NC birdsurveystarts inMarch – The Robesonian

January 22, 2021

RALEIGH A group of government agencies, universities and nonprofit organizations will launch the first-ever NC Bird Atlas survey in March.

The statewide community science survey will harness the power of thousands of volunteer bird-watchers to map the distribution and abundance of birds from the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Outer Banks. The observations will give researchers a comprehensive picture of bird populations across North Carolina and help wildlife officials, land managers and conservation organizations make important conservation decisions about the states avian population. Organizers have begun volunteer recruitment and are encouraging birding enthusiasts of all experience levels to get involved by visiting NCBirdAtlas.org.

Bird atlases are large-scale, standardized surveys and have taken place in states across the country since the 1970s. The NC Bird Atlas, led by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission and partner groups, including NC State University, North Carolina Natural Heritage Program, Audubon North Carolina, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, University of North Carolina at Wilmington and Catawba College, will collect five years of survey data starting this spring.

The survey will divide the state into 937 blocks, each roughly 10 square miles. Volunteer observers will work with regional coordinators to fan out across each block over the course of the project and record the birds they see. All of the data will be submitted through eBird, an online, user-friendly database of crowd-sourced bird observations.

Participation in the NC Bird Atlas is like birding, except that participants will be asked to slow down. Rather than trying to observe as many bird species as possible, the breeding portion of the Atlas requires observers to watch individual birds closely and make note of behaviors. For example, an observer watching a Carolina Wren might take note of whether the bird is singing, or perhaps gathering twigs and leaves in its beak to build a nest.

More people than ever before are learning to identify the cardinals, chickadees, and all the other bird species at their backyard feeders, said Scott Anderson, bird conservation biologist at the N.C. Wildlife Resource Commission. The NC Bird Atlas is a great opportunity for people to use these new-found skills and give a little back. Youll deepen your knowledge of birds, have fun outside with new friends and contribute to a widespread and critical research project that ultimately helps us better understand and protect birds.

The project comes at an important time for bird conservation. A recent study published in the journal Science documented the loss of nearly three billion North American birds since 1970, primarily as a result of human activities. The data collected during the NC Atlas study will help prioritize conservation to benefit the most imperiled North Carolina birds.

We are excited to see this project get off the ground, Anderson noted. Its been years in the making and is very important to the future of bird conservation in our state. Our agency is fortunate to have such amazing partners to help launch this program. Wildlife in North Carolina is for everyone, and we encourage participation by a diversity of North Carolinians to benefit our diversity of birds, hence our motto, People Count. Birds Count.

January 22, 2021

LUMBERTON The UNC Health Southeastern board of trustees has a new chairman and a new member.

Joann Anderson, president and CEO of UNC Health Southeastern, recently announced the election of Wayland B. Lennon III, of Fairmont, to lead the board. Dr. Jeffrey P. Campbell, an otolaryngologist/head and neck surgeon, has joined as the boards newest member.

Lennon, who first joined the board in 2013, received a bachelors degree in business and math, with a concentration in computer science, from Pembroke State University, now The University of North Carolina at Pembroke, in 1985. He received a masters degree in business administration from Campbell University in 1988. He is president of AnyTable, Inc., which owns Dairy Queen of Lumberton.

Lennons civic commitments to Robeson County and Fairmont include being a member of Trinity United Methodist Church in Fairmont, Eagle Scout 76, WoodBadge 16, Order of the Arrow Vigil Honor 18, Cape Fear Award 18, past Japeechen Chapter OA chapter advisor, Cape Fear Council board member, former Town of Fairmont Board of Commissioners member, former Lumber River Council of Governments board member (treasurer), past president of the Fairmont Civitan Club, past master pf the Fairmont Masonic Lodge #528, and past president of the Fairmont Shrine Club.

Southeastern has always felt like a second home to me as my mother, Pat Lennon, worked in the lab at SRMC for 45 years, Lennon said. It is indeed an honor and a privilege to have the opportunity to continue my familys service to our community through the health care system, with the desire to help shape the future of health care services in our area.

Lennon and his wife, Melissa, live in Fairmont with their two children, Caroline and Tyler.

I look forward to working closely with Mr. Lennon as he assumes the chairman role, Anderson said. He has served our board in an exemplary fashion for the past several years. His input in the selection process for UNC Health as a partner was invaluable to our decision. He has a strong affinity for Southeastern through his mother and is committed to ensuring excellent healthcare is provided in our community.

Dr. Campbell is affiliated in private practice with Campbell Ear, Nose and Throat, LLC, in Lumberton. He graduated summa cum laude from North Carolina State University in chemical engineering before graduating with honors from the UNC School of Medicine. He completed his residency in otolaryngology/head and neck surgery at UNC School of Medicine and a fellowship in facial plastic and reconstructive surgery in Birmingham, Alabama.

He is board certified in otolaryngology/head and neck surgery, and in facial plastic and reconstructive surgery. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He maintains clinical appointments at both UNC School of Medicine in the Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery and the Campbell University School of Medicine.

Campbell and his wife, Sarah, live in Lumberton and have two sons, Collin and Boone; and twin daughters, Emma Grace and Katie Beth.

Adding Dr. Campbell to the board is key to getting physician input and perspectives at the board level, Anderson said. I know he will bring an insight that is much needed as we plan for the future. The nominating committee of the board felt the need to include additional physicians and, in particular, at least one not employed by the system. Dr. Campbell represents that section very well.

In addition to Lennon and Dr. Campbell, the other members of the UNC Health Southeastern board of trustees are, Cherry Beasley, Ph.D.; Kenny Biggs; Faye Caton; Larry Chavis; Daniel Cook; Dr. Robin Cummings; Katherine Davis; Randall Jones; Duncan Mackie; Alphonzo McRae Jr.; Eva Meekins, DNP; Kenneth Rust; Michael Stone; and W.C. Washington.

January 22, 2021

LUMBERTON UNC Health Southeastern recently welcomed cardiologists Drs. Hiten Patel and Ifad Rahman.

Both doctors provide care at Southeastern Cardiovascular and Cardiovascular Clinic, which is located within Southeastern Health Mall on the campus of Biggs Park Mall.

Patel completed medical school in India at Veer Narmad South Gujarat University, Government Medical College Surat in 2007. He completed internal medicine training at Weill Cornel Medical College, The Brooklyn Hospital Center, New York in 2013. He served as chief resident in internal medicine at Seton Hall University School of Health and Medical Sciences in New Jersey.

Patel completed fellowships in cardiovascular diseases in 2017 and in interventional cardiology in 2018, both at New York Medical College, Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center in New Jersey, where he also served for two years as chief resident. He is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in the areas of cardiovascular disease and interventional cardiology. He is also certified by the National Board of Echocardiography, American Society of Nuclear Cardiology and is a registered physician in vascular interpretation. He is also a fellow of the American College of Cardiology.

He most recently practiced at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center in Fayetteville, where he also served as an associate professor of medicine at Campbell University.

Rahman completed a medical degree from Universidad Catolica Nordestana, Dominican Republic in March 2002. He completed an internal medicine residency at University of South Carolina in 2010.

Rahman completed a fellowship in preventive cardiology at Brown University in 2012, a fellowship in cardiology at Rutgers University in New Jersey in 2015, and a fellowship in advanced cardiology imaging at Mount Sinai in New York in 2016. He is board certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease, echocardiogram, nuclear cardiology vascular studies and cardiac/coronary CT. He is a fellow of the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography, American Society of Echocardiology and the American College of Cardiology. He most recently practiced at St. Vincent Hospital in Billings, Montana.

For more information about Patel and Rahman, call Southeastern Cardiology and Cardiovascular Clinic, located at 2936 North Elm St., Suite 102, in Lumberton, at 910-671-6619.

January 22, 2021

PINEHURST It took 50 years and an ounce to break the current state record for a channel catfish, but John Stone, of Pinehurst, now holds the new record after catching a catfish that weighed in at 23 pounds, 5 ounces from a private pond in Moore County in September.

The previous record holder was E.J. Bowden, of Rocky Mount, who caught his record-breaking channel catfish back in 1970 while fishing City Lake with his then 5-year-old son, Louis, according to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.

Stone, who is an at-large Wildlife Commissioner, caught his fish using cut bait. He had his fish weighed on certified scales at Tractor Supply in Biscoe. He was the third angler in 2020 to break a catfish state record. On July 5 last year, Joey Baird, of Lawrenceville, Virginia, caught a 121-pound, 9-ounce blue catfish from Lake Gaston. Fifteen days later, Pikeville angler Tyler Barnes caught a 78-pound, 14-ounce flathead catfish from the Neuse River.

To qualify for a N.C. Freshwater Fish State Record, anglers must have caught the fish by rod and reel or cane pole; have the fish weighed on a scale certified by the N.C. Department of Agriculture, witnessed by one observer; have the fish identified by a fisheries biologist from the Commission; and submit an application with a full, side-view photo of the fish.

For anglers who catch a catfish that doesnt quite measure up to this latest record-breakers but yet still meet minimum size and length requirements, the Commission has a channel catfish classification for its North Carolina Angler Recognition Program. The NCARP officially recognizes anglers who catch trophy-sized freshwater fish that do not qualify for a state record with a certificate featuring color reproductions of fish artwork by renowned wildlife artist and former Commission fisheries biologist Duane Raver.

For a list of all freshwater fish state records in North Carolina or more information on the State Record Fish Program, visit the Commissions State Record Fish program.

January 22, 2021

Feb. 12-14

Responders expo: The annual Southeastern Fire Rescue/Police Expo is scheduled for 6 p.m. Feb. 12 to 1 p.m. Feb. 14 at Robeson Community College. Preregistration is required and available at http://www.robeson.edu/southeast-firerescue-college/.

Feb. 13

Valentines run: The Robeson Road Runners will hold a Valentines 5K and 1 mile fun run and brunch at 10 a.m. beginning in the Lumberton Downtown Plaza. Brunch will follow at Happenings on Elm.

Feb. 27

BookEm event: BookEm North Carolina is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Robeson Community College, located at 5160 N. Fayetteville Road in Lumberton.

March 6

Rumba Lumber: The Rumba on the Lumber is scheduled to take place from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in downtown Lumberton.

March 26-28

Robotics competition: The FIRST Regional Robotics Competition will take place at the University Center Annex on the campus of The University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

Ongoing

Community Watch: The East Lumberton Community Watch meets at 6:30 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month at the East Lumberton Community Resource Center, located at 1608 E. Fifth St. For information, call Councilwomen Karen Higley at 910-740-3406. Godwin Heights Community Watch meets at 7 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month at the Godwin Heights Park.

Taxidermy class: David Monroe, of the N.C. Wildlife Commission, will be offering a free taxidermy and wildlife management class, by appointment, at 601 Main St. in Tar Heel for students in grades seven through 12. For more information, call 910-585-1739.

January 22, 2021

LUMBERTON A new podcast is elevating the muted voices of indigenous people who have been murdered or who are missing.

That is the main goal of the Red Justice Project podcast, hosted by Robeson County natives Chelsea Locklear, 31, and Brittany Hunt, 30. Since the first episode aired two months ago, the podcast picked up a significant audience, garnering hundreds of downloads per episode.

What sets the podcast apart from others is the focus on indigenous people across the United States and Canada, with the focus being on Robeson County.

Our podcast is unique in that it is an indigenous-led podcast that tells indigenous stories as well, said Hunt, who lives in Charlotte.

With the color red often being represented as a call for attention to people murdered and missing in indigenous communities, the name of the podcast translates the hosts message.

I think our podcast is another way to bring another form of justice to victims, said Locklear, of Raleigh. It shows that people actually care, that people want to know what happened.

Thats our goal, to constantly elevate who we are, not just the indigenous but as Lumbee people, Locklear added.

The idea for the podcast came from Locklear, who grew up near Maxton, and developed something of an addiction to true crime in the podcast format. That soon spread to Hunt, a Lumberton native.

She had been telling me to listen to true crime podcasts because I had never really listened to them before, Hunt said. Now Im literally, completely obsessed.

When the podcast Serial came out in 2014, true crime stories found its way to more households. Podcasts host Sarah Koenigs telling of the murder of Hae Min Lee and the conviction of her boyfriend, Adnan Syed, particularly resonated with Locklear.

When Serial came out in 2014, it kind of sensationalized podcasts, she said. The ability to tell a story in that kind of format, I thought, was pretty powerful.

I thought is was just such a cool way too listen to to stories in a different way.

Koenigs podcast has inspired a list of true crime podcasts, including the Red Justice Project.

Getting Hunt hooked on podcasts turned out to be Locklears ulterior motive, which was to recruit her as a co-host in their own series focusing on stories that resonate with their communities.

It was her idea to do a true crime story that kind of centers indigenous people because a lot of the time a lot of the true crime podcasts that we listen to are narrated by white people or white women specifically, Hunt said. A lot of cases we tell are cases that have not gotten a lot of national media attention because indigenous people tend to not get as much attention as people from other demographics

When Locklear was thinking about a podcast, she was thinking of a broad range of indigenous stories across the country, but wanted to place an emphasis on her own roots.

I constantly think about home a lot and I think about the things that are going on back home, Locklear said. If you are black or Native or white, Robeson County history is very fascinating from each perspective.

Unfortunately, the two hosts believe all that history isnt told enough.

I think the goal for indigenous people in America, of the media and of the system in general, is to erase us through whatever means, Hunt said.

This is why the duo alternates stories based in Robeson County with national stories.

The stories told come from a list compiled by Hunt and Locklear, and scripts are produced through research and interviews. The cases chosen are those that are well-know murders that are not talked about as much today, like the murder of the prominent Lumbee figure Julian Pierce. The latest episode on 18-year-old Marcey Blanks was a case that particularly hit close to home for Hunt.

Shes actually someone I knew when I worked at Lumberton Senior High School, Hunt said. There were maybe four articles about her murder. It was extremely gruesome.

Finding content has proven to be difficult because of peoples hesitancy to relive their tragedies and fear.

Theres still some fear that people have about discussing some of these cases, Hunt said. People do have a hesitation to talk when the crime is not solved.

I wouldnt say we are uncovering things, but were learning things that are uncomfortable for our community to talk about just because of the trauma, Hunt added.

Things also have been hushed up because of the time that has passed.

There are a lot of stories that we dont talk about, Locklear said. Ill talk to my momma and shell say I forgot about that or I hardly heard about that, so I think its just interesting to tell stories about where youre from.

Once the stories and content are accumulated putting it in story form is the next challenge.

I think that is the hardest part of it, Locklear said. How do you frame this story, telling it in a way thats going to engage people to keep listening?

The two apparently have found the correct formula. The podcast has now reached listeners in more the 25 states across the United States and the goal is to reach thousands more to further spread the silenced indigenous voices and even potentially solve a case.

To know that our project helped solve a case, I think that would be awesome, Locklear said.

Eleven episodes are already available for download. Anyone can subscribe to Red Justice Project wherever they get their podcast or by visiting http://www.redjusticepodcast.com. New episodes premiere each Monday.

January 22, 2021

FAIR BLUFF Shizzys Wildcat Rescue, a nonprofit animal rescue organization, is looking for volunteers to help build enclosures for a 56-acre sanctuary.

Volunteers are needed to assist with fencing, top railing and roof installation on several small cat habitat enclosures on Jan. 30 from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

All interested volunteers must be at least 18 years old, be able to lift a minimum of 20 pounds and be comfortable working in various weather conditions. No experience is necessary. Groups are welcomed. Masks and digital temperature checks are required upon arrival.

To sign up, contact Rhonda Billeaud at Rhondabilleaud@shizzyswildcatrescue.org or call 910-840-1886.

Located at 658 Main St. in Fair Bluff, the purpose of the sanctuary is to be a safe haven for neglected animals to live out the remainder of their lives in a peaceful, natural environment. It will be a home to lions, tigers, jaguars, snow leopards, cougars, ocelots, servals, bobcats, caracals and other predatory species that have been rescued from private ownership, backyard breeders, circuses, cub petting operations, roadside zoos, the entertainment industry and other poor conditions.

Construction paused by the COVID-19 crisis has resumed and the need for volunteers to help with the construction of big cat, small cat and wolf habitats enclosures will be ongoing.

For more information or to learn the many ways to help, visit http://www.shizzyswildcatrescue.org or contact the Rescues executive director, Shazir Haque, at 336-392-8386 or shazirhaque@shizzyswildcatrescue.org. The organization also has Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts to view the latest information.

January 16, 2021

RALEIGH A Tobaccoville resident has been named the winner of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commissions 2020 Wildlife in North Carolina Photo Competition.

The winning image is a portrait shot of a common grackle, a blackbird native to North Carolina. The photograph, dramatically set against a black backdrop, was taken by Matt Cuda, a 48-year-old software developer who has been dabbling in amateur photography since 1995.

I make enough money as a photographer to remain a solid software developer, he quipped after learning of his win. I was excited and humbled to realize that I was the winner in a magazine I read regularly.

Birds are one of Cudas favorite subjects. Hes been snapping images of them since college on both film and digital cameras. He knew photographing the blackbird against a dark setting was a risk, but his skillful use of light captured the birds stunning features, highlighting its iridescent feathers and bright yellow eyes.

We had a wonderful selection of photographs submitted to the competition this year, said Marsha Tillett, art director of Wildlife in North Carolina magazine. The image of this grackle is no exception. Capturing a photograph of an ordinary bird in such a striking way requires experience and skill.

More than 1,700 photographs were submitted for the competition. Judges included Tillett, WINC graphic designer Bryant Cole, staff photographer Melissa McGaw and former Commission staffer and current freelance photographer Thomas Harvey.

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NC birdsurveystarts inMarch - The Robesonian