Latest news with #DavidsonCounty
Yahoo
19-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Competitive races shape up as filing ends
TRIAD — The conclusion of the municipal candidate filing period has left one area mayor facing opposition, one unopposed and one retiring from elected politics. Candidate filing, which began July 7, concluded at noon Friday. Voters will settle races for mayors, city or town councils and municipal school boards in the Nov. 4 general election. In Thomasville, Mayor Raleigh York will face a general election challenge from Thomasville City Schools Board of Education Chairwoman Wendy Sellars, a former Thomasville councilwoman, and currant Councilman JacQuez Johnson. Eleven candidates are running for four seats on the Thomasville City Council. They are incumbents Doug Hunt, Scott Styers and D. Hunter Thrift and challengers Erika Sanders, Ed Craddock, Adam Leisure, Richard Flippin, Tommy Bryant, Kareem Grant Sr., Joe Lambert and Dana Lomba. Councilman Neal Grimes didn't seek reelection. In the Thomasville City Schools Board of Education race, five candidates filed. They are incumbents Ja'Quez Taylor and Tiffany Baluka-Brannon and challengers Michael Sinkler, Malcolm Richbourg and L. Jeremiah McCauley. Voters will fill two seats. There are no municipal primaries for cities and towns in Davidson County. In Jamestown, Councilwoman and Mayor Pro Tem Rebecca Mann Rayborn will take on challenger Susan Clinard Dickenson in the race to succeed Mayor Lynn Montgomery, who isn't seeking another term after eight years in office. Seven candidates are seeking two seats on Jamestown Town Council in a race with no incumbents. Councilwoman Martha Wolfe didn't seek another term, and the other seat is held by Rayborn who's running for mayor. The council candidates are Jim Gibson, Phyllis Bridges, Cliff Paddock, Richard Clapp, Darren Myers, Jim Westmoreland and Shakinah Simeona-Lee. Jamestown voters will go to the polls Oct. 7 in a primary to narrow the council candidates from seven to four for the general election ballot. There's no primary for the mayor's contest. In Wallburg, Mayor Allen Todd and Councilmen Zane Hedgecock and Steve Yokeley are unopposed on the ballot. Municipal races in Guilford, Davidson and Randolph counties are nonpartisan, meaning the party affiliation of the candidates doesn't appear on the ballot. Winners of the general election will take office in December. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Yahoo
Thomasville man convicted in 2021 overdose
DAVIDSON COUNTY — A Thomasville man was convicted last week of a charge accusing him of providing a narcotic that resulted in an overdose death in 2021. Charles Jenkins, 43, of Thomasville pleaded guilty on July 2 in Davidson County Superior Court to one count of death by distribution of a controlled substance. He was sentenced to 58 to 82 months in prison. In June 2021 someone who was found dead at a house was confirmed by the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to have died of a drug overdose. The Davidson County Sheriff's Office has not released the person's name or where the death occurred. Drug overdoses are one of the leading causes of death in adults and have risen over the past several years in the United States. Community members struggling with substance use are encouraged to seek help.
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Candidates prepare for local races
TRIAD — The candidates running for offices on the local level will begin filing next week, formally kicking off the 2025 election season. Voters will settle municipal contests for mayoral seats and posts on city and town councils, as well as select school boards, in the Nov. 4 general election. The candidate filing period will determine what names appear on the ballot for which races. Candidate filing across all 100 counties begins at 8 a.m. Monday and continues through noon on July 18. Municipal races in Guilford, Davidson and Randolph counties are nonpartisan, meaning the candidate's political affiliation won't appear on the ballot. Here's a breakdown of races in the three-county area: Guilford County High Point is off the political stage this year as the city's next elections for mayor and city council take place in 2027. Jamestown will have a race for mayor and two council seats. Other municipalities in Guilford County staging elections include Kernersville, which also covers parts of Forsyth County, Greensboro, Oak Ridge, Pleasant Garden and Summerfield. Davidson County Thomasville will hold two municipal elections this year. The contest for Thomasville City Council will feature the mayor's seat and four posts on council. Two seats are in play for the Thomasville City Schools Board of Education. This is the second election in the history of the school board, whose members used to be appointed by the city council. Lexington also will stage two elections. The Lexington City Council will have contests for mayor and four ward seats on council, and the Lexington City Schools Board of Education will have contests for three ward seats and an at-large citywide seat. The towns of Wallburg and Denton will each have races for mayor and two Town Council seats. The town of Midway will have contests for three Town Council seats. Randolph County The northern Randolph County cities of Archdale and Trinity won't hold their next municipal elections until 2026. The city of Asheboro will hold two municipal elections this fall, with one changed because of a bill passed in the N.C. General Assembly earlier this year. The Asheboro City Council will have a race for mayor and four council seats. The Asheboro City Board of Education will have contests for two seats instead of four as originally scheduled. The change is part of a reform pushed through the General Assembly by the Randolph County Republican delegation to reduce the size of the board. The board will go from 11 members to seven in stages. Other Randolph County cities and towns staging elections this year are Franklinville, Liberty, Ramseur, Randleman, Seagrove and Staley. While municipal races involve candidates who directly address topics important to a community, local government contests consistently rank the lowest for voter turnout among all types of elections. Wake Forest University Political Science Professor John Dinan said voters who sit out municipal elections may want to re-examine their interest in local races. 'Turnout for municipal odd-year elections, while understandable, is still unfortunate because we are constantly reminded of the importance of these elections and the significant decisions made by officials chosen in these elections,' Dinan told The High Point Enterprise. Local governments set property tax rates, decide on spending in county or municipal budgets, and determine which local programs receive funding. 'We were particularly reminded of the importance of local officials during COVID, when many key decisions about handling COVID were made at the local level,' Dinan said. Not in play The cities of High Point, Archdale and Trinity won't hold municipal elections this year. Archdale and Trinity will stage elections in 2026 while High Point's next elections are in 2027.
Fox News
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Court approves settlement after North Carolina student suspended for 'illegal aliens' comment
A high school student's free speech battle against a North Carolina school board took an important step towards closure after a court hearing Tuesday. Christian McGhee, 17, was suspended last year after school officials deemed he made a "racially insensitive" comment about "illegal aliens" in class. The suspension led to a year-long legal battle with the Davidson County Board of Education. Last month, a proposed settlement was reportedly reached between McGhee's parents and the school board. On Tuesday, Judge Thomas David Schroeder of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina ruled that the proposed settlement was "fair, reasonable and in the best interest of [Christian]," according to a press release released Wednesday by the student's legal representatives at the Liberty Justice Center. The school has reportedly agreed to remove the racial bias incident from McGhee's record, issue a public apology, and acknowledge that a former board member responded inappropriately to the incident. Additional terms of the agreement are sealed, but the New York Post reported that the family is also slated to receive a $20,000 payment. Because the student is a minor, a court hearing was required to finalize the settlement, according to the legal group. The teen received a 3-day suspension in the spring of 2024 after asking his teacher if a conversation in class was centered around "spaceship aliens" or "illegal aliens who need green cards" after he returned to the classroom from the restroom. A Latino student present in the class reportedly "joked" that he was going to "kick Christian's a--," leading the teacher to escalate the situation to the assistant principal. McGhee's mother, Leah, who was behind the legal push against the district, told "Fox & Friends" last year that their family tried "for weeks" to resolve the matter privately but were forced to file a lawsuit after getting no response from the school board. The lawsuit accused the school board of violating McGhee's constitutionally-protected rights to free speech and due process. "The court's approval represents a critical step towards finally vindicating Christian's constitutional rights and clearing his record of false allegations," Liberty Justice Center Senior Counsel Dean McGee said of this week's ruling. McGhee's parents said they were grateful and celebrating the legal win. "We are grateful for the Liberty Justice Center's tireless efforts to bring justice to our son, and to the members of the current school board who chose to work with us to help resolve the case," Leah and Chad McGhee said. "Together with the help of our community, we have proved that constitutional rights do not end at schoolhouse doors. We are celebrating this victory and hope it encourages other families to stand firm in the face of adversity." The Davidson County School Board did not immediately return a request for comment.
Irish Times
16-06-2025
- Irish Times
Jason Corbett's killers, Molly and Tom Martens, complete North Carolina parole
Tom and Molly Martens , the North Carolina father and daughter jailed for the killing of Limerick man Jason Corbett , have completed their parole. Records from the North Carolina Department of Corrections show the pair's one-year parole period was officially terminated on June 6th. During that time, Tom Martens (75), a former FBI agent, and his daughter Molly (41) were subject to strict conditions, including where they could live and travel. They were also subject to monitoring by parole officials in Davidson County, North Carolina. READ MORE Neither came to the attention of authorities during this period, meaning they can now move freely within the United States and live together in the family home. Their parole status has been officially changed to 'inactive', records show. The killing of Mr Corbett, who was married to Molly, was recently the subject of a high-profile Netflix documentary which interviewed the victim's two children as well as the perpetrators. [ Netflix documentary sheds new light on Jason Corbett killing Opens in new window ] In October 2023, the Martens were sentenced to a minimum of four years to include time already served under a plea deal they accepted for the voluntary manslaughter of Mr Corbett. Both were released from prison just more than a year ago. In their original 2017 trial, the Martens were convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to between 20 and 25 years. The court heard that in the early hours of August 2nd, 2015, paramedics were called to the home Mr Corbett (39) shared with Molly and his two young children Jack and Sarah, from a previous marriage in Ireland, at Panther Creek Court in a suburb of the North Carolina city of Winston-Salem. Jason Corbett was killed by the Martens in August 2015. Photograph: Brendan Gleeson They found Ms Martens attempting to carry out CPR on Mr Corbett, who had suffered traumatic injuries. State prosecutors argued that the victim had been beaten to death with a baseball bat and a paving brick by Tom Martens because the Martens feared that if Mr Corbett returned to Ireland, the children would be taken from Molly Martens. The prosecution also made the case that Molly Martens would benefit from a $600,000 (€518,000) life insurance policy. In their defence, the Martens argued the killing was in self-defence against an abusive spouse. [ Opinion: Molly Martens assassinated her husband's reputation Opens in new window ] Their 2017 second-degree murder conviction was overturned on appeal in 2020 and the retrial was moved from Davidson to Forsyth County due to the intensity of the media and public interest in the story. Before the retrial began, the Martens accepted a plea deal for voluntary manslaughter in October 2023. The district attorney dropped the murder charges, but Judge David Hall advised them that a 'no-contest' admission, under North Carolina law, was taken to be an admission of a guilty plea. Under the deal, Thomas Martens admitted hitting Mr Corbett on the head with a metal baseball bat and his daughter admitted striking him on the head or shoulder with a concrete landscaping brick. The plea agreement stated that the 'autopsy and circumstances of the scene establish that at least some of the fatal blows inflicted were of a nature, number and level of force that exceeded what could have been reasonably necessary in furtherance of perfect self-defence'.
