VOLUME 145 ISSUE 89 | WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2025 | STANLYNEWSJOURNAL.COM
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Stanly NewS Journal THE STANLY COUNTY EDITION OF NORTH STATE JOURNAL
WHAT’S HAPPENING
Hall pass The Charlotte Symphony came to the Stanly County Agri-Civic Center earlier this month, playing classics new and old.
U.S. flight cancellations will continue even after shutdown ends Air travelers should expect worsening cancellations and delays this week even if the government shutdown ends. The Federal Aviation Administration is moving ahead with deeper cuts to flights at 40 major U.S. airports. After a weekend of thousands of canceled flights, airlines scrapped another 2,300 flights Monday and more than 1,000 for Tuesday. Air traffic controllers have been unpaid for nearly a month. Some have stopped showing up to work, citing the added stress and the need to take second jobs. Controller shortages led to average delays of four hours at Chicago O’Hare on Monday.
Record-low temps shock Southeast while snowfall blankets parts of Northeast The southeastern U.S. has plunged into record-low temperatures, affecting 18 million people under a freeze warning across Alabama, Florida and Georgia. The cold spell moved from the Northern Plains and brought an abrupt transition to wintry temperatures. Some daily records were shattered, including a low of 28 degrees in Jacksonville, Florida. In Florida, temperatures led to a “falling iguana advisory” as iguanas froze into survival mode and fell from trees. Meanwhile, parts of the Great Lakes and Northeast experienced significant snowfall, causing hazardous driving conditions. Forecasters expected temps to rise by the end of the week.
Already-struggling economy furher hurt by shutdown Washington, D.C. The longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history appears to be nearing an end, but not without leaving a mark on an already-struggling economy. About 1.25 million federal workers missed at least one or two paychecks. Thousands of flights have been canceled. Government contract awards have slowed and some food aid recipients have seen their benefits interrupted. Most of the lost economic activity will be recovered when the government reopens, as federal workers receive back pay. But some canceled flights won’t be retaken, missed restaurant meals won’t be made up, and some postponed purchases by workers will not happen at all.
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Albemarle receives clean audit report for ABC system The Albemarle ABC Board gave the city $483,000 By Jesse Deal Stanly News Journal ALBEMARLE — The Albemarle City Council was recently presented with the fiscal 2024-25 audit report for the city’s Alcoholic Beverage Control system. At the council’s meeting on Nov. 3, Durham Lewis, CPA, shared the full report, summarizing that the Albemarle ABC Board had a clean audit overall for the data reviewed for June 30, 2024, to June 30, 2025. “That paragraph indicates that we were able to give an unqualified opinion to the financial statements,” Lewis said. “That’s the highest opinion that
can be given by an auditor to a set of financial statements. That means the books and records were in good order. There were no discrepancies and there were no problems.” The auditor said the Albemarle ABC Board provided nearly a half of a million dollars to the city in taxes over the past fiscal year, coming up to a $43,000 increase over the previous fiscal year. “The board was able to distribute $20,510 for law enforcement, $28,714 for alcohol education — which is computed according to the formulas laid down by the state ABC Commission — and $483,000 was distributed to the city,” Lewis said. A total of $4.8 million has been given to the city since the board’s inception. “Council, I would say to look
“There were no discrepancies and there were no problems.” Durham Lewis at the $483,000 and think about the difficult budget we had this year,” Mayor Ronnie Michael said. “Without that, where would we be? That’s about a two-and-a-half-cent property tax increase for us to be equivalent to that amount. This is very much needed for our budget because this year is going to be even tougher.” Albemarle’s lone ABC Store located at 1930 E. Main St. brought in a gross profit of $1.4 million last year. Other statistics included in the audit report were a cash
Uwharrie Players present ‘Smoke on the Mountain’ “We had a great opening weekend of ‘Smoke on the Mountain.’” The Uwharrie Players
The local theater group opened the production last weekend By Jesse Deal Stanly News Journal ALBEMARLE — After an opening run last weekend, The Uwharrie Players are returning to the Albemarle Neighborhood Theatre this weekend with their stage production of “Smoke on the Mountain.” Showtimes are scheduled for Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., with a Sunday matinee at 3 p.m. “We had a great opening weekend of ‘Smoke on the Mountain,’” The Uwharrie Players said in a statement. “Only three more chances to
see this show. Don’t miss it!” The musical comedy marks the third and final live performance of 2025 for the Albemarle-based community theater organization, which has been celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Earlier in the season, the group staged “You Can’t Take It With You” in the spring and “Once Upon a Mattress” in the summer. All three main stage productions in the anniversary season have been encore performances of fan favorites from the company’s history. “Smoke on the Mountain” was first performed by The Uwharrie Players in 1998. Conceived by Alan Bailey and based on a book by Connie See THEATRE, page A5
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balance of $1,083,422, an inventory of $679,178, net fixed assets of $965,682, liabilities payables of $159,683 and a net position of $2,313,862. Additionally, there was $5.9 million for the year in total gross sales, $1.3 million paid out in various liquor taxes and a total cost of sales at $3.1 million. “That indicates that the board was on strong financial footing,” Lewis said. “We had a strong cash position and the liabilities were paid current.” The membership of the Albemarle ABC board is currently held by Chairman John McIntyre, General Manager Cathryn Clayton, and Members Jeffrey Flake and Terry Morgan. Under the board’s division of revenue, gross profits are distributed to law enforcement and alcohol education, while 100% of net profits are given to the Albemarle General Fund. The Albemarle City Council will hold its next regular meeting on Nov. 17 at 6:30 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers.
inside Grammynominee David Phelps opens up ahead of his performance at the Stanly Agri-Center on Friday, page A5.
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