CCCC’s volleyball team ready for season of fast-paced play
August 8, 2026
News Lines July 27-Aug. 7 in Moore, Lee & Harnett counties
More in Government:
The central themes commanding attention across Moore, Lee, and Harnett counties this past week included multi-million-dollar development initiatives, the complexities of school financial support, public discourse on surveillance, reflections on regional history, and compelling opinion pieces, underscoring their relevance to the local community.
The Haudenosaunee, the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora, call themselves the People of the Longhouse. That is not a religious slogan. It is a declaration of political identity. The longhouse is where chiefs are raised by clan mothers, where consensus is built, and where the Great Law of Peace is carried forward. As the Oneida Nation’s Trust and Enrollment Committee explains, “Spiritual, social, and political elements were all tied together. It is more accurate to refer to the traditional teachings as a way of life, the Longhouse way of life.” For the Haudenosaunee, government and ceremony have never existed as separate institutions. The longhouse is both.
Robert M. Levy examines the 1,300-year war between Islam and Christianity
In 1492, why did Columbus “sail the ocean blue”? To celebrate Spain’s final victory over its Muslim invaders, of course.
Muslims had conquered Spain and much of France over the previous 7 centuries. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella were so pleased with Spain’s victory at the Battle of Grenada that year, they gave an obnoxious Italian sailor three ships to sail where he told them “no man had gone before.”
Today’s Spanish Socialist Prime Minister and today’s European leftist leaders together with American Democrats should have learned about how The Muslim Conquest of Europe fostered what was known as the “Dark Ages.” Perhaps they do not understand that one key to the rise of The Renaissance and the subsequent Enlightenment was forged when Islam was expelled from Europe. Only because the Christians defeated the Muslims in 1492 did Columbus begin The Age of Exploration.
On Aug. 3, Harnett County Commissioners approved funding for the first phase of the Western Harnett Innovation Park, backed legislation for property tax relief for elderly and disabled homeowners, adopted new animal board bylaws, received updates on the county’s future animal adoption center and heard about the sheriff department’s new lawsuit.
The board approved an ordinance for a budget for the Western Harnett Innovation Park Phase I project.
Phase I means developing 40 acres with site readiness, due diligence, design and engineering funded by Golden LEAF’s $656,051 award.
“It is right off Highway 87,” Economic Development Director Stephen Barrington said. “That’s just fantastic,” he said when the board approved the project’s budget.
Western Harnett Innovation Park is home to Central Carolina Community College’s West Harnett Training Center, with the Automotive Restoration Technology program, featuring an engine lab, upholstery lab, and wood fabrication shop.
Report on Congress: Lax research regulations endanger public safety
America may fund the next deadly pandemic because most virus research across the globe is federally funded, and incompletely regulated. It is no longer a conspiracy theory that the 2019 pandemic may have begun from a lab and a new NCBI autopsy report shows the RNA vaccines invade the entire body and questions the effectiveness of vaccinating.
Scientific research on life-threatening organisms that can spread to humans is conducted daily and the system to report accidents, thefts, loss and misuse is voluntary. The system is called biosecurity and biodefense and Congress has not stopped the public safety threat, as the 2019 pandemic exemplified.
Congress has a history of reacting with new policies to address biological disasters. For example, in 2014 the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense assessed gaps in policies, added improvements and the panel issues updates, but it is only policy…
The pandemic began over six years ago, yet questions on COVID-19 origins and government virus research fuel debate.
This editorial, originally written in 2021 – 2022, examines biosecurity, gain-of-function research, and the Fauci controversy.
Read the article, listen to the interviews and watch the video.
Has the U.S. learned from pandemics concerning regulations, preparedness and oversight? Visit Sandhills News on Facebook and share your perspectives.
Citizens respond to Lee County Commissioner Kirk Smith’s questions
In his recent editorial submission in Sandhills News, former Lee County Commissioner Chairman Kirk Smith posed ten questions challenging the citizens who signed the June 15 data center petition.
Question #1 – Is this petition a presentation for a Grand Jury as it implies something nefarious?
“No, Commissioner Smith, this petition is not for a Grand Jury—it is a presentation to the court of public opinion, where Lee County citizens are demanding the transparency they are legally owed. When a 430-acre tract on Lower Moncure Road is rezoned under the guise of a quiet business park, only to morph into a massive 90-megawatt data center complex, asking questions is not ‘nefarious’—it is necessary…
Lee County Commissioner Kirk Smith clarifies data center Q #10
Smith felt Question #10’s answer needed clarifications.
Question #10 – Why should I take seriously the over 2,000 signatures (many outside the County) as Lee County’s population is pushing toward 68,000 residents?”
Petition supporters answered” “Commissioner Smith, you should take those 2,524 signatures seriously because they represent the actively engaged heart of our community…
July 31, Smith sent a clarification to the petition supporters’ answer to #10.
The following is my reply to a Constituent admonishing me over Question #10. To which my constituent apologized in not fully understanding the duties and responsibilities of a Lee County Commissioner.
“Thank you for reaching out and commenting on my questions put forth to the 15-page Petition writer opposing the proposed data center at the Helix Vector Industrial Site. As it is your First Amendment right to petition your government for a redress of grievances, it is my duty to reply.”
Read both articles above for full understanding. Links provided.
Roxanna Ray, a longtime resident of Lee County, North Carolina, recalls a truly memorable Christmas in July. A surprise trip to GalaxyCon Raleigh allowed her to meet actor Karl Urban, to whom she presented a scarf she had hand-knitted. The experience revealed how friendship, generosity, and faith can forge unforgettable memories.
Harnett County needs and overhaul: Meet Sheriff Candidate Reggie Watson
The future of Harnett County hinges on voters evaluating law enforcement leadership. For many voters, the sheriff’s race is about fiscal responsibility, discipline, and accountability, not party. Candidate Aaron Meredith, a longtime sheriff’s department employee, remains on the department’s current path, while Candidate Reggie Watson offers a principled alternative based on nearly 50 years of decorated Law Enforcement service, recognized with numerous awards and commendations for dedicated leadership.
In addition to State and Federal service, Watson, a Harnett County native, offers over 21 years of U.S. Military service.
He provides an outsider’s order, free from local politics.
“The military prepared me for dealing with people at their worst and treating them with dignity.”
On Aug. 3, the Moore County Board of Education reviewed policy revisions that would reshape grievance appeals, religious accommodations, attorney access, and public agenda timelines while also considering higher bus driver pay, a new behavior academy, and contracts for student nursing care and maintenance operations.
Sanford approves grave relocations, new no-parking zone and multiple rezonings
The Sanford City Council approved grave relocations, parking changes, rezonings, pet service regulations, and a downtown revitalization plan at the Aug. 4 meeting.
The council consented to the relocation of two historic graves at 603 Rod Sullivan Road, across from the Raleigh Executive Jetport.
Stephens Enterprises purchased the property in 2022, it was annexed into the city that same year, and the company published a next-of-kin notification of the intent to relocate in The Sanford Herald on Sept. 10, 17 and 24, and Oct. 1 in 2022.
The Harnett County Board of Education released its facility needs survey for 2025-26 at the Aug. 3 meeting.
As with many agenda items, the “discussion” was limited and Superintendent Brooks Matthews read the prepared agenda. The video switched from full view to no view during the discussion. Despite the facility survey’s identification of $590.7 million in projected capital needs, the board allocated a mere three minutes to the report before proceeding to other matters, limiting the opportunity for extensive public awareness on the district’s long-term facilities strategy.
Without discussion or a presentation, the public was left to discern the 185-page facility needs survey’s dense data on their own. Read the data review in Sandhills News.
Harnett Schools Facility Survey identifies $590M in capital needs, including five new schools
Photo by Giant Asparagus.
Moore County Commissioners schedule Aug. 17 work session on Flock public surveillance cameras
The Moore County Board of Commissioners scheduled a work session at its Aug. 4 meeting with the Moore County Sheriff’s Office on Aug. 17 at 4 p.m. at the Rick Rhyne Public Safety Center for a discussion on Flock public surveillance cameras.
Chairman Nick Picerno told attendees the board would “depend on our elected sheriff.”
Vice-Chairman Jim VonCanon said the board was “not gonna make everybody happy,” while Commissioner Kurt Cook, a former Green Beret, said residents’ concerns were “not falling on deaf ears.”
Sanford unveils Project SOL project proposal and more developments
Applicant Brent Donner, a civil engineer from Kansas, requested approval for STERIS Corporation to construct and operate a 616,160 square foot medical-production facility in Sanford’s ETJ at Helix Innovation Park at the Brickyard off Hawkins Avenue.
Vice President of Strategic Optimization at STERIS Corporation, Greg Meunier of Ohio, is the property owner.
The 76-acre site does not need to be rezoned. A portion of the property is in a flood zone and is part of a watershed. It has existing water, sewer and streets.
FirstHealth Primary Care-Tramway is pleased to welcome Sarah Kaiser, D.O., a family medicine physician dedicated to providing compassionate, whole-person care for patients 13 years and older.
Originally from Coats, N.C., Kaiser is excited to return to her home state to care for patients and serve the communities that shaped her.
“I knew when I finished my training that I wanted to come back to North Carolina to be close to family and give back to my community,” she said.
Developers plan subdivisions on 191.38 acres of Harnett County farmland
Three subdivision proposals look to consume nearly 192 acres of Harnett County farmland with over 700 single-family homes and townhomes. Nearby schools face capacity challenges as development continues to expand across some of the county’s fastest-growing rural communities, and legislators still have not passed laws to align development with school capacity.
Enjoy the Teen News Video.https://www.youtube.com/shorts/2pfenOT7VB4
Aug. 7, 2026
Stephanie M. Sellers
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