, PART B, according to a plat of the same being duly recorded in Book of Plats 116, Page 134, Cumberland County Registry, North Carolina. Together with improvements located thereon; said property being located at 1937 Lioncoward Drive, Fayetteville, North Carolina. Trustee may, in the Trustee’s sole discretion, delay the sale for up to three hours as provided in N.C.G.S. 45-21.23.

Should the property be purchased by a third party, that party must pay the excise tax, as well as the court

designated for foreclosure sales, at 12:00 PM on February 9, 2026 and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following real estate situated in Fayetteville in the County of Cumberland, North Carolina, and being more particularly described as follows: Parcel # 0428-89-0620 Being all of Lot Number 3 in a subdivision known as “ECCLES PARK DEVELOPMENT, SECTION 8”, and being duly recorded in Book of Plats 37, at Page 56, Cumberland County Registry, North Carolina. Together with improvements located thereon; said property being located at 2527 Vestal Avenue, Fayetteville, North Carolina. Trustee may, in the Trustee’s sole discretion, delay the sale for up to three hours as provided in N.C.G.S. 45-21.23. Should the property be purchased by a third party, that party must pay the excise tax, as well as the court costs of Forty-Five Cents ($0.45) per One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) required by N.C.G.S. 7A-308(a)(1).

door of the county courthouse where the property is located, or the usual and customary location at the county courthouse for conducting the sale on February 4, 2026 at 01:30 PM, and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following described property situated in Cumberland County, North Carolina, to wit: BEING ALL OF LOT NO. 657 IN SUBDIVISION KNOWN AS DEVONWOOD SECTION 1, PART 2, ACCORDING TO A PLAT OF SAME DULY RECORDED IN BOOK OF PLATS 33, PAGE 75, CUMBERLAND COUNTY REGISTRY, NC. Save and except any releases, deeds of release or prior conveyances of record. Said property is commonly known as 7027 Kittridge Drive, Fayetteville, NC 28314. A Certi ed Check ONLY (no personal checks) of ve percent (5%) of the purchase price, or Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, will be required at the time of the sale. Following the expiration of the statutory upset bid period, all the remaining amounts are

sale at the Davidson County courthouse at 11:00AM on February 2, 2026, the following described real estate and any improvements situated thereon, in Davidson County, North Carolina, and being more particularly described in that certain Deed of Trust executed Eric Yates Kimbrell, dated June 12, 2014 to secure the original principal amount of $91,734.00, and recorded in Book 2145 at Page 1524 of the Davidson County Public Registry. The terms of the said Deed of Trust may be modi ed by other instruments appearing in the public record. Additional identifying information regarding the collateral property is below and is believed to be accurate, but no representation or warranty is intended. Address of property: 165 Chapel Drive, Lexington, NC 27295 Tax Parcel ID:

IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION 25SP000195-280 STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF DAVIDSON IN THE MATTER OF THE FORECLOSURE OF A DEED OF TRUST EXECUTED BY LAFAYETTE A. WILSON AND DELORIES H. WILSON DATED FEBRUARY 22, 1999 RECORDED IN BOOK NO. 1123, AT PAGE 191 IN THE DAVIDSON COUNTY PUBLIC REGISTRY, NORTH CAROLINA NOTICE OF SALE Under and by virtue of the power and authority contained in the above-referenced deed of trust and because of default in payment of the secured debt and failure to perform the agreements therein contained and, pursuant to demand of the holder of the secured debt, the undersigned will expose for sale at public auction at the usual place of sale at the Davidson County courthouse at 11:00 AM on February 2, 2026, the following described real estate and any improvements situated thereon, in Davidson County, North Carolina, and being more particularly described in that certain Deed of Trust executed by Lafayette A. Wilson; Delories H. Wilson, dated February 22, 1999 to secure the original principal amount of $102,500.00, and recorded in Book No. 1123, at Page 191 of the Davidson County Public Registry. The terms of the said Deed of Trust may be modi ed by other instruments appearing in the public record. Additional identifying information regarding the collateral property is below and is believed to be accurate, but no representation or warranty is intended.

Address of property: 266 Widaustin Dr, Winston Salem, NC 27127 Tax Parcel ID:

for sale at the courthouse door of the county courthouse where the property is located, or the usual and customary location at the county courthouse for conducting the sale on February 12, 2026 at 11:30 AM, and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following described property situated in Durham County, North Carolina, to wit:

Being all of Lot 16, Dogwood Pointe Subdivision, as shown on plat recorded in Book of Maps 202, Pages 125-128, Durham County Registry.

Save and except any releases, deeds of release or prior conveyances of record.

Said property is commonly known as 1029 Arbor Edge Ln, Durham, NC 27703.

A certi ed check only (no personal checks) of ve percent (5%) of the purchase price, or Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, will be required at the time of the sale. Following the expiration of the statutory upset bid period, all the remaining amounts are immediately due

costs of Forty-Five Cents ($0.45) per One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) required by N.C.G.S. 7A-308(a)(1). The property to be o ered pursuant to this notice of sale is being o ered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS, WHERE IS.” Neither the Trustee nor the holder of the note secured by the deed of trust/security agreement, or both, being foreclosed, nor the o cers, directors, attorneys, employees, agents or authorized representative of either the Trustee or the holder of the note make any representation or warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at or relating to the property being o ered for sale, and any and all responsibilities or liabilities arising out of or in any way relating to any such condition are expressly disclaimed. Also, this property is being sold subject to all taxes, special assessments, and prior liens or prior encumbrances of record and any recorded releases. Said property is also being sold subject to applicable Federal and State laws. A deposit of ve percent (5%) of the purchase price, or seven hundred fty

dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, is required and must be tendered in the form of certi ed funds at the time of the sale. If the trustee is unable to convey title to this property for any reason, the sole remedy of the purchaser is the return of the deposit. Reasons of such inability to convey include,

The property to be o ered pursuant to this notice of sale is being o ered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS, WHERE IS.” Neither the Trustee nor the holder of the note secured by the deed of trust/security agreement, or both, being foreclosed, nor the o cers, directors, attorneys, employees, agents or authorized representative of either the Trustee or the holder of the note make any representation or warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at or relating to the property being o ered for sale, and any and all responsibilities or liabilities arising out of or in any way relating to any such condition are expressly disclaimed. Also, this property is being sold subject to all taxes, special assessments, and prior liens or prior encumbrances of record and any recorded releases. Said property is also being sold subject to applicable Federal and State laws. A deposit of ve percent (5%) of the purchase price, or seven hundred fty dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, is required and must be tendered in the form of certi ed funds at the

immediately due and owing. THIRD PARTY PURCHASERS MUST PAY THE EXCISE TAX AND THE RECORDING COSTS FOR THEIR DEED. Said property to be o ered pursuant to this Notice of Sale is being o ered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS WHERE IS.” There are no representations of warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at, or relating to the property being o ered for sale. Substitute Trustee does not have possession of the property and cannot grant access, prior to or after the sale, for purposes of inspection and/ or appraisal. This sale is made subject to all prior liens, unpaid taxes, any unpaid land transfer taxes, special assessments, easements, rights of way, deeds of release, and any other encumbrances or exceptions of record. To the best of the knowledge and belief of the undersigned, the current owner(s) of the property is/are All Lawful Heirs of Carolyn Elaine Larkins. An Order for possession of the property

11320D00B0001000 Present Record Owners: Eric Yates Kimbrell The record owner(s) of the property, according to the records of the Register of Deeds, is/are Eric Yates Kimbrell. The property to be o ered pursuant to this notice of sale is being o ered for sale, transfer and conveyance AS IS, WHERE IS. Neither the Trustee nor the holder of the note secured by the deed of trust being foreclosed, nor the o cers, directors, attorneys, employees, agents or authorized representative of either the Trustee or the holder of the note make any representation or warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at or relating to the property o ered for sale. Any and all responsibilities or liabilities arising out of or in any way relating to any such condition expressly are disclaimed. This sale is subject to all prior liens and encumbrances and unpaid taxes and assessments including any transfer tax

03003F0000011

The record owner(s) of the property, according to the records of the Register of Deeds, is/are Latasha D Wilson and Estate of Deloris Marie Wilson c/o Latasha D Wilson, administrator. The property to be o ered pursuant to this notice of sale is being o ered for sale, transfer and conveyance AS IS, WHERE IS. Neither the Trustee nor the holder of the note secured by the deed of trust being foreclosed, nor the o cers, directors, attorneys, employees, agents or authorized representative of either the Trustee or the holder of the note make any representation or warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at or relating to the property o ered for sale. Any and all responsibilities or liabilities arising out of or in any way relating to any such condition expressly are disclaimed. This sale is

and owing. THIRD PARTY PURCHASERS MUST PAY THE EXCISE TAX AND THE RECORDING COSTS FOR THEIR DEED.

Said property to be o ered pursuant to this Notice of Sale is being o ered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS WHERE IS.” There are no representations of warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at, or relating to the property being o ered for sale. Substitute Trustee does not have possession of the property and cannot grant access, prior to or after the sale, for purposes of inspection and/ or appraisal. This sale is made subject to all prior liens, unpaid taxes, any unpaid land transfer taxes, special assessments, easements, rights of way, deeds of release, and any other encumbrances or exceptions of record. To the best of the knowledge and belief of the undersigned, the current owner(s) of the property is/are Ikem Rashard McCullough and spouse, Sarah Catherine McCullough.

An Order for possession of the property may

may be issued pursuant to G.S. 45-21.29 in favor of the purchaser and against the party or parties in possession by the clerk of superior court of the county in which the property is sold. Any person who occupies the property pursuant to a rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2007, may, after receiving the notice of sale, terminate the rental agreement by providing written notice of termination to the landlord, to be e ective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 10 days, but no more than 90 days, after the sale date contained in the notice of sale, provided that the mortgagor has not cured the default at the time the tenant provides the notice of termination [NCGS § 45-21.16A(b)(2)]. Upon termination of a rental agreement, the tenant is liable for rent due under the rental agreement prorated to the e ective date of the termination. Pursuant to NCGS §45-21.25A, this sale may be subject to remote bids placed by bidders not physically present at the place of sale, which may be accepted by the person conducting the sale, or their agent”. If the trustee is unable to convey title to this property for any reason, the sole remedy of the purchaser is the return of the deposit. Reasons of such inability to convey include, but are not limited to, the ling of

associated with the foreclosure. A deposit of ve percent (5%) of the amount of the bid or seven hundred fty dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, is required from the highest bidder and must be tendered in the form of certi ed funds at the time of the sale. Cash will not be accepted. This sale will be held open ten days for upset bids as required by law. After the expiration of the upset period, all remaining amounts are IMMEDIATELY DUE AND OWING. Failure to remit funds in a timely manner will result in a Declaration of Default and any deposit will be frozen pending the outcome of any

subject to all prior liens and encumbrances and unpaid taxes and assessments including any transfer tax associated with the foreclosure. A deposit of ve percent (5%) of the amount of the bid or seven hundred fty dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, is required from the highest bidder and must be tendered in the form of certi ed funds at the time of the sale. This sale will be held open ten days for upset bids as required by law. After the expiration of the upset period,

be issued pursuant to G.S. 45-21.29 in favor of the purchaser and against the party or parties in possession by the clerk of superior court of the county in which the property is sold. Any person who occupies the property pursuant to a rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2007, may, after receiving the notice of sale, terminate the rental agreement by providing written notice of termination to the landlord, to be e ective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 10 days, but no more than 90 days after the sale date contained in the notice of sale, provided that the mortgagor has not cured the default at the time the tenant provides the notice of termination [NCGS § 45-21.16A(b)(2)]. Upon termination of a rental agreement, the tenant is liable for rent due under the rental agreement prorated to the e ective date of the termination. Pursuant

Trust, and the holder of the note evidencing said default having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will o er for sale at the courthouse door of the county

SUBDIVISION, AS SHOWN ON THAT PLAT RECORDED IN PLAT BOOK 207, PAGS 257266, AND ON THAT PLAT OF CORRECTION SHOWN ON THAT PLAT RECORDED IN PLAT BOOK 208, PAGES 298-307, DURHAM COUNTY REGISTRY.

29th, 2023 in Book RE 3787, Page 2435, Forsyth County Registry. Default having been made in the payment of the note thereby secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Anchor Trustee Services, LLC having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust by an instrument duly recorded in the O ce of the Register of Deeds of Forsyth County, North Carolina, and the holder of the note evidencing said indebtedness having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will o er for sale at the courthouse door or other usual place of sale in Forsyth County, North

Fifty Dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, will be required at the time of the sale. Following the expiration of the statutory upset bid period, all the remaining amounts are immediately due and owing. THIRD PARTY PURCHASERS MUST PAY THE EXCISE TAX AND THE RECORDING COSTS FOR THEIR DEED. Said property to be o ered pursuant to this Notice of Sale is being o ered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS WHERE IS.” There are no representations of warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at, or relating to the property being o ered for sale. Substitute Trustee does not have possession of the property and cannot grant access, prior to or after the sale, for purposes of inspection and/ or appraisal. This sale is made subject to all prior liens, unpaid taxes, any unpaid land transfer taxes, special assessments, easements, rights of way, deeds of release, and any other encumbrances or exceptions of record. To the best of the knowledge and belief of the undersigned, the current owner(s) of the property is/are Holly J. Johnson. An Order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to G.S. 45-21.29 in favor of the purchaser and against the

to wit: BEING all of Lot 160 of Dunbarton, Section IX, Phase II, and recorded in Plat Book 98, Page 151, in the O ce of the Register of Deeds of Durham County, to which plat reference is hereby made for a more particular description of same, together with an easement of ingress, egress and regress over and across the common parking areas to public roads, said easement being for the use and bene t of the owners, lessees, invitees and licensees of the property herein described.

Save and except any releases, deeds of release or prior conveyances of record.

rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2007, may, after receiving the notice of sale, terminate the rental agreement by providing written notice of termination to the landlord, to be e ective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 10 days, but no more than 90 days

Said property is commonly known as 160 Montrose Drive, Durham, NC 27707. A Certi ed Check ONLY (no personal checks) of ve percent (5%) of the purchase price, or Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, will be required at the time of the sale. Following the expiration of the statutory upset bid period, all the remaining amounts are immediately due and owing. THIRD PARTY PURCHASERS MUST PAY THE EXCISE TAX AND THE RECORDING COSTS FOR THEIR DEED.

courthouse where the property is located, or the usual and customary location at the county courthouse for conducting the sale on February 12, 2026 at 10:00 AM, and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following described property situated in Forsyth County, North Carolina, to wit:

Being all of Lot 275 of Vernon Farms, Phase 3, Section 1, as shown on the plat recorded in Plat Book 73, Page 154, in the O ce of the Register of Deeds of Forsyth County, North Carolina.

Save and except any releases, deeds of release or prior conveyances of record.

Said property is commonly known as 3536 Congress Square, Kernersville, NC 27284.

A Certi ed Check ONLY (no personal checks) of ve percent (5%) of the purchase price, or Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, will be required at the time of the sale. Following the expiration of the statutory upset bid period, all the remaining amounts are

Said property to be o ered pursuant to this Notice of Sale is being o ered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS WHERE IS.” There are no representations of warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at, or relating to the property being o ered for sale. Substitute Trustee does not have possession of the property and cannot grant access, prior to or after the sale, for purposes of inspection and/ or appraisal. This sale is made subject to all prior liens, unpaid taxes, any unpaid land transfer taxes, special assessments, easements, rights of way, deeds of release, and any other encumbrances or exceptions of record. To the best of the knowledge and belief of the undersigned, the current owner(s) of the property is/are David Young and spouse, Kayla Young.

immediately due and owing.

PURCHASERS MUST PAY THE EXCISE TAX AND THE RECORDING COSTS FOR THEIR DEED.

Said property to be o ered pursuant to this Notice of Sale is being o ered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS WHERE IS.” There are no representations of warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at, or relating to the property being o ered for sale. Substitute Trustee does not have possession of the property and cannot grant access, prior to or after the sale, for purposes of inspection and/ or appraisal. This sale is made subject to all prior liens, unpaid taxes, any unpaid land transfer taxes, special assessments, easements, rights of way, deeds of release, and any other encumbrances or exceptions of record. To the best of the knowledge and belief of the undersigned, the current owner(s) of the property is/are Hector Maure and spouse, Delsi Maure.

An Order for possession of the property may

at Page 3198 in the Forsyth County Registry is a

Lien on the

That the Plainti ’s lien

foreclosed by

pursuant to the provisions of N.C.G.S. § 1-339.1, et seq., by the Plainti ’s Counsel or by a Commissioner especially appointed by the Court to serve without bond, with proceeds of the sale applied as follows: To the cost of this action; To the compensation allowed by the Court for a person holding the sale pursuant to the N.C.G.S. § 1-339.11; To the amount due to the Plainti under the Note and Deed of Trust, including reasonable fees and costs provided therein; and The surplus, if any, to be paid to the O ce of the Clerk of Superior Court of Forsyth County pending a determination of those persons entitled thereto.

An Order for possession of the property may be

be issued pursuant to G.S. 45-21.29 in favor of the purchaser and against the party or parties in possession by the clerk of superior court of the county in which the property is sold. Any person who occupies the property pursuant to a rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2007, may, after receiving the notice of sale, terminate the rental agreement by providing written notice of termination to the landlord, to be e ective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 10 days, but no more than 90 days, after the sale date contained in the notice of sale, provided that the mortgagor has not cured the default at the time the tenant provides the notice of termination [NCGS § 45-21.16A(b)(2)]. Upon termination of a rental agreement, the tenant is liable for rent due under the rental agreement prorated to the e ective date of the termination.

Pursuant to NCGS §45-21.25A, this sale

That the Property located at 2021 New Walkertown Rd, Winston Salem, NC 27101 shall be sold at a public sale to the highest bidder. That Jeremy B. Wilkins is hereby appointed as Commissioner to conduct the sale pursuant to N.C.G.S. §1-339.11. In the alternative, that the Court declares Defendant Derwin L Montgomery holds the Property described herein subject to a constructive trust and equitable lien to the

Carolina, at 2:00 PM on February 3rd, 2026, and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following described property, to wit: Being a lot located on the West Side of Glenn Avenue, 200 feet Southwardly from Twenty-Eighth Street, and being known and designated as Lot No. 15, in Block 20, as shown on the map of Bon Air Property, as recorded in Plat Book 3, Page 25, in the O ce of the Register of Deeds of Forsyth County, North Carolina, to which map reference is hereby made for a more de nite and particular description.. Together with improvements located hereon; said property being located at 2730 N Glenn Ave, Winston Salem, NC 27105 Tax ID: 6836-36-4378 Third party purchasers must pay the recording costs of the trustee’s deed, any land transfer taxes, the excise tax, pursuant North Carolina General Statutes §105228.30, in the amount of One Dollar ($1.00) per each Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or fractional part thereof, and the Clerk of Courts fee, pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes §7A-308, in the amount of Forty- ve Cents (0.45) per each One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) or fractional part thereof with a maximum amount of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00). A deposit of ve percent (5%) of the bid or Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, will be required at the time of the sale and must be tendered in the form of certi ed funds. Following the expiration of the statutory upset bid period, all the remaining amounts will be immediately due and owing. Said property to be o ered pursuant to this Notice of Sale is being o ered for sale, transfer and conveyance AS IS WHERE IS. There are no representations of warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at, or relating to the property being o ered for sale. This sale is made subject to all prior liens, unpaid taxes, special assessments, land transfer taxes, if any, and encumbrances of record. To the best of the knowledge and belief of the undersigned, the current owner(s) of the property is/are Prism Investment Firm, LLC . PLEASE TAKE NOTICE: An order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes §45-21.29 in favor of the purchaser and against the party or parties in possession by the Clerk of Superior Court of the county in which the property is sold.

of Forsyth County. Save and except any releases, deeds of release or prior conveyances of record. Said property is commonly known as 6178 Brentwood Park Dr, Rural Hall, NC 27045. A Certi ed Check ONLY (no personal checks) of ve percent (5%) of the purchase

AND THE RECORDING COSTS FOR THEIR DEED. Said property to be o ered pursuant to this Notice of Sale is being o ered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS WHERE IS.” There are no representations of warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at, or relating to the property being o ered for sale. Substitute Trustee does not have possession of the property and cannot grant access, prior to or after the sale, for purposes of inspection and/ or appraisal. This sale is made subject to all prior liens, unpaid taxes, any unpaid land transfer taxes, special assessments, easements, rights of way, deeds of release, and any other encumbrances or exceptions of record. To the best of the knowledge and belief of the undersigned, the current owner(s) of the property is/are Desire L. Miller. An Order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to G.S. 45-21.29 in favor of the purchaser and against the party or parties in possession by the clerk of superior court of the county in which the property is sold. Any person who occupies the property pursuant to a rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2007, may, after receiving the notice of sale, terminate the rental agreement by providing written notice of termination to the landlord, to be e ective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 10 days, but no more than 90 days, after the sale date contained in the notice of sale, provided that the mortgagor has not cured the default at the time the tenant provides the notice of termination [NCGS § 45-21.16A(b)(2)]. Upon termination of a rental agreement, the tenant

SALE

Under and by virtue of the power of sale contained in a certain Deed of Trust made by Steven B. Holleman and Jennifer C. Holleman (PRESENT RECORD OWNER(S): Steven B. Holleman and Jennifer C. Holleman) to Alan S. Hicks, PA, Trustee(s), dated September 21, 2012, and recorded in Book No. RB 5449, at Page 385 in Orange County Registry, North Carolina, default having been made in the payment of the promissory note secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Substitute Trustee Services, Inc. having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust by an instrument duly recorded in the O ce of the Register of Deeds Orange County, North Carolina and the holder of the note evidencing said indebtedness having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute

NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE 25SP000235-750 Under and by virtue of the power of sale contained in a certain Deed of Trust made by Phillip E. Butcher and Blanche K. Butcher (PRESENT RECORD OWNER(S): Blanche K. Butcher) to CB Services Corp., Trustee(s), dated December 22, 2003, and recorded in Book No. 1848, at Page 0572 in Randolph County Registry, North Carolina, default having been made in the payment of the promissory note secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Substitute Trustee Services, Inc. having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust by an instrument duly recorded in the O ce of the Register of Deeds Randolph County, North Carolina and the holder of the note evidencing said indebtedness having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute

IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION

25SP000253-750 STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF RANDOLPH

IN THE MATTER OF THE FORECLOSURE OF A DEED OF TRUST EXECUTED BY LISA D. DEHART DATED SEPTEMBER 27, 2005 RECORDED IN BOOK NO. 1940, AT PAGE 1483 IN THE RANDOLPH COUNTY PUBLIC REGISTRY, NORTH CAROLINA

NOTICE OF SALE

Under and by virtue of the power and authority contained in the above-referenced deed of trust and because of default in payment of the secured debt and failure to perform the agreements therein contained and, pursuant to demand of the holder of the secured debt, the undersigned will

Trustee will o er for sale at the courthouse door in Hillsborough, Orange County, North Carolina, or the customary location designated for foreclosure sales, at 1:30 PM on February 2, 2026 and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following real estate situated in Timberlake in the County of Orange, North Carolina, and being more particularly described as follows: Being all of Lot 23, La Mesa Subdivision, Phase II, as per plat and survey thereof now on le in the O ce of the Register of Deeds of Orange County in Plat Book 78 at Page 182, to which plat reference is hereby made for a more particular description of same. Together with improvements located thereon; said property being located at 9609 La Mesa Lane, Timberlake, North Carolina.

Trustee may, in the Trustee’s sole discretion, delay the sale for up to three hours as provided in N.C.G.S. §45-21.23. Should the property be purchased by a third party, that party must pay the excise tax, as well as the court costs of Forty-Five Cents ($0.45) per One

Trustee will o er for sale at the courthouse door in Asheboro, Randolph County, North Carolina, or the customary location designated for foreclosure sales, at 10:00 AM on February 11, 2026 and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following real estate situated in Ramseur in the County of Randolph, North Carolina, and being more particularly described as follows: Being all of Lot No. 16 of Map 2, Section 2, Lake Ridge Farm Subdivision, as shown by plat recorded in Plat Book 31, Page 16, Randolph County Registry. Together with improvements located thereon; said property being located at 4146 Lake Ridge Court, Ramseur, North Carolina.

This conveyance is SUBJECT TO restrictive covenants recorded in Book 1248, Page 317, and the Road Maintenance Agreements recorded in Book 1305, Page 1543 and in Book 1691, Page 506, Randolph County Registry.

Trustee may, in the Trustee’s sole discretion, delay the sale for up to three hours as provided in N.C.G.S. §45-21.23.

expose for sale at public auction at the usual place of sale at the Randolph County courthouse at 1:00 PM on February 10, 2026, the following described real estate and any improvements situated thereon, in Randolph County, North Carolina, and being more particularly described in that certain Deed of Trust executed by Lisa D. Dehart, dated September 27, 2005 to secure the original principal amount of $84,000.00, and recorded in Book No. 1940, at Page 1483 of the Randolph County Public Registry. The terms of the said Deed of Trust may be modi ed by other instruments appearing in the public record. Additional identifying information regarding the collateral property is below and is believed to be accurate, but no representation or warranty is intended.

Address of property: 222 Stratford Road, Archdale, NC 27263 Tax Parcel ID: 7718294914

courthouse where the property is located, or the usual and customary location at the county courthouse for conducting the sale on February 3, 2026 at 12:30 PM, and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following described property situated in Union County, North Carolina, to wit: Being all of Lot 82 as shown on plat entitled “Revised Recombination & Subdivision Final Plat of Kellerton Place, Phase 2, Map 2”, recorded in Plat Cabinet Q, File 805-807, a revision of Plat Cabinet Q, File 427-429, in the Union County Public Registry. Save and except any releases, deeds of release or prior conveyances of record.

Said property is commonly known as 2859 Aubrey Street, Monroe, NC 28110.

Hundred Dollars ($100.00) required by N.C.G.S. §7A-308(a)(1). The property to be o ered pursuant to this notice of sale is being o ered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS, WHERE IS.” Neither the Trustee nor the holder of the note secured by the deed of trust/security agreement, or both, being foreclosed, nor the o cers, directors, attorneys, employees, agents or authorized representative of either the Trustee or the holder of the note make any representation or warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at or relating to the property being o ered for sale, and any and all responsibilities or liabilities arising out of or in any way relating to any such condition are expressly disclaimed. Also, this property is being sold subject to all taxes, special assessments, and prior liens or prior encumbrances of record and any recorded releases. Said property is also being sold subject to applicable Federal and State laws. A deposit of ve percent (5%) of the purchase price, or seven hundred fty dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, is

Should the property be purchased by a third party, that party must pay the excise tax, as well as the court costs of Forty-Five Cents ($0.45) per One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) required by N.C.G.S. §7A-308(a)(1). The property to be o ered pursuant to this notice of sale is being o ered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS, WHERE IS.” Neither the Trustee nor the holder of the note secured by the deed of trust/security agreement, or both, being foreclosed, nor the o cers, directors, attorneys, employees, agents or authorized representative of either the Trustee or the holder of the note make any representation or warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at or relating to the property being o ered for sale, and any and all responsibilities or liabilities arising out of or in any way relating to any such condition are expressly disclaimed. Also, this property is being sold subject to all taxes, special assessments, and prior liens or prior encumbrances of record and any recorded releases. Said property is also being sold subject to applicable Federal and State laws.

The record owner(s) of the property, according to the records of the Register of Deeds, is/are Lisa D. Dehart.

The property to be o ered pursuant to this notice of sale is being o ered for sale, transfer and conveyance AS IS, WHERE IS. Neither the Trustee nor the holder of the note secured by the deed of trust being foreclosed, nor the o cers, directors, attorneys, employees, agents or authorized representative of either the Trustee or the holder of the note make any representation or warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at or relating to the property o ered for sale. Any and all responsibilities or liabilities arising out of or in any way relating to any such condition expressly are disclaimed. This sale is subject to all prior liens and encumbrances and unpaid taxes and assessments including any transfer tax associated with

required and must be tendered in the form of certi ed funds at the time

A deposit of ve percent (5%)

the foreclosure. A deposit of ve percent (5%) of the amount of the bid or seven hundred fty dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, is required from the highest bidder and must be tendered in the form of certi ed funds at the time of the sale. This sale will be held open ten days for upset bids as required by law. After the expiration of the upset period, all remaining amounts are IMMEDIATELY DUE AND OWING. Failure to remit funds in a timely manner will result in a Declaration of Default and any deposit will be frozen pending the outcome of any resale. If the sale is set aside for any reason, the Purchaser at the sale shall be entitled only to a return of the deposit paid. The Purchaser shall have no further recourse against the Mortgagor, the Mortgagee, the Substitute Trustee or the attorney of any of the foregoing.

SPECIAL NOTICE FOR LEASEHOLD TENANTS residing at the property: be advised that an Order for Possession of

of Trust, and the holder of the note evidencing said default having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will o er for sale at the courthouse door of the county

AMENDED NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE FILE NUMBER: 24SP000376-890

Under and by virtue of the power of sale contained in a certain Deed of Trust executed by NICOLE KOTELES AND KEVIN M. KOTELES DATED NOVEMBER 30, 2007 IN THE AMOUNT OF $343,800.00 AND RECORDED IN BOOK 4751 AT PAGE 560 AND FURTHER MODIFIED BY AGREEMENT RECORDED ON AUGUST 16, 2018 IN BOOK 7217, PAGE 850 IN THE UNION COUNTY PUBLIC REGISTRY, NORTH CAROLINA, by Anthony Maselli or Genevieve Johnson, either of whom may act, Substitute Trustee, default having been made in the terms of agreement set forth by the loan agreement secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Anthony Maselli or Genevieve Johnson, either of whom may act, Substitute Trustee, having been substituted as Successor Trustee in said Deed of Trust by an instrument duly recorded in the O cial Records of Union County, North Carolina, in Book 8920, Page 0859, and the holder of the note evidencing said indebtedness having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will o er for sale at the courthouse door in Union County, North Carolina, or the customary location designated for foreclosure sales, on Tuesday, February 3, 2026 at 12:00pm, and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following real estate situated in the County of Union, North Carolina, and being more particularly described as follows: PARCEL IDENTIFICATION NUMBER(S): 08075101 ADDRESS: 6024 BICKETT RIDGE DRIVE MONROE, NC 28110 PRESENT RECORD OWNER(S): NICOLE KOTELES AND KEVIN M. KOTELES THE LAND DESCRIBED HEREIN IS SITUATED IN THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA, COUNTY OF UNION, AND IS DESCRIBED IN DEED BOOK 4751, PAGE 560 AS FOLLOWS: BEING ALL OF LOT NUMBER 19 OF BICKETT RIDGE SUBDIVISION, SECTION II, AS SHOWN ON THOSE PLATS RECORDED IN PLAT CABINET I, AT FILE NUMBERS 721, 722 AND 723, UNION COUNTY REGISTER OF DEEDS, TO WHICH PLATS REFERENCE IS HEREBY MADE FOR A MORE COMPLETE DESCRIPTION. ALSO CONVEYED HEREWITH IS AN OFFSITE DRAINFIELD EASEMENT TO SERVE LOT 19 AND AN ELEVEN (11’) FOOT WIDE SANITARY SEWER EASEMENT ACROSS LOTS 20, 21 AND 22 OF BICKETT RIDGE SUBDIVISION TO SERVE THE ABOVE DESCRIBED LOT 19, ALL AS SHOWN ON THOSE PLATS RECORDED IN PLAT CABINET I, AT FILE NUMBERS 721, 722 AND 723, UNION COUNTY REGISTER OF DEEDS, TO WHICH PLATS

Said property to be o ered pursuant to this Notice of Sale is being o ered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS WHERE IS.” There are no representations of warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at, or relating to the property being o ered for sale. Substitute Trustee does not have possession of the property and cannot grant access, prior to or after the sale, for purposes of inspection and/ or appraisal. This sale is made subject to all prior liens, unpaid taxes, any unpaid land transfer taxes, special assessments, easements, rights of way, deeds of release, and any other encumbrances or exceptions of record. To the best of the knowledge and belief of the undersigned, the current owner(s) of the property is/are Kiran Kumar Yadav Sontika and spouse, Aparna Goda.

An Order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to G.S. 45-21.29 in favor

A Certi ed Check ONLY (no personal checks) of ve percent (5%) of the purchase price, or Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, will be required at the time of the sale. Following the expiration of the statutory upset bid period, all the remaining amounts are immediately due and owing. THIRD PARTY PURCHASERS MUST PAY THE EXCISE TAX AND THE RECORDING COSTS FOR THEIR DEED.

REFERENCE IS HEREBY MADE FOR A MORE COMPLETE DESCRIPTION. Trustee may, in the Trustee’s sole discretion, delay the sale for up to one hour as provided in N.C.G.S. §45-21.23. Should the property be purchased by a third party, that party must pay the excise tax, as well as the court costs of Forty-Five Cents ($0.45) per One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) required by N.C.G.S. §7A-308(a)(1). The property to be o ered pursuant to this notice of sale is being o ered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS, WHERE IS.” Neither the Trustee nor the holder of the note secured by the deed of trust/security agreement, or both, being foreclosed, nor the o cers, directors, attorneys, employees, agents or authorized representative of either the Trustee or the holder of the note make any representation or warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at or relating to the property being o ered for sale, and any and all responsibilities or liabilities arising out of or in any way relating to any such condition are expressly disclaimed. Also, this property is being sold subject to all taxes, special assessments, and prior liens or prior encumbrances of record and any recorded releases. Said property is also being sold subject to applicable Federal and State laws. A deposit of ve percent (5%) of the purchase price, or seven hundred fty

The Court reform the Deed of Trust recorded on February 5, 2021, in Book 018328 at Page 01982 in the Wake County, North Carolina Public Registry to include the legal description as follows: Being all of Lot 10, Braxton Pointe, a Cluster Subdivision, as shown on Plat entitled “Final Plat Braxton Pointe” prepared by StewartProctor Engineering and Surveying, sealed on April 12, 2013, and recorded in Book of Maps 2013, pages 497-498, Wake County Registry.

on February 5, 2021, in Book 018328 at Page 01982 in the Wake County Registry was drafted and recorded in a manner su cient to give a reasonable title searcher notice of the interest of the Plainti ’s lien on the property located at 1505 Farthingale Ct, Raleigh, North Carolina 27603.

The Court enter an Order that such reformation shall relate back to the original recording date of the Deed of Trust on February 5, 2021, Book 018328 at Page 01982 in the Wake County Registry.

The Court declare the Deed of Trust recorded on February 5, 2021, in Book 018328 at Page 01982 in the Wake County

of the purchaser and against the party or parties in possession by the clerk of superior court of the county in which the property is sold. Any person who occupies the property pursuant to a rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2007, may, after receiving the notice of sale, terminate the rental agreement by providing written notice of termination to the landlord, to be e ective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 10 days, but no more than 90 days, after the sale date contained in the notice of sale, provided that the mortgagor has not cured the default at the time the tenant provides the notice of termination [NCGS § 45-21.16A(b)(2)]. Upon termination of a rental agreement, the tenant is liable for rent due under the rental agreement prorated to the e

dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, is required and must be tendered in the form of certi ed funds at the time of the sale. If the trustee is unable to convey title to this property for any reason, the sole remedy of the purchaser is the return of the deposit. Reasons of such inability to convey include, but are not limited to, the ling of a bankruptcy petition prior to the con rmation of the sale and reinstatement of the loan without the knowledge of the trustee. If the validity of the sale is challenged by any party, the trustee, in its sole discretion, if it believes the challenge to have merit, may request the court to declare the sale to be void and return the deposit. The purchaser will have no further remedy. Additional Notice for Residential Property with Less than 15 rental units, including Single-Family Residential Real Property: An order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to N.C.G.S.

Registry is a valid First Lien on the Property as drawn; In the alternative, that the Court declares Defendant Deney Joseph and Sherman Joseph holds the Property described herein subject to a constructive trust and equitable lien to the bene t of the Plainti , consistent in all regards with the terms and conditions of the Deed of Trust. That the Court enter an Order from the Court Declaring that title to the Subject Property be quieted in the name of the current record owners thereof, subject to Plainti ’s Deed of Trust recorded in Book 018328 at Page 01982 in the Wake County Registry.

That the Court’s Order, shall be duly recorded in the Wake County Register of Deeds and indexed according to those parties named in said Deed of Trust and named herein for the purpose of establishing record notice of this proceeding in the chain of title to the Property; and

25SP002066-910

NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE

NORTH CAROLINA, WAKE COUNTY

Under and by virtue of a Power of Sale

contained in that certain Deed of Trust executed by ROBERT G MANKOFF to Trste, Inc., Trustee(s), which was dated June 17, 2004 and recorded on June 30, 2004 in Book 10900 at Page 941, Wake County Registry, North Carolina.

Default having been made of the note thereby secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC, having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust, and the holder of the note evidencing said default having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will o er for sale at the courthouse door of the county courthouse where the property is located,

or the usual and customary location at the county courthouse for conducting the sale on February 4, 2026 at 10:00 AM, and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following described property situated in Wake County, North Carolina, to wit: ALL THAT CERTAIN PROPERTY SITUATED IN CITY OF RALEIGH IN THE COUNTY OF WAKE AND STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA AND BEING DESCRIBED IN A DEED DATED 03/04/2004 AND RECORDED 03/09/2004 IN BOOK 10702, AND PAGE 1663 AMONG THE LAND RECORDS OF THE COUNTY AND STATE SET FORTH ABOVE AND REFERENCED AS FOLLOWS: LOT 96R, SECTION 4, SUBDIVISION LAUREL HILLS WEST SECT. 4, PLAT BOOK 1994, PLAT PAGE 211.

Save and except any releases, deeds of release or prior conveyances of record.

Said property is commonly known as 4029 Balsam Dr, Raleigh, NC 27612.

A Certi ed Check ONLY (no personal checks) of ve percent (5%) of the purchase price, or Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars

($750.00), whichever is greater, will be required at the time of the sale. Following the expiration of the statutory upset bid period, all the remaining amounts are immediately due and owing. THIRD PARTY PURCHASERS MUST PAY THE EXCISE TAX AND THE RECORDING COSTS FOR THEIR DEED.

Said property to be o ered pursuant to this Notice of Sale is being o ered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS WHERE IS.” There are no representations of warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at, or relating to the property being o ered for sale. Substitute Trustee does not have possession of the property and cannot grant access, prior to or after the sale, for purposes of inspection and/ or appraisal. This sale is made subject to all prior liens, unpaid taxes, any unpaid land transfer taxes, special assessments, easements, rights of way, deeds of release, and any other encumbrances or exceptions of record. To the best of the knowledge and belief of the undersigned, the current owner(s) of the property is/are Robert G. Mano .

An Order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to G.S. 45-21.29 in favor of the purchaser and against the party or parties in possession by the clerk of superior court of the county in which the property is sold. Any person who occupies the property pursuant to a rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2007, may, after receiving the notice of sale, terminate the rental agreement by providing written notice of termination to the landlord, to be e ective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 10 days, but no more than 90 days, after the sale date contained in the notice of sale, provided that the mortgagor has not cured the default at the time the tenant provides the notice of termination [NCGS § 45-21.16A(b)(2)].

AMENDED NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE 25SP001503-910 Under and by virtue of the power of sale contained in a certain Deed of Trust made by Eric Martinez (PRESENT RECORD OWNER(S): Eric Martinez) to Michele He ner, Trustee(s), dated September 21, 2023, and recorded in Book No. 019439, at Page 00056 in Wake County Registry, North Carolina, default having been made in the payment of the promissory note secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Substitute Trustee Services, Inc. having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust by an instrument duly recorded in the O ce of the Register of Deeds Wake County, North Carolina and the holder of the note evidencing said indebtedness having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will o er for sale at the Wake County Courthouse door, the Salisbury Street entrance in Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina, or the customary location designated for foreclosure sales, at 1:30 PM on February 9, 2026 and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following real estate situated in Wendell in the County of Wake, North Carolina, and being more particularly described as follows: Lying and being in the Town of Wendell, Mark’s Creek Township, Wake County, North Carolina and more particularly described as follows: All of Lot 5 in Hollybrook Subdivision, The Meadows, Phase 1B, as shown on the plats recorded in Book of Maps 2022, Pages 1923-1929, Wake County Registry, to which plat reference is hereby made for a more particular description. Together with improvements located thereon; said property being located at 644 Jasmine Street, Wendell, North Carolina. Property Address: 644 Jasmine Street, Wendell, NC 27591 PIN/PARCEL NO.: 0498673

costs of Forty-Five Cents ($0.45) per One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) required by N.C.G.S. §7A-308(a)(1). The property to be o ered pursuant to this notice of sale is being o ered for sale, transfer and conveyance

Trustee may, in the Trustee’s sole discretion, delay the sale for up to three hours as provided in N.C.G.S. §45-21.23. Should the property be purchased by a third party, that party must pay the excise tax, as well as the court

in Wake County, North Carolina, to wit: BEING all of Lot 53, Cli ord Grove Subdivision, Phase 1, per plat and survey thereof recorded in Book of Maps 2018, Pages 162 through 165, inclusive, Wake County Registry, to which plat reference is hereby made for a more particular description of same.

Save and except any releases, deeds of release or prior conveyances of record.

Said property is commonly known as 156 Whitetail Deer Lane, Garner, NC 27529.

A Certi ed Check ONLY (no personal checks) of ve percent (5%) of the purchase price, or Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, will be required at the time of the sale. Following the expiration of the statutory upset bid period, all the remaining amounts are immediately due and owing. THIRD PARTY

“AS IS, WHERE IS.” Neither the Trustee nor the holder of the note secured by the deed of trust/security agreement, or both, being foreclosed, nor the o cers, directors, attorneys, employees, agents or authorized representative of either the Trustee or the holder of the note make any representation or warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at or relating to the property being o ered for sale, and any and all responsibilities or liabilities arising out of or in any way relating to any such condition are expressly disclaimed. Also, this property is being sold subject to all taxes, special assessments, and prior liens or prior encumbrances of record and any recorded releases. Said property is also being sold subject to applicable Federal and State laws. A deposit of ve percent (5%) of the purchase price, or seven hundred fty dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, is required and must be tendered in the form of certi ed funds at the time of the sale. If the trustee is unable to convey title to this property for any reason, the sole remedy of the purchaser is the return of the deposit. Reasons

PURCHASERS MUST PAY THE EXCISE TAX AND THE RECORDING COSTS FOR THEIR DEED.

Said property to be o ered pursuant to this Notice of Sale is being o ered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS WHERE IS.” There are no representations of warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at, or relating to the property being o ered for sale. Substitute Trustee does not have possession of the property and cannot grant access, prior to or after the sale, for purposes of inspection and/ or appraisal. This sale is made subject to all prior liens, unpaid taxes, any unpaid land transfer taxes, special assessments, easements, rights of way, deeds of release, and any other encumbrances or exceptions of record. To the best of the knowledge and belief of the undersigned, the current owner(s) of the property is/are Chelita Stewart.

An Order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to G.S. 45-21.29

in favor of the purchaser and against the party or parties in possession by the clerk of superior court of the county in which the property is sold. Any person who occupies the property pursuant to a rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2007, may, after receiving the notice of sale, terminate the rental agreement by providing written notice of termination to the landlord, to be e ective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 10 days, but no more than 90 days, after the sale date contained in the notice of sale, provided that the mortgagor has not cured the default at the time the tenant provides the notice of termination [NCGS § 45-21.16A(b)(2)]. Upon termination of a rental agreement, the tenant is liable for rent due

Walking through the storm: Buddhist monks’ journey of peace

Judge orders ICE chief to appear in court or risk contempt over denial of due process

The chief federal judge in Minnesota says the Trump administration has failed to comply with orders to hold hearings for detained immigrants. As a result, the judge ordered the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to appear before him Friday to explain why he shouldn’t be held in contempt. In an order dated Monday, Chief Judge Patrick J. Schiltz said Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, must appear personally in court. Schiltz took the administration to task over its handling of bond hearings for immigrants it has detained.

Activists say Iran’s crackdown has killed at least 6,159 people

Activists say at least 6,159 people have been killed in Iran’s crackdown on nationwide protests, and many more are still feared dead. The new gures on Tuesday came from a U.S.based NGO, which has been accurate in multiple rounds of unrest in Iran. The Iranian government has put the death toll at a far lower 3,117 — including 2,427 civilians and security forces, and the rest labelled “terrorists.”

$2.00

The Theravada monks’ Walk for Peace brought their message through Raleigh

By Shawn Krest Chatham News & Record

HEADS DOWN, they walk, keeping a brisk pace. A winter storm bears down on them, and many have hoods

drawn in the 28-degree weather.

Two dozen monks left the Theravada Buddhist temple in Fort Worth, Texas, in late October and started walking. Most of us have celebrated Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s. We’ve done holiday shopping and watched more than half of the NFL season and playo s. They’ve been walking.

Some of them wear sandals,

a nod to the weather. A few had been barefoot for much of the walk. Their journey will take them through eight states, 2,300 miles and 110 days, from Texas to D.C. They eat one meal a day, food donated to them. It’s called the Walk for Peace, but their mission doesn’t sound politically charged.

“We walk not to protest, but to awaken the peace that already lives within each of us,”

Commissioners to investigate ways to better address data centers

The commissioners stated their intention to place a moratorium on data centers next month

By Ryan Henkel Chatham News & Record

a written statement from the temple explains. “The Walk for Peace is a simple yet meaningful reminder that unity and kindness begin within each of us and can radiate outward to families, communities, and society as a whole.” By late morning, they’ve already traveled from Apex to Raleigh. They turn from Tryon

See MONKS, page A7

“I personally feel it is very necessary.”

At the Chatham County Board of Commissioners Jan. 20 meeting, board chair Amanda Robertson brought the discussion forth as it was not initially part of the board’s agenda.

“I personally feel it is very necessary,” Robertson said.

Concerns surrounding data centers have continued to grow

PITTSBORO — Chatham County is considering placing a moratorium on the development of data processing and crypto mining centers.

over the years, mostly pertaining to their potential environmental impact, a key issue for the current board.

Currently, data processing centers are permitted byright in heavy industrial zones within the county, provided that it connects to public water and wastewater utilities, although there is a special-use permit process for allowing those

Chapel Hill approves land use-related text amendments

“My goal in implementing any LUMO changes is to realize our complete community vision

for Chapel Hill.”

Amy Ryan, council member

The amendments relate to the town’s development processes and underlying development standards

By Ryan Henkel Chatham News & Record

CHAPEL HILL — The Chapel Hill Town Council has approved a series of amendments related to the town’s development processes.

At its Jan. 21 meeting, the council unanimously approved the omnibus text amendments related to the Chapel Hill Land Use Management Ordinance (LUMO),

which had been under discussion for multiple months.

“The package contains a series of amendments to the town’s development processes, which dictate how we make landuse decisions, and a series of amendments addressing the underlying development standards, that dictate what new developments in town would look like,” said Long-Range Planning Manager Tas Lagoo.

“The amendments are all items that were discussed at our last work session,” said council member Amy Ryan.

Board Chair Amanada Robertson on a potential moratorium on the development of data processing centers

that do not connect to both.

There are no data centers currently located within the county.

“Several years ago, we amended the table of uses for the Chatham County zoning ordinance

We stand corrected

To report an error or a suspected error, please email: corrections@nsjonline.com with “Correction request” in the subject line.

CRIME LOG

Jan. 20

• Noah Bryson Jones, 18, was arrested for assault with physical injury on a law enforcement, probation or parole o cer, resisting a public o cer, carrying a concealed gun, injury to personal property, possession of marijuana up to one half ounce and assault by pointing a gun.

• Aaron Gray King, 27, was arrested for driving while impaired.

Teresita Mae Wasileski, 30, was arrested for driving while impaired.

Jan. 22

• Emily Grace Owens, 27, was arrested for possession of fentanyl, maintaining a vehicle, dwelling or place for controlled substances and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Jan. 24

• Cesar Monter Soto, 53, was arrested for larceny of motor vehicle, hit and run leaving scene with property damage, driving while impaired, driving while license revoked (not impaired revocation) and failure to maintain lane control.

NC shifts EV charging strategy to focus on underserved areas

New

guidance moves funding

from interstate corridors to rural communities

Chatham News & Record sta NORTH CAROLINA transportation o cials are scaling back plans for electric vehicle charging stations along interstates and redirecting federal funds toward rural communities and highways with less coverage.

The N.C. Department of Transportation announced it will reduce the number of EV charging stations along federally designated alternative fuel corridors from 41 planned locations to 16, allowing more of the state’s $109 million in National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure funding to go toward areas with fewer chargers.

The shift comes after new federal guidance issued in August gave states greater exibility in determining where charging stations can be placed, including removing a requirement that stations be spaced no more than 50 miles apart along designated corridors.

“The revised guidance enables the department to focus its support for the build out of a statewide EV charging network in areas of the state where there are fewer chargers and greater needs,” said State Transportation Secretary Daniel Johnson.

The change also accounts for private development that has occurred since the NEVI program began. Several private companies have built charging infrastructure in areas originally identi ed as potential sites for federally funded stations.

“Most of North Carolina’s alternative fuel corridors are fully built out based on the existing charging stations and those charging contracts that have been awarded,” said Heather Hildebrandt, NCDOT’s Statewide Initiatives manager. “We want to help ensure that the rms receiving NEVI funds will continue to be economically viable.”

NCDOT published a map of the 16 remaining corridor sites on its website last week and plans to issue a request for proposals in late March for businesses interested in building and operating stations. Companies will have 45 days to respond. The NEVI program reimburses private companies up to 80% of the cost to construct and operate charging stations for ve years, after which the stations continue operating without government support.

CENTERS from page A1

to include additional heavy industrial use types that were not represented at the time, which includes data processing centers,” said County Manager Bryan Thompson. “Beyond that, there really wasn’t a whole lot of work done on this, and actually the environment of the data center industry looked a bit di erent than what it does today. It has evolved quite rapidly, and our existing zoning ordinances have not kept up with the evolution of that industry.” There is also no de nition for “data processing centers” in the county’s UDO nor are there development standards. A moratorium is not an all-

out ban but is instead a temporary one put in place to allow local governments to thoughtfully work through the process of addressing an issue.

In addition to going through at least one public hearing before a moratorium can be put in place, the local government must also address several questions pertaining to the necessity of the moratorium, alternative courses of action considered, the potential impact of the moratorium, the date of termination for the moratorium, why that duration is necessary, and a statement of action and schedule of those actions during the duration of the moratorium.

“I appreciated that this has been a goal of the Chatham

County Board of Commissioners, to attract and recruit industry that is nonpolluting and that adds to our local economy,” said Commissioner Katie Kenlan.

The board will hold a special called meeting Feb. 11 for the public hearing related to the moratorium.

Currently, the board is considering an aggressive approach with a year-long moratorium, with the assumption that they can end it early should they address all their concerns before that time.

The Chatham County Board of Commissioners is scheduled to meet for its next regular business meeting though on Feb. 16.

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

Feb.1

The Regulator Movement and the Revolution in the North Carolina Backcountry

2-3 p.m.

A historical lecture presented by Carole Troxler. Free admission.

Historic Chatham County Courthouse 9 Hillsboro St. Pittsboro

Wintering: Nature Walk

2-3:15 p.m.; 4-5:15 p.m.

A sensory-based walk through the tree museum. Previous hikes have sold out, so reserve your spot by emailing music@ theplantnc.com. A donation of $20 is recommended.

The Plant 220 Lorax Lane Pittsboro

Feb. 7

Michael Reno Harrell and Josh Goforth

7-8:30 p.m.

An evening of storytelling and singing by two popular performers presented as part of the Milltown Yarns series.

Front Porch, Bynum General Store 950 Bynum Road Bynum

Feb. 12

Bynum Bite Night at BFP

6-8 p.m.

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.

Front Porch, Bynum General Store 950 Bynum Road Bynum

Members question transparency, consent in PENC’s 2025 union merger

AFPENC o cials maintain they had authority to move the a liation forward

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal

RALEIGH — Members of a teacher’s association in North Carolina are questioning the transparency and consent process involved in a merger with a national teacher’s union.

Last fall, the board of Professional Educators of North Carolina (PENC) unanimously approved an a liation with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), a national labor union representing 1.8 million educators.

PENC rebranded as the American Federation of Professional Educators in North Carolina (AFPENC), with the change announced Oct. 14, 2025, in Charlotte.

AFT President Randi Weingarten and AFPENC President Joanna Loftis signed the agreement, framing it as a “historic” move to amplify advocacy for teacher pay, working conditions and public education funding in a right-to-work state that prohibits collective bargaining and strikes.

Public statements from AFT and AFPENC describe the afliation as the culmination of years of member-driven organizing, aimed at addressing declining membership and limited statewide in uence.

PENC had about 2,082 members in 2022-23, down nearly 4% year over year.

Internal pushback has highlighted concerns about the process’ legitimacy. Past PENC President Tim Barnsback has criticized the a liation as lacking proper member consent.

“I got involved because leadership changes raised legitimate questions about governance and stability, and I believed members deserved clear answers so the organization could remain a strong advocate for public education in North Carolina,” Barnsback told North State Journal. “I support a strong, nonpartisan collective voice for teachers, but any a liation needs to be handled transparently so it strengthens, rather than weakens, educators’ ability to defend public education in North Carolina.”

In formal emails starting Oct. 20, 2025, Barnsback request-

ed key records: pre- and post-afliation bylaws, board vote details (including quorum and motion), explanations of ratication requirements, full minutes, con ict-of-interest policies, the a liation agreement, and the membership list to verify notice and participation.

Responses from leadership from AFTPENC o cials, including Loftis, O ce Administrator Catherine Coleman and Executive Director Donnell McLean, involved initial delays, partial fulllment and some denials.

O cials asserted board authority under the state’s Nonpro t Corporation Act to enter a liations without amending governing documents or triggering a member vote, deeming the action preliminary.

“I’m not trying to stop the a liation,” said Barnsback. “My concern has always been about process and trust. If educators are going to stand together to protect public education in North Carolina, the organization representing them has to be transparent, accountable and member-driven.

“If the a liation is done properly, with transparency, clear documentation and informed member consent, it has the potential to strengthen educators’ ability to push back against efforts that undermine public schools and teaching.”

A Dec. 19, 2025, letter to members extended a Google Form feedback period and promised draft bylaw revisions for a January annual membership vote on amendments. The feedback form originally ran for three days in mid-December.

Critics view this as retroactive legitimization of a done deal, especially after the rebranding and public claims of nality.

Barnsback also noted the disabling of the internal member communication portal amid rising questions, limiting discussion.

“I’ve invested nearly 20 years in PENC as a member and served as board president during some of the organization’s most successful and in uential years,” Barnsback said. “Watching it unravel because of mismanagement and poor legal and ethical practices has been heartbreaking, especially knowing how much it once meant to educators across North Carolina.”

North State Journal reached out to AFPENC o cials with several questions regarding voting

processes, quorum of the board vote and the board’s authority to enter into the a liation, as well as questions about member feedback and record transparency raised by Barnsback.

Loftis responded to North State Journal, o ering a statement in email, but no detailed answers to the questions posed.

“The executive board of PENC (doing business as AFPENC) engaged in an a liation with AFT with the general governing powers of the organization in pursuance with the PENC bylaws and North Carolina Nonpro t Corporation Act,” Loftis wrote in an email.

“All board decisions toward the a liation were made unanimously at o cial board meetings where a quorum was present. Through the process AFPENC has remained compliant with all state statutes and remains in constant communication with our legal consult.

“The a liation with AFT maintains PENC’s autonomy in governance and leadership. Membership will vote on amended bylaws and articles of incorporation wherein all proper notices will be sent to the general membership as required by our bylaws and state law.”

On Saturday, a virtual town hall was held for members to vote on amendments to the organization’s Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws but also ostensibly to address PENC member issues with the merger.

Attendees indicated to North State Journal that AFPENC leadership didn’t take objections seriously and that questions were de ected or left unanswered.

When members asked about dues increases, they were told the board said that was still undecided. Members were unhappy with that position, saying they were still being asked to vote yes on the merger and trust the board.

Members also asked about union activity in North Carolina, citing an AFT article that says AFPENC has joined picket lines, participated in national political protests and engaged in activities that have never occurred in North Carolina.

Members were then told PENC would be “strengthened by a national union.” Certain union activity, like organized strikes, is illegal for public employees in North Carolina.

AFPENC’s board will vote on the amendments at its Jan. 31 annual board meeting.

Church News

OAKLEY BAPTIST CHURCH

As Oakley Baptist Church (2300 Siler City-Glendon 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.

On Jan. 25, our message will be brought by John Strider, the youth pastor at Oakley. He is the son of Tim Strider, a veteran pastor of over 50 years, and is currently studying to enter the ministry himself. Join us that morning at 8:30 a.m. for a breakfast sponsored by the Brotherhood with all donations going to support the work of Baptist Men’s Disaster Relief (baptistsonmission.org).

Feb. 1 and Feb. 8 brings us Chance Walters (chancewalters. org). Chance grew up at Oakley Baptist Church and started Chance Walters Ministries, through which he evangelizes all over the world.

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.

from page A1

“They’ve been thoroughly vetted by the council.”

The council previously held a vote on the amendments approval Nov. 19, but it resulted in a tied vote and then more deliberation.

“My goal in implementing any LUMO changes is to realize our complete community vision for Chapel Hill,” Ryan said. “So to broaden the variety of housing in town, especially in ll units and missing middle housing, to connect that housing with businesses, schools and parks in a way that lessens our dependence on cars and to preserve and protect the green areas and streams that are essential to a healthy environment and healthy people. The majority of the changes proposed in the omnibus will get us closer to these goals.”

Mayor Jessica Anderson added, “I think we came to very reasonable amendments, and I’m really, really happy that we’re moving forward with something that is o ering additional options for people to live here who currently cannot live here.”

The council also held a public hearing for amendments to the 2025-26 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program plan.

“The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires CDBG grantees to amend these plans when their funding plan changes,” said Melissa Peters, funding programs coordinator. “HUD also requires the town to hold a public hearing when sub-

stantial amendments to the plan are being proposed. The current proposed amendment meets this requirement because the reallocation of funds would be more than 25% of the current year’s funding award.”

The amendments relate to the ve-year consolidated plan, which determines high-level town and county priorities for CDBG and HOME funds for the next ve years and which was previously approved on June 11, 2025.

The current ve-year consolidated plan priorities include increasing a ordable rental housing, preserving and rehabilitating a ordable housing, increasing permanent supportive housing and housing for special needs populations, and supporting neighborhood revitalization and essential community services.

The amendment, speci cally, is to move around $250,000 in CDBG funding from various years to the 2025-26 program year activities and neighborhood revitalization funding.

“A portion of the move is from prior year unspent funding from a nished activity and two activities that are currently funded using this year’s grant award,” Peters said, “but most of this move is funding from this year to neighborhood revitalization funding, which will be incorporated into the 2026-27 CDBG funding plan, which you will all consider in April.”

Following the hearing, the council approved the requested amendment.

The Chapel Hill Town Council will next meet Feb. 11.

THE CONVERSATION

Trip Ho end,

publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

VISUAL VOICES

| ANDREW RAMONA TAYLOR-TROUTMAN

Peace at home

No path smells exactly the same twice. It’s like a river, always changing.

RAMONA HERE. Andrew is busy prepping the house for the winter storm, so while there’s electricity, he asked me to write about the monks walking for peace. They have a dog, Aloka. I think the name means “enlightened” in their language. Andrew thinks that the two of us resemble each other. I didn’t get to sni his butt, but I heard that he was a stray. I, too, was abandoned as a puppy and eventually made my way to a shelter where the Taylor-Troutmans adopted me. We are both lucky dogs.

Of course, there are di erences. No two dogs are exactly alike. Aloka has walked across the country, while I’ve never been out of the Tarheel State. Most weeks, I travel no farther than the same two-mile loop through the neighborhood

woods. But take it from me: No path smells exactly the same twice. It’s like a river, always changing. And people are constantly changing as well. In Andrew’s case, he’s shedding hair from the top of his head. I’m still waiting for it to grow back. I’m getting o topic. While I love Aloka’s story, my point is that you don’t need to walk 2,000 miles to make peace. You can start by walking out your back door and sni ng the air. What’s a new thing to discover today? Who can you help?

By the time you read this column, I trust that the worst of the winter storm is behind us. I hope you and your loved ones stayed safe. One thing about a storm is that it keeps everyone close to home. Perhaps it gave you the chance to help in a new way. Maybe you checked on

a neighbor and o ered a cup of co ee heated on a camp re stove. Better yet, maybe you cooked enough hot dogs on your charcoal grill to share with every neighbor — human and canine. You don’t need to travel far to have an adventure. Maybe you got to pee outside in the cold! Now you know the “enlightenment” that Aloka and I feel every day.

Love, Ramona

Ramona’s owner’s latest 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.

It’s time to see what time it is

I have, through the years, noticed a few things about time.

AS THE CLOCK ticks on and the years go by and I have more candles on the birthday cake, I nd I seem to pay more attention to time.

I don’t think it’s an obsession, and I don’t understand it any better than before; maybe it’s just an awareness of how fragile and passing it is. I often wonder about the things I do and don’t do and wonder “why” to both of them.

When I take the time to drop a note or make a call, after an internal nudging, I’m never unhappy about it. When I nd I have some unexpected time and then don’t seem to get much done, I wonder if that time was wasted. That, of course, gets into what does “wasted” mean anyway. Was it wasted time to read another chapter in a good book? Was it wasted time to watch a rerun of “The Andy Gri th Show” I had seen 10 times before? I guess all that is a personal decision. I have, through the years, noticed a few things about time. One is that work usually expands to t the time allotted for it. If, for instance, your task is to mow the front yard and realistically you can do it in two hours, then if we’re not careful, we’ll spend twothirds of the day procrastinating, stalling, working slowly, taking breaks, whatever.

I’ve also noticed time has a way of changing. Years ago, for instance, when I still had the set of Compton’s Pictured Encyclopedia that my mama and daddy bought for their boys, I could look up “hippopotamus,” for instance, in a shade under eight or 10 seconds. Didn’t matter that the volume, dated somewhere around 1955, might be years out of date and some of the information not that current.

During the past, my better half did some shopping and introduced me to the world of computer information. So today, thanks to the hardware and the internet, if I want to know something about a hippopotamus, I turn the thing on, wait for it to run through its various cycles and do all the things it has to do.

Then, when I go to whatever information site I want, I can get all kinds of information. The fact it will take a minute or so will eventually irk me a great deal. So which is faster: the old way or the technological way? But even more important, I think, is which information is the better one to have.

Years ago, when I was a cute little boy in short pants (which was, indeed, years ago) if someone had told me that in this day and age I could communicate with almost

anyone in the world almost instantly and get all kinds of information, I would have marveled and said to bring it on. Now, the fact it takes what I often think is too long tells me mostly how my thought process about time has changed.

All that, of course, brings me/us back to the important question: how are we using the time we have. I don’t think I have one foot on the Social Security system and the other on a banana peel, but sometimes I act like I’ve got some 60-plus more years to go. That’s why there are books and magazines and newspapers and old video cassettes all around my place. “I’ll save it for another day,” I reason, and sometimes those days do come, but most times they don’t.

I’m starting to realize more and more that every once in a while it’s a good idea to take the time to take stock of what we do and to make sure we make good use of our time.

That’s all for now. … I just discovered under a pile of papers an old John Wayne Western VHS I haven’t seen in 30 years.

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

My beloved addiction

My iPhone is the rst thing I turn to in the morning and the last at night. I feel naked without it.

MY MAGNETIC NORTH has morphed (oh no!) into my omnipresent iPhone. I’m embarrassed to admit that my iPhone has inspired in me a never-ending thirst for anything at all on its screen. Anything. (Oh, heavens, shades of my youthful nonstop TV-watching habits.)

My iPhone is the rst thing I turn to in the morning and the last at night. I feel naked without it. (Might there be a 12-step program for this burgeoning addiction?) Truly leaves me wondering if my right hand automatically curls into an iPhone-cradling position when I’m sleeping.

I actually forgot my iPhone recently, my beloved digital companion. Left at home, charging, when I went to the grocery store. My short driving distance was lled with fearful thoughts: what if X Y, or even worse (oh my God!) Z occur? I don’t have my cellphone! If something untoward happens, what can I do? A car accident; an attacking grizzly bear (well, probably not that); or if, once again, I accidentally drop my car keys down a deep elevator shaft? Disaster scenarios abound like confetti in my worried brain. Staging negative cli hanger, after negative cli hanger … Wait, what’s that I hear, circulating through my mind? “You were a resourceful human being before cellphones were even invented.” I was?

Do you recall driving across the country (twice), hiking trails with a rattlesnake blocking the path and hitchhiking to Cape Cod when you were

COLUMN | MICHAEL BARONE

19? All of this, all of this, accomplished with the presence of no cellphone. (OMG, I’d forgotten about the hitchhiking. I’m blanching at my remembered naïveté.)

I did all that?

Yes, you really, really did, with the presence of no cellphones.

I do, faintly, recall the memory of those cellphone-less days. There was no unconscious tic in my right hand, as there is now, continually reaching down to feel the outlines of my pocketed cellphone. (And breathing a sigh of relief. “It’s there! It’s there!”) In those cellphone-less days, I actually remembered friends’ phone numbers. Just rolled o my tongue, or my ngers, when dialing. Gone now — all the numbers are owned by my cellphone contact list. A small hunk of metal now seems to function as my lifeline … to, well, everything.

Stop, stop, stop! ’Tis reminder time. You’ve forgotten that wonderful quote from Southern novelist, Flannery O’Connor. The one that rang so true and bolstered you during a doubtful period in your earlier life.

Oh, wow! Completely forgot. Completely. Thanks.

“In yourself, right now, is all the place you’ve got.”

Ta-da. That’s it! Sending heavenward waves to Ms. O’Connor. And that’s me, alive within, with or without my iPhone. Damn right!

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

Trump’s outrageous threats get practical results

Trump has proved that the border can be controlled under current legislation.

THINK ABOUT IT. Heads of government do not normally reveal the texts of private communications from other heads of state. Yet that is what Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store of Norway two Sundays ago on the rst weekend of the World Economic Forum in Davos, where the international press would have no di culty nding appalled foreign leaders to comment.

You could think of this as a hostile act of a statesman appalled that the American head of government does not know that the government of Norway does not decide who gets the Nobel Peace Prize. It is probably better to think of it as an intervention by a sympathetic observer who has noticed that Donald Trump backs down from untenable positions in response to ructions in political and nancial markets.

Which is what Trump has done between the publication of his letter and his speech at Davos last Wednesday. The Sunday before he seemed to be threatening war with Denmark, and European commentators, not without reason, lamented that he was risking breaking up the NATO alliance out of pique of not being awarded a prize by a committee that was never going to honor a nonleftist American president.

Proof of which was the granting of that prize to Barack Obama in 2009 for what even Obama himself admitted was for no tangible accomplishment. And Trump has never forgotten the ridicule heaped on him by Obama at the 2011 White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, ridicule that led directly to that ride down the Trump Tower escalator four years later.

Actually, Trump has some valid points on Greenland. It sits astride missile, drone and air transport routes between North America and western Russia and eastern Europe. The United States would have even more exibility than it does under current agreements with Denmark if it were to become U.S. territory. That’s one reason the U.S. holds on to Guam in the west Paci c and has spent billions upgrading military facilities there.

All that said, Trump’s usual negotiating technique of starting o with extravagant demands was, in the careful words of social scientist Charles Murray, “next-level crazy.” Denmark has been an active ally of the United States in Afghanistan and Iraq, has increased its rate of defense spending above levels Trump demanded, and has adopted immigration policies in line with Trump’s advocacy.

With Denmark as with Canada, as with fellow Republicans in Georgia and other states, Trump’s obnoxious maximalist demands have alienated him from sympathy and empowered the forces against him. Other leaders have gured out that he requires gushers of praise to permeate every dialogue, and they’re probably ready with encomiums for his avowals in his Davos speech that he won’t use violence to obtain Greenland. It has to be said that Trump’s bluntness

and braggadocio have had some of its intended e ect. The American Enterprise Institution’s Yuval Levin, in an interview with The New York Times’ Ezra Klein, made the point that many of Trump’s lurching policy changes, not codi ed into law, can easily be wiped away by the next Democratic administration, perhaps even by a Democratic House of Representatives next year.

But despite his own preference for procedural regularity in making institutional change, Levin admits that “they’ve driven a lot of change that will be durable.” Initial polling reaction to Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, has been negative. But there’s no doubt that Trump has proved that the border can be controlled under current legislation — which would increase the political cost of any subsequent administration adopting the open border policy of Joe Biden’s.

It is also telling that the best estimates of both pro- and anti-immigration analysts are that the substantial numbers of ICE deportations from within the United States, far above those of other recent administrations, are orders of magnitude lower than the numbers of self-deportations. As on other issues (like military recruitment), Trump is uninterested in institutional change but interested in sharply changing the behavior of the larger public.

The e ect of Trump policies, and the possibility that they may be put back in place at some later date, will likely discourage many illegal aliens from living in this country more or less permanently, as some 10 million have been up through January 2025. As I wrote last fall, “Who will want to make long-term plans that can be ruined by sudden deportation or hurried self-deportation?”

We learn from experience, and just as the former real estate developer sometimes seems to accept discipline from nancial markets, so the former reality TV show host sometimes seems to accept discipline from the ratings. On Greenland, he has responded to the cues of the markets and the ratings and backed o from threats of force while retaining the possibility of increasing the already signi cant U.S. presence there.

Meanwhile, the NATO alliance remains in place, with its increased number of European members spending increasing percentages of their economies on defense. Three more years of this Trump administration will strain and irritate foreign leaders and American politicians, with wild threats and childish petulance driving one crisis after another. But it may continue to get them, often grudgingly, doing things Trump’s way.

Michael Barone is a senior political analyst for the Washington Examiner, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and longtime co-author of “The Almanac of American Politics.” Copyright 2026 Creators.com

Argentina’s Election and 2026

ARGENTINE President Javier Milei’s extraordinary electoral victory in October could be a good omen for American Republicans in 2026.

Milei’s party, La Libertad Avanza, won 64 seats in the House of Deputies. His party and allied groups also won 14 seats in the nation’s Senate. Before the election, they only had 37 deputies and six senators.

Argentina was once one of the wealthiest countries in the world.

If Republicans win a similar victory in 2026, it would mean something like 290 Republicans in the House (a roughly 140-vote majority) and 73 Republican Senators (a 36-vote majority).

Of course, a swing like that is impossible in America. Only one-third of the Senate is up for election in any given year, and gerrymandering has created some near disaster-proof House seats. However, Milei’s victory has proven a reform movement can undertake deeply disruptive, painful changes and still increase its share of power.

Like President Donald Trump, Milei is a dedicated reformer who is determined to profoundly change a system that has been crippling his country for at least eight decades. It is easy to forget that Argentina was once one of the wealthiest countries in the world. In 1913, the average Argentinian had about 80% of the income of the average American. It took several generations of socialist politicians to destroy Argentina’s wealth. Today, the average Argentinian has about 30% of the income of the average American.

This is a lesson that followers of Zohran Mamdani, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders should consider. If the American big government socialists do for the United States what Juan Peron and the Argentinian socialists did for their country, every American will rapidly become poorer.

Milei brought an intellectual understanding of conservative economics, a great television personality and a willingness to dismantle the old order. Elon Musk’s antics with the chainsaw was actually a tribute to Milei — who had won the presidency with that as his symbol. His pledge was to take a chainsaw to the bureaucracy, regulations and political machines crippling Argentina’s economy. And Milei implemented his campaign promises. In his rst two years, he slashed spending by 30%, cut regulations and shrunk the bureaucracy by 55,000 workers (a 15% reduction). He has also cut the number of ministries from 19 to nine, lowered taxes, and encouraged economic growth and investment in Argentina. All this led to a budget surplus for the rst time in 14 years.

Milei clearly intends to build on this victory. He told an election night crowd, “Today marks the beginning of building a great Argentina. This result is nothing more and nothing less than the con rmation of the mandate we assumed in 2023.” He attributed the victory to the voters’ “determination to change the destiny of the nation irreversibly.”

Milei has an ambitious follow-on reform program. He plans to change labor laws, make contracts more exible — and make even deeper cuts to federal spending and regulation. He plans to have more tax cuts and to dramatically streamline bureaucratic procedures. His major goal is to increase the economy and boost salaries and jobs. To achieve this he wants to make it much easier to start new companies.

As Milei summarized it election night: “Argentines showed that they don’t want to return to the model of failure. … We want to be a country that grows. We want to make Argentina great again.”

No wonder Trump took great pleasure in Milei’s victory — and why he and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent went all in to help him. Every Republican should take heart. Faced with a choice between reform or decay, free enterprise or big government socialism, and freedom or bureaucratic rule, voters will side with what works. They did in Argentina.

Newt Gingrich was the 50th speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.

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.

Contact a writer or columnist: connect@northstatejournal.com

obituaries

Dr. B.J. Copeland

Nov. 20, 1936 –Jan. 14, 2026

Dr. B.J. Copeland, age 89, passed away January 14, 2026, leaving behind a legacy of leadership, faith and service. He had a deep faith in humanity and a great appreciation for the natural world.

Born November 20, 1936, B.J. was raised in rural Oklahoma on a family farm in Mannsville by his parents, Dorthy and Bill Copeland, with his two younger brothers and younger sister. Those early years shaped his lifelong respect for the land, his appreciation for hard work, and a commitment to community. After excelling in academics and 4-H activities in high school, B.J. attended Murray State School of Agriculture in Tishomingo and Oklahoma State University where he earned a master’s degree and doctorate in limnology. At OSU he also met the love of his life, Jean Van Nortwick. They married on January 26, 1963, and celebrated more than 62 years of loving marriage in 2025.

B.J. became a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer at the University of Texas Marine Science Laboratory at Port Aransas in 1962. After marrying Jean, the young couple lived in Port Aransas and started a family with the adoption of two baby girls. The couple later adopted an older boy. B.J. was hired at NC State University as a professor of zoology in 1970. His most enduring professional contribution came in 1973 when he became director of the North Carolina Sea Grant program, part of the federal and statefunded Sea Grant Network. Devoted to promoting the wise use of coastal and marine resources through research, extension and education, Sea Grant supported a program in every U.S. coastal and Great Lakes state. When Sea Grant was zeroed out of the federal budget in the 1980s, BJ was instrumental in proving to Congress the value of translating science and extension into economic impacts along our nation’s waterways. He was known for his ability to bring people together, balance science with practical application, and

mentor young scientists and administrators. B.J. left Sea Grant in 1996. He served as graduate administrator for the Zoology Department at N.C. State until he fully retired from NCSU in 2002.

B.J. believed in service and his volunteer activities were numerous throughout his life. The Appalachian Service Project, the Cary-Kildaire Rotary Club, and Meals On Wheels were among the groups to which he contributed his time and skills.

In his younger days he coached his daughter’s softball teams and his son’s basketball team; and with his own pigcooker he would volunteer to grill a pig or chicken for any group who asked.

After retirement, B.J. was appointed by the governor to the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission, where he helped guide thoughtful stewardship of marine resources. His faith was an important and steady presence throughout his life.

B.J. served his church at Cary First United Methodist for many years. In 2012, he and Jean joined Pleasant Hill United Methodist Church in Siler City, where he continued to nd meaning through worship, fellowship, volunteerism, leadership and service. B.J. found joy in gardening and farming, taking pride in tending his garden and animals with care and precision. B.J. and Jean owned a farm near Apex from 1978 to 2002 and later a farm near Pittsboro.

Above all, B.J. Copeland was devoted to his family. He is survived by his wife Jean Copeland; son Gary (Deborah), grandsons Tyler and William; daughters MJ Copeland and Christy Jernigan (Brian), grandson Jake; and nephew John Brodie (Lynsey). He is also survived by his brothers, Dean and Jerry (Sandy), sister Linda Cox and a host of beloved family and friends who will always remember his kindness, wisdom, sense of humor, love of good food and steady presence. For many who knew and loved him, B.J.’s deep voice and his loud belly laugh will always be remembered. His excellent memory and quick wit made him an entertaining teller of stories and jokes. We can only hope that some of us can tell them as well as he did. B.J. will long be remembered with gratitude, admiration, love and a big smile.

A memorial service celebrating B.J.’s life was held Friday, January 23, 2026 at Pleasant Hill United Methodist Church. In lieu of owers, donations may be made in memory of B.J. Copeland to: Boys & Girls Homes of North Carolina at PO Box 127, Lake Waccamaw, North Carolina 28450; or Pleasant Hill United Methodist Church at PO Box 1322, Pittsboro, NC 27312.

GENEVIEVE MISSOURI CAVINESS BRAY MAY 17, 1931 – JAN. 25, 2026

Genevieve Missouri Caviness Bray, 94, of Bennett passed away on Sunday, January 25, 2026 at Randolph Hospice House. The funeral will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, January 30, 2026 at Pleasant Grove Christian Church with Pastor Don Edwards and Pastor Terry Warren presiding. Burial will follow in the church cemetery. The family will receive friends from 1:00-1:45 pm at the church prior to the service and in the fellowship hall following the committal. Joyce-Brady Chapel will be open from 1:00-5:00 pm on Thursday, January 29, 2026 for friends to sign the register.

Harry Kirby

Fagg

Jan. 25, 2026

Harry Kirby Fagg, age 82, passed away peacefully on January 25th, surrounded by the loving care of his family. Harry will be remembered for his kind heart, gentle spirit,

March 29, 1951 - Jan. 26, 2026

Susan Holt Helmer, 74, left a life well-lived in the early hours of January 26, 2026, in her Siler City, NC home, surrounded by love. Susan was born to Billy Holt and Ruby Ellis Holt.

She graduated from JordanMatthews High School in 1969 and went on to UNC - Chapel Hill, as the rst in her family to attend college. She would use her passion to ght many good ghts over her lifetime. Initially studying sociology at UNC because she felt called to make a di erence during the tumultuous 1970s, Susan switched her focus to the power of education as she completed her master’s degree where she investigated the use of sign language to help children on

and the many friendships he built throughout his life. He had a special way of making people feel welcome and valued, leaving a lasting impression on all who knew him. His presence brought warmth, laughter, and comfort to those fortunate enough to share time with him.

He is survived by his niece, Tammy Wester, and spouse Bruce Pilkington; niece, Missy and husband Eric Dowdy, niece Martha K and husband Marty Craven,nephew Peanut and wife Cathy Mcleod, cousin Mary; and great-niece and great-nephew, Brooklyn Wester and Dustin Wester, who will forever cherish his memory. Harry was preceded in death by his beloved sister, Linda Phillips, and brothers, David Fagg and Lewis Fagg. The family would like to

the autism spectrum gain better verbal skills.

Susan married Stephen Helmer in the backyard of their Chapel Hill home in 1978. She would go on to dedicate herself to children, especially those most in need, for the rest of her life. Susan taught preschoolers who were hearing impaired, middle school students with severe disabilities, and high school students who needed help graduating. In the late 1980s, Susan stepped away from teaching because she wanted to do even more to improve the lives of local kids, and she started Chatham County Together (now Communities in Schools - Chatham), a nonpro t organization matching trained volunteers with children who need strong, positive, adult role models. In addition, she was elected twice and served eight years as a school board member for Chatham County Schools, attending meetings and workshops, often late into the evenings, to provide her personal experience as a classroom teacher to guide policy and hiring that supported educators and students. Susan retired from teaching in 2012.

In her last decade, she devoted herself to her family, caring for her grandchildren and her mother, as well as becoming

We offer an on-site crematory with many options of Celebration of Life services, Traditional, and Green Burials. Call us to set an appointment to come by and learn more.

extend a heartfelt thank you to Harry’s dear friends — Larry Bristow, Tony Oldham, Pat Cox, Wade and Shirley Holder — for their friendship, kindness, and unwavering support.

Special appreciation is also given to the Siler City Enrichment Center, Downtown Cafe, Cowboy Café, and Best Foods Cafeteria for always welcoming Harry with open arms and treating him with such warmth and kindness.

A celebration of life service will be held Saturday at Brookdale Baptist Church in Siler City, o ciated by Preacher Walter Jones. Visitation will take place from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM, with the service to follow at 2:00 PM. Harry’s legacy of love, friendship, compassion and famous words “ catch ya on the ip “ will live on in the hearts of all who knew him.

a trained Stephen Minister so she could provide comfort to other congregants of First United Methodist Church in Siler City.

Susan loved the beach and the mountains, especially when she had her family around her, a great view and a book in hand. She was a gardener and ower-lover, a poet, a reader, a community activist, a skilled baker, a creative quilter, a loving mother, grandmother and wife.

She is preceded in death by her father, Billy Holt, and brothers Randy, Barry and Darien Holt.

She is survived by her mother, Ruby Ellis Holt, her husband of 47 years, Stephen Helmer, her daughters Stephanie Holt Helmer and Sarah Hauser, her sons-inlaw Alec Hauser and Wes Lail, and her grandchildren Telluric, Eolian, Josephine and Stephen.

The service to honor Susan Holt Helmer will be at 3:00 PM on Saturday, February 7, 2026, at the Siler City First United Methodist Church. In lieu of owers, please consider donating to: Communities in SchoolsChatham County at PO Box 903, Siler City, NC 27344. Smith & Buckner Funeral Home will be assisting the Helmer family. Online condolences can be made at www.smithbucknerfh. com

Dr. William Foege, leader in smallpox eradication, dies

He was CDC director in the ’70s and ’80s

By Mike Stobbe The Associated Press

ATLANTA — Dr. William Foege, a leader of one of humanity’s greatest public health victories — the global eradication of smallpox — has died.

Foege died Saturday in Atlanta at the age of 89, according to the Task Force for Global Health, which he co-founded.

The 6-foot-7 inch Foege literally stood out in the eld of public health. A whip-smart medical doctor with a calm demeanor, he had a canny knack for beating back infectious diseases.

He was director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and later held other key leadership roles in campaigns against international health problems.

sionary in Nigeria in the 1960s, Foege and his colleagues developed a “ring containment” strategy, in which a smallpox outbreak was contained by identifying each smallpox case and vaccinating everyone who the patients might come into contact with.

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

But his greatest achievement came before all that with his work on smallpox, one of the most lethal diseases in human history. For centuries, it killed about one-third of the people it infected and left most survivors with deep scars on their faces from the pus- lled lesions.

Smallpox vaccination campaigns were well established by the time Foege was a young doctor. Indeed, it was no longer seen in the United States. But infections were still occurring elsewhere, and e orts to stamp them out were stalling.

Working as a medical mis-

The method relied heavily on quick detective work and was born out of necessity. There simply wasn’t enough vaccine available to immunize everyone, Foege wrote in “House on Fire,” his 2011 book about the smallpox eradication e ort.

It worked and became pivotal in helping rid the world of smallpox for good. The last naturally occurring case was seen in Somalia in 1977. In 1980, the World Health Organization declared smallpox eradicated from the Earth.

“If you look at the simple metric of who has saved the most lives, he is right up there with the pantheon,” said former CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden, who consulted with Foege regularly. “Smallpox eradication has pre-

President Barack Obama awards the Medal of Freedom to Dr. William Foege during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., in May 2012.

vented hundreds of millions of deaths.”

Foege was born March 12, 1936. His father was a Lutheran minister, but he became interested in medicine at 13 while working at a drugstore in Colville, Washington.

He got his medical degree from the University of Washington in 1961 and a master’s in public health from Harvard in 1965. He was director of the Atlanta-based CDC from 1977 to 1983, then held other international public health leadership roles, including stints as executive director at The Carter Center and senior fellow at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

In 2012, President Barack Obama presented Foege with the Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. In 2016, while awarding Foege an honorary degree, Duke University President President Richard Brodhead called him “the Father of Global Health.”

Geo rey Mason, TV producer for coverage of 1972 Munich Olympics hostage crisis, dead at 85

The Duke graduate worked in sports TV for decades

By Joe Reedy

The Associated Press

GEOFFREY MASON, who had a ve-decade career in sports television and was best known as the coordinating producer for ABC’s coverage of the 1972 Munich Olympic Games hostage crisis, has died. He was 85.

ESPN said Mason died Sunday in Naples, Florida. He died of natural causes, according to his family.

“Geo was a giant visionary in television, never seeking credit,” former ESPN President Steve Bornstein said. “He preferred leading and mentoring teams, connecting people to projects, and was devoted to people and recovery of all sorts. He was a great teacher and mentor to everyone who came in his orbit.”

Over the course of his career, Mason worked on eight Olympics. As a young producer on Sept. 5, 1972, he was in the control room in Munich, Germany, when the Palestinian militant group Black September stormed the Olympic village and took Israeli Olympic team members hostage.

ABC provided continuous coverage for 22 hours, culminating

in a failed rescue attempt where six Israeli coaches and ve athletes died. Jim McKay broke the news with, “They’re all gone.” Mason was a consultant on the script and every aspect of production for the 2024 feature lm “September 5,” which recreates what it was like in the ABC control room that day. The international broadcast center in Munich was 100 yards away from where the hostage crisis was taking place in the Olympic village.

The movie recreates the moment when West German police stormed the control room and pointed guns at Mason’s face. This happened because one of ABC’s cameras was showing a tactical squad taking position on the roof above

the hostages. Mason ended up cutting o the camera’s feed.

It is estimated that nearly 900 million people worldwide at some point viewed ABC’s coverage.

“Geo told me that day there was no chance to think,” said John Magaro, who played Mason, in 2025. “Their singular goal was to stay on the air to keep the story going, to do their job as sports broadcasters. Once the clock starts ticking, there’s no chance to think.”

Mason’s career was largely spent with ABC and ESPN, but he also worked for NBC, Fox, NFL Network and other television entities. He began as a production associate at ABC Sports in 1967, working on “Wide World of Sports” and the 1968 Winter and Summer Olympics. Over the years, he earned 24 Emmy Awards and was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2010.

He also worked on Super Bowl 25, “Monday Night Football”, the World Series, horse racing’s Triple Crown, the Indianapolis 500, and the FIFA Men’s and Women’s World Cup tournaments.

He is also known for his coverage of the 1986-87 America’s Cup from Fremantle, Australia.

“Geo Mason was a friend and a colleague who had a storied career, touching just about every corner of the sports television

On Sept. 5, 1972, a Palestinian commando group seized the Israeli Olympic team quarters at the Olympic Village in Munich. A member of the commando group appears with a hood over his face on the balcony of the building, where they held several Israeli athletes hostage.

industry,” said Bob Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company, which owns ABC and ESPN. “He had a passion for the business, which was evidenced in his prodigious work ethic and the constant love and enthusiasm he exhibited on everything he worked on.

Mason was selected by Jim Valvano as a founding board member of the V Foundation for Cancer Research and a longtime board member of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation. He delivered a eulogy during Betty Ford’s funeral in 2011.

“Geo rey was a force of nature in our industry for six decades, but more important is all the help he gave to so many people through his association with the Betty Ford Center. He changed so many lives personally and professionally,” said former CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus, who worked with Mason at both ABC and NBC. Mason was a veteran of the U.S. Navy and graduated from Duke University with a bachelor’s degree in sociology in 1963. Survivors include wife Chris, son Geo Jr. and brother David.

Road onto Gorman Street, heading for Dorothea Dix Park, where they’ll eat today’s meal.

It’s the 91st day of their journey. They’ve lost a walker to a car accident in Houston and their dog to a leg injury, and there are still 20 days to go, likely the coldest and most choked with crowds that they’ve encountered yet. And every person they pass, every day, is seeing them for the rst and only time.

More than 70 people emerge from the apartment complexes on both sides of the street, interrupting their storm prep to see them. Some drove from their apartment and parked in the entrance driveway — taking their car the tenth of a mile to see these men walking across the country.

Police o cers stop tra c, turning cars back to take another route. Most drivers unroll their window to explain why they should be allowed to pass. A van approaches slowly, with ashing lights, and cell phones are held aloft. “Here they come,” someone shouts, but it’s a false alarm. The van, advertising a local radio station, honks, and the passengers wave.

People go back to waiting. A news helicopter hovering nearby gives a good estimate of how close they are. Someone has a live stream up on their phone, reporting that they “just went under the bridge.” Someone else complains that the online map isn’t updating. One woman talks on her cell phone, explaining to a friend where the nearest shop-

ping center is so she can park.

Finally, police motorcycles appear, lights ashing. Again, cell phones pop up, at the ready, to capture the striking image of the monks coming over the hill, in a group, walking for peace.

Except there is no striking image. It’s easy to see the police lights, the long line of trafc trailing behind and the people lining the road, crowding in front of them to get a good picture. The small cluster of monks, however, doesn’t stand out.

As they get closer, their earth-tone robes are visible. They walk, single le. The lead monk carries a sta . Another carries a ag. They walk quickly. People trying to catch up to the group after they pass have to jog to make up the ground. Their arms swing. They say nothing. There’s no message, no sermon, no wisdom. They just walk. They are the embodiment of the cliché — a calm in the storm of chaos swirling around them, both on the street and in the nation they just crossed.

One shyly returns a wave to a child. Several people step forward with owers. One monk near the back accepts a bouquet from a bystander. He walks on, and after going a short distance, he begins peeling owers out of the bouquet, one at a time, and handing them to people watching them pass.

The crowd begins to break up. There is a storm to prepare for, photos and videos to post. People rave about how moving the experience was, including many who may have missed the point entirely. They walk on.

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IN SEARCH OF SOMEONE

I met you at Dollar Tree in Siler City, you paid for a Birthday Gift Bag. I want to meet you again to thank you. I live on Hwy.902 at 11348, Bear Creek, NC. My phone # is 919-837-5280.

TAKE NOTICE

Notice

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

OF NORTH CAROLINA

OF CHATHAM The undersigned, Autumn Shuke Norris,

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

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

Having quali ed as Administrator of the Estate of Annie Faye Braxton, deceased, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, rms and corporations, having claims against the said estate to present them to the undersigned at 1153 Hu man Mill Road,Burlington, NC 27215 on or before the 9th day of April, 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. This the 8th day of January, 2026. Janet F. Braxton, Administrator Seth M. Gerringer, Attorney Deal Law, PLLC 1153 Hu man Mill Road Burlington, NC 27215 Publication Dates: Jan. 8, 15, 22 & 29, 2026

NOTICE

ALL PERSONS, rms and corporations having claims against Carol Triplett Robbins a/k/a Carol T. Robbins, deceased, of Chatham County, N.C., are noti ed to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before April 15th, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment. This 15th day of January 2026. Antony Derek Roberson, Executor Estate of Carol Triplett Robbins c/o Roberson Law Firm 1829 E. Franklin St., Ste. 800C Chapel Hill, NC 27514 Run Dates: 1/15, 22, 29, 2/5

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

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.

PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE

The Chatham County Board of Commissioners will hold a Special Session on Wednesday, February 11, 2026, beginning at 4:00 p.m. The public hearing will be held in the courtroom of the Historic Courthouse in Pittsboro, North Carolina at 9 Hillsboro Street, Pittsboro NC 27312.

Additional information is available at the Chatham County Planning Department o ce. Speakers are requested to sign up at the meeting prior to the hearing.

You may also sign up on the county website prior to the meeting at www. chathamcountync.gov by selecting the heading County Government, then Commissioner Meetings, then Public Comment. The public hearing may be continued to another date at the discretion of the Board of Commissioners. The purpose of the Public Hearing is to receive input, both written and oral, on the issues listed below: Legislative Request:

A legislative public hearing requested by the Chatham County Board of Commissioners to consider a temporary twelve (12) month moratorium on the permitting of data centers, data processing facilities, cryptocurrency mining operations, and any other associated uses within the unincorporated areas of Chatham County, pursuant to N.C.G.S. §160D-107. Substantial changes may be made following the public hearing due to verbal or written comments received or based on the Board’s discussions. Notice to people with special needs: If you have audio or visual impairment, unique accessibility requirements or need language assistance, please call the number listed below prior to the hearing and assistance may be provided. If you have any questions or comments concerning these issues, please call the Chatham County Planning Department at 919-542-8204 or Ms. Jenifer Johnson, Clerk to the Board of County Commissioners, at 919-542-8200, or write to P.O. Box 54, Pittsboro N.C. 27312. Please run in your paper: January 29th and February 5th, 2026

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

25E000680-180 NORTH CAROLINA

CHATHAM COUNTY

The undersigned, Walter D. Jones, having quali ed as Administrator of the Estate of John T. Jones, 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 15, 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 15th day of January 2026.

Walter D. Jones

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

NORTH CAROLINA NOTICE TO CREDITORS CHATHAM COUNTY

HAVING QUALIFIED as Executor of the Estate of Sue Loy late of Chatham County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the estate of said deceased to present them to the undersigned on or before the 16th day of April, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. This the 8th day of January, 2026. Robyn Thomas Walker, Executor Of the Estate of Sue Loy 69 Fox Chapel Lane Pittsboro, North Carolina 27312 MOODY, WILLIAMS, ATWATER & LEE

ATTORNEYS AT LAW BOX 629 SILER CITY, NORTH CAROLINA 27344 (919) 663-2850 4tp

NOTICE

NORTH CAROLINA NOTICE TO CREDITORS

CHATHAM COUNTY HAVING QUALIFIED as Executor of the Estate of William Larry Cockman late of Chatham County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the estate of said deceased to present them to the undersigned on or before the 16th day of April, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery.

This the 6th day of January, 2026. Kimberly Rose Cockman, Executor Of the Estate of William Larry Cockman 1034 Stage Coach Road Siler City, North Carolina 27344 MOODY, WILLIAMS, ATWATER & LEE

ATTORNEYS AT LAW

BOX 629

SILER CITY, NORTH CAROLINA 27344 (919) 663-2850 4tp

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

NORTH CAROLINA

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

CHATHAM COUNTY

HAVING QUALIFIED as Administrator of the Estate of Seth Andrew Laws late of Chatham County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the estate of said deceased to present them to the undersigned on or before the 16th day of April, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery.

This the 8th day of January, 2026. Kelli Denise Laws, Administrator Of the Estate of Seth Andrew Laws 2621 Arthur Teague Road Siler City, North Carolina 27344

MOODY, WILLIAMS, ATWATER & LEE

ATTORNEYS AT LAW BOX 629 SILER CITY, NORTH CAROLINA 27344 (919) 663-2850 4tp

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

Having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Mary Dianitia Hutcheson, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, the Executor does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the estate of said decedent to exhibit them to F. Gordon Battle, Executor of the Estate of Mary Dianitia Hutcheson, c/o Patrick E. Bradshaw, Attorney for the Estate, at Bradshaw Robinson Slawter & Rainer LLP, PO Box 607, Pittsboro, NC 27312, on or before the 15th day of April, 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 Executor. This 8th day of January, 2026. F. Gordon Battle Executor of the Estate of Mary Dianitia Hutcheson Patrick E. Bradshaw Bradshaw Robinson Slawter & Rainer LLP PO Box 607 Pittsboro, NC 27312 (For Publication: 1/8, 1/15, 1/22 and 1/29/2026)

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

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

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

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

PUBLIC NOTICE

NORTH CAROLINA ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COMMISSION INTENT TO ISSUE NPDES STORMWATER DISCHARGE PERMITS

The North Carolina Environmental Management Commission proposes to issue NPDES stormwater discharge permit(s) to the person(s) listed below. Public comment or objection to the draft permits is invited. Written comments regarding the proposed permit will be accepted until 30 days after the publish date of this notice and considered in the nal determination regarding permit issuance and permit provisions. The Director of the NC Division of Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources (DEMLR) may hold a public hearing should there be a signi cant degree of public interest. Please mail comments and/or information requests to DEMLR at 1612 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 276991612. Arauco North America, Inc. [985 Corinth Road, Moncure, NC 27559] has requested renewal of permit NCS000151 for the Arauco Panels USA, LLC – Moncure Plant [985 Corinth Road, Moncure, NC] in Chatham County. This facility discharges stormwater to an unnamed tributary to Shaddox Creek in the Cape Fear River Basin. Interested persons may visit DEMLR at 512 N. Salisbury Street, Raleigh, NC 27604 to review information on le. Additional information on NPDES permits and this notice may be found on our website: https://deq.nc.gov/about/ divisions/energy-mineral-and-landresources/stormwater/stormwaterprogram/stormwater-public-notices, or by contacting Brianna Young at brianna. young@deq.nc.gov or 919-707-3647. J29

NOTICE TO CREDITORS NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY FILE#25 E 00695-180

The undersigned LYNN S. CRAYCROFT, having quali ed on the 30TH Day of DECEMBER 2025 as EXECUTOR of the Estate of ARLINE J. SENKPIEL, 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 15th 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 15th DAY OF JANUARY 2026. Run dates: J15,22,29,F5,p

NOTICE IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION BEFORE THE CLERK NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY FILE No. 24SP000053-180

Gladys C. Burnette, Petitioner, vs. Lillian Cabrera, Dorothy Chapman, Thomas Suitt, Sr., William Gattis, Wilma Gattis Brittain, Howard Lee Clark, Jr. Shondrea Thornton, Wanda Clark Fearrington, Norman V. Clark, George Randy Brown, Julius Allen Clark, Johnette Y. Smith Jones Julina Waden, John Dorsey Caldwell, Jr. Linda Clark, Robert Lee Clark, Jr. Andrea Nicky Clark, Sandi Abbo, Rossa V. Clarke-White, Wanda K. Williams, Zipporah W. Clark Baldwin, Macon David Clark, Jr., Amy M. Clark, Wallace Earl Perry, Lillie Perry Atwater, Clyde Douglas Perry, Hampton M. Perry as Guardian for Delaine Perry Norwood, Susan Gayle Perry, LeAnn Golden, Michael J. Sulick as Trustee of the Sulick Family Rev. Trust, Joy Young, Thomas Perry, Phyllis Cameron, Gloria Perry, Julia Perry, Rhonda Perry, and all unknown or missing heirs of Will Perry a/k/a William E. Perry, Respondent. AMENDED notice of PUBLIC sale

Pursuant to the Order for Public Sale and Appointing Commissioner led on October 30, 2025, in the above captioned proceeding, NOTICE is hereby given that the subject property described below will be put up for public sale on February 16, 2026 at 10:00 a.m.; the sale will be held at the Chatham County Courthouse in the designated area for sale. The subject property is commonly referred to as 0 Manns Chapel Road, Pittsboro, NC 27713, Chatham County PIN #0001902, and more particularly described as follows: Bounded on the North by Lamont Norwood; on the East by W.S. Norwood; on the South by Tom Hobby Estate; on the West by William Hamlet, containing ten (10) acres, more or less, and being a part of the Tom Farrar land.

A cash deposit from the highest bidder equal to ten percent (5%) of the amount of the bid is required at the time of public sale. Said bid shall be reported to the Court and will remain open for the requisite upset bid period as required by law. The Court reserves the right to approve and reject all bids. THE PROPERTY IS SOLD AS-IS, WHERE-IS, WITH ALL FAULTS.

This the 22rd day of January, 2026. Shelby L. Lennon, Attorney for Commissioner Law O ces of Doster & Brown, P.A. 206 Hawkins Avenue Sanford, NC 27330

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY FILE#26E000022-180

The undersigned JEREMY KNOTT AND TRACEY JONES, having quali ed on the 9TH Day of JANUARY 2026 as COADMINISTRATORS of the Estate of CAROLYN ANNE KNOTT aka ANNE PRINCE KNOTT, 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 15th 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 15th DAY OF JANUARY 2026. JEREMY KNOTT, CO-ADMINISTRATOR 430 JOHNSON FARM ROAD NEW HILL, NC 27562 MAIL TO: TRACY JONES, CO-ADMINSTRATOR 791 KODIR WOMBLE DRIVE NEW HILL, NC 27562 Run dates: J15,22,29,F5,p

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

rms and corporations

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#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

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA

CHATHAM COUNTY

FILE#25E000693-180 The undersigned RICKY DAYE, aka RICHARD L. DAYE, having quali ed on the 30TH Day of DECEMBER 2025 as EXECUTOR of the Estate of MARY H. MERTENS, 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 15th 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 15th DAY OF JANUARY 2026. RICKY DAYE aka RICHARD L. DAYE, EXECUTOR 5328 CHIMNEY SWIFT DRIVE WAKE FOREST, NC 27587 Run dates: J15,22,29,F5,p

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY FILE#25E000665-180 The undersigned KEENAN B. JONES, RYAN L. JONES, AND KARA J. OLDHAM, having quali ed on the 19TH Day of DECEMBER 2025 as CO-EXECUTORS of the Estate of RODGER L. JONES, 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 8th 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 8th DAY OF JANUARY 2026. KEENAN B. JONES, CO-EXECUTOR 1473 ZEB BROOKS ROAD BEAR CREEK, NC 27207 KARA J. OLDHAM, CO-EXECTUTOR 1482 ZEB BROOKS ROAD BEAR CREEK, NC 27207 MAIL AFFIDAVIT TO: RYAN L. JONES, CO-EXECUTOR 1642 ZEB BROOKS ROAD BEAR CREEK, NC 27207 Run dates: J8,15,22,29

Rhode Island may ditch Mr. Potato Head license plates after Hasbro’s move to Boston

The plates have raised $60,000 for a local food bank

By Kimberlee Kruesi The Associated Press

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — It’s been no small potatoes that Rhode Islanders have been able to choose the image of Mr. Potato Head as a specialty license plate for decades.

Yet with Hasbro’s decision to move its headquarters from the smallest state in the U.S. to Boston, two lawmakers say it’s time to hash out whether Rhode Island should continue promoting one of the company’s most iconic characters.

Under the proposal introduced earlier this month, Rhode Island’s Division of Motor Vehicles would stop providing Mr. Potato Head as an option for a specialty license plate. Currently the plate costs around $40, with half of that amount going to help support the Rhode Island Community Food Bank.

Rep. Brian Newberry, a Republican from North Smith eld, said in an email that he led the legislation because Hasbro leaving the state will cause “untold economic harm and loss of tax revenue.”

“There is no reason we should be advertising their products on our license plates,” Newberry said. “It may seem trivial compared to many other things but it’s a matter of self-respect.”

Mr. Potato Head license plates were rst issued in 2002 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the beloved toy, which notably has appeared in the “Toy Story ” lms. The plates include a small image of Mr. Potato Head holding a sign of the Rhode Island Community Food Bank and “help end hunger” at the bottom of the plate.

COURTESY RHODE ISLAND’S DIVISION OF MOTOR VEHICLES VIA AP

be moving to Boston by the end of 2026 after operating in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, for nearly 70 years.

Mr. Potato Head has been around since the 1950s, when the original toy didn’t come with a plastic potato. Instead, kids had to supply their own vegetable to poke eyes, a nose or mustache into.

NOTICE OF PRIMARY ELECTION

CHATHAM COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA

The statewide primary election will be held on Tuesday, March 3, 2026.

Voters will be asked to show photo ID when they vote. All voters will be allowed to vote with or without ID. Voters who lack ID can get one for free from their county board of elections. Find out more at ncsbe.gov/voter-id.

“The license plate started at a time when Mr. Potato Head was all over the state and was having a moment,” said Kate MacDonald, spokesperson for the food bank, which has received nearly $60,000 over the years due to the plate. “And while it has tapered o over the years, it’s been a steady way for people to contribute.”

24SP001151-180 NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE

NORTH CAROLINA, CHATHAM COUNTY

An email was sent to Hasbro seeking comment. The toy company announced last year that it would

Notably, Mr. Potato Head was the rst toy advertised on television in 1952. A Mrs. Potato Head was launched in 1953, followed by brother Spud, sister Yam, and various pets and accessories, according to the National Museum of Play.

Hasbro adopted a plastic spud after new government regulations prevented certain toys from having pointed sharp edges, as well as complaints about children playing with rotting vegetables.

EXCEPT AND LESS All of Parcel A, containing 0.227 acre according to a plat entitled “Survey for Kevin L. Corns - Ollie Burnette Heirs”, prepared by Van R Finch, PLS dated March 11, 2010, and recorded in Plat Slide 2010-127, Chatham County Registry, reference to which plat is hereby made for a more particular description. Save and except any releases, deeds of release or prior conveyances of record.

Said property is commonly known as 428 Jeremiah Drive, Chapel Hill, NC 27517-9619.

A Certi ed Check ONLY (no personal checks) of ve percent (5%) of the purchase price, or Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, will be required at the time of the sale.

Following the expiration of the statutory upset bid period, all the remaining amounts are immediately due and owing. THIRD PARTY PURCHASERS MUST PAY THE EXCISE TAX AND THE RECORDING COSTS FOR THEIR DEED.

Said property to be o ered pursuant to this Notice of Sale is being o ered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS WHERE IS.” There are no representations of warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at, or relating to the property being o ered for sale. Substitute Trustee does not have possession of the property and cannot grant access, prior to or after the sale, for purposes of inspection and/or appraisal. This sale is made subject to all prior liens, unpaid taxes, any unpaid land transfer taxes, special assessments, easements, rights of way, deeds of release, and any other encumbrances or exceptions of record. To the best of the knowledge and belief of the undersigned, the current owner(s) of the property is/are Kevin L. Corns, a single person.

An Order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to G.S. 45-21.29 in favor of the

Under and by virtue of a Power of Sale contained in that certain Deed of Trust executed by Kevin L. Corns, Franklin D. Corns and Eleanor Corns to Jerone C. Herring, Trustee(s), which was dated March 30, 2001 and recorded on March 30, 2001 in Book 860 at Page 1014 and rerecorded/modi ed/ corrected on June 3, 2010 in Book 1514, Page 1239 and rerecorded/modi ed/corrected on August 5, 2025 in Book 2480, Page 584, Chatham County Registry, North Carolina. Default having been made of the note thereby secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC, having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust, and the holder of the note evidencing said default having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will o er for sale at the courthouse door of the county courthouse where the property is located, or the usual and customary location at the county courthouse for conducting the sale on February 12, 2026 at 10:00 AM, and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following described property situated in Chatham County, North Carolina, to wit: Lying and being in Williams Township, Chatham County, North Carolina, and being all of Lot #1, containing 40,271 square feet, more or less, as shown on a plat entitled “recombination Survey for Tomi G Constant & Patricia B Learned and Minor Subdivision of a Portion of the hero Stone Bunker Lands”, dated April 22, 1999, prepared by Absolute Land Surveying and Mapping, P.C. and recorded in Plat Slide 99-236, Chatham County Registry, to which plat reference is hereby made for a more accurate description; and All of Parcel B, containing 0.261 acre, according to a plat entitled “Survey for Kevin L. Corns - Ollie Burnette Heirs”, prepared by Van R Finch, PLS dated March 11, 2010, and recorded in Plat Slide 2010-127, Chatham County Registry, reference to which plat is hereby made for a more particular description.

OF FORECLOSURE SALE FILE NUMBER: 24SP001080-180 Under and by virtue of the power of sale contained in a certain Deed of Trust executed by FRANCES M. ALDRIDGE AND T. VICTOR ALDRIDGE, SR., dated June 6, 2003 in the amount of $77,000.00 and recorded in Book 01027, Page 0436 and further modi ed by Agreement recorded on January 25, 2017 in Book 1903, Page 599 of the Chatham County Public Registry by ANTHONY MASELLI OR GENEVIEVE JOHNSON, EITHER OF WHOM MAY ACT, Substitute Trustee, default having been made in the terms of agreement set forth by the loan agreement secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, ANTHONY MASELLI OR GENEVIEVE JOHNSON, EITHER OF WHOM MAY ACT, having been substituted as Successor Trustee in said Deed of Trust by an instrument duly recorded in the O cial Records of Chatham County, North Carolina, in Book 2417, Page 993, and the holder of the note evidencing said indebtedness having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will o er for sale at the courthouse door in Chatham County, North Carolina, or the customary location designated for foreclosure sales, on February 12, 2026 at 11:30 AM, and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following real estate situated in the County of Chatham, North Carolina, and being more particularly described as follows: PARCEL IDENTIFICATION NUMBER(S): 0013972 ADDRESS: 20 FAIRWAY DR SILER CITY, NC 27344 PRESENT RECORD OWNER(S): UNKOWN HEIRS OF FRANCES M. ALDRIDGE AND T. VICTOR ALDRIDGE, SR. THE LAND DESCRIBED HEREIN IS SITUATED IN THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA, COUNTY OF CHATHAM, AND IS DESCRIBED IN DEED BOOK 01027, PAGE 0436, AS FOLLOWS: BEING ALL OF LOT 47 CONTAINING 0.719 ACRES

MORE OR LESS, AS DESIGNATED ON A PLAT

ENTITLED “SURVEY FOR FRANCES M. MORGAN”, DATED JANUARY 5, 1996, PREPARED BY RICHARD L. SILER, RLS, AND RECORDED IN PLAT SLIDE 96-13, CHATHAM COUNTY REGISTRY, TO WHICH PLAT REFERENCE IS HEREBY MADE FOR

GREATER CERTAINTY OF DESCRIPTION.

(1) THE ABOVE DESCRIBED PROPERTY IS SUBJECT TO RESTRICTIVE AND PROTECTIVE COVENANTS OF PINE FOREST, INCORPORATED SUBDIVISION RECORDED IN BOOK 290, PAGE 203, CHATHAM COUNTY REGISTRY. PARCEL ID NUMBER: 0013972 ALSO KNOWN AS: 20 FAIRWAY DR, SILER CITY, NORTH CAROLINA 27344 Trustee may, in the Trustee’s sole discretion, delay the sale for up to one hour as provided in N.C.G.S.

§45-21.23. Should the property be purchased by a third party, that party must pay the excise tax, as well as the court costs of Forty-Five Cents ($0.45) per One

Hundred Dollars ($100.00) required by N.C.G.S.

purchaser and against the party or parties in possession by the clerk of superior court of the county in which the property is sold. Any person who occupies the property pursuant to a rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2007, may, after receiving the notice of sale, terminate the rental agreement by providing written notice of termination to the landlord, to be e ective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 10 days, but no more than 90 days, after the sale date contained in the notice of sale, provided that the mortgagor has not cured the default at the time the tenant provides the notice of termination [NCGS § 45-21.16A(b)(2)]. Upon termination of a rental agreement, the tenant is liable for rent due under the rental agreement prorated to the e ective date of the termination.

Pursuant to NCGS §45-21.25A, this sale may be subject to remote bids placed by bidders not physically present at the place of sale, which may be accepted by the person conducting the sale, or their agent”.

If the trustee is unable to convey title to this property for any reason, the sole remedy of the purchaser is the return of the deposit. Reasons of such inability to convey include, but are not limited to, the ling of a bankruptcy petition prior to the con rmation of the sale and reinstatement of the loan without the knowledge of the trustee. If the validity of the sale is challenged by any party, the trustee, in their sole discretion, if they believe the challenge to have merit, may request the court to declare the sale to be void and return the deposit. The purchaser will have no further remedy.

Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC

Substitute Trustee

Brock & Scott, PLLC Attorneys for Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC 5431 Oleander Drive Suite 200 Wilmington, NC 28403 PHONE: (910) 392-4988

File No.: 24-24851-FC01

§7A-308(a)(1). The property to be o ered pursuant to this notice of sale is being o ered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS, WHERE IS.” Neither the Trustee nor the holder of the note secured by the deed of trust/security agreement, or both, being foreclosed, nor the o cers, directors, attorneys, employees, agents or authorized representative of either the Trustee or the holder of the note make any representation or warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at or relating to the property being o ered for sale, and any and all responsibilities or liabilities arising out of or in any way relating to any such condition are expressly disclaimed. Also, this property is being sold subject to all taxes, special assessments, and prior liens or prior encumbrances of record and any recorded releases. Said property is also being sold subject to applicable Federal and State laws. A deposit of ve percent (5%) of the purchase price, or seven hundred fty dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, is required and must be tendered in the form of certi ed funds at the time of the sale. If the trustee is unable to convey title to this property for any reason, the sole remedy of the purchaser is the return of the deposit. Reasons of such inability to convey include, but are not limited to, the ling of a bankruptcy petition prior to the con rmation of the sale and reinstatement of the loan without the knowledge of the trustee. If the validity of the sale is challenged by any party, the trustee, in its sole discretion, if it believes the challenge

HAVE BEEN DISCHARGED AS A RESULT OF A BANK-RUPTCY PROCEEDING, THIS NOTICE IS GIVEN TO YOU PURSUANT TO STATUTORY REQUIREMENT AND FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES AND IS NOT INTENDED AS AN ATTEMPT TO COLLECT

CHATHAM SPORTS

Chatham Charter sweeps varsity slate in rst meeting against Woods

Samantha Wilson scored 16 in the girls’ 52-31 win

By Asheebo Rojas

Chatham News & Record

Boys: Chatham Charter 48, Woods Charter 39

Chatham Charter snagged 15 o ensive rebounds, including a putback by sophomore Isaiah McSwain to put the Knights up four with two minutes left, on the way to win its fth straight conference game over Woods Charter 48-39 on Jan. 22.

“O ensive rebounding itself is e ort,” Chatham Charter coach Jason Messier said.

“Isaiah does a good job of it as well as (Jalen McSwain) does a good job rebounding as well. They’re not even jumping, but they’re long-armed, and they get in there. They’re not afraid of the physicality of it.”

Coming out of halftime with Woods Charter leading 22 -21, both teams traded baskets until the nal minutes.

Tied at 37 with under four minutes remaining, McSwain gave the Knights the lead with a driving layup. On the posses-

sion of his game-changing putback moments later, Chatham Charter notched two o ensive rebounds before McSwain battled for a miss from sophomore Ethan Cheek and scored.

McSwain credited the coaching sta and how his team prepares in practice for their success on the boards.

“They teach us to not be afraid to go in there, get a rebound, get pushed around, get a putback.” McSwain said.

Senior Kymani Wagner-Jatta put the game further out of reach with a steal and two made free throws after being

fouled on the fast break, putting the Knights ahead 43 -37 with less than two minutes left. Chatham Charter followed that with a 5-2 run to close the game. Cheek nished the night with a team-high 15 points, and sophomore Ryder Murphy logged 10 points. McSwain ended the night with eight points and a team-high seven rebounds.

Cheek got o to a hot start with eight points, including two 3s, in the rst quarter. He pointed to his own con dence and trusting his teammates for his early o ensive success.

The Knights jumped out to a 10-3 lead, but the Wolves stormed back with their own run to tie the game at 13 by the end of the rst quarter.

In a tough night for Woods Charter’s o ense, sophomore Campbell Blackburn and junior Levi Haygood still logged 10 and 11 points, respectively. Chatham Charter’s defense prevailed in the fourth quarter when the Knights held the Wolves to ve points in thenal seven minutes of the game.

The Bears went from 9-14 to 28-3 in one season

By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record

“I

Tracy McIver

By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record

Boys’ basketball

Northwood’s winning streak grew to ve with a 65-43 win over Southwestern Randolph on Jan. 22.

Seaforth senior Campbell Meador scored a team-high 18 points to lead the Hawks over Orange 48-43 on Jan. 20. Against Carrboro, Seaforth senior Declan Lindquist torched the Jaguars with 28 points, including seven made 3s, in a 77- 64 win on Jan. 22.

Chatham Central won three straight games by more than 30 points over South Davidson (75-21), North Moore (87-31) and North Stokes (91-59) last week. Following two straight losses, Woods Charter bounced back with a 46-39 win over River Mill on Friday. Junior Levi Haygood recorded a 12-point, 11-rebound double-double. Jordan-Matthews senior Sean Price hit a game-tying 3, and senior Kamarie Hadley hit the game-winning free throw to edge Southwestern Randolph 42-41 on Jan. 20. The Jets fell to Uwharrie Charter 56-41 on Jan. 22. Conference standings as of Sunday (overall, conference): Central Tar Heel 1A: T1. Southern Wake (13-4, 5-0); T1.

Chatham Charter (13-7, 5-0); 3. Woods Charter (12-5, 5-2); 4. Clover Garden (6-9, 4-2); 5. Ascend Leadership (4-17, 2-5); 6. River Mill (1-16, 1-6); 7. Central Carolina (1-15, 0-7) Greater Triad 1A/2A: 1. South Stokes (16-2, 7-0); 2. Bishop McGuinness (12-5, 4-2); 3. Winston-Salem Prep (8-11, 4-3); T4. Chatham Central (12-6, 3-4); T4. College Prep and Leadership (5-14, 3-4); 6. North Stokes (4-14, 2-4); 7. South Davidson (0-16, 0-6) Four Rivers 3A/4A: 1. Northwood (12-4, 4-0); 2. Uwharrie Charter (12-6, 3-1); T3. Jordan-Matthews (9-9, 2-2); T3. Southwestern Randolph (8-8, 2-2); 5. North Moore (4-9, 0-3); 6. Eastern Randolph (3-13, 0-3) Big Seven 4A/5A: 1. Seaforth (11-5, 6-1); 2. J.F. Webb (8-8, 5-1); T3. Orange (6-12, 5-2); T3. South Granville (9 -8, 5-2); 5. Carrboro (1-15, 1-5); 6. Durham School of the Arts

Declan Lindquist

Seaforth, boys’ basketball

Seaforth senior Declan Lindquist earns athlete of the week honors for the week of Jan. 19.

Lindquist had the hot hand in the Hawks’ 77-64 win over Carrboro on Jan. 22. He shot 7 for 10 from the 3-point line in a 28-point performance, notching a career-high in made 3s.

This season, Lindquist leads the Hawks in scoring with 17.4 points per game. He’s made a huge jump from his rst three years in which he never averaged more than more than 10 points. Lindquist is a Haverford College signee.

Local basketball playo projections

Chatham teams are in good playo standing as of Monday

By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record

WITH LESS THAN a month left in the high school basketball regular season, it’s time to monitor the playo picture.

The North Carolina High School Athletic Association state playo s are set to begin with the rst round on Feb. 24.

This season, playo berths and seeding are solely based on the ratings percentage index, or RPI, standings. Conference champions will no longer be seeded rst. The top 48 teams in classi cations 1A-7A will be split between East or West brackets based on the geographical center of the playo eld.

RPI considers the winning percentage of a team, its opponents and its opponents’ opponents when determining how a team will be seeded. Here’s a look at where local teams stand and their projected landing spots as of Monday.

BOYS

Woods Charter

Class: 1A

RPI: 0.540392 (eighth)

Local teams projected to earn top-10 seeds with less than a month left to play

Projected seed: 3 (West)

Chatham Charter

Class: 1A

RPI: 0.58758 (sixth)

Projected seed: 2 (West)

Chatham Central

Class: 1A

RPI: 0.520432 (11th)

Projected seed: 6 (West)

Northwood

Class: 3A

RPI: 0.629871 (11th)

Projected seed: 7 (East)

Jordan-Matthews

Class: 4A

RPI: 0.524521 (21st)

Projected seed: 12 (East)

Seaforth

Class: 5A

RPI: 0.553337 (25th)

Projected seed: 12 (East)

GIRLS

Woods Charter

Class: 1A

RPI: 0.464909 (25th)

Projected seed: 13 (East)

Chatham Charter

Class: 1A

RPI: 0.434232 (28th)

Projected seed: 13 (West)

Chatham Central

Class: 1A

RPI: 0.418672 (30th)

Projected seed: 14 (West)

Northwood

Class: 3A

RPI: 0.581362 (ninth)

Projected seed: 4 (East)

Jordan-Matthews

Class: 4A RPI: 0.393706 (50th)

Projected seed: Not in playo contention

Seaforth

Class: 5A RPI: 0.626857 (11th)

Projected seed: 7 (East)

Wrestling playo preview for local teams

Brackets will be released Thursday

By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record

THE NORTH CAROLINA High School Athletic Association dual team wrestling playo s are set to begin with the rst and second rounds Saturday.

Brackets will be released Thursday based on the dual team rankings in RankWrestlers across the eight classications. Playo quali ers will be split into East and West brackets.

The individual postseason will also get started soon, with the girls’ regionals beginning on Feb. 6 and the boys’ regionals starting on Feb. 13. Four wrestlers from each regional (two regionals per class) will make the state tournament. The boys will have a combined 1A/2A tournament, while the girls will combine 1A through 4A and hold separate tournaments for the 5A, 6A, 7A and 8A classes.

Here’s a look at where local teams could land and who they may face to start the dual team playo s based on the RankWrestlers rankings as of Sunday. Below is also a look at the local individuals on watch to make the state tournament based on RankWrestlers rankings.

Northwood

Class: 3A

Dual record: 8-8

RankWrestlers ranking: 21

Northwood is in good standing to make the playo s for the 20th time in program history and will likely fall in the East bracket. Ranked 21st in the 3A rankings as of Sunday, the Chargers could land at or near a seven seed should the NCHSAA split the East and West regions at East and West Davidson High Schools. Northwood could face teams like Spring Creek, which is 24-6 in duals, includ-

“We’re always on the point (that) defense travels,” Messier said. “We had guys come o our bench, give us really good minutes, and again, defensive e ort was the key for us.”

With the win, Chatham Charter moved to 13-7 overall and 5-0 in Central Tar Heel Conference play. As of Sunday, the Knights are tied for rst place in the conference with Southern Wake Academy.

Woods Charter fell to 11-5 and 4-2 (third place) in conference play.

ing a win over North Moore, or Heide Trask, which is 7-17, in the rst round. Last year, Northwood fell to Louisburg in the rst round.

Jordan-Matthews

Class: 4A

Dual record: 12-14

RankWrestlers ranking: 37

Jordan-Matthews has teetered on good playo standing this season as it pursues its rst playo appearance in school history. The Jets have put themselves against some tough competition and picked up big wins, such as the victory over North Moore, but it doesn’t seem to be enough. Jordan-Matthews sits outside of the 4A playo picture as its ranked 37th as of Sunday. The Jets lost two of their three duals since the North Moore win on Jan. 15, including their most recent conference loss to Eastern Randolph on Jan. 21.

Girls: Chatham Charter 52, Woods Charter 31

Chatham Charter rode a dominant start and a career night from senior Samantha Wilson to win its third straight game over Woods Charter 52 -31 on Jan. 22.

Woods Charter struggled to get any o ensive success against Chatham Charter’s zone early in the game. The Wolves failed to make a shot in the rst quarter, and multiple turnovers led to a 15-0 Chatham Charter lead by the end of the period.

“We’ve been working on that

Seaforth

Class: 5A

Dual record: 9-5

RankWrestlers ranking: 17

This season, Seaforth wasn’t as dominant as it’s been in years past, but it’s still playo bound for the fth time. The Hawks, ranked 17th in 5A, are looking at or near a seventh seed in the East bracket. That could bring opponents such as Rockingham County (10-8), Southeast Alamance (12-3) and South Brunswick (6-8) for the rst round. For comparison, Southeast Alamance, which would be the Hawks’ rst round opponent as of Sunday, defeated Seaforth’s conference foe Orange twice this season, while the Hawks fell to Orange by three points Jan. 21. Nevertheless, Seaforth still has plenty of experience in grapplers like Jordan Miller, Gabe Rogers, Harrison Compton, Palmer Moade and Luke Ayers who have

3-2 defense,” Chatham Charter coach Je Patterson said. “It helps us get out on the shooters on the wing.”

After a second quarter in which the Wolves settled down and outscored the Knights 11-7 for an 11-point de cit at halftime, Wilson came alive in the third quarter. She scored nine third quarter points on a 66% shooting clip, helping Chatham Charter’s lead grow to 17 before the nal period. Wilson said she was “just looking to score all the time.”

Sophomore Peyton York closed out the win with sev-

been part of runs to the state championship.

Chatham Central Class: 1A

Dual record: 5-7

RankWrestlers ranking: 6

Chatham Central will automatically make the postseason due to 1A only having 15 schools. The Bears, ranked sixth in the class, could be a four seed in the East bracket with a possible matchup with Central Carolina Academy.

Individual state tournament watch: Boys Forest Oates (Chatham Central): ranked as the ninth-best 120-pounder in 1A/2A Aiden Hernandez (Chatham Central): ranked as the 10th-best 132-pounder in 1A/2A Gavin Vanderford (Chatham Central): ranked as the

en fourth quarter points. She nished the night with nine points and six rebounds.

Junior Camille Alston grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds along with her six points. Senior Kynzie Jordan contributed nine points, six rebounds and four steals, and junior Maggie Rippe, who scored eight points, notched eight rebounds.

The Knights improved to 7-13 overall and 4-1 in Central Tar Heel Conference play (second place). As of Sunday, they’ve won their last three games by double digits.

“This game here is going

eighth-best 138-pounder in 1A/2A

Carson Williams (Chatham Central): ranked as the fth-best 157-pounder in 1A/2A

Zach Thelen (Northwood): ranked as the fth-best 106-pounder in 3A East

Connor Willingmyre (Northwood): ranked as the fth-best 120-pounder in 3A East

Aiden Cisneros (Northwood): ranked as the fth-best 138-pounder in 3A East

Jakari Blue (Jordan-Matthews): ranked as the No. 1 190-pounder in 4A East

William Coykendall (Jordan-Matthews): ranked as the sixth-best 126-pounder in 4A East

Jordan Miller (Seaforth): ranked as the No. 1 120-pounder in 5A East

Luke Ayers (Seaforth): ranked as the fth-best 126-pounder in 5A East

Gabe Rogers (Seaforth): ranked as the No. 1 144-pounder in 5A East

Harrison Compton (Seaforth): ranked as the second-best 190-pounder in 5A East

Girls

Alexandra Zumano Garcia (Jordan-Matthews): ranked as the fth-best 120-pounder in 1A-4A

Ella Budlong (Seaforth): ranked as the sixth-best 114-pounder in 5A East

Sarah Tanner (Seaforth): ranked as the fth-best 132-pounder in 5A East

Lilliana Messier (Seaforth): ranked as the fth-best 185-pounder in 5A East

to determine who’s in second place right now,” Patterson said. “We’re all chasing Clover Garden. In order for us to have a shot at them, we had to win this game.”

Said Patterson, “We’ve been playing well. Hopefully we can keep it going. The girls have been working hard. They’ve been buying in. “Early in the season, we had a brutal nonconference schedule, playing against 3A (and) 4A public schools, but it made us stronger, and it made us better.”

Woods Charter fell to 11-6 and 4-2 in conference play.

Penske’s team wins third consecutive Rolex 24 at Daytona in thrilling nish

The iconic organization is starting its 60th year

By Jenna Fryer The Associated Press

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Felipe Nasr’s time in Formula 1 had ended after two underwhelming seasons and the Brazilian was left with little to do as an open-wheel racing driver.

He migrated to sports cars and spent four seasons driving for the team owned by NASCAR chairman Jim France. Then came an opportunity he couldn’t turn down: a clandestine meeting with Roger Penske to discuss developing a new sports car program with the factory backing of Porsche.

They met in a parking lot, and Penske was immediately impressed.

“He showed up in a blue suit, and I said, ‘That’s my kind of guy,’” the 88-year-old team owner said.

Team Penske opened the 60th anniversary of its organization with a win in the rst race of the year — a three-peat, no less — in the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

“The driving he’s done for us, at the end, that was probably

ROUNDUP from page B1

(6 -12, 1-6); 7. Cedar Ridge (2-14, 0-6)

Power Rankings (week of Jan. 19): 1. Northwood; 2. Seaforth; 3. Chatham Central; 4. Jordan-Matthews; 5. Chatham Charter; 6. Woods Charter

Last week’s rankings: 1. Northwood; 2. Seaforth; 3. Woods Charter; 4. Jordan-Matthews; 5. Chatham Central; 6. Chatham Charter

Girls’ basketball

Seaforth won three straight games last week over Cardinal Gibbons (55-45), Orange (43 -39) and Carrboro (63-29). Senior Katie Leonard scored at least 20 points in all three contests.

Northwood senior Shaylah Glover posted 13 points and seven rebounds to lead the Chargers over Southwestern Randolph 52-29 on Jan. 22. The Chargers have not lost in their four games since the start of 2026.

Following back-to-back wins over South Davidson (57-28) and North Moore (55-39), Chatham Central fell to North Stokes 55-32 on Jan. 22.

one of the best drives I’ve ever seen,” Penske said.

The Penske squad became the third team in the 64-year history of the most prestigious endurance race in the United States to win three in a row.

His Porsche Penske Motorsports team joined Chip Ganassi Racing and Wayne Taylor Racing as the only teams to win three straight sports car races at Daytona International Speedway.

It was the fth overall Rolex victory in the event for Porsche and the 46th overall IMSA victory for Penske.

What’s most impressive for Penske is that the team has won three years in a row with three di erent lineups; Nasr, the Penske closer, is the only mainstay on all three entries, and he was openly weeping in Victory Lane.

“It’s a moment I dreamed of — the desire to win is what makes you go beyond and further,” Nasr said. “I love this sport, I love this series, and the 24-hour (race) being decided in the last few minutes is just incredible.”

“The Penske was in a good form from beginning to end,” Nasr said. “The winning feeling — they are special — it’s

hard to pick a favorite one. I have no words to describe it, it’s just a unique feeling.”

Nasr actually has four Rolex titles — except his fourth was not in the top class.

This one didn’t come easy for Nasr, driving in front of the largest Rolex crowd in race history, as he held o his former team, the Cadillac from Action Express Racing, over the nal hour to win the overall title. The Action Express car originally won the pole but was disquali ed in post-qualifying inspection.

That forced the No. 31 Cadillac to start last in class, and the lineup of Jack Aitken, Earl Bamber, Mercedes Formula 1 driver Fred Vesti and NASCAR rising star Connor Zilisch weaved their way to second.

“The driving he’s done for us, at the end, that was probably one of the best drives I’ve ever seen,” Roger Penske on Felipe Nasr

Nasr and Aitken closed the races for their respective teams, and Aitken got several good looks at passing Nasr for the win in the nal 25 minutes, but Nasr closed the door on him at every chance. Nasr cruised to victory in an overhauled No. 7 Porsche 963 with teammates Julien Andlauer and Laurin Heinrich. The Porsche beat the Cadillac by 1 minute, .569 seconds.

Senior Wesley Oliver and sophomore Valentina Podolyanskaya combined for 22 points to help Woods Charter beat River Mill 37-25 Friday. Conference standings as of Sunday (overall, conference) Central Tar Heel 1A: 1. Clover Garden (9-5, 5-0); 2. Chatham Charter (7-13, 4-1); 3. Southern Wake (6-3, 3-1); 4. Woods Charter (12-6, 5-2); 5. River Mill (2-16, 2-5); 6. Ascend Leadership (1-15, 1-5); 7. Central Carolina (1-14, 0-6) Greater Triad 1A/2A: 1. Bishop McGuinness (13-2, 4-0); 2. North Stokes (8-9, 4-1); 3. College Prep and Leadership (16-5, 4-2); 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 (11-5, 4-0); T2. Southwestern Randolph (13 -3, 3-1); T2. Uwharrie Charter (15 -3, 3-1); 4. Jordan-Matthews (4-14, 1-3); 5. Eastern Randolph (1-13, 0-3); 6. North Moore (3 -11, 0-3) Big Seven 4A/5A: 1. South

CHAMPS from page B1

years later. Because not only did that team achieve everything Binkley hoped for — it also brought home the state championship trophy.

Chatham Central honored its 1985-86 girls’ basketball state champions between its varsity basketball games on Jan. 21, continuing the new Legacy of Champions initiative to highlight the school’s past athletic achievements. Members of the team were recognized at half court to cap o a night of reunion and endless reminiscing.

“It was a group of girls that truly enjoyed being together,” Tracy McIver Burnett, a senior on the championship team, the championship game MVP and the 1986 North Carolina High School Athletic Association

The caution was thrown for foggy conditions shortly before 1 a.m. and lasted for a race-record 6 hours, 33 minutes, 25 seconds covering 120 laps. The caution was so long that Penske, who prides himself on staying awake and on the pit stand the entire 24 hours, actually took a midrace break.

The Rolex marks the unofcial start of the motorsports season, and this year’s race featured 60 cars from 12 di erent automakers, 228 drivers from 32 countries and no

Northwood defeated Central Carolina 46-23 but fell to Uwharrie Charter 74-6 on Jan. 21. Seaforth lost to Orange 42-39 on Jan. 21.

Swimming

Results from last week’s conference championship meets: Four Rivers 3A/4A Northwood’s boys nished rst (only ahead of Uwharrie Charter) and its girls nished second. Combined, the Chargers earned the conference title.

WARD-BROWN / CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD

Jordan-Matthews’ Sean Price takes a shot against Uwharrie Charter on Jan. 22.

Granville (11-6, 7-1); T2. Seaforth (12-3, 6-1); T2. Orange (11-6, 6-1); 4. J.F. Webb (6-10, 2-4); 5. Durham School of the Arts (6-13, 2-6); 6. Carrboro (4 -10, 1-5); 7. Cedar Ridge (2-13, 0-6) Power Rankings (week of Jan. 19): 1. Seaforth; 2. Northwood; 3. Chatham Central; 4. Chatham Charter; 5. Woods Charter; 6. Jordan-Matthews Last week’s rankings: 1. Seaforth; 2. Northwood; 3. Woods Charter; 4. Chatham Central; 5. Jordan-Matthews;

Most Outstanding 1A Girls’ Basketball Player, said.

Chatham Central started the year with seven straight wins and won six of those games by double digits. Following their third loss of the season to Union Pines, the Bears didn’t fall short again, nishing the regular season with a 19-3 record (28-3 after the postseason). They also claimed the Central Tar Heel 1A/2A Conference regular season and tournament titles.

“I think it was a combination that you had a group of girls that loved to play the game of basketball, and we also had a group of girls that loved to play together,” Burnett said. “Every girl on the team knew their role. We had girls that could shoot the jumpers. We had girls that could penetrate (and) rebound. We had the hustlers.

We had people that were willing to just put their body out there for the team.”

In the district sectional tournament, Chatham Central won three games by at least 10 points to advance to the Western Regionals in Hickory.

The trip out west garnered attention from the newspaper and immense support from the school while also being the moment when the team knew they could do something special.

After a 60-47 win over Hiwassee Dam, a very good East Wilkes team stood in the way of a chance for glory.

“They had this very tall girl on the team,” Burnett said. “We knew it could be challenging.”

Kimberly Hanner, who shared the responsibility of guarding the “tall girl,” remembered the simple but important message — “Don’t lose her.”

6. Chatham Charter Wrestling BOYS

Chatham Central defeated North Stokes 54-12 on Jan. 21, then the Bears fell to North Carolina Leadership Academy (42-29) and South Davidson (60-17) on Jan. 22. Jordan-Matthews lost to Eastern Randolph 46-34 on Jan. 21.

“We didn’t lose her either,” Carolyn Rives Greene said. “We stuck with her.”

The Bears went on to beat East Wilkes 48-43 in what was their closest game of the playo s, punching their ticket to Elon for the state championship game against Princeton.

Chatham Central captured its second girls’ basketball state championship with a 55 -38 victory.

“We pressed and jumped out on them,” Anissa Thompson Little said. “It was never close.”

Rhonda Scott Batten, daughter of the late Chatham Central baseball coach Ronald Scott, recalled everyone getting to play in the nal game.

“My dad was the athletic director at the time,” Scott said. “So that made it real special.”

Before that season, the team

Individual conference champions: Max Stokes (Northwood, boys 50 free); Genevieve Fouts (Northwood, girls 200 free and 100 free); Kai K Su (Northwood, boys 100 butter y and 100 breaststroke); Tumani Sissoko (Northwood, boys 100 free and 100 backstroke); Maddie Bolejack (Northwood, girls 50 free); Northwood (Tumani Sissoko, Jackson Hall, Carter Reed, Kai K Su, boys 400 free relay and 200 medley relay); Northwood (Genevieve Fouts, Caroline Trageser, Emilia Smith Pumalpa, Vivian Lance, girls 400 free relay); Northwood (Jackson Hall, Beckett Bolin, Sergio Lopez, Max Stokes, boys 200 free relay); Northwood (Genevieve Fouts, Caroline Trageser, Ellie Klier, Maddie Bolejack, girls 200 free relay)

Big Seven 4A/5A Seaforth’s girls nished fourth, and its boys nished second. Combined, Seaforth nished second.

Individual conference champions: Charles Mitler (Seaforth, boys 200 medley and 100 backstroke); Sydney Haire (Seaforth, girls 100 backstroke)

had “no idea” they were capable of a title run, but the proof was in their preparation.

Perhaps the biggest challenge of the season was the high standard Binkley had for his girls, set in place with endless running and harsh truths.

“If you were soft, you wouldn’t be able to play for him,” Little said. “He was not going to spare your feelings. It was going to help you develop as a basketball player.”

Following the Western Regional championship, Binkley was quoted with more candidness about his team — a truth that tells how the Bears de ed all expectations.

“I’ve never seen a group of girls that play as well as a team as these do,” Binkley said. “They don’t appear to be all that talented, but they know what they have to do to win.”

SIDELINE REPORT

NCAA FOOTBALL

College Football

Playo to remain at 12 teams

The College Football Playo will remain at 12 teams after the commissioners of the Southeastern Conference and Big Ten couldn’t come up with a compromise for expansion. The CFP Management Committee announced the 12-team format would stay the same for the 2026-27 season, providing additional time for evaluation and discussion on potential changes in the future. The CFP went from four teams to 12 teams for the 2024 season, and the two most powerful conferences favored further expansion but could not agree on a number.

NBA

Former Heat security o cer gets 3 years in prison for selling stolen memorabilia

Miami A former Miami Heat security o cer has been sentenced to three years in federal prison and ordered to pay nearly $1.9 million in restitution for stealing hundreds of game-worn jerseys and other sports memorabilia while working for the team. Marcos Thomas Perez, 62, was sentenced earlier this month. He pleaded guilty last August to transporting and transferring stolen goods in interstate commerce. The 25-year retired veteran of the Miami Police Department worked for the Heat from 2016 to 2021 and as an NBA security employee from 2022 to 2025.

NFL

Former 49ers

quarterback, MVP Brodie dead at 90

Former MVP and longtime San Francisco 49ers quarterback John Brodie died at the age of 90. Brodie had a stroke in 2000. Brodie played for the 49ers from 1957-73 after breaking every major passing record at Stanford. He later played on the Senior PGA Tour and won the 1991 Security Paci c Senior Classic. Brodie’s 17 seasons still represent a 49ers franchise record, and his 31,548 yards passing rank second to Joe Montana on San Francisco’s career passing list.

NCAA BASKETBALL

Bediako makes immediate impact in return for Alabama

Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Alabama’s Charles Bediako had four dunks, two steals and two blocks in his rst college action in nearly three years against Tennessee. Playing two days after a Tuscaloosa judge temporarily reinstated his college eligibility and blocked the NCAA from retaliating for his return, the 23-year-old 7-footer nished with 13 points and three rebounds in a 79 -73 loss to the Volunteers. Bediako helped the 17th-ranked Crimson Tide score 26 points in the paint while building a 39-36 lead at the break.

Star-studded generation of hockey’s best, brightest players nally going to Olympics

It’s been 12 years since NHL players suited up in the Winter Games

By Stephen Whyno The Associated Press

JACK EICHEL IN the fall of 2021 still did not believe he and the rest of the world’s best hockey players would be going to the Olympics in Beijing a few months later, even after the NHL reached an agreement to do so.

“Don’t hold your breath,” Eichel said at the time.

His skepticism proved to be prescient, as pandemic scheduling issues led the league to withdraw.

Eichel is part of a generation of NHL stars who have never gotten the chance to play in the Olympics. Unlike players of the past — before the league allowed its stars to take part — Eichel, fellow American Auston Matthews, Canadians Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon, and many others of their vintage grew up expecting to go to the Games. The NHL, after all, played in ve consecutive Olympics from 1998 to 2014.

Owners opted against sending players in 2018, and missing out in 2022 became a sad result of circumstances largely out of stakeholders’ control. The 12-team tournament in Milan is a moment many have been waiting their entire careers for.

“It’s awesome,” Eichel said before this season, perhaps willing to exhale. “It’s something that we’ve wanted for a while.”

Construction delays bring more questions

Not so fast, Jack. Out of his control are construction delays at the main

hockey arena, a longstanding worry. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman began raising concerns all the way back in 2023, before the deal was reached to send players in 2026 and ’30.

“We’re being told by everybody not to worry,” Bettman said in 2024, “but I like to worry, so we’ll see.”

Those worries have persisted, and work continues on locker rooms and other facilities at Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena, which is set to host the majority of the men’s games beginning Feb. 11. The women’s tournament begins there Feb. 5.

Test games in January left league and players’ union ofcials pleased about the condition of the ice, though even that has been a matter of consternation after rinks were made more than 3 feet shorter than NHL players are used to. That will change aspects of play but won’t keep the NHL out of the Olympics as long as

everyone involved agrees the surface is safe. What players missed out on

Canada’s Macklin Celebrini, drafted rst in 2024 and at 19 the second-youngest men’s hockey player at the Olympics, has only gotten to dream about the possibility of representing his country on this stage.

“That’s the pinnacle, just the best on best, all the special moments that have happened at the Olympics, the history,” Celebrini said. “There’s just a little bit more energy around it. It’s bigger than yourself.”

In all, 12 NHL players are back at the Olympics after participating in the 2014 Games, the last time the league went and it was a true best-on-best tournament. The group includes Sidney Crosby and Drew Doughty for Canada; Gabriel Landeskog, Erik Karlsson and Oliver Ekman-Larsson for Sweden; Mikael Granlund and

In the rehearsal tent: Here’s what makes Milan Cortina Winter Olympics opening ceremony special

More than 1,200 volunteers are preparing to kick o the games for the world

By Colleen Barry The Associated Press

MILAN — Inside a cavernous tent near Milan’s San Siro stadium, classically trained dancers from La Scala’s academy mimicked Nordic walkers and gure skaters during a rehearsal Saturday for the opening number of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics opening ceremony, which will take place on Feb. 6.

The young dancers are among some 1,200 volunteers who have been rehearsing since November in the tent large enough to mark the actual stage while Italian Serie A soccer wrapped up its nal soccer matches before turning the iconic stadium into an Olympic venue.

“The preparation of the Olympic ceremony is a very complicated journey but also an exhilarating journey because you get to meet all these volunteers, dance classes, normal people,’’ opening ceremony creative director Marco Balich said.

Volunteers include Balich’s butcher, the head of his o ce and an 88-year-old widow.

“And all of them join in to create something for the nation, for the joy of being part of a huge event like the Olympics,’’ said Balich, the producer of a record 16 Olympic and Paralympic ceremonies including the 2006 Turin opening ceremony.

Over the next two weeks, rehearsals will amp up to some nine hours a day — all in pursuit of Olympic emotion for what is billed as the most

viewed moment of the Games.

Some 60,000 people are expected to attend the ceremony live in San Siro, including a U.S. delegation led by Vice President JD Vance, while millions around the world will watch on o cial broadcasters.

The theme of this year’s opening ceremony is “Harmony,’’ an especially potent message as the world order is shaken and populations from Ukraine to Gaza to Iran are exposed to violence.

The concept of an Olympic Truce, originating in ancient Greece and revived by Olympic o cials in the 1990s, is even more urgent this year, Balich said. The truce aims to promote peace and dialogue through sport by ceasing hostilities for a week before the Olympics and a week after the Paralympics, which close March 15. Getting belligerents to cooperate is another matter.

“In this moment, where forces and bullies are predominant, I think it’s very important for all of us to embrace the values that the Olympics

“The preparation of the Olympic ceremony is a very complicated journey but also an exhilarating.”

Marco Balich, opening ceremony creative director

represents, which is to compete respectfully and peacefully between all the countries and nations, summarized in the title ‘Harmony,’ ’’ Balich said. Balich’s ceremony will highlight Italian excellence and creativity, including a nod to Milan’s role as a fashion capital, and eye-openers he won’t reveal to preserve the surprise.

Some moments of the opening ceremony have been announced: U.S. pop star Mariah Carey, crossover tenor Andrea Bocelli, mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli, Italian singer Laura Pausini and concert pianist Lang Lang will perform. Others are prescribed by

Maatta for Finland; Radko Gudas and Ondrej Palat for Czechia. There are no Americans on that list.

“It’s a cherry on top of athletic life,” Gudas said. “Twelve years ago when we went to Sochi was such a great experience that I wish I can do that again. I was that much more sad that we couldn’t go the last two times, so for me, I think it’s a great feeling to be able to do that.”

American defenseman Zach Werenski at 28 is old enough to remember Crosby’s goal in 2010, and four years later he was watching Oshie’s heroics with other members of the U.S. National Team Development Program. Four of his teammates from back then are also set to go to Milan — Matthews, Matthew Tkachuk, Charlie McAvoy and Noah Hani n — to nally have their Olympic moment.

“The signi cance of that, the build-up, we’ve waited a long time for this,” McAvoy said, “so it’s going to be incredible.”

Olympic protocol. They include the unveiling of the Olympic rings, the parade of athletes and, in the nal moment, the lighting of the Olympic cauldron.

This year there will be two cauldrons, inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s geometric studies: one in Milan, at the Arco della Pace some 2½ miles from San Siro, and the other in Cortina, some ve hours and 250 miles away.

Director of ceremonies Maria Laura Iascone promised some “Olympic magic’ to transfer the ame over the nal legs, given the extraordinary distances involved.

As the dual cauldron lighting illustrates, the 2026 Games are the most spread out in Olympic history. So that athletes even in far- ung venues near the Swiss and Austrian borders can participate, the Parade of Athletes will be beamed in from three other venues, including Cortina.

“This event will bring a lot of this magic and images,” Iascone said. “We keep a balance between the protocol moments that will be, let’s say, serious, very precise, and also moments where emotion will be brought through the participation of key roles and people.”

The rehearsal tent holds not only the mock stage but also a huge wardrobe room with 1,400 costumes, some in bright, broadcast-friendly Technicolor tones, and a corner for seamstresses and tailors to makenal adjustments.

A sign on the door tells the performers who enter: “Your Happy Moment Starts Now! Welcome!”

Volunteer Fostis Siadimas didn’t need to be told. This is his second opening ceremony as a volunteer performer, after participating in the 2004 Summer Olympics in his native Athens as a 20-year-old. An amateur dancer now living in Milan, he eagerly answered the casting call.

‘’The last few moments before entering the stadium, it’s an experience, one of the best of my life, ever,’’ Siadimas said.

Brooklyn Beckham accuses David, Victoria of putting branding before family

The eldest of four children claimed his famous mother sabotaged his wedding

By Andrew Dalton The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — A Beckham family falling-out has spilled further into public view in a series of social media posts from Brooklyn Beckham alleging that his parents David and Victoria Beckham have tried to sabotage his marriage and have always prioritized public branding over their family relationships.

“For my entire life, my parents have controlled narratives in the press about our family. The performative social media posts, family events and inauthentic relationships have been a xture of the life I was born into,” Brooklyn Beckham wrote in several pages of text posted via Instagram stories.

At 26, he’s the eldest of the four children of the retired English soccer superstar and former Spice Girl-turned-fashion designer and has worked as a model and photographer, even aspiring to be a chef. He married American actor Nicola Peltz, daughter of activist investor Nelson Peltz, in 2022.

“Recently, I have seen with my own eyes the lengths that they’ll go through to place countless lies in the media, mostly at the expense of innocent people, to preserve their own facade. But I believe the

“I do not want to reconcile with my family. I’m not being controlled, I’m standing up for myself for the rst time in my life.” Brooklyn Beckham

truth always comes out,” the posts said.

The posts make public a barely veiled feud that had been brewing in anonymously sourced stories in tabloids for months. Younger brother Cruz Beckham said on Instagram in December that Brooklyn had blocked family members on social media.

“I do not want to reconcile with my family.” Brooklyn Beckham wrote. “I’m not being controlled, I’m standing up for myself for the rst time in my life.”

Unlike his three younger siblings, Brooklyn Beckham did not appear in his mother’s recent Net ix docuseries, “Victoria Beckham,” and did not show up at the October premiere as he and Peltz had for the London premiere in 2023 of the ones centered on his father, called just “Beckham.”

Many of the grievances described in the Instagram stories stem from the Peltz-Beckham wedding in Florida. He accused his mother of bailing at the last minute on designing Peltz’s wedding dress and said she “hijacked” the rst dance he was supposed to have with his wife to music performed by Marc Anthony.

“She danced very inappropriately on me in front of everyone,” Brooklyn Beckham wrote. “I’ve never felt more uncomfortable or humiliated in my entire life.” Without giving speci cs, he also wrote that before the wedding his parents “repeatedly pressured and attempted to bribe me into signing away the rights to my name.”

David and Victoria Beckham did not have an immediate public response to the posts, and messages to representatives from The Associated Press were not immediately answered.

In an appearance last Tuesday on CNBC, David Beckham, who is at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, did not directly address his son’s statements but said that children make mistakes on social media and should be allowed to.

“That’s what I try to teach my kids. But you know, you have to sometimes let them make those mistakes as well,” he said.

Married since 1999, David and Victoria Beckham have three other children: Romeo, 23; Cruz, 20; and 14-year-old Harper.

this week in history

Apollo 14 blasts o , black students sit at Greensboro Woolworths, Patty Hearst kidnapped

JAN. 29

1891: Lili‘uokalani was sworn in as the rst and only queen of the Hawaiian Kingdom following the death of her brother, King Kalākaua.

1936: The rst ve inductees of baseball’s Hall of Fame — Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson — were elected in Cooperstown, New York.

2002: In his rst State of the Union address, President George W. Bush said terrorists were still threatening America and warned of “an axis of evil” consisting of North Korea, Iran and Iraq.

JAN. 30

1649: England’s King Charles I was executed for high treason.

1933: Adolf Hitler was named chancellor of Germany.

1948: Indian political and spiritual leader Mohandas K. Gandhi, 78, was shot and killed in New Delhi by a Hindu extremist.

at Beaufort, South Carolina.

1958: The United States entered the Space Age with its rst successful launch of a satellite, Explorer 1, from Cape Canaveral.

1971: Astronauts Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell and Stuart Roosa blasted o aboard Apollo 14 on a mission to the moon.

FEB. 1

1865: Abolitionist John S. Rock became the rst black lawyer admitted to the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court.

1960: Four black college students began a sit-in at a Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro after being refused service.

2002: Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl was killed by Islamist militants in Pakistan nine days after he was kidnapped.

FEB. 2

JAN. 31

1992: Dissident playwright Václav Havel became the rst president of the independent Czech Republic after the split of Czechoslovakia.

FEB. 3

1913: The 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, authorizing a federal income tax, was rati ed.

1917: The United States broke o diplomatic relations with Germany. That same day, the American cargo ship SS Housatonic was sunk by a German U-boat o Britain after the crew was allowed into lifeboats.

1959: In what became known as “the day the music died,” rock ’n’ roll stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson died in a small plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa.

FEB. 4

Stars, public say nal goodbye to fashion icon Valentino at Rome funeral

The Italian designer died Jan. 19 at age 93

By Giada Zampano

Associated Press

The

ROME — Global fashion celebrities joined the public last Friday morning to say goodbye to iconic designer Valentino at his funeral service in Rome at the central Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri.

After a two-day public viewing last Wednesday and Thursday at the Valentino foundation’s headquarters in the Italian capital, the funeral marked the nal tribute to the internationally acclaimed designer.

Top fashion names, including designers Tom Ford and Donatella Versace, along with longtime Vogue magazine powerhouse Anna Wintour, attended the funeral service, as did Hollywood stars like Anne Hathaway.

Fans and admirers gathered outside the church, some dressed in red or carrying red

1968: The Tet O ensive began during the Vietnam War as Communist forces launched surprise attacks against South Vietnamese towns and cities.

“I want to thank Valentino

for

teaching me beauty.”

Giancarlo Giammetti

accessories in a last homage to the designer’s signature shade of color.

Valentino Garavani, who died aged 93 at his Rome residence last Monday, was adored by generations of royals, rst ladies and celebrities such as Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Jordan’s Queen Rania and Julia Roberts who swore the designer always made them look and feel their best.

Hundreds of people had already paid their respects to the “last emperor” of Italian fashion during the public viewing. Valentino always maintained his atelier in Rome, while he mostly unveiled his collections in Paris.

His sumptuous gowns have graced countless Academy Awards, notably in 2001 when Roberts wore a vintage black and white column to accept her

1863: During the Civil War, the First South Carolina Volunteers — an all-black Union regiment composed of many who escaped from slavery — was mustered into federal service

1536: Present-day Buenos Aires, Argentina, was founded by Spanish explorer Pedro de Mendoza.

1653: New Amsterdam — now New York City — was incorporated as a city.

1848: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed, o cially ending the Mexican American War.

1789: Electors unanimously chose George Washington to be the rst president of the United States.

1945: President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin began a wartime conference at Yalta.

best actress statue. Cate Blanchett also wore a one-shouldered Valentino in butter-yellow silk when she won the Oscar for best supporting actress in 2005.

“I want to thank Valentino for

teaching me beauty,” said longtime personal and professional partner Giancarlo Giammetti in his remembrance speech, his voice breaking with emotion. “It was a beauty that fol-

lowed us throughout our lives. We met when we were kids, we dreamed of the same things, and we achieved many of them. Our journey will always continue,” he added.

famous birthdays this week

Oprah Winfrey hits 72, Nolan Ryan turns 79, Graham Nash reaches 84, Morgan Fairchild turns 76

The Associated Press

THESE CELEBRITIES have birthdays this week.

JAN. 29

Feminist author Germaine Greer is 87. Actor Katharine Ross is 86. Actor Tom Selleck is 81. R&B singer Charlie Wilson is 73. TV host and media mogul Oprah Winfrey is 72. Olympic diving gold medalist Greg Louganis is 66.

JAN. 30

Actor Vanessa Redgrave is 89. Musician Phil Collins is 75.

Actor Charles S. Dutton (“Roc”) is 75. Golf Hall of Famer Curtis Strange is 71. Comedian Brett Butler (“Grace Under Fire”) is 68. Singer Jody Watley is 67. U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson is 54.

JAN. 31

Composer Philip Glass is 89. Blues singer-musician Charlie Musselwhite is 82. Actor Glynn Turman is 79. Baseball Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan is 79. Actor Jonathan Banks is 79. Rock singer John Lydon is 70. Actor Anthony LaPaglia is 67. Actor Minnie Driver is 56.

FEB. 1

Actor Garrett Morris is 89. Political commentator Fred Barnes is 83. Princess Stephanie of Monaco is 61. Comedian-actor Pauly Shore is 58. Actor Michael C. Hall is 55. Rapper Big Boi (Outkast) is 51. Singer-songwriter Jason Isbell is 47.

FEB. 2

Rock singer-guitarist Graham Nash is 84. Television executive Barry Diller is 84. TV chef Ina Garten is 78. Actor Brent Spiner is 77. Football Hall of Famer Dave Casper is 74. Model Christie Brinkley is 72.

FEB. 3

Football Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton is 86. Actor Blythe Danner is 83. Football Hall of

Famer Bob Griese is 81. Singer-guitarist Dave Davies (The Kinks) is 79. Actor Morgan Fairchild is 76. Actor Nathan Lane is 70. FEB. 4

Former Argentine President Isabel Peron is 95. Rock singer Alice Cooper is 78. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is 73. Football Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor is 67. Country singer Clint Black is 64. Boxing Hall of Famer Oscar De La Hoya is 53.

arrive for the world premiere of “Bridgerton” Season 4 on Jan. 14 in Paris. Part 1 lands on Net ix on Thursday.

‘Bridgerton,’

Chevy Chase, Rose Byrne,

The 68th annual Grammy Awards air Sunday on CBS

The Associated Press

KENDRICK LAMAR and Bad Bunny live at the Grammy Awards and Rose Byrne’s Oscar-nominated performance in “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” 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: Highguard is the latest entry in the ever-growing eld of multiplayer shooters, Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista star in “The Wrecking Crew,” and the third season of “Shrinking” checks in on Apple TV.

MOVIES TO STREAM

If you haven’t seen Rose Byrne’s Oscar-nominated performance in “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,” Mary Bronstein’s psychological drama arrives Friday on HBO Max. Byrne plays the stressed-out mother of a young, unseen child who’s struggling with a mystery illness. In her review, the AP’s Jocelyn Noveck wrote that the lm “has given Byrne, an actor of e ortless appeal in lighter lms, a chance to display versatility and grit in surely the toughest dramatic role of her career.”

Momoa and Bautista star in “The Wrecking Crew” (Prime Video) as estranged half-brothers who reunite after their father’s mysterious death. The action comedy is directed by Angel Manuel Soto, who made 2023’s “Blue Beetle.”

‘The

Wrecking Crew’

“If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” has given Byrne, an actor of e ortless appeal in lighter lms, a chance to display versatility and grit in surely the toughest dramatic role of her career.”

Jocelyn Noveck, AP Film Writer

which happens to be her high school. She’s there with other ghosts who are also former students that help Maddie to investigate the circumstances surrounding her death.

Kaley Cuoco and Sam Clain star in a new mystery for MGM+ called “Vanished.” Cuoco plays a woman whose boyfriend (Cla in) goes missing on a train to France. The four-part limited-series premieres Sunday.

VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY

In “I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not,” the lmmaker Marina Zenovich pro les the irascible “Saturday Night Live” and “Fletch” star. For the lm (HBO Max, Saturday), Zenovich interviews the complicated and sometimes combative comedian about his career, with glimpses of his daily life. Perspectives are o ered by Dan Aykroyd, Beverly D’Angelo, Goldie Hawn, Lorne Michaels, Ryan Reynolds and Martin Short.

MUSIC TO STREAM

’Tis the season — the 2026 Grammy Awards season, that is. On Sunday, the 68th annual award show will air live on CBS. Watch as Lamar, Bad Bunny, Lady Gaga and many more go head to head in the top prize categories. Plus, the show doubles as a kind of be -

Ira Sachs’ “Peter Hujar’s Day,” the lead nominee to the Independent Film Spirit Awards, is a marvel of historical yet intimate dramatic resurrection. The lm (Criterion Channel) is based on a transcript from a 1974 interview by the writer Linda Rosenkrantz (Rebecca Hall) and her friend, the photographer Peter Hujar (Ben Whishaw). Rosenkrantz had planned a book about how artists spend their time. But the book never happened, and Sachs, after coming across the transcripts, dramatizes their dialogue.

spoke live concert viewing experience — and who doesn’t like that? The 2026 Grammys can also be watched through live TV streaming services that include CBS in their lineup, like Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV and FuboTV. Paramount+ premium plan subscribers will be able to stream the Grammys live; Paramount+ essential subscribers will have on demand access the next day. California power pop-punk bands Joyce Manor return with their seventh full-length album Friday, the all-too-appropriately titled “I Used to Go to This Bar.” Spoken like a gently aging band whose penchant for hooks knows no bounds.

SERIES TO STREAM

Benedict, the second eldest Bridgerton, takes center stage in season 4 of the Net ix romance series, It’s about the love stories of a large family in London during the Regency Era.

Season 4 has “Cinderella” vibes with Luke Thompson’s Benedict looking for an enchanting “woman in silver” who is actually Sophie, a housemaid (Yerin Ha) working for his family. Part 1 drops Thursday with the remaining episodes arriving in February.

The third season of “Shrinking” is now streaming on Apple TV. The series follows Jason Segel as a therapist named Jimmy, a widowed dad to a teenage girl, who shares a practice with characters played by Harrison Ford and Jessica Williams. Between Jimmy’s colleagues, neighbors and friends, he forms a new kind of family. Season 3 features guest stars Michael J. Fox, Je Daniels, Sherry Cola, Isabella Gomez and Candice Bergen. School’s back in session.

“School Spirits” starring Peyton List, that is. The Paramount+ series has returned for a third season. List stars as a teen trapped in the afterlife,

Highguard is the latest entry in the ever-growing eld of multiplayer shooters, o ering yet another way to get online with your friends and blow stu up. In this case, you are Wardens — “arcane gunslingers sent to battle for control of a mythical continent.” Judging by the trailer, you’ll be able to ride mythical beasts and wield magical powers along with the typical arsenal of weapons. It comes from a new studio called Wildlight Entertainment, whose founders have worked on hits like Call of Duty, Apex Legends and Titanfall. And it’s free-to -play, so you might as well give it a shot on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S on PC. Bandai Namco’s Code Vein, from 2019, tried to answer the question: What if you took the demanding combat of Dark Souls and added vampires? The bloodsuckers — known here as Revenants — are back in Code Vein II, but a mysterious force is turning them into mindless monstrosities. Your job is to travel back in time and prevent the damage before all the Revenants get stupid. The good news is that you can still drain blood from your enemies and use it to upgrade your own ghting skills. Quench your thirst Friday, Jan. 30, on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S or PC.

Duplin Journal

Free income tax assistance available

Kenansville

Duplin County Senior Services volunteers are preparing to assist eligible seniors with income tax ling through the Tax Aide program. Information packets are available. For details, call the Senior Center at 910-296-2140.

Woman arrested following joint narcotics investigation

Duplin County A joint investigation by the Duplin County Sheri ’s O ce and the Lenoir County Sheri ’s O ce resulted in the arrest of a 20-year-old Duplin County woman on alleged narcotics-related charges. Kaylaan Record was located by the DICE Unit and taken into custody. Additional charges were led after suspected narcotics were located. She was placed in jail under a $20,000 secured bond.

Volunteers needed for long-term care committees

Duplin County The Community Advisory Committees for Long-Term Care Facilities are seeking volunteers for nursing home and adult care home oversight. Appointments are for one-year terms. Contact Regional Ombudsman Angelia Pridgen at 252- 638-3185 ext. 3007 or call 910-296-2140.

Voter registration deadline Feb. 6

Duplin County Voters must register by 5 p.m. on Feb. 6 to vote in the 2026 primary election. Party changes are not allowed after the deadline. The primary is March 3; the general election is Nov. 3.

Alzheimer’s Caregiver Support Group

Kenansville

Duplin County Senior Services will host an Alzheimer’s caregiver support group on Feb. 3 from 3:30 - 4:30 p.m. The group provides support and resources for caregivers. Call 910-296-2140 for details.

Volunteer award nominations wanted

Duplin County Nominations for the 2026 Governor’s Volunteer Service Award are being accepted through Feb. 13. Up to 10 honorees will be selected. Call Duplin County Senior Services at 910 -296 -2140 for information.

$2.00

Leaders say expanded space will improve operations and support a growing community

By Mark Grady For Duplin Journal

WALLACE — The town of Wallace moved its o ces into the new town hall at 120 Municipal Drive on Jan. 20, celebrating the event with a ribbon cutting. The building is located behind the shopping center that houses the N.C. DMV License Plate Agency o of U.S. Highway 117. After cutting the ribbon, Mayor Jason Wells told the

“This is part of a much bigger project.”

Jason Wells, Wallace mayor

crowd the new town hall was just part of a series of changes in the town.

“This is part of a much bigger project,” Wells said. “We’ve

$3K local match unlocks $525K for Sun Valley

Magnolia board greenlights a grant match for a major mobile home park sewer improvement

By Ena Sellers Duplin Journal

THE MAGNOLIA TOWN Board convened for its regular meeting Jan. 13. Mayor Dawn

Ward explained that the originally scheduled 2024–25 audit presentation was postponed after auditors identi ed late adjustments that needed to be corrected. The auditors requested

additional time to revise the audit, prompting the board to remove the item from the agenda and replace it with a time-sensitive grant matter. The primary item of new business centered on a request for additional Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding for the Sun Valley Mo-

AirPark project draws frustration over drainage, paving issues

The Duplin County Economic Development Board pressed the project engineer on costs and construction concerns during a special meeting

By Mark Grady For Duplin Journal

KENANSVILLE — With sev-

eral last-minute issues plaguing the AirPark development project, which has already taken much longer than predicted and been hit with unprojected costs, the Duplin County Economic Development Board held a special meeting Jan. 23 to address some of the issues.

The last item on the agenda was the one that created the most frustration with the board.

It involves a ditch along Airport Road that is insu cient to handle the needs for drainage along the road and does not meet the

requirements for the ditch bank to be easily maintained. At the last board meeting two weeks ago, the board agreed the cost of adding enclosed drainpipes in lieu of a ditch should be the responsibility of the project’s primary engineer on the project, Parrish & Partners. Board members basically said the company should have been more diligent in determining what was needed to handle the drainage issues along the stretch of Airport Road that will be in front of a new N.C. Forest Service regional headquarters currently under construction at the AirPark.

“The 20-year lifespan of this asphalt won’t be reached if we don’t address it.”

Matthew Ferguson, Parrish & Partners project engineer

“$3,000 for an additional $525,000 if we want this project to go through, I think, is a good use of the funds.”

Charles Banks, town manager

bile Home Park sewer improvement project. Town Manager Charles Banks explained that although the town had previously

O ce Phone:

To place a

We stand corrected

To report an error or a suspected error, please email: corrections@ nsjonline.com with “Correction request” in the subject line.

2 arrested in Mount Olive vehicle theft investigation

Duplin Journal sta

THE DUPLIN COUNTY

Sheri ’s O ce reported the arrest of two Mount Olive residents in connection with a stolen vehicle investigation. According to authorities, the vehicle was reported stolen on Jan. 21 and located the following day on Tram Road by a DCSO patrol deputy.

Steven Daniel Hanchey, 34, and Jerry Mowery, 19, were allegedly involved in the theft and charged with felony larceny of a motor vehicle and felony possession of a stolen motor vehicle. Mowery also was charged with simple possession of a Schedule VI controlled substance and possession of marijuana paraphernalia. The investigation involved the DCSO Uniform Patrol Division and Criminal Investigation Division.

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

AIRPARK from page A1

Duplin County Economic Development Commission Director Scotty Summerlin told the board he and Deputy County Manager Carrie Shields had a lengthy conversation with Parrish & Partners President Je Kirby, which resulted in Kirby responding with an email. Summerlin read the email to the board.

The last portion of Kirby’s email read, “I do not feel Parrish & Partners should be responsible for any aspect to changes to the project to include an enclosed drainage system along Airport Road. We stand ready to discuss with county leadership at a mutually convenient time.”

Kirby’s response did not sit well with the board. Shields addressed Matthew Ferguson, Parrish & Partners project engineer, who participated in the meeting remotely.

“Matthew, I’m going to ask you if you will go back to Je and ask him to reconsider his stance,” Shields said. “The county has o ered to meet in the middle on expense to x this problem. I’m asking you to do that with the understanding we feel very strongly against Je ’s response. We don’t want to take additional steps, so I ask you to do that one more time.”

Economic Development Board Chairman Charley Farrior also addressed Ferguson,

saying, “We’re in support of Carrie’s comments, and we’ll look forward to hearing Je ’s response.”

“Yes, I can have that conversation with Je ,” Ferguson responded.

Another last-minute issue the board addressed in the meeting involved three subpar paved areas in the AirPark, as well as road striping applied on those roads. One of the areas with asphalt problems after paving the road is located near the intersection of AirPark Drive and West Best Road. Ferguson referred to that location as the one with the worst pavement issue due to asphalt segregation.

“Given the location of where it is, there is going to be a lot of tra c going in and out of the AirPark o of West Best Road, so that would be the one of most concern,” Ferguson told the board.

Another area showing asphalt segregation is in a cul-de-sac near a pump station in the AirPark. Ferguson said that area will only be used by maintenance tra c, making it less of an issue.

Board members looked at a photo of one other stretch of recent paving that revealed a damaged line of pavement about 35 feet in length not far from the new shell building being constructed. Ferguson said he doesn’t think that area is asphalt segregation.

“It looks like something got caught on the nishing roller and didn’t nish rolling correctly,” he said.

On how to x the paving issues, Ferguson said, “The 20-year lifespan of this asphalt won’t be reached if we don’t address it in some way, shape or form.”

His recommendation was to patch the problem areas of asphalt, noting that the patched areas would be noticeable. Most board members expressed dissatisfaction with that approach, recommending that some portions of asphalt be completely removed and redone, which would also repair mistakes made by the subcontractor applying tra c markings on the roadway.

Ferguson said that Chatham Civil Engineering, the contractor responsible for the paving and pavement markings, is planning to meet with Barnhill Contracting Company, the subcontractor who did the actual paving in the AirPark, to discuss solutions. The board agreed to wait to hear the results of that discussion before considering how to proceed with xing the issues. In other business, the board agreed to accept a bid from Rite Lite Signs of Concord to construct new signage at the entrance to the AirPark along Airport Road. Rite Lite Signs was the lowest bidder at $88,284.

Share with your community! Send your birth, death, marriage, graduation and other announcements to community@ duplinjournal.com Weekly deadline is Monday at noon.

Here’s a

Feb. 7

Duplin County Historical Society meeting

Noon

The Duplin County Historical Society meeting will be at Wesley Chapel UMC Fellowship Hall. Members and the public are invited to discuss the status of the organization and its future. Please note that the Duplin County Historical Society will not meet at the Rose Hill Restaurant. Annual membership fees are due and can be paid at the meeting.

1127 North N.C. 11-903 Highway, Kenansville Annual sheepshearing 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Visitors can watch sheepshearing demonstrations, learn about wool grading and ber arts, and enjoy hands-on activities for all ages. Free admission. 141 Old Fountain Road, Richlands

Feb.

8

Pitch It Duplin!

Aspiring entrepreneurs are invited to compete in Pitch It Duplin!, a business pitch competition hosted by the JSCC Small Business Center in partnership with Marine Federal Credit Union and the Kenansville Area Chamber of Commerce. Participants will pitch their Duplin County business ideas for a chance to win: $3,000 for rst place, $2,000 for second and $1,000 for third. For details, call 910-659-6008.

JSCC Small Business Center 133 James Sprunt Drive Room 109, Kenansville

Feb. 10

Duplin County 2026 Soup-er Bowl 5:30–7:30 p.m.

The Duplin County Cooperative Extension will host the 2026 Soup-er Bowl cooking workshop. Participants will learn how to prepare healthy soups while exploring nutrition, food safety and culinary techniques. Teams will cook, taste and vote to crown the winning soup. Cost is $20. N.C. Cooperative Extension Duplin County Center, Kenansville

Community rallies to help Partnership for Children

The executive director said the December re destroyed all the materials used to serve Duplin County families

By Mark Grady For Duplin Journal

KENANSVILLE — One of the victims of a re that destroyed a four-unit o ce building on Limestone Road in Kenansville on Dec. 29 was the Duplin County Partnership for Children. Christy Jones, executive director of the nonpro t agency founded in 1994, told Duplin Journal the re had destroyed all the organization’s belongings.

“We lost everything,” Jones said. “Our diaper pantry, we lost all those supplies. Our car seats, we lost all of those. All of our outreach materials that we use for events, all that’s gone, and we lost everything else; computers, supplies, materials. There is literally nothing that was salvageable in the building.”

Jones said the community is stepping in to help.

“The community is doing lots of diaper and wipes drives to help

“The community is doing

Christy Jones, Duplin County Partnership for Children executive director

us get that program back up and running,” she said.” There’re also drives for gently used children’s books, new or used. We use those because we have the Little Free Libraries that we sponsor in the county. We’ve had quite a few monetary donations coming in. We’ve also had donations of ofce supplies.” Of all the needs, the most pressing one is monetary donations, according to Jones.

“The reason for that is we cannot accept car seats from the public because they have to be new. We have to have the money to purchase those with. Every day we’re realizing that we go to do something and we don’t have it, so we need to have the funds to be able to purchase those things when we come across items that are missing that we need.”

Donations to Duplin County Partnership for Children can be made on the organization’s Facebook page. In addition, in-person donations can be made at their temporary o ces located in the Duplin County Department of Social Services at 423 N Main St., Kenansville.

The nonpro t’s phone system was also destroyed in the re, meaning the main telephone number is not in service. A temporary phone number has been created at 910-290-2057.

got the re department going up and when everybody is cleared out of the old town hall, we’ve got to nd some money to make (the police department’s) dreams come true.”

The old town hall will be renovated to become the Wallace Police Department headquarters.

Wells added the extra space is needed in the rapidly growing community.

“As you grow as a town and a community, we’ve got to grow as well and make sure we have space to operate.”

In an interview with Duplin Journal after the ribbon- cutting ceremony, Wallace Town Manager Rob Taylor echoed the mayor’s remarks about needing space to operate the town.

“We were pretty cramped where we were with the sta that we have,” Taylor said.

“This gives everyone more elbow room to get their jobs done. Now everyone’s in one place. Before, we were split on both sides of the hall with

utility on one side, myself and town clerk on the other side. Planning is all in one building now, instead of having to send people over to an auxiliary building.”

How the building that is now the new town hall came to ll the new role is an interesting journey.

“Years ago, this building was a medical building. It was built in coordination with Duplin’s General (hospital),” Taylor said. “Over time, they didn’t need it anymore, so the town was actually leasing this building from Vidant at the time as the parks and rec o ces. The land was donated to the town, and we added the land to Clement Park.”

When news got out about the town’s desire to possibly move town hall to the building, ECU Health, which eventually acquired Duplin General Hospital’s assets, donated the building to the town.

“We still spent a lot of money renovating it, but at least the building was free,” Taylor said.

THE CONVERSATION

Trip Ho end, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

VISUAL VOICES

| NEWT GINGRICH

Argentina’s Election and 2026

Argentina was once one of the wealthiest countries in the world.

ARGENTINE PRESIDENT Javier Milei’s extraordinary electoral victory in October could be a good omen for American Republicans in 2026.

Milei’s party, La Libertad Avanza, won 64 seats in the House of Deputies. His party and allied groups also won 14 seats in the nation’s Senate. Before the election, they only had 37 deputies and six senators.

If Republicans win a similar victory in 2026, it would mean something like 290 Republicans in the House (a roughly 140-vote majority) and 73 Republican Senators (a 36-vote majority).

Of course, a swing like that is impossible in America. Only one-third of the Senate is up for election in any given year, and gerrymandering has created some near disaster-proof House seats.

However, Milei’s victory has proven a reform movement can undertake deeply disruptive, painful changes and still increase its share of power.

Like President Donald Trump, Milei is a dedicated reformer who is determined to profoundly change a system that has been crippling his country for at least eight decades.

It is easy to forget that Argentina was once one of the wealthiest countries in the world. In 1913, the average Argentinian had about 80% of the income of the average American. It took several generations of socialist politicians to destroy Argentina’s wealth. Today, the average

COLUMN | MICHAEL BARONE

Argentinian has about 30% of the income of the average American.

This is a lesson that followers of Zohran Mamdani, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders should consider. If the American big government socialists do for the United States what Juan Peron and the Argentinian socialists did for their country, every American will rapidly become poorer.

Milei brought an intellectual understanding of conservative economics, a great television personality and a willingness to dismantle the old order. Elon Musk’s antics with the chainsaw was actually a tribute to Milei — who had won the presidency with that as his symbol. His pledge was to take a chainsaw to the bureaucracy, regulations and political machines crippling Argentina’s economy.

And Milei implemented his campaign promises. In his rst two years, he slashed spending by 30%, cut regulations and shrunk the bureaucracy by 55,000 workers (a 15% reduction). He has also cut the number of ministries from 19 to nine, lowered taxes, and encouraged economic growth and investment in Argentina. All this led to a budget surplus for the rst time in 14 years.

Milei clearly intends to build on this victory. He told an election night crowd, “Today marks the beginning of building a great Argentina. This result is nothing more and nothing less than the con rmation of the mandate we

assumed in 2023.” He attributed the victory to the voters’ “determination to change the destiny of the nation irreversibly.”

Milei has an ambitious follow-on reform program. He plans to change labor laws, make contracts more exible — and make even deeper cuts to federal spending and regulation. He plans to have more tax cuts and to dramatically streamline bureaucratic procedures. His major goal is to increase the economy and boost salaries and jobs. To achieve this he wants to make it much easier to start new companies.

As Milei summarized it election night: “Argentines showed that they don’t want to return to the model of failure. … We want to be a country that grows. We want to make Argentina great again.”

No wonder Trump took great pleasure in Milei’s victory — and why he and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent went all in to help him.

Every Republican should take heart. Faced with a choice between reform or decay, free enterprise or big government socialism, and freedom or bureaucratic rule, voters will side with what works. They did in Argentina.

Newt Gingrich is former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. He is the founder of Gingrich360, where he writes syndicated columns and comments on politics and current events.

Trump’s outrageous threats get practical results

Trump has proved that the border can be controlled under current legislation.

THINK ABOUT IT. Heads of government do not normally reveal the texts of private communications from other heads of state. Yet that is what Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store of Norway two Sundays ago on the rst weekend of the World Economic Forum in Davos, where the international press would have no di culty nding appalled foreign leaders to comment.

You could think of this as a hostile act of a statesman appalled that the American head of government does not know that the government of Norway does not decide who gets the Nobel Peace Prize. It is probably better to think of it as an intervention by a sympathetic observer who has noticed that Donald Trump backs down from untenable positions in response to ructions in political and nancial markets.

Which is what Trump has done between the publication of his letter and his speech at Davos last Wednesday. The Sunday before he seemed to be threatening war with Denmark, and European commentators, not without reason, lamented that he was risking breaking up the NATO alliance out of pique of not being awarded a prize by a committee that was never going to honor a nonleftist American president.

Proof of which was the granting of that prize to Barack Obama in 2009 for what even Obama himself admitted was for no tangible accomplishment. And Trump has never forgotten the ridicule heaped on him by Obama at the 2011 White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, ridicule that led directly to that ride down the Trump Tower escalator four years later.

Actually, Trump has some valid points on Greenland. It sits astride missile, drone and air transport routes between North America and western Russia and eastern Europe. The United States would have even more exibility than it does under current agreements with Denmark if it were to become U.S. territory.

That’s one reason the U.S. holds on to Guam in the west Paci c and has spent billions upgrading military facilities there.

All that said, Trump’s usual negotiating technique of starting o with extravagant demands was, in the careful words of social scientist Charles Murray, “next-level crazy.” Denmark has been an active ally of the United States in Afghanistan and Iraq, has increased its rate of defense spending above levels Trump demanded, and has adopted immigration policies in line with Trump’s advocacy.

With Denmark as with Canada, as with fellow Republicans in Georgia and other states, Trump’s obnoxious maximalist demands have alienated him from sympathy and empowered the forces against him. Other leaders have gured out that he requires gushers of praise to permeate every dialogue, and they’re probably ready with encomiums for his avowals in his Davos speech that he won’t use violence to obtain Greenland.

It has to be said that Trump’s bluntness and braggadocio have had some of its intended e ect. The American Enterprise Institution’s Yuval Levin, in an interview with The New York Times’ Ezra Klein, made the point that many of Trump’s lurching policy changes, not codi ed into law, can easily be wiped away by the next Democratic administration, perhaps even by a Democratic House of Representatives next year.

But despite his own preference for procedural regularity in making institutional change, Levin admits that “they’ve driven a lot of change that will be durable.” Initial polling reaction to Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, has been negative. But there’s no doubt that Trump has proved that the border can be controlled under current legislation — which would increase the political cost of any subsequent administration adopting the open border policy of Joe Biden’s.

It is also telling that the best estimates of both pro- and anti-immigration analysts are that the substantial numbers of ICE deportations from within the United States, far above those of other recent administrations, are orders of magnitude lower than the numbers of self-deportations. As on other issues (like military recruitment), Trump is uninterested in institutional change but interested in sharply changing the behavior of the larger public.

The e ect of Trump policies, and the possibility that they may be put back in place at some later date, will likely discourage many illegal aliens from living in this country more or less permanently, as some 10 million have been up through January 2025. As I wrote last fall, “Who will want to make long-term plans that can be ruined by sudden deportation or hurried self-deportation?”

We learn from experience, and just as the former real estate developer sometimes seems to accept discipline from nancial markets, so the former reality TV show host sometimes seems to accept discipline from the ratings. On Greenland, he has responded to the cues of the markets and the ratings and backed o from threats of force while retaining the possibility of increasing the already signi cant U.S. presence there. Meanwhile, the NATO alliance remains in place, with its increased number of European members spending increasing percentages of their economies on defense. Three more years of this Trump administration will strain and irritate foreign leaders and American politicians, with wild threats and childish petulance driving one crisis after another. But it may continue to get them, often grudgingly, doing things Trump’s way.

Michael Barone is a senior political analyst for the Washington Examiner, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and longtime co-author of “The Almanac of American Politics.”

New-look Farrior Park o ers history, hiking, family fun

The late-1700s grist and sawmill anchors Wallace’s renovated park, complete with trails, playgrounds and a kayak dock

By Mark Grady For Duplin Journal

WALLACE — As far as places to go and things to see in Duplin County, a stop at Farrior Park in Wallace is a must-visit on the list. It’s located just west of Tin City along N.C. Highway 41 in the heart of Wallace. You can see nature, sh, walk a trail, see history and the kids can take in a rst-class playground.

The centerpiece of Farrior Park is the historic Boney Mill and Pond, believed to be one of the oldest structures in Duplin County, dating back to the late 1700s. It served as a sawmill and

grist mill powered by water over a spillway from the pond.

It was the Boney family who rst settled the area. The entrepreneur of the family was Gabriel Boney, who became involved in everything from a cotton gin to a turpentine distillery. In fact, the town that eventually grew around Boney Mill could have easily been named Boney. However, when the railroad became a prominent part of the area’s growth, the town was named Wallace in 1899 in honor of Stephen Wallace, the president of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad.

Recently, thanks to a grant of almost half a million dollars, restoration on the historic mill building and several upgrades have turned the grounds into a park the town can be proud of.

The park was named in honor of Charley Farrior, who spent

years as the mayor of Wallace and was instrumental in helping the renovated park become a reality. The town purchased the property in 2014. During a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the park in 2024, Farrior referred to it as “a diamond in Wallace’s crown.”

The rules of the park are posted on attractive signage near the main parking area, as well as the parking area for the children’s playground and picnic shelter, just a short walk away from the pond. While the park is free to visit, a shing license is required if you want to drop a line in the pond and try your luck at snagging a freshwater sh. The picnic shelter is rst-come, rst-served basis, but reservations can be made through Wallace Town Hall for those wanting to secure the shelter for a special event.

been awarded grant funding for the project, recent bid openings revealed costs far exceeding expectations. According to Banks, bids came in roughly 200% higher than anticipated due to rising construction and material costs. Because the project involves a comprehensive sewer replacement, it could not be scaled back or completed in phases, making additional funding necessary to proceed.

After the town’s application for a new CDBG grant was denied, o cials were informed that unused funds from a 2020 CDBG allocation could potentially be repurposed. To access those funds, the town was required to commit a modest local match of approximately $3,000 in exchange for an additional $525,000 in grant funding. Banks emphasized the value of the proposal, stating, “$3,000 for an additional $525,000 if we want this project to go through, I think is a good use of the funds.” He also noted that the matching funds would not be required immediately and could be budgeted in a future scal year. Further discussion detailed the scope and importance of the Sun Valley sewer project. The existing system relies largely on outdated gravity-based lines that were installed decades ago.

“A lot of those lines were actually put in by previous owners that were not even contractors, they just owned the land years, many years ago,” Banks explained.

Poor grading, undersized pipes and limited ow have resulted in frequent blockages and service issues for residents. The proposed project will replace all sewer lines and install a lift station capable of providing su cient pressure to move wastewater eciently to the town’s treatment plant. O cials said the improvements would signi cantly reduce backups, increase capacity and improve reliability while also opening the southeastern portion of town to future development.

“They’re going to do all new lines through, down the right of way through Sun Valley and all of those mobile homes and then come out to the main road there,” he added. “With that pump being at the end, everything that is on those roads, East Carroll, Polk, anything on that end should have better capacity because that pressure is pushing it towards the sewage plant.”

Following questions from commissioners, the board unanimously approved the $3,000 local match required to secure the additional CDBG funding. Banks con rmed the necessary documentation would be submitted immediately to meet the grant deadline.

During departmental updates, Chief Jerry Wood provided a report detailing recent enforcement activity, speed control initiatives and ongoing code enforcement e orts. Wood provided updates on tra c measures, including the installation of speed bumps on selected residential streets once required signage is in place.

“One location is on Sandy, you’re looking at one on West Carroll, West Bleeker, South Peterson and North Peterson,” said Wood. Discussions also addressed junk and debris issues on private property. Ofcials expressed optimism that partnerships with county agencies would help improve compliance and neighborhood conditions.

Banks provided a nancial update indicating that the town remains in stable condition. Liquid cash balances were reported at just over $81,000, with additional deposits expected before the end of the cycle. The Capital Management Trust continued to show steady growth, reaching approximately $590,000, generating monthly interest revenue that Banks said could help fund future projects, including community building renovations.

Banks also acknowledged that a recent CDBG application for housing and community improvements was unsuccessful due to competitive funding priorities statewide. Despite the setback, o cials reiterated their commitment to pursuing future grant opportunities and alternative funding strategies. Banks noted that only six of 38 applicants were funded in the most recent cycle, with a significant portion of funds directed toward western North Carolina communities still recovering from hurricane impacts.

Plans for a mobile banking unit remain delayed. O cials said the provider was unable to provide a de nitive start date, though they remain committed to serving the town.

“This is not how they typically do business … These things can happen, and everybody wants to make sure it’s secure,” Ward said, adding that she hopes to have new information in the coming months.

Anne Stroud Taylor has dedicated her life to helping her town, state and country

By Rebecca Whitman Cooke For Duplin Journal

IF YOU TALK about local history with anyone in Duplin County, her name will inevitably come up. Anne Stroud Taylor, 94, is a local historian and an understated treasure of Faison.

Having lived through the Great Depression and World War II in Faison, Taylor is quick to highlight the greatness of others rather than herself.

Educators, students and community leaders will gather to discuss the future of

North Carolina schools

By Ena Sellers Duplin Journal

MOUNT OLIVE — North Carolina’s State Superintendent of Public Instruction Mo Green, will take the stage at the University of Mount Olive for the 28th annual Braswell Lecture on Feb. 19 at 7 p.m. in the Southern Bank Auditorium.

The lecture series brings together educators, students and community members to explore current issues in education and the impact schools have on their communities. Each year, a guest speaker shares their perspective on teaching, leadership, and educational policy.

The announcement, made by UMO earlier this month, highlights Green’s contributions and the notable experience that he will bring to the discussion with more than two decades serving in North Carolina education. He has served as superintendent and deputy superintendent in some of the state’s largest districts, led a major education foundation and worked as a school board attorney. A double graduate of Duke University, he holds degrees in political science, economics and law, blending academic knowledge with practical leadership in public education.

“I was 10 when the Great Depression started — my brother was 12 — and all our lives we’ve told each other how lucky we were to live in that period of time,” Taylor said. “I have never seen people work together so beautifully.”

When war broke out, those who could serve, enlisted. Those who couldn’t went to Wilmington to build ships. Even farmers who stayed repurposed products for the war e ort. During World War II, Faison built a lookout tower atop the town hall, where Taylor trained as a plane spotter, reporting aircraft to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base.

“I did not know a soul who wasn’t trying to help this country, this town and this state,” Taylor said. “It was an experience that changed my life.”

Growing up in a small town made everyone close like family. The joys were celebrated together, and the losses were mourned together. Taylor still remembers when Clifton Edgerton died in Belgium. He was her neighbor and a Quaker who didn’t believe in war but went anyway.

“We are very di erent here in thoughts and politics and this and that, but we get along great. I think we just love each other,” Taylor said. “I don’t feel anything but harmony here — even when we disagree.”

She pointed to her friend William Edgar Thornton as an example of that community spirit.

“When William was 12 years old,

his father asked him to come into the room and talk to him,” she said. “He told William he knew he was dying, and he told him he wanted him to take care of his mother, the house and the farm that they had in the country.”

Thornton opened a repair business, xing radios, record players and televisions after school.

“He would go to school and go straight to that store afterwards,” Taylor said, adding that the town rallied behind him, bringing him their broken items to support the business.

Taylor said he went to college on Sundays, bumming rides the whole way to UNC and back, and he practiced football for games he could never play, but he never complained. Thornton later became North Carolina’s rst chosen astronaut. When he launched into space, Faison residents went to see the launch.

“It was as dark as creases, and when that ship went up, it looked like daytime. It was fantastic!” Taylor said. “About 200 of us went, and the rest gathered in the rehouse and watched it together. To me, this is what Faison is.”

Thornton later retired, taught others and is buried in the Faison Cemetery. Taylor grew up one of three children in a two-story Victorian home she still occupies. Her father owned a shop, and her mother was a schoolteacher. In 1953, Taylor completed a teaching degree and became a teacher herself. She was awarded Duplin County Teacher of the Year for her work at

North Duplin Elementary and Junior/ Senior High Schools.

In addition to playing piano at church, Taylor serves on multiple committees, acts as town historian and wrote the grant for Faison’s Recreation Center, now known as the Anne Stroud Taylor Recreation & Wellness Center.

Her legacy continues through her family. Her daughter-in-law, Margaret Taylor, leads local history projects, including work identifying individuals in a slave burial ground. Her grandson, Andrew Taylor, serves as president of the Faison Improvement Group.

“As a teacher, you want your people working together and learning. You just stay that way all your life,” Taylor said. “We want to work harder and do more for our town. I think we all just want to leave things better than we’ve found them. It’s not one person; it takes all of us. We should all just do the best we can with the gifts and talents we’ve been given to make things better. You won’t always succeed, but you still try — always do your best.” Taylor was recently honored with the Duplin Rotary Club’s Outstanding Citizen award.

“Whatever you do for Duplin County is really a privilege,” she said.

Known for her humility, she is widely regarded as an optimistic and steady in uence in the community. Her belief in the good of others has guided her lifelong service.

DUPLIN SPORTS

Tigers hoopsters continue steamrolling foes

JK boys bring winning formula from gridiron to hard courts

By Michael Jaenicke Duplin Journal

WARSAW — The basketball team without a contributing player taller than 6-foot is shu ing its way to an outstanding season.

The team matches the pro le of its coach, Taylor Jones, a former scrappy 3-point shooter at North Duplin.

But James Kenan, 12-2, 6-1 Swine Valley Conference, is getting results from ve players who were key starters on the Tigers’ football team that, you guessed it, went 12-2.

Now all-Duplin rst team players Zamarion Smith (LB), Jeremiah Hall (RB), Eli Avent (QB), CJ Hill (SE/RB/DB) and David Zelaya (FS and Defensive Player of the Year) — all seniors — and sophomore Kentrell Morrisey want another conference title to hang in the school to go along with the one they won in the fall.

To make that happen JK will have to beat Goldsboro on Feb. 3 in Warsaw as the Tigers seek revenge from their 68-66 loss to the Cougars on Jan. 9.

Smith, Morrisey lead charge in pivotal third quarter vs. Bulldogs

Smith, who got hurt and had to leave the game in which JK beat Wallace-Rose Hill 52-49, scored 14 points before his exit, including a 3-point play and layup that gave the Tigers a 30-26 lead midway through the third quarter.

Morrisey put JK in front at the 5:44 mark, and his rebound hoop upped the margin to six.

JK then went on a 9-3 spurt to go in front 41-29 via baskets by Hall, Avent and Mari Graham, a sophomore upstart who will play well with classmate Morrisey the next two seasons.

But WRH (12-3, 4-2) crawled to within 42-41 with ve minutes to play behind a pair of treys, a jump shot and a free throw by Jawon Carr, along with a hoop by freshman Kayden Keith.

Morrisey responded with a basket in

See BOYS, page B3

JK girls

win fth in a row ahead of Goldsboro rematch

By Michael Jaenicke Duplin Journal

WARSAW — The James Kenan girls’ basketball team will likely be as good as its defense.

The Tigers entered the week 12-2.

In those two losses, the game played out bigger for the victors as Croatan beat the Tigers 58-39 on Nov. 24 and Goldsboro took a 60-49 verdict Jan. 9.

Those scores do not favor JK, which is averaging 48.4 points.

Yet with just a handful of additional baskets, the 3A Tigers beat 7As Ashley (51-46) and Topsail (59-57) and 6A Jacksonville (58-57) during the holiday break.

“That showed our girls can play with anyone,” said second-year coach Aaron Smith. “We won those three by coming back in the fourth quarter. That was good experience.”

Next came a pair of wins over 4A

East Duplin, whose coach Mark Lane coached Smith as a junior varsity player and then had him on his coaching sta .

“Anytime you beat him it’s big,” said Smith, whose rst Tigers team nished 9-9. “I like our chances when we play four quarters. This team has so much potential.”

JK, 6-1 in Swine Valley Conference play, has six games remaining in its regular season, but none more important than a Feb. 3 rematch against the Cougars (14-2, 7-0).

“We’ll work hard this week against Rosewood and Midway to get prepared for Goldsboro,” Smith said. “We’ve made some changes and tweaked things that have proven to be good for us. It’s big.”

The Tigers will have to slow down Aziyah Bayer, who scored 24 points against them in the rst encounter. But JK will also have to watch Amari Beckom (10.8 points per game), Allisa Brown (9.8), Kennedy Barbour (9.6) and Nieirah Smith (9.0) and keep the ve starters o the boards, since they combined to haul down more than 20 rebound per night.

See GIRLS, page B4

Cave-less Panthers nearly whip unbeaten Dark Horses

East Duplin gave Clinton all it wanted playing without two-time Ms. Basketball Kinsey Cave

By Michael Jaenicke Duplin Journal

BEULAVILLE — East Duplin head coach Mark Lane came short of saying his Panthers would have tagged Clinton with its rst loss of the season if Kinsey Cave would have played. But Ms. Basketball in Duplin for the previous two seasons was on the bench recovering from an ankle injury from a week previous.

That only makes a 51-47 setback to the Dark Horses a reason to celebrate.

ND rallies from a 13-point de cit to beat Lakewood, see page B3.

Yet what they missed most was Cave’s ball-handling and rebounding.

“Obviously, a big, glaring state is turnovers,” said Lane, whose club made 31 miscues as compared to 18 by Clinton.

“But knowing what we were missing, I felt good about our play.

“We had two starters out

and still had a chance at the end. Rebounding has hurt us against good teams like Hoggard, C.B. Aycock and James Kenan. We struggled. But we’re getting better at both, understanding the need to box out and how we need to be careful with the ball.”

Rubi Davila scored 15 points, and Jayla Pickett and Phoenix Everett 10 apiece as Clinton improved to 18-0 and to build early edge atop the East Central Conference standings.

“I don’t like losses and our goal is still to win the conference,” Lane said. “We’re getting stronger on the ball, and it

See ED, page B3

ATHLETE

Antonio McKoy

Harrells Christian Academy, boys’ basketball

Basketball players work hard to have 1,000-point careers.

Antonio McKoy might double that gure before his Harrell Christian Academy career is nished.

The senior, who will play at Western Carolina University next season, entered this week with 2,687 points.

He’s averaging 28.1 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.1 steals and is amassing major point totals in part because of his 60% shooting from the eld.

HCA is 22-4 with ve regular season games remaining before the postseason kicks into gear.

And there’s a decent chance McKoy can both play well enough and have enough games to reach the 3,000-point plateau.

He’s currently 11th in the state in scoring.

Rebels, Panthers add traction with winning ways

ND’s Jae’lyn Ingram and ED’s Zachary Ball are leading the charge as both schools seek to compete in their respective conferences

By Michael Jaenicke Duplin Journal

CALYPSO — Prime time for basketball at North Duplin starts in the middle of January.

That’s when the Rebels start collecting wins, which usually follows nonconference schedule of bigger schools.

It’s happening for the third consecutive season for head coach Je Byrd’s club, which has won ve of its last six after a slightly shocking 57-54 overtime win over East Columbus, who is in rst place in the Carolina Conference.

The Rebels are riding high and evened their record at 8-8 behind the play of four sophomores and a handful of seniors.

On the other side of the county, East Duplin (6-8, 3-1) snapped its second three-game losing streak with consecutive ECC victories over Clinton and Pender. The Panthers have four players at least a free throw from double- gure averages.

Both the ECC and CC are wide-open races, and weather permitting both will have postseason tournaments the third week of February.

Ingram rises from shadows for Rebels

Jae’lyn Ingram has made a dramatic impact on North Duplin. The sophomore is averaging 17.1 points and 7.9 boards, and last week she scored 48 points and grabbed 23 rebounds as the Rebels won a pair of league games.

Ingram tossed in 26 points and had 13 rebounds in the win over the Gators (6-8, 5-2), and classmates Missiah Cooper, Noah Price and Noah Bennett combined for 12. Seniors Quan Stevens and Lucas Dail worked together for 13.

Yet Byrd said it’s defense that has been leading the way.

“We don’t shoot the ball well and against East Columbus because we kept them o balance with a half-court trap and other changes we threw at them,” Byrd said. “We missed free throws that could have kept us out of overtime. We were missing a few players as well (seniors Holden Williams and Carell Phillips, a leading rebounder for the Rebels).”

Three days earlier, Ingram netted 22, Price 13 and Phillips 10 in a 77-69 triumph over Lakewood.

ND’s recent push has the Rebels a game out of the league lead as East Columbus, West Columbus and East Bladen each have a pair of conference losses.

The Rebels have ve games remaining in their regular season.

“The conference is very even and up for grabs,” Byrd said. “So is the conference tournament and every team in this can win it. In fact, I feel we’re four or ve points from rst place (ND’s other league losses were 50-49 to West Columbus and 43-36 to East Bladen).”

“We’re going to be a tough out if we keep playing well together.”

Panthers in stretch run of ECC

Meanwhile, East Duplin (6-8, 3-1) also feels it can make a run at a league title, though it must jump over South Lenoir (10-6, 4-0) and Southwest Onslow (6-11, 2-2).

The ECC has parity among its six schools, aside from winless Pender.

Zachary Ball made sure the Patriots stayed embedded in the dark side with a career-tying 19 points, which matched his total from Dec. 23 against American Leadership Academy.

Ball (9.3 points per game) is one of four Panthers scoring sources. Aaron Hall is at 9.9, DJ Davis 9.6 and sophomore post Dominic Hall leads the group at 12.0 points and 6.4 rebounds.

Hall pumped in 23, Ball 16, Aaron Hall 12 and Davis 10 during a 67-65 triumph over the Dark Horses in Beulaville.

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

team.

“Dominic kept us in the game or helped us extend a lead,” Lanier said. “We had a 12-point lead and let them hit a couple of 3s in the fourth to let them back in it. Really, what led us to the win was big defensive stops and how we were able to refocus after making a mistake.

“We’ve improved a lot since the beginning of the season, and that’s all you can ask.”

Lanier calls Ball, “our most consistent player” and Davis “not really a point guard, but he’s stepped up because our need,” and Hall, “a senior leader.”

“We’re a pretty good rebounding team when Dominic, Aaron and Ball hit the blocks,” he said. “And we have to play good defense to win games.” Crusaders win 20th game for fourth consecutive season

Harrells Christian beat Cary Academy 70-52 last week to log its fourth straight 20-win season. The Crusader then trashed Faith Christian 74-25 and Epiphany Global Studies 87-48 to improve to 22-4. HCA has gone 94-33 in the past four seasons after being 37-52 the previous four winters.

The di erence: the McKoy cousins, who have combined to score 4,328 points and grab 1,947 rebound in four years. Antonio netted 30 and Dashaun 23 in the triumph over the New Bern school. The Crusaders hit 59% from the eld and were 6 of 14 on 3-pointers.

J’Kaeshi Brunson’s eight assists set the table for the HCA o ense, which is averaging 71 points per game.

Rose lifts Rebels past Leopards

ND rallied from a 13-point de cit to beat Lakewood in a key Carolina Conference meeting

By Michael Jaenicke Duplin Journal

CALYPSO — Three minutes into the fourth quarter, Abby Rose made a driving layup by going through a Lakewood defender.

It back red, though, as an o cial called a charging foul to negate the basket.

Rose made up for it three minutes later by taking the ball to the iron from the same side of the court through a pair of Leopards.

The hoop and free throw gave the Rebels a two-point edge, but Lakewood took a 39 -38 lead o a 3-pointer.

Rose then fed a cutting Abigeal Norris in the lane for a deuce, and she and Maggie Brown each connected on a pair of charity tosses in thenal 1:26 as ND beat the Leopards 45-43.

ND held the ball for 43 seconds before Rose canned the victory from the line.

Rose, a sophomore, had ve of her 16 points in the fourth quarter.

Classmate Brown’s 11 makers were the sixth time she reached double gures this season. She had 14 rebounds and eight blocks as ND’s defense was as important to the key Carolina Conference win.

Brown’s junior sister Norris added seven points, four boards and a pair of blocks.

Lilly Fulghum netted six and Reagan Herring ve as ND won its ninth straight to remain in contention for the league title.

The Rebels (12-3, 6-1) lost

to East Columbus (10-4, 6-1)

three days after the 45-29 humbling in Lake Waccamaw. The two schools lead third-place East Bladen (13-4, 4-2). ND has ve regular season games on its schedule before the loop’s postseason tournament.

Rebels erases 13-point rst-half de cit

Lakewood (10-7, 4-3) went on a 15-4 run in the second quarter that left the Rebels in a 25-12 de cit at halftime.

The Leopards’ contested shots went mostly astray, however, in the third as Rose went end-to-end for a hoop and Reagan Herring nailed a trifecta during a 6-0 run.

Brown was a trigger for the next Rebels run, scoring twice o feeds from Fulghum. Rose’s step-into-the-lane jumper and a basket by Herring with 1:01

to play in the third gave ND the momentum it needed.

Roses’ reverse layup put ND on top 35-32 after three quarters.

Yet the Rebels had no answers for East Columbus’ Mila Graham, who tossed in 21 points. The 6-foot senior post is averaging 24.7 points and 10.6 rebounds, and she has 1,486 career markers.

Aleigh Godwin, a 5-5 sophomore guard, added 11. EC held a 14-7 edge in converted charity tosses and had six 3-pointers. ND was without a bomb. The Gators had a 34-21 advantage in rebounding. ND was outscored in every quarter. The setback ended an eight-game winning streak as Rebels turnovers helped build the de cit.

Rose (16.1 points) and Fulghum (12.8) each had eight points.

skid against the Bulldogs.

the half-court set and then a steal and layup. Hall added a charity toss and JK was back in control at 47-4.

WRH’s Matthew Wells and Smith traded 3-pointers and a score in the paint by Aspen Brown cut the lead to 50-47 with 1:15 to play.

A driving score by Hall was the nal score JK needed. WRH got a putback from Wells at the buzzer.

JK scored the rst six points of the game via scores from Hill, Morrisey and Smith.

WRH accounted for the next 12 as Wells went o for eight, Keith a deuce and a block, and a converted power move in the lane by Brown to go in front 12-6.

Morrisey notched ve points before the second quarter was concluded, Avent added a rebound hoop and Zeleya a buzzer-beater as JK trailed by just three at halftime — 21-18 during 16 minutes of unimpressive basketball by both teams. Smith hit for 14, and Hall might have had the best all-around game with eight points, 11 rebounds, six assists and eight steals. They resumed the rivalry with better basketball, and JK snapped a three-game

showed against Clinton as we overcame it and battled back.”

Sophomore Bennett Holley red in 13 points, senior Zoe Cavanaugh added 11 and Lorena Rodrigues nine. Andraia Scarborough had nine and 17 rebounds.

ED travels to Clinton on Feb. 6 for the rematch. The two schools could also play in the league’s postseason tournament.

Cave played “four or ve minutes” three night later during a 49-7 clobbering of Pender in Burgaw. She’s averaging 14.0 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.9 steals while hitting 71% from the free-throw line.

“She’s been released, but we’re taking it slow,” Lane said. “It’s about cutting and quick move-

The two rivals play Feb. 13 in Teachey.

JK nished o its week by trampling Spring Creek 77- 42 as Morrisey poured in 33 points. Hill, Zeleya and Avent each had eight markers, and Hall added six along with 11 assists, four boards and three steals as a replacement for point guard Smith, who sat out to rest after his injury.

He’ll be back and so should WRH, which dropped an 82-79 road loss to Trask three nights later.

Both schools must face Princeton, Midway and Rosewood — three schools JK and WRH beat earlier in the season — while also having a date against Goldsboro.

JK needs three more wins to surpass its 14-win total in 2023 -24. That would be the best mark since Jones came from Spring Creek six seasons ago, though JK was 11-3 in the COVID-19 shortened season of 2020-21.

WRH is two wins from the 2023-24’s 14-win campaign and could wind up with its best record since going 11-3 in the pandemic season and 18-8 in 201516, under longtime coach Steve Robinson, who won two state titles during his tenure in Teachey.

ments right now. We are not going to push things.”

ED crushed Pender 49-7 three days later as 13 players scored. Senior Lauren Cottle (seven), classmates Cavanaugh (six) and Zakoya Farrior ( ve) and freshman Holley (six) paced the attack.

A 22-3 rush in the opening quarter became standard as the game progressed, with ED’s defense limiting Clinton to four points the rest of the way.

ED (12-5, 3-1) is 2-2 since Cave was hurt against James Kenan. With her, they fell 44 - 41 to JK. Without her, they lost 47-31.

The Panthers travel to Southwest Onslow on Friday to play the Stallions in what has become a competitive rivalry.

Tigers have plenty too many o ensive weapons for Bulldogs

JK asserted its dominance early during a 51-29 win over Wallace-Rose Hill, which was playing without injured leading scorer Madison Francis.

Y’Anna Rivers (17.6 points) and Gabi Outlaw (11.5) hit 3-pointers, and Aleyah Wilson (13.6) scored after making a dandy cut in the lane as JK led 10-0 before

anyone could say rivalry game. Rivers added another bomb and so did sophomore Kendia Smith, while Wilson scored inside and then via a steal and layup.

Other things happened, but to WRH, it was a blur as the Bulldogs trailed 23-7 at halftime.

Wilson and Rivers combined for nine straight points to start the third quarter, and scores by both in the nal minute gave JK a 35-13 edge entering the fourth, which by and large was a repeat highlight reel for the Tigers.

RESOLUTION STATING THE INTENT OF THE TOWN OF WALLACE TO ANNEX PROPERTY OWNED BY THE TOWN WHICH IS CONTIGUOUS TO THE EXISTING MUNICIPAL BOUNDARIES(water tower)

BE IT RESOLVED by the Town Council of the Town of Wallace that:

Section 1. It is the intent of the Town Council, pursuant to G.S. 160A-31 to annex the property described in Section 2, which is owned by the Town of Wallace. Section 2. The legal description of the property is as follows:

Located in Island Creek Township, Duplin

JK’s Labria McGowan tries to get through WRH’s Jansley Page and Angelina Cavallaro.

Rivers nished with 22 points and Wilson 17.

Three nights later, Outlaw netted 13, Kendonya Morrisey nine and LaBria McGowan as the Tigers dusted one-win Spring Creek 47-7.

JK has its most wins since 2014 when Wendy Lanier guided the Tigers to a 16-6 mark.

The Tigers have not won a conference title since the legendary Sherman Futch was the head coach. That dates to the early 2000s, according to Lanier, who is still teaching at JK.

NOTICE

County, North Carolina and beginning at an iron pipe being located at the southwestern end of a 12 foot wide utility and access easement to the Town of Wallace (Easement No. 1) per Deed Book 659 at Page 328, Duplin County Registry. Said pipe is also located South 49 degrees 10 minutes 33 seconds West – 9.19 feet and South 59 degrees 33 minutes 47 seconds West – 210.27 feet from NCGS Grid Monument “Miller”, having NC Grid Coordinates (NAD 83/2001) of North = 368,466.62 and East = 2,300,002.31 as shown on a map for E.W. Godwin’s & Sons, Inc. and the Town of Wallace as recorded in Map Book 30 at Page 300, Duplin County Registry.

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NORTH CAROLINA DUPLIN COUNTY

FILE#26E000002-300

The undersigned, IRIS JEAN BLANTON, having quali ed on the 5TH DAY of JANUARY, 2026, as EXECUTOR of the Estate of ALVIN JOE BASS, deceased, of DUPLIN County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them to the undersigned on or before the 15TH 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 15TH Day of JANUARY 2026.

IRIS JEAN BLANTON, EXECUTOR 118 CLAY HILL FARM DRIVE ROSE HILL, NC 28458

Run dates:J15,22,29,F5p

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NORTH CAROLINA DUPLIN COUNTY

FILE#25E001060-300

The undersigned, RONNIE DEAN ENGLISH, having quali ed on the 5TH DAY of JANUARY, 2026, as EXECUTOR of the Estate of ROBBIE ENGLISH, deceased, of DUPLIN County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them to the undersigned on or before the 8TH 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 8TH Day of JANUARY 2026.

RONNIE DEAN ENGLISH, EXECUTOR 1725 KINGS LANDING RD. HAMPSTEAD, NC 28443

Run dates:J8,15,22,29p

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NORTH CAROLINA DUPLIN COUNTY

FILE#25E001476-300

The undersigned, BRYAN RHODES, having quali ed on the 22ND DAY of DECEMBER, 2025, as EXECUTOR of the Estate of ARLINE RHODES, aka, ARLINE C. RHODES, aka ARLINE CAVENAUGH RHODES, deceased, of DUPLIN County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them to the undersigned on or before the 8TH 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 8TH Day of JANUARY 2026.

BRYAN RHODES, EXECUTOR PO BOX 905 NEWPORT, NC 28570 Run dates:J8,15,22,29p

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NORTH CAROLINA DUPLIN COUNTY

FILE#25E001473-300

The undersigned, DANIEL R. BLIZZARD, having quali ed on the 3RD DAY of DECEMBER, 2025, as ADMINISTRATOR of the Estate of CONNIE BLIZZARD TYNDALL, deceased, of DUPLIN County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them to

Running thence from said point of beginning, South 59 degrees 33 minutes 47 seconds West – 210.00 feet to a point; thence North 11 degrees 38 minutes 13 seconds West –156.34 feet to a fence post; thence North 59 degrees 33 minutes 47 seconds East – 210.00 feet to a fence post (crossing over an iron rod at 194.83 feet); thence, South 11 degrees 38 minutes 13 seconds East – 156.34 feet to the point of beginning (crossing over iron rods at 32.82 feet, 96.10 feet and 143.66 feet), containing 0.71 acres, more or less. Being the same property as described in Deed Book 659 at Page 307 and map attached.

All bearings are in angular relation to NC Grid North and all distances are horizontal eld measurements.

Section 3. The property described in Section 2 is contiguous to the current municipal boundaries.

Section 4. A public hearing on the question of annexation of the property will be held at the Wallace Women’s Club after 6 o’clock pm on Thursday, February 12, 2026.

Section 5. Notice of the public hearing shall be published once in Duplin Journal, a newspaper having general circulation in the Town of Wallace, at least ten (10) days prior the the date of the public hearing. Adopted this 8th day of January, 2026.

NOTICE OF PRIMARY ELECTION - DUPLIN COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA

The statewide primary election will be held on Tuesday, March 3, 2026.

Voters will be asked to show photo ID when they vote. All voters will be allowed to vote with or without ID. If a voter does not have ID, they will vote on a provisional ballot. Registered voters who lack ID can get one for free from their county board of elections. Find out more at ncsbe.gov/voter-id.

Polls will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Election Day.

Early voting will be held at the following location from Thursday, February 12, 2026, to Saturday, February 28, 2026:

Ed Emory Auditorium, 165 Agriculture Dr., Kenansville, NC 28349

Thursday, February 12 8:00 AM-7:30 PM

Friday, February 13 8:00 AM-7:30 PM

Monday, February 16 8:00 AM-7:30 PM

Tuesday, February 17 8:00 AM-7:30 PM

Wednesday, February 18 8:00 AM-7:30 PM

Thursday, February 19 8:00 AM-7:30 PM

Friday, February 20 8:00 AM-7:30 PM Sunday, February 22 1:00 PM-5:00 PM Monday, February 23 8:00 AM-7:30 PM

Tuesday, February 24 8:00 AM-7:30 PM

Wednesday, February 25 8:00 AM-7:30 PM

Thursday, February 26 8:00 AM-7:30 PM Friday, February 27 8:00 AM-7:30 PM Saturday, February 28 8:00 AM-3:00 PM

Absentee ballots will be mailed to voters who have requested them beginning Monday, January 12, 2026. A voter can ll out an absentee ballot request at votebymail.ncsbe. gov, or by lling out a request form provided by the county board of elections o ce. The request must be received through the website or by the Duplin County Board of Elections by 5 p.m. February 17, 2026.

In the general election, voters will select candidates for U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, N.C. General Assembly, state

and local judges, district attorney, and county o ces.

The voter registration deadline for this election is 5 p.m. Friday, February 6, 2026. Eligible individuals who are not registered by that deadline may register and vote at any early voting site during the early voting period. New registrants will be required to provide documentation of their residence.

Absentee meetings will be held at the Duplin County BOE O ce located at 160 Mallard St., Kenansville, NC 28349. Absentee meetings will be held at 5:00 PM on January 27, February 3, February 10, February 17, February 24, and March 2. Other business may be transacted by the Board at these meetings.

Legal Notice

NOTICE TO THE VOTERS OF THE ROCKFISH PRECINCT

Due to the decision made by the Duplin

County Board of Elections and accepted by the State Board of Elections on 05/06/2025, the Rock sh precinct polling place will now be located at the American Legion building in Wallace at 529 E. Southerland Street, Wallace, NC 28466.

NOTICE TO THE VOTERS OF THE LOCKLIN PRECINCT

Due to the decision made by the Duplin County Board of Elections and accepted by the State Board of Elections on 05/06/2025, the Locklin precinct polling place will now be located at the American Legion building in Wallace at 529 E. Southerland Street, Wallace, NC 28466.

Questions? Call the Duplin County Board of Elections O ce at (910) 296-2170 or send an email to dcboe@duplincountync.com

Ann Henderson, Chairman Duplin County Board of Elections

RESOLUTION STATING THE INTENT OF THE TOWN OF WALLACE TO ANNEX PROPERTY OWNED BY THE TOWN WHICH IS CONTIGUOUS TO THE EXISTING MUNICIPAL BOUNDARIES(WWTP)

BE IT RESOLVED by the Town Council of the Town of Wallace that:

Section 1. It is the intent of the Town Council, pursuant to

obituaries

Rushion J. Carr

March 14, 1953 – Jan. 17, 2026

Mr. Rushion J. Carr, aka “Little Bud”, age 72, of Greenevers section of Rose Hill, NC, passed away on Saturday, January 17, 2026, at Wake Medical Center in Raleigh, NC.

Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. on Friday, January 23, 2026, at Rose Hill Funeral Home Chapel. Viewing will be one hour prior to the service. Burial will immediately follow the service at Carr Family Cemetery on Edd Carr Lane, Rose Hill, NC

Left to continue his legacy: wife, Doris Carr of the home, Darrell Carr and wife Brenda of Rose Hill, NC, Termonja Carlton and wife Shashawnda of Knightdale, NC, Je rey Carr and wife Katina of Rose Hill, NC, Michael Carr and wife Dianne of Creedmoor, NC, Reginald Carr of Kenansville, NC, Rushion Carr, III and wife Lakia of Durham, NC; one daughter, Alesia Renne’ Carr of Fayetteville, NC; thirteen grandchildren; four greatgrandchildren; one brother, Johnny Lee Carr of Rose Hill, NC; ve sisters: Rita Conley Rose Hill, NC, Katie LaTouche and husband Joseph of Baltimore, MD, Henrietta Smith and Sharlene King both of Rose Hill, NC and Hilda C. Evans of Baltimore, MD; three sisters-in-law, Elizabeth Kea, Sudie Gail Wells and Selma Glover and husband Glover; one brother-in-law, Willie Kea, Jr; a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends that will miss him dearly.

Zannie Futrell

Aug. 22, 1932 – Jan. 20, 2026

Zannie Christine Futrell, 93, passed away on Tuesday, January 20, 2026, in ECU Health Duplin, Kenansville, NC

She is preceded in death by her spouse, Ervin Futrell, daughter and son-in-law, Delma & Zack Newbold, sister, Evelyn Winstead (Bill) and a brother, Durwood Brown (Saundra).

Funeral Service: Friday, January 23, 2025

Noon

Community Funeral Home, Beulaville, NC

Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service.

Interment: Onslow Memorial Park, Jacksonville, NC

Survivors:

Son: Charles Futrell (Donna), Richlands, NC

Daughter: Sharon Wallace, (Mike), Albertson, NC

Sisters: Virginia Nye, VA.; Louise Schreiner, SC.; Grandchildren: Rodney Newbold (Velvet), Justin Futrell (Karley), Michelle Rouse (Scott), Kayla Santifort (Tyler), Megan Bourque (Frisco), and Elena Futrell.

Great-Grandchildren: Chandler Gillette (Daniel), Lauren Taylor (Trent), Austin Rouse, Bailey Rouse, Riley Santifort, Emerson Santifort, Insley Santifort, Wyatt Bourque, Mason Bourque, Kaci Bourque, Olivia Futrell, Ivy Futrell and Ava Futrell.

Elwood Coombs

Dec. 31, 1937 – Jan. 17, 2026

Elwood Coombs passed from this life into the presence of his Lord on Saturday, January 17, 2026, at home surrounded by his family. Born December 31, 1937, he is the son of the late Stanley Coombs and Olivia Williams Coombs in Lenoir County. He is also preceded in death by siblings Larry Williams Coombs, Barbara Ann Coombs, Bernice Edna Coombs and nephew Michael William Coombs.

Elwood was a loving husband, father and Poppie. Left to cherish his memory and carry his legacy is his wife of 60 years Sherry Cavenaugh Coombs; son, Roger Lee Coombs (Michelle) and daughter, Susan Coombs Bradshaw (Ashley); grandchildren, Madelyn Coombs, Olivia Bradshaw, Maggie Ray Bradshaw, Claire Elizabeth Bradshaw and Robert Stanley Coombs; and special family, Beth and Bo Fussell and Kim and Dennis Patram.

He loved his country, serving in the US Navy aboard the aircraft carrier USS Hornet from 1956 to 1960. He was a poultry farmer and retired from textiles; however, after retirement, he enjoyed driving a rollback for his son’s business, delivering peanuts for English Family Peanuts, and working for Padgett Funeral Home. He loved people and brought laughter and joy wherever he went, wearing crazy wild socks and sharing a joke to lift spirits and bring smiles to others.

He loved his church and served his Lord with enthusiasm. He helped with the Backpack ministry of Westview Methodist Church packing bags of food and sharing in delivering them to the schools. He loved air-frying turkeys for the Heroes In Training (HIT Squad) gatherings, helping them in any way he could. He enjoyed the children of the church and delighted in them being “children”.

His greatest love was his Grands – Madelyn, Olivia, Maggie Ray, Claire-Beth and Robert. He had a special relationship with each one and spent as much time with them as they would allow. Whatever they wanted, he tried to make happen. He loved being their Poppie!

Elwood’s family will greet friends at a visitation on Tuesday, January 20, 2026, from 6-8 p.m., or on Wednesday, January 21, at 1 p.m., with a service in the chapel of Padgett Funeral Home at 2 p.m. After the service, interment will be in Riverview Memorial Park of Watha. In lieu of owers, please consider a contribution in his memory to the Westview Methodist Church HIT Squad, 5610 Hwy 53 West, Burgaw, NC 28425.

Betty Evans

Oct. 15, 1932 – Jan. 19, 2026

Betty Jean Hall Evans, lovingly known as Grandma Betty Jean, passed away peacefully on January 19, 2026, in Watha, North Carolina, at the age of 93.

Born on October 15, 1932, in Watha, North Carolina, Betty Jean lived a life rooted in faith, family, and service. She was a devoted follower of Jesus and a faithful member of Hopewell Presbyterian Church. Her love for the Lord shaped how she lived and how she loved those around her.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Malcolm and Louise Hall, and by her siblings, Virginia Ruth King, Dorothy Perseghin, Sylvia Walker, and James Malcolm Hall Jr. (Jimmy).

Betty Jean is survived by her two sons, James Evans (Cindy Evans) and Ralph Evans (Tina Evans); six grandchildren, Blake Evans, Blair Wilkes (Jason Wilkes), Aaron Evans (Ariel Evans), Sydney Harvey (Nick Harvey), Rebecca Teague (Curtis Teague), and Victoria Morales (Boris Morales); and six greatgrandchildren, Tegan Evans, Anderson Evans, Jamison Wilkes, Pearl Wilkes, Zayn Harvey, and Elliana Evans, who were among her greatest joys.

She spent most of her life in Pender County, North Carolina, with a few years in Corpus Christi, Texas. Betty Jean graduated from Burgaw High School in 1951 and later attended trade school. While she held various jobs over the years, the majority of her career was spent as an inventory clerk at J.P. Stevens in Wallace, North Carolina.

Betty Jean had a deep love for cooking and caring for others through food. Her kitchen was a place of comfort, laughter, and connection. She was especially known for her homemade fudge and fruitcakes, which became cherished traditions for family and friends. These recipes were more than desserts; they were expressions of her love, generosity, and joy in serving others.

An exceptional athlete, Betty Jean was also known for her basketball talent in high school, averaging over 30 points per game. She continued playing basketball in various leagues after graduation and enjoyed sports throughout her life. She also played softball, primarily as a pitcher, and was an avid bowler, competing in numerous leagues and traveling across the United States for tournaments. Her highest bowling score was an impressive 297.

Above all, Betty Jean will be remembered for her unwavering faith, her servant’s heart, and her deep love for family. She spent her life loving Jesus and her family well, and now she has heard the words she lived for: “Well done.”

A celebration of her life will be held on Saturday, January 31, at noon at Hopewell Presbyterian Church, 4682 US Highway 117, Burgaw, North Carolina 28425.

In lieu of owers, donations may be made to Hopewell Presbyterian Church.

Guests are welcome to wear her favorite colors: light pink and Carolina blue.

Christopher Coy Reaves

Sept. 15, 1972 – Jan. 22, 2026

Turkey - Christopher Coy Reaves, 53, of Turkey, passed away Thursday, January 22, 2026, at Kitty Askins Hospice Center. Christopher was born in Wake County on September 15, 1972, to Linda Faye Johnson Reaves Tadlock and the late Coy Cleo Reaves.

A private graveside service will be held in the Turkey Cemetery, Turkey, NC.

Mr. Reaves is survived by, wife Susanne H. Reaves of Turkey; mother, Linda Tadlock and husband, Gerald of Clinton; sons, Christopher Allen Reaves and wife, Allyson of Teachey, and Zachery Reaves wife, Leah, and Matthew Austin Reaves; sisters Cathy Jo Hall and husband, Donnie of Smith eld, and Tina Reaves of Stem; grandchildren, Alaina Reaves, Anna Reaves, Mattie Reaves and Little Walker Reaves. He is also survived by nieces and nephew, aunts, uncles, cousins and a sister-inlaw.

Teri Wynne Brinegar

May 11, 1958 – Jan. 19, 2026

Teri Wynne Brinegar, 67, of Warsaw, NC, passed away January 19, 2026, at The Laurels of Pender in Burgaw, NC. A memorial service to celebrate her life will be held at 2 p.m. on Sunday, February 1, 2026, at Harvest Church, 604 E. College St., Warsaw, NC 28398.

Melinda Houston Kennedy

April 8, 1954 – Jan. 21, 2026

Ella Melinda Houston Kennedy, 71, passed away on Wednesday, January 21, 2026, at her home. The funeral service will be Wednesday, January 28, 2026, at 7 p.m. followed by visitation at Community Funeral Home in Beulaville, NC.

The graveside service will be Thursday, January 29, 2026, at 11 a.m. at East Duplin Memorial Gardens in Beulaville, NC. She is survived by daughters Miranda K. Wells (Johnny Ray) of Wallace, NC; and Samantha Kennedy (Alexei Morales) of Pink Hill, NC; brothers: Brantley Houston (Dail), Dean Houston (Wanda) and Wayne Houston (Debbie), all of Pink Hill, NC, and Sandy Houston, of Greensboro, NC; grandchildren Kiley Wells, Cristian Morales and Kennedy Morales; honorary son Eric Davis; and sister of the heart Susie Kennedy.

Ben Scott

Dec. 20, 1941 – Jan. 20, 2026

Ben Scott, 84, of Castle Hayne, passed away on Tuesday, January 20, 2026, at home surrounded by his loving family. He was born on December 20, 1941, in New Bern, North Carolina, to the late Lorenzo Scott and Olive Dean Scott. Ben earned a Bachelor’s in English from ECU in 1964. He later married the love of his life, Betty. He was an avid bird watcher and an exceptional photographer. In his spare time, you could nd him reading a good book, playing chess or watching the ECU football game. Ben was a devoted and loving husband, father, and grandfather.

Ben is survived by his wife of 60 years, Betty Wright Scott; his sons, Christopher Benjamin Scott and his wife, Tonia, Mark Stuart Scott; his granddaughter, Kelsie Puskas; and his grandson, David Paul Puskas II.

In addition to his parents, Ben was also preceded in death by his sister, Rebecca Ann Scott.

A Celebration of life will take place at 2 p.m. on Friday, January 30, 2026, at Northside Church with Mickey Easterling o ciating. In lieu of owers, a donation in Ben’s honor can be sent to Northside Church or Lower Cape Fear LifeCare.

Bonita Boney

July 18, 1960 – Jan. 19, 2026

Bonita Gail Murphy Boney, 65, of Wallace, NC, passed away January 19, 2026, at ECU Health Duplin Hospital in Kenansville, NC. Funeral service will be at noon on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, at Peter’s Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church in Wallace, NC. Public viewing will be prior to the service from 11- 11:50 a.m. Interment following the service at Murphy Family Cemetery in Wallace, NC.

Tommie Smith

Aug. 13, 1937 – Jan. 24, 2026

Tommie Smith, 88, passed away on Saturday, January 24, 2026, at his home. The funeral service will be Tuesday, January 27, 2026, at 1 p.m. at Community Funeral Home, in Beulaville, NC. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service. Interment will be at Oak Ridge Memorial Park in Pink Hill, NC

He is survived by wife Julia Dean Weston Smith of Richlands, NC; daughters Libby Smith Jarman (David), of Richlands, NC, and Jamie Smith Williams (Larry) of Seven Springs, NC; and sister Carolyn Brown, of Chinquapin, NC.

Duplin members celebrate sorority’s 113-year legacy

The Duplin County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., celebrated Founders Day on Jan. 13, joining thousands of chapters worldwide. The event honors the 22 women who founded the sorority 113 years ago. Locally, the chapter’s Delta Dears held a re ective dinner at Rose Hill Restaurant, while younger members, Divas and Dolls, gathered at Casa Amigas in Wallace. Through programs in education, health, political awareness, economic development and international involvement, the chapter continues to serve the community year-round.

RESOLUTION STATING THE INTENT OF THE TOWN OF WALLACE TO ANNEX PROPERTY OWNED BY THE TOWN WHICH IS CONTIGUOUS TO THE EXISTING MUNICIPAL BOUNDARIES(Farrior Park)

BE IT RESOLVED by the Town Council of the Town of Wallace that:

Section 1. It is the intent of the Town Council, pursuant to G.S. 160A-31 to annex the property described in Section 2, which is owned by the Town of Wallace.

Section 2. The legal description of the property is as follows:

Located in Island Creek Township, Duplin County, North Carolina and beginning at an concrete monument, located on the western right of way of Rose Avenue (39 foot public right of way); said concrete monument being located N 07°37’11” E – 388.02 to an existing iron rod and N 07°39’07” E – 399.39 feet (passing over an existing iron rod at 272.68 feet) from an existing iron rod in the right of way of East Southerland Street (NC Highway 41, public right of way varies), also being Point “A” on map recorded in Map Book 27 at Pages 441 – 444, Duplin County Registry; thence N 68°35’22” W - 699.56 feet to an existing concrete monument; thence N 68°35’22” W - 10.36 feet to a point; thence S 35°28’15” W - 110.99 feet to an existing iron rod; thence S 39°11’27” W - 65.28 feet to an existing iron rod; thence S 59°45’17” W - 75.11 feet to an existing iron rod; thence S 65°19’34” W - 63.40 feet to an existing iron rod; thence S 76°36’43” W - 206.72 feet to an existing concrete monument; thence N 00°31’59” W - 274.31 feet to an existing concrete monument; thence N 55°40’55” W – 572.46 feet (passing over an existing concrete monument at 551.46 feet) to the centerline of Harry Nicholson Lane (50 foot public right of way); thence N 16°47’05” E436.95 feet along centerline of Harry Nicholson Lane; thence S 81°15’24” E – 671.84 feet (passing over an existing concrete monument at 20.00 feet) to an existing iron rod: thence N 14°03’54” E - 527.79 feet to an existing concrete monument; thence N 08°41’57” E280.61 feet to an existing concrete monument; thence N 12°40’14” E - 1493.84 feet to an existing concrete monument, also being Point “B” on map recorded in Map Book 27 at Pages 441 – 444, Duplin County Registry.

Thence along an agreed line per map recorded in Map Book 14 at Page 170, N 27°01’59” E - 263.78 feet to an existing iron rod; thence N 25°59’10” E - 34.87 feet to an existing iron rod; thence N 79°32’37” E - 111.07 feet to an existing iron rod; thence S 58°13’04” E - 94.13 feet to an existing iron rod; thence S 82°19’39” E - 207.27 feet to an existing iron rod; thence S 38°27’51” E - 70.89 feet to an existing iron rod; thence N 58°33’37” E - 83.36 feet to an existing iron rod; thence S 48°54’56” E - 266.91 feet to an existing iron rod; thence S 56°53’24” E - 76.24 feet to an existing iron rod; thence S 77°37’03” E

feet to an existing iron rod; thence N 14°13’48” W - 193.04 feet to an existing iron rod; thence N 02°09’46” E - 170.48 feet to an existing iron rod; thence N 05°25’42” E - 184.23 feet to an existing iron rod; thence N 52°58’24” E - 167.40 feet (passing over and iron rod on the southern right of way of Stallings Road at 125.64 feet) to an existing railroad spike in the centerline of Stallings Road (60 foot public right of way), also being Point “C” on map recorded in Map Book 27 at Pages 441 – 444, Duplin County Registry; thence along the high water mark of the Boney Mill Pond per map recorded in Map Book 13 at Pages 231-232, Duplin County Registry, N 52°58’24” E - 109.21 feet (passing over an iron rod on the northern right of way of Stallings Road at 41.05 feet) to iron rod set; thence S 65°30’00” E - 159.00 feet to an iron rod set; thence S 26°10’15” W - 56.41 feet (passing over an iron rod on the northern right of way of Stallings Road at 26.02 feet) to a point in the centerline of Stallings Road, also being Point “D” on map recorded in Map Book 27 at Pages 441 – 444, Duplin County Registry; thence S 26°10’15” W – 30.39 feet to an iron rod on the southern right of way of Stallings Road; thence, continuing with the high water mark of Boney Mill Pond S 26°10’15” W – 6.78 feet to a point:

thence S 37°42’19” W – 73.31 feet an iron rod set; thence S 41°25’43” W - 56.11 feet to a point;

thence S 39°05’45” W - 36.63 feet to a point;

thence S 11°05’33” W - 19.00 feet to a point;

thence S 53°12’06” E - 26.88 feet to a point;

thence S 28°06’44” E - 13.48 feet to an iron rod set; thence S 10°53’12” W - 15.76 feet to a point;

thence S 40°51’18” E - 29.79 feet to a point;

thence S 17°41’19” W - 37.66 feet to a point;

thence S 12°32’28” W - 30.40 feet to a point;

thence S 10°48’47” E - 53.45 feet to a point;

thence S 18°04’15” E - 63.42 feet to a point;

thence S 24°18’47” E - 30.64 feet to an iron rod set; thence S 13°46’02” E - 49.87 feet to a point;

thence S 27°52’03” E - 36.43 feet to a point; thence S 19°29’11” E - 23.68 feet to a point; thence S 13°15’56” E - 18.56 feet to a point;

thence S 17°48’31” E - 24.72 feet to a point; thence S 10°51’28” W - 53.74 feet to an existing concrete monument; thence S 02°52’29” W - 28.52 feet to a point; thence S 04°32’15” E37.23 feet to a point; thence S 16°58’38” W32.66 feet to a point; thence S 05°22’16” W40.24 feet to a point; thence S 11°35’57” E - 84.18 feet to a point; thence S 00°19’10” W - 58.14 feet to an iron rod set; thence S 18°15’40” E - 51.16 feet to a point; thence S 29°57’24” W - 133.38 feet to a point; thence S 14°59’05” W - 68.46 feet to a point; thence S 05°34’34” E - 50.31 feet to a point; thence S 14°42’11” E - 47.87 feet to an iron rod set; thence S 26°17’17” E - 79.68 feet to a point; thence S 44°26’44” W - 75.43 feet to a point; thence S 48°08’53” W - 59.89 feet to a point; thence S 19°08’35” W - 68.01 feet to a point; thence S 27°17’53” E - 50.73 feet to a point; thence S 67°23’39” E - 50.66 feet to a point; thence N 80°13’35” E - 48.20 feet to a point; thence S 78°34’58” E - 33.24 feet to a point; thence S 39°36’21” E - 43.52 feet to a point; thence S 29°35’55” W - 61.00 feet to a point; thence S 02°12’17” E - 69.72 feet to a point; thence S 12°25’42” W - 102.18 feet to a point; thence S 14°03’43” E - 80.06 feet to a point; thence S 40°14’39” E - 14.30 feet to a point; thence S 80°59’07” E - 40.22 feet to a point; thence S 61°07’51” E - 33.93 feet to a point; thence S 35°44’22” E - 13.30 feet to a point; thence S 36°54’02” W - 43.37 feet to a point; thence S 16°18’15” E - 54.52 feet to a point; thence S 33°33’17” W - 49.78 feet to a point; thence S 81°04’45” W - 46.80 feet to a point; thence S 41°54’38” E - 103.43 feet to a

point; thence S 48°44’41” E - 38.39 feet to a point; thence S 25°53’07” W - 33.63 feet to a point; thence S 04°56’53” E - 36.04 feet to a point; thence N 74°35’45” E - 32.59 feet to a point; thence S 17°15’24” E - 39.65 feet to a point; thence S 25°41’52” W - 28.66 feet to a point; thence S 11°05’32” W - 45.37 feet to a point; thence S 03°06’00” W - 60.88 feet to a point; thence S 06°13’20” E - 26.67 feet to a point; thence S 25°32’11” W - 34.65 feet to a point; thence S 17°44’46” W - 44.28 feet to a point; thence S 03°32’33” W - 44.89 feet to a point; thence S 18°11’21” E - 25.29 feet to a point; thence S 39°00’14” E - 34.11 feet to a point; thence S 39°40’40” E - 70.79 feet to a point; thence S 09°33’16” E - 40.73 feet to a point; thence S 06°15’09” W - 103.11 feet to a point; thence S 68°36’54” W - 25.19 feet to a point; thence S 80°52’53” W - 49.36 feet to a point; thence S 56°49’43” W - 47.99 feet to a point; thence S 46°06’17” E - 43.04 feet to a point; thence S 29°57’50” E - 47.65 feet to a point; thence S 04°03’04” E - 41.50 feet to a point; thence S 12°22’28” W - 45.84 feet to a point; thence S 18°05’39” W - 68.12 feet to a point; thence S 12°27’41” E - 72.50 feet to a point; thence S 17°53’45” W - 33.80 feet to a point; thence S 11°37’25” E - 32.67 feet to a point; thence S 04°43’45” W - 31.15 feet to a point; thence S 11°46’30” W - 75.54 feet to a point; thence S 13°16’52” W - 49.90 feet to a point; thence S 05°25’57” E - 53.17 feet to a point; thence S 20°54’14” E - 28.58 feet to a point; thence S 43°37’29” E - 63.40 feet to a point; thence S 37°29’51” E - 68.61 feet to a point; thence S 12°01’09” E - 35.65 feet to a point; thence S 46°17’35” E - 53.92 feet to a point; thence S 39°37’04” E - 39.38 feet to a point; thence S 50°11’12” E - 24.47 feet to a point; thence S 31°52’56” W - 148.57 feet to an iron rod set; thence S 25°57’46” W - 39.78 feet to a point; thence S 02°37’24” E - 46.99 feet to a point; thence S 03°38’24” E - 53.92 feet to a point; thence S 33°54’40” W - 58.24 feet to a point; thence S 08°46’02” W - 108.85 feet to a point; thence S 31°02’27” E - 61.20 feet to an iron rod set; thence S 40°45’26” E - 54.30 feet to a point; thence S 08°08’04” E - 19.89 feet to a point; thence S 28°20’26” W - 94.54 feet to a point; thence N 85°10’26” W - 41.91 feet to a point; thence S 71°23’23” W - 70.66 feet to a point; thence S 31°28’58” W - 53.56 feet to a point; thence S 19°14’26” W - 84.75 feet to an iron rod set; thence S 10°25’07” E - 95.43 feet to a point; thence S 15°55’55” W - 82.95 feet to a point; thence S 16°26’28” E - 94.45 feet to a point; thence S 11°39’50” E - 74.68 feet to a point; thence S 06°15’14” W - 77.22 feet to a point; thence S 01°45’08” W - 125.25 feet to a point; thence S 04°56’38” W - 162.88 feet to a point; thence S 68°08’18” W - 51.57 feet to a point; thence S 65°27’39” W - 50.65 feet to a point; thence S 42°58’56” W - 71.38 feet to a point; thence S 12°42’12” W - 68.32 feet to a point; thence S 33°36’03” W - 46.81 feet to a point; thence S 15°20’08” W - 44.59 feet to an old gum tree corner, also being Point “E” on map recorded in Map Book 27 at Pages 441 – 444, Duplin County Registry. Thence along the current Town Limits line, S 40°50’14” W - 89.20 feet to existing iron pipe; thence S 67°54’04” W - 39.92 feet to an existing concrete monument; thence S 67°52’21” W - 102.86 feet to an existing iron pipe; thence N 54°05’31” W - 62.51 feet to an existing iron pipe; thence N 80°43’35” W - 57.80

Niccoya Dobson; rst row, left to right, Valerie Carr-Williams, Kimberly Carlton, Roszena Devione-Bivens, Tina Pitts, Lakisha Miller, and Nicole Smith; back row, left to right, Denise McAllister, Tekeiya Sloan, Tonya CarrStewart, Dessa Jordan-Brown and Sha’Niyah Spencer.

N

E - 41.02 feet to a point; thence N 58°52’05” E - 49.85 feet to a point; thence N 39°09’13” E - 45.18 feet to a point; thence N 17°05’57” E - 25.28 feet to a point; thence N 07°29’13” W - 52.19 feet to a point; thence N 16°55’49” E - 24.08 feet to a point; thence N 36°41’33” W - 24.04

N 48°37’24” W

feet to a point; thence S 80°35’49” E - 23.44 feet to a point; thence N 30°03’15” W - 16.48 feet to a point; thence N 86°23’25” W - 91.11 feet to a point; thence S 88°23’03” W - 17.85 feet to a point; thence N 16°00’13” W - 12.19 feet to a point; thence N 85°47’41” E - 48.49 feet to a point; thence N 47°38’46” E - 19.64 feet to a point; thence N 62°19’56” W - 16.54 feet to a point; thence N 46°48’50” W - 68.34 feet to a point; thence N 75°44’06” W - 65.93 feet to a point; thence N 74°01’57” W - 30.06 feet to a point; thence S 67°27’04” W - 49.05 feet to a point; thence N 85°44’05” W - 23.79 feet to an existing iron pipe, also being Point “G’ on map recorded in Map Book 27 at Pages 441 – 444, Duplin County Registry. Thence N 69°36’40” W - 63.83 feet to an existing iron pipe; thence N 37°17’22” W114.83 feet to an existing iron pipe; thence N 72°06’46” W - 86.73 feet to an existing iron pipe in the western right of way of Rose Avenue; thence along the western right of way of Rose Avenue (39 foot public right of way), S 07°38’25” W - 543.11 feet to an existing concrete monument which is the point of beginning.

Section 3. The property described in Section 2 is contiguous to the current municipal boundaries.

Section 4. A public hearing on the question of annexation of the property will be held at the Wallace Women’s Club after 6 o’clock pm on Thursday, February 12, 2026.

Section 5. Notice of the public hearing shall be published once in Duplin Journal, a newspaper having general circulation in the Town of Wallace, at least ten (10) days prior the the date of the public hearing. Adopted this 8th day of January, 2026.

Stanly NewS Journal

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Judge orders ICE chief to appear in court or risk contempt over denial of due process

The chief federal judge in Minnesota says the Trump administration has failed to comply with orders to hold hearings for detained immigrants. As a result, the judge ordered the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to appear before him Friday to explain why he shouldn’t be held in contempt.

In an order dated Monday, Chief Judge Patrick J. Schiltz said Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, must appear personally in court. Schiltz took the administration to task over its handling of bond hearings for immigrants it has detained.

Activists say Iran’s crackdown has killed at least 6,159 people

Activists say at least 6,159 people have been killed in Iran’s crackdown on nationwide protests, and many more are still feared dead. The new gures on Tuesday came from a U.S.-based NGO, which has been accurate in multiple rounds of unrest in Iran. The Iranian government has put the death toll at a far lower 3,117 — including 2,427 civilians and security forces, and the rest labelled “terrorists.”

Walking through the storm: Buddhist monks’ journey of peace

The Theravada monks’ Walk for Peace brought their message through Raleigh

By Shawn Krest Stanly News Journal

HEADS DOWN, they walk, keeping a brisk pace. A winter storm bears down on them, and many have hoods drawn in the 28-degree weather.

Two dozen monks left the Theravada Buddhist temple in Fort Worth, Texas, in late October and started walking. Most

of us have celebrated Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s. We’ve done holiday shopping and watched more than half of the NFL season and playo s. They’ve been walking. Some of them wear sandals, a nod to the weather. A few had been barefoot for much of the walk. Their journey will take them through eight states, 2,300 miles and 110 days, from Texas to D.C. They eat one meal a day, food donated to them. It’s called the Walk for Peace, but their mission doesn’t sound politically charged.

“We walk not to protest, but to awaken the peace that already lives within each of us.”

Statement from Theravada Buddhist temple in Fort Worth, Texas

“We walk not to protest, but to awaken the peace that already lives within each of us,” a written statement from the temple explains. “The Walk

County commissioners approve $10K grant for America 250 events

The board voted 5-2 in favor of the funding

By Jesse Deal Stanly News Journal

ALBEMARLE — Stanly County commissioners have approved funding to support local programming for the America 250 commemoration of the nation’s 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. At the Stanly County Board of Commissioners meeting on Jan. 20, the board voted 5-2

to approve a $10,000 grant for the Stanly County America 250 Committee.

Chairman Scott E rd, Vice Chairman Bill Lawhon, and Commissioners Patty Crump, Trent Hatley and Billy Mills voted in favor of the funding, while Commissioners Mike Barbee and Brandon King voted against it. According to the committee’s request, the grant will be used for outreach and engagement expenses, including event signage, printed

for Peace is a simple yet meaningful reminder that unity and kindness begin within each of us and can radiate outward to families, communities, and society as a whole.” By late morning, they’ve already traveled from Apex to Raleigh. They turn from Tryon Road onto Gorman Street, heading for Dorothea Dix Park, where they’ll eat today’s meal. It’s the 91st day of their journey. They’ve lost a walker to a car accident in Houston and their dog to a leg injury, and

FRIDAY JAN.

SATURDAY JAN.

Rogers named Albemarle Rotary Club’s Rotarian of the Year

Stanly News Journal sta THE ALBEMARLE Rotary Club named Mandi Rogers its 2026 Rotarian of the Year on Jan. 15.

Rogers, a club member for nearly two decades, was recognized by last year’s honoree, Louisa Jane Hartsell, for embodying the Rotary motto of “Service Above Self.”

During her 2023–24 term as president, Rogers created and launched the Red Dress Gala, a fundraiser supporting Gift of Life International. She also helped launch the club’s Harlem Wizards basketball game fundraiser. Rogers serves in the North Carolina Air National Guard and works as a senior vice president at Uwharrie Bank. She also co-owns Livi Bug’s Boutique in downtown Albemarle with her daughter Olivia.

At the district level, Rogers serves on the District 7680 Governor Selection Committee and will become assistant district governor for the

Jan. 23

Jan. 19

• Anissa Jeanise Smith, 31, was arrested for felony larceny, felony breaking and entering, simple assault and injury to personal property.

• Arnelle Dion Smith, 30, was arrested for attempted felony larceny.

Jan. 21

• Tristan Matthew Barnett, 25, was arrested for simple assault, possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.

• Gregory Luis Bustamante, 39, was arrested for possession of methamphetamine, possession of marijuana paraphernalia, possession of drug paraphernalia and resisting a public o cer.

• Jessica Leigh Donahue, 21, was arrested for felony larceny and felony conspiracy.

Jan. 22

• Edward Lee, 40, was arrested for obtaining property by false pretense, felony common law forgery and resisting a public o cer.

• Anthony Samuel Walker, 27, was arrested for simple assault.

Mandi Rogers, right, receives the Albemarle Rotary Club’s 2026 Rotarian of the Year Award from last year’s honoree, Louisa Jane Hartsell, at the club’s Jan. 15 meeting.

Pee Dee area in July. She also does mission work with Samaritan’s Feet, traveling overseas to deliver shoes to children.

• Samuel Joshua Jackson, 43, was arrested for larceny of motor vehicle parts, felony larceny and conspiracy to commit felony larceny.

Jan. 24

• Cristian Javior Cruz, 30, was arrested for simple assault and criminal contempt.

• Holli Ann E rd, 28, was arrested for domestic violence, simple assault and criminal contempt.

• Jimmy Ian Furr, 23, was arrested for domestic violence and assault on a female.

• Jose Maria Hernandez, 27, was arrested for simple assault.

• Tory Lee Rushing, 20, was arrested for resisting a public o cer causing serious injury, identity theft and breaking and entering into a motor vehicle with theft.

Jan. 25

• Thomas Leroy Gildersleeve, 49, was arrested for felony breaking and entering.

• Jose Flores Gonzalez, 31, was arrested for driving while impaired.

• Caleb Shane Whitley, 50, was arrested for possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Here’s a quick look at what’s coming up in and around Stanly County:

Jan. 29

“Washington: The Will to Win and Conquering Adversity 1732-1799”

A special lecture given by historian Steven Campbell as part of the Stanly County America 250th Celebration. Admission is free, but advance registration is required and can be completed online at Stanly County Celebrates America250! .

Central United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall 172 North Second St. Albemarle

Jan. 30

NeedleBugs

A social group speci cally for those who love needlework. Bring your own supplies. Stanly County Public Library 207 Pee Dee Ave. Norwood

Now through Feb. 7

Stanly Arts Guild Members’ Show

This annual exhibition features the work of Stanly Arts Guild members working in a variety of media and genres. The show awards a rst-, second- and third-place prizes, along with honorable mention ribbons given at the judge’s discretion. Admission to the exhibit is free.

Stanly Arts Guild & Gallery 330 N. 2nd St. Albemarle

THE CONVERSATION

Trip

Ho end, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

VISUAL VOICES

| NEWT GINGRICH

Argentina’s Election and 2026

Argentina was once one of the wealthiest countries in the world.

ARGENTINE PRESIDENT Javier Milei’s extraordinary electoral victory in October could be a good omen for American Republicans in 2026.

Milei’s party, La Libertad Avanza, won 64 seats in the House of Deputies. His party and allied groups also won 14 seats in the nation’s Senate. Before the election, they only had 37 deputies and six senators.

If Republicans win a similar victory in 2026, it would mean something like 290 Republicans in the House (a roughly 140-vote majority) and 73 Republican Senators (a 36-vote majority).

Of course, a swing like that is impossible in America. Only one-third of the Senate is up for election in any given year, and gerrymandering has created some near disaster-proof House seats.

However, Milei’s victory has proven a reform movement can undertake deeply disruptive, painful changes and still increase its share of power.

Like President Donald Trump, Milei is a dedicated reformer who is determined to profoundly change a system that has been crippling his country for at least eight decades.

It is easy to forget that Argentina was once one of the wealthiest countries in the world. In 1913, the average Argentinian had about 80% of the income of the average American. It took several generations of socialist politicians to destroy Argentina’s wealth. Today, the average

COLUMN | MICHAEL BARONE

Argentinian has about 30% of the income of the average American.

This is a lesson that followers of Zohran Mamdani, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders should consider. If the American big government socialists do for the United States what Juan Peron and the Argentinian socialists did for their country, every American will rapidly become poorer.

Milei brought an intellectual understanding of conservative economics, a great television personality and a willingness to dismantle the old order. Elon Musk’s antics with the chainsaw was actually a tribute to Milei — who had won the presidency with that as his symbol. His pledge was to take a chainsaw to the bureaucracy, regulations and political machines crippling Argentina’s economy.

And Milei implemented his campaign promises. In his rst two years, he slashed spending by 30%, cut regulations and shrunk the bureaucracy by 55,000 workers (a 15% reduction). He has also cut the number of ministries from 19 to nine, lowered taxes, and encouraged economic growth and investment in Argentina. All this led to a budget surplus for the rst time in 14 years.

Milei clearly intends to build on this victory. He told an election night crowd, “Today marks the beginning of building a great Argentina. This result is nothing more and nothing less than the con rmation of the mandate we

assumed in 2023.” He attributed the victory to the voters’ “determination to change the destiny of the nation irreversibly.”

Milei has an ambitious follow-on reform program. He plans to change labor laws, make contracts more exible — and make even deeper cuts to federal spending and regulation. He plans to have more tax cuts and to dramatically streamline bureaucratic procedures. His major goal is to increase the economy and boost salaries and jobs. To achieve this he wants to make it much easier to start new companies.

As Milei summarized it election night: “Argentines showed that they don’t want to return to the model of failure. … We want to be a country that grows. We want to make Argentina great again.”

No wonder Trump took great pleasure in Milei’s victory — and why he and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent went all in to help him.

Every Republican should take heart. Faced with a choice between reform or decay, free enterprise or big government socialism, and freedom or bureaucratic rule, voters will side with what works. They did in Argentina.

Newt Gingrich is former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. He is the founder of Gingrich360, where he writes syndicated columns and comments on politics and current events.

Trump’s outrageous threats get practical results

Trump has proved that the border can be controlled under current legislation.

THINK ABOUT IT. Heads of government do not normally reveal the texts of private communications from other heads of state. Yet that is what Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store of Norway two Sundays ago on the rst weekend of the World Economic Forum in Davos, where the international press would have no di culty nding appalled foreign leaders to comment.

You could think of this as a hostile act of a statesman appalled that the American head of government does not know that the government of Norway does not decide who gets the Nobel Peace Prize. It is probably better to think of it as an intervention by a sympathetic observer who has noticed that Donald Trump backs down from untenable positions in response to ructions in political and nancial markets.

Which is what Trump has done between the publication of his letter and his speech at Davos last Wednesday. The Sunday before he seemed to be threatening war with Denmark, and European commentators, not without reason, lamented that he was risking breaking up the NATO alliance out of pique of not being awarded a prize by a committee that was never going to honor a nonleftist American president.

Proof of which was the granting of that prize to Barack Obama in 2009 for what even Obama himself admitted was for no tangible accomplishment. And Trump has never forgotten the ridicule heaped on him by Obama at the 2011 White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, ridicule that led directly to that ride down the Trump Tower escalator four years later.

Actually, Trump has some valid points on Greenland. It sits astride missile, drone and air transport routes between North America and western Russia and eastern Europe. The United States would have even more exibility than it does under current agreements with Denmark if it were to become U.S. territory.

That’s one reason the U.S. holds on to Guam in the west Paci c and has spent billions upgrading military facilities there.

All that said, Trump’s usual negotiating technique of starting o with extravagant demands was, in the careful words of social scientist Charles Murray, “next-level crazy.” Denmark has been an active ally of the United States in Afghanistan and Iraq, has increased its rate of defense spending above levels Trump demanded, and has adopted immigration policies in line with Trump’s advocacy.

With Denmark as with Canada, as with fellow Republicans in Georgia and other states, Trump’s obnoxious maximalist demands have alienated him from sympathy and empowered the forces against him. Other leaders have gured out that he requires gushers of praise to permeate every dialogue, and they’re probably ready with encomiums for his avowals in his Davos speech that he won’t use violence to obtain Greenland.

It has to be said that Trump’s bluntness and braggadocio have had some of its intended e ect. The American Enterprise Institution’s Yuval Levin, in an interview with The New York Times’ Ezra Klein, made the point that many of Trump’s lurching policy changes, not codi ed into law, can easily be wiped away by the next Democratic administration, perhaps even by a Democratic House of Representatives next year.

But despite his own preference for procedural regularity in making institutional change, Levin admits that “they’ve driven a lot of change that will be durable.” Initial polling reaction to Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, has been negative. But there’s no doubt that Trump has proved that the border can be controlled under current legislation — which would increase the political cost of any subsequent administration adopting the open border policy of Joe Biden’s.

It is also telling that the best estimates of both pro- and anti-immigration analysts are that the substantial numbers of ICE deportations from within the United States, far above those of other recent administrations, are orders of magnitude lower than the numbers of self-deportations. As on other issues (like military recruitment), Trump is uninterested in institutional change but interested in sharply changing the behavior of the larger public.

The e ect of Trump policies, and the possibility that they may be put back in place at some later date, will likely discourage many illegal aliens from living in this country more or less permanently, as some 10 million have been up through January 2025. As I wrote last fall, “Who will want to make long-term plans that can be ruined by sudden deportation or hurried self-deportation?”

We learn from experience, and just as the former real estate developer sometimes seems to accept discipline from nancial markets, so the former reality TV show host sometimes seems to accept discipline from the ratings. On Greenland, he has responded to the cues of the markets and the ratings and backed o from threats of force while retaining the possibility of increasing the already signi cant U.S. presence there. Meanwhile, the NATO alliance remains in place, with its increased number of European members spending increasing percentages of their economies on defense. Three more years of this Trump administration will strain and irritate foreign leaders and American politicians, with wild threats and childish petulance driving one crisis after another. But it may continue to get them, often grudgingly, doing things Trump’s way.

Michael Barone is a senior political analyst for the Washington Examiner, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and longtime co-author of “The Almanac of American Politics.”

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AFPENC o cials maintain they had authority to move the a liation forward

By A.P. Dillon Stanly News Journal

RALEIGH — Members of a teacher’s association in North Carolina are questioning the transparency and consent process involved in a merger with a national teacher’s union.

Last fall, the board of Professional Educators of North Carolina (PENC) unanimously approved an a liation with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), a national labor union representing 1.8 million educators.

PENC rebranded as the American Federation of Professional Educators in North Carolina (AFPENC), with the change announced Oct. 14, 2025, in Charlotte.

AFT President Randi Weingarten and AFPENC President Joanna Loftis signed the agreement, framing it as a “historic” move to amplify advocacy for teacher pay, working conditions and public education funding in a right-to-work state that prohibits collective bargaining and strikes.

Public statements from AFT and AFPENC describe the afliation as the culmination of years of member-driven organizing, aimed at addressing declining membership and limited statewide in uence.

PENC had about 2,082 members in 2022-23, down nearly 4% year over year.

Bene ts touted for the merger include enhanced resources like professional development, legal support, disaster relief, classroom tools and stronger lobbying e orts in Raleigh while emphasizing AFPENC’s continued autonomy as a North Carolina-focused entity governed by local educators.

However, internal pushback has highlighted concerns about the process’ legitimacy. Past PENC President Tim Barnsback has criticized the a liation as lacking proper member consent.

“I got involved because leadership changes raised legitimate questions about governance and stability, and I believed members deserved clear answers so the organization could remain a strong advocate for public education in North Carolina,” Barnsback told North State Journal. “I support a strong, nonpartisan collective voice for teachers, but any a liation needs to be handled transparently so it strengthens, rather than weakens, educators’ ability to defend public education in North Carolina.”

AMERICA from page A1

educational materials, advertising, social media promotion and commemorative items to be distributed at America 250 events throughout the county.

Bain Jones, chair of the Stanly County America 250 Committee and president of the Stanly County Historical Society, told commissioners that the committee has received a $10,000 grant from the state’s America 250 program, making additional local funding necessary to deliver the full scope of planned programming.

One of the centerpiece events will be a large-scale drone show with electronic projections and music scheduled for June 5 at City Lake Park in Albemarle. The presentation is designed to use visual storytelling and music to commemorate the nation’s founding.

“One of the principal things we’re going to be doing is a drone show, a great part of this grant is going to be used in terms of publicizing it,” Jones said. “We want to also publicize all of the events that are going to be across the county. As you’ve heard in the prior meeting, they’re going to

pro t Corporation Act to enter a liations without amending governing documents or triggering a member vote, deeming the action preliminary.

“I’m not trying to stop the afliation,” said Barnsback. “My concern has always been about process and trust. If educators are going to stand together to protect public education in North Carolina, the organization representing them has to be transparent, accountable and member-driven.

“If the a liation is done properly, with transparency, clear documentation and informed member consent, it has the potential to strengthen educators’ ability to push back against e orts that undermine public schools and teaching.”

A request for a membership list was rejected as unrelated, since o cials asserted no member notice was required for board decisions. Barnsback argued this breached statutory transparency standards andduciary duties.

A Dec. 19, 2025, letter to members extended a Google Form feedback period and promised draft bylaw revisions for a January annual membership vote on amendments. The feedback form originally ran for three days in mid-December.

Critics view this as retroactive legitimization of a done deal, especially after the rebranding and public claims of nality.

Barnsback also noted the disabling of the internal member communication portal amid rising questions, limiting discussion.

“I’ve invested nearly 20 years in PENC as a member and served as board president during some of the organization’s most successful and in uential years,” Barnsback said. “Watching it unravel because of mismanagement and poor legal and ethical practices has been heartbreaking, especially knowing how much it once meant to educators across North Carolina.”

In formal emails starting Oct. 20, 2025, Barnsback requested key records: pre- and post-a liation bylaws, board vote details (including quorum and motion), explanations of rati cation requirements, full minutes, con ict-of-interest policies, the a liation agreement, and the membership list to verify notice and participation.

Responses from leadership from AFTPENC o cials, including Loftis, O ce Administrator Catherine Coleman and Executive Director Donnell McLean, involved initial delays, partial ful llment and some denials.

O cials asserted board authority under the state’s Non-

be in Norwood, Albemarle and a variety of places.” Jones previously outlined initial plans for the yearlong celebration at the board’s Jan. 5 meeting, describing a series of public art installations, educational activities, live music performances and community events spread across multiple municipalities. A major focus of the program is engaging young residents. Jones said the committee plans to distribute educational fact sheets with interactive elements for children and provide commemorative items

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, testi es during a House subcommittee hearing in April 2023 in Washington, D.C.

with the PENC bylaws and North Carolina Nonpro t Corporation Act,” Loftis wrote in an email.

“All board decisions toward the a liation were made unanimously at o cial board meetings where a quorum was present. Through the process AFPENC has remained compliant with all state statutes and remains in constant communication with our legal consult.

“The a liation with AFT maintains PENC’s autonomy in governance and leadership. Membership will vote on amended bylaws and articles of incorporation wherein all proper notices will be sent to the general membership as required by our bylaws and state law.”

On Saturday, a virtual town hall was held for members to vote on amendments to the organization’s Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws but also ostensibly to address PENC member issues with the merger.

Loftis, McLean and most board members were in attendance, as well as former Democratic State Superintendent candidate Jen Mangrum and current General Assembly House candidate Kelly Van Horn, who changed her party a liation to Republican to challenge Rep. Tricia Cotham (R-Mecklenburg) in this year’s primary.

Attendees indicated to North State Journal that AFPENC leadership didn’t take objections seriously and that questions were de ected or left unanswered.

When members asked about dues increases, they were told the board said that was still undecided. Members were unhappy with that position, saying they were still being asked to vote yes on the merger and trust the board.

Members also asked about union activity in North Carolina, citing an AFT article that says AFPENC has joined picket lines, participated in national political protests and engaged in activities that have never occurred in North Carolina.

As of Jan. 9, AFPENC’s website presents the a liation as complete and positive, highlighting its legacy since 1979 and new AFT-backed strengths, with no public acknowledgment of disputes.

North State Journal reached out to AFPENC o cials with several questions regarding voting processes, quorum of the board vote and the board’s authority to enter into the afliation, as well as questions about member feedback and record transparency raised by Barnsback.

Loftis responded to North State Journal, o ering a statement in email, but no detailed answers to the questions posed.

“The executive board of PENC (doing business as AFPENC) engaged in an a liation with AFT with the general governing powers of the organization in pursuance

at key events, including the drone show.

“We want to engage young people,” Jones said. “We’re going to be doing informational and historical fact sheets with coloring aspects to it. We want to engage our young citizens of Stanly County. Speci cally at the drone show, we want to hand out a magnet that is going to basically commemorate the 250th celebration for Stanly County at that time. This all has to do with totally engaging the public in regards to the program that has been established.” A full guide to America

Members were then told PENC would be “strengthened by a national union.” Certain union activity, like organized strikes, is illegal for public employees in North Carolina.

The AFT article also says that AFPENC conducted a book giveaway for students in North Carolina that apparently never happened. When asked about it, Loftis said that a book giveaway was planned but admitted it has not yet taken place.

AFT has also sent newsletters containing content focused on AFT President Weingarten’s statements on anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement protests.

AFPENC’s annual board meeting is scheduled for Jan. 31 via video conference, at which time the board will vote on the amendment changes presented at the previous Saturday’s meeting.

250 events in Stanly County is currently being nalized and will be published online on the Stanly County Historical Society’s website.

“I support this 100%, and I appreciate all the hard work that you’ve done so far,” Crump said to Jones. “I can’t wait to be part of it and see what is going to be at all the di erent locations I plan to attend.”

The Stanly County Board of Commissioners will hold its next regular meeting on Feb. 2 at 6 p.m. in the Gene McIntyre Meeting Room at Stanly County Commons.

Rowan Big Band to perform at Agri-Civic Center

The concert is scheduled for Feb. 14

By Jesse Deal Stanly News Journal

ALBEMARLE — An 18-piece community big band will help set the mood for Valentine’s Day with a live concert in Albemarle next month.

Presented by the Stanly County Concert Association, the Rowan Big Band is scheduled to perform Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. at the Stanly County Agri-Civic Center.

Tickets are $25 for adults and $10 for students, and are available at stanlyconcert.com. Stanly County Concert Association members will be admitted free with a current season pass.

Based in Landis, the Rowan Big Band performs jazz in the classic style of Glenn Miller, Count Basie and Duke Ellington, featuring big band and swing music alongside favorites from the Great American Songbook.

The ensemble is known for its expansive repertoire, which includes ballads, swing standards, pop selections, vocal features and solo instrument showcases.

As a nonpro t organization, the band pairs its musical mission with community service.

Founder Ron Turby ll envisioned the group as both a tribute to a uniquely American musical tradition and a way to give back, with members volunteering their time and performance proceeds supporting charitable causes.

“First organized in 2006, we

MONKS from page A1

there are still 20 days to go, likely the coldest and most choked with crowds that they’ve encountered yet. And every person they pass, every day, is seeing them for the rst and only time.

More than 70 people emerge from the apartment complexes on both sides of the street, interrupting their storm prep to see them. Some drove from their apartment and parked in the entrance driveway — taking their car the tenth of a mile to see these men walking across the country.

Police o cers stop tra c, turning cars back to take another route. Most drivers unroll their window to explain why they should be allowed to pass.

A van approaches slowly, with ashing lights, and cell phones are held aloft. “Here they come,” someone shouts, but it’s a false alarm. The van, advertising a local radio station, honks, and the passengers wave.

People go back to waiting. A news helicopter hovering nearby gives a good estimate of how close they are. Someone has a live stream up on their phone, reporting that they “just went under the bridge.” Someone else complains that the online map isn’t updating. One woman talks on her cell phone, explaining to a friend where the nearest shopping center is so she can park.

Finally, police motorcycles appear, lights ashing. Again,

have dedicated ourselves to performing for the enjoyment of our audiences, to preserve this authentically American form of music and to help raise money for worthwhile local charities in the community,” the Rowan Big Band says in its mission statement. “The net proceeds from our musical performances are used to support worthwhile local charities.”

Over the years, the band has performed at bene ts for a wide range of organizations, including Communities in Schools, Speedway Children’s Charities, the United Service Organizations,

“The net proceeds from our musical performances are used to support worthwhile local charities.”

Rowan Big Band

the American Cancer Society, The American Legion Auxiliary and the W.G. Hefner Salisbury VA Medical Center.

The Valentine’s Day concert

has been promoted as both a musical outing and a date-night option.

“Already making plans for a special evening with your valentine? After a delicious meal, head out to the Stanly County Agri-Civic Center to hear the Rowan Big Band in concert,” the Stanly County Arts Council said in an advertisement. “They will be bringing their special variety of familiar tunes Saturday, Feb. 14th, at 7 p.m.”

In addition to the concert, attendees will have a chance to win door prizes, including a $100 gift certi cate to 73 and Main in

Mount Pleasant and a $50 gift certi cate to Yadkin Valley Steakhouse in Albemarle.

The performance will mark the third of four concerts in the Stanly County Concert Association’s 2025-26 season, with the series concluding April 12 at 4 p.m. in a performance by the Salisbury Brass Ensemble.

Established in 1947, the Stanly County Concert Association has presented local live music for nearly eight decades, rst at Albemarle High School, later at Pfei er College and now at the Stanly County Agri-Civic Center for the past 37 years.

cell phones pop up, at the ready, to capture the striking image of the monks coming over the hill, in a group, walking for peace.

Except there is no striking image. It’s easy to see the police lights, the long line of trafc trailing behind and the people lining the road, crowding in front of them to get a good picture. The small cluster of monks, however, doesn’t stand out.

As they get closer, their earth-tone robes are visible. They walk, single le. The lead monk carries a sta . Another carries a ag. They walk quickly. People trying to catch up to the group after they pass have to jog to make up the ground. Their arms swing. They say nothing. There’s no message, no sermon, no

wisdom. They just walk. They are the embodiment of the cliché — a calm in the storm of chaos swirling around them, both on the street and in the nation they just crossed.

One shyly returns a wave to a child. Several people step forward with owers. One monk near the back accepts a bouquet from a bystander. He walks on, and after going a short distance, he begins peeling owers out of the bouquet, one at a time, and handing them to people watching them pass.

The crowd begins to break up. There is a storm to prepare for, photos and videos to post. People rave about how moving the experience was, including many who may have missed the point entirely. They walk on.

Bobbie Ann Lowder Lee Frick

Dec. 21, 1940 – Jan. 15, 2026

Bobbie Ann Lowder Lee Frick, 85, of Albemarle, passed away peacefully on January 15, 2026 at the SECU Hospice House of Brunswick County. A Celebration of Life service will be held on April 4, 2026, at 1540 NC 24/27, Albemarle, North Carolina from 2 until 4 PM.

Born on December 21, 1940, in Stanly County, North Carolina, Bobbie was the daughter of the late Sherman Lowder and Lucille Barringer Lowder. She was a graduate of New London High School and later

OBITUARIES

earned a Master’s Degree in Psychology. Bobbie had a lifelong love of learning and a deep interest in understanding and caring for others. She is survived by her devoted husband, Larry Frick; her daughters, Lesia Mayhew and husband Bobby, and Leslia Lee; and her stepchildren, Melanie Frick, Marsha Frick Dick, Lawrence Frick, Kenneth Frick, and Raymond Frick. She was a proud grandmother to Kolt Whitley (Anna), Tyler Mayhew (Ginny), Darea Mayhew, and Brad Mayhew (Anna), and stepgrandmother to Lauren Frick, Lydia Frick, Joseph Garcia (Stacy), Chase Calloway, Chandler Frick (Danielle), Chelsea Frick, and Chaeden Frick. She is also survived by four great-grandchildren and six stepgreat-grandchildren, all of whom brought her great joy. Bobbie will be remembered for her intelligence, compassion, and the love she shared with her family and friends.

Her legacy of kindness and devotion will live on through all who knew her.

Memorial contributions may be made in Bobbie’s memory to Tillery Compassionate Care at tillerycompassionatecare.org or to Monarch at monarchnc.org/ giving-to-monarch/

Celebrate the life of your loved ones. Submit obituaries and death notices to be published in Stanly News Journal at obits@ stanlynewsjournal.com

Dr. William Foege, leader in smallpox eradication, dies

He was CDC director in the ’70s and ’80s

By Mike Stobbe The Associated Press

ATLANTA — Dr. William

Foege, a leader of one of humanity’s greatest public health victories — the global eradication of smallpox — has died.

Foege died Saturday in Atlanta at the age of 89, according to the Task Force for Global Health, which he co-founded.

The 6-foot-7 inch Foege literally stood out in the eld of public health. A whip-smart medical doctor with a calm demeanor, he had a canny knack for beating back infectious diseases.

He was director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and later held other key leadership roles in campaigns against international health problems.

But his greatest achievement came before all that with his work on smallpox, one of the most lethal diseases in human history. For centuries, it killed about one-third of the people it infected and left most survivors with deep scars on their faces from the pus- lled lesions.

Smallpox vaccination campaigns were well established by the time Foege was a young doctor. Indeed, it was no longer seen in the United States. But infections were still occurring elsewhere, and e orts to stamp them out were stalling.

Working as a medical missionary in Nigeria in the 1960s, Foege and his colleagues developed a “ring containment” strategy, in which a smallpox outbreak was contained by identifying each smallpox case and vaccinating everyone who the patients might come into contact with.

The method relied heavily on quick detective work and was born out of necessity. There simply wasn’t enough vaccine

available to immunize everyone, Foege wrote in “House on Fire,” his 2011 book about the smallpox eradication e ort. It worked and became pivotal in helping rid the world of smallpox for good. The last naturally occurring case was seen in Somalia in 1977. In 1980, the World Health Organization declared smallpox eradicated from the Earth.

“If you look at the simple metric of who has saved the most lives, he is right up there with the pantheon,” said former CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden, who consulted with Foege regularly. “Smallpox eradication has prevented hundreds of millions of deaths.” Foege was born March 12, 1936. His father was a Lutheran minister, but he became interested in medicine at 13 while working at a drugstore in Colville, Washington. He got his medical degree from the University of Washington in 1961 and a master’s in public health from Harvard in 1965. He was director of the Atlanta-based CDC from 1977 to 1983, then held other international public health leadership roles, including stints as executive director at The Car-

“If you look at the simple metric of who has saved the most lives, he is right up there with the pantheon.”

Dr. Tom Frieden, former CDC director

ter Center and senior fellow at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

In 2012, President Barack Obama presented Foege with the Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. In 2016, while awarding Foege an honorary degree, Duke University President President Richard Brodhead called him “the Father of Global Health.”

“Bill Foege had an un agging commitment to improving the health of people across the world, through powerful, purpose-driven coalitions applying the best science available,” Task Force for Global Health CEO Dr. Patrick O’Carroll said in a statement. “We try to honor that commitment in every one of our programs, every day.”

Geo rey Mason, TV producer for coverage of 1972 Munich Olympics hostage crisis, dead at 85

The Duke graduate worked in sports TV for decades

By Joe Reedy

The Associated Press

GEOFFREY MASON, who had a ve-decade career in sports television and was best known as the coordinating producer for ABC’s coverage of the 1972 Munich Olympic Games hostage crisis, has died. He was 85. ESPN said Mason died Sunday in Naples, Florida. He died of natural causes, according to his family.

“Geo was a giant visionary in television, never seeking credit,” former ESPN President Steve Bornstein said. “He preferred leading and mentoring teams, connecting people to projects, and was devoted to people and recovery of all sorts. He was a great teacher and mentor to everyone who came in his orbit.”

Over the course of his career, Mason worked on eight Olympics. As a young producer on Sept. 5, 1972, he was in the control room in Munich, Germany, when the Palestinian militant group Black September stormed the Olympic village and took Israeli Olympic team members hostage.

ABC provided continuous coverage for 22 hours, culminating in a failed rescue at-

tempt where six Israeli coaches and ve athletes died. Jim McKay broke the news with, “They’re all gone.” Mason was a consultant on the script and every aspect of production for the 2024 feature lm “September 5,” which recreates what it was like in the ABC control room that day. The international broadcast center in Munich was 100 yards away from where the hostage crisis was taking place in the Olympic village. The movie recreates the moment when West German police stormed the control room and pointed guns at Mason’s face. This happened because one of ABC’s cameras was showing a tactical squad taking position on the roof above the hostages. Mason ended up

cutting o the camera’s feed.

It is estimated that nearly 900 million people worldwide at some point viewed ABC’s coverage.

“Geo told me that day there was no chance to think,” said John Magaro, who played Mason, in 2025. “Their singular goal was to stay on the air to keep the story going, to do their job as sports broadcasters. Once the clock starts ticking, there’s no chance to think.”

Mason’s career was largely spent with ABC and ESPN, but he also worked for NBC, Fox, NFL Network and other television entities. He began as a production associate at ABC Sports in 1967, working on “Wide World of Sports” and the 1968 Winter and Summer Olympics. Over the years, he earned 24 Emmy Awards and was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2010.

He also worked on Super Bowl 25, “Monday Night Football”, the World Series, horse racing’s Triple Crown, the Indianapolis 500, and the FIFA Men’s and Women’s World Cup tournaments.

He is also known for his coverage of the 1986-87 America’s Cup from Fremantle, Australia.

“Geo Mason was a friend and a colleague who had a storied career, touching just about every corner of the sports television industry,” said Bob Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Com-

Sept. 5,

pany, which owns ABC and ESPN. “He had a passion for the business, which was evidenced in his prodigious work ethic and the constant love and enthusiasm he exhibited on everything he worked on.

Mason was selected by Jim Valvano as a founding board member of the V Foundation for Cancer Research and a longtime board member of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation. He delivered a eulogy during Betty Ford’s funeral in 2011.

“Geo rey was a force of nature in our industry for six de -

cades, but more important is all the help he gave to so many people through his association with the Betty Ford Center. He changed so many lives personally and professionally,” said former CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus, who worked with Mason at both ABC and NBC. Mason was a veteran of the U.S. Navy and graduated from Duke University with a bachelor’s degree in sociology in 1963. Survivors include wife Chris, son Geo Jr. and brother David.

STANLY SPORTS

North Stanly boys defeat Albemarle to win eighth straight

The Comets are 5-0 in conference play

By Jesse Deal Stanly News Journal

MISENHEIMER — Now riding an eight-game winning streak, the North Stanly boys’ basketball team improved to 18-1 overall with a 48-45 road victory over Albemarle on Friday night.

The two Yadkin Valley Conference teams squared o at Pfei er University’s Merner

Gym in Misenheimer, where the Comets held o the Bulldogs to remain unbeaten in league play.

North Stanly improved to 5-0 in YVC action and continues to sit alone in rst place in the conference standings, while Albemarle fell to 6-11 overall and 2-2 in conference play with the narrow loss.

The Bulldogs came close to handing the Comets their second loss of the season; North Stanly’s lone defeat came Dec. 30 in a 52-36 home loss to Lexington Senior. In 18 victo -

ries this season, only three opponents have nished within three points of the Comets.

Friday’s win also marked a milestone for North Stanly coach George Walker, who earned his 200th career victory. Walker was presented with a commemorative basketball following the game and posed for photos with his players.

North Stanly needs four more wins to match the win total from last season’s 22-7 campaign, which was its best nish in seven years. The Comets will visit Union Academy on

Wednesday and Gray Stone on Friday. Albemarle visits South Stanly on Thursday before hosting Union Academy in conference action this week.

South Stanly 67, Gray Stone 46

Following a stretch where South Stanly lost six out of nine games, the Rowdy Rebel Bulls (7-11, 1-3 YVC) have now won two in a row after defeating the Gray Stone Knights (1-18, 0-5 YVC) by

67- 46 in Norwood on Friday. The Bulls have matchups with Albemarle (Thursday) and North Rowan (Friday) ahead, while the Knights will look for their second win of the season as they challenge Montgomery Central (Wednesday) and North Rowan (Thursday).

West Stanly 74, CATA 62

Playing in Monroe on Friday, West Stanly (7-11, 2-5 Rocky River Conference) defeated the CATA Cougars (6-13, 0-7 RRC) by a dozen as the Colts snapped a six-game losing streak.

West Stanly is set to host Parkwood on Wednesday before hitting the road to face Monroe on Friday. With a 2-5 conference record, the Colts still have a chance to climb back into the top half of the RRC standings if they can reel o a group of wins.

Falcons will be able to generate income through In uxer

By Jesse Deal Stanly News Journal

MISENHEIMER — Pfei er University student athletes across all 19 athletic programs now have a new avenue to market themselves through name, image and likeness (NIL) opportunities.

Pfei er’s athletic department announced Monday that it has partnered with In uxer as its rst o cial NIL partner, a move that will allow every Falcons student athlete to create a personal online store featuring Pfei er-branded merchandise.

With the partnership, Pfei er joins Southern Virginia University as the only two USA South Athletic Conference institutions currently working with In uxer.

“We are excited to partner with In uxer to give Pfei er student-athletes an entry point into their own NIL space,” said Je Childress, Pfei er’s interim athletic director. “All current student-athletes at Pfei er have the same opportunity to build their award-winning brand with access to the resources that In uxer o ers. This will allow our Falcon student-athletes to continue not only to bene t using their own name, image and likeness, but will also boost and enhance Pfei er’s pro le in our area

“We are excited to partner with In uxer to give Pfei er student athletes an entry point into their own NIL space.”

Je Childress, Pfei er’s interim athletic director

and throughout the region.”

As part of the agreement, student athletes will have access to one-on-one coaching with In uxer sta , as well as

paid internships to gain experience in marketing, graphic design, business and other industry-related areas.

Once a student athlete opts in, fans will be able to purchase their apparel through the o cial Pfei er In uxer store and individual personalized sites. All merchandise designs are approved by the university and are made available across each sport’s athlete stores.

The product lineup includes hats, T-shirts, sweatshirts, jerseys, tumblers and other items, with additional designs

and products planned to release throughout the year. Founded in Dallas, Texas, in 2022, In uxer was created to connect student athletes with resources needed to succeed in the evolving NIL market.

“In uxer is excited to work with Pfei er University because the Athletics Administration as well as the University Communications and Marketing sta understand not only the immediate bene ts of working with us but also the long-term resources for their student athletes,” In uxer Vice President Keith

Miller said in a statement.

“NIL is not simply transactional, but an opportunity which In uxer wants to further into the development process for their student athletes.”

In uxer currently works with more than 50,000 student athletes at over 590 universities nationwide, providing opportunities for athletes to sell personalized merchandise using o cially-licensed school branding.

The o cial Pfei er In uxer online store is now accessible at in uxermerch.com/colleges/pfei er-university.

NCAA FOOTBALL

College Football Playo to remain at 12 teams

The College Football Playo will remain at 12 teams after the commissioners of the Southeastern Conference and Big Ten couldn’t come up with a compromise for expansion. The CFP Management Committee announced the 12-team format would stay the same for the 2026-27 season, providing additional time for evaluation and discussion on potential changes in the future. The CFP went from four teams to 12 teams for the 2024 season, and the two most powerful conferences favored further expansion but could not agree on a number.

NBA

Former Heat security o cer gets 3 years in prison for selling stolen memorabilia

Miami

A former Miami Heat security o cer has been sentenced to three years in federal prison and ordered to pay nearly $1.9 million in restitution for stealing hundreds of game-worn jerseys and other sports memorabilia while working for the team. Marcos Thomas Perez, 62, was sentenced earlier this month. He pleaded guilty last August to transporting and transferring stolen goods in interstate commerce. The 25-year retired veteran of the Miami Police Department worked for the Heat from 2016 to 2021 and as an NBA security employee from 2022 to 2025.

NFL

Former 49ers quarterback, MVP Brodie dead at 90

Former MVP and longtime San Francisco 49ers quarterback John Brodie died at the age of 90. Brodie had a stroke in 2000. Brodie played for the 49ers from 1957-73 after breaking every major passing record at Stanford. He later played on the Senior PGA Tour and won the 1991 Security Paci c Senior Classic. Brodie’s 17 seasons still represent a 49ers franchise record, and his 31,548 yards passing rank second to Joe Montana on San Francisco’s career passing list.

NCAA BASKETBALL

Bediako makes immediate impact in return for Alabama

Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Alabama’s Charles Bediako had four dunks, two steals and two blocks in his rst college action in nearly three years against Tennessee. Playing two days after a Tuscaloosa judge temporarily reinstated his college eligibility and blocked the NCAA from retaliating for his return, the 23-year-old 7-footer nished with 13 points and three rebounds in a 79 -73 loss to the Volunteers. Bediako helped the 17th-ranked Crimson Tide score 26 points in the paint while building a 39-36 lead at the break.

NFL

Packers o ensive tackle Walker arrested on gun possession charge at LaGuardia Airport

Green Bay Packers o ensive tackle Rasheed Walker has been arrested after police say he presented a rearm for inspection without proper credentials at LaGuardia Airport. Port Authority police said Walker was arrested Friday morning after they responded to a request for a rearms check. Arthur Aidala, the lawyer representing Walker said his client voluntarily disclosed an unloaded, secured rearm upon his arrival at the airport. Aidala said Walker was arrested because his license wasn’t valid in New York and “we are con dent the matter will eventually be dismissed.”

Share with your community! Send us your births, deaths, marriages, graduations and other announcements: community@stanlynewsjournal.com | Weekly deadline is Monday at Noon

SOUTH STANLY BOYS’ BASKETBALL

7-11, 1-3 in Yadkin Valley 2A/3A

Last week’s scores:

• Won 49-39 at West Stanly

• Won 67-46 vs. Gray Stone Day

This week’s schedule:

• Jan. 29 vs. Albemarle

• Jan. 30 vs. North Rowan

• Feb. 3 at North Stanly

SOUTH STANLY GIRLS’ BASKETBALL

5-10, 1-4 in Yadkin Valley 2A/3A

Last week’s scores:

• Lost 71-64 at West Stanly

• Won 55-51 vs. Gray Stone Day

This week’s schedule:

• Jan. 29 vs. Albemarle

• Jan. 30 vs. North Rowan

• Feb. 3 at North Stanly

WEST STANLY BOYS’ BASKETBALL

• Jan. 30 at Gray Stone Day

• Feb. 3 vs. South Stanly

NORTH STANLY GIRLS’ BASKETBALL

14-3, 5-0 in Yadkin Valley

Last week’s scores:

• Won 58-32 at Anson

• Won 43-41 (OT) at Albemarle

This week’s schedule:

• Jan. 28 at Union Academy

• Jan. 30 at Gray Stone Day

• Feb. 3 vs. South Stanly

ALBEMARLE BOYS’ BASKETBALL

6-11, 2-2 in Yadkin Valley

Last week’s scores:

• Won 58-56 at Christ the King

• Lost 48-45 vs. North Stanly

This week’s schedule:

• Jan. 29 at South Stanly

• Jan. 30 vs. Union Academy

• Feb. 3 vs. North Rowan

ALBEMARLE

GIRLS’ BASKETBALL

By Jenna Fryer

The Associated Press

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Felipe Nasr’s time in Formula 1 had ended after two underwhelming seasons and the Brazilian was left with little to do as an open-wheel racing driver.

He migrated to sports cars and spent four seasons driving for the team owned by NASCAR chairman Jim France. Then came an opportunity he couldn’t turn down: a clandestine meeting with Roger Penske to discuss developing a new sports car program with the factory backing of Porsche.

They met in a parking lot, and Penske was immediately impressed.

“He showed up in a blue suit, and I said, ‘That’s my kind of guy,’” the 88-year-old team owner said.

Team Penske opened the 60th anniversary of its organization with a win in the rst race of the year — a three -peat, no less — in the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

“The driving he’s done for us, at the end, that was probably one of the best drives I’ve ever seen,” Penske said.

The Penske squad became the third team in the 64-year history of the most prestigious endurance race in the United States to win three in a row. His Porsche Penske Motorsports team joined Chip Ganassi Racing and Wayne Taylor Racing as the only teams

“The driving he’s done for us, at the end, that was probably one of the best drives I’ve ever seen,” Roger Penske on Felipe Nasr

to win three straight sports car races at Daytona International Speedway.

It was the fth overall Rolex victory in the event for Porsche and the 46th overall IMSA victory for Penske.

What’s most impressive for Penske is that the team has won three years in a row with three di erent lineups; Nasr, the Penske closer, is the only mainstay on all three entries, and he was openly weeping in Victory Lane.

“It’s a moment I dreamed of — the desire to win is what makes you go beyond and further,” Nasr said. “I love this sport, I love this series, and the 24-hour (race) being decided in the last few minutes is just incredible.”

“The Penske was in a good form from beginning to end,”

Nasr said. “The winning feeling — they are special — it’s hard to pick a favorite one. I have no words to describe it, it’s just a unique feeling.”

Nasr actually has four Rolex titles — except his fourth was not in the top class.

This one didn’t come easy for Nasr, driving in front of the largest Rolex crowd in race history, as he held o his former team, the Cadillac from Action Express Racing, over the nal hour to win the

overall title. The Action Express car originally won the pole but was disquali ed in post-qualifying inspection.

That forced the No. 31 Cadillac to start last in class, and the lineup of Jack Aitken, Earl Bamber, Mercedes Formula 1 driver Fred Vesti and NASCAR rising star Connor Zilisch weaved their way to second.

Nasr and Aitken closed the races for their respective teams, and Aitken got several good looks at passing Nasr for the win in the nal 25 minutes, but Nasr closed the door on him at every chance.

Nasr cruised to victory in an overhauled No. 7 Porsche 963 with teammates Julien Andlauer and Laurin Heinrich. The Porsche beat the Cadillac by 1 minute, .569 seconds.

The No. 24 BMW M Team WRT nished third in the top GTP class with the quartet of Sheldon van der Linde, Dries Vanthoor, Robin Frijns and Rene Rast.

The caution was thrown for foggy conditions shortly before 1 a.m. and lasted for a race-record 6 hours, 33 minutes, 25 seconds covering 120 laps. The caution was so long that Penske, who prides himself on staying awake and on the pit stand the entire 24 hours, actually took a midrace break.

The Rolex marks the unofcial start of the motorsports season, and this year’s race featured 60 cars from 12 different automakers, 228 drivers from 32 countries and no clear favorite aside from the two-car Penske e ort.

7-11, 2-5 in Rocky River

4A/5A

Last week’s scores:

• Lost 74-46 at Mount Pleasant

• Lost 49-39 vs. South Stanly

• Won 74-62 at Central Academy

This week’s schedule:

• Jan. 28 vs. Parkwood

• Jan. 30 at Monroe

• Feb. 3 at Forest Hills

WEST STANLY GIRLS’ BASKETBALL

9-9, 4-3 in Rocky River 4A/5A

Last week’s scores:

• Lost 53-45 at Mount Pleasant

• Won 71-64 vs. South Stanly

• Won 49-29 at Central Academy

This week’s schedule:

• Jan. 28 vs. Parkwood

• Jan. 30 at Monroe

• Feb. 3 at Forest Hills

NORTH STANLY BOYS’ BASKETBALL

18-1, 5-0 in Yadkin Valley

Last week’s scores:

• Won 50-36 at Anson

• Won 48-45 at Albemarle

This week’s schedule:

• Jan. 28 at Union Academy

8-10, 2-3 in Yadkin Valley

Last week’s scores:

• Lost 55-35 at Christ the King

• Lost 43-41 (OT) vs. North Stanly

This week’s schedule:

• Jan. 29 at South Stanly

• Jan. 30 vs. Union Academy

• Feb. 3 vs. North Rowan

GRAY STONE DAY BOYS’ BASKETBALL

1-18, 0-5 in Yadkin Valley

Last week’s scores:

• Lost 58-39 at Math & Science Academy

• Lost 78-36 at Sun Valley

• Lost 67-46 at South Stanly

This week’s schedule:

• Jan. 28 vs. Montgomery

• Jan. 29 at North Rowan

• Jan. 30 vs. North Stanly

• Feb. 3 at Union Academy

GRAY STONE DAY GIRLS’ BASKETBALL

2-12, 0-5 in Yadkin Valley

Last week’s scores:

• Lost 43-38 at Sun Valley

• Lost 55-51 at South Stanly

This week’s schedule:

• Jan. 29 at North Rowan

• Jan. 30 vs. North Stanly

• Feb. 3 at Union Academy

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NOTICES

NOTICES NORTH CAROLINA STANLY COUNTY IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION BEFORE THE CLERK FILE NO. 26E000020-830 NOTICE TO CREDITORS Having quali ed as Administratrix of the estate of Florence Irene Haywood, deceased, of Stanly County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons having claims against the Estate of said Florence Irene Haywood to present them to the undersigned on or before April 23, 2026 or the same will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate please make immediate payment. This the 21st day of January 2026. Angela Irene Thornburg 139 Meadow View Drive Saluda, NC 28773 Administratrix

NOTICES

Having quali ed as Administrator of the Estate of Robert J. Nabet, late of 114 Deer eld Lane, Locust, Stanly County, North Carolina, the undersigned does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the estate of said decedent to exhibit them to the undersigned c/o attorney Kelly Rains Jesson at 5821 Fairview Road, Suite 218, Charlotte, North Carolina, 28209, on or before April 14, 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 14th day of January, 2026. Austin Nabet, Administrator of the Estate of Robert J. Nabet Kelly Rains Jesson, Esq. Jesson & Rains, PLLC 5821 Fairview Road, Suite 218 Charlotte, NC 28209

26E000009-830

(For Publication: Dates 01/14/2026, 01/21/2026, 01/28/2026, and 02/04/2026)

NOTICES

NORTH CAROLINA STANLY COUNTY IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION BEFORE THE CLERK FILE NO. 26E000002-830 NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Having quali ed as Administratrix of the estate of Mary Guill Holsinger, deceased, of Stanly County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons having claims against the Estate of said Mary Guill Holsinger to present them to the undersigned on or before April 15, 2026 or the same will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate please make immediate payment. This the 14th day of January 2026. Wendy Holsinger Salisbury 790 Sunderland Road Concord, NC 28027 AdministratrixS

NOTICES

NORTH CAROLINA STANLY COUNTY IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION BEFORE THE CLERK FILE NO. 24E0000435-830 NOTICE TO CREDITORS Having quali ed as Executor of the estate of Bruce C. Nance, deceased, of Stanly County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons having claims against the Estate of said to present them to the undersigned on or before April 13,2026 or the same will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate please make immediate payment. This the 7th day of January 2026. Kheknoy Sisavath, Executor 250 Nance Rd Stan eld NC 28163

NOTICES

IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE DISTRICT COURT – JUVENILE DIVISION FILE NORTH CAROLINA – STANLY COUNTY

To the UNKNOWN FATHER of a FEMALE

NOTICES NORTH CAROLINA STANLY COUNTY IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION BEFORE THE CLERK FILE NO. 26E000023-830

NOTICE TO CREDITORS Having quali ed as Executor of the estate of Janice Anderson Williams, deceased, of Stanly County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons having claims against the Estate of said Janice Anderson Williams to present them to the undersigned on or before April 23, 2026 or the same will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate please make immediate payment. This the 21st day of

NOTICE

CHILD, L.A.C. born on April 19, 2025 to mother Queena Lashalle Shanta Clayton in Stanly County. Ms. Clayton is an African American female approximately 37 years old. Take notice that a Petition to TERMINATE PARENTAL RIGHTS of you has been led in the above-entitled action. The nature of the relief being sought is to terminate the parental rights of the father to the minor child L.A.C. You are required to answer the petition within 30 days after the date of the rst publication of this notice, exclusive of such date, and upon your failure to do so, Petitioner will apply to the Court for the relief sought, and your parental rights to the juvenile will be terminated. This the 16th day of January, 2026. Valeree Adams, Attorney for Stanly County DSS, 1000 N. First St, Suite 2, Albemarle NC 28001 – 704-982-6100

arrive for the world premiere of “Bridgerton” Season 4 on Jan. 14 in Paris. Part 1 lands on Net ix on Thursday.

‘Bridgerton,’

Chevy Chase, Rose Byrne,

The 68th annual Grammy Awards air Sunday on CBS

The Associated Press

KENDRICK LAMAR and Bad Bunny live at the Grammy Awards and Rose Byrne’s Oscar-nominated performance in “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” 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: Highguard is the latest entry in the ever-growing eld of multiplayer shooters, Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista star in “The Wrecking Crew,” and the third season of “Shrinking” checks in on Apple TV.

MOVIES TO STREAM

If you haven’t seen Rose Byrne’s Oscar-nominated performance in “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,” Mary Bronstein’s psychological drama arrives Friday on HBO Max. Byrne plays the stressed-out mother of a young, unseen child who’s struggling with a mystery illness. In her review, the AP’s Jocelyn Noveck wrote that the lm “has given Byrne, an actor of e ortless appeal in lighter lms, a chance to display versatility and grit in surely the toughest dramatic role of her career.”

Momoa and Bautista star in “The Wrecking Crew” (Prime Video) as estranged half-brothers who reunite after their father’s mysterious death. The action comedy is directed by Angel Manuel Soto, who made 2023’s “Blue Beetle.”

Ira Sachs’ “Peter Hujar’s Day,” the lead nominee to the Independent Film Spirit Awards, is a marvel of historical yet intimate dramatic resurrection. The lm (Criterion Channel) is based on a transcript from a 1974 interview by the writer Linda Rosenkrantz (Rebecca Hall) and her friend, the photographer Peter Hujar (Ben Whishaw). Rosenkrantz had planned a book about how artists spend their time. But the book never happened,

‘The

Wrecking Crew’

and Sachs, after coming across the transcripts, dramatizes their dialogue. In “I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not,” the lmmaker Marina Zenovich pro les the irascible “Saturday Night Live” and “Fletch” star. For the lm (HBO Max, Saturday), Zenovich interviews the complicated and sometimes combative comedian about his career, with glimpses of his daily life. Perspectives are o ered by Dan Aykroyd, Beverly D’Angelo, Goldie Hawn, Lorne Michaels, Ryan Reynolds and Martin Short.

MUSIC TO STREAM

’Tis the season — the 2026 Grammy Awards season, that is. On Sunday, the 68th annual award show will air live on CBS. Watch as Lamar, Bad Bunny, Lady Gaga and many more go head to head in the top prize categories. Plus, the show doubles as a kind of be -

spoke live concert viewing experience — and who doesn’t like that? The 2026 Grammys can also be watched through live TV streaming services that include CBS in their lineup, like Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV and FuboTV. Paramount+ premium plan subscribers will be able to stream the Grammys live; Paramount+ essential subscribers will have on demand access the next day. California power pop-punk bands Joyce Manor return with their seventh full-length album Friday, the all-too-appropriately titled “I Used to Go to This Bar.” Spoken like a gently aging band whose penchant for hooks knows no bounds.

SERIES TO STREAM

Benedict, the second eldest Bridgerton, takes center stage in season 4 of the Net ix romance series, It’s about the love stories of a large family in London during the Regency Era.

Season 4 has “Cinderella” vibes with Luke Thompson’s Benedict looking for an enchanting “woman in silver” who is actually Sophie, a housemaid (Yerin Ha) working for his family. Part 1 drops Thursday with the remaining episodes arriving in February.

The third season of “Shrinking” is now streaming on Apple TV. The series follows Jason Segel as a therapist named Jimmy, a widowed dad to a teenage girl, who shares a practice with characters played by Harrison Ford and Jessica Williams. Between Jimmy’s colleagues, neighbors and friends, he forms a new kind of family. Season 3 features guest stars Michael J. Fox, Je Daniels, Sherry Cola, Isabella Gomez and Candice Bergen. School’s back in session. “School Spirits” starring Peyton List, that is. The Paramount+ series has returned for a third season. List stars as a teen trapped in the afterlife,

“If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” has given Byrne, an actor of e ortless appeal in lighter lms, a chance to display versatility and grit in surely the toughest dramatic role of her career.”

Jocelyn Noveck, AP Film Writer

which happens to be her high school. She’s there with other ghosts who are also former students that help Maddie to investigate the circumstances surrounding her death.

Kaley Cuoco and Sam Clain star in a new mystery for MGM+ called “Vanished.” Cuoco plays a woman whose boyfriend (Cla in) goes missing on a train to France. The four-part limited-series premieres Sunday.

VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY

Highguard is the latest entry in the ever-growing eld of multiplayer shooters, o ering yet another way to get online with your friends and blow stu up. In this case, you are Wardens — “arcane gunslingers sent to battle for control of a mythical continent.” Judging by the trailer, you’ll be able to ride mythical beasts and wield magical powers along with the typical arsenal of weapons. It comes from a new studio called Wildlight Entertainment, whose founders have worked on hits like Call of Duty, Apex Legends and Titanfall. And it’s free-to -play, so you might as well give it a shot on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S on PC. Bandai Namco’s Code Vein, from 2019, tried to answer the question: What if you took the demanding combat of Dark Souls and added vampires? The bloodsuckers — known here as Revenants — are back in Code Vein II, but a mysterious force is turning them into mindless monstrosities. Your job is to travel back in time and prevent the damage before all the Revenants get stupid. The good news is that you can still drain blood from your enemies and use it to upgrade your own ghting skills. Quench your thirst Friday, Jan. 30, on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S or PC.

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Judge orders ICE chief to appear in court or risk contempt over denial of due process

The chief federal judge in Minnesota says the Trump administration has failed to comply with orders to hold hearings for detained immigrants. As a result, the judge ordered the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to appear before him Friday to explain why he shouldn’t be held in contempt.

In an order dated Monday, Chief Judge Patrick J. Schiltz said Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, must appear personally in court. Schiltz took the administration to task over its handling of bond hearings for immigrants it has detained.

Activists say Iran’s crackdown has killed at least 6,159 people

Activists say at least 6,159 people have been killed in Iran’s crackdown on nationwide protests, and many more are still feared dead. The new gures on Tuesday came from a U.S.-based NGO, which has been accurate in multiple rounds of unrest in Iran.

The Iranian government has put the death toll at a far lower 3,117 — including 2,427 civilians and security forces, and the rest labelled “terrorists.”

Walking through the storm: Buddhist monks’ journey of peace

had been barefoot for much of the walk. Their journey will take them through eight states, 2,300 miles and 110 days, from Texas to D.C. They eat one meal a day, food donated to them.

By Shawn Krest Twin City Herald

HEADS DOWN, they walk, keeping a brisk pace. A winter storm bears down on them, and many have hoods drawn in the 28-degree weather.

Two dozen monks left the Theravada Buddhist temple in Fort Worth, Texas, in late October and started walking. Most of us have celebrated Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s. We’ve done holiday shopping and watched more than half of the NFL season and playo s. They’ve been walking. Some of them wear sandals, a nod to the weather. A few

It’s called the Walk for Peace, but their mission doesn’t sound politically charged.

“We walk not to protest, but to awaken the peace that already lives within each of us,” a written statement from the temple explains. “The Walk for Peace is a simple yet meaningful reminder that unity and kindness begin within each of us and can radiate outward to families, communities, and society as a whole.”

By late morning, they’ve already traveled from Apex to Raleigh. They turn from Tryon Road onto Gorman Street, heading for Dorothea Dix Park, where they’ll eat today’s meal.

It’s the 91st day of their

“We walk not to protest, but to awaken the peace that already lives within each of us.”

Statement from Theravada Buddhist temple in Fort Worth, Texas

journey. They’ve lost a walker to a car accident in Houston and their dog to a leg injury, and there are still 20 days to go, likely the coldest and most choked with crowds that they’ve encountered yet. And every person they pass, every day, is seeing them for the rst and only time.

More than 70 people emerge from the apartment complexes on both sides of the street, interrupting their storm prep

to see them. Some drove from their apartment and parked in the entrance driveway — taking their car the tenth of a mile to see these men walking across the country.

Police o cers stop tra c, turning cars back to take another route. Most drivers unroll their window to explain why they should be allowed to pass.

A van approaches slowly, with ashing lights, and cell phones are held aloft. “Here they come,” someone shouts, but it’s a false alarm. The van, advertising a local radio station, honks, and the passengers wave.

People go back to waiting. A news helicopter hovering nearby gives a good estimate of how close they are. Someone has a live stream up on their phone, reporting that they “just went

Winston-Salem Council approves minor rezonings

The primary rezoning would create additional housing along South Broad Street

By Ryan Henkel Twin City Herald

WINSTON-SALEM — The Winston-Salem City Council met Jan. 20 for its regular business meeting with the only two action items pertaining to public hearings for zoning petitions. The rst was a request by Parks Family Holdings to rezone 0.23 acres of property located at the southwest intersection of West Walnut Street and South Broad Street from Limited Business to Pedestrian Business – Special Use for the purpose of developing a three-unit townhome building.

According to town sta , the applicant is also limiting the potential uses within this rezoning to strictly residential-type uses.

“What is happening with this is that there’s an existing single-family residence that is located on this parcel right now,” said Stimmel Associates Vice President Luke Dickey, who was representing the applicant. “They’re just trying to maximize their ability to develop this and add additional density and housing to the area, particularly for the fact that this is an area that is growing and is more of a mixed-use area.”

According to the plan, the site fronts on South Broad Street, which is also where access to the building will be located.

“The request would encourage development on an un-

“The

request would encourage development on an underutilized site with access to existing infrastructure.”

Chris Murphy, planning director

derutilized site with access to existing infrastructure,” said Planning Director Chris Murphy. “There has been signi cant mixed-use development and redevelopment in the area, so we feel that this is appropriate for increasing the density here.”

The second was a request from Southern Properties of the Triad to rezone 0.39 acres of property located at the northeast intersection of Brigham Street and South

Hawthorne Road from General O ce – Special Use (GOS) to Limited O ce (LO) to allow for a broader array of low intensity service and ofce uses. Currently, the site is developed with an existing o ce building and connected parking area, with access provided via a driveway along Brigham Street. According to the sta report for the request, the property was originally zoned LO but was rezoned to GO-S in 1999 to accommodate a sales component of a medical o ce, so the request, in essence, just reverts the site back to its prior zoning. Following the hearings and discussions, the council unanimously approved both rezoning requests.

The Winston-Salem City Council will next meet Feb. 2.

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NC shifts EV charging strategy to focus on underserved areas

New guidance moves funding from interstate corridors to rural communities

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NORTH CAROLINA transportation o cials are scaling back plans for electric vehicle charging stations along interstates and redirecting federal funds toward rural communities and highways with less coverage. The N.C. Department of Transportation announced it will reduce the number of EV charging stations along federally designated alternative fuel corridors from 41 planned locations to 16, allowing more of the state’s $109 million in National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure funding to go toward areas with fewer chargers. The shift comes after new federal guidance issued in August gave states greater ex-

GOLSON / TWIN CITY HERALD

Two electric cars juice up at an Electrify America charging station in Waterloo, New York.

ibility in determining where charging stations can be placed, including removing a requirement that stations be spaced no more than 50 miles apart along designated corridors.

“The revised guidance enables the department to focus its support for the build out of a statewide EV charging network

in areas of the state where there are fewer chargers and greater needs,” said State Transportation Secretary Daniel Johnson. The change also accounts for private development that has occurred since the NEVI program began. Several private companies have built charging infrastructure

Eating snow cones or snow cream can be a winter delight, if done safely

The sweet treats are a silver lining during storms

By Holly Ramer The Associated Press

CONCORD, N.H. — Take two snowballs and call me in the morning?

Dr. Sarah Crockett, who specializes in emergency and wilderness medicine, doesn’t explicitly tell her patients at New Hampshire’s Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center to swallow snow, but she often prescribes more time outside. If that time includes eating a handful of ice crystals straight or adding ingredients to make snow cones and other frozen treats, she’s all for it.

“To stop and just be present and want to catch a snow ake on your tongue, or scoop up some fresh, white, untouched snow that’s collected during something as exciting as a snowstorm, I think that there’s space in our world to enjoy that,” Crockett said. “And while we need to make good choices, I think these are simple things that can bring joy.”

Getting outdoors to enjoy simple pleasures is unlikely to be front of mind for people in a 1,300-mile stretch of the United States where a massive weekend storm brought deep snow and bitter cold. Freezing rain and ice brought down power lines and tree limbs, leaving hundreds of thousands of homes without power

MONKS from page A1

under the bridge.” Someone else complains that the online map isn’t updating. One woman talks on her cell phone, explaining to a friend where the nearest shopping center is so she can park. Finally, police motorcycles appear, lights ashing. Again, cell phones pop up, at the ready, to capture the striking image of the monks coming over the hill, in a group, walking for peace.

or heating in the South, while snow upended road and air travel from Arkansas to New England.

As the storm recedes, residents of lesser-a ected areas might be tempted to whip up bowls of “snow cream” — snow combined with milk, sugar and vanilla — after seeing techniques demonstrated on TikTok. Others might want to try “sugar on snow,” a ta y-like confection made by pouring hot maple syrup onto a plate of snow.

Despite its pristine appearance, snow isn’t always clean enough to consume. Crockett and other experts shared advice for digging in safely while digging out.

The science of snow

Whether it’s rain or snow, precipitation cleans the atmosphere, picking up pollutants as it falls, said Steven Fassnacht, a professor of snow hydrology at Colorado State University. But snow akes pick up more impurities because they fall more slowly and have more exposed surface areas than raindrops, he said.

That means snow that falls near coal plants or factories that emit particulates into the air contains more contaminants, said Fassnacht, who was in Shinjo, Japan, last week studying the salt content of snow. He said he wouldn’t have hesitated to take a taste there because there weren’t any big

Except there is no striking image. It’s easy to see the police lights, the long line of tra c trailing behind and the people lining the road, crowding in front of them to get a good picture. The small cluster of monks, however, doesn’t stand out.

As they get closer, their earth-tone robes are visible. They walk, single le. The lead monk carries a sta . Another carries a ag. They walk quickly. People trying to catch up to

industrial complexes upwind.

“Snow can be eaten, but you want to think about the trajectory. Where did that snow come from?” he said.

Timing is another consideration, according to Crockett. The rst wave of snow holds the most particulate matter, she said, so waiting until a storm is well underway before putting out a bowl to collect falling snow is one precaution to take.

Ground contamination is an additional factor, experts say. Avoiding yellow snow, which may be tainted by urine or tree bark, is conventional wisdom, but it’s also a good idea to stay away from any snow pushed by snowplows and packed with road salt, deicing chemicals and debris.

Snack versus survival

What about eating snow to survive?

Crockett, who oversees the wilderness medicine program at Dartmouth College’s Geisel School of Medicine, says that’s a bad idea. The energy it takes to melt snow in your mouth as you’re eating it essentially counteracts the hydration bene t, plus it decreases your core body temperature and increases the risk of hypothermia. While outdoor enthusiasts who plan to spend days in the mountains often melt and boil snow to purify it for drinking, it shouldn’t be viewed as an immediate hydration source, she said.

the group after they pass have to jog to make up the ground. Their arms swing. They say nothing. There’s no message, no sermon, no wisdom. They just walk. They are the embodiment of the cliché — a calm in the storm of chaos swirling around them, both on the street and in the nation they just crossed.

One shyly returns a wave to a child. Several people step forward with owers. One monk near the back accepts

in areas originally identi ed as potential sites for federally funded stations.

“Most of North Carolina’s alternative fuel corridors are fully built out based on the existing charging stations and those charging contracts that have been awarded,” said Heather Hildebrandt, NCDOT’s Statewide Initiatives manager. “We want to help ensure that the rms receiving NEVI funds will continue to be economically viable.”

NCDOT published a map of the 16 remaining corridor sites on its website last week and plans to issue a request for proposals in late March for businesses interested in building and operating stations. Companies will have 45 days to respond.

The NEVI program reimburses private companies up to 80% of the cost to construct and operate charging stations for ve years, after which the stations continue operating without government support.

“If you are disoriented on a local hike, I would say your No. 1 priority is to try to reach out for help in any way you can ... not ’Can I eat enough snow?’” Crockett said.

Focus on rewards, not risks

Fassnacht, who has studied snow for more than 30 years, said he tried “snow cream” for the rst time last year when some students made him some. He described it as a fun experience that got him thinking about avors and textures, not contaminants.

“It’s a whimsical thing,” he said. “It made me think about what are the characteristics of that freshly fallen snow, and how does that change the taste sensation?”

Crockett likewise is a fan of nding inspiration and wonder in nature. She worries that overprotective parenting has contributed to anxiety in some young people, and that excessive warnings about eating snow could add to that.

“We have to strike that right balance of making sure we’re avoiding danger while not being so protective that we encourage this ‘Everything is going to harm me’ mentality, particularly for children,” she said.

Crockett has four children, including a daughter she described as a “passionate snow eater.” As the recent winter storm got underway, she asked her why she liked eating snow so much and was told, “It makes me feel connected to the Earth.”

“That is actually something that’s really important to me, that we all have this connection to nature,” Crockett said.

a bouquet from a bystander. He walks on, and after going a short distance, he begins peeling owers out of the bouquet, one at a time, and handing them to people watching them pass. The crowd begins to break up. There is a storm to prepare for, photos and videos to post. People rave about how moving the experience was, including many who may have missed the point entirely. They walk on.

THE CONVERSATION

Trip

Ho end, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

VISUAL VOICES

Argentina’s election and 2026

Argentina was once one of the wealthiest countries in the world.

ARGENTINE PRESIDENT Javier Milei’s extraordinary electoral victory in October could be a good omen for American Republicans in 2026.

Milei’s party, La Libertad Avanza, won 64 seats in the House of Deputies. His party and allied groups also won 14 seats in the nation’s Senate. Before the election, they only had 37 deputies and six senators.

If Republicans win a similar victory in 2026, it would mean something like 290 Republicans in the House (a roughly 140-vote majority) and 73 Republican Senators (a 36-vote majority).

Of course, a swing like that is impossible in America. Only one-third of the Senate is up for election in any given year, and gerrymandering has created some near disaster-proof House seats.

However, Milei’s victory has proven a reform movement can undertake deeply disruptive, painful changes and still increase its share of power.

Like President Donald Trump, Milei is a dedicated reformer who is determined to profoundly change a system that has been crippling his country for at least eight decades. It is easy to forget that Argentina was once one of the wealthiest countries in the world. In 1913, the average Argentinian had about 80% of the income of the average American. It took several generations of socialist politicians to destroy Argentina’s wealth. Today, the average

COLUMN | MICHAEL BARONE

Argentinian has about 30% of the income of the average American.

This is a lesson that followers of Zohran Mamdani, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders should consider.

If the American big government socialists do for the United States what Juan Peron and the Argentinian socialists did for their country, every American will rapidly become poorer.

Milei brought an intellectual understanding of conservative economics, a great television personality and a willingness to dismantle the old order. Elon Musk’s antics with the chainsaw was actually a tribute to Milei — who had won the presidency with that as his symbol. His pledge was to take a chainsaw to the bureaucracy, regulations and political machines crippling Argentina’s economy.

And Milei implemented his campaign promises. In his rst two years, he slashed spending by 30%, cut regulations and shrunk the bureaucracy by 55,000 workers (a 15% reduction). He has also cut the number of ministries from 19 to nine, lowered taxes, and encouraged economic growth and investment in Argentina. All this led to a budget surplus for the rst time in 14 years.

Milei clearly intends to build on this victory. He told an election night crowd, “Today marks the beginning of building a great Argentina. This result is nothing more and nothing less than the con rmation of the mandate we

assumed in 2023.” He attributed the victory to the voters’ “determination to change the destiny of the nation irreversibly.”

Milei has an ambitious follow-on reform program. He plans to change labor laws, make contracts more exible — and make even deeper cuts to federal spending and regulation. He plans to have more tax cuts and to dramatically streamline bureaucratic procedures. His major goal is to increase the economy and boost salaries and jobs. To achieve this he wants to make it much easier to start new companies.

As Milei summarized it election night: “Argentines showed that they don’t want to return to the model of failure. … We want to be a country that grows. We want to make Argentina great again.”

No wonder Trump took great pleasure in Milei’s victory — and why he and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent went all in to help him. Every Republican should take heart. Faced with a choice between reform or decay, free enterprise or big government socialism, and freedom or bureaucratic rule, voters will side with what works. They did in Argentina.

Newt Gingrich is former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. He is the founder of Gingrich360, where he writes syndicated columns and comments on politics and current events.

Trump’s outrageous threats get practical results

Trump has proved that the border can be controlled under current legislation.

THINK ABOUT IT. Heads of government do not normally reveal the texts of private communications from other heads of state. Yet that is what Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store of Norway two Sundays ago on the rst weekend of the World Economic Forum in Davos, where the international press would have no di culty nding appalled foreign leaders to comment.

You could think of this as a hostile act of a statesman appalled that the American head of government does not know that the government of Norway does not decide who gets the Nobel Peace Prize. It is probably better to think of it as an intervention by a sympathetic observer who has noticed that Donald Trump backs down from untenable positions in response to ructions in political and nancial markets.

Which is what Trump has done between the publication of his letter and his speech at Davos last Wednesday. The Sunday before he seemed to be threatening war with Denmark, and European commentators, not without reason, lamented that he was risking breaking up the NATO alliance out of pique of not being awarded a prize by a committee that was never going to honor a nonleftist American president.

Proof of which was the granting of that prize to Barack Obama in 2009 for what even Obama himself admitted was for no tangible accomplishment. And Trump has never forgotten the ridicule heaped on him by Obama at the 2011 White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, ridicule that led directly to that ride down the Trump Tower escalator four years later.

Actually, Trump has some valid points on Greenland. It sits astride missile, drone and air transport routes between North America and western Russia and eastern Europe. The United States would have even more exibility than it does under current agreements with Denmark if it were to become U.S. territory.

That’s one reason the U.S. holds on to Guam

in the west Paci c and has spent billions upgrading military facilities there.

All that said, Trump’s usual negotiating technique of starting o with extravagant demands was, in the careful words of social scientist Charles Murray, “next-level crazy.” Denmark has been an active ally of the United States in Afghanistan and Iraq, has increased its rate of defense spending above levels Trump demanded, and has adopted immigration policies in line with Trump’s advocacy.

With Denmark as with Canada, as with fellow Republicans in Georgia and other states, Trump’s obnoxious maximalist demands have alienated him from sympathy and empowered the forces against him. Other leaders have gured out that he requires gushers of praise to permeate every dialogue, and they’re probably ready with encomiums for his avowals in his Davos speech that he won’t use violence to obtain Greenland.

It has to be said that Trump’s bluntness and braggadocio have had some of its intended e ect. The American Enterprise Institution’s Yuval Levin, in an interview with The New York Times’ Ezra Klein, made the point that many of Trump’s lurching policy changes, not codi ed into law, can easily be wiped away by the next Democratic administration, perhaps even by a Democratic House of Representatives next year.

But despite his own preference for procedural regularity in making institutional change, Levin admits that “they’ve driven a lot of change that will be durable.” Initial polling reaction to Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, has been negative. But there’s no doubt that Trump has proved that the border can be controlled under current legislation — which would increase the political cost of any subsequent administration adopting the open border policy of Joe Biden’s.

It is also telling that the best estimates

of both pro- and anti-immigration analysts are that the substantial numbers of ICE deportations from within the United States, far above those of other recent administrations, are orders of magnitude lower than the numbers of self-deportations. As on other issues (like military recruitment), Trump is uninterested in institutional change but interested in sharply changing the behavior of the larger public.

The e ect of Trump policies, and the possibility that they may be put back in place at some later date, will likely discourage many illegal aliens from living in this country more or less permanently, as some 10 million have been up through January 2025. As I wrote last fall, “Who will want to make long-term plans that can be ruined by sudden deportation or hurried self-deportation?”

We learn from experience, and just as the former real estate developer sometimes seems to accept discipline from nancial markets, so the former reality TV show host sometimes seems to accept discipline from the ratings. On Greenland, he has responded to the cues of the markets and the ratings and backed o from threats of force while retaining the possibility of increasing the already signi cant U.S. presence there. Meanwhile, the NATO alliance remains in place, with its increased number of European members spending increasing percentages of their economies on defense. Three more years of this Trump administration will strain and irritate foreign leaders and American politicians, with wild threats and childish petulance driving one crisis after another. But it may continue to get them, often grudgingly, doing things Trump’s way.

Michael Barone is a senior political analyst for the Washington Examiner, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and longtime co-author of “The Almanac of American Politics.” 2026 Copyright Creators.com

US aircraft carrier arrives in the Middle East as tensions with Iran remain high

The USS Abraham Lincoln departed San Diego from the region in November

By Konstantin Toropin

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and three accompanying warships have arrived in the Middle East, bringing a renewed potential that President Donald Trump could opt to order airstrikes on Iran over its crackdown on protesters.

The carrier, along with three destroyers, “is currently deployed to the Middle East to promote regional security and stability,” U.S. Central Command said Monday on social media.

The strike group was in the Indian Ocean, Central Command said, and not in the Arabian Sea, which borders Iran. It will bring thousands of additional service members to the region, which has not had a U.S. aircraft carrier since the USS Gerald R. Ford was ordered in October to sail to the Caribbean as part of a pressure campaign on then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Trump told reporters last week that the ships were sent to the region “just in case.” “We have a massive eet heading in that direction, and maybe we won’t have to use it,” he said.

Trump earlier had threatened military action if Iran carried out mass executions of prisoners or killed peaceful demonstrators during a crackdown on protests that began in late December. At least 5,973 people have been killed and more than 41,800 detained, according to activists. The o cial Iranian death toll is far lower, at 3,117 dead.

More recently, Trump appeared to back away from possible action, claiming Iran halted the hangings of 800 detained

protesters. He has not elaborated on the source of the claim, which Iran’s top prosecutor called “completely false.” However, Trump appears to be keeping his options open. Last Thursday aboard Air Force One, he said his threatened military action would make last year’s U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites “look like peanuts” if the government proceeded with planned executions of some protesters.

The aircraft carrier hosts

How purge of China’s military leadership could impact its army, future of Taiwan

What was behind the latest military purge

By E. Eduardo Castillo

The Associated Press

BEIJING — China made a major announcement over the weekend, saying it was investigating the army’s top general for suspected serious violations of discipline and law.

Gen. Zhang Youxia was the highest military member just below President Xi Jinping.

The Defense Ministry said Saturday that authorities were investigating Zhang, the senior of the two vice chairs of the powerful Central Military Commission, China’s top military body, and Gen. Liu Zhenli, a lower member of the commission who was in charge of the military’s Joint Sta Department.

The move shakes up virtually the entire commission, chaired by Xi, leaving only one of its six members intact.

“Xi Jinping has completed one of the biggest purges of China’s military leadership in the history of the People’s Republic,” said Neil Thomas, a fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis.

For the army and China in general, the full impact of the changes is still unknown. But some experts say the moves also might have repercussions on Beijing’s next move on Taiwan, the self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its own territory.

Here are some elements to understand why Zhang’s removal is important.

The Defense Ministry announced the measures Saturday but provided no details on the alleged wrongdoing. The next day, the People’s Liberation Army Daily published an editorial that fell short of explaining the speci c reasons, saying only that it was “for suspected serious violations of discipline and law” and showed China’s commitment to punish corruption. That is something Xi has pursued since the early days of his presidency.

Rumors have circulated on social media and there have been some media reports about the changes, but nothing o cial.

“I do not believe any evidence publicly released or selectively leaked by Chinese authorities would necessarily re ect the core reason for Zhang’s removal,” said K. Tristan Tang, nonresident Vasey Fellow at Pacific Forum. “The critical point is that Xi Jinping decided to move against Zhang; once an investigation is launched, problems are almost inevitably uncovered.”

Analysts have said the purges are designed to reform the military and ensure loyalty to Xi. They are part of a broader anti-corruption drive that has resulted in punishment for more than 200,000 o cials since the Chinese leader came to power in 2012.

Before Zhang and Liu’s dismissal, the Communist Party expelled the other vice chair of the commission, He Weidong, in October. He was replaced with Zhang Shengmin, who is now the only commission member.

multiple squadrons of aircraft, including F-35 Lightning II ghter jets and F/A-18 Super Hornet ghter jets. Meanwhile, the destroyers bring with them hundreds of missiles, which could include dozens of Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles.

In addition to the aircraft carrier and its hardware, the U.S. military said the Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle ghter jet now has a presence in the region.

Analysts who follow ight-tracking data have noticed dozens of U.S. military cargo planes also heading to the region. The activity is similar to last year when the U.S. moved in air defense hardware, including a Patriot missile system, in anticipation of an Iranian counterattack following the bombing of three key nuclear sites. Iran launched over a dozen missiles at Al Udeid Air Base days after the strikes.

“We have a massive eet heading in that direction, and maybe we won’t have to use it.”

President Trump

Since 2012, at least 17 generals from the People’s Liberation Army, or PLA, have been removed from their military positions, among them eight who were former top commission members, according to a review of military statements and state media reports made by The Associated Press.

How a top military change can impact moves on Taiwan

Some think the removals could have repercussions for China’s decisions on Taiwan, but it is far from clear.

China considers Taiwan its own territory and has threatened to take control of the island by force if necessary. China also has increased military pressure and, last month, launched large-scale military drills around Taiwan for two days after the U.S. government announced a major arms sales to Taiwan.

Thomas, from the Asia Society Policy Institute, said the latest purge “makes China’s threat toward Taiwan weaker in the

“Xi

Jinping has completed one of the biggest purges of China’s military leadership in the history of the People’s Republic.”

Neil Thomas, Asia expert

short term but stronger in the long term.”

It would make a military escalation against the island riskier in the immediate term because of “a high command in disarray” but in the long term would mean the army has a more loyal and less corrupt leadership with more military capabilities, he said.

Asked if this might reinforce the idea that removing top military brass might show China is not ready for war, Tang from the Paci c Forum said it “does not fundamentally change that assessment.”

“That said,” he added, “I also do not believe the PLA’s combat readiness has been severely disrupted.”

Military commission’s future remains unclear

With the recent changes, the military commission will operate with only one of six members active and Xi at the top as the chair.

The PLA’s Daily editorial said that after the actions against Zhang and Liu, the party is moving to “promote the rejuvenation of the People’s Liberation Army, and inject powerful momentum into building a strong military force.”

But it’s not clear if the ve vacant positions will be replaced soon or if Xi will wait until 2027, when there will be a selection of a new Communist Party Central Committee, the body in charge of also appointing the new military commission members.

Tang, from the Paci c Forum, doesn’t see any pressure on Xi to ll the positions in the short term.

“Unless the objective is to create an internal counterweight to Zhang Shengmin,” the only current member in the commission, he said.

Forsyth SPORTS

Penske’s team wins third consecutive Rolex 24 at Daytona in thrilling nish

The iconic organization is starting its 60th year

By Jenna Fryer

The Associated Press

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Felipe Nasr’s time in Formula 1 had ended after two underwhelming seasons and the Brazilian was left with little to do as an open-wheel racing driver.

He migrated to sports cars and spent four seasons driving for the team owned by NASCAR chairman Jim France. Then came an opportunity he couldn’t turn down: a clandestine meeting with Roger Penske to discuss developing a new sports car program with the factory backing of Porsche.

They met in a parking lot, and Penske was immediately impressed.

“He showed up in a blue suit, and I said, ‘That’s my kind of guy,’” the 88-year-old team owner said.

Team Penske opened the 60th anniversary of its organization with a win in the rst race of the year — a three-peat, no less — in the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

“The driving he’s done for us, at the end, that was probably one of the best drives I’ve ever seen,” Penske said.

The Penske squad became the third team in the 64-year history of the most prestigious endurance race in the United States to win three in a row. His Porsche Penske Motorsports team joined Chip Ganassi Racing and Wayne Taylor Racing as the only teams to win three straight sports car races at Daytona International Speedway. It was the fth overall Rolex victory in the event for Porsche and the 46th overall IMSA victory for Penske.

What’s most impressive for

Penske is that the team has won three years in a row with three di erent lineups; Nasr, the Penske closer, is the only mainstay on all three entries, and he was openly weeping in Victory Lane.

“It’s a moment I dreamed of — the desire to win is what makes you go beyond and further,” Nasr said. “I love this sport, I love this series, and the 24-hour (race) being decided in the last few minutes is just incredible.”

“The Penske was in a good form from beginning to end,” Nasr said. “The winning feeling — they are special — it’s hard to pick a favorite one. I have no words to describe it, it’s just a unique feeling.”

Nasr actually has four Rolex titles — except his fourth was not in the top class.

This one didn’t come easy for Nasr, driving in front of the largest Rolex crowd in race history, as he held o his former team, the Cadillac from Action Express Racing, over the nal hour to win the overall title. The Action Express car originally won the pole but was disquali ed in post-qualifying inspection.

That forced the No. 31 Cadillac to start last in class, and the lineup of Jack Aitken, Earl Bamber, Mercedes Formula 1 driver Fred Vesti and NASCAR ris-

ing star Connor Zilisch weaved their way to second.

Nasr and Aitken closed the races for their respective teams, and Aitken got several good looks at passing Nasr for the win in the nal 25 minutes, but Nasr closed the door on him at every chance.

Nasr cruised to victory in an overhauled No. 7 Porsche 963 with teammates Julien Andlauer and Laurin Heinrich. The Porsche beat the Cadillac by 1 minute, .569 seconds.

The No. 24 BMW M Team WRT nished third in the top GTP class with the quartet of Sheldon van der Linde, Dries Vanthoor, Robin Frijns and Rene Rast.

The caution was thrown for foggy conditions shortly before 1 a.m. and lasted for a race-record 6 hours, 33 minutes, 25 seconds covering 120 laps. The caution was so long that Penske, who prides himself on staying awake and on the pit stand the entire 24 hours, actually took a midrace break.

The Rolex marks the unofcial start of the motorsports season, and this year’s race featured 60 cars from 12 di erent automakers, 228 drivers from 32 countries and no clear favorite aside from the two-car Penske e ort.

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Jayon Connor

Forsyth Country Day, boys’ basketball

The Furies are 23-2 and have won four straight after winning both of last week’s games. In a win over Davidson Day, Connor made 11 of 14 shots to score 25 points. He added eight rebounds and three steals. In a win over Wesleyan Christian Academy, Connor made 8 of 12 shots for 17 points with six rebounds.

For the season, he leads N.C. Division NCISAA 4A in rebounding and is sixth overall in all of NCISAA in rebounds. He’s second in 4A in scoring.

Clemson’s Swinney alleges tampering by Ole Miss’ Golding, calls for reforms

The coach has provided the NCAA with evidence of illegal tactics

By Brett Martell

The Associated Press

CLEMSON COACH Dabo

Swinney is accusing Mississippi coach Pete Golding of tampering with transfer player Luke Ferrelli and said Friday he has forwarded evidence to the NCAA.

“If you tamper with my players, I’m going to turn you in. It’s just that simple,” Swinney said during a news conference. “I’m not out to get anybody red, but there has to be accountability and consequences for this type of behavior and total disregard for the rules.

“If this happened in the NFL, which is an actual league with rules, they would be ned, they would take draft picks, they hit the cap, whatever,” Swinney continued. “This is such a terrible example for young coaches in this profession. ... To me, this situation is like having an a air on your honeymoon.”

Ferrelli, a former linebacker at California, entered the transfer portal Jan. 2 and committed to Clemson four days later. Ferrelli subsequently enrolled, began classes, and began attending meetings and workouts, Swinney said.

Ferrelli reentered the portal Jan. 22 and committed to Ole Miss.

“You can’t sign with the Browns and practice a week, and then the Dolphins call you and say we’re going to give you a little more money and you say, ‘See ya, boys,’ and go play for the Dolphins. That’s not the real world,” Swinney said.

Ole Miss athletic o -

cials did not respond to Swinney’s allegations. NCAA vice president of enforcement Jon Duncan said in a statement that the association “will investigate any credible allegations of tampering and expect full cooperation from all involved as required by NCAA rules.”

Swinney alleged that Golding maintained contact with Ferrelli after the linebacker had enrolled at Clemson, even texting, “I know you’re signed, but what is your buyout?”

When Swinney found out about it, he said he initially

told Clemson general manager Jordan Sorrells that he wanted to give Golding “some grace” because the Rebels’ coach was newly promoted after Lane Ki n left for LSU over Thanksgiving weekend.

Swinney asked Sorrells to tell Ole Miss o cials “that we know what’s going on, and if he doesn’t cease communication, I’m going to turn him in. I really thought that would be the end of it, but it wasn’t.”

Swinney said Ferrelli’s agent con rmed that Golding had continued reaching out to the player, so Clemson

o cials asked for copies of the text messages. “The agent communicated that if we were to add a second year at $1 million to the already agreed-upon deal with Luke, then they would gladly give us whatever we need to turn Ole Miss in,” Swinney said. “Jordan, appropriately, said, ‘No, we’re not doing that.’”

Clemson athletic director Graham Ne said the university’s main reason for making the allegations public was to spur changes to the college football calendar and related rules — or lack thereof — that have

“We’re going to have some screwed-up 30-year-olds ... that have no degrees, that have spent their money, that can’t play football anymore and aren’t connected to anything,” Dabo Swinney, Clemson coach

contributed to upheaval across the sport.

“The NCAA was surprised a school was willing to come forward as directly and transparently as we were,” Ne said. “We need to look real hard at how we got here but (also) how to get out of it.”

Ne added that Clemson was exploring its legal options.

“This is not about a linebacker at Clemson,” Swinney added. “I don’t want anyone on our team that doesn’t want to be here.

“It’s about the next kid and about the message being sent if this blatant tampering is allowed to happen without any consequences.”

Swinney also called the January transfer portal window “stupid,” saying it causes “ at- out extortion in some cases” because players and schools are making major decisions during “such a short period of time, right in the middle of when people are trying to play bowl games, playo games, et cetera.” If the system is not reformed, Swinney warned, there will be unintended consequences for players who transfer among multiple schools while chasing short-term nancial payouts — particularly if they don’t make it to the NFL.

“We’re going to have some screwed-up 30-year-olds ... that have no degrees, that have spent their money, that can’t play football anymore and aren’t connected to anything,” Swinney said.

SIDELINE REPORT

NCAA FOOTBALL

College Football Playo to remain at 12 teams

The College Football Playo will remain at 12 teams after the commissioners of the Southeastern Conference and Big Ten couldn’t come up with a compromise for expansion. The CFP Management Committee announced the 12-team format would stay the same for the 2026-27 season, providing additional time for evaluation and discussion on potential changes in the future. The CFP went from four teams to 12 teams for the 2024 season, and the two most powerful conferences favored further expansion but could not agree on a number.

NBA Former Heat security o cer gets 3 years in prison for selling stolen memorabilia

Miami A former Miami Heat security o cer has been sentenced to three years in federal prison and ordered to pay nearly $1.9 million in restitution for stealing hundreds of game-worn jerseys and other sports memorabilia while working for the team. Marcos Thomas Perez, 62, was sentenced earlier this month. He pleaded guilty last August to transporting and transferring stolen goods in interstate commerce. The 25-year retired veteran of the Miami Police Department worked for the Heat from 2016 to 2021 and as an NBA security employee from 2022 to 2025.

NFL

Former 49ers

quarterback, MVP Brodie dead at 90

Former MVP and longtime San Francisco 49ers quarterback John Brodie died at the age of 90. Brodie had a stroke in 2000. Brodie played for the 49ers from 1957-73 after breaking every major passing record at Stanford. He later played on the Senior PGA Tour and won the 1991 Security Paci c Senior Classic. Brodie’s 17 seasons still represent a 49ers franchise record, and his 31,548 yards passing rank second to Joe Montana on San Francisco’s career passing list.

NCAA BASKETBALL

Bediako makes immediate impact in return for Alabama Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Alabama’s Charles Bediako had four dunks, two steals and two blocks in his rst college action in nearly three years against Tennessee. Playing two days after a Tuscaloosa judge temporarily reinstated his college eligibility and blocked the NCAA from retaliating for his return, the 23-year-old 7-footer nished with 13 points and three rebounds in a 79 -73 loss to the Volunteers. Bediako helped the 17th-ranked Crimson Tide score 26 points in the paint while building a 39-36 lead at the break.

Star-studded generation of hockey’s best, brightest players nally going to Olympics

It’s been 12 years since NHL players suited up in the Winter Games

By Stephen Whyno The Associated Press

JACK EICHEL IN the fall of 2021 still did not believe he and the rest of the world’s best hockey players would be going to the Olympics in Beijing a few months later, even after the NHL reached an agreement to do so.

“Don’t hold your breath,” Eichel said at the time.

His skepticism proved to be prescient, as pandemic scheduling issues led the league to withdraw.

Eichel is part of a generation of NHL stars who have never gotten the chance to play in the Olympics. Unlike players of the past — before the league allowed its stars to take part — Eichel, fellow American Auston Matthews, Canadians Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon, and many others of their vintage grew up expecting to go to the Games. The NHL, after all, played in ve consecutive Olympics from 1998 to 2014.

Owners opted against sending players in 2018, and missing out in 2022 became a sad result of circumstances largely out of stakeholders’ control. The 12-team tournament in Milan is a moment many have been waiting their entire careers for.

“It’s awesome,” Eichel said before this season, perhaps willing to exhale. “It’s something that we’ve wanted for a while.”

Construction delays bring more questions

Not so fast, Jack. Out of his control are construction delays at the main

hockey arena, a longstanding worry. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman began raising concerns all the way back in 2023, before the deal was reached to send players in 2026 and ’30.

“We’re being told by everybody not to worry,” Bettman said in 2024, “but I like to worry, so we’ll see.”

Those worries have persisted, and work continues on locker rooms and other facilities at Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena, which is set to host the majority of the men’s games beginning Feb. 11. The women’s tournament begins there Feb. 5.

Test games in January left league and players’ union ofcials pleased about the condition of the ice, though even that has been a matter of consternation after rinks were made more than 3 feet shorter than NHL players are used to. That will change aspects of play but won’t keep the NHL out of the Olympics as long as

everyone involved agrees the surface is safe. What players missed out on

Canada’s Macklin Celebrini, drafted rst in 2024 and at 19 the second-youngest men’s hockey player at the Olympics, has only gotten to dream about the possibility of representing his country on this stage.

“That’s the pinnacle, just the best on best, all the special moments that have happened at the Olympics, the history,” Celebrini said. “There’s just a little bit more energy around it. It’s bigger than yourself.”

In all, 12 NHL players are back at the Olympics after participating in the 2014 Games, the last time the league went and it was a true best-on-best tournament. The group includes Sidney Crosby and Drew Doughty for Canada; Gabriel Landeskog, Erik Karlsson and Oliver Ekman-Larsson for Sweden; Mikael Granlund and

In the rehearsal tent: Here’s what makes Milan Cortina Winter Olympics opening ceremony special

More than 1,200 volunteers are preparing to kick o the games for the world

By Colleen Barry The Associated Press

MILAN — Inside a cavernous tent near Milan’s San Siro stadium, classically trained dancers from La Scala’s academy mimicked Nordic walkers and gure skaters during a rehearsal Saturday for the opening number of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics opening ceremony, which will take place on Feb. 6.

The young dancers are among some 1,200 volunteers who have been rehearsing since November in the tent large enough to mark the actual stage while Italian Serie A soccer wrapped up its nal soccer matches before turning the iconic stadium into an Olympic venue.

“The preparation of the Olympic ceremony is a very complicated journey but also an exhilarating journey because you get to meet all these volunteers, dance classes, normal people,’’ opening ceremony creative director Marco Balich said.

Volunteers include Balich’s butcher, the head of his o ce and an 88-year-old widow.

“And all of them join in to create something for the nation, for the joy of being part of a huge event like the Olympics,’’ said Balich, the producer of a record 16 Olympic and Paralympic ceremonies including the 2006 Turin opening ceremony.

Over the next two weeks, rehearsals will amp up to some nine hours a day — all in pursuit of Olympic emotion for what is billed as the most

viewed moment of the Games.

Some 60,000 people are expected to attend the ceremony live in San Siro, including a U.S. delegation led by Vice President JD Vance, while millions around the world will watch on o cial broadcasters.

The theme of this year’s opening ceremony is “Harmony,’’ an especially potent message as the world order is shaken and populations from Ukraine to Gaza to Iran are exposed to violence.

The concept of an Olympic Truce, originating in ancient Greece and revived by Olympic o cials in the 1990s, is even more urgent this year, Balich said. The truce aims to promote peace and dialogue through sport by ceasing hostilities for a week before the Olympics and a week after the Paralympics, which close March 15. Getting belligerents to cooperate is another matter.

“In this moment, where forces and bullies are predominant, I think it’s very important for all of us to embrace the values that the Olympics

“The preparation of the Olympic ceremony is a very complicated journey but also an exhilarating.”

Marco Balich, opening ceremony creative director

represents, which is to compete respectfully and peacefully between all the countries and nations, summarized in the title ‘Harmony,’ ’’ Balich said. Balich’s ceremony will highlight Italian excellence and creativity, including a nod to Milan’s role as a fashion capital, and eye-openers he won’t reveal to preserve the surprise.

Some moments of the opening ceremony have been announced: U.S. pop star Mariah Carey, crossover tenor Andrea Bocelli, mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli, Italian singer Laura Pausini and concert pianist Lang Lang will perform. Others are prescribed by

Maatta for Finland; Radko Gudas and Ondrej Palat for Czechia. There are no Americans on that list.

“It’s a cherry on top of athletic life,” Gudas said. “Twelve years ago when we went to Sochi was such a great experience that I wish I can do that again. I was that much more sad that we couldn’t go the last two times, so for me, I think it’s a great feeling to be able to do that.”

American defenseman Zach Werenski at 28 is old enough to remember Crosby’s goal in 2010, and four years later he was watching Oshie’s heroics with other members of the U.S. National Team Development Program. Four of his teammates from back then are also set to go to Milan — Matthews, Matthew Tkachuk, Charlie McAvoy and Noah Hani n — to nally have their Olympic moment.

“The signi cance of that, the build-up, we’ve waited a long time for this,” McAvoy said, “so it’s going to be incredible.”

Olympic protocol. They include the unveiling of the Olympic rings, the parade of athletes and, in the nal moment, the lighting of the Olympic cauldron.

This year there will be two cauldrons, inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s geometric studies: one in Milan, at the Arco della Pace some 2½ miles from San Siro, and the other in Cortina, some ve hours and 250 miles away.

Director of ceremonies Maria Laura Iascone promised some “Olympic magic’ to transfer the ame over the nal legs, given the extraordinary distances involved.

As the dual cauldron lighting illustrates, the 2026 Games are the most spread out in Olympic history. So that athletes even in far- ung venues near the Swiss and Austrian borders can participate, the Parade of Athletes will be beamed in from three other venues, including Cortina.

“This event will bring a lot of this magic and images,” Iascone said. “We keep a balance between the protocol moments that will be, let’s say, serious, very precise, and also moments where emotion will be brought through the participation of key roles and people.”

The rehearsal tent holds not only the mock stage but also a huge wardrobe room with 1,400 costumes, some in bright, broadcast-friendly Technicolor tones, and a corner for seamstresses and tailors to makenal adjustments.

A sign on the door tells the performers who enter: “Your Happy Moment Starts Now! Welcome!”

Volunteer Fostis Siadimas didn’t need to be told. This is his second opening ceremony as a volunteer performer, after participating in the 2004 Summer Olympics in his native Athens as a 20-year-old. An amateur dancer now living in Milan, he eagerly answered the casting call.

‘’The last few moments before entering the stadium, it’s an experience, one of the best of my life, ever,’’ Siadimas said.

the world premiere of “Bridgerton” Season 4 on Jan. 14 in Paris. Part 1 lands on Net ix on Thursday.

‘Bridgerton,’

Chevy Chase, Rose Byrne,

The 68th annual Grammy Awards air Sunday on CBS

The Associated Press

KENDRICK LAMAR and Bad Bunny live at the Grammy Awards and Rose Byrne’s Oscar-nominated performance in “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” 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: Highguard is the latest entry in the ever-growing eld of multiplayer shooters, Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista star in “The Wrecking Crew,” and the third season of “Shrinking” checks in on Apple TV.

MOVIES TO STREAM

If you haven’t seen Rose Byrne’s Oscar-nominated performance in “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,” Mary Bronstein’s psychological drama arrives Friday on HBO Max. Byrne plays the stressed-out mother of a young, unseen child who’s struggling with a mystery illness. In her review, the AP’s Jocelyn Noveck wrote that the lm “has given Byrne, an actor of e ortless appeal in lighter lms, a chance to display versatility and grit in surely the toughest dramatic role of her career.”

Momoa and Bautista star in “The Wrecking Crew” (Prime Video) as estranged half-brothers who reunite after their father’s mysterious death. The action comedy is directed by Angel Manuel Soto, who made 2023’s “Blue Beetle.”

Ira Sachs’ “Peter Hujar’s Day,” the lead nominee to the Independent Film Spirit Awards, is a marvel of historical yet intimate dramatic resurrection. The lm (Criterion Channel) is based on a transcript from a 1974 interview by the writer Linda Rosenkrantz (Rebecca Hall) and her friend, the photographer Peter Hujar (Ben Whishaw). Rosenkrantz had planned a book about how artists spend their time. But the book never happened,

‘The

Wrecking Crew’

and Sachs, after coming across the transcripts, dramatizes their dialogue. In “I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not,” the lmmaker Marina Zenovich pro les the irascible “Saturday Night Live” and “Fletch” star. For the lm (HBO Max, Saturday), Zenovich interviews the complicated and sometimes combative comedian about his career, with glimpses of his daily life. Perspectives are o ered by Dan Aykroyd, Beverly D’Angelo, Goldie Hawn, Lorne Michaels, Ryan Reynolds and Martin Short.

MUSIC TO STREAM

’Tis the season — the 2026 Grammy Awards season, that is. On Sunday, the 68th annual award show will air live on CBS. Watch as Lamar, Bad Bunny, Lady Gaga and many more go head to head in the top prize categories. Plus, the show doubles as a kind of be -

spoke live concert viewing experience — and who doesn’t like that? The 2026 Grammys can also be watched through live TV streaming services that include CBS in their lineup, like Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV and FuboTV. Paramount+ premium plan subscribers will be able to stream the Grammys live; Paramount+ essential subscribers will have on demand access the next day. California power pop-punk bands Joyce Manor return with their seventh full-length album Friday, the all-too-appropriately titled “I Used to Go to This Bar.” Spoken like a gently aging band whose penchant for hooks knows no bounds.

SERIES TO STREAM

Benedict, the second eldest Bridgerton, takes center stage in season 4 of the Net ix romance series, It’s about the love stories of a large family in London during the Regency Era.

Season 4 has “Cinderella” vibes with Luke Thompson’s Benedict looking for an enchanting “woman in silver” who is actually Sophie, a housemaid (Yerin Ha) working for his family. Part 1 drops Thursday with the remaining episodes arriving in February.

The third season of “Shrinking” is now streaming on Apple TV. The series follows Jason Segel as a therapist named Jimmy, a widowed dad to a teenage girl, who shares a practice with characters played by Harrison Ford and Jessica Williams. Between Jimmy’s colleagues, neighbors and friends, he forms a new kind of family. Season 3 features guest stars Michael J. Fox, Je Daniels, Sherry Cola, Isabella Gomez and Candice Bergen. School’s back in session. “School Spirits” starring Peyton List, that is. The Paramount+ series has returned for a third season. List stars as a teen trapped in the afterlife,

“If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” has given Byrne, an actor of e ortless appeal in lighter lms, a chance to display versatility and grit in surely the toughest dramatic role of her career.”

Jocelyn Noveck, AP Film Writer

which happens to be her high school. She’s there with other ghosts who are also former students that help Maddie to investigate the circumstances surrounding her death.

Kaley Cuoco and Sam Clain star in a new mystery for MGM+ called “Vanished.” Cuoco plays a woman whose boyfriend (Cla in) goes missing on a train to France. The four-part limited-series premieres Sunday.

VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY

Highguard is the latest entry in the ever-growing eld of multiplayer shooters, o ering yet another way to get online with your friends and blow stu up. In this case, you are Wardens — “arcane gunslingers sent to battle for control of a mythical continent.” Judging by the trailer, you’ll be able to ride mythical beasts and wield magical powers along with the typical arsenal of weapons. It comes from a new studio called Wildlight Entertainment, whose founders have worked on hits like Call of Duty, Apex Legends and Titanfall. And it’s free-to -play, so you might as well give it a shot on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S on PC. Bandai Namco’s Code Vein, from 2019, tried to answer the question: What if you took the demanding combat of Dark Souls and added vampires? The bloodsuckers — known here as Revenants — are back in Code Vein II, but a mysterious force is turning them into mindless monstrosities. Your job is to travel back in time and prevent the damage before all the Revenants get stupid. The good news is that you can still drain blood from your enemies and use it to upgrade your own ghting skills. Quench your thirst Friday, Jan. 30, on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S or PC.

STATE & NATION

Members question transparency, consent in PENC’s 2025 union merger

AFPENC o cials maintain they had authority to move the a liation forward

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal

RALEIGH — Members of a teacher’s association in North Carolina are questioning the transparency and consent process involved in a merger with a national teacher’s union.

Last fall, the board of Professional Educators of North Carolina (PENC) unanimously approved an a liation with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), a national labor union representing 1.8 million educators.

PENC rebranded as the American Federation of Professional Educators in North Carolina (AFPENC), with the change announced Oct. 14, 2025, in Charlotte.

AFT President Randi Weingarten and AFPENC President Joanna Loftis signed the agreement, framing it as a “historic” move to amplify advocacy for teacher pay, working conditions and public education funding in a right-to-work state that prohibits collective bargaining and strikes.

Public statements from AFT and AFPENC describe the a liation as the culmination of years of member-driven organizing, aimed at addressing declining membership and limited statewide in uence.

PENC had about 2,082 members in 2022-23, down nearly 4% year over year.

Bene ts touted for the merger include enhanced resources like professional development, legal support, disaster relief, classroom tools and stronger lobbying e orts in Raleigh while emphasizing AFPENC’s continued autonomy as a North

“At the time these decisions were made, only eight of the 15 board seats were lled. Those eight were making major decisions for the entire membership without asking us.”

Tim Barnsback, former PENC president

Carolina-focused entity governed by local educators.

However, internal pushback has highlighted concerns about the process’ legitimacy. Past PENC President Tim Barnsback has criticized the a liation as lacking proper member consent.

“I got involved because leadership changes raised legitimate questions about governance and stability, and I believed members deserved clear answers so the organization could remain a strong advocate for public education in North Carolina,” Barnsback told North State Journal. “I support a strong, nonpartisan collective voice for teachers, but any a liation needs to be handled transparently so it strengthens, rather than weakens, educators’ ability to defend public education in North Carolina.”

In formal emails starting Oct. 20, 2025, Barnsback requested key records: pre- and post-afliation bylaws, board vote details (including quorum and motion), explanations of ratication requirements, full minutes, con ict-of-interest policies, the a liation agreement, and the membership list to verify notice and participation.

Responses from leadership from AFTPENC o cials, including Loftis, O ce Administrator Catherine Coleman and Executive Director Donnell McLean, involved initial delays, partial fulllment and some denials.

O cials asserted board authority under the state’s Nonpro t Corporation Act to enter a liations without amending

governing documents or trigger-

ing a member vote, deeming the action preliminary.

“I’m not trying to stop the a liation,” said Barnsback. “My concern has always been about process and trust. If educators are going to stand together to protect public education in North Carolina, the organization representing them has to be transparent, accountable and member-driven.

“If the a liation is done properly, with transparency, clear documentation and informed member consent, it has the potential to strengthen educators’ ability to push back against efforts that undermine public schools and teaching.”

A request for a membership list was rejected as unrelated, since o cials asserted no member notice was required for board decisions. Barnsback argued this breached statutory transparency standards and duciary duties.

A Dec. 19, 2025, letter to members extended a Google Form feedback period and promised draft bylaw revisions for a January annual membership vote on amendments. The feedback form originally ran for three days in mid-December.

Critics view this as retroactive legitimization of a done deal, especially after the rebranding and public claims of nality.

Barnsback also noted the disabling of the internal member communication portal amid rising questions, limiting discussion.

“I’ve invested nearly 20 years

in PENC as a member and served as board president during some of the organization’s most successful and in uential years,” Barnsback said. “Watching it unravel because of mismanagement and poor legal and ethical practices has been heartbreaking, especially knowing how much it once meant to educators across North Carolina.”

As of Jan. 9, AFPENC’s website presents the a liation as complete and positive, highlighting its legacy since 1979 and new AFT-backed strengths, with no public acknowledgment of disputes.

North State Journal reached out to AFPENC o cials with several questions regarding voting processes, quorum of the board vote and the board’s authority to enter into the a liation, as well as questions about member feedback and record transparency raised by Barnsback.

Loftis responded to North State Journal, o ering a statement in email, but no detailed answers to the questions posed.

“The executive board of PENC (doing business as AFPENC) engaged in an a liation with AFT with the general governing powers of the organization in pursuance with the PENC bylaws and North Carolina Nonpro t Corporation Act,” Loftis wrote in an email.

“All board decisions toward the a liation were made unanimously at o cial board meetings where a quorum was present. Through the process AFPENC has remained compliant with all state statutes and remains in constant communication with our legal consult.

“The a liation with AFT maintains PENC’s autonomy in governance and leadership. Membership will vote on amended bylaws and articles of incorporation wherein all proper notices will be sent to the general membership as required

Rhode Island may ditch Mr. Potato Head license plates after Hasbro’s move to Boston

The plates have raised $60,000 for a local food bank

By Kimberlee Kruesi

The Associated Press

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — It’s been no small potatoes that Rhode Islanders have been able to choose the image of Mr. Potato Head as a specialty license plate for decades.

Yet with Hasbro’s decision to move its headquarters from the smallest state in the U.S. to Boston, two lawmakers say it’s time to hash out whether Rhode Island should continue promoting

one of the company’s most iconic characters.

Under the proposal introduced earlier this month, Rhode Island’s Division of Motor Vehicles would stop providing Mr. Potato Head as an option for a specialty license plate. Currently the plate costs around $40, with half of that amount going to help support the Rhode Island Community Food Bank.

Rep. Brian Newberry, a Republican from North Smitheld, said in an email that he led the legislation because Hasbro leaving the state will cause “untold economic harm and loss of tax revenue.”

“There is no reason we should

“There is no reason we should be advertising their products on our license plates.”

Rep. Brian Newberry

be advertising their products on our license plates,” Newberry said. “It may seem trivial compared to many other things but it’s a matter of self-respect.”

Mr. Potato Head license plates were rst issued in 2002 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the beloved toy,

which notably has appeared in the “Toy Story ” lms. The plates include a small image of Mr. Potato Head holding a sign of the Rhode Island Community Food Bank and “help end hunger” at the bottom of the plate.

“The license plate started at a time when Mr. Potato Head was all over the state and was having a moment,” said Kate MacDonald, spokesperson for the food bank, which has received nearly $60,000 over the years due to the plate. “And while it has tapered o over the years, it’s been a steady way for people to contribute.”

An email was sent to Hasbro

by our bylaws and state law.”

On Saturday, a virtual town hall was held for members to vote on amendments to the organization’s Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws but also ostensibly to address PENC member issues with the merger.

Loftis, McLean and most board members were in attendance, as well as former Democratic State Superintendent candidate Jen Mangrum and current General Assembly House candidate Kelly Van Horn, who changed her party a liation to Republican to challenge Rep. Tricia Cotham (R-Mecklenburg) in this year’s primary.

Attendees indicated to North State Journal that AFPENC leadership didn’t take objections seriously and that questions were de ected or left unanswered.

When members asked about dues increases, they were told the board said that was still undecided. Members were unhappy with that position, saying they were still being asked to vote yes on the merger and trust the board.

Members also asked about union activity in North Carolina, citing an AFT article that says AFPENC has joined picket lines, participated in national political protests and engaged in activities that have never occurred in North Carolina.

Members were then told PENC would be “strengthened by a national union.” Certain union activity, like organized strikes, is illegal for public employees in North Carolina.

The AFT article also says that AFPENC conducted a book giveaway for students in North Carolina that apparently never happened. When asked about it, Loftis said that a book giveaway was planned but admitted it has not yet taken place.

AFT has also sent newsletters containing content focused on AFT President Weingarten’s statements on anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement protests.

AFPENC’s annual board meeting is scheduled for Jan. 31 via video conference, at which time the board will vote on the amendment changes presented at the previous Saturday’s meeting.

seeking comment. The toy company announced last year that it would be moving to Boston by the end of 2026 after operating in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, for nearly 70 years.

Mr. Potato Head has been around since the 1950s, when the original toy didn’t come with a plastic potato. Instead, kids had to supply their own vegetable to poke eyes, a nose or mustache into.

Notably, Mr. Potato Head was the rst toy advertised on television in 1952. A Mrs. Potato Head was launched in 1953, followed by brother Spud, sister Yam, and various pets and accessories, according to the National Museum of Play.

Hasbro adopted a plastic spud after new government regulations prevented certain toys from having pointed sharp edges, as well as complaints about children playing with rotting vegetables.

Randolph record

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Judge orders ICE chief to appear in court or risk contempt over denial of due process

The chief federal judge in Minnesota says the Trump administration has failed to comply with orders to hold hearings for detained immigrants. As a result, the judge ordered the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to appear before him Friday to explain why he shouldn’t be held in contempt. In an order dated Monday, Chief Judge Patrick J. Schiltz said Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, must appear personally in court. Schiltz took the administration to task over its handling of bond hearings for immigrants it has detained.

Activists say Iran’s crackdown has killed at least 6,159 people

Activists say at least 6,159 people have been killed in Iran’s crackdown on nationwide protests, and many more are still feared dead. The new gures on Tuesday came from a U.S.-based NGO, which has been accurate in multiple rounds of unrest in Iran.

The Iranian government has put the death toll at a far lower 3,117 — including 2,427 civilians and security forces, and the rest labelled “terrorists.”

$2.00

Walking through the storm: Buddhist monks’ journey of peace

Theravada monks’

By Shawn Krest Stanly News Journal

HEADS DOWN, they walk, keeping a brisk pace. A winter storm bears down on them, and many have hoods drawn in the 28-degree weather. Two dozen monks left the Theravada Buddhist temple in Fort Worth, Texas, in late October and started walking. Most of us have celebrated Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s. We’ve done holiday shopping and watched more than half of the NFL sea-

The Walk for Peace drew crowds in Liberty last week during a stop on the

son and playo s. They’ve been walking.

Some of them wear sandals, a nod to the weather. A few

The downtown location is intended to expand workforce training and business support

Randolph Record sta

ASHEBORO — Randolph Community College held a ribbon cutting last Friday to ocially opened its new Education and Engagement Center at 135 Sunset Ave. in downtown Asheboro.

The new location expands RCC’s ability to deliver workforce training, small business support and student services in close proximity to local employers and the business community, according to school o cials. The Education and Engagement Center serves as a location for education, business development and community.

“Access is the rst promise

we make to our community, and this center is that promise in action,” said Shah Ardalan, RCC’s president. “The Education and Engagement Center brings Randolph Community College closer to the people we serve — and closer to the businesses and employers driving our local economy. It creates new opportunities for workforce training, business support and career advancement right here in downtown Asheboro.

The school announced that the downtown venue is designed to strengthen partnerships with businesses and make it easier for working adults, entrepreneurs and employers to connect with training and resources that support workforce needs.

“This is more than a building,” Ardalan said. “It is a workforce gateway that strengthens our local economy while opening doors

had been barefoot for much of the walk. Their journey will take them through eight states, 2,300 miles and 110 days, from

Texas to D.C. They eat one meal a day, food donated to them. It’s called the Walk for Peace, but their mission doesn’t sound politically charged.

“We walk not to protest, but to awaken the peace that already lives within each of us,” a written statement from the temple explains. “The Walk for Peace is a simple yet meaningful reminder that unity and kindness begin within each of us and can radiate outward to families, communities, and society as a whole.”

By late morning, they’ve already traveled from Apex to Raleigh. They turn from Tryon Road onto Gorman Street, heading for Dorothea Dix Park,

See MONKS, page A2

COURTESY RANDOLPH

Randolph Community College president Shah Ardalan cuts the ribbon at the grand opening of the RCC Education & Engagement Center as RCC board chair Reynolds Lisk, left, and Asheboro mayor Joey Trogdon look on.

to education and opportunity.” Reynolds Lisk, RCC board chair, said that one of Ardalan’s goals had been for RCC to be a hub in the community, and this move is a step in that pursuit. State Sen. Dave Craven (R-Randolph) and Asheboro Mayor Joey Trogdon also spoke at the ceremony. The downtown center includes two classrooms that will be a spot for programming based on community and employer needs, including

courses beginning in February, with additional workforce training and small business programming planned in the months ahead.

RCC invites community members and organizations to use the space for meetings and small gatherings. Those need to come with reservations.

The center is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

THURSDAY 1.29.26

Randolph

Trip Ho

Jim Sills,

Cory Lavalette,

Dan

David

MONKS from page A1

where they’ll eat today’s meal. It’s the 91st day of their journey. They’ve lost a walker to a car accident in Houston and their dog to a leg injury, and there are still 20 days to go, likely the coldest and most choked with crowds that they’ve encountered yet. And every person they pass, every day, is seeing them for the rst and only time. More than 70 people emerge from the apartment complexes on both sides of the street, interrupting their storm prep to see them. Some drove from their apartment and parked in the entrance driveway — taking their car the tenth of a mile to see these men walking across the country.

Police o cers stop tra c, turning cars back to take another route. Most drivers unroll their window to explain why they should be allowed to pass. A van approaches slowly, with ashing lights, and cell phones are held aloft. “Here they come,” someone shouts, but it’s a false alarm. The van, advertising a local radio station, honks, and the passengers wave.

People go back to waiting. A news helicopter hovering nearby gives a good estimate of how close they are. Someone has a live stream up on their phone, reporting that they “just went under the bridge.” Someone else complains that the online map isn’t updating. One woman talks on her cell phone, explaining to a friend where the nearest shopping center is so she can park.

Finally, police motorcycles appear, lights ashing. Again, cell phones pop up, at the

CRIME LOG

Jan. 20

• Brandon Lavariega, 30, of Asheboro, was arrested by RCSO for breaking and entering to terrorize or injure, felony larceny, domestic violence, assault on a female, injury to real property and injury to personal property.

THURSDAY JAN.29

FRIDAY JAN. 30

SATURDAY JAN. 31

SUNDAY FEB. 1

MONDAY FEB. 2

TUESDAY

RECORD

The Walk for Peace made its way through part of Randolph County near Liberty last week.

“We walk not to protest, but to awaken the peace that already lives within each of us.”

Statement from Theravada Buddhist temple in Fort Worth, Texas

ready, to capture the striking image of the monks coming over the hill, in a group, walking for peace.

Except there is no striking image. It’s easy to see the police lights, the long line of trafc trailing behind and the people lining the road, crowding in front of them to get a good picture. The small cluster of monks, however, doesn’t stand out.

As they get closer, their earth-tone robes are visible. They walk, single le. The lead monk carries a sta . Another carries a ag. They walk quick-

ly. People trying to catch up to the group after they pass have to jog to make up the ground. Their arms swing.

They say nothing. There’s no message, no sermon, no wisdom. They just walk. They are the embodiment of the cliché — a calm in the storm of chaos swirling around them, both on the street and in the nation they just crossed.

One shyly returns a wave to a child. Several people step forward with owers. One monk near the back accepts a bouquet from a bystander. He walks on, and after going a short distance, he begins peeling owers out of the bouquet, one at a time, and handing them to people watching them pass.

The crowd begins to break up. There is a storm to prepare for, photos and videos to post. People rave about how moving the experience was, including many who may have missed the point entirely. They walk on.

Randolph Guide

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

Jan.

29

Books and Banter (YA Club)

4:30-5:30 p.m.

Teens ages 13-16 meet each Thursday to talk about books and more. Every fourth Thursday, the group discusses the same book, which can be picked up in advance at the library.

Seagrove Public Library 530 Old Plank Road Seagrove

Jan. 30

“Two Guys Named Chris” Comedy Show

7-9 p.m.

Sponsored by the "Two Guys Named Chris" radio show, comedians E.J. Masicampo, Jeremy Alder and Dave Landau have been handpicked to o er the audience a variety of humor and comedy styles. Tickets are $25.

The Sunset Theatre 234 Sunset Ave. Asheboro

Jan. 21

Bryant Ernest Hawkins, 42, of Ramseur, was arrested by RCSO for felony possession of a Schedule I controlled substance, possession of stolen motor vehicle, resisting a public o cer and identity theft.

• Ashley Nicole Hutchinson, 33, of Asheboro, was arrested by Asheboro PD for simple assault, domestic violence and resisting a public o cer.

Jan. 22

• Jalen Riley Davis, 25, of Greensboro, was arrested by RCSO for possession of drug paraphernalia, domestic violence and assault on a female.

Hunter Lee Goforth, 24, of Asheboro, was arrested by RCSO for rst degree burglary, robbery with a dangerous weapon, possession of stolen goods and resisting a public o cer.

• Justin Samuel Goforth, 30, of Asheboro, was arrested by RCSO for possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.

• Alexis Faye Tucker, 23, of Randleman, was arrested by Asheboro PD for attempted breaking and entering into a motor vehicle.

Carlton Wayne Wrenn, 36, of Asheboro, was arrested by RCSO for possession of drug paraphernalia, domestic violence and simple assault.

Jan. 23

• Richard Lloyd Dalton, 44, of Denton, was arrested by RCSO for assault on a female, possession of stolen goods and misdemeanor larceny.

Darren Shane Hyatt, 35, of Randleman, was arrested by RCSO for rst degree arson.

• Latavis Cordarris Little, 34, of Asheboro, was arrested by Asheboro PD for driving while license revoked (impaired revocation) and resisting a public o cer.

Jerod Austin Eugene Summey, 45, of Sophia, was arrested by RCSO for communicating threats and assault on a female.

Jan. 24

• Benjamin Thomas Brownie, 44, homeless, of Asheboro, was arrested by Asheboro PD for possession of methamphetamine, possession of marijuana paraphernalia and possession of drug paraphernalia.

• Kelsey Bay Fogle, 28, of Greensboro, was arrested by Asheboro PD for possession of methamphetamine, possession of marijuana paraphernalia and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Ricardo Palacios, 46, of Asheboro, was arrested by NC Highway Patrol for habitual impaired driving, ee and elude arrest with a motor vehicle, driving while impaired, driving while license revoked (impaired revocation), reckless driving with wanton disregard, failure to heed light or siren, wrong way on dual lane highway, failure to stop at steady red light and a number of tra c infractions.

John Gray Venable, 36, of Asheboro, was arrested by Asheboro PD for possession of methamphetamine, possession of marijuana paraphernalia and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Jan. 25

• Je ery Antwain Quick, 39, of Thomasville, was arrested by RCSO for domestic violence and assault on a female.

Robert Michael Royall, 61, of Archdale, was arrested by Archdale PD for simple assault and injury to personal property.

Feb. 2

Randolph County Commissioners’ Meeting

6-9 p.m.

Open to the public, and members of the community are encouraged to attend.

145 C. Worth St. Asheboro

Feb. 6

Comedian Killer Beaz 7:30 p.m.

A popular, family-friendly comedy show that has been performed many times at the Grand Ole Opry. Tickets are $28.50 to $58.50.

The Sunset Theatre 234 Sunset Ave. Asheboro

Share with your community! Send us your births, deaths, marriages, graduations and other announcements: community@ randolphrecord.com Weekly deadline is Monday at noon

THE CONVERSATION

Trip Ho end, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

VISUAL VOICES

Argentina’s election and 2026

Argentina was once one of the wealthiest countries in the world.

ARGENTINE PRESIDENT Javier Milei’s extraordinary electoral victory in October could be a good omen for American Republicans in 2026.

Milei’s party, La Libertad Avanza, won 64 seats in the House of Deputies. His party and allied groups also won 14 seats in the nation’s Senate. Before the election, they only had 37 deputies and six senators.

If Republicans win a similar victory in 2026, it would mean something like 290 Republicans in the House (a roughly 140-vote majority) and 73 Republican Senators (a 36-vote majority).

Of course, a swing like that is impossible in America. Only one-third of the Senate is up for election in any given year, and gerrymandering has created some near disaster-proof House seats.

However, Milei’s victory has proven a reform movement can undertake deeply disruptive, painful changes and still increase its share of power.

Like President Donald Trump, Milei is a dedicated reformer who is determined to profoundly change a system that has been crippling his country for at least eight decades.

It is easy to forget that Argentina was once one of the wealthiest countries in the world. In 1913, the average Argentinian had about 80% of the income of the average American. It took several generations of socialist politicians to destroy Argentina’s wealth. Today, the average

COLUMN | MICHAEL BARONE

Argentinian has about 30% of the income of the average American.

This is a lesson that followers of Zohran Mamdani, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders should consider.

If the American big government socialists do for the United States what Juan Peron and the Argentinian socialists did for their country, every American will rapidly become poorer.

Milei brought an intellectual understanding of conservative economics, a great television personality and a willingness to dismantle the old order. Elon Musk’s antics with the chainsaw was actually a tribute to Milei — who had won the presidency with that as his symbol. His pledge was to take a chainsaw to the bureaucracy, regulations and political machines crippling Argentina’s economy.

And Milei implemented his campaign promises. In his rst two years, he slashed spending by 30%, cut regulations and shrunk the bureaucracy by 55,000 workers (a 15% reduction). He has also cut the number of ministries from 19 to nine, lowered taxes, and encouraged economic growth and investment in Argentina. All this led to a budget surplus for the rst time in 14 years.

Milei clearly intends to build on this victory. He told an election night crowd, “Today marks the beginning of building a great Argentina. This result is nothing more and nothing less than the con rmation of the mandate we

assumed in 2023.” He attributed the victory to the voters’ “determination to change the destiny of the nation irreversibly.”

Milei has an ambitious follow-on reform program. He plans to change labor laws, make contracts more exible — and make even deeper cuts to federal spending and regulation. He plans to have more tax cuts and to dramatically streamline bureaucratic procedures. His major goal is to increase the economy and boost salaries and jobs. To achieve this he wants to make it much easier to start new companies.

As Milei summarized it election night: “Argentines showed that they don’t want to return to the model of failure. … We want to be a country that grows. We want to make Argentina great again.”

No wonder Trump took great pleasure in Milei’s victory — and why he and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent went all in to help him. Every Republican should take heart. Faced with a choice between reform or decay, free enterprise or big government socialism, and freedom or bureaucratic rule, voters will side with what works. They did in Argentina.

Newt Gingrich is former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. He is the founder of Gingrich360, where he writes syndicated columns and comments on politics and current events.

Trump’s outrageous threats get practical results

Trump has proved that the border can be controlled under current legislation.

THINK ABOUT IT. Heads of government do not normally reveal the texts of private communications from other heads of state. Yet that is what Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store of Norway two Sundays ago on the rst weekend of the World Economic Forum in Davos, where the international press would have no di culty nding appalled foreign leaders to comment.

You could think of this as a hostile act of a statesman appalled that the American head of government does not know that the government of Norway does not decide who gets the Nobel Peace Prize. It is probably better to think of it as an intervention by a sympathetic observer who has noticed that Donald Trump backs down from untenable positions in response to ructions in political and nancial markets.

Which is what Trump has done between the publication of his letter and his speech at Davos last Wednesday. The Sunday before he seemed to be threatening war with Denmark, and European commentators, not without reason, lamented that he was risking breaking up the NATO alliance out of pique of not being awarded a prize by a committee that was never going to honor a nonleftist American president.

Proof of which was the granting of that prize to Barack Obama in 2009 for what even Obama himself admitted was for no tangible accomplishment. And Trump has never forgotten the ridicule heaped on him by Obama at the 2011 White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, ridicule that led directly to that ride down the Trump Tower escalator four years later.

Actually, Trump has some valid points on Greenland. It sits astride missile, drone and air transport routes between North America and western Russia and eastern Europe. The United States would have even more exibility than it does under current agreements with Denmark if it were to become U.S. territory.

That’s one reason the U.S. holds on to Guam

in the west Paci c and has spent billions upgrading military facilities there.

All that said, Trump’s usual negotiating technique of starting o with extravagant demands was, in the careful words of social scientist Charles Murray, “next-level crazy.” Denmark has been an active ally of the United States in Afghanistan and Iraq, has increased its rate of defense spending above levels Trump demanded, and has adopted immigration policies in line with Trump’s advocacy.

With Denmark as with Canada, as with fellow Republicans in Georgia and other states, Trump’s obnoxious maximalist demands have alienated him from sympathy and empowered the forces against him. Other leaders have gured out that he requires gushers of praise to permeate every dialogue, and they’re probably ready with encomiums for his avowals in his Davos speech that he won’t use violence to obtain Greenland.

It has to be said that Trump’s bluntness and braggadocio have had some of its intended e ect. The American Enterprise Institution’s Yuval Levin, in an interview with The New York Times’ Ezra Klein, made the point that many of Trump’s lurching policy changes, not codi ed into law, can easily be wiped away by the next Democratic administration, perhaps even by a Democratic House of Representatives next year.

But despite his own preference for procedural regularity in making institutional change, Levin admits that “they’ve driven a lot of change that will be durable.” Initial polling reaction to Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, has been negative. But there’s no doubt that Trump has proved that the border can be controlled under current legislation — which would increase the political cost of any subsequent administration adopting the open border policy of Joe Biden’s.

It is also telling that the best estimates

of both pro- and anti-immigration analysts are that the substantial numbers of ICE deportations from within the United States, far above those of other recent administrations, are orders of magnitude lower than the numbers of self-deportations. As on other issues (like military recruitment), Trump is uninterested in institutional change but interested in sharply changing the behavior of the larger public.

The e ect of Trump policies, and the possibility that they may be put back in place at some later date, will likely discourage many illegal aliens from living in this country more or less permanently, as some 10 million have been up through January 2025. As I wrote last fall, “Who will want to make long-term plans that can be ruined by sudden deportation or hurried self-deportation?”

We learn from experience, and just as the former real estate developer sometimes seems to accept discipline from nancial markets, so the former reality TV show host sometimes seems to accept discipline from the ratings. On Greenland, he has responded to the cues of the markets and the ratings and backed o from threats of force while retaining the possibility of increasing the already signi cant U.S. presence there. Meanwhile, the NATO alliance remains in place, with its increased number of European members spending increasing percentages of their economies on defense. Three more years of this Trump administration will strain and irritate foreign leaders and American politicians, with wild threats and childish petulance driving one crisis after another. But it may continue to get them, often grudgingly, doing things Trump’s way.

Michael Barone is a senior political analyst for the Washington Examiner, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and longtime co-author of “The Almanac of American Politics.” Copyright 2026 Creators.com

US aircraft carrier arrives in the Middle East as tensions with Iran remain high

The USS Abraham Lincoln departed San Diego from the region in November

By Konstantin Toropin

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and three accompanying warships have arrived in the Middle East, bringing a renewed potential that President Donald Trump could opt to order airstrikes on Iran over its crackdown on protesters.

The carrier, along with three destroyers, “is currently deployed to the Middle East to promote regional security and stability,” U.S. Central Command said Monday on social media.

The strike group was in the Indian Ocean, Central Command said, and not in the Arabian Sea, which borders Iran. It will bring thousands of additional service members to the region, which has not had a U.S. aircraft carrier since the USS

“We have a massive eet heading in that direction, and maybe we won’t have to use it.”

President Trump

military action if Iran carried out mass executions of prisoners or killed peaceful demonstrators during a crackdown on protests that began in late December. At least 5,973 people have been killed and more than 41,800 detained, according to activists. The o cial Iranian death toll is far lower, at 3,117 dead.

be keeping his options open.

Last Thursday aboard Air Force One, he said his threatened military action would make last year’s U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites “look like peanuts” if the government proceeded with planned executions of some protesters.

The aircraft carrier hosts multiple squadrons of aircraft, including F-35 Lightning II ghter jets and F/A-18 Super Hornet ghter jets. Meanwhile, the destroyers bring with them hundreds of missiles, which could include dozens of Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles.

In addition to the aircraft carrier and its hardware, the U.S. military said the Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle ghter jet now has a presence in the region.

Analysts who follow ight-tracking data have noticed dozens of U.S. military cargo planes also heading to the region.

Gerald R. Ford was ordered in October to sail to the Caribbean as part of a pressure campaign on then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Trump told reporters last

week that the ships were sent to the region “just in case.” “We have a massive eet heading in that direction, and maybe we won’t have to use it,” he said.

Trump earlier had threatened

How purge of China’s military leadership could impact its army, future

Five of 6 members of the country’s Central Military Commission were removed

By E. Eduardo Castillo

The Associated Press

BEIJING — China made a major announcement over the weekend, saying it was investigating the army’s top general for suspected serious violations of discipline and law.

Gen. Zhang Youxia was the highest military member just below President Xi Jinping.

The Defense Ministry said Saturday that authorities were investigating Zhang, the senior of the two vice chairs of the powerful Central Military Commission, China’s top military body, and Gen. Liu Zhenli, a lower member of the commission who was in charge of the military’s Joint Sta Department.

The move shakes up virtually the entire commission, chaired by Xi, leaving only one of its six members intact.

“Xi Jinping has completed one of the biggest purges of China’s military leadership in the history of the People’s Republic,” said Neil Thomas, a fellow

of Taiwan

at the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis. For the army and China in general, the full impact of the changes is still unknown. But some experts say the moves also might have repercussions on Beijing’s next move on Taiwan, the self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its own territory. Here are some elements to understand why Zhang’s removal is important.

What was behind the latest military purge

The Defense Ministry announced the measures Saturday but provided no details on the alleged wrongdoing. The next day, the People’s Liberation Army Daily published an editorial that fell short of explaining the speci c reasons, saying only that it was “for suspected serious violations of discipline and law” and showed China’s commitment to punish corruption. That is something Xi has pursued since the early days of his presidency.

Rumors have circulated on social media and there have been some media reports about the changes, but nothing o cial.

“Xi Jinping has completed one of the biggest purges of China’s military leadership in the history of the People’s Republic.”

Neil Thomas, Asia expert

“I do not believe any evidence publicly released or selectively leaked by Chinese authorities would necessarily re ect the core reason for Zhang’s removal,” said K. Tristan Tang, nonresident Vasey Fellow at Pacific Forum. “The critical point is that Xi Jinping decided to move against Zhang; once an investigation is launched, problems are almost inevitably uncovered.”

Analysts have said the purges are designed to reform the military and ensure loyalty to Xi. They are part of a broader anti-corruption drive that has resulted in punishment for more than 200,000 o cials since the Chinese leader came to power in 2012.

Before Zhang and Liu’s dismissal, the Communist Party

More recently, Trump appeared to back away from possible action, claiming Iran halted the hangings of 800 detained protesters. He has not elaborated on the source of the claim, which Iran’s top prosecutor called “completely false.”

However, Trump appears to

expelled the other vice chair of the commission, He Weidong, in October. He was replaced with Zhang Shengmin, who is now the only commission member.

Since 2012, at least 17 generals from the People’s Liberation Army, or PLA, have been removed from their military positions, among them eight who were former top commission members, according to a review of military statements and state media reports made by The Associated Press.

How a top military change can impact moves on Taiwan

Some think the removals could have repercussions for China’s decisions on Taiwan, but it is far from clear.

China considers Taiwan its own territory and has threatened to take control of the island by force if necessary.

China also has increased military pressure and, last month, launched large-scale military drills around Taiwan for two days after the U.S. government announced a major arms sales to Taiwan.

Thomas, from the Asia Society Policy Institute, said the latest purge “makes China’s threat toward Taiwan weaker in the short term but stronger in the long term.”

It would make a military escalation against the island riskier in the immediate term because of “a high command in disarray” but in the long term would mean the army has a more loyal and less corrupt

The activity is similar to last year when the U.S. moved in air defense hardware, including a Patriot missile system, in anticipation of an Iranian counterattack following the bombing of three key nuclear sites. Iran launched over a dozen missiles at Al Udeid Air Base days after the strikes.

leadership with more military capabilities, he said.

Asked if this might reinforce the idea that removing top military brass might show China is not ready for war, Tang from the Paci c Forum said it “does not fundamentally change that assessment.”

“That said,” he added, “I also do not believe the PLA’s combat readiness has been severely disrupted.”

Military commission’s future remains unclear

With the recent changes, the military commission will operate with only one of six members active and Xi at the top as the chair.

The PLA’s Daily editorial said that after the actions against Zhang and Liu, the party is moving to “promote the rejuvenation of the People’s Liberation Army, and inject powerful momentum into building a strong military force.”

But it’s not clear if the ve vacant positions will be replaced soon or if Xi will wait until 2027, when there will be a selection of a new Communist Party Central Committee, the body in charge of also appointing the new military commission members.

Tang, from the Paci c Forum, doesn’t see any pressure on Xi to ll the positions in the short term.

“Unless the objective is to create an internal counterweight to Zhang Shengmin,” the only current member in the commission, he said.

Bobby Keith Yow

July 3, 1933 – Jan. 23, 2026

Bobby Keith Yow, age 92 of Asheboro, passed away peacefully on January 23, 2026, at the Hospice House of Randolph.

Bobby was born on July 3, 1933, in Randleman, North Carolina to Herbert Glenn Yow and Rena Ann Hollingsworth Yow. He graduated from Randleman High School, where he played football alongside many lifelong friends and family members- bonds that would last for a lifetime.

In 1952, Bobby married his beloved sweetheart, Evelyn Reba Johnson, beginning a partnership lled with love, laughter and unwavering devotion. Together they raised two sons: Christopher Lee Yow, Sr. (born in 1953) and Je rey Reese Yow (born in 1958).

Bobby was widely known and fondly remembered as the proud owner and operator of Yow’s Amoco on Salisbury Street, Asheboro – a place where many stopped not only for gas, but also for friendly conversation.

Bobby and Evelyn were also well known for their beautifully kept lawn and garden, a point of pride that both delighted the neighborhood and helped nourish their family.

A devoted community member, Bobby spent many years coaching youth baseball in Asheboro for Ponderosa Oil, shaping young athletes and creating memories that extended far beyond the ball eld. He and Evelyn were enthusiastic supporters of their sons and grandchildren, rarely missing an opportunity to cheer them on in sports and academic pursuits.

Bobby enjoyed a full life enriched by woodworking, shing and gol ng, and was a faithful and devoted member of Central Global Methodist Church in Asheboro.

Bobby was proceeded in death by his parents and his beloved wife, Evelyn; his brother Donald and his sister Peggy (Joe). His is survived by his sons, Chris (Jennifer) and Je (Nancy); his grandchildren, Christopher, Benjamin (Alice), Rebecca, Reese (Anne) and Clark (Jessica), Ashley, Blake (Lindsay), Brett (Vicky); and his great-grandchildren, Margeaux, Sawyer, Walker, Harris, Miller, Elliott, Branner, Leighton, Greer, Georgia and Luisa, numerous nieces and nephews, all of whom brought him immense joy and pride. He is also survived by his brother Glen, sister Jean, sister-in-law Ann and brotherin-law and football teammate EJ Johnson Jr. (Brenda).

Special thanks to the sta of Brookdale Senior Living, Clapps’s Rehabilitation Center and Hospice of Randolph for their loving care.

The family would like to thank all the neighbors of Forest Valley Drive for their love and support.

Many thanks to Mr. Bobby’s special friends, Jameson and Nova. Services are pending at this time.

Alfred Thomas

Nov. 13, 1936 – Jan. 23, 2026

Alfred Landon Thomas, 89, of Randleman, NC, passed away Friday, January 23, 2026, at his residence.

Funeral services will be conducted at 2 p.m., Monday, February 2, 2026, at Ridge Funeral Home Chapel, with Pastor Tommy Kidd o ciating.

Burial will follow at Randolph Memorial Park. Military honors will be provided by the Randolph County Honor Guard.

Born November 13, 1936, in Burke Co., NC, Alfred was the son of the late Carlyle and Margaret Stamey Thomas. He retired as an upholsterer from Swaim Originals in High Point. Alfred was a member of Dayspring Baptist Church where he was heavily involved with their Vacation Bible School. As a talented craftsman, Alfred made wood pieces for rubber band 6-shooters so the children could assemble at VBS.

Being a member of the New Market Civitan Club was one of his greatest accomplishments.

As a member, he won many awards and served as the Lieutenant Governor in 19791980 for NC District West, Area V East, which governed over 60 Civitan clubs.

Alfred was dedicated to the Boy Scouts of America. So much that he was presented with the Silver Beaver Award in 1984 for his distinguished service.

In his younger years, Alfred was a custom van enthusiast. He was a member of The Hobo Van Club and won numerous trophies for his custom van, the “Boot Legger.”

In addition to his parents, Alfred was preceded in death by his wife, Betty Thomas, his son, William Gene Hunsucker, his brothers, Carl Lacy Thomas and Kenneth Thomas.

Survivors include his son, Michael Thomas and wife Sharon of Archdale; sisters, Judy Combs of Thomasville, Ann Dollaeye of Glenola, Wanda Marshall of Walnut Cove, Sue Massey of SC; brother, Danny Thomas of Thomasville; grandchildren, Kimberly Hunsucker of Sophia, Scott Hunsucker and wife Shannon of Monroe; and greatgrandson, William Hunsucker.

The family will receive friends at Ridge Funeral Home from 12:45 - 1:45 p.m. on Monday, prior to the funeral service.

Memorials may be made to Dayspring Baptist Church, 770 Bowers Lane, Randleman, NC 27317: or to Amedisys Hospice, 2975 Crouse Lane, Burlington, NC 27215.

The family would like to extend a special thank you to Amedisys Hospice of Burlington for the loving care given to Mr. Thomas.

Linda Ratli Beane

Jan. 2, 1958 – Jan. 19, 2026

Linda Ratli Beane, 68, of Asheboro, died Monday, January 19, 2026, at Randolph Health in Asheboro.

Funeral services will be conducted at 11 a.m. on Friday, January 23, 2026, at Antioch Baptist Church with Pastor Allan Albright o ciating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.

Born January 2, 1958, in El Paso, TX, Mrs. Beane was the daughter of the late Robert Lee Ratli and Francis Lee McClain Ratli DeHart. Mrs. Beane was an avid reader and enjoyed shopping, especially at yard sales. She attended Antioch Baptist Church and loved her job in the hosiery industry. The most important thing to her was spending time with her family, especially with the love of her life, her husband.

In addition to her parents, Mrs. Beane was preceded in death by her grandson, Jordan Beane, brother, Ronald “Ronnie” Ratli , and sister, Wanda Younts. Mrs. Beane is survived by her husband of 52 years, Gary Lee Beane; daughter, Dana Pierce; sons, Jody Beane (Jennifer), Kevin Beane (Starla); brother, Swanson DeHart, Jr.; grand kids, Destinie Beane (Dillon), Miranda “Mandy” Thompson (Kodi), Alyssa Serrano (Nelson), Daniel Beane, Melody Pierce, Hannah Beane, Brooke Beane, Reece Beane; great grandchildren, Braydon Cheek, Kai’lynn Cheek, Skylan Pierce, Raelee Serrano, Emberleigh Cook, Macey Pierce, Zaden Pierce, Maurice Cheek; her long life, dearest friend, Catharine DeHart.

The family will receive friends from 6-8 p.m. on Thursday, January 22, 2026, at Ridge Funeral Home, and again following the service in the fellowship hall at Antioch Baptist Church.

Claude Gary Hodges

Dec. 18, 1950 – Jan. 21, 2026

Claude Gary Hodges, 75, of Asheboro, passed away on Wednesday, January 21, 2026, at Randolph Health in Asheboro.

A private family service will be held at a later date.

Gary was born on December 18, 1950, in Richmond Co., NC, the son of the late Bennie Ray Hodges and Jessie Norton Hodges. Gary honorably served in the U.S. Army and was stationed in Germany. Gary always loved watching westerns and was an avid fan of the Carolina Tar Heels and Carolina Panthers. History was his favorite subject; it did not matter to him if he learned it from reading a book or watching TV. Gary also enjoyed puzzle books and could nish a Rubik’s Cube in under a minute. He will always be remembered for his delicious homestyle cooking.

In addition to his parents, Gary was preceded in death by his brother, Bennie Mitchell Hodges.

He is survived by his sisters, Cathy Yates, Brenda Barrett; brother, Bennie Darrell Hodges; and several nieces and nephews. In lieu of owers, memorials may be made to American Stroke Association, PO Box 840692, Dallas, TX 75284-0692.

Ellen Ann Connolly McMahon

July 15, 1941 – Jan. 20, 2026

Ellen Ann Connolly McMahon, age 84, of Pilot Mountain, passed away on January 20, 2026, at Northern Regional Hospital in Mt. Airy. Mrs. McMahon was born in Scranton, PA, on July 15, 1941, to Martin and Anna Wagner Connolly and was of the Catholic faith. Ellen loved Elvis Presley and enjoyed collecting Elvis memorabilia. She enjoyed shopping, keeping QVC in business. Ellen loved all animals, except chickens. Most of all, Ellen loved spending time with her grandchildren. In addition to her parents, Ellen was preceded in death by her husband, Ray McMahon, son, Ray McMahon, Jr., and brothers, Joe and Jackie Connolly. She is survived by her son, Paul McMahon of Sanford; daughter, Linda Heaton of Pilot Mountain; grandchildren, Kevan McMahon of Sanford, Darby Heaton of Pilot Mountain, Gunner Heaton II of High Point, and Talon Heaton of Pilot Mountain; brothers, Gerald “Juggy”, Jimmy, and Marty Connolly all of Pennsylvania; and many nieces and nephews. No services are planned.

Betty Nance

Feb. 18, 1945 – Jan. 21, 2026

Betty Lou Kepley Nance, 80, of Asheboro, entered into eternal rest on Wednesday, January 21, 2026, at The Randolph Hospice House in Asheboro. Funeral services will be conducted at 11 a.m. Saturday, January 31, 2026, at Ridge Funeral Home Chapel, with Pastor Daniel Delaney o ciating. Burial will follow at Smyrna Grove Baptist Church Cemetery. Mrs. Nance was born February 18, 1945, in Davidson County, NC. She was a sel ess, hard-working and strong-willed individual. Her faith guided her in life to love and care for her family, whom she adored. She was preceded in death by her parents, Jessie Scott Kepley, Sr. and Kathleen Myers Kepley; husband, Thomas Nance, Sr.; sons, Tommy Nance, Jr., Stacey Nance, Chris Nance; brother, Scotty Kepley; sister, Opal Hughes; and granddaughter, Pam Nance.

Survivors include her son, Troy Nance (Sheryl); daughter, Tamera Nance; step-daughters, Wanda Stanford, Tonya Lassiter; sisters, Edith Anderson, Rachel Williams; grandchildren, Kayla Ammons, Hannah Nance, Dylan Nance, Ethan Nance, Jonna Adams, Dalton Nance; great grandchildren, Cam Mills, Jerzey Nance, Grayson Ammons, Layton Ammons, Colton Ammons; and many step great grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

The family will receive friends from 6-8 p.m. on Friday, January 30, 2026, at Ridge Funeral Home, and at the home of Troy and Sheryl Nance beginning Monday, January 26, 2026. Memorials may be made to Hospice of Randolph, 416 Vision Drive, Asheboro, NC 27203.

Larry Wright

March 30, 1943 –Jan. 20, 2026

Larry Wilton Wright, 82, of Asheboro, died Tuesday, January 20, 2026, at TerraBella Asheboro. A funeral service will be conducted at 11 a.m., Friday, January 30, 2026, at Ridge Funeral Home Chapel, with Dr. Rob Roberts o ciating. Burial will follow at Randolph Memorial Park. Military Honors will be provided by the Randolph County Honor Guard.

Born on March 30, 1943, in Randolph County to the late Eli Wilton Wright and Fleta Kinney Wright. He honorably served for the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War, where he was stationed in Hawaii and then at the Pentagon. He retired from working for the Federal Government. As a hobby and also part-time, Larry was a gunsmith and a machinist, working for various gun stores over the years. During the 70s and 80s, he competed in competitive shooting. Larry enjoyed traveling and going on cruises. Larry loved owls and for decades he had tried to live up to a nickname his friends gave him O.W.L., “Old Weird Larry”, because he was absolutely one of a kind. In his later years, he was the caregiver for his wife, Vivian. He was able to cross o one major item on his bucket list, being able to design and build his dream home.

In addition to his parents, Larry was preceded in death by his wife, Vivian Staton Wright. He is survived by his son, Je Wright and wife Denise of Catlett, VA; sisters-in-law, Shirley Hanner of Pleasant Garden, and Joan Rodgers and her husband Grover, III, of Charlotte.

The family will receive friends from 9:30-10:45 a.m., Friday, at Ridge Funeral Home prior to the service. Memorials may be made to The Glioblastoma Research Organization, 2045 Biscayne Blvd #189, Miami, FL 33137; or to American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 6704, Hagerstown, MD 21741.

Crystal Beth Snider

Oct. 17, 1983 – Jan. 17, 2026

Crystal Beth Snider, 42, of Denton, passed away Saturday, January 17, 2026, at her home. A funeral service will be conducted at 2 p.m., Wednesday, January 28, 2026, at Ridge Funeral Home Chapel. Burial will follow at Tom’s Creek Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery.

Crystal was born on October 17, 1983, in Davidson County. She had a big open heart to all animals. Crystal will always be remembered as a caring and loving person who was always willing to help anyone in need. She was looking forward to her rst grandchild, whom she would have loved so much.

Crystal was preceded in death by her father, Thomas Ray Snider and the love of her life, Je rey Johnson.

She will be deeply missed by her children, Desirae Johnson, Felicity Johnson, Logan Johnson, Cameron Johnson; mother, Linda Burleson Snider Hayes; brother, Eric Snider; many aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins; lifelong friend, Paula Hamilton; and special friend, Terry Cassidy.

The family will receive friends from 12:45 until 1:45 p.m., Wednesday, at Ridge Funeral Home prior to the service.

STATE & NATION

Members question transparency, consent in PENC’s 2025 union merger

AFPENC o cials maintain they had authority to move the a liation forward

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal

RALEIGH — Members of a teacher’s association in North Carolina are questioning the transparency and consent process involved in a merger with a national teacher’s union.

Last fall, the board of Professional Educators of North Carolina (PENC) unanimously approved an a liation with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), a national labor union representing 1.8 million educators.

PENC rebranded as the American Federation of Professional Educators in North Carolina (AFPENC), with the change announced Oct. 14, 2025, in Charlotte.

AFT President Randi Weingarten and AFPENC President Joanna Loftis signed the agreement, framing it as a “historic” move to amplify advocacy for teacher pay, working conditions and public education funding in a right-to-work state that prohibits collective bargaining and strikes.

Public statements from AFT and AFPENC describe the afliation as the culmination of years of member-driven organizing, aimed at addressing declining membership and limited statewide in uence.

PENC had about 2,082 members in 2022-23, down nearly 4% year over year.

Bene ts touted for the merger include enhanced resources like professional development, legal support, disaster relief, classroom tools and stronger lobbying e orts in Raleigh while emphasizing AFPENC’s continued autonomy as a North Caroli-

“At the time these decisions were made, only eight of the 15 board seats were lled. Those eight were making major decisions for the entire membership without asking us.”

Tim Barnsback, former PENC president

na-focused entity governed by local educators.

However, internal pushback has highlighted concerns about the process’ legitimacy. Past PENC President Tim Barnsback has criticized the a liation as lacking proper member consent.

“I got involved because leadership changes raised legitimate questions about governance and stability, and I believed members deserved clear answers so the organization could remain a strong advocate for public education in North Carolina,” Barnsback told North State Journal. “I support a strong, nonpartisan collective voice for teachers, but any a liation needs to be handled transparently so it strengthens, rather than weakens, educators’ ability to defend public education in North Carolina.”

In formal emails starting Oct. 20, 2025, Barnsback requested key records: pre- and post-afliation bylaws, board vote details (including quorum and motion), explanations of ratication requirements, full minutes, con ict-of-interest policies, the a liation agreement, and the membership list to verify notice and participation.

Responses from leadership from AFTPENC o cials, including Loftis, O ce Administrator Catherine Coleman and Executive Director Donnell McLean, involved initial delays, partial fulllment and some denials.

O cials asserted board authority under the state’s Nonpro t Corporation Act to enter a liations without amending

governing documents or triggering a member vote, deeming the action preliminary.

“I’m not trying to stop the a liation,” said Barnsback. “My concern has always been about process and trust. If educators are going to stand together to protect public education in North Carolina, the organization representing them has to be transparent, accountable and member-driven.

“If the a liation is done properly, with transparency, clear documentation and informed member consent, it has the potential to strengthen educators’ ability to push back against efforts that undermine public schools and teaching.”

A request for a membership list was rejected as unrelated, since o cials asserted no member notice was required for board decisions. Barnsback argued this breached statutory transparency standards and duciary duties.

A Dec. 19, 2025, letter to members extended a Google Form feedback period and promised draft bylaw revisions for a January annual membership vote on amendments. The feedback form originally ran for three days in mid-December.

Critics view this as retroactive legitimization of a done deal, especially after the rebranding and public claims of nality.

Barnsback also noted the disabling of the internal member communication portal amid rising questions, limiting discussion.

“I’ve invested nearly 20 years

in PENC as a member and served as board president during some of the organization’s most successful and in uential years,” Barnsback said. “Watching it unravel because of mismanagement and poor legal and ethical practices has been heartbreaking, especially knowing how much it once meant to educators across North Carolina.”

As of Jan. 9, AFPENC’s website presents the a liation as complete and positive, highlighting its legacy since 1979 and new AFT-backed strengths, with no public acknowledgment of disputes.

North State Journal reached out to AFPENC o cials with several questions regarding voting processes, quorum of the board vote and the board’s authority to enter into the a liation, as well as questions about member feedback and record transparency raised by Barnsback.

Loftis responded to North State Journal, o ering a statement in email, but no detailed answers to the questions posed.

“The executive board of PENC (doing business as AFPENC) engaged in an a liation with AFT with the general governing powers of the organization in pursuance with the PENC bylaws and North Carolina Nonpro t Corporation Act,” Loftis wrote in an email.

“All board decisions toward the a liation were made unanimously at o cial board meetings where a quorum was present. Through the process AFPENC has remained compliant with all state statutes and remains in constant communication with our legal consult.

“The a liation with AFT maintains PENC’s autonomy in governance and leadership. Membership will vote on amended bylaws and articles of incorporation wherein all proper notices will be sent to the general membership as requir-

Rhode Island may ditch Mr. Potato Head license plates after Hasbro’s move to Boston

The plates have raised $60,000 for a local food bank

By Kimberlee Kruesi

The Associated Press

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — It’s been no small potatoes that Rhode Islanders have been able to choose the image of Mr. Potato Head as a specialty license plate for decades.

Yet with Hasbro’s decision to move its headquarters from the smallest state in the U.S. to Boston, two lawmakers say it’s time to hash out whether Rhode Island should continue promoting

one of the company’s most iconic characters.

Under the proposal introduced earlier this month, Rhode Island’s Division of Motor Vehicles would stop providing Mr. Potato Head as an option for a specialty license plate. Currently the plate costs around $40, with half of that amount going to help support the Rhode Island Community Food Bank.

Rep. Brian Newberry, a Republican from North Smitheld, said in an email that he led the legislation because Hasbro leaving the state will cause “untold economic harm and loss of tax revenue.”

“There is no reason we should

“There is no reason we should be advertising their products on our license plates.”

Rep. Brian Newberry

be advertising their products on our license plates,” Newberry said. “It may seem trivial compared to many other things but it’s a matter of self-respect.”

Mr. Potato Head license plates were rst issued in 2002 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the beloved toy,

which notably has appeared in the “Toy Story ” lms. The plates include a small image of Mr. Potato Head holding a sign of the Rhode Island Community Food Bank and “help end hunger” at the bottom of the plate.

“The license plate started at a time when Mr. Potato Head was all over the state and was having a moment,” said Kate MacDonald, spokesperson for the food bank, which has received nearly $60,000 over the years due to the plate. “And while it has tapered o over the years, it’s been a steady way for people to contribute.” An email was sent to Hasbro

ed by our bylaws and state law.”

On Saturday, a virtual town hall was held for members to vote on amendments to the organization’s Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws but also ostensibly to address PENC member issues with the merger.

Loftis, McLean and most board members were in attendance, as well as former Democratic State Superintendent candidate Jen Mangrum and current General Assembly House candidate Kelly Van Horn, who changed her party a liation to Republican to challenge Rep. Tricia Cotham (R-Mecklenburg) in this year’s primary.

Attendees indicated to North State Journal that AFPENC leadership didn’t take objections seriously and that questions were de ected or left unanswered.

When members asked about dues increases, they were told the board said that was still undecided. Members were unhappy with that position, saying they were still being asked to vote yes on the merger and trust the board.

Members also asked about union activity in North Carolina, citing an AFT article that says AFPENC has joined picket lines, participated in national political protests and engaged in activities that have never occurred in North Carolina.

Members were then told PENC would be “strengthened by a national union.” Certain union activity, like organized strikes, is illegal for public employees in North Carolina.

The AFT article also says that AFPENC conducted a book giveaway for students in North Carolina that apparently never happened. When asked about it, Loftis said that a book giveaway was planned but admitted it has not yet taken place.

AFT has also sent newsletters containing content focused on AFT President Weingarten’s statements on anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement protests.

AFPENC’s annual board meeting is scheduled for Jan. 31 via video conference, at which time the board will vote on the amendment changes presented at the previous Saturday’s meeting.

seeking comment. The toy company announced last year that it would be moving to Boston by the end of 2026 after operating in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, for nearly 70 years.

Mr. Potato Head has been around since the 1950s, when the original toy didn’t come with a plastic potato. Instead, kids had to supply their own vegetable to poke eyes, a nose or mustache into.

Notably, Mr. Potato Head was the rst toy advertised on television in 1952. A Mrs. Potato Head was launched in 1953, followed by brother Spud, sister Yam, and various pets and accessories, according to the National Museum of Play.

Hasbro adopted a plastic spud after new government regulations prevented certain toys from having pointed sharp edges, as well as complaints about children playing with rotting vegetables.

RandolpH SPORTS

Returning to Randleman’s bench brings excitement, challenges

By Bob Sutton Randolph Record

RANDLEMAN — Brandon Varner had been away from coaching the Randleman girls’ basketball team for two years when he returned to the position for this season.

Even as one of the most suc-

The senior su ered a broken hand in the fall that resulted in a process before he could suit up this basketball season

By Bob Sutton Randolph Record

ASHEBORO — Jaxon Mabe tends to go full tilt on the basketball court and baseball eld.

So when the Uwharrie Charter Academy senior was sidelined and had to miss the beginning of the basketball season, that didn’t seem right.

“I’ve never missed that much time, so that was really hard on me,” Mabe said.

Now after recovering from a broken hand, he’s in action and the Eagles have been on an upward tick.

A powerful 6-foot-2, 180-pound guard who’s apt to be shifted to any position other than center, Mabe leads the Eagles in scoring, rebounding, steals and assists. He said it’s better to be leading from the court than as a spectator on the bench.

“Being able to get back on the court and as more of a lead-

cessful girls’ coach in the area across the past decade, when the season began with a November game at Providence Grove, he had those feelings of anxiety again.

“I was nervous wreck,” he said after coaching the Tigers to a victory. “I felt I was over there seven hours (in front of the bench).” Across the next couple of

months, there have been ups and downs for Randleman as the Tigers try to return to the high level of success they enjoyed during Varner’s rst go-around as coach. They won more than 20 games in three of his last four seasons — and the other was the pandemic-adjusted season in 2021.

Randleman had two di erent coaches during the two seasons after Varner stepped away. The players were seeking continuity.

“I always wished that he would

er by actions than by

the team captain said. Mabe

come back,” senior guard Bella Byman said. “It will make us better.” Varner sensed there would be a transitional period. He had four or ve players reaching 1,000-point milestones during his previous stint, so it was going to take time to recalibrate.

“The guy you got as the middle school PE teacher is not the same guy you get as a coach.”

Brandon Varner, Randleman girls’ coach

So that made returning to the bench both rewarding.

“It was good to be back. I was excited. I was excited for the girls,” he said. “You practice, practice, practice, and you want to get out there and see what we’ve got.”

“We’re going to have to get a lot better fast,” Varner said in assessing the team at the beginning of the season. “It’s a process, and that process started back in March and it took a lot to get here.”

The teams from UCA and Wheatmore collected victories in their respective conferences

Randolph Record sta

ASHEBORO — Asheboro’s Adalynn Scherer supplied 14 points in the Blue Comets 48-11 trouncing of visiting Northeast Guilford in Friday night’s Triad Area Athletic Conference girls’ basketball game. That outcome snapped the Blue Comets’ four-game losing streak and enabled the team to reach the 10-win mark for the rst time in ve seasons.

• Uwharrie Charter Academy won a pair of Four Rivers Conference games, beginning when Lainey Thomas scored 14 points and Nevaeh Staples had 13 points in a 43-21 decision at Eastern Randolph. Next came a 68-24 home victory against Jordan-Matthews, with Thomas providing 20 points and Staples and Kayla Brown each with 11 points.

Out of conference, UCA pulled out a 42-39 road victory

against Ledford, with Thomas posting 11 points to begin the week.

• Southwestern Randolph blew out host Jordan-Mathews 82-26 when Maddie Strider drilled seven 3-pointers on the way to 26 points and Jordin George had 18 points in the Four Rivers Conference.

The Cougars then lost in conference play by 52-29 to visiting Northwood as Strider tallied 14 points.

• Wheatmore’s Kaelyn Whitehart supplied 26 points in a 50-30 triumph against visiting Providence Grove in the Central Carolina 3-A Conference. Then Wheatmore went on the road to defeat Trinity 47-22 on Friday. The Warriors completed the rst half of conference play without a league loss.

Providence Grove bounced back for a 52-17 home romp past winless Thomasville.

• Trinity’s Madison Hill scored 29 points, but it wasn’t enough in a 58-46 road loss to West Davidson in the

Jewell BarrettRiggins

PJ WARD-BROWN / RANDOLPH RECORD

Asheboro, boys’ basketball

Barrett-Riggins has been one of the centerpieces for the Blue Comets this season.

He’s a major force in the lane on o ense and defense while averaging a double-double with points and rebounds.

The senior’s point production has more than doubled from 6.3 points per game last season when he was fourth on the team in scoring.

With a 13-5 record entering this week, the Blue Comets are within two victories of matching last season’s win total.

Barrett-Riggins played as a tight end and defensive lineman for Asheboro’s football team.

RANDLEMAN from page B1

Byman and senior guard Kadie Green are the only current Randleman players who were with the Tigers under Varner previously.

While it might have seemed a bit di erent for Varner as he adjusted to a new cast of personnel, there was a comfortable element for Byman and Green.

“It keeps us to the same standards, which is good,” Byman said. “It’s nothing new for me and Kadie.”

Randleman went 103-20 in Varner’s rst ve seasons, with half of the defeats coming in the

GIRLS from page B1

Central Carolina 3-A Conference.

• Randleman’s 55-29 home victory against Eastern Randolph came with 13 points each from Aislyn Laughlin and Kadie Green. Callie Craven had

rst year. The Tigers were 56-4 in regular-season conference play during that time.

Varner is a physical education teacher at Randleman Middle School, so he’s familiar with his players from another setting. They’ve seen him in a di erent capacity as well.

“The guy you got as the middle school PE teacher is not the same guy you get as a coach,” he said.

Fast-forward a couple of months and the Tigers entered this week with an 11-6 record. So there have been achievements, but there’s more to do.

“We can’t sustain those things consistent enough to be what we can be,” Varner said.

11 points and Katelyn Brown scored 10 points for Eastern Randolph. The Tigers moved back into Piedmont Athletic Conference play the next night and lost 59 -34 at High Point Andrews on Friday.

Patriots take charge in conference race

The Providence Grove boys’ team beat the other top teams in the league in a matter of days

Randolph Record sta

PROVIDENCE GROVE’S

Will Dabbs had a big week o ensively as the Patriots won a pair of Central Carolina 3-A Conference boys’ basketball games.

Dabbs with 26 points and Andrew Thomas with 24 points accounted for two-thirds of Providence Grove’s points in a 75-59 road victory against Wheatmore. Gabe McKoy added 12 points. Avery Ivey had 22 points for the Warriors.

Then Friday night, Dabbs had 27 points, Thomas had 22 points and Cam Jones added 15 points and eight rebounds when rst-place Providence Grove cruised past visiting Thomasville 74 -54. The

Patriots led 48-25 at halftime.

A Thomasville victory would have forged a three-way tie for rst place between Providence Grove, Wheatmore and Thomasville midway through the conference schedule

• Wheatmore recovered by Friday night’s 75-44 victory at Trinity, with Ivy going for 25 points and Jordan Starkey provided 15 points. Trinity lost 66-25 earlier in the week at West Davidson.

• Uwharrie Charter Academy won twice in the Four Rivers Conference.

Kaleb Harvey had 14 points and Jaxon Mabe scored 13 when UCA topped host Eastern Randolph 63-45, withstanding a 32-point e ort from Wildcats guard Tyler Gee.

Then the Eagles prevailed 56- 41 against visiting Jordan-Matthews with Mabe scoring 15.

UCA began the week with a 46-44 loss at Ledford.

• Southwestern Randolph lost twice in the Four Rivers Conference, rst falling to host Jordan-Matthews by 42-41 that marked the end of a ve-game winning streak. Then came a 65-43 home loss to rst-place Northwood.

• Randleman nipped visiting Eastern Randolph 55-53 last Thursday with Connor Cassidy notching 16 points and Pacey Wagner scoring 13. Those outputs o set Gee’s 26 points and Emmitt Frye’s 13 points for Eastern Randolph.

Then the Tigers returned to Piedmont Athletic Conference action Friday night and lost 73- 60 at High Point Andrews.

• Asheboro’s six-game winning streak ended when the Blue Comets stumbled in a 69-50 loss at Northeast Guilford in the Triad Area Athletic Conference. Nirey White had 19 points for Asheboro, but the team’s rst league loss came in its only game last week.

Basketball schedules altered

Some game dates were revised or added prior to the weekend storm

Randolph Record sta

SOUTHWESTERN Randolph made basketball schedule changes unrelated to the wintry storm that came during the weekend.

Boys’ and girls’ games vs. Eastern Davidson that were scheduled for the beginning of this week were set to have loca-

PREP WRESTLING

tion changes, moving to Southwestern Randolph.

Also, the Cougars added a boys’ game at North Davidson for next Monday. North Davidson became available for an extra game because a would-be third-place game vs. Western Alamance in the Ledford Holiday Tournament was canceled. That game was nixed because of events following the death of Western Alamance soccer player Eamon Hipps in an automobile wreck, with Western Alamance drop -

ping out of the last day of the tournament.

There won’t be a varsity girls’ game because Southwestern Randolph is at a schedule limit, though there are junior varsity matchups for girls and boys.

• Also prior to the storm, Wheatmore had rescheduled basketball games vs. Chatham Charter to Feb. 9 at Wheatmore.

• Some postponements for this week already had been announced at the beginning of the week.

Trinity’s Cross hits milestone

The postseason has arrived for high school wrestling

Randolph Record

TRINITY — Trinity sophomore wrestler Stephen Cross reached the 100-win level for his career during a meet last week. Cross, a 120-pounder, registered a pair of victories when the Bulldogs beat visiting West Davidson 75-6 and West Cabarrus 64-15 in duals on the same night. He picked up the milestone victory against West Davidson in his rst bout of the night.

UCA from page B1

in two spots resulted in surgery that required a plate and four screws.

“He made it back in seven weeks,” said UCA basketball coach Roger Mabe, his father.

Yet Jaxon Mabe’s absence from playing in games resulted in a signi cant shift in plans for the Eagles. With three seniors on the roster, there are a few younger players who needed time to adjust at the varsity level.

“All through summer work and going into the fall, the plan was to let them come along slowly,” Coach Mabe said. “Then we’ve got to go with the guys we have.”

Jaxon Mabe missed the rst six games before playing Dec. 19 at North Stanly, beginning a stretch of four games with a minutes limitation. Since then, UCA had won six of eight games — with last week’s two -point loss at Ledford coming with a lead disappearing after Mabe fouled out late in the game. The Eagles try to avenge a Four Rivers Conference loss to Southwestern Randolph on Friday night at home.

Jeven Palmeri, Aiden Burkholder, Edgar Vasquez, Omega Edge, Hezekyah Matson, Simeon Hammett, Addam Bernal, Haris Idrees, Anees Kahn, Grayson Carroll and Joseph Trahan also won twice in the nal regular-season home action.

Tournament nixed

The Four Rivers Conference Tournament, which had been scheduled for Saturday at Uwharrie Charter Academy, was called o because of weather-related concerns. It’s not expected to be rescheduled as the next phase

“I’ve knocked some of the rust o ,” Mabe said. “I feel I’ve got back to my ability to handle the ball and get past my guy and make a layup.”

As part of his rehabilitation from the injury, Mabe went through a virtual training program with an instructor beaming in from Wisconsin. While much of training regimen didn’t seem natural, it might have proved benecial. He shoots right-handed.

“I was doing a lot of form shooting,” he said. “It has made me a completely di erent shooter.” Coach Mabe said he’s pleased with how the Eagles have adjusted the last few weeks with Jaxon Mabe playing a critical role.

“Our team has really embraced him being back,” Coach Mabe said. “Just the leadership part more than anything has changed everything. … Now he doesn’t come out unless he fouls out. He runs until he can’t run anymore.”

UCA entered the week with a 12-6 overall record and a second-place spot in the Four Rivers Conference.

of the wrestling season has arrived. Conferences tournaments are optional, and some other conferences in the region hadn’t scheduled those for this season.

State duals coming

The state dual team playo s are scheduled to begin Saturday with rst and second rounds at school sites based on seedings.

Trinity and UCA are expected to be among the top seeds in their respective classi cations when the pairings and seeds come out Thursday.

“We’re nally nding some rhythm,” Coach Mabe said. He said part of the upgrade has come with how UCA has improved on defense.

“It has the potential to be the best defensive team that I’ve had,” the coach said. “We’re locked in on defense.” Coach Mabe said the Eagles are nearly back to full health as they hope to have backup guard Zay Collins in action soon following a broken nger.

“We’re really learning to hate losing,” Coach Mabe said.

Jaxon Mabe, a middle inelder for UCA’s three -time reigning state championship baseball team, has been receiving recruiting interest in both sports.

But for now, the focus is helping the Eagles achieve as much as possible in basketball.

“We’re really hitting the turning point right now,” Jaxon Mabe said. “I think our guys have responded well. We’re really beginning to ght for one another. We’ve shown so much grown over a short amount of time.”

pen & paper pursuits

this week in history

Apollo 14 blasts o , black students sit at Greensboro Woolworths, Patty Hearst kidnapped

JAN. 29

1891: Lili‘uokalani was sworn in as the rst and only queen of the Hawaiian Kingdom following the death of her brother, King Kalākaua.

1936: The rst ve inductees of baseball’s Hall of Fame — Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson — were elected in Cooperstown, New York.

2002: In his rst State of the Union address, President George W. Bush said terrorists were still threatening America and warned of “an axis of evil” consisting of North Korea, Iran and Iraq.

JAN. 30

1649: England’s King Charles I was executed for high treason.

1933: Adolf Hitler was named chancellor of Germany.

1948: Indian political and spiritual leader Mohandas K. Gandhi, 78, was shot and killed in New Delhi by a Hindu extremist.

1968: The Tet O ensive began during the Vietnam War as Communist forces launched surprise attacks against South Vietnamese towns and cities.

JAN. 31

1863: During the Civil War, the First South Carolina Volunteers — an all-black Union regiment composed of many who escaped from slavery — was mustered into federal service at Beaufort, South Carolina.

1958: The United States entered the Space Age with its rst successful launch of a sat-

K. Gandhi squats before a microphone in New Delhi, India, on Jan. 22, 1948, to deliver remarks at a prayer meeting during his fast to promote communal peace. Gandhi was shot and killed by a Hindu extremist six days later.

ellite, Explorer 1, from Cape Canaveral.

1971: Astronauts Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell and Stuart Roosa blasted o aboard Apollo 14 on a mission to the moon.

FEB. 1

1865: Abolitionist John S. Rock became the rst black lawyer admitted to the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court.

1960: Four black college students began a sit-in at a Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro after being refused service.

2002: Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl was killed by Islamist militants in Pakistan nine days after he was kidnapped.

FEB. 2

1536: Present-day Buenos Aires, Argentina, was founded by Spanish explorer Pedro de Mendoza.

1653: New Amsterdam — now New York City — was incorporated as a city.

1848: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed, o cially ending the Mexican American War.

1992: Dissident playwright Václav Havel became the rst president of the independent Czech Republic after the split of Czechoslovakia.

FEB. 3

1913: The 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, authorizing a federal income tax, was rati ed.

1917: The United States broke o diplomatic relations with Germany. That same day, the American cargo ship SS Housatonic was sunk by a German U-boat o Britain after the crew was allowed into lifeboats.

1959: In what became known as “the day the music died,” rock ’n’ roll stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson died in a small plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa.

FEB. 4

1789: Electors unanimously chose George Washington to be the rst president of the United States.

1945: President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin began a wartime conference at Yalta.

1974: Newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst, 19, was kidnapped in California by the Symbionese Liberation Army. She later took part in a bank robbery with the group and was convicted. (Her sentence was commuted, and she was later pardoned.)

Brooklyn Beckham accuses David, Victoria of putting branding before family

The eldest of four children claimed his famous mother sabotaged his wedding

By Andrew Dalton

The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — A Beckham family falling-out has spilled further into public view in a series of social media posts from Brooklyn Beckham alleging that his parents David and Victoria Beckham have tried to sabotage his marriage and have always prioritized public branding over their family relationships.

“For my entire life, my parents have controlled narratives in the press about our family.

The performative social media posts, family events and inauthentic relationships have been a xture of the life I was born into,” Brooklyn Beckham wrote in several pages of text posted via Instagram stories.

At 26, he’s the eldest of the four children of the retired English soccer superstar and former Spice Girl-turned-fashion designer and has worked as a model and photographer, even aspiring to be a chef. He married American actor Nicola Peltz, daughter of activist investor Nelson Peltz, in 2022.

“Recently, I have seen with my own eyes the lengths that they’ll go through to place countless lies in the media, mostly at the expense of innocent people, to preserve their own facade. But I believe the

“I do not want to reconcile with my family. I’m not being controlled, I’m standing up for myself for the rst time in my life.”

Brooklyn Beckham

truth always comes out,” the posts said.

The posts make public a barely veiled feud that had been brewing in anonymously sourced stories in tabloids for months. Younger brother Cruz Beckham said on Instagram in December that Brooklyn had blocked family members on social media.

“I do not want to reconcile with my family.” Brooklyn Beckham wrote. “I’m not being controlled, I’m standing up for myself for the rst time in my life.”

Unlike his three younger siblings, Brooklyn Beckham did not appear in his mother’s recent Net ix docuseries, “Victoria Beckham,” and did not show up at the October premiere as he and Peltz had for the London premiere in 2023 of the ones centered on his father, called just “Beckham.”

Many of the grievances described in the Instagram stories stem from the Peltz-Beckham wedding in Florida. He accused his mother of bailing at the last minute on designing Peltz’s wedding dress and said she “hijacked” the rst dance he was supposed to have with his wife to music performed by Marc Anthony.

“She danced very inappropriately on me in front of everyone,” Brooklyn Beckham wrote. “I’ve never felt more uncomfortable or humiliated in my entire life.”

Without giving speci cs, he also wrote that before the wedding his parents “repeatedly pressured and attempted to bribe me into signing away the rights to my name.”

David and Victoria Beckham did not have an immediate public response to the posts, and messages to representatives from The Associated Press were not immediately answered.

In an appearance last Tuesday on CNBC, David Beckham, who is at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, did not directly address his son’s statements but said that children make mistakes on social media and should be allowed to.

“That’s what I try to teach my kids. But you know, you have to sometimes let them make those mistakes as well,” he said.

Married since 1999, David and Victoria Beckham have three other children: Romeo, 23; Cruz, 20; and 14-year-old Harper.

Goldberg-Polin’s

memoir recounts her journey after son’s abduction by Hamas

The story details the ght for her child’s release and the grief that followed

By Hillel Italie The Associated Press

NEW YORK — Rachel Goldberg-Polin, who has become known worldwide for her advocacy on behalf of her son and others abducted by Hamas-led militants on Oct. 7, 2023, has a memoir coming out this spring.

Random House, an imprint of Penguin Random House, announced last Thursday that “When We See You Again” will be published April 21.

“I sat down to write my pain, and out poured loss, suffering, love, mourning, devotion, grief, adoration and fracturedness,” Goldberg-Polin, a Chicago-born educator who now lives in Jerusalem, said in a statement. “This book recounts the rst steps of a million-mile odyssey that will take the rest of my life to walk on shattered feet.” Goldberg-Polin also will narrate the audio edition of “When We See You Again.”

Her son, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, was attending a southern Israel music festival when militants loaded him

MAYA ALLERUZZO / AP PHOTO

Rachel Goldberg-Polin poses on day 98 since her son, Hersh Goldberg-Polin was kidnapped by Hamas, in Jerusalem, Jan. 12, 2024.

and other hostages onto the back of a pickup truck. Rachel Goldberg-Polin and her husband, Jon, traveled the world calling for the release of Hersh and others, meeting with President Joe Biden and Pope Francis, speaking at the United Nations and appearing at protest rallies. Each morning, she would write down on a piece of masking tape the

David Beckham, from left, Victoria Beckham, Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz appear at the premiere of the Net ix docuseries “Beckham” in London in 2023.

“This book recounts the rst steps of a millionmile odyssey that will take the rest of my life to walk on shattered feet.”

Rachel Goldberg-Polin

number of days her son had been in captivity and stick it on her chest. She continued her efforts after Israeli o cials announced in September 2024 that the bodies of her son and ve others had been found in an underground tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip. Israeli forensics experts said they had been shot at close range. Tens of thousands crowded into a Jerusalem cemetery as Hersh was laid to rest.

According to Random House, Rachel Goldberg-Polin will tell her story in “raw, uninching, deeply moving prose.”

“She describes grief from within the midst of su ering, giving voice to the broken as she pours her pain, love, and longing onto the page,” the announcement reads in part. “It is a story of how we remember and how we persevere, of how we su er and how we love.”

famous birthdays this week

Oprah Winfrey hits 72, Nolan Ryan turns 79, Graham Nash reaches 84, Morgan Fairchild turns 76

The Associated Press THESE CELEBRITIES have birthdays this week.

JAN. 29

Feminist author Germaine Greer is 87. Actor Katharine Ross is 86. Actor Tom Selleck is 81. R&B singer Charlie Wilson is 73. TV host and media mogul Oprah Winfrey is 72. Olympic diving gold medalist Greg Louganis is 66.

JAN. 30

Actor Vanessa Redgrave is 89. Musician Phil Collins is 75. Actor Charles S. Dutton (“Roc”) is 75. Golf Hall of Famer Curtis Strange is 71. Comedian Brett Butler (“Grace Under Fire”) is 68. Singer Jody Watley is 67. U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson is 54.

JAN. 31

Composer Philip Glass is 89. Blues singer-musician Charlie Musselwhite is 82. Actor Glynn Turman is 79. Baseball Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan is 79. Actor Jonathan Banks is 79. Rock singer John Lydon is 70. Actor Anthony LaPaglia is 67. Actor Minnie Driver is 56.

FEB. 1

Actor Garrett Morris is 89. Political commentator Fred Barnes is 83. Princess Stephanie of Monaco is 61. Comedian-actor Pauly Shore is 58. Actor Michael C. Hall is 55. Rapper Big Boi (Outkast) is 51. Singer-songwriter Jason Isbell is 47.

FEB. 2

Rock singer-guitarist Graham Nash is 84. Television executive Barry Diller is 84. TV chef Ina Garten is 78. Actor Brent Spiner is 77. Football Hall of Famer Dave Casper is 74. Model Christie Brinkley is 72.

FEB. 3

Football Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton is 86. Actor Blythe Danner is 83. Football Hall of Famer Bob Griese is 81. Singer-guitarist Dave Davies (The Kinks) is 79. Actor Morgan Fairchild is 76. Actor Nathan Lane is 70.

FEB. 4

Former Argentine President Isabel Peron is 95. Rock singer Alice Cooper is 78. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is 73. Football Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor is 67. Country singer Clint Black is 64. Boxing Hall of Famer Oscar De La Hoya is 53.

the stream

‘Bridgerton,’

Chevy Chase, Rose Byrne,

The 68th annual Grammy Awards air Sunday on CBS

The Associated Press

KENDRICK LAMAR and Bad Bunny live at the Grammy Awards and Rose Byrne’s Oscar-nominated performance in “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” 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: Highguard is the latest entry in the ever-growing eld of multiplayer shooters, Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista star in “The Wrecking Crew,” and the third season of “Shrinking” checks in on Apple TV.

MOVIES TO STREAM

If you haven’t seen Rose Byrne’s Oscar-nominated performance in “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,” Mary Bronstein’s psychological drama arrives Friday on HBO Max. Byrne plays the stressed-out mother of a young, unseen child who’s struggling with a mystery illness. In her review, the AP’s Jocelyn Noveck wrote that the lm “has given Byrne, an actor of e ortless appeal in lighter lms, a chance to display versatility and grit in surely the toughest dramatic role of her career.”

Momoa and Bautista star in “The Wrecking Crew” (Prime Video) as estranged half-brothers who reunite after their father’s mysterious death. The action comedy is directed by Angel Manuel Soto, who made 2023’s “Blue Beetle.”

Ira Sachs’ “Peter Hujar’s Day,” the lead nominee to the Independent Film Spirit Awards, is a marvel of historical yet intimate dramatic resurrection. The lm (Criterion Channel) is based on a transcript from a 1974 interview by the writer Linda Rosenkrantz (Rebecca Hall) and her friend, the photographer Peter Hujar (Ben Whishaw). Rosenkrantz had planned a book about how artists spend their time. But the book never happened,

‘The

Wrecking Crew’

and Sachs, after coming across the transcripts, dramatizes their dialogue. In “I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not,” the lmmaker Marina Zenovich pro les the irascible “Saturday Night Live” and “Fletch” star. For the lm (HBO Max, Saturday), Zenovich interviews the complicated and sometimes combative comedian about his career, with glimpses of his daily life. Perspectives are o ered by Dan Aykroyd, Beverly D’Angelo, Goldie Hawn, Lorne Michaels, Ryan Reynolds and Martin Short.

MUSIC TO STREAM

’Tis the season — the 2026 Grammy Awards season, that is. On Sunday, the 68th annual award show will air live on CBS. Watch as Lamar, Bad Bunny, Lady Gaga and many more go head to head in the top prize categories. Plus, the show doubles as a kind of be -

spoke live concert viewing experience — and who doesn’t like that? The 2026 Grammys can also be watched through live TV streaming services that include CBS in their lineup, like Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV and FuboTV. Paramount+ premium plan subscribers will be able to stream the Grammys live; Paramount+ essential subscribers will have on demand access the next day. California power pop-punk bands Joyce Manor return with their seventh full-length album Friday, the all-too-appropriately titled “I Used to Go to This Bar.” Spoken like a gently aging band whose penchant for hooks knows no bounds.

SERIES TO STREAM

Benedict, the second eldest Bridgerton, takes center stage in season 4 of the Net ix romance series, It’s about the love stories of a large family in London during the Regency Era.

Season 4 has “Cinderella” vibes with Luke Thompson’s Benedict looking for an enchanting “woman in silver” who is actually Sophie, a housemaid (Yerin Ha) working for his family. Part 1 drops Thursday with the remaining episodes arriving in February.

The third season of “Shrinking” is now streaming on Apple TV. The series follows Jason Segel as a therapist named Jimmy, a widowed dad to a teenage girl, who shares a practice with characters played by Harrison Ford and Jessica Williams. Between Jimmy’s colleagues, neighbors and friends, he forms a new kind of family. Season 3 features guest stars Michael J. Fox, Je Daniels, Sherry Cola, Isabella Gomez and Candice Bergen. School’s back in session. “School Spirits” starring Peyton List, that is. The Paramount+ series has returned for a third season. List stars as a teen trapped in the afterlife,

“If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” has given Byrne, an actor of e ortless appeal in lighter lms, a chance to display versatility and grit in surely the toughest dramatic role of her career.”

Jocelyn Noveck, AP Film Writer

which happens to be her high school. She’s there with other ghosts who are also former students that help Maddie to investigate the circumstances surrounding her death.

Kaley Cuoco and Sam Clain star in a new mystery for MGM+ called “Vanished.” Cuoco plays a woman whose boyfriend (Cla in) goes missing on a train to France. The four-part limited-series premieres Sunday.

VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY

Highguard is the latest entry in the ever-growing eld of multiplayer shooters, o ering yet another way to get online with your friends and blow stu up. In this case, you are Wardens — “arcane gunslingers sent to battle for control of a mythical continent.” Judging by the trailer, you’ll be able to ride mythical beasts and wield magical powers along with the typical arsenal of weapons. It comes from a new studio called Wildlight Entertainment, whose founders have worked on hits like Call of Duty, Apex Legends and Titanfall. And it’s free-to -play, so you might as well give it a shot on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S on PC.

Bandai Namco’s Code Vein, from 2019, tried to answer the question: What if you took the demanding combat of Dark Souls and added vampires? The bloodsuckers — known here as Revenants — are back in Code Vein II, but a mysterious force is turning them into mindless monstrosities. Your job is to travel back in time and prevent the damage before all the Revenants get stupid. The good news is that you can still drain blood from your enemies and use it to upgrade your own ghting skills. Quench your thirst Friday, Jan. 30, on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S or PC.

HOKE COUNTY

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Judge orders ICE chief to appear in court or risk contempt over denial of due process

The chief federal judge in Minnesota says the Trump administration has failed to comply with orders to hold hearings for detained immigrants. As a result, the judge ordered the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to appear before him Friday to explain why he shouldn’t be held in contempt. In an order dated Monday, Chief Judge Patrick J. Schiltz said Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, must appear personally in court. Schiltz took the administration to task over its handling of bond hearings for immigrants it has detained.

Activists say Iran’s crackdown has killed at least 6,159 people

Activists say at least 6,159 people have been killed in Iran’s crackdown on nationwide protests, and many more are still feared dead. The new gures on Tuesday came from a U.S.based NGO, which has been accurate in multiple rounds of unrest in Iran. The Iranian government has put the death toll at a far lower 3,117 — including 2,427 civilians and security forces, and the rest labelled “terrorists.”

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Walking through the storm: Buddhist monks’ journey of peace

Texas to D.C. They eat one meal a day, food donated to them.

It’s called the Walk for Peace, but their mission doesn’t sound politically charged.

By Shawn Krest North State Journal

HEADS DOWN, they walk, keeping a brisk pace. A winter storm bears down on them, and many have hoods drawn in the 28-degree weather.

Two dozen monks left the Theravada Buddhist temple in Fort Worth, Texas, in late October and started walking. Most of us have celebrated Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s. We’ve done holiday shopping and watched more than half of the NFL season and playo s. They’ve been walking.

Some of them wear sandals, a nod to the weather. A few had been barefoot for much of the walk. Their journey will take them through eight states, 2,300 miles and 110 days, from

“We walk not to protest, but to awaken the peace that already lives within each of us,” a written statement from the temple explains. “The Walk for Peace is a simple yet meaningful reminder that unity and kindness begin within each of us and can radiate outward to families, communities, and society as a whole.”

By late morning, they’ve already traveled from Apex to Raleigh. They turn from Tryon Road onto Gorman Street, heading for Dorothea Dix Park, where they’ll eat today’s meal.

It’s the 91st day of their journey. They’ve lost a walker to a car accident in Houston and their dog to a leg injury, and there are still 20 days to go, likely the coldest and most choked with crowds that they’ve encountered yet. And every person they pass, every day, is seeing

“We walk not to protest, but to awaken the peace that already lives within each of us.”

Statement from Theravada Buddhist temple in Fort Worth, Texas

them for the rst and only time.

More than 70 people emerge from the apartment complexes on both sides of the street, interrupting their storm prep to see them. Some drove from their apartment and parked in the entrance driveway — taking their car the tenth of a mile to see these men walking across the country.

Police o cers stop tra c, turning cars back to take another route. Most drivers unroll their window to explain why they should be allowed to pass.

A van approaches slowly, with ashing lights, and cell phones

are held aloft. “Here they come,” someone shouts, but it’s a false alarm. The van, advertising a local radio station, honks, and the passengers wave. People go back to waiting. A news helicopter hovering nearby gives a good estimate of how close they are. Someone has a live stream up on their phone, reporting that they “just went under the bridge.” Someone else complains that the online map isn’t updating. One woman talks on her cell phone, explaining to a friend where the nearest shopping center is so she can park.

Finally, police motorcycles appear, lights ashing. Again, cell phones pop up, at the ready, to capture the striking image of the monks coming over the hill, in a group, walking for peace. Except there is no striking image. It’s easy to see the police lights, the long line of tra c trailing behind and the people lining the road, crowding in

See MONKS, page A4

Jimmy Mu ey and his sons, Christian and Harrison, nd success in music

From the prisons to the dance oor, the Mu ey men are spreading music worldwide

By Elaina J. Martin North State Journal

JIMMY MUFFLEY is a longtime resident of Hoke County.

As a child, he had little interest in music until 1964, when he was exposed to The Beatles on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” The band’s popularity and new sound added to his hunger to explore more music. The singer-songwriter also cites Steely Dan, sophisticated jazz and guitar-playing songwriters as in uences on his own music.

“Some people are blessed enough to write and perform music, but I’m lucky enough to have a dad show me how music can change your life.”

Harrison Mu ey

“Join the conversation”

MUFFLEY from page A1

him to move forward with music. He played his rst original song at a church in the early 1980s.

For 30 years, he has been playing music in prisons across North Carolina, sharing the Christian faith. Mu ey was playing in so many prisons that he felt called to try to help others before they went to jail. He played and spoke at high schools, bringing the gospel to people under the guise of an “anti-drug” message. Music and ministry took him all over the world, including Romania and Russia.

Inspired by God, Mu ey shares his original music.

“The songs speak for themselves,” he said.” I sing songs about life. If you listen, it’s really ministry, and most people don’t even realize it … but I’m actually ministering undercover.”

Mu ey has played with bands at notable events, including the Governor’s Ball. He currently performs at open-mic events and co ee shops.

“His songs are graceful and honest stories he has experienced over the years,” said Neal Ray, a host at some of the venues Mu ey often plays. “The warm and heartfelt lyrics are a testament to the depth and compassion in his heart and the strength in his faith.”

Christian Mu ey, Jimmy’s oldest son, does his own thing with music as a DJ. He recalls that as he grew up, there was always music in their home and

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on the radio. The Beatles and Steely Dan played in the backdrop of his musical past. Christian’s musical taste is in uenced by reggae and by the “skater scene,” which often played heavy punk rock. These days, his eclectic taste leans toward electronic, house, hip-hop and ambient music.

As he started getting more interested in music, Christian became aware of sounds like tra c and rain. He would record noise using a microphone and mix the recordings. When he was 12, he learned to play drum machines. Seeing people use turntables as instruments sparked his interest in DJing, and he decided that was what he wanted to do.

In the late 1990s when he was 20 years old, Christian and a friend, Glenn Fuller, aka “S.O.D.A,” took out a loan to buy turntables. With them, Christian became “Twilight” and created original music. Things took o in 2000, and he was playing on his own at venues. Soon, he was also playing with friends

Nate Stanley, “Kid Cola,” and Justin McDonald, “Slodrive.” As they ironed out the kinks at The Shady Lady in Fayetteville, they realized that more than their friends were coming out to listen and dance. They were playing to a growing audience and creating residencies at several hotspots in the area. By 2010, the collective became known as Subculture. They play packed venues like the old Rock Shop in Fayetteville. People have been dancing to Subculture’s beats for the past 16 years.

Christian Mu ey, “Twilight,” plays mainly bass-heavy tech house live on DanceGruv. net on the last Tuesday of the month. He is also the resident DJ at Paddy’s Irish Public House at Art Attack every Wednesday night in Fayetteville. Sometimes he is playing outside Back Around Records in Fayetteville, and another night at a club. He loves to DJ and is always open to new projects.

Jimmy’s younger son, Raeford resident Harrison Mu ey, plays guitar.

“Some people are blessed enough to write and perform music, but I’m lucky enough to have a dad show me how music can change your life,” Harrison said of Jimmy. “A few chords can carry the love of Jesus or the pain of every struggle you’ve experienced.”

Before starting to play with a faith worship team at 12 years old, the video game Guitar Hero sparked Harrison’s interest in playing the instrument. His mu-

sic is in uenced by Steely Dan, The Beatles and the Christian worship music of his childhood. In his teen years, his style was more like rock bands in the 2000s.

“Every genre was being shoved down my throat, and I loved it,” Harrison said.

At 15, a series of coincidences led Harrison to the position of lead guitarist for the now very successful hard rock band Set for the Fall. In 2016, the band entered a contest and won. The prize enabled them to play on the main stage at 11 of the country’s biggest music festivals. The band decided to book an entire tour between the festivals, playing 60 shows in 80 days. Harrison has been with Set for the Fall for 12 years, riding the wave from a garage band to major festivals and overseas travel. If that wasn’t enough, he has played with other bands, including Decypher Down, both live and in the recording studio.

Set for the Fall has a new album coming this year, featuring songs Harrison wrote and plays. Christian is nishing a CD of tracks to release. Jimmy is playing with people he’s known for 50 years on new projects. If it weren’t for The Beatles and Steely Dan, would any of the Mu eys’ music exist? At shows, these men come together to support one another and the very di erent kinds of music they play — singer-songwriter, dance music and hard rock — each man in uenced by the others and tied together by blood.

THE CONVERSATION

Trip Ho end, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

VISUAL VOICES

Argentina’s election and 2026

Argentina was once one of the wealthiest countries in the world.

ARGENTINE PRESIDENT Javier Milei’s extraordinary electoral victory in October could be a good omen for American Republicans in 2026.

Milei’s party, La Libertad Avanza, won 64 seats in the House of Deputies. His party and allied groups also won 14 seats in the nation’s Senate. Before the election, they only had 37 deputies and six senators.

If Republicans win a similar victory in 2026, it would mean something like 290 Republicans in the House (a roughly 140-vote majority) and 73 Republican Senators (a 36-vote majority).

Of course, a swing like that is impossible in America. Only one-third of the Senate is up for election in any given year, and gerrymandering has created some near disaster-proof House seats.

However, Milei’s victory has proven a reform movement can undertake deeply disruptive, painful changes and still increase its share of power.

Like President Donald Trump, Milei is a dedicated reformer who is determined to profoundly change a system that has been crippling his country for at least eight decades. It is easy to forget that Argentina was once one of the wealthiest countries in the world. In 1913, the average Argentinian had about 80% of the income of the average American. It took several generations of socialist politicians to destroy Argentina’s wealth. Today, the average

COLUMN | MICHAEL BARONE

Argentinian has about 30% of the income of the average American.

This is a lesson that followers of Zohran Mamdani, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders should consider.

If the American big government socialists do for the United States what Juan Peron and the Argentinian socialists did for their country, every American will rapidly become poorer.

Milei brought an intellectual understanding of conservative economics, a great television personality and a willingness to dismantle the old order. Elon Musk’s antics with the chainsaw was actually a tribute to Milei — who had won the presidency with that as his symbol. His pledge was to take a chainsaw to the bureaucracy, regulations and political machines crippling Argentina’s economy.

And Milei implemented his campaign promises. In his rst two years, he slashed spending by 30%, cut regulations and shrunk the bureaucracy by 55,000 workers (a 15% reduction). He has also cut the number of ministries from 19 to nine, lowered taxes, and encouraged economic growth and investment in Argentina. All this led to a budget surplus for the rst time in 14 years.

Milei clearly intends to build on this victory. He told an election night crowd, “Today marks the beginning of building a great Argentina. This result is nothing more and nothing less than the con rmation of the mandate we

assumed in 2023.” He attributed the victory to the voters’ “determination to change the destiny of the nation irreversibly.”

Milei has an ambitious follow-on reform program. He plans to change labor laws, make contracts more exible — and make even deeper cuts to federal spending and regulation. He plans to have more tax cuts and to dramatically streamline bureaucratic procedures. His major goal is to increase the economy and boost salaries and jobs. To achieve this he wants to make it much easier to start new companies.

As Milei summarized it election night: “Argentines showed that they don’t want to return to the model of failure. … We want to be a country that grows. We want to make Argentina great again.”

No wonder Trump took great pleasure in Milei’s victory — and why he and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent went all in to help him. Every Republican should take heart. Faced with a choice between reform or decay, free enterprise or big government socialism, and freedom or bureaucratic rule, voters will side with what works. They did in Argentina.

Newt Gingrich is former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. He is the founder of Gingrich360, where he writes syndicated columns and comments on politics and current events.

Trump’s outrageous threats get practical results

Trump has proved that the border can be controlled under current legislation.

THINK ABOUT IT. Heads of government do not normally reveal the texts of private communications from other heads of state. Yet that is what Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store of Norway two Sundays ago on the rst weekend of the World Economic Forum in Davos, where the international press would have no di culty nding appalled foreign leaders to comment.

You could think of this as a hostile act of a statesman appalled that the American head of government does not know that the government of Norway does not decide who gets the Nobel Peace Prize. It is probably better to think of it as an intervention by a sympathetic observer who has noticed that Donald Trump backs down from untenable positions in response to ructions in political and nancial markets.

Which is what Trump has done between the publication of his letter and his speech at Davos last Wednesday. The Sunday before he seemed to be threatening war with Denmark, and European commentators, not without reason, lamented that he was risking breaking up the NATO alliance out of pique of not being awarded a prize by a committee that was never going to honor a nonleftist American president.

Proof of which was the granting of that prize to Barack Obama in 2009 for what even Obama himself admitted was for no tangible accomplishment. And Trump has never forgotten the ridicule heaped on him by Obama at the 2011 White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, ridicule that led directly to that ride down the Trump Tower escalator four years later.

Actually, Trump has some valid points on Greenland. It sits astride missile, drone and air transport routes between North America and western Russia and eastern Europe. The United States would have even more exibility than it does under current agreements with Denmark if it were to become U.S. territory.

That’s one reason the U.S. holds on to Guam

in the west Paci c and has spent billions upgrading military facilities there.

All that said, Trump’s usual negotiating technique of starting o with extravagant demands was, in the careful words of social scientist Charles Murray, “next-level crazy.” Denmark has been an active ally of the United States in Afghanistan and Iraq, has increased its rate of defense spending above levels Trump demanded, and has adopted immigration policies in line with Trump’s advocacy.

With Denmark as with Canada, as with fellow Republicans in Georgia and other states, Trump’s obnoxious maximalist demands have alienated him from sympathy and empowered the forces against him. Other leaders have gured out that he requires gushers of praise to permeate every dialogue, and they’re probably ready with encomiums for his avowals in his Davos speech that he won’t use violence to obtain Greenland.

It has to be said that Trump’s bluntness and braggadocio have had some of its intended e ect. The American Enterprise Institution’s Yuval Levin, in an interview with The New York Times’ Ezra Klein, made the point that many of Trump’s lurching policy changes, not codi ed into law, can easily be wiped away by the next Democratic administration, perhaps even by a Democratic House of Representatives next year.

But despite his own preference for procedural regularity in making institutional change, Levin admits that “they’ve driven a lot of change that will be durable.” Initial polling reaction to Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, has been negative. But there’s no doubt that Trump has proved that the border can be controlled under current legislation — which would increase the political cost of any subsequent administration adopting the open border policy of Joe Biden’s.

It is also telling that the best estimates

of both pro- and anti-immigration analysts are that the substantial numbers of ICE deportations from within the United States, far above those of other recent administrations, are orders of magnitude lower than the numbers of self-deportations. As on other issues (like military recruitment), Trump is uninterested in institutional change but interested in sharply changing the behavior of the larger public.

The e ect of Trump policies, and the possibility that they may be put back in place at some later date, will likely discourage many illegal aliens from living in this country more or less permanently, as some 10 million have been up through January 2025. As I wrote last fall, “Who will want to make long-term plans that can be ruined by sudden deportation or hurried self-deportation?”

We learn from experience, and just as the former real estate developer sometimes seems to accept discipline from nancial markets, so the former reality TV show host sometimes seems to accept discipline from the ratings. On Greenland, he has responded to the cues of the markets and the ratings and backed o from threats of force while retaining the possibility of increasing the already signi cant U.S. presence there. Meanwhile, the NATO alliance remains in place, with its increased number of European members spending increasing percentages of their economies on defense. Three more years of this Trump administration will strain and irritate foreign leaders and American politicians, with wild threats and childish petulance driving one crisis after another. But it may continue to get them, often grudgingly, doing things Trump’s way.

Michael Barone is a senior political analyst for the Washington Examiner, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and longtime co-author of “The Almanac of American Politics.” Copyright 2026 Creators.com

US aircraft carrier arrives in the Middle East as tensions with Iran remain high

The USS Abraham Lincoln departed San Diego from the region in November

By Konstantin Toropin The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and three accompanying warships have arrived in the Middle East, bringing a renewed potential that President Donald Trump could opt to order airstrikes on Iran over its crackdown on protesters.

The carrier, along with three destroyers, “is currently deployed to the Middle East to promote regional security and stability,” U.S. Central Command said Monday on social media.

The strike group was in the Indian Ocean, Central Command said, and not in the Arabian Sea, which borders Iran. It will bring thousands of additional service members to the

region, which has not had a U.S. aircraft carrier since the USS Gerald R. Ford was ordered in October to sail to the Caribbean as part of a pressure campaign on then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

How purge of China’s

Seaman Rafael Brito stands watch aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Indian Ocean last Thursday.

Trump told reporters last week that the ships were sent to the region “just in case.” “We have a massive eet heading in that direction, and maybe we won’t have to use it,” he said.

Trump earlier had threatened

military leadership could impact its army, future of Taiwan

Five of 6 members of the country’s Central Military Commission were removed

By E. Eduardo Castillo

The Associated Press

BEIJING — China made a major announcement over the weekend, saying it was investigating the army’s top general for suspected serious violations of discipline and law.

Gen. Zhang Youxia was the highest military member just below President Xi Jinping.

The Defense Ministry said Saturday that authorities were investigating Zhang, the senior of the two vice chairs of the powerful Central Military Commission, China’s top military body, and Gen. Liu Zhenli, a lower member of the commission who was in charge of the military’s Joint Sta Department.

The move shakes up virtually the entire commission, chaired by Xi, leaving only one of its six members intact.

“Xi Jinping has completed one of the biggest purges of China’s

front of them to get a good picture. The small cluster of monks, however, doesn’t stand out.

As they get closer, their earth-tone robes are visible. They walk, single le. The lead

military leadership in the history of the People’s Republic,” said Neil Thomas, a fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis.

For the army and China in general, the full impact of the changes is still unknown. But some experts say the moves also might have repercussions on Beijing’s next move on Taiwan, the self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its own territory. Here are some elements to understand why Zhang’s removal is important.

What was behind the latest military purge

The Defense Ministry announced the measures Saturday but provided no details on the alleged wrongdoing. The next day, the People’s Liberation Army Daily published an editorial that fell short of explaining the speci c reasons, saying only that it was “for suspected serious violations of discipline and law” and showed China’s commitment to punish corruption. That is something Xi has pursued since the

monk carries a sta . Another carries a ag. They walk quickly. People trying to catch up to the group after they pass have to jog to make up the ground. Their arms swing. They say nothing. There’s no message, no sermon, no wisdom.

early days of his presidency. Rumors have circulated on social media and there have been some media reports about the changes, but nothing o cial.

“I do not believe any evidence publicly released or selectively leaked by Chinese authorities would necessarily re ect the core reason for Zhang’s removal,” said K. Tristan Tang, nonresident Vasey Fellow at Paci c Forum. “The critical point is that Xi Jinping decided to move against Zhang; once an investigation is launched, problems are almost inevitably uncovered.”

Analysts have said the purges are designed to reform the military and ensure loyalty to Xi. They are part of a broader anti-corruption drive that has resulted in punishment for more than 200,000 o cials since the Chinese leader came to power in 2012.

Before Zhang and Liu’s dismissal, the Communist Party expelled the other vice chair of the commission, He Weidong, in October. He was replaced with Zhang Shengmin, who is now the only commission member.

They just walk. They are the embodiment of the cliché — a calm in the storm of chaos swirling around them, both on the street and in the nation they just crossed.

One shyly returns a wave to a child. Several people step

“We have a massive eet heading in that direction, and maybe we won’t have to use it.” President Trump

military action if Iran carried out mass executions of prisoners or killed peaceful demonstrators during a crackdown on protests that began in late December.

At least 5,973 people have been killed and more than 41,800 detained, according to activists.

The o cial Iranian death toll is far lower, at 3,117 dead.

More recently, Trump appeared to back away from possible action, claiming Iran halted the hangings of 800 detained protesters. He has not elaborated on the source of the claim, which Iran’s top prosecutor called “completely false.”

However, Trump appears to

Since 2012, at least 17 generals from the People’s Liberation Army, or PLA, have been removed from their military positions, among them eight who were former top commission members, according to a review of military statements and state media reports made by The Associated Press.

How a top military change can impact moves on Taiwan

Some think the removals could have repercussions for China’s decisions on Taiwan, but it is far from clear.

China considers Taiwan its own territory and has threatened to take control of the island by force if necessary.

China also has increased military pressure and, last month, launched large-scale military drills around Taiwan for two days after the U.S. government announced a major arms sales to Taiwan.

Thomas, from the Asia Society Policy Institute, said the latest purge “makes China’s threat toward Taiwan weaker in the short term but stronger in the long term.”

It would make a military escalation against the island riskier in the immediate term because of “a high command in disarray” but in the long term would mean the army has a more loyal and less corrupt leadership with more military capabilities, he said.

forward with owers. One monk near the back accepts a bouquet from a bystander. He walks on, and after going a short distance, he begins peeling owers out of the bouquet, one at a time, and handing them to people watching them pass.

be keeping his options open.

Last Thursday aboard Air Force One, he said his threatened military action would make last year’s U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites “look like peanuts” if the government proceeded with planned executions of some protesters.

The aircraft carrier hosts multiple squadrons of aircraft, including F-35 Lightning II ghter jets and F/A-18 Super Hornet ghter jets. Meanwhile, the destroyers bring with them hundreds of missiles, which could include dozens of Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles.

In addition to the aircraft carrier and its hardware, the U.S. military said the Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle ghter jet now has a presence in the region.

Analysts who follow ight-tracking data have noticed dozens of U.S. military cargo planes also heading to the region.

The activity is similar to last year when the U.S. moved in air defense hardware, including a Patriot missile system, in anticipation of an Iranian counterattack following the bombing of three key nuclear sites. Iran launched over a dozen missiles at Al Udeid Air Base days after the strikes.

Asked if this might reinforce the idea that removing top military brass might show China is not ready for war, Tang from the Paci c Forum said it “does not fundamentally change that assessment.”

“That said,” he added, “I also do not believe the PLA’s combat readiness has been severely disrupted.”

Military commission’s future remains unclear

With the recent changes, the military commission will operate with only one of six members active and Xi at the top as the chair.

The PLA’s Daily editorial said that after the actions against Zhang and Liu, the party is moving to “promote the rejuvenation of the People’s Liberation Army, and inject powerful momentum into building a strong military force.”

But it’s not clear if the ve vacant positions will be replaced soon or if Xi will wait until 2027, when there will be a selection of a new Communist Party Central Committee, the body in charge of also appointing the new military commission members. Tang, from the Paci c Forum, doesn’t see any pressure on Xi to ll the positions in the short term.

“Unless the objective is to create an internal counterweight to Zhang Shengmin,” the only current member in the commission, he said.

The crowd begins to break up. There is a storm to prepare for, photos and videos to post. People rave about how moving the experience was, including many who may have missed the point entirely. They walk on.

Integrity Open Arms Residents of the Month

Integrity Open Arms Employee of the Month

Robert General has been a resident at Open Arms since August 2021. He was born in South Carolina, relocated to Richmond Virginia and later moved to North Carolina. Robert enjoys BINGO, church and knitting. He is a joy to have here at Open Arms Retirement Center.

Jermaine Moore

Jermaine is a talented cook who does a wonderful job. He’s always joking around with the residents, keeping everyone full, happy, and smiling. We appreciate him so much for all his hard work.

Mrs. Florence Herbert has been a resident here since May 2021. She moved to North Carolina from Pennsylvania to escape the bad weather. Florence enjoys word searches, BINGO, watching TV and spending time with her friends on the Special Care Unit at Integrity Open Arms.

Mrs. Betty Purcell is from Raeford, North Carolina. She moved into our assisted living this past June. Besides being the mother of two, she worked for many years at Burlington Mills. Betty enjoys church, watching youtube and doing word searches.

HOKE SPORTS

Hoke track and eld athletes win big at conference championships

London Barnes and Will Leak took home the top honors at the conference meet

North State Journal sta

HOKE COUNTY had a big day at the Mid-South 7A/8A track and eld championships.

The Bucks swept the conference’s Field Athlete of the Year awards, with senior Will Leak, last week’s Athlete of the Week, winning the boys’ awards and freshman London Barnes, this week’s Athlete of the Week, taking home the girls’ honor.

Leak won the conference title in the long jump with a leap of 22 feet, 6 inches, beating his nearest competitor by more than a foot. He also became conference champion in the triple jump, covering 46 feet, 8 inches, more than a yard past anyone else.

Barnes also took two conference titles, winning the 55 meter with a time of 7:51. She then teamed with Hoke juniors Azalia Langley, Mariyah Nesbitt and Arielle Owens to win the 4x200 with a time of 1:46.77, beating the competition by more than two and a half seconds. Barnes also took second in the 300 and third in the long jump.

Langley nished second to Barnes in the 55 meter, and Hoke sophomore Alexandria Crumpler helped the Bucks to sweep the podium in the event, with a third-place nish. Langley also nished fourth in the long jump, one spot ahead of senior Nia McCoy. Crumpler took third in the 300.

Nesbitt added a fourth-place in the 500 meters, one spot ahead of junior Dasia Morrisey. Owens took a conference title in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 8.70 seconds, beating Hoke sophomore Alyssa McCoy, who took second. Senior Kelis Spencer was fourth.

Junior Isabelle Castaneda took home the conference championship in shot put with a

15 in.

throw of 29 feet, 11.25 inches, almost nine inches better than the competition.

Other top nishers for Hoke at the conference meet were:

Senior Tyriek Davis: fourth in the boys’ 55-meter. Sophomore Jaiden Smith: fourth in the boys’ 300. Junior Elijah McClain: fourth in the boys’ 500. Sophomore Johnell Thompson: second in the boys’ 1,000.

Sophomore Jermaine Manning II and junior Christian Kaltved: third and fourth, respectively, in the boys’ 1,600. Manning also took second in the 3200, with

Penske’s team wins third consecutive Rolex 24 at Daytona in thrilling nish

The iconic organization is starting its 60th year

By Jenna Fryer The Associated Press

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Felipe Nasr’s time in Formula 1 had ended after two underwhelming seasons and the Brazilian was left with little to do as an open-wheel racing driver.

He migrated to sports cars and spent four seasons driving for the team owned by NASCAR chairman Jim France.

Then came an opportunity he couldn’t turn down: a clandestine meeting with Roger Penske to discuss developing a new sports car program with the factory backing of Porsche. They met in a parking lot, and Penske was immediately impressed.

“He showed up in a blue suit, and I said, ‘That’s my kind of guy,’” the 88-year-old team owner said.

Team Penske opened the 60th anniversary of its organization with a win in the rst race of the year — a three-peat,

junior Kevin Longinett third.

The boys’ relay team of junior Damiyn Genwright, sophomore Caleb Matthews, McClain and Davis took third in the 4x200. Sophomore Josiah McCallum, Thompson, McClain and Davis took third in the 4x400. Manning, McCallum, Thompson and Kaltved took third in the 4x800.

Sophomores Timaurion McQueen and Kaden Atkins: third and fourth, respectively in the boys’ high jump. McQueen added a fth in triple jump.

Junior Alondra Cardenas: fourth in the girls’ 1,000.

Sophomore Savannah Scales: third in girls’ 1,600 and second in the 3,200.

Crumpler, both McCoys and freshman Shana McMillan: second in the girls’ 4x400. Cardenas, Scales, freshmen Cooper Langley and Aaliyay Porsche: third in the 4x800.

Nia McCoy took second in the triple jump, one spot above Morrisey.

“The driving he’s done for us, at the end, that was probably one of the best drives I’ve ever seen,” Roger Penske on Felipe Nasr

no less — in the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

“The driving he’s done for us, at the end, that was probably one of the best drives I’ve ever seen,” Penske said.

The Penske squad became the third team in the 64-year history of the most prestigious endurance race in the United States to win three in a row. His Porsche Penske Motorsports team joined Chip Ganassi Racing and Wayne Taylor

See DAYTONA, page B2

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

London Barnes

Hoke County track and eld

London Barnes is a freshman for the Hoke County track and eld team.

London lit it up at the Mid-South 7A/8A Conference Championships. She won the conference title in the 55-meter with a personal-best time of 7.51, winning by an 0.07 second margin. She also took rst, with three teammates, in the 4x200 relay, beating the next closest team by more than two and a half seconds.

She also took silver in the 300, missing rst by 0.19 seconds, and nished her day with a bronze in the long jump. Then she had to make still more room in her trophy case after the conference voted her the female eld athlete of the year.

SIDELINE REPORT

NCAA FOOTBALL

College Football Playo to remain at 12 teams

The College Football Playo will remain at 12 teams after the commissioners of the Southeastern Conference and Big Ten couldn’t come up with a compromise for expansion. The CFP Management Committee announced the 12-team format would stay the same for the 2026-27 season, providing additional time for evaluation and discussion on potential changes in the future. The CFP went from four teams to 12 teams for the 2024 season, and the two most powerful conferences favored further expansion but could not agree on a number.

NBA Former Heat security o cer gets 3 years in prison for selling stolen memorabilia

Miami A former Miami Heat security o cer has been sentenced to three years in federal prison and ordered to pay nearly $1.9 million in restitution for stealing hundreds of game-worn jerseys and other sports memorabilia while working for the team. Marcos Thomas Perez, 62, was sentenced earlier this month. He pleaded guilty last August to transporting and transferring stolen goods in interstate commerce. The 25-year retired veteran of the Miami Police Department worked for the Heat from 2016 to 2021 and as an NBA security employee from 2022 to 2025.

NFL

Former 49ers quarterback, MVP Brodie dead at 90

Former MVP and longtime San Francisco 49ers quarterback John Brodie died at the age of 90. Brodie had a stroke in 2000. Brodie played for the 49ers from 1957-73 after breaking every major passing record at Stanford. He later played on the Senior PGA Tour and won the 1991 Security Paci c Senior Classic. Brodie’s 17 seasons still represent a 49ers franchise record, and his 31,548 yards passing rank second to Joe Montana on San Francisco’s career passing list.

It’s been 12 years since NHL players suited up in the Winter Games

By Stephen Whyno The Associated Press

JACK EICHEL IN the fall of 2021 still did not believe he and the rest of the world’s best hockey players would be going to the Olympics in Beijing a few months later, even after the NHL reached an agreement to do so.

“Don’t hold your breath,” Eichel said at the time.

His skepticism proved to be prescient, as pandemic scheduling issues led the league to withdraw.

Eichel is part of a generation of NHL stars who have never gotten the chance to play in the Olympics. Unlike players of the past — before the league allowed its stars to take part — Eichel, fellow American Auston Matthews, Canadians Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon, and many others of their vintage grew up expecting to go to the Games. The NHL, after all, played in ve consecutive Olympics from 1998 to 2014.

Owners opted against sending players in 2018, and missing out in 2022 became a sad result of circumstances largely out of stakeholders’ control. The 12-team tournament in Milan is a moment many have been waiting their entire careers for.

“It’s awesome,” Eichel said before this season, perhaps

Racing as the only teams to win three straight sports car races at Daytona International Speedway. It was the fth overall Rolex victory in the event for Porsche and the 46th overall IMSA victory for Penske.

What’s most impressive for Penske is that the team has won three years in a row with three di erent lineups; Nasr, the Penske closer, is the only mainstay on all three entries, and he was openly weeping in Victory Lane.

“It’s a moment I dreamed of — the desire to win is what makes you go beyond and further,” Nasr said. “I love this sport, I love this series, and the 24-hour (race) being decided in the last few minutes is just incredible.”

“That’s the pinnacle, just the best on best, all the special moments that have happened at the Olympics, the history,” Celebrini said. “There’s just a little bit more energy around it. It’s bigger than yourself.”

In all, 12 NHL players are back at the Olympics after participating in the 2014 Games, the last time the league went and it was a true best-on-best tournament. The group includes Sidney Crosby and Drew Doughty for Canada; Gabriel Landeskog, Erik Karlsson and Oliver Ekman-Larsson for Sweden; Mikael Granlund and Olli Maatta for Finland; Radko Gudas and Ondrej Palat for Czechia. There are no Americans on that list.

willing to exhale. “It’s something that we’ve wanted for a while.”

Construction delays bring more questions

Not so fast, Jack.

Out of his control are construction delays at the main hockey arena, a longstanding worry. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman began raising concerns all the way back in 2023, before the deal was reached to send players in 2026 and ’30.

“We’re being told by everybody not to worry,” Bettman said in 2024, “but I like to worry, so we’ll see.”

Those worries have persisted, and work continues on locker rooms and other facilities at Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena, which is set to host the majority of the men’s games

beginning Feb. 11. The women’s tournament begins there Feb. 5.

Test games in January left league and players’ union ofcials pleased about the condition of the ice, though even that has been a matter of consternation after rinks were made more than 3 feet shorter than NHL players are used to. That will change aspects of play but won’t keep the NHL out of the Olympics as long as everyone involved agrees the surface is safe.

What players missed out on

Canada’s Macklin Celebrini, drafted rst in 2024 and at 19 the second-youngest men’s hockey player at the Olympics, has only gotten to dream about the possibility of representing his country on this stage.

“The Penske was in a good form from beginning to end,” Nasr said. “The winning feeling — they are special — it’s hard to pick a favorite one. I have no words to describe it, it’s just a unique feeling.”

Nasr actually has four Rolex titles — except his fourth was not in the top class.

This one didn’t come easy for Nasr, driving in front of the largest Rolex crowd in race history, as he held o his former team, the Cadillac from Action Express Racing, over the nal hour to win the overall title. The Action Express car originally won the pole but was disquali ed in post-qualifying inspection.

That forced the No. 31 Cadillac to start last in class, and the lineup of Jack Aitken, Earl Bamber, Mercedes Formula 1 driver Fred Vesti and NASCAR rising star Connor Zilisch weaved their way to second. Nasr and Aitken closed the races for their respective teams, and Aitken got several good looks at passing Nasr for the win in the nal 25 minutes, but Nasr closed the door on him at every chance.

“It’s a cherry on top of athletic life,” Gudas said. “Twelve years ago when we went to Sochi was such a great experience that I wish I can do that again. I was that much more sad that we couldn’t go the last two times, so for me, I think it’s a great feeling to be able to do that.”

American defenseman Zach Werenski at 28 is old enough to remember Crosby’s goal in 2010, and four years later he was watching Oshie’s heroics with other members of the U.S. National Team Development Program. Four of his teammates from back then are also set to go to Milan — Matthews, Matthew Tkachuk, Charlie McAvoy and Noah Hani n — to nally have their Olympic moment.

“The signi cance of that, the build-up, we’ve waited a long time for this,” McAvoy said, “so it’s going to be incredible.”

Nasr cruised to victory in an overhauled No. 7 Porsche 963 with teammates Julien Andlauer and Laurin Heinrich. The Porsche beat the Cadillac by 1 minute, .569 seconds.

The No. 24 BMW M Team WRT nished third in the top GTP class with the quartet of Sheldon van der Linde, Dries Vanthoor, Robin Frijns and Rene Rast.

The caution was thrown for foggy conditions shortly before 1 a.m. and lasted for a race-record 6 hours, 33 minutes, 25 seconds covering 120 laps. The caution was so long that Penske, who prides himself on staying awake and on the pit stand the entire 24 hours, actually took a midrace break.

The Rolex marks the unofcial start of the motorsports season, and this year’s race featured 60 cars from 12 different automakers, 228 drivers from 32 countries and no clear favorite aside from the two-car Penske e ort.

Geo rey Mason, TV producer for coverage of 1972 Munich Olympics hostage crisis, dead at 85

The Duke graduate worked in sports TV for decades

By Joe Reedy The Associated Press

GEOFFREY MASON, who had a ve-decade career in sports television and was best known as the coordinating producer for ABC’s coverage of the 1972 Munich Olympic Games hostage crisis, has died. He was 85.

ESPN said Mason died Sunday in Naples, Florida. He died of natural causes, according to his family.

“Geo was a giant visionary in television, never seeking credit,” former ESPN President Steve Bornstein said. “He preferred leading and mentoring teams, connecting people to projects, and was devoted to people and recovery of all sorts. He was a great teacher and mentor to everyone who came in his orbit.”

Over the course of his career, Mason worked on eight Olympics. As a young producer on Sept. 5, 1972, he was in the control room in Munich, Germany, when the Palestinian militant group Black September stormed the Olympic village and took Israeli Olympic team members hostage.

ABC provided continuous coverage for 22 hours, culminating in a failed rescue attempt where six Israeli coaches and ve athletes died. Jim McKay broke the news with, “They’re all gone.”

Mason was a consultant on the script and every aspect of production for the 2024 feature lm “September 5,” which recreates what it was like in the ABC control room that day. The international broadcast center in Munich was 100 yards away from where the hostage crisis was taking place in the Olympic village.

The movie recreates the moment when West German police stormed the control room and pointed guns at Mason’s face. This happened because one of ABC’s cameras was showing a tactical squad taking position on the roof above the hostages. Mason ended up cutting o the camera’s feed.

It is estimated that nearly 900 million people worldwide at some point viewed ABC’s coverage.

“Geo told me that day there

was no chance to think,” said John Magaro, who played Mason, in 2025. “Their singular goal was to stay on the air to keep the story going, to do their job as sports broadcasters. Once the clock starts ticking, there’s no chance to think.”

Mason’s career was largely spent with ABC and ESPN, but he also worked for NBC, Fox, NFL Network and other television entities. He began as a production associate at ABC Sports in 1967, working on “Wide World of Sports” and the 1968 Winter and Summer Olympics. Over the years, he earned 24 Emmy Awards and was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2010.

He also worked on Super Bowl 25, “Monday Night Football”, the World Series, horse racing’s Triple Crown, the Indianapolis 500, and the FIFA Men’s and Women’s World Cup tournaments.

He is also known for his coverage of the 1986-87 America’s Cup from Fremantle, Australia.

“Geo Mason was a friend and a colleague who had a storied career, touching just about every corner of the sports television industry,” said Bob Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company, which owns ABC and ESPN. “He had a passion for the business, which was evidenced in his prodigious work ethic and the constant love and enthusiasm he exhibited on everything he worked on.

Mason was selected by Jim Valvano as a founding board member of the V Foundation for Cancer Research and a longtime board member of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation. He delivered a eulogy during Betty Ford’s funeral in 2011.

“Geo rey was a force of nature in our industry for six decades, but more important is all the help he gave to so many people through his association with the Betty Ford Center. He changed so many lives personally and professionally,” said former CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus, who worked with Mason at both ABC and NBC.

Mason was a veteran of the U.S. Navy and graduated from Duke University with a bachelor’s degree in sociology in 1963. Survivors include wife Chris, son Geo Jr. and brother David.

Joyce Ann Young

Dec. 28, 1966 – Jan. 18, 2026

Joyce Ann Young passed away on Sunday, January 18, 2026, in the arms of her beloved husband, Glen.

Joyce was born on December 28, 1966, in Clarksburg, West Virginia. She was one of seven children born to the late Linkton Lockett, Jr. and Raheema Carey Lockett. She attended Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Clarksburg, where she accepted Christ as her personal Savior.

Joyce graduated from Liberty High School in 1985. In 1986, she went on to attend Salem College in West Virginia, where she met Glen—who she would later lovingly call her “Milk Dudd.” Joyce and Glen were married on June 13, 1987. Just two weeks later, Glen left for Basic Training, and Joyce stepped fully into the life of a devoted Army wife. She faithfully raised their three children—Glen Jr., Philip, and Shanice—and stood steady through deployments, always there to welcome him home and proudly pin each new stripe as he advanced in his military career.

In time, Joyce discovered her calling in nursing. She earned her CNA in 2005 through Sandhills Community College and later returned to further her education and become an LPN. Joyce served at Autumn Care of Raeford from 2005 to 2011 and later continued her work at Autumn Care of Fayetteville when SABER Healthcare opened a second facility. Joyce loved being a nurse—deeply and wholeheartedly. Caring for others wasn’t just what she did; it was who she was.

Joyce also found joy in the things she loved. She enjoyed collecting Dooney & Bourke and Coach purses. From the time she was young, she was an avid reader—especially Harlequin Romance novels—and she also loved the works of Toni Morrison and Eric Jerome Dickey. She built quite a collection over the years and had recently taken up quilting.

Joyce was preceded in death by her parents, Linkton Lockett, Jr. and Raheema Carey Lockett. She leaves to cherish her memory her husband of 38 years, Glen Young; her children, Glen Young, Jr., Philip Young, and Shanice Young; three brothers, Linkton Lockett III (Chrystie), Michael Lockett (Corbie), and Brady Smith; and three sisters, Rena Cary, Yolonda Hunter (Kenneth), and Crystal (Charles). She is also survived by her uncles, Thomas Lockett and Charles Lockett; her aunt, Velma Forge; along with several cousins, and many nieces and nephews.

A remembrance celebration will be held at Autumn Care of Fayetteville on Friday, January 23, 2026, at 10 a.m., 1401 71st School Road, Fayetteville, NC 28314.

A visitation will be held at Crumpler Funeral Home, located at 131 Harris Ave., Raeford, North Carolina, 28376, on January 27, 2026, from 2-3 p.m.

A Celebration of Life will follow at the same venue on January 27, 2026, starting at 3 p.m.

The burial will take place at Sandhills State Veterans Cemetery, located at 8220 Bragg Blvd, Spring Lake, NC 28390, on February 4, 2026, at 10 a.m., with the Nurse Honor Guard of Sandhills presenting Funeral Honors.

The family is asking that no casket photos be taken.

Services will be o ciated by Pastor Kenneth Williams, Life Transformation Church, Fayetteville, NC.

Cynthia McRae

May 24, 1949 – Jan. 20, 2026

Ms. Cynthia McRae, age 76, went home to rest with her Heavenly Father on Tuesday, January 20, 2026. The Celebration of Life will be held on Wednesday, January 28; 1 p.m. at Friendship Grove FWB Church. Cynthia will be greatly missed.

Dan Wesley Hagins

Dec. 6, 1941 – Jan. 21, 2026

Dan Wesley Hagins went to be with his Lord and Savior at the age of 84. He was born on December 6, 1941, in Robeson County, North Carolina to the late Gary Wilton and Ella Maggie Hagins. Along with his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife of 50 years, Hunter Sue; his grandson, Charlie Clyde Hagins; and his three brothers, Jack, Bobby, and Billy.

He graduated from Parkton High School in 1960 and pursued a career as a truck driver where he worked at McNeill Oil Company for over 40 years. He was a religious man and committed to daily studies of the word of God.

Dan enjoyed hunting, shing, being outdoors, target practice with his grandsons, and hosting family gatherings.

He is survived by his sons, Dan Wesley Hagins II of Raeford, North Carolina and Samuel Hunter Hagins of Troy, North Carolina; his daughter, Dana Hagins Wright of Raeford, North Carolina; his sisters, Betty Ronketto, Sylvia Adcock, and Brenda Osterbeck; his brother, Jerry Edward Hagins; his grandson, Hunter Stuart Hagins; and three great granddaughters; many nieces and nephews; and great nieces and nephews who will miss him dearly.

A visitation will be held on Thursday, January 29, 2026, at Crumpler Funeral Home, 131 Harris Avenue, Raeford, NC 28376, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

A service will immediately follow.

Malinda “Carole” B. Elkins

Dec. 2, 1943 – Jan. 20, 2026

Malinda Carole B. Elkins, age 82, passed away peacefully on January 20, 2026.

Carole was born on December 2, 1943, to Harold A. Boyles and Hester Boyles, who preceded her in death. She was a devoted wife, mother, and faithful caretaker whose life was marked by kindness, service, and always putting her family rst. Loving and serving others came naturally to her, and she left a lasting impact on everyone she met.

Carole shared 60 years of marriage with her husband, Cli Elkins, and together they built a family rooted in love, commitment, and perseverance. Even in her later years, she often spoke of how blessed her life had been—and how she still wanted to do more for the people she loved.

She is survived by her husband, Cli Elkins; her children Glenn Elkins (Faye Elkins), Malissa Van Zee (Doug Van Zee, late husband), and Robert Elkins; and her six grandchildren: Mary Van Zee, Caleb Van Zee, Ashley Van Zee, Chris Van Zee, Dereck Elkins (Sydney Elkins), and Nathan Elkins, who brought her immense joy and pride.

She is also survived by her siblings Jane McGugan (Danny), Johnny Boyles (Wanda), and Michael Boyles (Joyce).

Carole will be remembered for her warmth, steady love, and sel ess heart. Her legacy lives on through the family she cherished and the many lives she touched. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. at Antioch Presbyterian Church on Thursday, January 29, 2026. In honor of Carole, the family asks that ladies wear pink or light colors, and gentlemen wear light colored shirts. Traditional attire is okay as well.

In lieu of owers, please send donations to Antioch Church. In Memory of Malinda “Carole” B. Elkins.

Antioch Presbyterian Church 6583 Red Springs Road Red Springs, NC 29377

the life of your loved ones. Submit obituaries and death notices to be published in NSJ at

STATE & NATION

Members question transparency, consent in PENC’s 2025 union merger

AFPENC o cials maintain they had authority to move the a liation forward

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal

RALEIGH — Members of a teacher’s association in North Carolina are questioning the transparency and consent process involved in a merger with a national teacher’s union.

Last fall, the board of Professional Educators of North Carolina (PENC) unanimously approved an a liation with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), a national labor union representing 1.8 million educators.

PENC rebranded as the American Federation of Professional Educators in North Carolina (AFPENC), with the change announced Oct. 14, 2025, in Charlotte.

AFT President Randi Weingarten and AFPENC President Joanna Loftis signed the agreement, framing it as a “historic” move to amplify advocacy for teacher pay, working conditions and public education funding in a right-to-work state that prohibits collective bargaining and strikes.

Public statements from AFT and AFPENC describe the afliation as the culmination of years of member-driven organizing, aimed at addressing declining membership and limited statewide in uence.

PENC had about 2,082 members in 2022-23, down nearly 4% year over year.

Bene ts touted for the merger include enhanced resources like professional development, legal support, disaster relief, classroom tools and stronger lobbying e orts in Raleigh while emphasizing AFPENC’s continued autonomy as a North Caroli-

“At the time these decisions were made, only eight of the 15 board seats were lled. Those eight were making major decisions for the entire membership without asking us.”

Tim Barnsback, former PENC president

na-focused entity governed by local educators.

However, internal pushback has highlighted concerns about the process’ legitimacy. Past PENC President Tim Barnsback has criticized the a liation as lacking proper member consent.

“I got involved because leadership changes raised legitimate questions about governance and stability, and I believed members deserved clear answers so the organization could remain a strong advocate for public education in North Carolina,” Barnsback told North State Journal. “I support a strong, nonpartisan collective voice for teachers, but any a liation needs to be handled transparently so it strengthens, rather than weakens, educators’ ability to defend public education in North Carolina.”

In formal emails starting Oct. 20, 2025, Barnsback requested key records: pre- and post-afliation bylaws, board vote details (including quorum and motion), explanations of ratication requirements, full minutes, con ict-of-interest policies, the a liation agreement, and the membership list to verify notice and participation.

Responses from leadership from AFTPENC o cials, including Loftis, O ce Administrator Catherine Coleman and Executive Director Donnell McLean, involved initial delays, partial fulllment and some denials.

O cials asserted board authority under the state’s Nonpro t Corporation Act to enter a liations without amending

governing documents or triggering a member vote, deeming the action preliminary.

“I’m not trying to stop the a liation,” said Barnsback. “My concern has always been about process and trust. If educators are going to stand together to protect public education in North Carolina, the organization representing them has to be transparent, accountable and member-driven.

“If the a liation is done properly, with transparency, clear documentation and informed member consent, it has the potential to strengthen educators’ ability to push back against efforts that undermine public schools and teaching.”

A request for a membership list was rejected as unrelated, since o cials asserted no member notice was required for board decisions. Barnsback argued this breached statutory transparency standards and duciary duties.

A Dec. 19, 2025, letter to members extended a Google Form feedback period and promised draft bylaw revisions for a January annual membership vote on amendments. The feedback form originally ran for three days in mid-December.

Critics view this as retroactive legitimization of a done deal, especially after the rebranding and public claims of nality.

Barnsback also noted the disabling of the internal member communication portal amid rising questions, limiting discussion.

“I’ve invested nearly 20 years

in PENC as a member and served as board president during some of the organization’s most successful and in uential years,” Barnsback said. “Watching it unravel because of mismanagement and poor legal and ethical practices has been heartbreaking, especially knowing how much it once meant to educators across North Carolina.”

As of Jan. 9, AFPENC’s website presents the a liation as complete and positive, highlighting its legacy since 1979 and new AFT-backed strengths, with no public acknowledgment of disputes.

North State Journal reached out to AFPENC o cials with several questions regarding voting processes, quorum of the board vote and the board’s authority to enter into the a liation, as well as questions about member feedback and record transparency raised by Barnsback.

Loftis responded to North State Journal, o ering a statement in email, but no detailed answers to the questions posed.

“The executive board of PENC (doing business as AFPENC) engaged in an a liation with AFT with the general governing powers of the organization in pursuance with the PENC bylaws and North Carolina Nonpro t Corporation Act,” Loftis wrote in an email.

“All board decisions toward the a liation were made unanimously at o cial board meetings where a quorum was present. Through the process AFPENC has remained compliant with all state statutes and remains in constant communication with our legal consult.

“The a liation with AFT maintains PENC’s autonomy in governance and leadership. Membership will vote on amended bylaws and articles of incorporation wherein all proper notices will be sent to the general membership as requir-

Rhode Island may ditch Mr. Potato Head license plates after Hasbro’s move to Boston

The plates have raised $60,000 for a local food bank

By Kimberlee Kruesi

The Associated Press

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — It’s been no small potatoes that Rhode Islanders have been able to choose the image of Mr. Potato Head as a specialty license plate for decades.

Yet with Hasbro’s decision to move its headquarters from the smallest state in the U.S. to Boston, two lawmakers say it’s time to hash out whether Rhode Island should continue promoting

one of the company’s most iconic characters. Under the proposal introduced earlier this month, Rhode Island’s Division of Motor Vehicles would stop providing Mr. Potato Head as an option for a specialty license plate. Currently the plate costs around $40, with half of that amount going to help support the Rhode Island Community Food Bank.

Rep. Brian Newberry, a Republican from North Smitheld, said in an email that he led the legislation because Hasbro leaving the state will cause “untold economic harm and loss of tax revenue.”

“There is no reason we should

“There is no reason we should be advertising their products on our license plates.”

Rep. Brian Newberry

be advertising their products on our license plates,” Newberry said. “It may seem trivial compared to many other things but it’s a matter of self-respect.”

Mr. Potato Head license plates were rst issued in 2002 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the beloved toy,

which notably has appeared in the “Toy Story ” lms. The plates include a small image of Mr. Potato Head holding a sign of the Rhode Island Community Food Bank and “help end hunger” at the bottom of the plate.

“The license plate started at a time when Mr. Potato Head was all over the state and was having a moment,” said Kate MacDonald, spokesperson for the food bank, which has received nearly $60,000 over the years due to the plate. “And while it has tapered o over the years, it’s been a steady way for people to contribute.” An email was sent to Hasbro

ed by our bylaws and state law.”

On Saturday, a virtual town hall was held for members to vote on amendments to the organization’s Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws but also ostensibly to address PENC member issues with the merger.

Loftis, McLean and most board members were in attendance, as well as former Democratic State Superintendent candidate Jen Mangrum and current General Assembly House candidate Kelly Van Horn, who changed her party a liation to Republican to challenge Rep. Tricia Cotham (R-Mecklenburg) in this year’s primary.

Attendees indicated to North State Journal that AFPENC leadership didn’t take objections seriously and that questions were de ected or left unanswered.

When members asked about dues increases, they were told the board said that was still undecided. Members were unhappy with that position, saying they were still being asked to vote yes on the merger and trust the board.

Members also asked about union activity in North Carolina, citing an AFT article that says AFPENC has joined picket lines, participated in national political protests and engaged in activities that have never occurred in North Carolina.

Members were then told PENC would be “strengthened by a national union.” Certain union activity, like organized strikes, is illegal for public employees in North Carolina.

The AFT article also says that AFPENC conducted a book giveaway for students in North Carolina that apparently never happened. When asked about it, Loftis said that a book giveaway was planned but admitted it has not yet taken place.

AFT has also sent newsletters containing content focused on AFT President Weingarten’s statements on anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement protests. AFPENC’s annual board meeting is scheduled for Jan. 31 via video conference, at which time the board will vote on the amendment changes presented at the previous Saturday’s meeting.

seeking comment. The toy company announced last year that it would be moving to Boston by the end of 2026 after operating in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, for nearly 70 years.

Mr. Potato Head has been around since the 1950s, when the original toy didn’t come with a plastic potato. Instead, kids had to supply their own vegetable to poke eyes, a nose or mustache into.

Notably, Mr. Potato Head was the rst toy advertised on television in 1952. A Mrs. Potato Head was launched in 1953, followed by brother Spud, sister Yam, and various pets and accessories, according to the National Museum of Play.

Hasbro adopted a plastic spud after new government regulations prevented certain toys from having pointed sharp edges, as well as complaints about children playing with rotting vegetables.

MOORE

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Judge orders ICE chief to appear in court or risk contempt over denial of due process

The chief federal judge in Minnesota says the Trump administration has failed to comply with orders to hold hearings for detained immigrants. As a result, the judge ordered the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to appear before him Friday to explain why he shouldn’t be held in contempt. In an order dated Monday, Chief Judge Patrick J. Schiltz said Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, must appear personally in court. Schiltz took the administration to task over its handling of bond hearings for immigrants it has detained.

Activists say Iran’s crackdown has killed at least 6,159 people

Activists say at least 6,159 people have been killed in Iran’s crackdown on nationwide protests, and many more are still feared dead. The new gures on Tuesday came from a U.S.-based NGO, which has been accurate in multiple rounds of unrest in Iran. The Iranian government has put the death toll at a far lower 3,117 — including 2,427 civilians and security forces, and the rest labelled “terrorists.”

Walking through the storm: Buddhist monks’ journey of peace

By Shawn Krest North State Journal

HEADS DOWN, they walk, keeping a brisk pace. A winter storm bears down on them, and many have hoods drawn in the 28-degree weather.

Two dozen monks left the Theravada Buddhist temple in Fort Worth, Texas, in late October and started walking. Most

of us have celebrated Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s. We’ve done holiday shopping and watched more than half of the NFL season and playo s. They’ve been walking.

Some of them wear sandals, a nod to the weather. A few had been barefoot for much of the walk. Their journey will take them through eight states, 2,300 miles and 110 days, from Texas to D.C. They eat one meal a day, food donated to them. It’s called the Walk for Peace, but their mission doesn’t sound politically charged.

“We walk not to protest, but to awaken the peace that already lives within each of us.”

Statement from Theravada Buddhist temple in Fort Worth, Texas

“We walk not to protest, but to awaken the peace that already lives within each of us,” a written statement from the temple explains. “The Walk

Eating snow cones or snow cream can be

a winter delight, if done safely

The sweet treats are a silver lining during storms

By Holly Ramer The Associated Press

CONCORD, N.H. — Take two snowballs and call me in the morning?

Dr. Sarah Crockett, who specializes in emergency and wilderness medicine, doesn’t explicitly tell her patients at New Hampshire’s Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center to swallow snow, but she often prescribes more time outside. If that time includes eating a handful of ice crystals straight or adding ingredients to make snow cones and other frozen treats, she’s all for it.

“To stop and just be present and want to catch a snow ake on your tongue, or scoop up some fresh, white, untouched snow that’s collected during something as exciting as a snowstorm, I think that there’s space in our world to enjoy that,” Crockett said. “And while we need to make good choices, I think these are simple things that can bring joy.” Getting outdoors to enjoy

simple pleasures is unlikely to be front of mind for people in a 1,300-mile stretch of the United States where a massive weekend storm brought deep snow and bitter cold. Freezing rain and ice brought down power lines and tree limbs, leaving hundreds of thousands of homes without power or heating in the South, while

snow upended road and air travel from Arkansas to New England. As the storm recedes, residents of lesser-a ected areas might be tempted to whip up bowls of “snow cream” — snow combined with milk, sugar and vanilla — after seeing techniques demonstrated on TikTok. Others might want to try “sugar on snow,” a ta y-like confection made by pouring hot maple syrup onto a plate of snow. Despite its pristine appearance, snow isn’t always clean enough to consume. Crockett and other experts shared advice for digging in safely while digging out.

The science of snow

Whether it’s rain or snow, precipitation cleans the atmosphere, picking up pollutants as it falls, said Steven Fassnacht, a professor of snow hydrology at Colorado State University. But snow akes pick up more impurities because they fall more slowly and have more exposed surface areas than raindrops, he said. That means snow that falls

for Peace is a simple yet meaningful reminder that unity and kindness begin within each of us and can radiate outward to families, communities, and society as a whole.”

By late morning, they’ve already traveled from Apex to Raleigh. They turn from Tryon Road onto Gorman Street, heading for Dorothea Dix Park, where they’ll eat today’s meal.

It’s the 91st day of their journey. They’ve lost a walker to a car accident in Houston and their dog to a leg injury, and there

See MONKS, page A2

near coal plants or factories that emit particulates into the air contains more contaminants, said Fassnacht, who was in Shinjo, Japan, last week studying the salt content of snow. He said he wouldn’t have hesitated to take a taste there because there weren’t any big industrial complexes upwind.

“Snow can be eaten, but you want to think about the trajectory. Where did that snow come from?” he said.

Timing is another consideration, according to Crockett. The rst wave of snow holds the most particulate matter, she said, so waiting until a storm is well underway before putting out a bowl to collect falling snow is one precaution to take.

Ground contamination is an additional factor, experts say. Avoiding yellow snow, which may be tainted by urine or tree bark, is conventional wisdom, but it’s also a good idea to stay away from any snow pushed by snowplows and packed with road salt, deicing chemicals and debris.

Snack versus survival

What about eating snow to survive? Crockett, who oversees the wilderness medicine program at Dartmouth College’s Geisel School of Medicine, says that’s a bad idea.

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North State Journal

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NC shifts EV charging strategy to focus on underserved areas

New guidance moves funding from interstate corridors to rural communities

North State Journal sta

NORTH CAROLINA transportation o cials are scaling back plans for electric vehicle charging stations along interstates and redirecting federal funds toward rural communities and highways with less coverage.

The shift comes after new federal guidance issued in August gave states greater exibility in determining where charging stations can be placed, including removing a requirement that stations be spaced no more than 50 miles apart along designated corridors.

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SNOW from page A1

The energy it takes to melt snow in your mouth as you’re eating it essentially counteracts the hydration bene t, plus it decreases your core body temperature and increases the risk of hypothermia. While outdoor enthusiasts who plan to spend days in the mountains often melt and boil snow to purify it for drinking, it shouldn’t be viewed as an immediate hydration source, she said.

“If you are disoriented on a local hike, I would say your No. 1 priority is to try to reach out for help in any way you can ... not ’Can I eat enough snow?’” Crockett said.

Focus on rewards, not risks

Fassnacht, who has studied snow for more than 30 years, said he tried “snow cream” for the rst time last year when some students made him some. He described it as a fun experience that got him thinking about avors and textures, not contaminants.

“It’s a whimsical thing,” he said. “It made me think about what are the characteristics of that freshly fallen snow, and how does that change the taste sensation?”

Crockett likewise is a fan of nding inspiration and wonder in nature. She worries that overprotective parenting has contributed to anxiety in some young people, and that excessive warnings about eating snow could add to that.

“We have to strike that right balance of making sure we’re avoiding danger while not being so protective that we encourage this ‘Everything is going to harm me’ mentality, particularly for children,” she said.

Crockett has four children, including a daughter she described as a “passionate snow eater.” As the recent winter storm got underway, she asked her why she liked eating snow so much and was told, “It makes me feel connected to the Earth.”

“That is actually something that’s really important to me, that we all have this connection to nature,” Crockett said.

The N.C. Department of Transportation announced it will reduce the number of EV charging stations along federally designated alternative fuel corridors from 41 planned locations to 16, allowing more of the state’s $109 million in National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure funding to go toward areas with fewer chargers.

MONKS from page A1

are still 20 days to go, likely the coldest and most choked with crowds that they’ve encountered yet. And every person they pass, every day, is seeing them for the rst and only time.

More than 70 people emerge from the apartment complexes on both sides of the street, interrupting their storm prep to see them. Some drove from their apartment and parked in the entrance driveway — taking their car the tenth of a mile to see these men walking across the country.

Police o cers stop tra c, turning cars back to take another route. Most drivers unroll their window to explain why they should be allowed to pass. A van approaches slowly, with ashing lights, and cell phones are held aloft. “Here they come,” someone shouts, but it’s a false alarm. The van, advertising a local radio station, honks, and the passengers wave.

People go back to waiting. A news helicopter hovering nearby gives a good estimate of how close they are. Someone has a live stream up on their phone, reporting that they “just went under the bridge.” Someone else complains that the online map isn’t updating. One woman talks on her cell phone, explaining to a friend where the nearest shopping center is so she can park. Finally, police motorcycles appear, lights ashing. Again,

CRIME LOG

Jan. 19

“The revised guidance enables the department to focus its support for the build out of a statewide EV charging network in areas of the state where there are fewer chargers and greater needs,” said State Transportation Secretary Daniel Johnson.

The change also accounts for private development that has occurred since the NEVI program began. Several private companies have built charging infrastructure in areas originally identi ed as potential sites for federally funded stations.

“Most of North Carolina’s alternative fuel corridors are fully built out based on the existing charging stations and those charging contracts that have been awarded,” said Heather Hildebrandt, NCDOT’s Statewide Initiatives manager. “We want to help ensure that the rms receiving NEVI funds will continue to be economically viable.”

NCDOT published a map of the 16 remaining corridor sites on its website last week and plans to issue a request for proposals in late March for businesses interested in building and operating stations. Companies will have 45 days to respond.

The NEVI program reimburses private companies up to 80% of the cost to construct and operate charging stations for ve years, after which the stations continue operating without government support.

The monks made their way from Charlotte, north to Greensboro, then through Randolph and Chatham counties, including passing through Pittsboro.

cell phones pop up, at the ready, to capture the striking image of the monks coming over the hill, in a group, walking for peace.

Except there is no striking image. It’s easy to see the police lights, the long line of tra c trailing behind and the people lining the road, crowding in front of them to get a good picture. The small cluster of monks, however, doesn’t stand out.

As they get closer, their earth-tone robes are visible. They walk, single le. The lead monk carries a sta . Another carries a ag. They walk quickly. People trying to catch up to the group after they pass have to jog to make up the ground. Their arms swing. They say nothing. There’s no message, no sermon, no

Stephanie Nicole Patterson, 47, homeless, of Vass, was arrested by MCSO for misdemeanor larceny and possession of stolen goods.

Jan. 20

• Je rey Sheldon Springer, 29, of Norwood, was arrested by MCSO for driving while license revoked after impaired revocation notice and failure to reduce speed.

Jan. 21

Heather Lee Blue, 29, of Vass, was arrested by MCSO for communicating threats and injury to personal property.

William Charles Cox, 52, of Vass, was arrested by MCSO for driving while impaired.

David Lamont Ray, 23, of Vass, was arrested by MCSO for assault by strangulation, possession of rearm by felon, obtaining property by false pretense and felony conspiracy.

• Stephen Boyd Strickland, 57, of Pembroke, was arrested by MCSO for violation of

wisdom. They just walk. They are the embodiment of the cliché — a calm in the storm of chaos swirling around them, both on the street and in the nation they just crossed.

One shyly returns a wave to a child. Several people step forward with owers. One monk near the back accepts a bouquet from a bystander. He walks on, and after going a short distance, he begins peeling owers out of the bouquet, one at a time, and handing them to people watching them pass.

The crowd begins to break up. There is a storm to prepare for, photos and videos to post. People rave about how moving the experience was, including many who may have missed the point entirely. They walk on.

domestic violence protective order.

Jan. 22

Shomarii Zykai Hailey, 20, of Southern Pines, was arrested by MCSO for attempted rst degree burglary and communicating threats.

• Vernon Lee Tyler, 61, was arrested by MCSO for simple assault.

Jan. 23

Jaleel Jabar Liles, 28, was arrested by MCSO for obtaining property by false pretense.

Braxton Lee Russell, 29, was arrested by MCSO for misdemeanor larceny.

Jan. 25

• Richard Michael Hussey, 48, of Seagrove, was arrested by MCSO for breaking and entering, possession of burglary tools, injury to property involving nonferrous metal, possession of methamphetamine, possession of stolen goods, possession of drug paraphernalia and resisting a public o cer.

moore happening

Here’s a quick look at what’s coming up in and around Moore County:

Jan.

29, 30, & 31

Moore County Historical Association: Shaw House and Property Tours

1-4 p.m.

The Moore County Historical Association’s grounds and properties are open for tours on Thursday, Friday and Saturday afternoons. Tours are free and open to all ages. Enjoy learning about the impressive history of Moore County.

Shaw House 110 Morganton Road Southern Pines

Jan. 30

Friday Night Jazz at the Sunrise: Part 1 –Hollywood Gold 7-9 p.m.

This presentation by the Moore County Arts Council introduces audiences to Hollywood’s golden era of lm, Broadway musicals and dance sensation classics. Tickets are $34.

Sunrise Theater 250 NW Broad St. Southern Pines

Feb. 1

Movie: “Hamnet” 3-5 p.m.

The lm explores the love story behind Shakespeare’s classic "Hamlet." Tickets are $12.50 each.

Sunrise Theater 250 NW Broad St. Southern Pines

Feb.

4

Dementia Caregiver Support Group 1 p.m.

Caregivers receive education and support along with strategies for caring for family members and other loved ones su ering from dementia. The group is led by Pat Soler and Dale Krech, certi ed facilitators through the Dementia Alliance of NC. Contact Kelly Pritchard at 910-715-4224 for more information.

Shadowlawn Room Clara McLean House 20 First Village Drive Pinehurst

THE CONVERSATION

Trip

Ho end, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

VISUAL VOICES

Argentina’s election and 2026

Argentina was once one of the wealthiest countries in the world.

ARGENTINE PRESIDENT Javier Milei’s extraordinary electoral victory in October could be a good omen for American Republicans in 2026.

Milei’s party, La Libertad Avanza, won 64 seats in the House of Deputies. His party and allied groups also won 14 seats in the nation’s Senate. Before the election, they only had 37 deputies and six senators.

If Republicans win a similar victory in 2026, it would mean something like 290 Republicans in the House (a roughly 140-vote majority) and 73 Republican Senators (a 36-vote majority).

Of course, a swing like that is impossible in America. Only one-third of the Senate is up for election in any given year, and gerrymandering has created some near disaster-proof House seats.

However, Milei’s victory has proven a reform movement can undertake deeply disruptive, painful changes and still increase its share of power.

Like President Donald Trump, Milei is a dedicated reformer who is determined to profoundly change a system that has been crippling his country for at least eight decades. It is easy to forget that Argentina was once one of the wealthiest countries in the world. In 1913, the average Argentinian had about 80% of the income of the average American. It took several generations of socialist politicians to destroy Argentina’s wealth. Today, the average

COLUMN | MICHAEL BARONE

Argentinian has about 30% of the income of the average American.

This is a lesson that followers of Zohran Mamdani, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders should consider.

If the American big government socialists do for the United States what Juan Peron and the Argentinian socialists did for their country, every American will rapidly become poorer.

Milei brought an intellectual understanding of conservative economics, a great television personality and a willingness to dismantle the old order. Elon Musk’s antics with the chainsaw was actually a tribute to Milei — who had won the presidency with that as his symbol. His pledge was to take a chainsaw to the bureaucracy, regulations and political machines crippling Argentina’s economy.

And Milei implemented his campaign promises. In his rst two years, he slashed spending by 30%, cut regulations and shrunk the bureaucracy by 55,000 workers (a 15% reduction). He has also cut the number of ministries from 19 to nine, lowered taxes, and encouraged economic growth and investment in Argentina. All this led to a budget surplus for the rst time in 14 years.

Milei clearly intends to build on this victory. He told an election night crowd, “Today marks the beginning of building a great Argentina. This result is nothing more and nothing less than the con rmation of the mandate we

assumed in 2023.” He attributed the victory to the voters’ “determination to change the destiny of the nation irreversibly.”

Milei has an ambitious follow-on reform program. He plans to change labor laws, make contracts more exible — and make even deeper cuts to federal spending and regulation. He plans to have more tax cuts and to dramatically streamline bureaucratic procedures. His major goal is to increase the economy and boost salaries and jobs. To achieve this he wants to make it much easier to start new companies.

As Milei summarized it election night: “Argentines showed that they don’t want to return to the model of failure. … We want to be a country that grows. We want to make Argentina great again.”

No wonder Trump took great pleasure in Milei’s victory — and why he and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent went all in to help him. Every Republican should take heart. Faced with a choice between reform or decay, free enterprise or big government socialism, and freedom or bureaucratic rule, voters will side with what works. They did in Argentina.

Newt Gingrich is former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. He is the founder of Gingrich360, where he writes syndicated columns and comments on politics and current events.

Trump’s outrageous threats get practical results

Trump has proved that the border can be controlled under current legislation.

THINK ABOUT IT. Heads of government do not normally reveal the texts of private communications from other heads of state. Yet that is what Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store of Norway two Sundays ago on the rst weekend of the World Economic Forum in Davos, where the international press would have no di culty nding appalled foreign leaders to comment.

You could think of this as a hostile act of a statesman appalled that the American head of government does not know that the government of Norway does not decide who gets the Nobel Peace Prize. It is probably better to think of it as an intervention by a sympathetic observer who has noticed that Donald Trump backs down from untenable positions in response to ructions in political and nancial markets.

Which is what Trump has done between the publication of his letter and his speech at Davos last Wednesday. The Sunday before he seemed to be threatening war with Denmark, and European commentators, not without reason, lamented that he was risking breaking up the NATO alliance out of pique of not being awarded a prize by a committee that was never going to honor a nonleftist American president.

Proof of which was the granting of that prize to Barack Obama in 2009 for what even Obama himself admitted was for no tangible accomplishment. And Trump has never forgotten the ridicule heaped on him by Obama at the 2011 White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, ridicule that led directly to that ride down the Trump Tower escalator four years later.

Actually, Trump has some valid points on Greenland. It sits astride missile, drone and air transport routes between North America and western Russia and eastern Europe. The United States would have even more exibility than it does under current agreements with Denmark if it were to become U.S. territory.

That’s one reason the U.S. holds on to Guam

in the west Paci c and has spent billions upgrading military facilities there.

All that said, Trump’s usual negotiating technique of starting o with extravagant demands was, in the careful words of social scientist Charles Murray, “next-level crazy.” Denmark has been an active ally of the United States in Afghanistan and Iraq, has increased its rate of defense spending above levels Trump demanded, and has adopted immigration policies in line with Trump’s advocacy.

With Denmark as with Canada, as with fellow Republicans in Georgia and other states, Trump’s obnoxious maximalist demands have alienated him from sympathy and empowered the forces against him. Other leaders have gured out that he requires gushers of praise to permeate every dialogue, and they’re probably ready with encomiums for his avowals in his Davos speech that he won’t use violence to obtain Greenland.

It has to be said that Trump’s bluntness and braggadocio have had some of its intended e ect. The American Enterprise Institution’s Yuval Levin, in an interview with The New York Times’ Ezra Klein, made the point that many of Trump’s lurching policy changes, not codi ed into law, can easily be wiped away by the next Democratic administration, perhaps even by a Democratic House of Representatives next year.

But despite his own preference for procedural regularity in making institutional change, Levin admits that “they’ve driven a lot of change that will be durable.” Initial polling reaction to Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, has been negative. But there’s no doubt that Trump has proved that the border can be controlled under current legislation — which would increase the political cost of any subsequent administration adopting the open border policy of Joe Biden’s.

It is also telling that the best estimates

of both pro- and anti-immigration analysts are that the substantial numbers of ICE deportations from within the United States, far above those of other recent administrations, are orders of magnitude lower than the numbers of self-deportations. As on other issues (like military recruitment), Trump is uninterested in institutional change but interested in sharply changing the behavior of the larger public.

The e ect of Trump policies, and the possibility that they may be put back in place at some later date, will likely discourage many illegal aliens from living in this country more or less permanently, as some 10 million have been up through January 2025. As I wrote last fall, “Who will want to make long-term plans that can be ruined by sudden deportation or hurried self-deportation?”

We learn from experience, and just as the former real estate developer sometimes seems to accept discipline from nancial markets, so the former reality TV show host sometimes seems to accept discipline from the ratings. On Greenland, he has responded to the cues of the markets and the ratings and backed o from threats of force while retaining the possibility of increasing the already signi cant U.S. presence there. Meanwhile, the NATO alliance remains in place, with its increased number of European members spending increasing percentages of their economies on defense. Three more years of this Trump administration will strain and irritate foreign leaders and American politicians, with wild threats and childish petulance driving one crisis after another. But it may continue to get them, often grudgingly, doing things Trump’s way.

Michael Barone is a senior political analyst for the Washington Examiner, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and longtime co-author of “The Almanac of American Politics.” Copyright 2026 Creators.com

US aircraft carrier arrives in the Middle East as tensions with Iran remain high

The USS Abraham Lincoln departed San Diego from the region in November

By Konstantin Toropin The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and three accompanying warships have arrived in the Middle East, bringing a renewed potential that President Donald Trump could opt to order airstrikes on Iran over its crackdown on protesters.

The carrier, along with three destroyers, “is currently deployed to the Middle East to promote regional security and stability,” U.S. Central Command said Monday on social media.

The strike group was in the Indian Ocean, Central Command said, and not in the Arabian Sea, which borders Iran. It will bring thousands of additional service members to the region, which has not had a U.S. aircraft carrier since the USS

“We have a massive eet heading in that direction, and maybe we won’t have to use it.”

President Trump

military action if Iran carried out mass executions of prisoners or killed peaceful demonstrators during a crackdown on protests that began in late December. At least 5,973 people have been killed and more than 41,800 detained, according to activists. The o cial Iranian death toll is far lower, at 3,117 dead.

be keeping his options open.

Last Thursday aboard Air Force One, he said his threatened military action would make last year’s U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites “look like peanuts” if the government proceeded with planned executions of some protesters.

The aircraft carrier hosts multiple squadrons of aircraft, including F-35 Lightning II ghter jets and F/A-18 Super Hornet ghter jets. Meanwhile, the destroyers bring with them hundreds of missiles, which could include dozens of Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles.

In addition to the aircraft carrier and its hardware, the U.S. military said the Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle ghter jet now has a presence in the region.

Analysts who follow ight-tracking data have noticed dozens of U.S. military cargo planes also heading to the region.

Gerald R. Ford was ordered in October to sail to the Caribbean as part of a pressure campaign on then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Trump told reporters last

week that the ships were sent to the region “just in case.” “We have a massive eet heading in that direction, and maybe we won’t have to use it,” he said.

Trump earlier had threatened

How purge of China’s military leadership could impact its army, future

Five of 6 members of the country’s Central Military Commission were removed

By E. Eduardo Castillo

The Associated Press

BEIJING — China made a major announcement over the weekend, saying it was investigating the army’s top general for suspected serious violations of discipline and law.

Gen. Zhang Youxia was the highest military member just below President Xi Jinping.

The Defense Ministry said Saturday that authorities were investigating Zhang, the senior of the two vice chairs of the powerful Central Military Commission, China’s top military body, and Gen. Liu Zhenli, a lower member of the commission who was in charge of the military’s Joint Sta Department.

The move shakes up virtually the entire commission, chaired by Xi, leaving only one of its six members intact.

“Xi Jinping has completed one of the biggest purges of China’s military leadership in the history of the People’s Republic,” said Neil Thomas, a fellow

of Taiwan

at the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis. For the army and China in general, the full impact of the changes is still unknown. But some experts say the moves also might have repercussions on Beijing’s next move on Taiwan, the self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its own territory. Here are some elements to understand why Zhang’s removal is important.

What was behind the latest military purge

The Defense Ministry announced the measures Saturday but provided no details on the alleged wrongdoing. The next day, the People’s Liberation Army Daily published an editorial that fell short of explaining the speci c reasons, saying only that it was “for suspected serious violations of discipline and law” and showed China’s commitment to punish corruption. That is something Xi has pursued since the early days of his presidency.

Rumors have circulated on social media and there have been some media reports about the changes, but nothing o cial.

“Xi

Jinping has completed one of the biggest purges of China’s military leadership in the history of the People’s Republic.”

Neil Thomas, Asia expert

“I do not believe any evidence publicly released or selectively leaked by Chinese authorities would necessarily re ect the core reason for Zhang’s removal,” said K. Tristan Tang, nonresident Vasey Fellow at Pacific Forum. “The critical point is that Xi Jinping decided to move against Zhang; once an investigation is launched, problems are almost inevitably uncovered.”

Analysts have said the purges are designed to reform the military and ensure loyalty to Xi. They are part of a broader anti-corruption drive that has resulted in punishment for more than 200,000 o cials since the Chinese leader came to power in 2012.

Before Zhang and Liu’s dismissal, the Communist Party

More recently, Trump appeared to back away from possible action, claiming Iran halted the hangings of 800 detained protesters. He has not elaborated on the source of the claim, which Iran’s top prosecutor called “completely false.”

However, Trump appears to

expelled the other vice chair of the commission, He Weidong, in October. He was replaced with Zhang Shengmin, who is now the only commission member.

Since 2012, at least 17 generals from the People’s Liberation Army, or PLA, have been removed from their military positions, among them eight who were former top commission members, according to a review of military statements and state media reports made by The Associated Press.

How a top military change can impact moves on Taiwan

Some think the removals could have repercussions for China’s decisions on Taiwan, but it is far from clear.

China considers Taiwan its own territory and has threatened to take control of the island by force if necessary. China also has increased military pressure and, last month, launched large-scale military drills around Taiwan for two days after the U.S. government announced a major arms sales to Taiwan.

Thomas, from the Asia Society Policy Institute, said the latest purge “makes China’s threat toward Taiwan weaker in the short term but stronger in the long term.”

It would make a military escalation against the island riskier in the immediate term because of “a high command in disarray” but in the long term would mean the army has a more loyal and less corrupt

The activity is similar to last year when the U.S. moved in air defense hardware, including a Patriot missile system, in anticipation of an Iranian counterattack following the bombing of three key nuclear sites. Iran launched over a dozen missiles at Al Udeid Air Base days after the strikes.

leadership with more military capabilities, he said.

Asked if this might reinforce the idea that removing top military brass might show China is not ready for war, Tang from the Paci c Forum said it “does not fundamentally change that assessment.”

“That said,” he added, “I also do not believe the PLA’s combat readiness has been severely disrupted.”

Military commission’s future remains unclear

With the recent changes, the military commission will operate with only one of six members active and Xi at the top as the chair.

The PLA’s Daily editorial said that after the actions against Zhang and Liu, the party is moving to “promote the rejuvenation of the People’s Liberation Army, and inject powerful momentum into building a strong military force.”

But it’s not clear if the ve vacant positions will be replaced soon or if Xi will wait until 2027, when there will be a selection of a new Communist Party Central Committee, the body in charge of also appointing the new military commission members.

Tang, from the Paci c Forum, doesn’t see any pressure on Xi to ll the positions in the short term.

“Unless the objective is to create an internal counterweight to Zhang Shengmin,” the only current member in the commission, he said.

MOORE SPORTS

Pinecrest track and eld athletes win big at conference championships

Patriots athletes took home 17 individual and relay conference titles

North State Journal sta

PINECREST HAD a big day at their conference track and eld meets for the indoor season. The Patriots took home 17 conference titles and 43 spots on the podium.

Junior Wendell Wells V won the boys’ 55 with a time of 6.44 seconds, 0.11 seconds faster than second place. Junior Liam Jackson took third.

Wells also won the 300 meters by more than a second as Pinecrest swept the podium.

Juniors Steven Dawson and Jude Schmitt were second and third, respectively.

Pinecrest repeated the feat in the boys’ 500, with junior Carter Jackson winning rst by nearly a two-second margin. Senior Aden Stone was second and senior Daxton Kimsey third.

Sophomore Luke Yannoni won the boys’ 1,000 by two seconds. Senior Carter Lynn took third.

Junior Gavin Church won the title in the boys’ 1,600 by 12 and a half seconds over teammate, junior Ryland McCloskey. Church also won the 3,200 championship, by more than a minute.

Schmitt took second in the 55 hurdles, just ahead of senior Tyvrian Praylo.

The team of Wells, Schmitt, Jackson and Dawson won the conference title in the 4x200 relay.

Kimsey, Stone, Jackson and junior Heath Turner won the 4x400 title.

Church, McCloskey, senior William Mangum and sophomore Luke McKenzie won the 4x800.

Senior Donovan Chelley took

Pinecrest’s Gavin Church, shown here after an October event, won three conference titles at the indoor meet.

second in the boys’ shot put, with junior Zelden Marsh taking third. Jackson won the high jump with Wells taking second.

Junior Porter Lykins won the pole vault with freshman Jacob Koprowski taking second. Praylo took third in long jump and second in triple jump.

Junior Zaiden Pratt was third in triple jump.

For the girls, sophomore Susan Shank took the title in the 500, with junior Jordyn Reaves taking third.

Pinecrest swept the podium in the girls’ 1,000. Junior Alessia Potts was champion, followed by seniors Brooke Waleski and Cheyenne Paquin.

Sophomore Madeline Dorsch

won the 1,600, with fellow sophomore Mackenzie Dorsch taking second.

Junior Hayley VanPutte won the girls’ 3,200, with Peighton Krimm nishing third.

Junior Palmer Stiles took third in the 55 hurdles. Stiles, seniors Promise Norton and Hadessen Niswender and junior Sylvia Fisher were third in the 4x200 relay. Norton, Waleski, Fisher and Potts won the 4x400. Madeline Dorsch, Waleski, VanPutte and sophomore Alyse McKeithen won the 4x800.

Junior McKenna Christy took third in shot put.

Senior Ruby Rhyne won the pole vault, with junior Lavinia Booker taking second.

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Wendell Wells V

Pinecrest, track and eld

Wendell Wells V is a junior on the Pinecrest track and eld team.

Wells lit it up at the Mid-South 7A/8A Conference Championships. He competed in four events and won conference titles in three of them. He took the boys’ 55-meters with a personal record time of 6.44 seconds, a 0.11-second margin of victory. He then added a title in the boys’ 300 with a personal record time of 34.34, winning by 1.20 seconds. Next came a relay title as he anchored the team that won the 4x200 with a time of 1:28.68, taking the title with a 0.84-second margin. The only event he didn’t win? A second-place nish in the high jump, by two inches, to teammate Carter Jackson.

Clemson’s Swinney alleges tampering by Ole Miss’ Golding, calls for reforms

The coach has provided the NCAA with evidence of illegal tactics

By Brett Martell

The Associated Press

CLEMSON COACH Dabo

Swinney is accusing Mississippi coach Pete Golding of tampering with transfer player Luke Ferrelli and said Friday he has forwarded evidence to the NCAA.

“If you tamper with my players, I’m going to turn you in. It’s just that simple,” Swinney said during a news conference. “I’m not out to get anybody red, but there has to be accountability and consequences for this type of behavior and total disregard for the rules.

“If this happened in the NFL, which is an actual league with rules, they would be ned, they would take draft picks, they hit the cap, whatever,” Swinney continued. “This is such a terrible example for young coaches in this profession. ... To me, this situation is like having an a air on your honeymoon.”

Ferrelli, a former linebacker at California, entered the transfer portal Jan. 2 and committed to Clemson four days later. Ferrelli subsequently enrolled, began classes, and began attending meetings and workouts, Swinney said.

Ferrelli reentered the portal Jan. 22 and committed to Ole Miss.

“You can’t sign with the Browns and practice a week, and then the Dolphins call you and say we’re going to give you a little more money and you say, ‘See ya, boys,’ and go play for the Dolphins. That’s not the real world,” Swinney said.

Ole Miss athletic o -

cials did not respond to Swinney’s allegations. NCAA vice president of enforcement Jon Duncan said in a statement that the association “will investigate any credible allegations of tampering and expect full cooperation from all involved as required by NCAA rules.”

Swinney alleged that Golding maintained contact with Ferrelli after the linebacker had enrolled at Clemson, even texting, “I know you’re signed, but what is your buyout?”

When Swinney found out about it, he said he initially

told Clemson general manager Jordan Sorrells that he wanted to give Golding “some grace” because the Rebels’ coach was newly promoted after Lane Ki n left for LSU over Thanksgiving weekend. Swinney asked Sorrells to tell Ole Miss o cials “that we know what’s going on, and if he doesn’t cease communication, I’m going to turn him in. I really thought that would be the end of it, but it wasn’t.”

Swinney said Ferrelli’s agent con rmed that Golding had continued reaching out to the player, so Clemson

o cials asked for copies of the text messages. “The agent communicated that if we were to add a second year at $1 million to the already agreed-upon deal with Luke, then they would gladly give us whatever we need to turn Ole Miss in,” Swinney said. “Jordan, appropriately, said, ‘No, we’re not doing that.’”

Clemson athletic director Graham Ne said the university’s main reason for making the allegations public was to spur changes to the college football calendar and related rules — or lack thereof — that have

“We’re going to have some screwed-up 30-year-olds ... that have no degrees, that have spent their money, that can’t play football anymore and aren’t connected to anything,”

Dabo Swinney, Clemson coach

contributed to upheaval across the sport.

“The NCAA was surprised a school was willing to come forward as directly and transparently as we were,” Ne said. “We need to look real hard at how we got here but (also) how to get out of it.” Ne added that Clemson was exploring its legal options.

“This is not about a linebacker at Clemson,” Swinney added. “I don’t want anyone on our team that doesn’t want to be here.

“It’s about the next kid and about the message being sent if this blatant tampering is allowed to happen without any consequences.”

Swinney also called the January transfer portal window “stupid,” saying it causes “ at- out extortion in some cases” because players and schools are making major decisions during “such a short period of time, right in the middle of when people are trying to play bowl games, playo games, et cetera.” If the system is not reformed, Swinney warned, there will be unintended consequences for players who transfer among multiple schools while chasing short-term nancial payouts — particularly if they don’t make it to the NFL.

“We’re going to have some screwed-up 30-year-olds ... that have no degrees, that have spent their money, that can’t play football anymore and aren’t connected to anything,” Swinney said.

Rasheeda Harrington

Jan. 4, 1984 – Jan. 17, 2026

Rasheeda Harrington, 42, of Laurinburg, departed this life on January 17, 2026. A funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, January 31, 2026, at Joy Ministry, Laurinburg.

Interment will follow in the Hillside Memorial Park. A viewing and visitation will be held from 1-5 p.m. Friday, January 30, 2026, at Purcell Funeral Home.

Milton T. Dowdy

June 2, 1943 – Jan. 19, 2026

Milton T. Dowdy, 82, of the Needmoore Community in Carthage, N.C., passed away on Monday, January 19, 2026, at his residence.

Thomas L. Ross

June 25, 1980 – Jan. 20, 2026

Thomas L. Ross, 45, departed this life on January 20, 2026. A funeral service will be held at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, January 28, 2026, at Harrington Chapel Free Will Baptist Church. Interment will follow in Serenity Memorial Park. A viewing and visitation will be held from noon until 1 p.m. prior to the service. Services are entrusted to Purcell Funeral Home & Cremation Services.

Mary Jean Pyles

Dec. 27, 1957 – Jan. 20, 2026

Mary Jean Pyles, 68, of Carthage, passed away on Tuesday, January 20, 2026, at the FirstHealth Hospice House in West End, with her loving family by her side. She was born on December 27, 1957, in Yonkers, New York. She was the daughter of the late Vincent and Agnes Pacione Imperia.

Mary is remembered for her love for Christ and her children. She was a fun, adventurous, witty, and often silly woman who loved spending time with her kids. She enjoyed many outdoor activities, including hiking and horseback riding, as well as hanging out with her beloved dog, Roxy. She loved working with wild burros, line dancing to country music, beautiful owers, Hallmark movies, and Taco Tuesdays with her girlfriends. Mary was preceded in death by her parents.

She is survived by her children, Sarah (Steven) Barker and Cody Pyles of Carthage; brothers, Vinny (Patti) Imperia of Tempe, AZ, and Tony (Dee) Imperia of Humbolt, AZ; nieces and nephews, and granddaughter, Riley Barker of Carthage.

A private memorial service will be held by the family at New Covenant Fellowship Church on February 1, 2026, at 6 p.m.

Eric W. Horton

Feb. 28, 1947 – Jan. 19, 2026

Mr. Eric W. Horton, 78, of Aberdeen, North Carolina, entered into eternal rest on Monday, January 19, 2026, at Pinehurst Health and Rehabilitation Center in Pinehurst, North Carolina.

Please keep the family and friends of Mr. Eric W. Horton in your thoughts and prayers.

Arrangements are entrusted to McLeod Funeral Home of Southern Pines, North Carolina.

Tonya Matthews Godwin

Oct. 1, 1970–Jan. 17, 2026

Tonya Matthews Godwin, 55 of Seven Lakes, was set free and entered heaven on Saturday afternoon, January 17, 2026, surrounded by family and friends. Throughout her 20-year battle with Multiple Sclerosis, Tonya never stopped giving thanks and living life fully. She taught everyone to see the best in every situation.

Tonya was raised in Angier, NC by her parents, Glenn and Sonnie Matthews. In addition to her parents, she is survived by her loving husband of 32 years, Rodney Godwin; two children, Kori Rhew (Capen) and Kain Godwin (Cruz); one brother, Nicholas Matthews (Jennifer); granddaughter, Elianna; also survived by many other loving aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, and in-laws. Tonya’s dedicated caregivers, who are like family now, supported her throughout her journey, and the family is so grateful for them.

Tonya was a strong, athletic woman who taught exercise classes, loved boating, hiking, and traveling with her family and friends. She was an avid water skier, and then the neighborhood “coach” for all the kids wanting to experience watersports. Her drive to keep going never stopped and she continued to hold her top spot on the podium as the “best mom”. She was willing to travel wherever Rodney would take her, often watching sunsets from the boat and chasing their children across the country in their RV. She was truly a light in everyone’s lives, and she will be greatly missed.

Tonya’s family sang to her in her nal hours and her mother prayed for her through the end gate. Her ski course of life is complete and there is no doubt that she heard the words “well done my good and faithful servant.” Please consider watching Tonya’s inspiring testimony: Tonya Godwin Testimony: “The Boat Driver and Wipeouts.”

A visitation at 3 p.m. and a celebration of life service at 4 p.m. will be held on Friday, January 23, 2026, at Seven Lakes Baptist Church (1015 Seven Lakes Dr., West End, NC, 27376), with a short reception to follow the service.

In lieu of owers, memorial donations may be made to Accessible Transitions, a nonpro t inspired by Tonya, supporting individuals with severe disabilities at secure. givelively.org/donate/ accessible-transitions.

Dr. Eugene “Gene” Frederick Howden

Feb. 24, 1942 – Jan. 21, 2026

Dr. Eugene (Gene) Frederick Howden, Wednesday, January 21, 2026, at the age of 83, after a long and digni ed struggle with Parkinson’s Disease.

The second of Jack Frederick and Sara (Harbottle) Howden’s three sons, Gene, was born in Muskegon, MI, on February 24, 1942. When he was ve, his family moved to Winter Park, FL, where Gene spent his formative years and developed lifelong friends. He played Little League and Babe Ruth baseball, and before graduating from Winter Park High School, distinguished himself as an outstanding student and athlete, playing varsity baseball and basketball and taking up golf. An avid UNC Tar Heel fan, he attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he met Linda Moritz Howden, his devoted wife of 59 years.

After completing undergraduate prerequisites in three years at UNC, he entered the UNC School of Dentistry, from which he received his DDS in 1966. He was a member of Sigma Nu fraternity and Delta Sigma Delta dental fraternity. Three years of active duty with the United States Naval Dental Corps in San Diego and Pearl Harbor followed. Gene returned to the UNC Dental School to receive a Master’s in Pediatric Dentistry in 1971 while continuing his service in the US Naval Reserve. After completing his Master’s, he resigned his Naval Commission as a Lt. Commander, was elected to Omicron Kappa Upsilon (OKU) dental academic fraternity and joined the Department of Pediatric Dentistry at the UNC Dental School as an Assistant Professor.

In December 1979, Gene opened his private practice in Chapel Hill, where he served his patients for 28 years. He was widely recognized for his professionalism, kindness, and congeniality, and he was respected by his peers, patients, and their parents. During this time, Gene also served as a consultant to the North Carolina Medicaid program, overseeing the compliance to and enforcement of Medicaid regulations by dental providers across the state in partnership

with the North Carolina Attorney General and the FBI. Gene was a dedicated teacher of dentistry throughout his career. Popular with his students, he was honored by them on multiple occasions. He was an active member of local, state, regional, and national professional organizations in which he held numerous leadership roles and for which he taught numerous continuing education courses. His extensive research in the eld of pediatric dentistry led to several coauthored publications in dental journals. He was a Diplomate of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and was a liated with the University of North Carolina Hospitals, Chapel Hill, until his retirement in 2007. He received the Richard F. Hunt Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching early in his career and The Distinguished Service Award from the UNC-CH School of Dentistry in 2012. Leadership came naturally to Gene, who served as President of the East Chapel Hill Rotary Club where he was selected as a Paul Harris Fellow and participated in three Rotary dental mission trips to Haiti and Honduras. He was President, Director, and Campaign Chair of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro United Fund, President, Psi Home Association of Sigma Nu Fraternity, and Dental Coordinator for Adopt a Day Care of Durham-Orange County. As a member of Chapel of the Cross, he led a dental mission trip to San Pedro Sula, Honduras.

Gene was an avid golfer and a member of the Chapel Hill Country Club and the Country Club of North Carolina. He and his wife retired to Pinehurst in 2007, where Gene enjoyed many rounds of golf with the Ayatollahs, the Admirals, and the Tuesday Travel Group.

In addition to his wife, Gene is survived by his son Je rey Brisbin Howden and his wife Nancy; daughter Kimberly Louise Hodulik and her husband Paul; and four grandchildren: Frank Howden, Charles Howden, Stephen Hodulik, and Sydney Hodulik; his brothers William (Phyllis) Howden and Lance (Gale) Howden; and several nieces and nephews.

A celebration of Gene’s life will be held on Saturday, January 31, 2026, at 1 p.m. at Chapel of the Cross Episcopal Church in Chapel Hill, NC. The family will receive friends in the Parish Hall at the church following a private interment in the church garden. In lieu of owers, memorials may be sent to Emmanuel Episcopal Church or The First Health Foundation (FBO Palliative and Hospice Care).

The family would like to express its gratitude to Dr. Walter Morris III, Dr. Richard Murrow, Sondra Williamson, NP, First Health Hospice, Shannon Cummings, De Horton, Matthew Bahr, Michael, Cherelle, Jasmine, and many friends for their loving care and support.

Keith Patrick Pohl

March 5, 1969 – Jan. 17, 2026

Keith P. Pohl, 56, born in Warren, MI, passed away peacefully with family by his side on 01/17/2026.

Keith graduated from East Detroit High School, where he excelled in athletics, earning varsity letters in both football and basketball. Even as an adult, he enjoyed co-ed softball and volleyball with his junior high school friends. He furthered his education to receive a bachelor’s degree in business, focusing on Human Resources, from Eastern Michigan University. Then followed by a master’s degree in labor relations from Wayne State University. For over 30 years, Keith dedicated his career to the eld of Human Resources. Throughout that time, Keith had the opportunity to relocate— from Michigan, to Indiana, and then to North Carolina, where he and his family called home. He served the last 10-plus years as the Human Resource Director at Coty, where he was respected for his leadership and commitment to his colleagues. He loved life in the South, particularly in the Pinehurst and Southern Pines area. He often expressed his appreciation for the wonderful and supportive neighborhood of Pine Grove Village, where he served as

Michael Dwayne Connor

Nov. 27, 1962 – Jan. 17, 2026

Michael Dwayne Connor, beloved husband, father, brother and son, passed away in his home on January 17, surrounded by his family, in Jackson Springs, North Carolina. Mike was 63 years old.

He is survived by his devoted wife of 40 years, Lois Connor, with whom he shared a lifetime of love, family and memories. Mike was a proud father to his three daughters: Ellen Wilson, Erica Michael, son-in-law Chris Michael and Emily Connor.

Mike was a cherished grandfather to Lilly, Mackenzie, Naomi, Dakota and Grant. He was also the great-grandfather to lovely Addison.

Mike is also survived by his father Earl Connor, siblings, Holly Day , Shannon Jones, Eric Connor, and Andy Connor, along with extended family and friends who loved him deeply.

Mike is preceded in death by his mother, Faye Scott.

Mike (Chief Connor) served in law enforcement from 1983 until his retirement as Chief of Aberdeen police in 2013. After retirement, he went on to serve as a Moore County Magistrate for two years and remained parttime in the Aberdeen Police Department until mid-2024. He also served on the Board of the Eagle Springs Fire Dept.

Mike will be remembered for his love of family, his steady presence and the quiet strength and kindness he shared with those around him. He passed peacefully, just as he lived— surrounded by the people who mattered most.

A visitation will be held from 5-8 p.m. on Friday, January 23, 2026, at the Boles Funeral Home In Southern Pines.

A funeral service will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, January 24, 2026, at Yates-Thagard Baptist Church, 3820 Vass Carthage Road, Carthage, NC 28327. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.

HOA president for 10 years. Keith remained an avid Detroit sports fan throughout his life. Some of his fondest memories were traveling to various stadiums to watch a Detroit Lions game with his high school friends. Distance was not an issue for Keith to support or advocate for his favorite team(s). He enjoyed friendly banter with his friends and family over sports. Keith proudly supported the University of Michigan, where he would display their ag outside the home. He always found a way to stay connected to Michigan. Keith shared over 24 wonderful years of marriage with his wife, Cynthia Pohl (née Cook). Together, they raised a loving family, with their daughter, Ashley Pohl; son, Michael (Katharina) Wallace; and granddaughter, Eleanor. Some of Keith and Cindy’s most memorable moments were watching the kids play sports and other activities. They enjoyed spending time at their beach place and made lasting memories on many trips He was preceded in death by his father, Matthew Pohl; mother, Patricia Pohl; and brother, Je ery Pohl. He is survived by his brothers, Michael (Tammy) Pohl, Douglas (Dominique) Pohl; sister, Michelle (David) Sand; sisters-inlaw Kathie Pohl, Barb Pohl, and Wendy (Robert) Schaller; as well as many nieces, nephews, and a grandniece.

A funeral mass will be held on Friday, February 13, 2026, at 9 a.m. at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church, 160 E Vermont Ave., Southern Pines, NC 28387, followed by interment at Pinelawn Memorial Park, Southern Pines. Keith will be deeply missed by all who had the privilege of knowing and loving him. He will forever remain in the hearts of his family and friends. No owers please - if you would like, consider donating to a charity that matters to you in Keith’s memory.

Linda Terry Dixon

July 16, 1949 – Jan. 21, 2026

Mrs. Linda Terry Dixon, 76, of West Southern Pines, North Carolina, entered into eternal rest on Wednesday, January 21, 2026, at her residence.

God Saw You Getting Tired (Frances & Kathleen Coelho)

God saw you getting tired, And a cure was not to be, So He put His arms around you, And whispered, “Come to Me.”

With tearful eyes we watched you, And saw you pass away, And although we love you dearly, We could not make you stay.

A golden heart stopped beating, Hard working hands at rest,

God broke our hearts to prove to us, He only takes the best.

Please keep the family and friends of Mrs. Linda Terry Dixon in your thoughts and prayers.

Arrangements are entrusted to McLeod Funeral Home of

Elijah Williams

Jan. 15, 1936 – Jan. 22, 2026

Mr. Elijah Williams, 90, of Sanford, North Carolina, entered into eternal rest on Thursday, January 22, 2026, at Sanford Health and Rehabilitation.

Please keep the family and friends of Mr. Elijah Williams in your thoughts and prayers.

Arrangements are entrusted to McLeod Funeral Home of Sanford, North Carolina.

Dr. William Foege, leader in smallpox eradication, dies

He was CDC director in the ’70s and ’80s

By Mike Stobbe

The Associated Press

ATLANTA — Dr. William Foege, a leader of one of humanity’s greatest public health victories — the global eradication of smallpox — has died.

Foege died Saturday in Atlanta at the age of 89, according to the Task Force for Global Health, which he co-founded.

The 6-foot-7 inch Foege literally stood out in the eld of public health. A whip-smart medical doctor with a calm demeanor, he had a canny knack for beating back infectious diseases.

He was director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and later held other key leadership roles in campaigns against international health problems.

But his greatest achievement came before all that with his work on smallpox, one of the most lethal diseases in human history. For centuries, it killed about one-third of the people it infected and left most survivors with deep scars on their faces from the pus- lled lesions.

Smallpox vaccination campaigns were well established by the time Foege was a young doctor. Indeed, it was no longer seen in the United States. But infections were still occurring elsewhere, and efforts to stamp them out were stalling.

Working as a medical missionary in Nigeria in the 1960s, Foege and his colleagues developed a “ring containment”

strategy, in which a smallpox outbreak was contained by identifying each smallpox case and vaccinating everyone who the patients might come into contact with.

The method relied heavily on quick detective work and was born out of necessity. There simply wasn’t enough vaccine available to immunize everyone, Foege wrote in “House on Fire,” his 2011 book about the smallpox eradication e ort. It worked and became pivotal in helping rid the world of smallpox for good. The last naturally occurring case was seen in Somalia in 1977. In 1980, the World Health Organization declared smallpox eradicated from the Earth.

“If you look at the simple metric of who has saved the most lives, he is right up there with the pantheon,” said former CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden, who consulted with Foege regularly. “Smallpox eradication has prevent-

ed hundreds of millions of deaths.”

Foege was born March 12, 1936. His father was a Lutheran minister, but he became interested in medicine at 13 while working at a drugstore in Colville, Washington.

He got his medical degree from the University of Washington in 1961 and a master’s in public health from Harvard in 1965. He was director of the Atlanta-based CDC from 1977 to 1983, then held other international public health leadership roles, including stints as executive director at The Carter Center and senior fellow at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

In 2012, President Barack Obama presented Foege with the Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. In 2016, while awarding Foege an honorary degree, Duke University President President Richard Brodhead called him “the Father of Global Health.”

Geo rey Mason, TV producer for coverage of 1972 Munich Olympics hostage crisis, dead at 85

The Duke graduate worked in sports TV for decades

By Joe Reedy The Associated Press

GEOFFREY MASON, who had a ve-decade career in sports television and was best known as the coordinating producer for ABC’s coverage of the 1972 Munich Olympic Games hostage crisis, has died. He was 85.

ESPN said Mason died Sunday in Naples, Florida. He died of natural causes, according to his family.

“Geo was a giant visionary in television, never seeking credit,” former ESPN President Steve Bornstein said. “He preferred leading and mentoring teams, connecting people to projects, and was devoted to people and recovery of all sorts. He was a great teacher and mentor to everyone who came in his orbit.”

Over the course of his career, Mason worked on eight Olympics. As a young producer on Sept. 5, 1972, he was in the control room in Munich, Germany, when the Palestinian militant group Black September stormed the Olympic village and took Israeli Olympic team members hostage.

ABC provided continuous coverage for 22 hours, culminating in a failed rescue attempt where six Israeli coaches and ve athletes died. Jim McKay broke the news with, “They’re all gone.”

Mason was a consultant on the script and every aspect of production for the 2024 feature lm “September 5,” which recreates what it was like in the ABC control room that day. The international broadcast center in Munich was 100 yards away from where the

hostage crisis was taking place in the Olympic village. The movie recreates the moment when West German police stormed the control room and pointed guns at Mason’s face. This happened because one of ABC’s cameras was showing a tactical squad taking position on the roof above the hostages. Mason ended up cutting o the camera’s feed.

It is estimated that nearly 900 million people worldwide at some point viewed ABC’s coverage.

“Geo told me that day there was no chance to think,” said John Magaro, who played Mason, in 2025. “Their singular goal was to stay on the air to keep the story going, to do their job as sports broadcasters. Once the clock starts ticking, there’s no chance to think.”

Mason’s career was largely spent with ABC and ESPN, but he also worked for NBC, Fox, NFL Network and other television entities. He began as a production associate at ABC Sports in 1967, working on “Wide World of Sports” and the 1968 Winter and Summer

Olympics. Over the years, he earned 24 Emmy Awards and was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2010.

He also worked on Super Bowl 25, “Monday Night Football”, the World Series, horse racing’s Triple Crown, the Indianapolis 500, and the FIFA Men’s and Women’s World Cup tournaments.

He is also known for his coverage of the 1986-87 America’s Cup from Fremantle, Australia.

“Geo Mason was a friend and a colleague who had a storied career, touching just about every corner of the sports television industry,” said Bob Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company, which owns ABC and ESPN. “He had a passion for the business, which was evidenced in his prodigious work ethic and the constant love and enthusiasm he exhibited on everything he worked on.

Mason was selected by Jim Valvano as a founding board member of the V Foundation for Cancer Research and a longtime board member of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation. He delivered a eulogy during Betty Ford’s funeral in 2011.

“Geo rey was a force of nature in our industry for six decades, but more important is all the help he gave to so many people through his association with the Betty Ford Center. He changed so many lives personally and professionally,” said former CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus, who worked with Mason at both ABC and NBC.

Mason was a veteran of the U.S. Navy and graduated from Duke University with a bachelor’s degree in sociology in 1963. Survivors include wife Chris, son Geo Jr. and brother David.

STATE & NATION

Members question transparency, consent in PENC’s 2025 union merger

AFPENC o cials maintain they had authority to move the a liation forward

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal

RALEIGH — Members of a teacher’s association in North Carolina are questioning the transparency and consent process involved in a merger with a national teacher’s union.

Last fall, the board of Professional Educators of North Carolina (PENC) unanimously approved an a liation with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), a national labor union representing 1.8 million educators.

PENC rebranded as the American Federation of Professional Educators in North Carolina (AFPENC), with the change announced Oct. 14, 2025, in Charlotte.

AFT President Randi Weingarten and AFPENC President Joanna Loftis signed the agreement, framing it as a “historic” move to amplify advocacy for teacher pay, working conditions and public education funding in a right-to-work state that prohibits collective bargaining and strikes.

Public statements from AFT and AFPENC describe the afliation as the culmination of years of member-driven organizing, aimed at addressing declining membership and limited statewide in uence.

PENC had about 2,082 members in 2022-23, down nearly 4% year over year.

Bene ts touted for the merger include enhanced resources like professional development, legal support, disaster relief, classroom tools and stronger lobbying e orts in Raleigh while emphasizing AFPENC’s continued autonomy as a North Caroli-

“At the time these decisions were made, only eight of the 15 board seats were lled. Those eight were making major decisions for the entire membership without asking us.”

Tim Barnsback, former PENC president

na-focused entity governed by local educators.

However, internal pushback has highlighted concerns about the process’ legitimacy. Past PENC President Tim Barnsback has criticized the a liation as lacking proper member consent.

“I got involved because leadership changes raised legitimate questions about governance and stability, and I believed members deserved clear answers so the organization could remain a strong advocate for public education in North Carolina,” Barnsback told North State Journal. “I support a strong, nonpartisan collective voice for teachers, but any a liation needs to be handled transparently so it strengthens, rather than weakens, educators’ ability to defend public education in North Carolina.”

In formal emails starting Oct. 20, 2025, Barnsback requested key records: pre- and post-afliation bylaws, board vote details (including quorum and motion), explanations of ratication requirements, full minutes, con ict-of-interest policies, the a liation agreement, and the membership list to verify notice and participation.

Responses from leadership from AFTPENC o cials, including Loftis, O ce Administrator Catherine Coleman and Executive Director Donnell McLean, involved initial delays, partial fulllment and some denials.

O cials asserted board authority under the state’s Nonpro t Corporation Act to enter a liations without amending

governing documents or triggering a member vote, deeming the action preliminary.

“I’m not trying to stop the a liation,” said Barnsback. “My concern has always been about process and trust. If educators are going to stand together to protect public education in North Carolina, the organization representing them has to be transparent, accountable and member-driven.

“If the a liation is done properly, with transparency, clear documentation and informed member consent, it has the potential to strengthen educators’ ability to push back against efforts that undermine public schools and teaching.”

A request for a membership list was rejected as unrelated, since o cials asserted no member notice was required for board decisions. Barnsback argued this breached statutory transparency standards and duciary duties.

A Dec. 19, 2025, letter to members extended a Google Form feedback period and promised draft bylaw revisions for a January annual membership vote on amendments. The feedback form originally ran for three days in mid-December.

Critics view this as retroactive legitimization of a done deal, especially after the rebranding and public claims of nality.

Barnsback also noted the disabling of the internal member communication portal amid rising questions, limiting discussion.

“I’ve invested nearly 20 years

in PENC as a member and served as board president during some of the organization’s most successful and in uential years,” Barnsback said. “Watching it unravel because of mismanagement and poor legal and ethical practices has been heartbreaking, especially knowing how much it once meant to educators across North Carolina.”

As of Jan. 9, AFPENC’s website presents the a liation as complete and positive, highlighting its legacy since 1979 and new AFT-backed strengths, with no public acknowledgment of disputes.

North State Journal reached out to AFPENC o cials with several questions regarding voting processes, quorum of the board vote and the board’s authority to enter into the a liation, as well as questions about member feedback and record transparency raised by Barnsback.

Loftis responded to North State Journal, o ering a statement in email, but no detailed answers to the questions posed.

“The executive board of PENC (doing business as AFPENC) engaged in an a liation with AFT with the general governing powers of the organization in pursuance with the PENC bylaws and North Carolina Nonpro t Corporation Act,” Loftis wrote in an email.

“All board decisions toward the a liation were made unanimously at o cial board meetings where a quorum was present. Through the process AFPENC has remained compliant with all state statutes and remains in constant communication with our legal consult.

“The a liation with AFT maintains PENC’s autonomy in governance and leadership. Membership will vote on amended bylaws and articles of incorporation wherein all proper notices will be sent to the general membership as requir-

Rhode Island may ditch Mr. Potato Head license plates after Hasbro’s move to Boston

The plates have raised $60,000 for a local food bank

By Kimberlee Kruesi

The Associated Press

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — It’s been no small potatoes that Rhode Islanders have been able to choose the image of Mr. Potato Head as a specialty license plate for decades.

Yet with Hasbro’s decision to move its headquarters from the smallest state in the U.S. to Boston, two lawmakers say it’s time to hash out whether Rhode Island should continue promoting

one of the company’s most iconic characters. Under the proposal introduced earlier this month, Rhode Island’s Division of Motor Vehicles would stop providing Mr. Potato Head as an option for a specialty license plate. Currently the plate costs around $40, with half of that amount going to help support the Rhode Island Community Food Bank.

Rep. Brian Newberry, a Republican from North Smitheld, said in an email that he led the legislation because Hasbro leaving the state will cause “untold economic harm and loss of tax revenue.”

“There is no reason we should

“There is no reason we should be advertising their products on our license plates.”

Rep. Brian Newberry

be advertising their products on our license plates,” Newberry said. “It may seem trivial compared to many other things but it’s a matter of self-respect.”

Mr. Potato Head license plates were rst issued in 2002 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the beloved toy,

which notably has appeared in the “Toy Story ” lms. The plates include a small image of Mr. Potato Head holding a sign of the Rhode Island Community Food Bank and “help end hunger” at the bottom of the plate.

“The license plate started at a time when Mr. Potato Head was all over the state and was having a moment,” said Kate MacDonald, spokesperson for the food bank, which has received nearly $60,000 over the years due to the plate. “And while it has tapered o over the years, it’s been a steady way for people to contribute.” An email was sent to Hasbro

ed by our bylaws and state law.”

On Saturday, a virtual town hall was held for members to vote on amendments to the organization’s Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws but also ostensibly to address PENC member issues with the merger.

Loftis, McLean and most board members were in attendance, as well as former Democratic State Superintendent candidate Jen Mangrum and current General Assembly House candidate Kelly Van Horn, who changed her party a liation to Republican to challenge Rep. Tricia Cotham (R-Mecklenburg) in this year’s primary.

Attendees indicated to North State Journal that AFPENC leadership didn’t take objections seriously and that questions were de ected or left unanswered.

When members asked about dues increases, they were told the board said that was still undecided. Members were unhappy with that position, saying they were still being asked to vote yes on the merger and trust the board.

Members also asked about union activity in North Carolina, citing an AFT article that says AFPENC has joined picket lines, participated in national political protests and engaged in activities that have never occurred in North Carolina.

Members were then told PENC would be “strengthened by a national union.” Certain union activity, like organized strikes, is illegal for public employees in North Carolina.

The AFT article also says that AFPENC conducted a book giveaway for students in North Carolina that apparently never happened. When asked about it, Loftis said that a book giveaway was planned but admitted it has not yet taken place.

AFT has also sent newsletters containing content focused on AFT President Weingarten’s statements on anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement protests. AFPENC’s annual board meeting is scheduled for Jan. 31 via video conference, at which time the board will vote on the amendment changes presented at the previous Saturday’s meeting.

seeking comment. The toy company announced last year that it would be moving to Boston by the end of 2026 after operating in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, for nearly 70 years.

Mr. Potato Head has been around since the 1950s, when the original toy didn’t come with a plastic potato. Instead, kids had to supply their own vegetable to poke eyes, a nose or mustache into.

Notably, Mr. Potato Head was the rst toy advertised on television in 1952. A Mrs. Potato Head was launched in 1953, followed by brother Spud, sister Yam, and various pets and accessories, according to the National Museum of Play.

Hasbro adopted a plastic spud after new government regulations prevented certain toys from having pointed sharp edges, as well as complaints about children playing with rotting vegetables.