Jes Stiehm
Staff Writer North Carolina is known for its rather infamous weather fluctuations, and that point was only proven by the arrival of Hurricane Joaquin. The United States was not negatively affected nearly as much as other locations in the Atlantic Ocean, but unusual damage was inflicted along the east coast. In North Carolina, hurricanes are of the most common storms that bring about precipitation anomalies. In fact, North Carolina’s total rainfall record of twenty four inches was caused by Hurricane Floyd in 1999. However this isn’t the most impressive record the Tar Heel state has accomplished. North Carolina has suffered tedious amounts of rainfall in the past two weeks because of the Category 4 hurricane. Enough rain to break a state record? Perhaps. The longest consecutive span of state rainfall on record was documented in the late 1880s. This year, NC matched the past record of twelve days exactly, dashing any hopes that it would rain a thirteenth day and finally break the century-old record. However, not all good things come with twelve straight days of rain. Roads had to be shut down around the Triangle because of fallen debris and unsafe tread, local crops took a massive hit, making damage control a menace, and two people died during the twelve day period. NC’s southern neighbor, South Carolina, endured even more damage, resulting in widespread floods and a current death toll of sixteen. Not much good has come out of this tropical storm, so it is certainly a positive that Hurricane Joaquin dissipated on Oct. 7, 2015. Kenison Garratt
Editor-in-Chief and A&E Editor Hurricane Joaquin has been wreaking havoc on the east coast, especially on South Carolina where record downpours have left at least seventeen dead and hundreds in need of rescuing. Over the weekend of Oct. 2 there were more than twenty-four inches of rain. Floodwaters have buckled roads, broken buildings, and have even breached five dams in Lexington and Richland counties. There are 127 bridges down and 381 roads closed, including a seventy five mile stretch of Interstate 95. This level of rain has not been observed within the coastal region of South Carolina for years, and the National Weather service even labeled Oct. 4 as the wettest day in the history of Columbia. More than one thousand law enforcement personnel and transportation department workers are on duty. County officials have issued a curfew, and everyone is asked to stay off the roads and indoors where they should boil water prior to its consumption. The drinking water supply in the state capital has been threatened by water line breaks and rising water surrounding treatment plants. For this reason, 375,000 customers have been advised to boil water before drinking. Anyone still in danger is urged to call 911 and await the arrival of a military vehicle who will then transport them to one of the two dozen shelters open. Yet even if the rain stops, the floodwaters will remain, and workers will continue to stay busy. Utility crews have been helping thirty thousand people who have been without power, and hundreds of National Guardsmen are standing by. Oct. 3 President Barack Obama authorized federal aid since more rain is expected. There are flood watches from Georgia to Delaware, and as of Oct. 4 North Carolina, South Carolina, New Jersey, and Virginia are under states of emergency. Two sources have contributed to this extreme weather. The low pressure area channels tropical moisture into the region, which causes heavy rainfall. The moisture the storm is pulling in is amplified by Hurricane Joaquin. This enormous weather system is what is causing historic flooding and leading Charleston to experience record downpours. Emily Sartin
Staff Writer An “accidental” airstrike on the Doctors Without Borders hospital in the Kunduz province of Afghanistan killed twenty-two people Saturday morning. Doctors Without Borders, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), is demanding an independent inquiry into the incident, calling it a war crime. Currently, the incident sports three investigations, including one by the Defense Department, one involving both the United States and Afghanistan, and one by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). According to MSF, the airstrike began at 2:08 a.m. and lasted until 3:15 a.m.; the aerial bombings occurred in about fifteen minute intervals. This repeated, precise bombing of the main building of the hospital continued even after the hospital contacted U.S. and Afghan military officials to report the location of the hospital. The main building, which seems to have been the main target, was the location of the medical personnel and patients, leading to the death of twelve staff members, ten patients, and another thirty-seven people wounded. The air raid has forced the hospital to close, leaving the civilians and wounded of the war-stricken Kunduz with no access to trauma care. In the week before the bombing, MSF treated 394 wounded at the hospital in Kunduz. Andrew Bulieris Staff Writer On Monday, Sept. 28, 2015, the U.N. General Assembly met in the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. On the brink of tension between the two, President Obama and President Putin met for the first time in over ten months. The assembly also included some familiar faces including President Xi Jinping of China, President Hassan Rouhani of Iran, and a ton of other leaders. The meeting even included newcomer President Raul Castro of Cuba. Castro is the presidential predecessor of his older brother Fidel Castro. This is Castro’s first visit back to the USA in more than half a century; 1959 to be exact. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon kicked off the proceedings. Many issues were discussed at this year’s meetings; some were the Syria Conundrum which has been going on for years now. More than 100,000 people have died in the two-year Civil War. The council continued to try to reach an agreement on what should be done with this issue, but the clock is ticking. Syria has agreed to a U.S.-Russia timeline for the removal of its chemical weapons, but the plan has to be recognized as a U.N. resolution. Another dilemma that was discussed is to whether the U.N. should recognize Palestine as a member state. Last year, Palestinians won recognition from the U.N. General Assembly as a non-member state. Last year, the upgraded diplomatic status gave them access to U.N. bodies. It also raised concerns in Israel that Palestinians would seek membership in agencies such as the International Criminal Court where it can press for war crimes charges against Israel. New reports have also come out that ISIS is trying to obtain a nuclear weapon; this matter is definitely a strong topic that will be discussed as ISIS has ravaged parts of the Middle East. Nuclear Weapons have raised many eyebrows across the world, and more needs to be done to keep these issues under control. President Obama’s speech touched broadly on the United Nations helping nations work together in a time of threats from terrorism and economic contagion during the General Assembly 70th session, which began Monday morning. "If we cannot work together more effectively, we will all suffer the consequences," he said. President Obama urged Nations to work together to find a way to end the chaos in Syria, and he blamed al-Assad, President of Syria, for creating a power vacuum in the country that has allowed the terror group ISIS to fester. Raul Castro, in his first appearances at the U.N. as president of Cuba, called for an end to the U.S. embargo against his country. Castro commended the resumption of diplomatic relations with the United States but said a long process towards normalization is ahead. "This will only be achieved with the end of the economic, commercial and financial blockade against Cuba," Castro said. Obama then received applause for his comments on Cuba stating that The U.S. Policy on Cuba wasn’t working, so we changed that. Last but not least, the Leaders at the U.N. Assembly should strive to maintain the U.N. ideals and continue to work on making this world a better place. Alyssa Hotchkiss
Staff Writer One day in 2012, Captain Jacques Gilbert had met a young man named Tracy Stallworth. Stallworth was a skater who had gotten in trouble for skating around town many times. Captain Gilbert had received a call on noise complaint, and upon arriving at the house, Gilbert met Stallworth. Gilbert told Stallworth how he couldn’t skate there, and Stallworth asked, “Then where can I skate?” At first Gilbert had just told him that he needed to figure that out. Yet shortly after driving away, Gilbert recalls a change in his thought and says, “God kept telling me to go back, go back, go back, go back.” So he did, Gilbert spoke to Stallworth again and said that they were going to do something about this. They had planned to meet at Chick-fil-a at 5:15 p.m. that Monday. Gilbert was there early, and at 5:15 p.m. Stallworth had not shown up, but five minutes later Stallworth and another skater showed up on skateboards. They were trying to come up with ways to raise awareness about skating. This led to weekly meetings at Chick-fil-a; at one meeting there were twenty-five skaters! They decided to start hosting skating contests and events. Sept. 22 of 2012 was the first event, Gilbert thought no skaters would show up because he is a police officer. To his surprise over one hundred skaters showed up. Not only was the skate group hosting contests and such, but also they were also doing community service. Gilbert had no intentions of telling several people about trying to raise money for a skate park; in fact he only told one person. He had received a call from Councilman Scott Lassiter one day who was asking if he could sit in on one of the meetings. Gilbert at one meeting had said, “There will be a park soon!” He had then regretfully thought to himself, “I shouldn’t have promised this, what if it falls through?” Through countless efforts and ideas, one million dollars had be donated to build the Apex Skate Park. Yet, to Gilbert’s surprise, it is 2015, and Apex has a beautiful skate park. Gilbert says he does not take credit for this. That credit should go to the town council and the parents who were raising petitions and doing surveys about having a skate park. Cameron Goz Sports Editor Chase Utley of the Los Angeles Dodgers has been suspended for games three and four of the NLDS by Major League Baseball for what has been deemed as an “illegal slide”. The illegal slide broke Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada’s leg in the seventh inning of game two of this series. "After thoroughly reviewing the play from all conceivable angles, I have concluded that Mr. Utley's action warrants discipline," Joe Torre, MLB’s Chief Baseball Officer, said in a statement. "While I sincerely believe that Mr. Utley had no intention of injuring Ruben Tejada, and was attempting to help his Club in a critical situation, I believe his slide was in violation of Official Baseball Rule 5.09 (a) (13), which is designed to protect fielders from precisely this type of rolling block that occurs away from the base." "[The Mets] feel this was the appropriate course of action," the team said in a statement. "With this decision behind us, the team and our fans can now focus on playing winning baseball”. While Major League Baseball did right by the suspension, the matter was not handled correctly on the field. Tejada attempted to step on the bag while trying to turn a double play, and though he missed, Utley missed the bag entirely as well. A replay review was conducted, and Utley was ruled safe. There are a number of things the umpires did wrong in this situation that effectively led to a rally in the same inning by the Dodgers that swung the momentum in their favor for good. The neighborhood play is a rule set up to protect fielders attempting to turn a double play, essentially allowing a phantom tag of second base to be able to avoid a slide. These plays are unreviewable, but Los Angeles manager Don Mattingly convinced the umpires to review it regardless. They later stated they believed the throw from second baseman Daniel Murphy pulled Tejada off, which in turn eliminates the neighborhood play. Second, Utley made no attempt to go for the base at all, and it was clear as day to the record-setting television audience that he didn’t. In those interference situations, the interferer is immediately called out as well as the batter. If it had been called correctly the first time, the inning would have ended at that point, with New York up 2-1. Utley was granted second after he did not touch the bag, yet another way the play was mismanaged. While rules say if neither the fielder nor the baserunner touch the base, the baserunner is safe, the explanation that if Tejada had tagged Utley afterwards he would have been out is ludicrous. For one, he was ruled out, and to tag someone who is ruled out makes zero sense. Not only that, but to say this after Tejada proceeded to writhe on the ground in pain with a broken leg has left people across the nation confused. Nonetheless, Utley will appeal the ruling and should be available for game three in Queens on Monday if the appeal process is not carried out in time. With ace Matt Harvey on the mound for the Mets in the pivotal matchup, there are certainly fireworks to look forward to. Hailey Loftin Staff Writer The first game between the Apex Cougars and the Apex Friendship High School Patriots was preceded by the beginnings of a heated rivalry. Tweets from fans of the Patriots called Apex “Laura Duncan High School” while tweets from Cougars fans used the hashtag “#theREALapex”. The Apex cheerleaders held a banner that said, “Ain’t Nothin’ Like The Real Thing” as the team ran out onto the field before the game. Despite it being a cold, rainy night, the Cougar Crazies made a great showing. Members of the varsity football team came in their jerseys to show their support for the JV team. The game started out with an eighty-five-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Apex Friendship’s Jaden Roundtree. That was the Patriots’ first and only scoring play of the entire game. Apex scored one touchdown in the first half with a nineteen-yard run. It was a tied ball game heading into halftime, but in the second half the Cougars buckled down and scored four touchdowns. Homecoming hero Duke Fruehauf threw a fifteen-yard pass for the only touchdown of the third quarter. All three of the Cougars’ touchdowns in the fourth quarter were runs, including one that was the result of a recovered onside kick. The final score of the game was 34-7, giving the Cougars the Backyard Brawl trophy for this inaugural game. Henry McKeand
Editor-in-Chief and A&E Editor Going in-depth with Daniel Johnson, musician and Panther Creek teacher Jack the Radio, a local indie-rock band, has been receiving praise for years due to its authentic blues sound and pop sensibilities. They have been busy recently, playing at the Hopscotch Music Festival earlier this month and recording their new album Badlands, due for release on Oct. 20. The group was created by roommates A.C. Hill and George Hage, but it would not be complete without multi-instrumentalist Danny Johnson and drummer Brent Francese. In addition to his work with Jack the Radio, Johnson works as a social studies teacher at Panther Creek High School. The two jobs are very different, but Johnson manages to fully enjoy each of them while balancing his responsibilities. He was kind enough to answer some questions for Legacy, found below. How did you get involved in music, and what prompted you to join a band? According to my family lore, I've always been a music kid... My household growing up always had music playing, and I have pretty vivid memories of being very young and putting records on the family turntable. The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Gordon Lightfoot, Jim Croce, Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello... the range of music was pretty wide! On the "playing music" side of things, my dad played guitar when I was growing up. He had an old nylon string acoustic, and I remember learning a few chords on that one when I was eight or nine years old. I got an electric guitar for my ninth birthday, and after six months of trying to learn to play like the "greats" (Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, etc.) I got frustrated and stopped playing. Luckily, I picked up that old acoustic again around the age of ten, and that time, I stuck to it. If you play music (other than "soloist instruments" like classical guitar), sitting in your bedroom and playing by yourself loses its excitement after a while. Musicians tend to gravitate to other musicians, and when you find a group of people that you click with both musically and personally, it can be one of the most fulfilling elements in your artistic life! Honestly, I can't imagine not being in a band. Is it difficult to balance your duties as a teacher with your obligation to your band? Taylor Tyson Staff Writer Guess who’s back, back again. Jack is back; tell a friend. On Sept. 30, 2015, Jack Dorsey was named Twitter’s Chief Executive Officer after being cofounder in 2009. According to Central News Network or CNN, Jack was previously named “interim chief after Dick Costolo stepped down” in July of this year. Although this seems like a major promotion for Dorsey, Twitter will not “provide Dorsey with any compensation for his role as CEO,” as stated in Twitter’s Security and Exchanges Commission filing. Dorsey will also continue his role as CEO of Square, a company known for helping with card swipes in local shops. When named interim CEO, Dorsey seemed like a temporary fix to the company’s problem; he would only fill Costolo’s role momentarily as suggested in the company’s press release stating that the Committee “will only consider candidates for recommendation to the full Board who are in a position to make a full-time commitment to Twitter.” That seems a little harsh considering Jack had been with the company for almost a decade. However, with several other obligations and stocks in many companies, it seemed like Dorsey was in no way, shape, or form what Twitter wanted at the time. Despite the earlier controversy, Peter Curie, head of the search for a new CEO, found that Dorsey was “not just meeting but surpassing expectations as CEO." Emily Sartin Staff Writer Volkswagen (VW) has admitted to putting “defeat devices” in eleven million diesel engines in the Golf, Passat, Beetle, and Jetta during model years 2009 to 2015. These devices allow the car to pass emissions tests while actually releasing forty times more than the legal amount of nitrogen-oxide. The impact of this crisis, one of the worst in history, affects more than corporate VW; it affects car dealers, VW suppliers, consumers that own the altered models, and the shareholders in VW stock. The full details of how the device operates is unclear. The engines of the cars have computer software that senses when the car is under a test scenario by tracking speed, engine operation, air pressure, and the position of the steering wheel. When the software detects the car is being tested, the device puts the vehicle in a safety mode, causing the engine to run below normal power and performance. The cars, under normal operation, release forty times more than the amount regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of pollution-causing nitrogen oxide. The device likely came about in the middle of last decade when it was clear that VW’s old diesel design did not meet tougher emission standards, leading engineers to create the “defeat device” to ensure improved mileage and performance. The effects of the scandal are ever growing and extending to more people. VW could face fines as high as $37,500 per car from the EPA, possibly totaling $18 billion in fines in the U.S. alone; the price of fines could increase to a much higher number as other regulators around the world get involved. Additionally, VW has set aside $8 billion for recalls, and the number of lawsuits and criminal charges are growing every day. |
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