Latest news with #CabarrusCounty
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Yahoo
Attorney General Jeff Jackson holds ceremony to honor fallen officers
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCT) — Tuesday, May 6, 2025, Attorney General Jeff Jackson and the North Carolina Justice Academy honored North Carolina's fallen officers and their families at the 40th Peace Officers' Memorial Day Ceremony. This is an annual ceremony that pays tribute to officers who died in the line of duty last year as well as the family members of officers who died in service in previous years. 'These officers gave their life in service to this state and its people,' Attorney General Jeff Jackson said. 'I'm grateful to be able to have spent time with their families and their colleagues today to honor our fallen officers and to express our gratitude for the courage and sacrifice of every public safety officer. I thank the North Carolina Justice Academy and the Cabarrus County Sheriff's Office for hosting this moving memorial.' Russ Ferguson, United States Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, was the guest speaker for this year's ceremony. Ferguson was appointed by U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi in March 2025, and served as the chief federal law enforcement officer for 32 counties across western N.C., including the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. 'It is a privilege to spend time today doing publicly what we in law enforcement do every day – honor our fallen heroes who sacrificed their lives to protect others,' U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, Russ Ferguson said. 'We are so thankful for our brave law enforcement officers and their families for the risks they endure on a daily basis to protect our community.' The officers who died in service to the people of North Carolina last year were: Deputy Christopher Shayne Johnson, Harnett County Sheriff's Office. Investigator William Alden Elliott, North Carolina Department of Adult Correction. Officer Joshua Eyer, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. Investigator Samuel Poloche, North Carolina Department of Adult Correction. Deputy U.S. Marshal Thomas M. Weeks, U.S. Marshals Service. Major Michelle Lynn Quintero, Madison County Sheriff's Office. Deputy Charles James 'Jim' Lau, Macon County Sheriff's Office. Officer Michael Horan, Greensboro Police Department. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WNCT.
Fox News
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
School board member asks, 'How much God do you need?' as meeting erupts over prayer policy
A North Carolina school board meeting turned hostile after one board member lashed out at a Christian board member's proposal to adopt a prayer before meetings, asking, "How much prayer do you need?" At the Cabarrus County School Board of Education meeting on April 14, newly-elected board member Melanie Freeman, who openly ran as a Christian, asked the board to add an invocation before meetings. Freeman argued that invocations were a "time-honored tradition of our country" that should be instated at their board meeting. Fellow board member Pamela Escobar strongly opposed the idea, telling the board the prayer would take time away for "serious issues" and would make people feel unwelcome. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL BACKS DOWN AFTER TELLING CHRISTIAN STUDENTS THEY COULDN'T SING WORSHIP SONGS AT TALENT SHOW Citing the diversity of their schools, Escobar said, "If you put prayer at the beginning of this meeting, I don't think that's a welcoming sign to the people who are in this room tonight." "We are not in the business of faith and religion. That's not what we do. We teach. We empower, we inspire. And so, to do something that would be the opposite of that is disheartening," she continued. "On top of it, this board prays. This board prays before every meeting if you choose to be part of it," she said, mentioning other board members praying with a "conservative lobbyist" outside the building before meetings. "How much prayer do you need? How much God do you need?" Escobar asked. "This is exclusionary," she added. Escobar continued to passionately argue that prayers were not an appropriate or worthy use of the school district's time. "They come here to work. To dedicate their lives to children. They didn't come here to pray with you," she continued, referring to school employees. "If you want to pray with them, take them to church. You want to be evangelical and do that? Go for it. But not on my time, not on their time and not on this community's time. We're not in this business. This is not the time or the place. We're better than that." But Freeman defended her idea, saying that if the prayer policy was adopted it would be available to prayers from all religions. Escobar said a prayer would open up the board to lawsuits. CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE "I don't need to participate in that, and I don't think you need to make the entire school board join you in your prayer. And if you do, then you have to be prepared for people to sue us because they have the right to religious freedom," she added. Before taking a vote, Escobar asked to speak a fourth time to voice her opposition to the proposal. "I don't know why you need prayer to take this job seriously," she said. CLICK HERE TO GET TO THE FOX NEWS APP The board passed the motion, in a 5-2 vote, to have a policy committee draft a written policy for the prayer. The board will then read the policy and give the public an opportunity to comment before implementing the policy. The policy would most likely entail inviting outside clergy to lead the prayer before meetings to avoid potential litigation concerns, an attorney for the board said. Freeman and Escobar did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
