Community Meeting About GenX Impacts Tuesday Night

The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) will host an in-person community information meeting about GenX, Tuesday night, July 26, 6 p.m. in the Crown Theatre, 1960 Coliseum Drive in Fayetteville.

Agency officials will share information and answer questions about HOW the Environmental Protection Agency’s newly released, LOWER health advisory for GenX impacts private drinking water well sampling in Cumberland, Bladen, Robeson and Sampson counties.

Officials from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services will provide an overview about potential health effects and ways to reduce exposure.

In June, the EPA set a final lifetime health advisory level for GenX of 10 parts per trillion (ppt), which replaced the state’s provisional drinking water health goal of 140 ppt adopted in 2018.

With the lowering of acceptable levels of GenX DEQ estimates more than 1,700 additional private well users will now be eligible for whole-building filtration or connection to a public water supply. Of the 1,700 wells, approximately 1,300 are in Cumberland County.

"To have your well sampled, call Chemours at (910) 678-1101. Messages to the Chemours call-line are monitored during regular business hours (Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.); Chemours should respond within 24-to-48 hours starting on the next business day. Parsons is the third-party environmental consultant Chemours has contracted to perform the well sampling. If you request to have your well sampled, a Parsons representative will be contacting you. Parsons is the only well sampling vendor used by Chemours to sample wells."

Again, The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) will host an in-person community information meeting about GenX Tuesday night.  Registration starts at 5:30pm, the meeting at TONIGHT 6 p.m. -  in the Crown Theatre, in the Crown Complex -1960 Coliseum Drive in Fayetteville.

Are you up for some spooky summer road trips in North Carolina or South Carolina this summer?

Summertime usually means beach trips, camping and lounging.

But if you're like me, you've been binge watching Stranger Things, have seen every episode of the X-Files and are up for an adventure! Luckily, North Carolina and South Carolina are home to many paranormal road trip destinations.

Places like the Devil's Tramping Ground have been haunting people for years.

"Just south of Siler City is a barren circle about 40 feet in diameter in the pine woods of Chatham County known as the Devil’s Tramping Ground," VisitNC.com says on their spooky guide. "Folklore says the spot is a place where the devil himself paces in a circle each night to ponder what havoc he can wreak. Seemingly going against the law of science, not a single living thing will grow in the circle – not a tree, flower, weed or blade of grass will sprout. Even vegetation that’s transplanted there will wither and die. Thrill-seekers have traveled to the circle at night and reported that if you place an item in the circle, it will have vanished by the following morning."

From unexplained lights and ghosts, or even the possible Bigfoot nest, I've assembled your list of spooky road trips to take this summer in North Carolina and South Carolina.

From VisitNC.com:
This museum is dedicated to the study and display of creatures and phenomena not recognized by traditional science. This is your chance to go on a ghost hunt, search for bigfoot on Medoc Mountain State Park and detect paranormal activity with at K-II meter. The museum, “not your normal museum”, is located in the heart of historic Littleton. There you can explore Bigfoot cast, haunted dolls and more.

The Uwharrie National Forest has long had reported sightings of a large, ape-like creature in it's depths. Now, while this could just be someone's drunk, hairy uncle out for a camping holiday, witness seem to think otherwise. Even as recent as April 2022, there have been sightings according to website (https://nexusnewsfeed.com/article/unexplained/bigfoot-encounters-recently-reported-at-uwharrie-national-forest-nc-yates-place-campground/)

Said to be haunted by a young male with blonde hair, this spirit is often seen in the passageways aboard the massive vessel. Employees and guests alike have experienced paranormal activity while on the USS North Carolina, which now serves as a museum at Eagle’s Island in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Bishopville, SC is proud to be the home of the Lizardman. Since 1988 there have been sightings of this bold cryptid, even as close as the Lizardman charging at passing cars.

Sightings of Normie, the Lake Norman Monster are so frequent, there is a website to report them! "Have you seen something strange while boating or fishing on Lake Norman? Have you seen strange things in the water from the deck of your boat, waterfront home, condo, or rental property on Lake Norman? You’re not alone. Hundreds of people have reported seeing something strange in the waters of Lake Norman."

Alleged to be one the most haunted locations in North Carolina, the legend of The Devil's Tramping Ground has mystified curious visitors for over 120 years. According to Grunge.com, the patch got its name because the devil supposedly manifests there so he can plan mischief. One legend is that if a visitor puts anything in the middle of the patch, it will be tossed away by the next morning, because the devil is nothing if not tidy, apparently. Another states that animals give the area a wide berth and won't cross it. Still others say that they've seen red, glowing eyes in the circle.

Aliens? Ghosts? The answer is unclear but the experience is pretty spectacular! Burke County, NC is home to the Brown Mountain Lights. No one denies they exist, the controversy is what are they exactly? Adventurous hikers and campers almost always come back with a story to tell!

Ocracoke Island is alleged to be the home of Blackbeard's ghost (aka Edward Teach). After adopted the island as his favorite locale to spend his days, he terrorized ships en route to the Carolinas. On November 22, 1718 Virginia Governor Alexander Spotswood sent a ship commanded by John Maynard down to the North Carolina coast to track down and kill Blackbeard. Maynard surprised Blackbeard and a skeleton crew anchored at Teach’s Hole. In the ferocious battle that followed, Blackbeard was shot five times and stabbed no less than twenty. The pirate crew was all killed or captured. Now legend has it that Blackbeard’s ghost haunts the spot known as Teach’s Hole. Many people have reported seeing a strange light moving beneath the water in the cove. This ghostly light is thought by some to be Blackbeard’s spirit, cruising the waters and hearing a his voice calling on the wind.