Latest news with #N.C
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Gonzalez-Ortega, Miller named ‘Sloan Scholars'
One scholar whose early education took place in Mexico wants her future students to be inspired and feel cared about. The other scholar, a lifelong Lee County resident, wants to be a 'bright light' for her students — just as her late grandmother was. Susann Gonzalez-Ortega and Isabella Miller, soon-to-graduates of Lee County High School, were honored Wednesday by the Lee County Education Foundation as 2024-25 Sloan Scholar winners. They received scholarships of up to $36,000 to pursue teaching degrees, with a promise to come back to Lee County as teachers. Gonzalez-Ortega and Miller were recognized by the Education Foundation at a reception ceremony at GiGi's Creations in downtown Sanford. The Temple Sloan Lee County Teacher Fellows program was launched by the Education Foundation in 2023, with the first Sloan Scholar — Anna Marks — named in 2024. It was created to encourage Lee County's best and brightest students to commit to becoming an educator, and then return home and begin a career in a classroom. It's funded by the Raleigh-based Sloan Foundation, in partnership with Lee County Schools, the Central Carolina Community College Foundation and the Education Foundation. The Sloan Foundation was created by Temple Sloan Jr., a former Sanford resident, who founded Carquest Auto Parts in 1961. Carquest, which grew to 3,000 auto parts stores, was acquired by Advance Auto Parts in 2014. 'These scholarships will be given to deserving young students to inspire them to earn a teaching degree and encourage them to work in the Lee County school system,' said Sloan, who's a member of the Lee County Education Foundation board of directors. 'We firmly believe that a successful educational experience for our young people begins with outstanding teachers.' The Sloan scholarships will take the form of forgivable loans — similar to the process used in the statewide N.C. Teaching Fellows program. Scholarship recipients are expected to return to Lee County to teach; and all monies are forgiven after four years of teaching in a Lee County public school classroom. In pursuing a teaching degree, Sloan Scholars may attend any state-supported college or university in pursuit of their teaching certificate. In addition to $4,500 per semester in scholarship funds, the program will also include partnerships with teaching mentors, summer programming and a variety of activities designed to engage Sloan Scholars with LCS and support their commitment to Lee County's students and community. The $4,500 per semester will be awarded to help pay for tuition, fees, and books. Students are expected to provide progress reporting and other information to the CCCC Foundation, which will be managing the scholarship monies. Should a student drop out of the program or decide not to return and teach in Lee County, monies will have to be repaid. GONZALEZ-ORTEGAGonzalez-Ortega, the daughter of Esther Ortega, attends Lee County High School. She's been inducted into the National Honor Society and the National Technical Honor Society, serves as president of the National Juntos Club, and is a member of numerous other clubs. She'll seek a degree in marine biology with a license in education at UNC-Wilmington, which will position her to teach biology at the high school level. She cited two of her teachers — Mrs. Price and Mrs. Biles — for their support, and said she wanted to become the kind of teacher 'who makes students feel both challenged and supported, someone who pushes them to think deeply, ask questions, and take pride in their growth. MILLERMiller, the daughter of Kelly and Billy Miller, also attends Lee County High School, where she's an officer in BETA and the Red Cross, and active in several other clubs. She's also been a part of the Temple Teen Ensemble at Temple Theatre. She plans to major in education and stage and screen at Western Carolina University. Miller's desire to teach comes in part from the inspiration provided by a late grandmother, who'd served as a special education teacher. She still hears stories about her, Miller said. 'My grandma's impact on her students brought me the passion to become a teacher, as I want to be just as bright a light as she was in so many children's lives,' she said. 'Over time, this foundation has never changed, but I have found myself going out of my way to give voice and dance lessons to kids, help them understand issues when things seem off, and try to guide them into a better direction overall. I have a special passion for working with youth, and I believe that my dedication to and appreciation of education is what will make me an excellent teacher.' MARKSMarks, last year's inaugural winner, was also recognized at Wednesday's ceremony. A graduate of Southern Lee High School, she's studying now at UNC-Greensboro and seeking a bachelor's degree in art education. Marks is the daughter of Melinda Marks.
Miami Herald
04-05-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Sports on TV: Sunday, May 4, 2025
ON THE RADIO NCAA Baseball: N.C. St. at Miami, 1 p.m., WVUM 90.5 FM MLB: Athletics at Miami, 1:40 p.m., WINZ 940; WAQI 710 (Spanish)
Miami Herald
02-05-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Sports on TV: Friday, May 2, 2025
ON THE RADIO NCAA Baseball: N.C. St. at Miami, 7 p.m., WVUM 90.5 FM MLB: Athletics at Miami, 7:10 p.m., WINZ 940; WAQI 710 (Spanish)
American Military News
26-04-2025
- American Military News
New NC program works with schools to get parents to safely store their guns
A new statewide campaign is putting gun owners on notice that it's up to them to help prevent school and community tragedies by safely securing their firearms. The N.C. S.A.F.E. for Schools program kicked off this week to provide all 115 school districts with information to share with their families about safe storage of firearms. The effort comes amid data showing half of North Carolina gun owners say they aren't securely storing their weapons. 'We know in the United States you have a right to possess a firearm,' said William Lassiter, deputy secretary for Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention at the state Department of Public Safety. 'But you also have an awesome responsibility to make sure that that firearm does not end up in the hands of a child or a felon in your local community because you didn't secure that firearm in your home or in your vehicle.' Lassiter was joined at a news conference Thursday at Garner High School by several state and local leaders, including state Attorney General Jeff Jackson and Wake County Superintendent Robert Taylor. The program kicked off Wednesday in the Wake County school system with a Parent Safety Night at Garner High, which included distribution of free gun locks. The program plans to distribute more free gun locks to schools across the state to give to parents. 'By working together as a community, we can and we will keep our students and our teachers safe from all preventable tragedies,' said Wake school board vice chair Tyler Swanson. Gun deaths rising among NC children Program leaders say the need for safe gun storage is even more pressing now that firearms are the leading cause of injury-related death for children and youths in North Carolina. Nearly 30% of North Carolina high school students surveyed in 2021 said it would take them less than an hour to get — and be ready to fire — a loaded gun without a parent's or other adult's permission. The percentage of juvenile crimes in North Carolina involving a firearm has gone up 300% in the past five years. Last year, Lassiter said 87 guns found their way onto North Carolina school campuses, leading to 267 charges that were filed. Those are preventable events, Lassiter said, because 75% of those guns came from the homes of those students. These gun incidents at schools are terrorizing teachers and students and disrupting learning, Lassiter said. 'Our children are growing up in the world of gun violence that is no longer a distant story,' said Taylor, the Wake superintendent. 'It is a reality that cuts too many communities, too many students and too many lives.' Criminal charges for not properly storing firearms The campaign is encouraging people to store their guns securely when they're left in their cars or at home. For instance, Taylor said he keeps his gun safely stored at home in a safe with a gun lock. Jackson, the attorney general, said it's particularly important to secure firearms in vehicles because most of the guns that are stolen in North Carolina are from cars. He said people should take advantage of the free gun locks that are widely available, such as those given to National Guard members like himself. 'Safely securing your firearm is the central component of being a responsible gun owner, and it's a piece of being a gun owner that just about all of us agree on,' Jackson said. Under state law, a student who brings a firearm to school is required to be suspended for 365 days. The person who allowed the student access to the firearm could also face criminal charges. 'You will be charged with a crime if you violate this law,' said Garner Deputy Police Chief Chris Adams. 'Too much tragedy has occurred for us to treat this matter lightly.' In September, the father of the teenage suspect charged with killing five people in Raleigh's Hedingham community pleaded guilty to improperly storing a 9 mm handgun on a bedside table, The News & Observer previously reported. He was sentenced to serve a year's unsupervised probation for the misdemeanor charge of storing a firearm with a minor's unsafe access. Measuring success of program Lassiter said the success of NC S.A.F.E. for Schools will be measured by several metrics, including: ▪ Reduce the percentage of North Carolina households not securely storing a firearm to 40% in the next three years. ▪ Reduce the number of guns found on school campuses. ▪ Reduce the number or cases of guns being used by juveniles in crimes. ▪ Reduce the percentage of high school students who say they can get easy access to a gun. 'We know for each of those guns that are secured, that's one less gun that can end up on school campus, one less gun that can be used as an accidental death of a young person,' Lassiter said. ___ © 2025 The News & Observer. Distributed at Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Yahoo
Walkertown man accused of causing 2 deaths
A Walkertown man is accused of causing a wreck on Interstate 77 that killed two people Saturday night. Benjamin Wesley Overton, 31, of Hanley Way was driving a 2006 Ford F-250 south on I-77 near Statesville about 10:10 p.m. when it struck a southbound 2023 Kia Sportage, causing both vehicles to go off the right side of the road and hit a guardrail, the N.C. State Highway Patrol said. The Kia overturned, and both the driver, Jessica Lyndsay Horton, 47, and a passenger, Patricia Marie Osorno, 47, both of Mooresville, were ejected. Both were declared dead at the scene of the wreck. Overton was not injured, the Highway Patrol said. Excessive speed and impairment were contributing factors, the Highway Patrol said. Overton was charged with driving while impaired, careless and reckless driving, two counts of felony death by vehicle, and driving while license revoked. His bond was set at $2.5 million secured. The investigation is ongoing, and additional charges are pending.
