Blog – Moore County Edition

Feb

28

2024

Four teams from county advance to playoffs

SportsMoore County sports

The regular season and conference tournaments are over, meaning the one-and-done playoff season has begun for North Carolina high schools. Two of Moore County’s three boys’ teams, and two of the three girls’ teams will be in action this week after receiving bids from the NCHSAA. Each school in the county has at least one team representing it as teams around North Carolina begin vying for the state title. Here’s a team by team look at the county boys’ and girls’ teams. Boys North Moore saw its season end with a 80-35 loss to Northwood in the Mid-Carolina Conference Tournament…

Feb

21

2024

By Moore County Staff

Union Pines wins state title in wrestling

Sportsmoore county wrestling

A week after finishing second in the state dual team wrestling championships, Union Pines brought home the state title in the individual wrestling tournament. The Vikings were dominant as they won the first wrestling title in school history. Union Pines racked up 144.5 points to post a dominant victory in the NCHSAA 3A championships, beating second-place Eastern Guilford by a 44.5-point margin. The Vikings had two wrestlers win state titles in their respective weight classes and had a total of eight team members place in states. Junior Brock Sullivan won the state title for Union Pines in the 175-pound division.…

Feb

21

2024

By Randolph Record

Early voting underway in Moore County

Businessearly voting

In-person early voting for 2024’s March 5 primary election kicked off on Thursday, Feb. 15 across North Carolina. Statewide, more than 340 early voting sites are open for early voting ahead of the primary. “In-person early voting is one of the ways voters can cast ballots securely in North Carolina,” said Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the State Board of Elections. “The bipartisan election officials who work at each early voting site are prepared for a smooth voting process and to ensure the ballots of eligible voters are counted.” There are 75,487 registered voters in Moore County as of…

Feb

21

2024

By Ryan Henkel

Moore school board approves new high school classes

Newsboard of education

CARTHAGE – The Moore County Schools Board of Education met Monday, Feb. 12, beginning with a number of updates to the high school course catalog for the 2024-25 school year. New classes include AP Drawing and AP 3D Art and Design at Pinecrest High School and Union Pines High School, and “The Bible as History” as a new social studies elective. American History I and II are being replaced with American History, and “American History: Founding Principles, Civics and Economics” will be replaced with “Founding Principles of the United State of America and North Carolina: Civic Literacy.” The prerequisite requirements…

Feb

15

2024

By North State Journal Staff

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Christian Hackett

Sportsathlete of the week

Union Pines, track & field Christian Hackett is a senior for the Union Pines track & field team. The Vikings finished fifth in the boys’ indoor track state championships last week, and Hackett led the way in field events. His high jump of 6 feet, 8.0 inches was good for the state title, four inches higher than the next closest competitor. He also finished ninth in the triple jump with a leap of 40 feet, 5.5 inches. Hackett is a three-sport athlete who is also a forward on the boys’ basketball team and has played safety and wide receiver for…

Feb

15

2024

By Lauren Rose

Pinecrest, Union Pines compete at states in swimming, track

SportsMoore County sports, prep sports

Girls’ basketball The Pinecrest girls’ basketball team lost both games last week, falling, 61-46, at Lee County and 57-53 against Scotland. Ava Depenbrock led the way with 14 points and 17 rebounds against Scotland. Zanodiya McNair had 22 points against Lee and 10 against Scotland. The Patriots are 6-14, 4-6 in the Sandhills, good for fifth place with two games left. Union Pines went 1-1 last week, losing at Richmond, 72-37, and winning at Hoke County, 44-36. Junior Taryn Pekala had a 19-point game at Hoke. The Vikings are now 11-10 and in third in the Sandhills at 5-5. North…

Feb

14

2024

By North State Journal Staff

‘Drastic’ homeowners’ insurance rate hike denied

Newshomeowners insurance

RALEIGH — The N.C. Rate Bureau’s proposed statewide rate hike of 42.2% for homeowners insurance was rejected by North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey on Feb. 6. “I haven’t seen the evidence to justify such a drastic rate increase on North Carolina consumers,” Causey said in a statement. “The Department of Insurance has received more than 24,000 emailed comments on this proposal, with hundreds more policyholders commenting by mail. Consumers deserve a more thorough review of this proposal. I intend to make sure they get that review.” This is the second time a large price hike has been submitted by the…

Feb

14

2024

By Lauren Rose

Rep. Hudson meets with farmers, discusses ag and rural issues

Newsagriculture, rep. richard hudson

‌SILER CITY — Congressman Richard Hudson (NC-09) joined farmers and agricultural interests for a discussion on Thursday, Feb. 8 at Bestfood Cafeteria in Siler City. In between bites of fried chicken and refills of sweet tea, Hudson talked about the importance of the agriculture industry in North Carolina. “Our farmers are backbone of our communities and in addition to providing us with the most abundant, cheapest food in the world, the food and fiber we need to survive as a country comes from our farmers,” Hudson told North State Journal. “I’ve always been committed to helping them fight off federal…

Feb

07

2024

By Randolph Record

Union Pines wrestling keeps knocking at the door

Sportsunion pines wrestling

For the third straight season, the Union Pines Vikings earned a spot in the state championship match. For the third straight year, however, the season came to a bittersweet end as the Vikings watched another team celebrate a state title Union Pines took runner up in the NCHSAA 3A Dual-team championships, falling to Eastern Guilford, 36-21. It was the first state title for Eastern Guilford wrestling, and it left the Vikings still seeking to break through with a state title. The Union Pines wrestlers also finished second in the state in 2022 and 2021, losing to Fred T. Foard both…

Feb

07

2024

By Lauren Rose

Pinehurst approves rezoning and annexations for residential developments

NewsVillage of Pinehurst Council

PINEHURST – The Village of Pinehurst Council met Tuesday, Jan. 23, addressing a rezoning request, annexation petition and other business. First up was a request to rezone 32.14 acres of property, off Chicken Plant Road, from medium density residential zoning (R-30-CZ) to a low density residential and light agricultural district (R-210). “[The property] is vacant with one home now currently under construction that has been permitted,” said planning director Alex Cameron. “The development proposal would eventually be for two other residential homes along with the one that is under construction now with lots that are 10+ acres in size each.”…