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TUESDAY, JUNE 6, 2023

Hello from editor John Nagy. High school graduation is always a fun time of celebration, and we mark it in a few ways at The Pilot.

Tomorrow's edition of The Pilot includes two tributes to this year's graduates: our annual standalone 20-page graduation section and our yearly "message" to graduates on our editorial page. Even if your graduation was five or 50 years ago, both are worthy of your time.

Still to come: check out Sunday's issue of The Pilot and the website for photo galleries of the North Moore, Union Pines and Pinecrest high school graduations. Congratulations to all the graduates and their families.

FORWARD THIS BRIEFING

T O N I G H T ' S T O P S T O R Y :

“I’m not going to wait until midyear and then all of a sudden we’re running out of money, we're running hat in hand to the county commissioners," said board chair Robert Levy. "That’s not what we were elected to do.”

Schools Budget Faces Potential Shortfall

The Moore County Board of Education may have to deplete its savings to come close to balancing the budget it has set out for the 2023-2024 school year.

Administrators told the board on Monday that based on the proposed budgets for the county and state, which provide most of the district’s funding, Moore County Schools will likely face a funding shortfall.

How much revenue the school district will receive next year won’t be better known until later this month, once the county commissioners and N.C General Assembly have adopted their own budgets. But based on budgets proposed in the state House and Senate, administrators are predicting about $3 million in new costs that will need to be paid for with local funds.

M O R E N E W S

As the facility grows, there is a “need to modernize and expand” mechanical equipment and infrastructure, FirstHealth Chief Operating Officer Jonathan Davis said. TED FITZGERALD / The Pilot

FirstHealth Building New Power Plant to Accommodate Future Growth

FirstHealth of the Carolinas, fresh off the success of opening its new comprehensive cancer center in Pinehurst, has a full list of new projects, renovations and other plans to grow medical services.

What it is short on, however, is power generation. Hospital executives say they cannot grow the way they want to based on their current ability to generate power and related utilities.

That is why construction is underway now on Memorial Drive at Moore Regional Hospital to develop a new central energy plant. This plant will replace the current one, enabling the expansion and modernization of equipment and facilities.

“I was singing, but I felt the presence of something else,” Elijah McCormick said, describing the experience as life-changing. “So I sang like it was a transformative moment.”

'American Idol' Contestant to Perform Locally

Elijah McCormick sang in front of millions during his time on “American Idol,” calling his experience on the show’s 21st season “just the start” of his journey.

McCormick will sing to a considerably smaller crowd later this week in Southern Pines. He will sit for an interview at Red’s Corner, 901 S.W. Broad St., Southern Pines, on June 8, followed by a performance. The event starts at 6 p.m., with the discussion at 6:30 p.m. and the performance at 7 p.m.

McCormick will sing the National Anthem at the Sandhills Bogeys baseball game on June 15, which starts at 5 p.m. at Bogey Ballpark, 3395 Airport Road in Pinehurst. He will also perform at the 80th anniversary gala for the West Southern Pines Civic Club — the oldest community-based organization in West Southern Pines.

F R O M T H E S I D E L I N E S

Sandhills Bogeys outfielder Nick DiCarlo reacts after a call favoring the Bogeys during an Old North State League game against the Sanford Spinners Saturday at Sandhills Community College. TIMOTHY L. HALE / Special to The Pilot

Bogeys Light Up the Offense in First Two Games of Homestand

Nick DiCarlo, a former Pinecrest standout and current Louisburg College product, helped the Sandhills Bogeys to a 19-9 victory in seven innings over the Sanford Spinners in the home opener for the second-year Old North State League team Saturday.

“Yesterday, coach Shaffer told us that a lot of people were going to be here, and I didn’t play last year. I wasn't on the Bogeys, but, man, he was right,” DiCarlo said. “There were a lot of people here, and I can’t lie, I was a little nervous, but we came out and handled business. It does feel good to get that first home win under our belt.”

F R O M P I L O T R A D I O

It's All About You...
... YouTube, that is. Since February 2005, YouTube has been the omnipresent online Goliath. Now it is more popular with creators than Instagram or Tik Tok. Keith takes a look at how and why that's happening.

Listen to the latest episode.

P H O T O F I N I S H

Before Tragedy, Comedy: Actors, stage hands and production crew set up the stage at Tufts Park in Pinehurst for the upcoming Shakespeare in the Pines Festival production of "Romeo and Juliet," put on by the Uprising Theatre Company. Shows run this Friday, Saturday and Sunday and next beginning at 7:30 p.m. Photo by TED FITZGERALD / The Pilot

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