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COA's Jimmy Lewis talks about working at the agency, about the value seniors bring to Chatham County, and about the "6 OVER 60" project, which is a collaboration between the COA and the News + Record.Make a nomination!Visit the COA's website 

KATIE CHILDS, the executive director of the United Way of Chatham County, talks about her agency's work in supporting partnering nonprofits to meet critical needs of Chatham residents — and in envisioning a community in which all residents have access to the necessary resources to thrive.Chatham businesses: support the United Way by joining the News + Record in the $100 by 100 campaign!HOSTS: Bill Horner III of the Chatham News + Record and Daniel Simmons of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Carolina.Find out more about the United Way.

In this special edition of the Chatcast, we speak with Dist. 5 candidates Gary Leonard and Tim Moore, each seeking a seat on the Chatham County Board of Education. Leonard, the incumbent and the board's chairperson, faces challenger Tim Moore for a four-year seat on the board.Special thanks to Mr. Moore, who spoke at the News + Record's candidate forum on Oct. 26, for suggesting this conversation with Mr. Leonard, who had taken ill at could not attend the forum. Hosts: Bill Horner III + Ben Rappaport

Audio from News + Record's candidate forum held Wed., Oct. 26, at CCCC.Follow all the News + Record's elections coverage at www.chathamnewsrecord.com/elections

Audio from News + Record's candidate forum held Wed., Oct. 26, at CCCC.Follow all the News + Record's elections coverage at www.chathamnewsrecord.com/elections

A Chatcast update: The News + Record's Bill Horner III first spoke with New York Times journalist Elizabeth Williamson back in May about her new book, "Sandy Hook: An American Tragedy and the Battle for Truth," the compelling story of  the aftermath of the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. It's an engrossing account not of the shooting at Sandy Hook, but about what happened in the hours, the days and the months that followed as conspiracy theorists like Alex Jones of InfoWars used their platforms to incite and enrage millions of listeners and followers by telling the the tragedy didn't happen. (Jones, for example, claimed no one died at Sandy Hook and that child actors were used in the “false flag” event designed to boost gun control measures.) It’s also the story of how false conspiracy narratives and malicious misinformation have gained traction in today’s America.Horner and Williamson spoke again a few weeks later following the tragic school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, and then again on Aug. 13, after Jones' first trial in Texas.This episode is an update recorded Friday, Oct. 21, after Jones' second trial in Connecticut. 

This episode addresses the Importance of Early Literacy in Rural America with two of the nation’s foremost experts on the subject. Mary Bratsch-Hines, Ph.D., is the Senior Manager for Research and Evaluation at the Lastinger Center for Learning at the University of Florida. Dr. Bratsch-Hines began her career as an early childhood educator, which sparked her desire to study how children's educational experiences in child care, prekindergarten, and early elementary school settings support optimal development. A primary goal of her research is to identify the experiences that are most likely to improve children's early language and literacy skills, which, in turn, advance their trajectories as successful readers.  She holds a Ph.D. in Education from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she also worked as an Advanced Research Scientist at Frank Porter Graham (FPG) Child Development Institute until joining the Lastinger Center in 2021.  Lynne Vernon-Feagans, Ph.D.  is the William C. Friday Distinguished Professor, Emerita, in the School of Education and Psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  Dr.  Vernon-Feagans has focused her 40-year research career on young children and families from diverse low wealth rural communities, publishing more 200 journal articles in this research area. She has been the the principal investigator of the largest National Institutes of Health funded study of rural children and their families: a representative sample of every baby born to a mother who lived in one of six low wealth rural counties, 3 from North Carolina and 3 from Pennsylvania, which we’ll discuss today.  In an extension of this work, she led the development of the Targeted Reading Instruction (TRI),  a webcam professional development program for classroom teachers that helps improve early literacy instruction for beginning readers in rural America. The TRI research is being led now by Mary Bratsch-Hines and others as it continues to improve teacher effectiveness in reading instruction by helping early readers make dramatic gains in early reading. The TRI is now endorsed by What Works Clearinghouse and many other national organizations.  LINKS: TRI website TRI Channel on YouTube TRI description Grant announcement Flamingo Reading App website

Ann & Rud Turnbull were on the UNC-Chapel Hill faculty early in their careers and then taught for three and a half decades at the University of Kansas. Rud is a lawyer specializing in disability policy and Ann is a special educator. Between them, they have authored 44 books (including two leading textbooks now in their 8thand 10th editions) and more than 500 articles and chapters. In 1999, they were selected by the National Preservation Trust in Developmental Disabilities as two of 36 individuals who have “changed the course of history for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the 20th century.” Their greatest learning has come from their son, Jay Turnbull, whom they have always called their “best professor.” Jay’s multiple disabilities did not deter him from a life of dignity. Rud and Ann live in Pittsboro and are members of the Chatham Community branch of the NAACP and the Chatham school district’s Equity Ambassador Team.You can reach Ann Turnbull at turnbull@ku.edu

 On this edition, we're talking SCOUTING…specifically scouting here in Chatham County, on the eve of the 75th anniversary of Boy Scouts of America Troop 93 in Pittsboro. Our guest is Mack Thorpe, the assistant scoutmaster of Troop 93, who’s been working hard to plan a huge community-wide event in just a few weeks. On Sat., Oct. 22, a day-long celebration in observance of that anniversary will be held in Siler City, and Mack here is to share with us a little bit about that, about the goings-on at Troop 93, and more about Scouting.

Chatham County has been the epicenter of economic development in North Carolina in 2022. Aside from the explosive growth occurring related to Chatham Park, the 7,000-acre planned community that will add 22,000 homes, Chatham was chosen by Vietnamese EV manufacturer VinFast as the site for its American plant — a $4 billion project that’s expected to bring 7,500 jobs here. And that doesn't take into consideration activity brewing at the Chatham Advanced Manufacturing site in Siler City.This week on the Chatcast, we’re talking with Michael Smith, president of the Chatham County EDC, about VinFast, about other projects, and about the impact they’ll collectively have on central North Carolina. Michael Smith has more than 20 years of experience serving in economic development roles in local organizations and with the N.C. Department of Commerce. He came to Chatham a little over a year ago from Lee County, where he had a hand in project after project announced there over the last few years and of course has been the face of Chatham’s ED efforts.

A Chatcast update: The News + Record's Bill Horner III spoke with New York Times journalist Elizabeth Williamson back in May about her new book, "Sandy Hook: An American Tragedy and the Battle for Truth," the compelling story of  the aftermath of the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. It's an engrossing account not of the shooting at Sandy Hook, but about what happened in the hours, the days and the months that followed as conspiracy theorists like Alex Jones of InfoWars used their platforms to incite and enrage millions of listeners and followers by telling the the tragedy didn't happen. (Jones, for example, claimed no one died at Sandy Hook and that child actors were used in the “false flag” event designed to boost gun control measures.) It’s also the story of how false conspiracy narratives and malicious misinformation have gained traction in today’s America. Horner and Williamson spoke again a few weeks later following the tragic school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.This episode is a quick update recorded Aug. 13 after the trial of Alex Jones — the "InfoWars" broadcaster who features prominently in her book as the leading voice among Sandy Hook "deniers" — recently in Austin, Texas. Williamson provides a look back at the trial, reflects on the state of truth in the U.S., and what's next for Jones and the parents of Sandy Hook victims who've filed lawsuits against him.

With another school year starting soon, we tackle the subject of the problem of school suspensions - particularly as it relates to students of color and students with disabilities. Our guests:  Iheoma U. Iruka, Ph.D., a UNC Research Professor in the university's Department of Public Policy, and one of her students, Victoria Bryant. Dr. Iruka is a founding director of the Equity Research Action Coalition at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center and national leader with emphasis on equity especially for Black children. Victoria is a senior at UNC  studying public policy and focusing on equity enhancement for Black females.

This week our focus is on the Early Childhood Action Plan being developed as a resource for Chatham County and its families. Our guests are Genevieve Megginson and Lara Kehle, two of the lead creators of the plan.Megginson is the executive director of Chatham County Partnership for Children, a group of human service providers who are dedicated to improving lives of the Chatham County’s young children. And Lara Kehle is the director of KidSCope, a social-emotional health services provider with offices in Pittsboro and Chapel Hill, and the chairperson of the Chatham Health Alliance.

A mock "slave auction" at J.S. Waters Elementary School in early March reverberated throughout Chatham County and the state. In the wake of the incident — involving a number of students and not witnessed by any faculty or staff members — the community engaged in a series of public and private meetings to figure out how best to respond. At a Chatham County board of education meeting held soon after, Supt. Dr. Anthony Jackson provided a strong response: those kinds of behaviors, and any kind of hateful behaviors, would not be tolerated. He worked with his board, the administration and community leaders to develop a series of policies and practices to help guide Chatham County Schools in its response to the J.S. Waters event, and other similar events involving students that came to light afterward.In this episode of The Chatcast, we speak with Chris Poston, the Executive Director for Excellence and Opportunity for CCS, about what the school system has done in the three months since the incident.Mr. Poston is a Chatham County native, a graduate of Chatham County Schools, a veteran educator and former principal of the year.

Elizabeth Williamson of The New York Times speaking about her new book, "SANDY HOOK: An American Tragedy and the Battle for Truth." At 9:35 a.m. on the morning of Dec. 14, 2012, a 20-year old man shot his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, with two rifles and a handgun. He then brutally turned those guns on those inside the school, murdering 20 1st graders and six educators before turning the gun on himself. Police later discovered he’d killed his mother earlier in the day. There have been more than 1,300 school shootings in the U.S. since 1970. The tragedy of Sandy Hook, of course, was the worst mass shooting at an elementary school in American history. But what unfolded afterward was also a tragedy: conspiracy theorists who not only propogated lies about Sandy Hook through social media, but insidiously harassed the parents and families of the survivors, threatening them online and at their homes in the months and even years that followed. Studies show that at various points as many as 20% of Americans believe that mass shootings like Sandy Hook are hoaxes perpetrated by either the government or some shadow, clandestine entity — thanks to the spread of false accounts and the failure of social media platforms to remove them. Elizabeth Williamson's new book is a compelling, engrossing account — not of the shooting at Sandy Hook, but about what happened in the hours, the days and the months that followed as conspiracists like Alex Jones of InfoWars used their platforms to incite and enrage millions of listers and followers — and share lies about what happened on that December day.

May 17's primary election is on our doorstep, but one race that will be decided then (and not in November) is between Kayley Taber and Jeff Nieman — two Democrats who work as assistant district attorneys in the office of soon-to-retire DA Jim Woodall. which includes 10 attorneys who work in Chatham and Orange counties. Both have filed to replace him, and with no Republican in the race, the winner will take Woodall's seat in December.In this edition of the Chatcast, Chatham News + Record Publisher + Editor Bill Horner III speaks with Taber and Nieman about the state's court system, the operation of the DA's office and their respective plans as District Attorney.

A discussion with Riverkeeper EMILY SUTTON of the Haw River Assembly and KATIE BRYANT of Clean Haw River about the Haw's history, the problem of pollutants and efforts their organizations and others are undertaking to preserve and safeguard Pittsboro's source of drinking water. 

Dennis Streets has led Chatham's Council on Aging since 2014, but his interest in and commitment to caring for the aging goes all the way back to his childhood. With his retirement coming at the end of January, Streets reflects on his career in the field and the work the COA provides to the county's senior citizens and their caregivers. Host: Bill Horner III. Producer: Ben Suggs

One year after the administering of the first COVID-19 vaccines in Chatham County,  variants and vaccines and boosters continue to dominate the lives of public health officials. Here's why: two years into the pandemic, there have been 272 million cases worldwide; 5.3 million have died because of COVID. In the U.S., there have been 50 million cases (more than the combined populations of North Carolina, Georgia, Michigan, and Ohio) and 800,000 deaths. In Chatham: nearly 7,300 cases and, as of this writing, 99 deaths.In this episode, we speak with Mike Zelek, the director of the Chatham County Public Health Department about his department's response, the latest on Omicron and Delta, notes on vaccines and boosters, a discussion about immunity and much more.Find more coverage at www.chathamnewsrecord.com. 

Adrianne and Zach have a quick discussion on school shootings and their effect on teen mental health. The discussion happened in light of the shooting in Santa Clarita, California, on November 14, 2019. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/crime-courts/los-angeles-county-deputies-respond-report-santa-clarita-school-shooting-n1082231Recorded by Zachary Horner and Adrianne Cleven