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Masked men crash a dance party before robbing and attacking attendees in Kowen Forest, ACT

Masked men crash a dance party before robbing and attacking attendees in Kowen Forest, ACT

A dance party in a forest descended into chaos when masked intruders arrived and robbed and assaulted attendees.

ACT Police are appealing for witnesses and information following the series of assaults and robberies at the dance party off Sutton Road in Kowen Forest on Sunday morning.

Police and emergency services were called to a dance party in Kowen Forest at around 2.45am following reports of the incident.

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When police arrived, victims and witnesses said a group of Pacific Islander-looking men attended the party in a silver van and began demanding cash and valuables from partygoers.

The perpetrators were dressed in black and the group arrived and left the scene in a silver van.

Police identified several robbery and assault victims and two people were taken to hospital with minor injuries.

Police are collecting information from partygoers who have not yet provided their details and from anyone who saw a silver van in the area near Sutton Road before or after 2.45am.

Anyone who can help police with this incident is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

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Ranveer Allahbadia’s YouTube Channel Hacking Incident: How to Protect and Recover Your YouTube Account? |

Ranveer Allahbadia’s YouTube Channel Hacking Incident: How to Protect and Recover Your YouTube Account? |

Recently popular YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadiaalso known as BeerBiceps, suffered a major setback when his YouTube accounts were hacked. The hackers changed his account names and deleted all of his videos. Fortunately, YouTube responded quickly, removing the compromised accounts and fully restoring them, including the deleted content.
While Allahbadia, a prominent figure, was able to quickly regain control of his accounts thanks to his access to resources and connections, not everyone may be so lucky. In light of this event, it is important to understand how to protect your own YouTube account from hacker attacks and the steps to recover in the event of a compromise.

How to tell if a YouTube account has been hacked

Knowing how to tell if your account has been hacked is the first crucial step to protecting your YouTube channel. Look out for these signs of a compromised account:

  • Access issues: If you can’t log in to your YouTube account or your password no longer works, this could be a clear indication of a hacker attack.
  • Profile information changed: Any unauthorized changes to your channel name, profile picture, or banner image are a red flag.
  • Unauthorized videos: If you notice videos being uploaded or deleted without your consent, it’s a sign that someone else may have gained access.
  • Suspicious activity alerts: You may receive notifications from YouTube or Google about unusual login attempts or account changes. These should be taken seriously and investigated immediately.

Measures to protect YouTube account

Implementing preventive measures is key to avoiding the risk of your account being hacked. Here are some best practices to protect your YouTube account:

  • Use strong and unique passwords: Make sure your password is strong, unique and difficult to guess. Avoid using the same password on multiple platforms as this makes it easier for hackers to access your accounts. Ideally, your password should be a combination of letters, numbers and symbols.

  • Check account permissions: Regularly review and manage the third-party apps and services that have access to your YouTube account. Revoke permissions for any applications you no longer use or recognize. Hackers may use connected apps as a gateway into your account.

  • Enable two-factor authentication (2FA).: Two-factor authentication (2FA) is one of the most effective ways to secure your account. With 2FA enabled, even if someone gets your password, they won’t be able to log in without a secondary code being sent to your phone or email address.

  • Use passkeys for additional security: Passkeys such as biometric authentication (fingerprint or facial recognition) can provide an additional layer of protection. This method ties your authentication to a physical device, making it harder for hackers to bypass your security.

YouTube account hacked? Recovery steps

If your account has already been compromised, it is important to act quickly to recover it. Follow these steps to regain control:
Sign out of all devices

  • If your account is hacked, log out of all devices immediately. You can do this by accessing the Manage Devices section in your Google Account Settings and selecting the option to sign out of unknown devices.

Change your password

  • Update your password to a strong and unique one as soon as possible. Make sure it is completely different from the previous password to prevent the hacker from gaining access again.

Contact YouTube Support
If you can’t regain access using standard methods, contact YouTube Support. To do this, proceed as follows:

  • Go to the Google account recovery page.
  • Follow the instructions to verify your identity using a recovery email address or phone number, or answer security questions.
  • After confirmation, reset your password and secure your account.

Remove unauthorized users

  • After you regain access, review your account’s user permissions and remove any unknown users that may have been added by the hacker. You can do this by navigating to the settings in your YouTube account and checking access permissions.

Re-enable two-factor authentication (2FA).

  • If you haven’t enabled 2FA yet, make sure you do so immediately after restoring your account. This prevents future hacking attempts by adding an additional layer of security.

Delete unauthorized videos

  • If any unauthorized videos were uploaded to your channel during the hacking incident, delete them immediately. YouTube’s platform policies may hold you responsible for content posted under your account, even if you did not upload it.

What to do if you can’t recover your YouTube account?

If the above steps fail and you still can’t recover your account, visit YouTube Help Center and search for “Hacked Account.” YouTube provides a form to report your hacked account. The YouTube team will then help you solve the problem.
Read also | Elon Musk criticizes Sam Altman for moving OpenAI to a for-profit model | Check out the post

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Trump speaks about immigration during his speech in Wisconsin

Trump speaks about immigration during his speech in Wisconsin

Trump hopes frustration over illegal immigration will translate into votes in Wisconsin and other key swing states. The Republican candidate has called people crossing the U.S.-Mexico border “poisoning the blood of the country” and vowed to carry out the largest deportation operation in American history if elected. And polls show that Americans believe Trump would do a better job handling immigration than Harris.

Trump moved from topic to topic so quickly that it was sometimes difficult to keep track of what he meant. He spoke about the two assassination attempts against him and blamed U.S. intelligence for his inability to hold a large outdoor rally instead of a smaller indoor event. But he also spoke out about climate change, about Harris’ father, about how his beach body was better than President Joe Biden’s and about a fly that buzzed near him.

“I wonder where the fly came from,” he said. “Two years ago I wouldn’t have had a fly up here. You are changing quickly. But we can’t take it any longer. We can’t take it any longer.”

Trump repeatedly brought up Harris’ Friday event in Douglas, Arizona, where she announced a push to further restrict asylum applications beyond Biden’s executive order announced earlier this year. Harris condemned Trump’s handling of the border while the president rejected a bipartisan border package earlier this year, saying Trump “prefers to address a problem rather than solve a problem.”

“I had to sit there and listen,” Trump said last night, drawing cheers. “And who wears it? Fox News. They shouldn’t be allowed to put it on. They’re all lies. Everything she says is lies.”

The Republican candidate also escalated his personal attacks against Harris, calling her “mentally impaired” and a “disaster.”

Trump pretended not to understand what Harris meant when she said he was responsible for taking the children away from their parents. Under his administration, border officials separated children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border. A policy that was condemned worldwide as inhumane and that Trump himself ended under pressure from his own party.

At a rally in San Francisco, Harris told his supporters that there are “two very different visions for our nation” and that voters see this “every day on the campaign trail.”

“Donald Trump is the same old tired show,” she said. “The same tired playbook we’ve heard for years.”

She said Trump was “a very dubious man.” “However, the consequences of putting him back in the White House are extremely serious.”

Trump’s event featured billboard-sized mugshots on both sides of the stage of men in the U.S. illegally accused of crimes, including Alejandro Jose Coronel Zarate, a case Trump cited in his speech.

Wisconsin Republicans in recent days have cited the story of Coronel Zarate’s arrest in Prairie du Chien as further evidence that people in the country illegally are committing crimes throughout the United States, not just in the southern border states. Prosecutors charged Coronel Zarate on September 18 with sexual assault, child abuse, strangulation and domestic violence. His lawyers declined to comment.

Police Chief Kyle Teynor posted statements on Facebook saying Coronel Zarate was not a U.S. citizen and that he had two fake immigration documents, including a fake Social Security card. The chief added that Coronel Zarate’s tattoos suggest he is linked to the Tren de Aragua gang, which began in Venezuelan prisons and is a growing threat in the United States

Speaking to the crowd on Saturday, Teynor stressed that Coronel Zarate was the only Venezuelan gang member his agency had encountered, but the violence his two alleged victims suffered at his hands earlier this month was very real.

Republicans, including U.S. Sen. Derrick Van Orden, a Prairie du Chien native, have criticized authorities in both Minneapolis and Madison for letting Coronel Zarate go, saying they essentially allowed him to kill the woman Attack Prairie du Chien. They accuse both jurisdictions of being havens for people who are in the country illegally.

Van Orden told the crowd that Trump was the only one who could restore order.

“You will see the one man who has enough strength and courage of conviction to stand up to anyone who gets shot in the head for us, even,” he said.


Reported for a long time from Washington.

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Ruger in London: Nigeria’s bold and fearless star makes headlines in the city

Ruger in London: Nigeria’s bold and fearless star makes headlines in the city

A highly publicized online dispute with fellow Nigerian singer BNXN (formerly Buju) has kept both singers in the headlines in recent years.

The argument was fueled by fans comparing the two artists and reached its peak when the pair competed for an award at the Headies, a Nigerian music awards show in 2022, which was ultimately won by BXBN.

But the former rivals eventually called a truce and collaborated on a joint album, RnB, which was released earlier this year.

“We’re growing, you see,” Ruger says. “We grow and develop together. That’s the most important thing.”

Looking back, it seems clear to him that the two were destined to make great music together, regardless of that early rivalry.

Ruger is currently considering further collaborations.

On his wish list are global superstars Doja Cat, Future and especially Adele.

“Just her gentle voice and mine do something amazing. I trust it’s crazy!”

So what does Ruger think of the trend of singers from outside the continent harnessing the “African sound”?

As the Afrobeats genre expands worldwide, even gaining its own category at the Grammys and MTV VMAs, it’s the lack of substance behind certain songs that worries Ruger.

“Some people just go into the studio and just do a bunch of things, and because there’s money to push them, they push it – and the world is forced to like it.”

“That’s where I think the dilution comes from.”

Despite the pressures of an evolving industry, Ruger remains true to its craft.

“Times are changing,” he says. “I feel like you can either change with time or do whatever you want.”

For now, however, the groundbreaking artist is focused on the present and giving his fans the best.

“I feel blessed… This is my first headlining show in London, it’s long overdue.”

Article edited by Natasha Booty

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Canadian Isabelle Harris wins judo bronze at the European Open in Prague

Canadian Isabelle Harris wins judo bronze at the European Open in Prague

Isabelle Harris of Abbotsford, B.C., won a bronze medal at the European Open Judo competition on Saturday.

The 23-year-old scored an ippon, or full point, against Italy’s Antonietta Palumbo in a women’s 63-kilogram marathon that went more than six minutes into overtime.

Harris was also a bronze medalist at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile.

Her teammate Yanis Hachemi of Repentigny, Que., lost to Niels Thijssen of the Netherlands in his men’s 73-kg bronze medal bout. The Canadian lost his sixth game of the day via ippon in overtime.

“Both bronze medal finals were very close, but Isabelle’s final was the closest of the two,” Canadian coach Antoine Bouchard said in a statement on Saturday.

During the women’s bronze bout, Harris and Palumbo each received two penalties, and a third on either side would have ended the game.

“Both had good chances to throw the other,” Bouchard said. “Isabelle managed to counter one of them [her opponent’s] attacks and she scored a big ippon. There was a lot at stake in this fight.

“She achieved some great results last year, particularly at the Pan American Games. And it’s important to note that she had to miss almost two months last summer due to injury and only started training again just under a month ago.”

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Ohio State vs. Michigan State game today: channel, time, streaming information

Ohio State vs. Michigan State game today: channel, time, streaming information

Ohio State football has started the 2024 college football season with flying colors.

The No. 3 Buckeyes have outscored their opponents 157-20 in their first three games and have scored 49 points in each game this season. This week, OSU faces a new challenge with its first Big Ten game of the season and its first road game against Michigan State on Saturday in East Lansing, Michigan.

Required reading:Saturday Raw: Former Ohio State coach Anthony Schlegel takes on “The Slam” 10 years later

Quarterback Will Howard and the Buckeyes will face the Spartans in a primetime game. The Kansas State transfer has completed 51 of 74 passes (68.9%) for 795 yards, six touchdowns and one interception this season, while Ole Miss transfer running back Quinshon Judkins has completed 336 yards and three touchdowns. Freshman sensation Jeremiah Smith leads the team with 14 catches for 281 yards and four scores.

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Free Houston Texans-Jacksonville Jaguars live stream: How to watch NFL games, TV, time

Free Houston Texans-Jacksonville Jaguars live stream: How to watch NFL games, TV, time

The Houston Texans will play the Jacksonville Jaguars in an NFL game on Sunday afternoon. The matchup begins at 12 p.m. CT on CBS. Fans can watch this game online for free by taking advantage of the free trial offered by Fubo TV, which also offers new users a $30 discount during their first month of service. Alternatively, DirecTV Stream offers a free trial.

Houston comes into this matchup with a 2-1 record and the team is coming off a tough 34-7 loss to Minnesota. What’s notable is that the Texans only ran for 38 yards in the loss. Cam Akers led the team in rushing as he finished the game with nine carries for 21 yards. Houston’s offense will look to improve its rushing attack on Sunday, but may have to play without its star running back Joe Mixon. He was unable to play against Minnesota due to injury, and it is questionable whether he will play against Jacksonville.

Houston’s starting quarterback CJ Stroud played poorly against Minnesota last week, throwing two interceptions. The second-year player has already thrown for 709 yards and four touchdowns in 2024, so he’ll look to bounce back with a better performance against Jacksonville.

Jacksonville enters this matchup with a record of 0-3 and the team is coming off a 47-10 loss to Buffalo. The Jaguars had two turnovers and only managed 239 total yards in the loss. Notably, Jacksonville hasn’t been able to score more than 17 points in a single game this season, so the team needs to turn things around quickly.

Fans can watch this game online for free by taking advantage of the free trial offered by Fubo TV, which also offers new users a $30 discount during their first month of service. Alternatively, DirecTV Stream offers a free trial.

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DTLA protesters demand action to address rising cost of living in California

DTLA protesters demand action to address rising cost of living in California

More than a hundred demonstrators marched through downtown Los Angeles on Saturday to protest the cost of living in California.

“It’s way too high for our people to pull out,” Miracle McKinney said. “We should have wages that are fair enough to live in the city where we work.”

According to a recent US news report, the cost of living in California is 30 percent higher than the national average. While Los Angeles was ranked as the second most expensive city in the United States.

“Companies are price gouging,” McKinney said. “[They’re] Raise rents without actually increasing wages.

Protesters on Saturday held signs that read, “Raise wages, lower rent.”

“We can’t afford to go out and vacation,” Liliana Hernandez said. “We have to pay the rent and the bills first and think about what we’re going to eat for the week.”

RECOMMENDED: Data shows how much money you need to “live comfortably” in California.

Hernandez works as a housekeeper in Santa Monica. She’s a single mom who says she’s just trying to stay ahead of her bills.

“I am lucky to have a rental apartment, but my colleagues have to travel [from] Palmdale and Bakersfield,” Hernandez said.

Protesters played music as they marched through downtown Los Angeles on Saturday. Her message caught the attention of people passing by.

“Wages aren’t going up, it’s tough out there,” said Tajai Mcgehe as he walked past the protest. “Lower rent, you can’t be angry about that. That makes me want to get involved.”

Protesters hope their message will lead to change.

“We’re sending a message to the corporations and landlords,” Hernandez said. “We need rising salaries and falling rents.”

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Jeremiah Smith is doing things an Ohio State freshman has never done, even if he didn’t expect it

Jeremiah Smith is doing things an Ohio State freshman has never done, even if he didn’t expect it

One of the consistently most impressive things about Jeremiah Smith – at least off the football field – is his humility.

Whenever he has a chance to praise himself, he turns to his teammates and coaches. It’s a tired cliché, but he kept his head down and worked every step of the way. There’s a reason he was the first freshman named an Iron Buckeye by Ohio State’s strength and conditioning team.

That humility resurfaced when someone asked Smith what he saw on a Will Howard interception against Marshall, a pass intended for Smith deep down the right sideline. He didn’t say anything about the throw – just that he lined up in the wrong position.

“That was my fault,” Smith said. “My gap was too big.”

Another way his humility is expressed? Smith came to Columbus with no expectations of his role. This is despite the fact that he is the top overall recruit in the 2024 class and is considered one of the best receiver prospects to ever come out of high school.

Driven by a fantastic work ethic, Smith is on his way to a freshman season unlike any Ohio State has ever experienced. But he didn’t think he’d be an instant star.

“Not at all,” Smith said. “This is Ohio State. With all the receivers who have been here and who were here before I arrived, I didn’t have the slightest expectation of taking on the role that I have now. That’s why I thank God deeply that I can be in this position right now.”

In three games in which he was subbed off at the end of the third quarter, Smith has already recorded 14 receptions for 281 yards and four touchdowns. At his current pace, he would break the Ohio State University freshman receptions record with six more games, the yards record with four more games, and the touchdown record with three more games. All three of those records were set in Cris Carter’s freshman season in 1984, when the future Pro Football Hall of Famer had 41 receptions for 648 yards and eight touchdowns.

Smith is the first freshman in school history to amass 200 receiving yards in his first two career games. He is the only first-year senior to catch a touchdown pass in each of his first three career games.

“I think the first thing is they get here in the middle of the year,” Day said Wednesday of what makes a freshman ready to contribute early. “It was really hard for guys not here in January to make an impression, that’s just the truth. I think the second thing is that they are physically mature and then mentally and emotionally mature to be able to handle the speed of the game and adapt to it quickly. You have to bring it with you to every game. Sometimes in high school you can switch off and unwind for a bit, play a few games. You can’t do that in college, you certainly can’t do that here.”

Smith starred in South Florida’s wide receiver factory, honing his craft throughout the year in camps and on 7-on-7 teams like the South Florida Express, a squad that also included Carnell Tate and Brandon Inniss before their careers in the Ohio State played. Smith had plenty of nuance in his running, body control, ball skills and other technical components of positional play.

For his first career touchdown, he made a wonderful play on a back-shoulder ball, a 16-yard grab off the arm of Will Howard. Smith tracks the ball perfectly, turns in the blink of an eye to catch it cleanly, and takes two steps into the turf before it falls out of bounds.

At times, though, it looked natural for Smith. Like a Formula 1 car racing past a worn-out Volkswagen Beetle.

And yet none of this has gone to Smith’s head.

“I still feel like I’m a normal freshman,” Smith said. “A lot of people say that’s not the case, but the role I took on was a blessing. I can’t say it’s on me, it’s on God and the coaches trusting me to put a freshman on the floor and just go out there and make plays and do what I do.”

The hardest part of Smith’s transition to college was learning the Ohio State program. He took advice from the more experienced players in his room and receivers coach Brian Hartline about where to go and what to do.

“I would say the playbook, just because you have different formations, there’s a lot of stuff in there,” Smith said. “Coming out of high school, one of the biggest things was just learning the playbook a little bit. But Coach Hartline, Emeka (Egbuka), Carnell, really the whole receiver group just helped me a lot.”

The quick start to Smith’s career seems surreal. This also applies to the trust that coaches and teammates have placed in him. Howard was quoted after Ohio State’s 49-14 win over the Thundering Herd as saying that he makes a go-ball shot from the press man on fourth down “every day of the week” – even after the aforementioned interception.

“He tells me every day that if you’re on your own, I’ll go to you, one on one,” Smith said. “No matter who’s on top of you, it doesn’t matter. I vomit it.”

Coaches showed similar confidence in Smith after he dropped his first career target on a pass on the screen that looked like it could have led to a long touchdown. He stayed in the game, came out on the next drive and scored on three possessions, the first two for third-down conversions and the last for the aforementioned 16-yard score.

“He tells me every day that I will go to you if you are alone insured, one on one. No matter who is on you, it doesn’t matter. I vomit it.”– Jeremiah Smith on Will Howard’s trust in him

This week, Smith is back to work and preparing for Michigan State. He knows that there are much tougher matches ahead of him. But he has the talent, skills and mentality to continue to do things no Buckeye rookie has done before.

“They’re a much better team than the last three teams we played,” Smith said. “I’ve heard they’re a better team because Ohio State has played them the last few years we’ve played. That’s what Coach Day said. It’s going to be a good game. We just have to go in there and be Ohio State.”

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The urgent need for roof repairs

The urgent need for roof repairs

Schools in the Clinton system are facing a roofing need that administrators say is getting worse and more costly. Total repair costs are currently estimated at over $11 million.

That was the message John Lowe, executive director of technology and support services for Clinton City Schools, delivered to the Clinton City School Board last week.

Both the city and county school systems have had roofing issues for some time, and Lowe said the estimated cost for four of the five Clinton City schools for total roof repairs is about $11,299,600 supplied.

“Going back to the (state) Needs Based Capital Fund, that window opened Aug. 1 and the filing deadline was Sept. 13,” Lowe said. “We met that deadline and I filled out 14 different applications that Dr. (Linda) Brunson was able to sign together with our district representatives. These applications allocate over $6 million for roofing and I included approximately $2.5 million for HVAC needs.

“There is no guarantee that we will receive funding, but in 2021-22 I received almost $900,000, so we can hope for some support from the state in this area,” he continued prices change.”

The $11 million estimate accounts for every school in need, except the newer Clinton High. Among those numbers were cases, Lowe said, that he considered high priority based on their current condition.

“I needed those estimates to support the grant,” Lowe explained. “So you can see some of the updated numbers as well as places that are high priority for me right now. This is Building 300 at LC Kerr, where multiple leaks have occurred in four of the six classrooms. The next equally high priorities are Sampson Middle, both the academic wing and the gymnasium, and then there is the Sunset Avenue wall.

“That wall, I mean, I don’t sleep on it because we have that dividing brick facade,” Lowe confirmed. “If action is not taken, the brick facade above office wing 800 will eventually fall away, from the upper part to the lower part. We have to deal with it.”

The wall project alone, Lowe said, is estimated to cost about $280,000, money he noted is included in his capital expenditure plan. Although there are plans to make the repairs, Lowe said more help is needed.

“My capital expenditure plan for this school year is to bid and rehabilitate that wall, but we’re going to need some assistance from the Needs Base Public School Capital Funds or an infusion of some (money) from the County Commissioners Fund Balance will help us do that because it will be an expensive project,” emphasized Lowe.

The director also explained in detail how the contractors should repair the wall and when funds will be available for the project.

“The recommendation is to take the brick façade off, replace the windows and install vertical metal roof panels as we are getting water through the current brick façade,” he said. “We made every possible attempt to patch it; We replaced the edging on the bottom and coated the wall with a water repellent to try to contain the problem, but we are now at the point where we have no more paving.”

The Sunset wall isn’t the only place Lowe said she’s at her patch limit.

“We’re also running out of pavers for the 300 Hall at LC Kerr,” he said. “As you know, we keep going back up there and covering the shingles even more and now it looks like a patchwork quilt, but then new leaks keep popping up elsewhere. That’s why I’m sharing these estimates to show where we stand in terms of our roofing needs. This really helped me prepare our applications for the Needs Based Public Schools Capital Funds Grant.”

Regarding the scope of the total roofing needs, Lowe’s provided estimates detailing the estimated 2024 construction costs and the 2024 consulting fee, which were equal to the total cost of the project.

• Butler Avenue – (Building 300) construction $243,000, consulting $19,000; a total of $262,000

• LC Kerr – (gym wall) construction $27,000, consulting $4,000; total $31,000; (300 buildings) $148,500, $12,000; total $160,500; (Building 01.15-Kimbrough Road, end of 200 Hall) $196,500, $16,000; a total of $212,500.

• Sunset Avenue – (Elevation Wall) construction $259,000, consulting $21,000; total $280,000; (Triangular building on Kerr Street side) $636,000, $51,000; a total of $687,000; (Auditorium) $315,000, $25,000; a total of $340,000; (700 Hall at Finch Street) $423,000, $33,800; total $456,800; (Combined Auditorium and Finch Street Hall – not charged as a whole) $738,000, $58,800; a total of $796,800.

• Sampson Middle – (Total area of ​​Sampson Middle – not calculated as a whole) Construction $3,720,000, Consulting $335,000; total $4,055,000; (Academic Wing) Construction $2,025,000, Consulting $162,000; a total of $2,187,000; (Gym Wing) $1,695,000, $136,000; totaling $1,831,000.

Based on these figures, the estimated total construction cost is $10,426,000 with consulting fees at $873,600 for a total cost of $11,299,600. While it is a steep hill to overcome, and while plans are underway to address the worst problems, he stressed that urgent help from other sources continues to be needed.

“There is some good news on LC Kerr, as I mentioned, such as our 2021-22 needs-based funds that I just filed this summer, our recent final reports, and my numbers are exactly the same as theirs. The offers were only slightly below our proposal, which was around $57,000.”

While these funds are only intended for the projects listed on their applications, such as new construction, Lowe said the possibility of using these grants for roof repairs at LC Kerr is an option.

“You (NC DPI) immediately said that we would not like to refund these funds, and I responded that I did not want to refund them either, but according to your information, they can only be used to the extent that was suggested in the grant application.” he said. “They said that’s true, but let me discuss this with my boss Dennis Hilton. Dennis then comes back to me and asks: Are there any other roofing projects at the locations that were included?

Lowe continued: “I said, yes, sir, there is; We have an urgent need at LC Kerr Elementary. It’s far more than what we have left, but would that be eligible?” What ultimately came out of it, and I got this in writing from the Office of School Planning, was that we were going to use the $57,000 that we were awarded for can use the LC Kerr project.

“This is helping us tremendously and I had already budgeted a certain amount for this product,” he added. “I hope the project goes through and receives a fair bid so I can shift the rest of my budget toward the wall at Sunset and both of these issues can be resolved with this capital outlay. That is my intention and then we will tackle the others as best we can, hopefully with the help of the district commissioners.”

Reach Michael B. Hardison at 910-249-4231. Follow us on Twitter at @SamsponInd, like us on Facebook and check out our Instagram at @thesampsonindependent.