NCDOT

NCDOT Launches ‘Projects Near Me’ To Find Road Projects Across State

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— Information courtesy of N.C. Dept. of Transportation

The N.C. Department of Transportation recently launched an interactive online tool called Projects Near Me where people can explore a map featuring a wide range of state transportation project data.

The map is searchable by address, making it easy to find projects near any location, and by project identification number in the State Transportation Improvement Program. It can also display projects by county or NCDOT Highway Division.

Additional filters allow users to search the map by project type — aviation, bicycle and pedestrian, bridge and structure, ferry, highway, public transportation, rail, and other miscellaneous projects. The map can also display indicators for projects that are of high public interest, have public engagement, or are future projects.

Users can click on any map pin to display more project information, including a local map and description of the work, milestones for those that are committed for funding in the current STIP, and contact information.

The data behind the Projects Near Me map is subject to change as projects evolve. The map does not feature data on travel impacts associated with current transportation projects. Visit https://www.ncdot.gov/projects/ProjectsNearMe/default.aspx to search county-by-county projects.

People should continue to use https://www.drivenc.gov/ for real-time traffic information across North Carolina.

NC Dept of Agriculture

Nominations For State Fair 2026 ‘Farm Family Of The Day’ Program Open Through Aug. 21

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— Information courtesy of the N.C. State Fair office

 

The N.C. State Fair will recognize 11 farm families during the fair this year through the Farm Family of the Day program, sponsored by Tractor Supply Company. Nominations and applications are being accepted now through Aug. 21. If you are a proud N.C. farmer who works hard to contribute to our state’s No. 1 industry, and loves both farming and the N.C. State Fair, your family could be one of the lucky ones selected to represent the industry at the fair.

“This is the sixth year we have honored farm families with the Farm Family of the Day program at the N.C. State Fair,” said N.C. Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “Helping people make the connection between farming and the food that they enjoy is one of our top missions at the N.C. State Fair each year. Thanks to Tractor Supply Company, we can help tell the story of our farmers because they are the individuals out there every day working to grow the food, fiber and fuel that we need to survive.”

Families recognized as Farm Family of the Day will be honored across the grounds on their assigned day, as well as awarded an N.C. State Fair gift basket, including fair tickets to use on any day of their choice during the 2026 N.C. State Fair, ride passes and additional swag from both Tractor Supply Company and the N.C. State Fair.

Families will be chosen by both nomination and application forms. Applications can be found online at https://www.ncagr.gov/2026-farm-family-day-application-form/open or nomination forms can be found online at https://www.ncagr.gov/2026-farm-family-day-nomination-form/open.

The 2026 N.C. State Fair will run Oct. 15-25 at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh. The fair offers an experience unique to North Carolina for all who attend, and is an unparalleled value with free entertainment, thrilling rides and games, thousands of animals, endless family activities, competitions, vendors and creative deep-fried delights.

To learn more, visit www.ncstatefair.org.

 

TownTalk: Around Old Granville – Nathaniel Macon

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Some may say that the area known as Old Granville County can lay claim to having the original “Senator ‘No’” among its residents, more than a century before the longtime TV editorialist-turned politician Jesse Helms was known by the dubious nickname.

That man – Nathaniel Macon – was perhaps the foremost public figure from North Carolina in the early 19th century said WIZS’s Bill Harris. Bill and local historian Mark Pace recounted stories about Macon and his rise to prominence in the political arena in the 1800’s on Thursday’s Around Old Granville segment of TownTalk.

“He might have been the most important and significant North Carolinian in his time and his day,” Pace said. “He personified North Carolina.” The North Carolina of that time, anyway. Which meant that he was a staunch conservative who didn’t believe the government had any business doing much of anything that interfered with individual rights and private industry.

His ideas aligned more with those of Thomas Jefferson, who was a champion of individual liberty and states’ rights and talked up the virtues and the lifestyles of landowners.

Macon was a 24-year-old serving in the New Jersey militia during the American Revolution when he got word that he’d been elected to the State Senate. That set him on a career path that spanned close to four decades and sent him to Washington, D.C.

He was in the State Senate from 1781 to 1785, and then was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1791. He served there until 1815 and was elected Speaker of the House and served for six years – from 1801 to 1807.

He was elected to the U.S. Senate and served from 1815 to 1828, including seven years President pro tem from 1825 to 1827.

Over the years, he said ‘no’ to cabinet posts, appointments and even re-entered military service in 1780 as a private instead of accepting a higher rank that could have been his for the taking.

He didn’t like making government appropriations and didn’t think government had any business in private industry.

Despite his penchant for saying ‘no,’ however, Pace said Macon’s oratory skills and ability to compromise served Macon the politician well.

“You always knew where you stood with him,” Pace said. “He was a personable guy. It was  hard not to like him.”

Macon retired to his home in present-day Warren County – Buck Spring – in 1828, following his storied career in the House and the Senate.

But the home was nothing fancy, no columns across the front or sprawling staircases inside.

No, in keeping with his humble, no-frills ideas, Macon instead lived in what amounted to a one-room house that contained few possessions other than books.

Although the original Buck Spring home was partially burned about 40 years ago, Pace said some parts were salvageable and the reconstructed home currently is part of a park in the Littleton area.

The project received some federal funds to complete, an appropriation Macon himself most likely would have frowned upon.

 

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Duke Energy

Time’s Ticking To Submit Application For Duke Energy’s ‘Powering Local Economies’ Grant

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Duke Energy’s “Powering Local Economies” grant window is open now to support local businesses.

But the deadline is fast approaching – applications must be submitted by June 30, according to information from Beth Townsend, Duke Energy East Region’s director for Government and Community Relations.

The grant is for up to $25,000 and is for entities that have a 501(c)(3) status.

Find details about the application process for this competitive grant at Powering Local Economies Grants – Duke Energy Foundation.The link provides information about eligibility criteria and ideas for how the funding could benefit your community.

To learn more, contact Anneliese Sessoms at Anneliese.Sessoms@duke-energy.com.

TownTalk: Around Old Granville – Townsville

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It’s a short drive today on Highway 39 to get from Williamsboro to Townsville – about seven miles separate the two Vance County communities. But back in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s, it most likely took a lot longer to get between the two areas to conduct business or to go to church.

Ironically, it was wars and the railroad that heavily influenced both towns – for good and for ill. Today, both are little more than busy crossroads.

In the early 1900’s, Townsville boasted a bank, a hotel, a funeral home, a box factory, a drug store and a post office. Local historian Mark Pace said back then, Townsville was the second largest community in Vance County.

“It had a bright future,” Pace said Thursday on TownTalk’s Around Old Granville segment. He and WIZS’s Bill Harris talked about the heyday of the township and how it came to be.

It was originally called Lyneville, for the Lyne family that came from Caroline County in Virginia in the late 1700’s.

John Penn – yes, THAT John Penn – had married Henry Lyne’s daughter, Susannah, and she wanted to move to North Carolina to be closer to her family. And that’s how John Penn came to live in the area and be one of three North Carolinians to sign the Declaration of Independence, Pace explained.

Fast forward to 1855 or so, and a man named Edmund Townes living in the area donated the land for the railroad right-of-way. And so the name was changed to Townesville in his honor.

(Who knows why the “e” was dropped from the town’s name.) The railroad came through in the general area between where the post office and the historic Holy Trinity Episcopal Church now stand.

Townsville was the halfway point along the railway between Clarksville and Manson, Pace said.

“That’s why they put the box factory there, that’s why they put the bank there,” Pace said – because of the railroad.

In the mid 1800’s, the railroad played a significant role for folks who lived nearby. At that time, most farmers were producing tobacco, and the railroad “brought access to the rest of the world” for tobacco farmers. They could get their crop to markets in Richmond and Petersburg. It was a game-changer.

But the rails were taken up during the Civil War, the metal used for the Confederacy’s war effort in shipbuilding.

The Marrow brothers led the effort to bring the railroad back to Townsville. In the early 1900’s, the town passed a bond referendum. “The citizens of Townsville ponied up $75,000,” Pace said, which meant that the railroad was owned by the citizens.

At that point, the railroad only went to Manson, via Drewry and across Nutbush Creek. And because there was only one track and no place to turn around, the train had to back up to make its return trip from Townsville to Manson.

In 1918, a forest fire got very close to the 90-foot wooden bridge that took the train over Nutbush Creek, Pace said.

Everybody thought the bridge was ok, and the storage, passenger and coal cars were pushed safely across. But when it was the heavy locomotive’s turn – remember, it was going backwards – the bridge collapse under the weight. The engineer and brakeman died in the accident as the locomotive plunged deep into the muddy creek bed.

“The train engine was never brought up or salvaged,” Pace said. And now it’s just part of the underwater landscape of Kerr Lake that was built in the early 1950’s.

The town bought a new engine but it was so hard to maintain it was replaced with a sturdy, locally built Corbitt truck that was fitted with wheels to move along the tracks. It closed for good when the Depression hit in the 1930’s.

Pace attributes metal drives held during World War II for the lack of metal remains today along the railway path.

But unused rails and rail spikes aren’t the only thing that Townsville contributed to the war effort. A couple of hopeful gold prospectors, Joseph and Richard Hamme, discovered tungsten in 1942 just a little ways outside Townsville.

“Within six weeks, they were producing tungsten for the U.S. Army,” Pace said. Tungsten is the hardest naturally occurring metal known and has the highest melting point. The army put a tungsten coating on artillery shells so they could better penetrate brick and other metals.

Townsville has a number of historic churches in its vicinity, including Tabernacle Methodist Church. Most likely, Bishop Francis Asbury was one of the circuit riders that visited this American outpost after it was established.

Nutbush Presbyterian Church, established in 1757, is likely the oldest Presbyterian Church in the Old Granville area. The first building was built in the mid 1700’s; a 1941 wooden addition burned and was rebuilt.

These churches still stand, as well as homes including Machpelah and the David King Glover house, which Pace said may well be the oldest home in Vance County.

Its “brick knobbing” construction – placing pieces of brick as insulation between exterior and interior walls was used in the 1750’s and 60’s.

 

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VGCC Foundation’s $5M ‘Building Futures Campaign’ Well On Its Way To Goal

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The Vance-Granville Community College Foundation’s $5 million fundraising campaign is well on its way, with more than $1 million raised since the campaign kicked off in March.

Building Futures: Empowering Students, Strengthening Communities is a 10-month campaign to raise money to address a funding deficit and ensure the successful completion of two transformational workforce training facilities, namely the Center for Advanced Manufacturing & Applied Technology (CAMAT) and the Transportation Training & Technology Center (TTTC).

The $1,051,000 in philanthropic support demonstrates strong early momentum, donor confidence, and measurable community impact, according to school officials.

Building Futures represents a high-impact workforce development initiative, advancing economic mobility and career pathways for students across Vance, Granville, Franklin, and Warren counties.

While state funding and grants have supported both facilities, increased construction costs have created a funding shortfall. The Building Futures fundraising plan seeks to raise $5 million in transformational philanthropic investment to ensure both facilities open fully equipped with modern technology and industry-grade training equipment.

This investment directly supports student success, workforce readiness, and long-term regional economic growth, while strengthening the talent pipeline for high-demand industries.

The Center for Advanced Manufacturing & Applied Technology will serve as a state-of-the-art training center designed to prepare students for high-demand, high-wage careers in welding, mechatronics, electrical systems, and HVAC.

This facility will expand access to quality jobs, industry-recognized credentials, and upward economic mobility, while supporting employers seeking a highly skilled workforce.

The Transportation Training & Technology Center will expand and modernize instruction in CDL-A and B, heavy equipment operations, and diesel and heavy equipment mechanics.

This facility addresses critical workforce shortages while providing hands-on, career-connected learning opportunities that lead directly to employment and family-sustaining wages.

Together, these two facilities represent a transformative investment in community impact, workforce innovation, and economic development. By aligning education with industry demand, VGCC is advancing scalable workforce solutions, employer partnerships, and student-centered outcomes that strengthen communities and regional competitiveness.

The Building Futures initiative reflects a commitment to evidence-based impact, measurable outcomes, and expanding opportunity at scale—key priorities for national philanthropic leaders investing in systemic change.

Individuals, families, corporations, and philanthropic organizations are invited to participate in the Building Futures initiative through a variety of major gift and naming opportunities. Donors may choose to name classrooms, labs, and more.

For more information about supporting workforce training, transformational giving opportunities, philanthropic partnerships, or community impact investments, please contact the VGCC Foundation at foundation@vgcc.edu or 252.738.3264 or visit www.vgcc.edu/building-futures.

Franklin County Hosts 5-County Beef Tour On June 12

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Franklin County is hosting the 2026 5-County BEEF Tour on Tuesday, June 16. Participants will carpool to three innovative beef cattle farms, both large and small, that are participating in the Southeastern US Regenerative Agriculture Project, according to information from Matthew Place of the Franklin County Center of N.C. Cooperative Extension.

There will be lots of networking, but also use of new technology for the cattle producer, demonstrations (grazing forages, rainfall simulator), and expert insights designed to help your farm thrive.

Participants will hear about the latest in agricultural tech and management strategies, including:

  • Nutritional Efficiency: Learn how to maximize your herd’s performance while managing costs. Grazing efficiency using the “grazing forage stick”, one free per family.
  • Forage & Drones: See how drone technology is changing the game for pasture management, heat checks, etc. See a live demonstration using the forage rainfall simulator.
  • Virtual Fencing: Explore the future of grazing without the wire.
  • Trade Show during lunch: new Hay Equipment, Seed companies, “No Fence” company, Farm Conservation and more.
  • Lunch speaker: Regenerative Agriculture and Programs Available.

Registration is required and the $30 fee includes lunch. The deadline to register is Friday, June 12.
Register at go.ncsu.edu/2026-5-county-beef-tour

For more information, contact Franklin County Center, 919.496.3344, Agricultural Extension Agent Martha Mobley or the Sampson County Center, 910.592.7161, Agricultural Extension Agent Paul Gonzalez.

The link to the tour brochure is Brochure & Tour Map.

 

 

 

SportsTalk: William Hardin Tapped As New Louisburg College Head Baseball Coach

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With about 10 days in his new role as Louisburg College’s head baseball coach, William Hardin has hit the ground running, with recruitment in full swing, meeting current players and getting ready for the upcoming season.

But like they say, it’s not work if you love what you do.

“I do care deeply about Louisburg baseball and Louisburg College,” Hardin said on Thursday’s SportsTalk segment with WIZS’s Scout Hughes and George Hoyle.

And now, he’s coaching at the very school that gave him so much as a young junior college athlete who headed off to Elon College (before it became a university) and then settled into a coaching and teaching career at the high school and college levels.

His coach at Louisburg was the venerable Russ Frazier, and Hardin said he’s had many conversations with his former coach since he took the job.

When Coach calls, Hardin says he drops whatever he’s doing.

“It’s like two people taking who have best friends forever,” Hardin said. “All the advice he gives me, I take it.”

Another role model who helped shape Hardin as a coach is longtime AD at Greensboro’s Page High School – and fellow Elon ballplayer Rusty Lee.

Hardin said he learned the value of being proactive from Lee, so when someone calls him to share the name of a possible recruit, Hardin calls. Right then.

“My job is to get on the phone right then and there, not wait a week,” he said.

He’s hitting the recruiting pretty hard now, and he said he has until mid-August to “say yes to as many quality players as we possibly can.”

He said he’s ready to build on the success that previous head coach Blake Herring had with the Hurricanes, and elevate the program a little bit in the process and return to national relevance.

One way to do that is through hard work. Another way is by showing players you’re passionate about your school, your program and your players.

“I do have a lot of passion,” Hardin said. Recruits have remarked about seeing and feeling that passion, which tells Hardin he’s doing the right thing and doing it the right way.

“The day I met the players, I had probably five or six alumni with me who showed up,” Hardin said, which created a “buzz” among current players and in the Louisburg fanbase and alums.

There are some good players coming back for the upcoming season, and Hardin said right now, he’s looking for arms.

“The more arms we get, the more chance that we can win those weekend series,” he explained. He said he’s going to look at those weekend series as if they’re the conference tournament. “We want to win that two out of three, we want to sweep,” so the team can develop that mindset of playing baseball hard for a short period of time.

A pitcher’s speed is great, but Hardin said there’s a place in the lineup for pitchers who can provide long relief, short relief  – players he can put on the mound for specific tasks.

“We’re looking for arms that come in and get people out,” he explained. “It’s about hitting your spots and mixing your pitches…throwing off the timing and the balance of the hitter – that’s what it’s all about.”

He’s doing all the things a college head coach needs to do, at a dizzying pace – networking, recruiting, learning, planning and strategizing.

“That’s something I’ve been eager to do all my life, is to be a college coach,” Hardin said. “But there’s only one place I really wanted to be and that’s Louisburg College and that is the truth.”

To be able to coach at the school that gave him his start that included playing college baseball and a career as a coach is not something Hardin takes for granted.

“It changed my entire life, being able to go to school there,” he said.“Everything I have is attributed to Louisburg College.”

He said he’s livin’ the dream right now – a great family, a job he loves at a school that he loves.

 

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High School Baseball Playoffs

NCHSAA

4A – State Championship Series – Best of 3

Game 1

  • Bunn 3 Burns 2

Game 2

  • Bunn 7 Burns 5

Congratulations to the Bunn Wildcats on winning the 4A Baseball State Championship!

The Local Skinny! Maria Parham Franklin Hosting ‘Stomp the Stigma’ 5K May 30

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Lace up your running – or walking – shoes for the second “Stomp the Stigma” 5k on Saturday, May 30 in Louisburg to support mental health awareness and care for mental health treatment.

Not feelin’ it for the 5k?

There’s a Family Fun Run and a Kids Dash, too, thanks to event organizers from the Maria Parham Franklin campus, where the focus is on mental health and behavioral health.

Emilee Johnson, vice president of operations at Maria Parham, said this year’s event is shaping up to be another success.

May is National Mental Health Awareness month, a time when mental health professionals emphasize the normalization of seeking help when it’s needed.

Last year’s inaugural event raised about $5,000, Johnson said. “This year we want to do a lot more,” she said on Thursday’s The Local Skinny! This year’s recipient again is First in Families of North Carolina, a local nonprofit that supports people receiving mental health care.

They’ve been able to touch many lives through last year’s donation, Johnson said and they’re very excited and very supportive of this year’s fundraiser.

The stigma that needs stomping is the stigma around mental health and people’s reluctance to talk about it, learn about it and seek treatment for it.

Morgan Barnes, MPH’s manager of Human Resources, said “I feel that mental health is not a ‘someone else’ issue.” It affects us all, she said, from family and friends to co-workers. Whether identified as stress, anxiety, burnout or something else, there are resources available to support and promote positive mental health.

Making treatment more of the norm goes a long way to stomp the stigma, Johnson said. “We’re really excited to do something that benefits the community.”

Mark Speed returns this year, bringing his DJ skills to the day’s activities. Speed is a big proponent of the hospital, Johnson said. “He brought a lot of fun and energy last year to the crowd” she added. Having 150 participants join in the fun last year was a good start. “If we could double that, that would be amazing,” Johnson said. The event provides a fun activity for the community to participate in and also helps support a great cause, she added. “It’s a win all around.”

Everyone who registers at least two weeks before the event will get a t-shirt and swag bag. Register at https://runsignup.com/. There’s also a place on the event’s link to sign up as a volunteer. Register at least two weeks before the event to get a volunteer t-shirt.

The race route takes participants from the hospital, through the town’s historic district around Louisburg College and the downtown area and then back to the hospital, located at 100 Hospital Dr. off Hwy 39.

It’s designed for fun, but for those with a competitive edge, awards will be given to the top three male finishers and top three female finishers. The first 150 to cross the finish line will get race medals.

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(This content was originally published on May 7, 2026.)

TownTalk: Around Old Granville – 250th Anniversary of the USA in Old Granville County Part 2

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With the nation’s approaching 250th birthday as a backdrop, WIZS’s Bill Harris and local historian Mark Pace continue their conversation about people, places and events from right here in the four-county area, “Old Granville County.”

Franklin County’s Regiment of Militia was officially formed in January 1779, in the middle of the Revolutionary War. This group of men, along with the Granville County militia, fought the British troops in battles across the Carolinas in the early 1780’s, including the Siege of Charleston, Camden and Charlotte before giving the Brits a fit at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse.

Gen. Charles Cornwallis led his troops to major victories, but they met their match at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse.

Local historian Mark Pace said the British technically won the battle, but suffered such heavy casualties at the hands of the Patriots – led by Gen. Nathaniel Greene – that it was a hollow victory.

Just a year earlier, Cornwallis had spent 16 days in Charlotte trying to suppress the Patriots in that area, Pace said. Most likely members of the local militia were there as well and contributed to Cornwallis’s description of the then-small town as a “hornet’s nest.”

(A couple of hundred years later, the NBA team that called Charlotte home took note of the description and now the Charlotte Hornets play in an arena called The Hive.)

The Granville County militia performed well at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, Pace said on Thursday’s Part 2 of Around Old Granville on TownTalk.

The Continental Line, akin to a national Army, of sorts, Pace explained, got much-needed assistance from states’ militias. North Carolina furnished about 4,000 or so men to the militia, each county calling up recruits or volunteers to join the effort.

Why did the states feel the need to call up militias in the first place?

Well, it’s probably not the only reason, but back in the mid-1750’s, the Colonists were being required to pay all kinds of taxes to the British Crown. But they didn’t have anyone in England to speak on their behalf, which was how the phrase “no taxation without representation” came about.

Two big taxes “that irritated Americans to no end,” Pace said, were the Stamp Act and the Sugar Tax. The Stamp Act taxed printed materials, from wills and deeds to newspapers and playing cards. The Sugar Act is self-explanatory, but it became a thorn in the side of Americans because of what was the most popular drink at the time – rum, which is derived from molasses. And molasses is made from sugarcane juice.

The Granville militia, in the mid-1770’s was under the leadership of Micajah Bullock, who is buried near Bullock’s Church located along U.S. Hwy 15 South near Creedmoor and Col. John Taylor of the Williamsboro vicinity.  Another prominent Granville County resident was Thomas Person, who was a general in the militia. At the time, he was the wealthiest person in the county and he opened up his estate for training purposes during the Revolution.

Pace called Person “the heart and soul of the Revolution in this area.”

During previous “Around Old Granville” segments, Pace and Harris have talked about the significance of Williamsboro, once a prospering center of commerce that today is merely a crossroads that people pass through as they travel N.C. Hwy 39.

The community was named for John Williams, Pace said, whose name can be found among a list of Founding Fathers for this nation.

Williams, along with Robert Burton, John Penn and Benjamin Hawkins, all hailed from the Williamsboro area and were elected to the Continental Congress. Penn signed the Declaration of Independence, but Williams signed the Articles of Confederation. He also became speaker of the N.C. House, and was one of the first N.C. Supreme Court judges.

Sadly, Williams’s home, Montpelier, no longer stands. But it was a hub of activity back then, Pace said.

Montpelier was where N.C. Gov. Burke went when it became  clear he needed to evacuate Hillsborough (then the capital) in advance of Cornwallis’s arrival.

Montpelier is also where Leonard Henderson, for whom Henderson is named, is buried.

In fact, Williamsboro had been considered as the state’s capital, but leaders ultimately chose the more centrally located Raleigh.

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