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A story from Grimm's: No good deed goes unpunished

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Tuesday, 01 September 2026

Written by Pitt Dickey

Today we venture into a darker corner of the forest of Grimms’ Fairy Tales. Consider the story of Faithful Johannes, a servant who went beyond the call of duty. Once upon a time, an old King was on his deathbed (likely purchased during the Labor Day Mattress sales). He called his faithful servant Johannes to his side for final instructions. He told Johannes to guide his son through the royal castle, showing him everything except for the room which had a portrait of the Princess of the Golden Roof. If the Prince saw the portrait, he would fall in love with her and bad things would follow. The King then expired. On the castle tour, the new King demanded to enter the forbidden room. When the new King saw the portrait of the Princess of the Golden Roof, he fell in love and passed out.
On regaining consciousness, the King demanded to be taken to see the Princess to woo her. Johannes told him that the Princess loved everything gold and that might tempt her to marry him. The King had his goldsmiths fashion a ton of gold into beautiful objects. They loaded the golden trinkets in a boat. They disguised themselves as merchants and sailed to the Princess’ country. Johannes took a sampling of the trinkets to the Princess. She wanted to buy the whole lot. She went to the boat and became dazzled by all the golden objects. The King ordered the ship to sail away without telling the Princess. When she finally realized they were far at sea, she demanded to be taken home. The King refused, telling her that he loved her. She was so smitten by the gold, she agreed to the marriage.
Johannes had the ability to understand bird language. While on the deck, Johannes heard two seagulls talking about troubles to come. Gull #1 said when the King gets her home, a horse will run up to meet them. The King will get on the horse, which will carry him away forever. Gull#2 said the only way to prevent that is if someone takes a pistol and kills the horse, but he cannot ever tell why he did it or his legs will turn to stone up to the knees. Gull#1 said if the King does get to the castle, he will find a wedding robe that looks like it was made of gold and silver. When he wears the robe, it turns to Sulphur and will burn his body to a cinder. Gull#2 said to prevent this, someone will have to throw the robe on a fire to burn it up but never tell why. If he tells, his body will turn to stone up to his heart. Gull#1 said at the wedding, the Princess will turn pale and die when the dancing begins. Gull#2 said to prevent this, someone will have to bite the Princess, draw 3 drops of blood, and spit it out. Then the Princess will return to life. If the person tells why, his whole body will turn to stone.
All of these things happened. Johannes performed his life-saving tasks. The King got really torqued off because Johannes would not give his reasons. He ordered Johannes to be executed for his insolence. At the gallows, Johannes used his last words to explain why and how he saved the King. Then he turned to stone. The King spiraled into grief at what he had done. He put the statue of Johannes in his bedroom and wept whenever he saw it.
Time passed and twins were born to the King and his Queen. One day when the Queen was away, the King looked at the statue and said “If only I could bring Johannes back to life.” The statue suddenly spoke and told the King, “If you cut off your children’s heads and sprinkle the blood on me, I will come back to life.” The King freaked out but did so. The statue came back to life, though the children were dead. The King was devastated by grief. Johannes then put the children’s heads back on their bodies. The children came back to life as if nothing had ever happened.
When the Queen came back from church, the King told her that he brought back Johannes to life by killing their twins. The Queen was horrified but agreed that they owed it to Johannes to do so since Johannes had been so loyal. At that, the King brought out Johannes and the twins, much to the relief of the Queen. And they all lived happily ever after.
Author’s note: No horses, servants, wedding robes, Princesses, or twins were harmed during the composition of this column. You are now free to roam about the forest.

(Illustration by Pitt Dickey)

Troy's Perspective: Engage in election season

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Tuesday, 25 August 2026

Written by Troy Williams

The month of August typically marks the official start of election season for contests that are decided on the first Tuesday in November. In the 2026 election cycle, with less than 70 days until the general election and early voting on Oct. 15, political enthusiasts are eagerly anticipating the campaign ramp-up. However, some individuals are dreading the entire process: campaign signs, commercial ads, rallies and opponent attack tactics. Understandably, they would like just to cast their votes and move on.
This election is called a midterm because it does not coincide with the presidential election cycle. Much attention is focused on the U.S. Senate and Congressional races, as they determine control of Congress and influence the agenda of the current presidential administration. In this case, it’s President Donald Trump, a polarizing figure. Arguably, there is a lot at stake, and I won't suggest one side of the political spectrum is better than the other; that's a personal choice for each voter. We will wait and see which candidates emerge and, hopefully, do so honorably.
While national races attract much attention, local elections, such as at-large school board seats and board of commissioners' seats, are equally important. The Cumberland County Commissioner District One seats were decided in the primary, with the Democratic nominees guaranteed positions due to the lack of Republican opposition. Cumberland County Commission District 1 is drawn to ensure Black voters have their preferred candidate. County racial dynamics have changed, and a set-aside district especially for Blacks may no longer be necessary, but that's a discussion for another time.
Over a dozen candidates are competing for one of the three at-large seats on the school board. This race is likely to be very competitive and could significantly influence school policy in Cumberland County for years to come.
Downtown on Dick Street, the Cumberland Board of Commissioners at-large race has similar implications. In both races, citizens must decide whether Cumberland County is heading in the right direction or if a change is needed. There's no doubt that a lot is at stake. The key question remains: will voters support the status quo, or will they choose to continue down the path led by the current majority on the board of commissioners, chaired by former city councilman and state senator Kirk deViere?
There can be no argument about the importance of this local vote. Your vote will shape the future of Cumberland County. North Carolina is one of the fastest-growing states in the nation; however, Cumberland County's growth is behind our peer counties in terms of where individuals are choosing to work and live.
Acknowledging our Tier 1 status as a poor community is not a slap against our legislature; rather, it's an admission that there is much work to do and that it will take the whole community's effort to change the dynamics. We are good, but we can be great. We have a lot of talented and resourceful citizens, so it might appear that we have the right people on the bus, just not in the right seats.
Let's make it happen.

State of Community: From potential to momentum

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Tuesday, 01 September 2026

Written by Kirk deViere

Kudos to the Greater Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce and CEO Nat Robertson for presenting the most important and relevant event of the year: Fayetteville and Cumberland County's State of the Community Luncheon, which took place at the Crown Coliseum Complex on Tuesday, Aug. 25.
It featured an impressive lineup of speakers, including Congressman Richard Hudson and North Carolina State Auditor Dave Boliek. Each speaker delivered a fact-driven, relevant message to the hundreds of businesses and organizations in attendance. However, the most significant message running through the entire event was that Fayetteville and Cumberland County have many wonderful, energetic, economically driven projects and achievements benefiting our community—yet the news that our region is growing and thriving economically doesn't seem to be getting out.
Kirk deViere, Chairman of the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners, did an excellent job of defining that problem: "Stop defending Fayetteville and Cumberland County, and start describing it."
He was right on the mark. We must stop allowing other people and communities to define our narrative. Up & Coming Weekly took on that task 30 years ago and has been successful doing just that. From Cape Fear Valley Health System to Public Works Commission, Fayetteville Technical Community College, Methodist University, Fayetteville State University, the entire arts and cultural community and dozens of local nonprofit organizations, we have been proud to tell Fayetteville’s stories.
Believe me, these stories are important, and we are not doing a good enough job telling them. This requires a true multimedia effort—we cannot simply rely on social media or what I call "winking in the dark," where we check a box to make an announcement. We need to rally around broadcasting our achievements, accomplishments, and the good things happening in this community. We need to start defining who we are and stop letting outside agencies and communities define our narrative.
Below is Kirk deViere's impactful message. You should read it and heed it. He makes a great point. The leadership he provides, along with our other dedicated city and county leaders, makes all the difference in how we will define Fayetteville, Cumberland County and our future for generations to come.
Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly, Fayetteville's hyper-local community newspaper.
—Bill Bowman, Publisher
Last year, I quoted Tony Chavonne's challenge to our community from 25 years ago: "It's time to roll up our sleeves and improve our community's economic health." But I left out the second half of his sentence. He also said we must work "to restore our rightful place as an economic influence in the region and the state."
Tony gave us two assignments. Roll up your sleeves. And take your place.
For 25 years, progress has not always happened at the pace we hoped for. We have faced real challenges. Population growth flattened.
Median income lagged behind our neighbors. Investments in infrastructure and schools did not always materialize. For a long time, the word people used to describe Cumberland County was potential.
But potential is the word you use for a place that is not moving. What we are experiencing now in Cumberland County is momentum. Over the last two years, our county has begun to look very different from the Cumberland County of decades past. In just 24 months, we have:
• Opened the first new independent medical school in North Carolina in 40 years, a partnership between Methodist University and Cape Fear Valley Health.
• Welcomed a $26 million Army innovation outpost at Fort Bragg.
• Emerged as a statewide leader in cybersecurity workforce development, with Fayetteville Technical Community College leading the Carolina Cyber Network.
• Connected the XVIII Airborne Corps with Fayetteville State University for research and training.
• Attracted a major drone manufacturer that chose Cumberland County for its U.S. production facility.
• Begun construction on FCEDC's Defense Innovation Center to connect industry with local skilled talent.
• Broken ground on 325,000 square feet of industrial space in our Military Business Park, developed by an out-of-state firm investing on speculation.
Meanwhile, Cumberland County is investing three-quarters of a billion dollars in our public school system and a quarter-billion dollars in water and sewer infrastructure. We have also lowered the tax rate, making us more competitive for business and lighter on the families who live here.
Individually, any one of these achievements would merit a ribbon cutting, a photo op, or a press release. Taken together, they become something far more significant.
They become an ecosystem. Education. Research. Health care. Cybersecurity. Defense technology. Advanced manufacturing. Infrastructure. And one of the most consequential military installations in the world.
These are the elements beginning to connect here. And that matters, because companies are no longer looking simply for land or a building. They are looking for talent, research partners, testing environments, supply chains, and communities capable of helping them move from idea to testing to production.
Cumberland County is becoming that kind of place. There is one word that describes what all of this creates. Signal. Signal is not what a community claims about itself. It is what a community can prove when industry and opportunity come looking.
I see this every time I travel for this county. In Raleigh. At conferences. Across the table from companies. People are surprised by what is happening here. Not because they disagree with it, but because the Cumberland County in their heads is years out of date.
Our reputation has not caught up with our reality. That is something every one of us can help change. A press release from Cumberland County is not the signal. You are.
Nearly everyone reading this will sit in a room this year where Fayetteville, Fort Bragg, or Cumberland County comes up. You may be the only person there who can describe what is actually happening.
So describe it. Start with our challenges. We have them, and we all know what they are. Then explain what we are doing about them. Talk about the investments being made, the new medical school, the expansion at Fort Bragg, the innovation emerging from our colleges and universities. Share the stories of companies choosing to invest here and the infrastructure being built to support what comes next.
We do not have to oversell Cumberland County. We simply have to tell our whole story.
For too long, we have allowed others to tell that story and define our narrative. It is time the rest of this state, and this country, heard it directly from us.
My son Grey is nine. In 25 years, he will be 34, building his career and perhaps deciding where to raise a family of his own. He, along with every child in this community, will inherit the decisions our leaders are making today. The schools we build. The infrastructure we invest in. The industries we attract. The opportunities we create. And the reputation we leave behind.
I want them to inherit a Cumberland County that did more than talk about its potential. I want them to inherit a county that realized it.
That work is happening right now. We are focused on building a community that competes for the best talent, investment, and innovation. A place where ideas become companies, where technology moves from concept to capability, and where the talent connected to Fort Bragg strengthens a thriving private-sector economy beyond its gates.
A Cumberland County ready to take its rightful place as an economic influence in this region and this state. Cumberland County has momentum, and the rest of North Carolina needs to know it. They do not just need to hear it from me. They need to hear it from all of us.
Let's roll up our sleeves. Let's stop defending Cumberland County and start describing it. And let's take our place.

Editor's Note: Kirk deViere is Chairman of the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners.

(Photo: Kirk deViere addresses the attendees at the State of the Community Address held by the Greater Fayetteville Chamber on Aug. 25. Photo courtesy of Cumberland County NC's Facebook page)

Learning to Listen

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Tuesday, 25 August 2026

Written by Dan DeBruler

“What’s it about, Danny?”
The question came during the drive from a country home near Wamego, Kansas, to a small family farm about thirty minutes away. The ride had become routine. If I dozed off, the sound of gravel popping beneath the tires as we left I-70 and headed south on Snokomo Road was sure to wake me.
For a 13-year-old city kid, farm chores still felt like an adventure. My cousin Memory, a schoolteacher, had invited me to spend the summer with her and her husband, Tom, a Vietnam veteran who had returned to the quiet of his family’s farm south of Paxico.
Memory and I had met only a few months earlier. I have a complicated family history, so much of that summer was spent getting to know one another. The conversation that day began with a simple question.
“What kind of music do you like?”
Easy enough. I told her I liked rock music.
But in true schoolteacher fashion, she wanted me to think a little deeper.
“What do you consider rock music? Which bands do you like? Name one song. What are some of the lyrics?”
Then came the question that changed things:
“What’s it about, Danny?”
I had chosen a song widely considered an antiwar protest anthem. The trouble was, I had never considered what that—or any other song—was actually about. I could sing along, recite the lyrics, and air-guitar through the inevitable solo. But I had never stopped to consider the meaning of the words.
I didn’t know it then, but her question would shape the way I listen, choose, and regard the power of music to motivate, encourage, unite, or console.
I also learned that songs aren’t always as simple as they first appear. The same lyrics may be understood differently depending on the listener, sometimes even by the artists who wrote and recorded them.
But Memory’s question still matters. What’s it about?
That is a good question to ask about more than music. It belongs in our conversations, entertainment, ambitions, and habits. What is this saying? Where is it leading me? What is it teaching me to admire, excuse, fear, or desire?
We often believe we are merely listening, watching, or passing the time. But what we repeatedly welcome into our minds shapes how we see the world, and eventually, how we live within it.
Scripture tells us to guard our hearts because everything we do flows from them. That doesn’t mean fearing every message around us. It means becoming discerning.
Years later, I remain grateful that my cousin didn’t simply tell me what to think. She cared enough to teach me how to listen.
Perhaps that is part of our responsibility to one another, especially to those coming behind us. We can give them rules, or help them ask better questions. We can tell them what to avoid, or patiently teach them to recognize what is true, beautiful, and pleasing to God.
Sometimes one thoughtful question, asked with genuine care, can continue doing its work for a lifetime.