ASHEBORO — The racing season has sped past the midway mark at Caraway Speedway, and there are encouraging signs, general manager Darren Hackett said.
The ninth card of the season produced one of the bigger crowds of the year for Saturday night’s Rusty Harpe Memorial.
“It hit pretty much what I had in mind,” Hackett said of a turnout of about 3,000 spectators. “So far, I’m satisfied.”
What might not have been anticipated was the winner of the SMART Star race. That was Concord’s Gary Putnam, who claimed the 100-lap feature in the No. 77 car.
Putnam passed Caleb Heady with about a dozen laps remaining on his way to his first victory since 2015.
“It fits my driving style,” Putnam said of the track. “I’m just thankful for all the help and support my friends give me and my family.”
Putnam, who had the fastest time in qualifying, became the fifth different race winner in five events in the Southern Modified series this year. There were 17 cars entered.
Heady ended up second, followed by Joey Coulter, Brian Loftin and Jimmy Wallace. John Smith was the leader at the halfway mark.
Other winners were Winston-Salem’s Dylan Ward (Late Models), Davidson’s James Civali (602 Modifieds) and Asheboro’s Johnny Baker (Mini Stocks).
Caraway has held nine events this year, with one other rained out. Saturday night’s car count was listed at 43 entrants. The next race night comes July 24 with the Hot Summer Clash.
Last month, the National Federation of Independent Businesses reported that 46% of small businesses currently have unfilled job openings. Our country is still down 7.1 million jobs from our pre-lockdown boom, and 9.5 million jobs remain unfilled nationwide.
While well-intentioned, the federal government’s enhanced unemployment benefit of $300 extra dollars each week has incentivized workers to stay at home and not get back into the workforce. Essentially, these additional payments constitute a “stay-at-home bonus.”
Based on these facts, Republican governors across the U.S. have stopped accepting the extra bonus funding from the federal government. However, North Carolina’s Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper refused this straightforward solution and intends to keep paying North Carolinians to stay home until September.
Given that Gov. Cooper will not end the additional unemployment payments altogether, I introduced a solution in Congress that would help. It’s called the Back to Work Bonus Act. Instead of paying folks a $300 per week bonus to stay home until September, my bill would end these payments and provide a $900 one-time bonus to a worker who gets back into the workforce before Aug. 14. The cost of the bonuses would be taken from already appropriated unemployment funding, creating a net-cost savings to the taxpayer. Bottom line: My proposal would convert the current stay-at-home bonus into a back-to-work bonus. If our governor won’t remove a bad incentive, I want to reverse it.
My bill is a specific solution to a specific problem. We simply cannot continue to pay people to stay home. For workers who stayed in the workforce throughout the pandemic, I want to cut their taxes so they get to keep more of their own hard-earned money. I want to get the economy booming again like it was during the Trump years. I’m working to stop the overspending in Washington that causes inflation to soar and eat away at a family’s buying power. But above all, our No. 1 priority needs to be getting folks back to work as quickly as possible.
I’m proud to say that key North Carolina stakeholders have signed onto my plan. The North Carolina Restaurant & Lodging Association represents our state’s $27.3 billion hospitality industry. They endorsed my bill saying, “the labor shortage in North Carolina has reached critical levels and restaurants are having to shut their dining rooms for days, not due to restrictions but rather to lack of staff. The North Carolina Restaurant & Lodging Association supports Rep. Budd’s Back to Work Bonus Act to help encourage and incentivize as many people as possible to safely return to work.”
Greater Winston-Salem, Inc., a collaborative coalition of economic stakeholders in Winston-Salem and Forsyth County, also endorsed the Back to Work Bonus, saying, “We believe this legislation can speed up our economic recovery, encourage individuals to reenter the workforce, and keep our region moving forward while ensuring that families have the resources they need.”
As summer heats up, we have to continue to ensure that economic prosperity is available to everyone, starting with getting folks back to work. All of the good intentions and government spending in the world cannot replace the productivity and dignity of a job. I will continue to do my part in Washington, D.C. to get more North Carolinians back on the job as quickly as possible.
Rep. Ted Budd represents the 13th Congressional District, which includes Randolph County.
The N.C. Zoo ended the requirement for visitors to make reservations ahead of the 4th of July holiday weekend. Reservations will no longer be required after July 1. The zoo will still require visitors who are not fully vaccinated to wear face coverings and to practice social distancing. When the zoo reopened in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, reservations were required to limit the number of visitors to the zoo, which is outside of Asheboro. In recent months, the zoo has welcomed an elephant, a polar bear and 12 red-wolf pups.
ASHEBORO — The Randolph County Sheriff’s Office has a female on its Emergency Response Team for the first time in the unit’s history. Deputy Traci Baker completed a rigorous training-and-testing battery to join the team. The tests determined her ability serve high-risk search warrants, handle barricades and take part in other tactical exercises.
Members of the team are expected to attend advanced law enforcement training courses and become proficient with specialized equipment to deal with dangerous criminals and situations.
Deputy Traci Baker is the first female member of the Randolph County Sheriff’s Emergency Response Team. (PHOTO: Randolph County Sheriff’s Office)
Baker began her career with the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office after she completed basic law enforcement training in 2009 in the detention center in the Transportation Division. She transferred to School Based Programs as a CARE instructor in September of 2009 and then to Evidence in August of 2016. Baker was then promoted to detective in November 2018, and in January of 2019, she transferred back to School Based Programs as a CARE instructor. Deputy Baker is also the current Junior Sheriff’s Academy director.
“I am incredibly proud of Deputy Baker for her perseverance, dedication and motivation to achieve this monumental goal,” said Sheriff Greg Seabolt.
Baker also became the first female firearms instructor in 2017. She now teaches aspiring law enforcement recruits as the lead firearms instructor for Randolph Community College’s Basic Law Enforcement Training.
Baker’s path to the Emergency Response Team started in October 2020 when she competed for a spot on the team. Physical fitness testing and marksmanship were key elements of the initial competition. Current members of the team then voted to offer Deputy Baker a position. From October 2020 until May 2021, Deputy Baker worked as a probationary member. On May 6, 2021, Deputy Baker completed her mandatory probationary period and became a permanent ERT operator.
“While she doesn’t think being a female on the Emergency Response Team makes her any different or special, Deputy Baker is glad to serve as motivation for other women in law enforcement,” said Lieutenant Eric Wilson, team commander.
“I honestly don’t even think about it because I’m not treated any differently as a female,” said Baker. “I wanted to challenge myself and become part of this team.”
ASHEBORO — The Centers for Disease Control reported that 43,649 Randolph County residents are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Over 64% of the county’s citizens over 65 years of age are vaccinated. The CDC estimates that 47% of the total U.S. population is now vaccinated. In the past week, just 927 people were tested for COVID-19 in Randolph County, which includes those needing testing for travel. There were 20 positive cases and no hospitalizations reported in the last week in Randolph County.
Ryan White had only one thing in mind when he took the mound for the final inning of Saturday’s NCHSAA 2A championship series finale at Burlington Athletic Stadium.
Win the state title for his Randleman High School baseball team.
Finishing off the no-hitter was just a bonus.
The junior right-hander struck out 11 and walked only two while pitching the Tigers to a 4-0 victory against Rutherfordton-Spindale Central that clinched the second state championship in school history.
White’s masterful performance provided an exclamation point to a long day that saw Randleman bounce back from a loss earlier in the day to win the decisive game of the best-of-three series.
“Honestly, I wasn’t even thinking about it,” White said of his no-hitter. “My goal was just to win the state championship and do the best I could.”
The Tigers (19-2) scored all their runs in the bottom of the third. Kaden Ethier got things started with a one-out single to center before Owen Strickland walked and Trey Way loaded the bases with a single.
Hunter Atkins plated the first two runs with a single up the middle against R-S Central starter Hayden Wheeler before Brooks Brannon doubled in two more off reliever Kael Snethen.
That was all the offense White needed, as he retired the final nine Hilltoppers in order over the final three innings.
Randleman’s Kaden Ethier leaps on top of the dog pile after they won the State Championship against R-S Central in the 2a State Championship game 3 at Burlington Athletic Stadium in Burlington, NC on June 26th, 2021. Randleman won 4-0 (2-1) for their 2nd state championship and first since 2011. PJ WARD-BROWN/ FOR THE NORTH STATE JOURNAL
He got the final out on a grounder to short, setting off a joyous dogpile in the middle of the diamond.
“It was awesome,” Randleman coach Jake Smith said of White, whose no-hitter was the second one thrown in a state final series game at Burlington this year. Carter Boyd of Reagan High School threw his in Game 1 of the 4A series against Fuquay-Varina.
“I knew about the third or fourth inning, he was really feeling it,’ Smith said. “He had all three pitches working. He was commanding both sides of the plate. I’m so happy for him. He works his tail off every day and it paid off tonight.”
Randleman had a chance to close out the series earlier Saturday after winning Game 1 9-5 on Friday on the strength of a seven-run third inning rally.
But despite a solid pitching performance from Way, R-S Central (17-3) forced the deciding game with a 2-1 victory. Snethen provided the winning margin with a tie-breaking home run to left in the bottom of the third.
The teams returned to the field several hours later for a game that ended just before midnight.
Tigers coach Smith credited his players for having the focus and stamina to endure the marathon, but added that the large contingent of Randleman fans also played a role in winning the school’s first title since 2011.
“It’s almost 12 o’clock and the stands are still full,” he said. “It means a lot. The support throughout the city is unbelievable. The kids know it and they really feed off it. It’s a special place.
“I’m so proud of these young men, all of them,” he said. “They’ve worked so hard. It’s been a crazy year from start-to-finish.”
Randleman’s Kaden Ethier leaps on top of the dog pile after they won the State Championship against R-S Central in the 2a State Championship game 3 at Burlington Athletic Stadium in Burlington, NC on June 26th, 2021. Randleman won 4-0 (2-1) for their 2nd state championship and first since 2011. PJ WARD-BROWN/ FOR THE NORTH STATE JOURNALRandleman’s Rayan White delivers to the plate in the top of the 7th inning during his No-Hitter against R-S Central in the 2a State Championship game 3 at Burlington Athletic Stadium in Burlington, NC on June 26th, 2021. Randleman won 4-0 (2-1) for their 2nd state championship and first since 2011. PJ WARD-BROWN/ FOR THE NORTH STATE JOURNAL
The Randolph County Board of Commissioners adopted a fiscal year 2021-22 budget that increased county-wide spending by 8.7% from the prior year’s $134.4 million budget. The county’s property tax rate of 63.27 cents per $100 remained unchanged from the previous fiscal year.
RALEIGH — Nikole Hannah-Jones, the writer of the controversial “1619 Project,” turned down a job at UNC Chapel Hill and will instead take a position at Howard University, news outlets reported Tuesday.
According to The Associated Press, Hannah-Jones told CBS This Morning she would instead join the faculty at Howard University, an HBCU located in Washington, D.C.
One week ago, trustees at UNC Chapel Hill approved tenure for Hannah-Jones on the last day of the previous iteration of the trustee board, which voted 9-4 to award tenure.
The university had previously announced in April that she would join the journalism school despite the factual inaccuracies of the “1619 Project” and concerns from Walter Hussman Jr., who raised concerns about her work.
Later, attorneys retained by Hannah-Jones’ said she would not accept the job without tenure, and even cited concerns about the role of Republican members of the General Assembly.
