1.“One day, I was thinking about all I’d learned from this journey. I’m not just talking about learning about building a canoe. I was thinking more of the wisdom shared as we talked and told stories, and that’s when the name came to me.” — Kevin Melvin, the project leader for the recent canoe build and launch at the Lumbee Tribe Cultural Center.

2. “We hope to see kids having a great time showing their patriotic spirit and creativity in the way they decorate their bike, wagon, scooter, skateboard, golf cart, etc.,” said City of Laurinburg Community Development Director Walker McCoy. “Also, we want to have people come downtown to celebrate the holiday, gather, and have a good time. We just want to offer a way for people to show their patriotism for the July 4th holiday and this will offer a fun and creative way to do that.

3. “We want people to have a good time, but it’s never wise to drink and then operate a car, truck, boat or any vehicle,” said Mark Ezzell, director of the N.C. Governor’s Highway Safety Program. “If you plan to drink alcohol this holiday weekend, or any day, rely on a designated driver, call a friend, use a cab or a ride-sharing service.”

4. “We want to make sure we’re getting out and tapping across the entire talent of North Carolina to try to come and engage in the workforce at the state level … IT is probably on the better end of the vacancy rate overall in state government than many of state agencies.” — N.C. Department of Technology’s secretary and chief information officer, James Weaver speaks during a tour of the Genious Bar at Scotland High School.

5. “I was proud to be on the frontlines on the Senate Judiciary Committee to confirm President Trump’s three Supreme Court nominees: Barrett, Kavanaugh, Gorsuch. We’ve seen how consequential securing this conservative majority was over the last two days.” — Sen. Thom Tillis.

6. “This bill will help all North Carolina property owners who are looking to protect their homes through the rule of law. No one is up to any good when they are walking onto someone else’s property late at night, and homeowners should be able to seek justice in those situations. This is a commonsense bill and I urge Gov. Cooper to swiftly sign this bill into law.” — Sen. Danny Britt speaks about Senate Bill 246, the “Property Owners Protection Act.”