Hurricane Florence Coverage

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NEWS 11/4/25 11:44pm

Burlington elects first female mayor

By Miles Hayford

Newcomer Beth Kennett has won her bid for election in the Burlington mayoral race becoming the first female mayor of Burlington. She earned 4,237 votes, compared to Ronnie Wall’s 3,640. Former Burlington Mayor Ian Baltutis was one of two candidates elected to city council, earning 4,099 votes. Former chief of police in Burlington Jeffery Smythe was also elected with 3,687 votes. Incumbent Harold Owen received the least amount of votes among the four candidates.

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NEWS 11/4/25 11:22pm

Haw River town council candidates elected unopposed

By Miles Hayford

Incumbent Shawn Riggan will rejoin the Haw River Town Council along with newcomer Debbie Brown, who was also elected to the council on Nov. 4. Brown won 57.75% of the vote and Riggan trailed with 41.55% of the vote. Riggan and Brown did not respond to Elon News Network’s immediate request for comment. 

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NEWS 11/4/25 11:16pm

Three incumbents rejoin Mebane Town Council

By Anjolina Fantaroni

Incumbents Montreena Hadley, Tim Bradley and Jonathan White will rejoin the Mebane Town Council following municipal elections on Nov. 4. Hadley received the most votes with 33.27% to reclaim her seat on the council. Hadley said she is looking forward to the next four years. “Continuing the work that I've started with the community, and making my community proud of me, making sure that the citizens of Mebane and all citizens of Mebane have a voice,” Hadley said.

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NEWS 11/4/25 10:55pm

Ossipee Town Council incumbents reelected

By Nia Bedard and Miles Hayford

Incumbents Jim McAdams and Richard Overman were reelected to Ossipee Town Council on Nov. 4. Overman received 14 votes and McAdams won 16 votes. Overman did not respond to Elon News Network’s request for comment. McAdams declined Elon News Network’s request for comment. 

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NEWS 11/4/25 10:40pm

Two incumbents rejoin Green Level Town Council

By Anjolina Fantaroni

Following municipal elections on Nov. 4, incumbents Patricia Jones and Jose McBroom will rejoin the Green Level Town Council. Jones received 33.61% of the votes to re-secure her seat, while McBroom received 29.51% to re-secure his.  Newcomers Lesley Sanders-Carter and Theodore Howard fell more than 10% short of securing a seat. Jones said she is excited for her next term. “I'm looking forward to the next four years of love, spreading more love around our town, more growth, and trying to bring new business to the town of Green Level,” Jones said.

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NEWS 11/4/25 10:18pm

Newcomer candidate wins over 56% of vote in Graham mayoral race

By Miles Hayford

Newcomer Chelsea Dickey defeated incumbent Jennifer Talley in Graham’s mayoral race, winning 56.77% of the vote. Dickey’s campaign manager Hadden LaGarde said Dickey is happy about the results and ready to get the ground running in a statement to Elon News Network. “We were cautiously optimistic during early voting and cautiously optimistic today,” LaGarde said. She said people should expect a statement from Dickey on Nov. 5. Incumbent Bobby Chin was reelected to his seat on the city council, along with newcomer Jim Young. Young won 25.68% of the vote and Chin won 26.92%.

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NEWS 11/4/25 10:08pm

Newcomer candidate secures most votes in Swepsonville Town Council election

By Nia Bedard

Following the Nov. 4 municipal elections, Lee Walls, John Andrews and Henry Carrouth will fill the open seats on the Swepsonville Town Council. First-time candidate Lee Walls secured 27.47% of the vote, the most out of any candidate for the Swepsonville race. Incumbent John Andrews followed close behind with 26.74% of the vote and former mayor Henry Carrouth received 25.64%. “There were some things that we had started on the council and that I really wanted to have an opportunity to be a part of finishing up,” Carrouth said.

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NEWS 11/4/25 9:53pm

Newcomer secures most votes in Elon Town Council race

By Miles Hayford

Current Town of Elon Mayor Emily Sharpe won her unopposed bid for reelection, winning 98.18% of the vote. Newcomer Steve Exum and incumbent Randy Orwig were elected to the town council. Exum received the most votes out of the three town council candidates, receiving 39.81% of the vote. One of Exum’s main focuses of his candidacy was increasing the town’s usage of sustainable practices, including more solar panels and electric vehicles. Orwig said that he was glad to hear the news of his win. “I’m happy I can continue the work that we’ve been doing,” Orwig said. “I feel good about that.” 

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NEWS 11/4/25 9:40pm

Village of Alamance Board of Aldermen incumbent secures win by four votes

By Miles Hayford

Incumbent Don Tichy has been reelected as mayor of the Village of Alamance following municipal elections on Nov. 4. Tichy received 54.98% of the vote to secure reelection. He ran unopposed but write-in candidates secured 45.02% of the vote. Incumbents Gayle Andrews and Dale Hunt, along with newcomer Ken Cass, were elected to the board of aldermen. Hunt won by four vote with a total of 137 votes, compared to incumbent Philip Cheap’s 133 votes.

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NEWS 11/4/25 8:46am

Election Day 2025: municipal elections in Elon and across Alamance County

By Elon News Network

Polls across Alamance County opened at 6:30 a.m. Nov. 4 for municipal elections. Ten elections will be held in Alamance County for mayoral, city council and aldermen positions, across Elon, Burlington, Gibsonville, Graham, Green Level, Haw River, Mebane, Ossipee, Swepsonville and the Village of Alamance. Forty-two candidates are running for positions across the county, with 27 positions up for grabs. Early voting for municipal elections kicked off on Oct. 16 with 3,251 ballots turned in between Oct. 16 and Nov. 1. Polls will be opened until 7:30 p.m.

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LIFESTYLE 11/3/25 3:57pm

Waves of Puppetry: Paperhand Puppet Project spreads environmental awareness to North Carolina

By Anne Thyfault

Paperhand Puppet Project took over the Forest Theatre to present their annual show throughout August and September 2025. The show this year, “The Gift,” highlights stories surrounding water, its power and the importance of preservation, told through North Carolina water protectors and activists. This year marks the 25th anniversary of Paperhand Puppet Project’s production. The organization, recently turned nonprofit, officially began when Donovan Zimmerman met co-founder Jan Burger in 1998, starting the process of curating Paperhand Puppet Project into the production it has become today. Paperhand Puppet Project is set to continue and close out their production of “The Gift” in Asheville from November 7-9.

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LIFESTYLE 11/2/25 5:42pm

Elon alumna honored for supporting children of incarcerated parents

By Mia Torres

Yasmine Arington Brooks ‘15, was a junior in high school when she started a grassroots nonprofit scholarship program for children with incarcerated parents. Now she is an honoree of the L'Oréal Paris USA Women of Worth award. “I’m really grateful, especially in a time like this, because this type of visibility and of course you know the sisterhood that comes with it, and just meeting amazing women who are, who have just beautiful hearts and they're doing incredible things in their communities,” Brooks said.

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SPORTS 11/2/25 12:28pm

Elon men’s soccer wraps up regular season in 1-0 thriller

By Benjamin Berfield

The final regular season game for the Elon University men’s soccer team ended in a slugfest against William & Mary. For the first 70 minutes, it appeared as if Elon would notch a tie for the seventh time this year. But with the No. 1 spot in the CAA South Division on the line, a goal by junior forward Jordin Wilson helped grind out a 1-0 win to advance to 7-2-6. Elon will rest for a week before hosting the winner between University of North Carolina Wilmington and Campbell University on Nov. 9 at 1 p.m.

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NEWS 11/1/25 1:28pm

City of Graham's Bill Cooke Park to expand nature trail

By Fiona McAllister

The City of Graham received a Parks and Recreation Trust Fund grant totaling $307,725 to support the expansion of Bill Cooke Park. North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein announced that more than $8.7 million in PARTF grants were awarded to 22 North Carolina parks and recreation projects. “We’ll take a larger look at what the property could hold, and again, a deeper look at what the community may want,” Recreation and Parks Director for the City of Graham Brian Faucette said.

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LIFESTYLE 10/31/25 9:03pm

Elon Gender & LGBTQIA Center embraces ‘spooky season’ with Fall Pride

By Elissa Leka

Elon University’s Gender & LGBTQIA Center’s mission is to create an inclusive space for all, where people learn to “support, advocate, and educate around gender and LGBTQIA identities.” For GLC events coordinator and Elon junior Maverick Powell the pumpkin painting table was a personal favorite. “I always volunteer to do the painting because I love painting, and I also love seeing some people come and pull up in their costumes,” Powell said. “I really want to be able to have a safe space on campus for other people to have fun and be comfortable with themselves.”

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LIFESTYLE 10/31/25 2:38pm

Room2Grow ofrece apoyo y educación a padres jóvenes y en situación de riesgo en el condado de Alamance

 

En un rincón de la sala de conferencias del Centro de Respuesta y Recursos para Víctimas de Agresión Sexual CrossRoads, Jekilah Suenu coloca con cuidado una pegatina en un vaso que dice: "¡Creciendo para ser la mejor versión de mí misma!". Mientras tanto, su madre, Brandy Daye-Suenu, prepara la sala para la clase de esa noche. Daye-Suenu es la fundadora de Room2Grow, una organización que ofrece clases educativas y terapéuticas para padres jóvenes y en situación de riesgo, de entre 16 y 30 años. "No contaban con los recursos necesarios para afrontar sus problemas emocionales y comprender cómo equilibrar la paternidad con su vida cotidiana", explicó Daye-Suenu.

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LIFESTYLE 10/31/25 2:38pm

Room2Grow offers support, education for young, at-risk parents

By Anjolina Fantaroni

In the corner of a conference room at CrossRoads Sexual Assault Response and Resource Center, Jekilah Suenu carefully places a sticker on a cup that reads, “Growing 2 Be the Best I Can Be!” Meanwhile, her mother, Brandy Daye-Suenu, prepares the room for the night’s class. Daye-Suenu is the founder of Room2Grow, an organization that hosts educational and therapeutic classes for at-risk and young parents 16 to 30 years old. “They didn’t have the resources to help them deal with what they were dealing with, emotionally, and understanding how to just balance being a parent and being a person in everyday living,” Daye-Suenu said.

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LIFESTYLE 10/30/25 11:39pm

Alamance County Sheriff's Trunk or Treat, builds relationship between community, law enforcement

By Abigail Haapapuro

For the second year in a row, Alamance County Sheriff's Office filled its parking lot with car’s trunks decked out in Halloween decorations and hosted its annual trunk or treat community outreach event Oct. 30. Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson said the biggest drive to host the event was the shared desire to create a safe space for the children to celebrate Halloween in their community.“Right now, I think our society is a very dangerous place for our children, so we talked and decided we would host a trunk or treat in our own parking lot,” Johnson said. 

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NEWS 10/30/25 8:48pm

Former US Secretary of the Interior shares wisdom, hope with Elon University students

By Virginia Vance

Sally Jewell, the 51st U.S. secretary of the interior, spoke to the Elon University community about her life experiences, ethical business practices and how she navigated opposing interests during her time in government. During her speech, Jewell mentioned that a recurring theme throughout her life was finding common ground. “Success looks like bringing people together around a table as human beings with very different interests and giving them an opportunity to get to know each other as human beings, because there is always common ground,” Jewell said.

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NEWS 10/30/25 12:16pm

Los estudiantes universitarios recurren a medicamentos para perder peso a pesar de los efectos secundarios y los costos

By Charlotte Pfabe and Lilly Molina

Cada vez más estadounidenses recurren a medicamentos para bajar de peso como Wegovy, incluyendo estudiantes de la Universidad de Elon. Si bien muchos de quienes toman estos medicamentos afirman que han mejorado su calidad de vida, algunos expertos están preocupados por los efectos a largo plazo de estos fármacos relativamente nuevos. "Una vez que se apruebe su comercialización, recopilarán datos durante aproximadamente un año, y eso es todo", comentó Alexis Moore, profesora adjunta de estudios de asistente médico y médica de formación. "Por lo tanto, dado que este medicamento es relativamente nuevo, desconocemos sus efectos a largo plazo".

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