Blog – Moore County Edition

Feb

02

2022

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By A.P. Dillon

Book controversy heads to school board

Newsbooks, Education, library, schools

Alex Gino on September 15, 2016 in front of the Haus der Berliner Festspiele in Berlin during their participation at the section International Children´s and Young Adult Literature of the 16th International Literature Festival Berlin. (Christoph Rieger | CC BY-SA 4.0) Board members Holmes and Levy both have objections to “George.” RALEIGH — The controversial book “George” remains on the library shelves in two of the district’s schools while a complaint filed over the book heads to the Moore County school board. The book, written by Alex Gino, has been considered controversial for its transgender storyline of a fourth-grade boy…

Feb

01

2022

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By Moore County Staff

All three county teams make state wrestling tournament

Sports

PINEHURST — The Union Pines Vikings captured their 15th straight conference championship in varsity wrestling last week. The Vikings topped the Sandhills Athletic Conference tournament with 224 points. Pinecrest was second with 203.5 points. Following the conference tournaments, all three county schools advanced to the state tournament. North Moore bowed out after a first-round loss to Albemarle in the 1A tournament. Pinecrest, a regional host and #1 seed, advanced to the third round with wins over East Chapel Hill and Wakefield and will host New Bern in the third round of the 4A tournament on Wednesday. Union Pines, also a…

Feb

01

2022

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By Moore County Staff

Gregory will retire from board of commissioners

Government, News

CARTHAGE — Louis Gregory, who is serving his second term on the board of county commissioners, has announced his retirement, effective March 1. Gregory, a Republican, had a long career in law enforcement before joining the commissioners board, including serving as the police chief in Whispering Pines. He is serving his second year as vice chair of the board. Gregory’s replacement must be a Republican and reside in District 2, which includes Pinehurst, Seven Lakes and Taylortown. N.C. law requires the board of commissioners to consult with the county executive committee of the GOP before filling the vacancy.

Jan

28

2022

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By Moore County Staff

More winter weather expected this weekend

NewsPinehurst, snow, Weather, winter

Pinehurst Resort after a light snow on January 23, 2022 (David Sinclair | For the North State Journal) RALEIGH — Residents and officials across North Carolina are bracing for a powerful winter storm expected to produce snow and high winds Friday and Saturday. Heavy snow and strong winds were forecasted to begin in parts of N.C. on Friday evening, according to the National Weather Service. The system will then intensify as a nor’easter and bring snowy conditions up the East Coast to New England, where forecasters warned of localized snowfall totals of up to 20 inches and wind gusts of…

Jan

28

2022

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By JILL BLEED and SEAN MURPHY Associated Press

‘Tiger King’ resentenced to 21 years in prison

Entertainment, News

OKLAHOMA CITY — A federal judge resentenced “Tiger King” Joe Exotic to 21 years in prison on Friday, reducing his punishment by just a year after an appeals court ordered a new sentence. Joe Exotic — whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage — was convicted in a murder-for-hire case involving animal welfare activist Carole Baskin. Both were featured in Netflix’s “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness.” Maldonado-Passage was resentenced after a federal appeals court ruled last year than improper sentencing guidelines were used. Prosecutors say Maldonado-Passage tried to hire two people — including an undercover FBI agent — to kill…

Jan

28

2022

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By Moore County Staff

Three county students named Park Scholarship finalists

NewsEducation, NC State, schools

RALEIGH — Three Moore County seniors have been named finalists for N.C. State's top merit scholarship. Natham Timothy Auman of Union Pines, Molly Sue Smith of North Moore and Ethan Alexander Spain of Pinecrest were named finalists for the Park Scholarship. The Park Scholarships program announced Friday that 112 finalists were named from 2,260 applicants from across the United States. Nathan Timothy Auman, son of Bryan and Stephanie Auman, is from Jackson Springs. Auman will graduate from Union Pines High School where he is the commanding officer of the Navy JROTC, editor-in-chief of the yearbook and core leader of Student2Student.…

Jan

26

2022

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By Robert Levy

LEVY: Woke English: a new American language

Opinionsopinion, Robert Levy, woke

What most Americans want is to live in a nation where everyone civilly communicates with one another. It has often been said that a common language is a necessity for a successful nation. While the rule has its exceptions in places such as Canada and Switzerland, even those countries have established dominant languages the mastery of which is a condition precedent to success. This argument became important in most of the United States until almost the close of the last century. Students were made to study and pass English courses from kindergarten through high school. Even children for whom English…

Jan

26

2022

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By Robert Bortins

BORTINS: Free markets produce better outcomes

Opinionsinflation, Joe Biden, opinion, Robert Bortins

The things you used to buy, you can’t find; and if you can find it, you can’t afford it. Inflation is when your hard-earned dollars buy less than what they did in the past. If you had $100 in your pocket on Jan. 1 of 2020, it will only purchase $94 worth of goods on Jan. 1 of 2022. In March of 2021, I called a friend who sells used cars in the Triangle about vehicle prices spiking. He replied, “Don’t worry. The federal government says it is transitory.” I told him it wasn’t. Now the government is telling us…

Jan

26

2022

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By Brett Friedlander

Pinecrest hires football coach with winning track record

Sportsfootball, Nick Eddins, Pinecrest, sports

SOUTHERN PINES — In addition to his duties as athletic director, Jeff Hewitt is also the baseball coach at Pinecrest High School. As such, he knows a heavy hitter when he sees one. That’s why he was drawn to Nick Eddins as he conducted his search to fill the Patriots’ vacant football coaching position. “We had five unbelievable candidates that we interviewed, but it quickly became known to us that Nick was the guy,” Hewitt said. “I knew we’d hit a home run with hiring and getting him. I knew it was a grand slam. In my opinion, we got…

Jan

26

2022

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By Moore County Staff

Haddock becomes police chief in Robbins

Government, Newspolice, Robbins

ROBBINS — A former Vass police officer was sworn in last week as the new police chief in Robbins. Benjamin Haddock worked with the Vass police department for eight years. Haddock takes over a position that has been vacant since July, following the resignation of former chief Lawson Thomas. The Robbins police force had been depleted following other officer resignations in 2021 but recently hired additional officers before hiring Haddock.