The U.S. Forest Service called a 120-day halt to target shooting throughout Croatan National Forest on July 13, 2015. Then that restriction was extended, so it remains in place today, more than three years later. That hasn’t prevented do-it-yourself shooting ranges from continuing to riddle the landscape and pose a public safety hazard throughout the 160,000-acre public forest near New Bern. The illicit form of recreation often leaves damaged trees and plant life in its wake. And garbage. Lots of garbage. Everything from bullet-pocked refrigerators and propane tanks to beer bottles and auto parts. The rubbish and bullet holes have left a scar onRead More →

By ELISABETH ALMEKINDER Carolina Public Press Connor Yungbluth, of Wake County, studies Mandarin Chinese through the North Carolina Virtual Public School. After a regular school morning at Middle Creek High School in Cary, senior Connor Yungbluth, 16, takes his online Mandarin Chinese course at home through the North Carolina Virtual Public School (NCVPS). When Yungbluth moved from New York, he wanted to continue the language studies he had begun there, but the local school in Wake County didn’t have a Chinese teacher. His curriculum is part of the blended, individualized instruction that virtual school in North Carolina can provide. In the afternoon, Connor takes two online coursesRead More →