Matt Mercer – Moore County Edition

Mar

31

2023

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By Matt Mercer

NC congressional delegation honors Coble

Government, News

Members of North Carolina’s congressional delegation donned their madras jackets on Friday, March 24, to honor the late Howard Coble on his 92nd birthday. A Republican who lived in Greensboro, Coble served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 30 years representing the Triad and surrounding areas. He died in 2015. Coble was a graduate of Appalachian State University and earned his law degree from UNC-Chapel Hill. He served in the Coast Guard and served two terms in the North Carolina House of Representatives following a stint as the state’s Revenue secretary. Rep. Richard Hudson (NC-09) organizes the bipartisan recognition…

Jan

09

2023

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By Matt Mercer

Moore school board moves to ban TikTok

Government, News

PINEHURST — On Monday, Jan. 9, the Moore County School Board moved to ban TikTok from county devices and internet networks. During the morning work session ahead of the regular meeting, a resolution from chairman Robert Levy was presented to the board. Among the reasons in the resolution are the "security concerns of TikTok and ByteDance, ltd. outweigh its educational value to our students." Many states have banned the service from government-owned devices and a ban was included recently for federal government devices in a bill passed late last year. It is believed that once formally approved, Moore County Schools will…

Dec

07

2022

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By Matt Mercer

Moore County suffers stunning attack on power grid

NewsMoore County, power grid, Power outage, power station, vandalism

PINEHURST — On Saturday, Dec. 3, Moore County suffered an attack on two substations that left over 40,000 residents and businesses in the dark. Just after 7 p.m., several different communities across Moore County began experiencing power outages. As utility companies began responding to the different substations, evidence was discovered that indicated that intentional vandalism had occurred at multiple sites. Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields said at a Sunday news conference in Carthage that authorities have not determined a motivation. The sheriff said it appeared the culprits pulled up and “opened fire on the substation, the same thing with the…

Aug

10

2022

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By Matt Mercer

Hudson, Clark face off for new 9th District seat

Government, News9th District, Clark, Hudson

RALEIGH — Following a court-ordered redistricting process that will be in effect for 2022 only, the new 9th Congressional District runs from Randolph County down to the Sandhills, taking in all of Chatham, Lee, Hoke, Moore, and Scotland counties as well as parts of Cumberland, Harnett, and Richmond counties. The two candidates advancing from the May 17 primary are Republican U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson and Democratic state Sen. Ben Clark. Hudson, who was first elected to Congress in 2012, found his home in Cabarrus County drawn into a district where fellow Republican Dan Bishop was currently representing much of the…

May

11

2022

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By Matt Mercer

National conservative author to speak at Moore Republican dinner

Newsconservative, Moore Republican dinner

PINEHURST — Nationally-renowned conservative author Deroy Murdock will be in Moore County this weekend to speak at the Moore County Republican Party’s annual Lincoln Reagan Dinner. A Fox News contributor and prolific writer, Murdock’s weekly columns appear in the New York Post and the Washington Times. A native of Los Angeles, he worked on the 1980 and 1984 presidential campaigns for Ronald Reagan has lectured at the Cato Institute, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Heritage Foundation. He spoke with North State Journal ahead of his visit to the Sandhills about the 2022 midterms and the current state of…

Jan

20

2022

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By Matt Mercer

Pinehurst outdoor dining ban at odds with businesses

Business, Entertainment, News

PINEHURST – The Village of Pinehurst has enacted a ban on outdoor street dining, running counter to policy goals pushed by the General Assembly and Gov. Roy Cooper in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Expanded outdoor dining has been a rare area of bipartisan agreement between Republican legislative leaders and the Democratic governor, with outdoor options first executed by via executive order from Cooper and later codified into state law. A memo circulated during the Village of Pinehurst’s Jan. 11 work session following the regularly scheduled council meeting would end the ability of restaurants to serve food and alcohol…

Jan

12

2022

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By Matt Mercer

Two Republicans in race to succeed McNeill

News, Politics, StateAllen McNeill, NCGA

ASHEBORO — Republican State Rep. Allen McNeill’s (R-Randolph) announcement that he would not seek re-election in the N.C. House of Representatives in the 2022 election has drawn two candidates to succeed him in the state house seat covering much of Randolph and Moore counties. The 2021 redistricting session changed the boundaries of District 78, shedding some precincts in eastern Randolph County and adding much of western Moore County including the village of Pinehurst. Both candidates who have announced their intention to run are Moore County residents. Neal Jackson, pastor of Beulah Baptist Church in Bennett, had filed for the seat…

Sep

27

2021

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By Matt Mercer

Will NC become latest state to offer sports betting?

Sports

RALEIGH – A bill currently in the General Assembly would add North Carolina to a growing list of states offering sports betting following a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision that permits states to do so. The decision in the case, Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association, opened sports betting to each individual state. In a 6-3 decision, Justice Samuel Alito said that, “Congress may not simply ‘commandeer the legislative process of the States by directly compelling them to enact and enforce a federal regulatory program.’” The result permitted each state to consider their own plans for sports betting. Since that…

Jul

07

2021

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By Matt Mercer

Celebrating freedom is a local tradition

NewsIndependence Day, Millboro, Tony Trogdon

MILLBORO — Taking the scenic route home can take you through some interesting places in North Carolina. Taking the scenic route in 1999 led Tony Trogdon to start a Randolph County tradition that has lasted 22 years — an Independence Day parade. Trogdon and his wife, Sondra, took a drive to Mount Airy in 1999 on the Fourth of July. They decided to take the long way home and found themselves in the middle of a parade in the town of Shoals in Surry County. The Trogdons saw classic cars, trucks, bicycles, floats, and emergency vehicles parading along a rural…