News – Moore County Edition

Jan

31

2024

Aberdeen Board denies manufactured home zoning variance, approves off-duty PD pay increase

NewsAberdeen Town Board

ABERDEEN – The Town of Aberdeen Board met Monday, Jan. 22, starting with an approval of an increase in the off-duty police hourly rate from $45 to $70 starting in February. “A lot of officers are not wanting to work off duty because of pay,” said police chief Brian Chavis. “I called around to surrounding agencies. The Moore County Sheriff’s Office non-holiday rate is $50 an hour, their holiday rate is $70 an hour. Southern Pines Police Department is $55 for non-holidays and they’re in the process of increasing that. Pinehurst Police Department off-duty ranged from $45 to $60 an…

Jan

31

2024

By North State Journal Staff

MCS bans four books, restricts several more in contentious hearing

Newsbook ban, Moore County Schools

CARTHAGE – The Moore County Schools Board of Education considered recommendations from the District Media and Technology Advisory Committees reviews in regards to nine books that were challenged, at the Jan. 16 board meeting. The challenged books were: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson Looking for Alaska by John Green Crank by Ellen Hopkins City of Heavenly Fire: The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare The board agreed with committee recommendations on three books, which will…

Jan

31

2024

By Matt Mercer

First lady Jill Biden visits Forsyth Tech, unveils $30m investment

Newsfirst lady, jill biden

WINSTON-SALEM — First lady Jill Biden made a pair of stops in North Carolina on Friday, Jan. 26, speaking at Forsyth Tech in the morning and then appearing at a fundraising event in Raleigh that afternoon. The visit came just eight days after President Joe Biden made his own visit to the state, and the third in the past four weeks for the administration after Vice President Kamala Harris spoke in Charlotte. At the campus of Forsyth Tech, Biden was joined by Gov. Roy Cooper and Winston-Salem mayor Allen Joines to celebrate $30 million in grants provided to two entities…

Jan

24

2024

By A.P. Dillon

Moore County Schools ‘potential school shooting’ threat deemed not credible

NewsMoore County Schools

RALEIGH — On Jan. 18, Moore County Public Schools (MCPS) announced the district had received a threat to its schools which later was deemed to not be “credible” or “actionable.” “On Tuesday, at approximately 11:40 a.m., we received a notification from the Southern Pines Police Department regarding an anonymous threat call made to a local business, pertaining to a potential school shooting,” a MCPS update on the incident stated. “However, the call did not provide specific information about any particular time or school in Moore County.” The update said MCPS continued its typical operations but had initiated precautionary measures such…

Jan

18

2024

By A.P. Dillon

Moore County School Choice Expo returns for third year in a row

Newsschool choice

PINEHURST — The third annual Moore County School Choice Expo is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 27, in Pinehurst, coinciding with the final day of this year’s National School Choice Week. The event will be at Sandhills Community College Campus with the aim of providing information to Moore County parents about various K-12 education options. "At our last two Expos, we realized that a growing number of local parents are eager to explore all the alternatives available to them where the education of their children is concerned,” said Caroline Kelly, one of the event's chief organizers. “Parents prefer to visit face-to-face…

Jan

11

2024

By Jordan Golson

Pinehurst warns downtown businesses on public trash cans

Newscommerical, Pinehurst, trash

PINEHURST — The Village sent a letter to the downtown business community last week to remind business owners to not use public garbage cans for commercial trash. “Village staff has noticed increased commercial trash being placed in the Village’s public receptacles scatter throughout downtown,” the message read. “This trash has included boxes, papers, food containers, etc., with the names of several downtown businesses on the garbage itself.” In some instances, the trash receptacles have been overflowing with so much commercial garbage that they aren’t able to be used by the public. The missive didn’t name names, but the message was…

Jan

11

2024

By North State Journal Staff

Interest in school board leads Moore County primary ballot

NewsMoore County, School Board

CARTHAGE — Races for four of the five seats on the Moore County School Board will be narrowed down by voters on March 5. Filing for 2024 took place last month and candidates for this year’s primaries have just under two months to make their case to voters. The four school board races are nonpartisan and the top two vote-getters will move to the November general election. In District I, four candidates are on the ballot: Amy Dahl, Kevin Lewis, Oscar Romine and Jim Boyte. The current board member, Stacey Caldwell, did not file for reelection to the seat. In…

Jan

04

2024

By Lauren Rose

First Medicaid expansion data shared

Newsmedicaid expansion

More than 600,000 North Carolinians are newly eligible for health coverage through a recent expansion of NC Medicaid, and the state has recently shared numbers on how many residents have enrolled in the expansion. Moore County has seen 1,980 newly eligible adults sign up for Medicaid, some 3.6 percent of the county’s 54,637 adult population between 19 and 64 years of age. This data is current as of December 1, though the data was only recently made available by the state. Numbers will be updated monthly. "Hundreds of people each day are gaining health care coverage and getting the care…

Dec

20

2023

By A.P. Dillon

Carthage Elementary 3rd-grade teacher honored

News2024 Burroughs Wellcome Fund Teacher of the Year, Sandhills Region

CARTHAGE — Jennifer Blake, a third-grade teacher at Carthage Elementary School, has been named the 2024 Burroughs Wellcome Fund Teacher of the Year for the Sandhills Region The announcement, a surprise event in her classroom, celebrated Ms. Blake's outstanding contributions to education and her dedication to making a positive impact on her students' lives. “One must love teaching enough to survive it. You have to get excited when those little 'light bulb' moments happen,” Blake said. “You have to be reflective and willing, not only to make changes but also to embrace mistakes when they happen.” Inspired by influential teachers…

Dec

13

2023

By Jordan Golson

Moore courts tackle backlog with ‘DWI Week’

NewsDWI week, Moore courts

CARTHAGE — Local courts face significant backlogs in pending cases, so district attorneys are getting creative. For the third year in a row, Moore County District Attorney Mike Hardin worked with the District Court to tackle 73 DWI cases that had been pending for more than a year. The special weeklong court session, running from Nov. 27 to Dec. 1, 2023, saw two courtrooms running full-tilt to bring 38 cases to a conclusion, with DA Hardin's team racking up an 89 percent conviction rate. The session, focusing on cases from November 2022 and earlier, was part of a broader effort…