Good morning, Leland.

Special Olympics New Hanover County needs 100+ volunteers as more than 650 athletes take part in the Fall Games.

Volunteer shifts run Nov. 6 from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Legion Stadium for school-age and adult athletes, and Nov. 20 from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Child Development Center for preschool athletes.

Raptor, a six-month-old puppy with a big personality, is available for adoption from Paws Place Dog Rescue.

Meet him Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at 242 George II Highway in Winnabow; no appointment is needed, and he’d do best as the only dog.

Vanna White will appear at the grand opening of the new Walmart Supercenter on Nov.

4 at 9700 Ocean Highway West, where a ribbon-cutting, product sampling, giveaways, a fall fashion showcase, and an appearance by Niko Moon are planned; the store will include a pharmacy, vision and auto care and is expected to hire 450 associates (applications open).

The North Carolina Azalea Festival will mark its 80th anniversary April 7–11, 2027 with headliners at Live Oak Bank Pavilion: DJ Diesel on Thursday, April 8 and The Avett Brothers on Friday, April 9; tickets go on sale Monday, Nov.

9 at noon (sponsored by Atlantic Union Bank).

Dylan Patterson is this month's Donna Gregory Extraordinary Person of the Month after helping found Wilmington's Theatre for All, a nonprofit that uses performing arts to serve people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (founded in 2014), and the program has grown from about 20 participants to roughly 200 by 2026.

Cape Fear Community College will host a Fall Open House on Tuesday, Nov.

10 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Joe and Barbara Schwartz Center (610 N. Front St., Wilmington) where visitors can meet faculty, join guided tours, and attend sessions on admissions, financial aid, dual enrollment, and transfers.

Brunswick Community College won a $600,000 state High‑Cost Workforce Start‑Up Grant to partner with Southeastern Community College and will launch a heavy equipment operator training program in January 2027.

The program will train students for heavy equipment operation and site construction, with enrollment details announced closer to the launch.

Local author Mary Jane McKittrick is using her new children's book Boomer and Halley Election Day to introduce kids to the election process ahead of Election Day, set in fictional Shady Pines and pairing a dog and cat with four life lessons and parent discussion questions (ages 6 to 9).

Cape Fear Community College's 130-foot research vessel Cape Hatteras made its final trip down the Cape Fear River on Tuesday as a six-person crew towed it to South Carolina to be stripped and sunk in the coming weeks as an artificial reef about 18 miles off Wrightsville Beach (resting in about 80 feet of water).

UNCW basketball will open the 2026-27 season Monday, Nov.

2 at Trask Coliseum against Mount Olive, with the Seahawks bringing nine new players after coach Takayo Siddle led them to a fifth straight 20-win season last year.