It is a myth that adults cannot learn to ski because I started skiing when I was forty. It is easier for children, but these days, many adults are taking lessons. Skiing is an engaging aerobic and anaerobic sport that the entire family can enjoy. The Baby Boomer generation continues to hit the slopes, and it is not unusual to see skiers in their seventies.

Making a good plan for your ski trip is essential to having an enjoyable experience. Look for a beginner-friendly slope with a good rental department and quality instructors. In the beginning, avoid investing in expensive ski clothes and equipment to see if you like the sport. Wearing water-resistant clothing will help keep you dry when you fall. Let’s face it: you will fall, get cold, and get snow down your pants. Your clothing should be layered, moisture-wicking and avoid cotton because it absorbs sweat and will make you colder. My advice to the beginner is to buy an inexpensive pair of bibs, a jacket, a good pair of gloves and wear sunglasses with a holder strap or goggles and a helmet. Rent your skis or snowboard and go early because the lines are usually long. It takes a while to properly fit equipment, not to mention how long it takes you to get settled and put it on. Go to a ski slope that offers other activities such as ice skating or tubing for other group members that may not be interested in the sport.

A lesson or lessons are a prerequisite for navigating your skis or snowboards, to learn starting, stopping, and getting on and off the lift. Going straight to the top is no way to learn how to ski or snowboard and can be dangerous for you and the others around you when you are unable to stop. The “bunny slope, “ as it is affectionately called, is there for a reason and a fantastic way to learn and build confidence. Hydration is also a key factor for endurance during the day, taking breaks and eating something nutritious.

Choosing a slope suited for your level of experience is essential for building good memories and helping you look forward to your next trip. I have skied out west and in the North Carolina mountains, including Beach, Sugar, Appalachian, and West Virginia, including Winterplace and Snowshoe. The ambiance of the North Carolina mountains is perfect for skiing and shopping. Still, the downsides are the popularity and crowds. My suggestion for beginners would be Winterplace in West Virginia, which is usually less crowded with various beginner-friendly runs. Try to schedule that trip on weekdays instead of the weekend if you love the North Carolina mountains to avoid crowds.

Churches or schools offer road trips or weekends for youths, and these options are a fantastic way for your children to try skiing with supervision. Planning will save you time and money if you decide on taking a family trip. Plan out your lift tickets, available times, ski packages that include rentals, lessons and account for any days that may be sold out. Ski season on the east coast typically runs mid-December through March.

Adults learning to ski should take lessons from a qualified instructor to learn the basics and opt-out of lessons from those eager friends that want to teach you.

Enjoy that friend time later while you talk about your runs!

Live, love life with skiing and snowboarding!

As a publication, we get suggestions and requests weekly for content coverage. We cannot always follow up on every idea sent our way, whether because we have already budgeted the space in the paper or because we have already committed resources elsewhere. But, sometimes, the suggestion is so heartfelt, timely and important that you just make space where otherwise there might not have been. This is how it went a few weeks ago when Tammy Thurman, community relations manager at Piedmont Natural Gas and vice chairwoman of the Greater Fayetteville Chamber, approached Up & Coming Weekly to cover Black History Month in a unique and important way. We met and discussed her vision. Some stories everyone knows explained Thurman. No matter their origins, some stories are told and retold every February, but there are more. Stories that go unnoticed but are equally important.

As Thurman explained, stories are repeated every February, and the leaders who are spoken into the fabric of our community and society through those stories are hugely important. But the lesser told stories, shared on a smaller scale, are quietly told among people of color, and they deserve a louder voice and a broader audience. It is these stories Thurman hoped we, at Up & Coming Weekly, would help to amplify.

This month we will be featuring a series on local Fayetteville Black history heroes. This week and for the next three consecutive weeks, we will feature the story of a Fayetteville-connected Black folk hero. We will share an account from the past that marks the struggles and triumphs in the history of our local Black community. This week we share the story of Isaac Hammond and the Fifer’s Grave, shared with us in an interview with Charles Anderson Jr., a history lecturer at Fayetteville State University (see page15). In the following weeks we will tell the stories of Robert R. Taylor, architect and educator; Mable C. Smith, local politician and fighter for the disenfranchised; and Charles Waddell Chesnutt, political activist and author. We are reaching out to Black community members to help us tell these stories, both through their time via interviews or through their writing.

In addition to our local Black History Heroes from Fayetteville’s past, we will also be speaking with Black community members making a difference and impacting our Fayetteville community today. Look for our cover story next week on a local veteran artist mentioned on pages 12-13, this week, Damien Mathis. And in the issue hitting stands on Feb. 16, we will be profiling veteran business owner Joseph Dewberry.

Join us on this journey while we share stories that may get overlooked in national headlines but are a vital part of the unique, diverse and storied Fayetteville community’s Black History. Pick up our paper each week this February or click in via our website and social media to read about and hear these voices.

Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

The Fayetteville History Museum will be opening a new exhibit: “African Americans on the River.”

This exhibit honors Black History Month and will become a semi-permanent feature in the Museum.

This exhibit highlights numerous free and enslaved African Americans who were integral to the story of the Cape Fear River and the region, including revered Steamboat Pilot Daniel Buxton. Also featured, are stories of resilience including one of the dozens of free African Americans who traveled down the river journeying to a new life in Liberia.

Admission is free to the Museum and galleries are open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.The Fayetteville History Museum is located at 325 Franklin Street and is operated by the Historic and Natural Resources District of Fayetteville-Cumberland Parks and Recreation.

The Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County Director of Operations, Antonio Renteria, has been selected as an Emerging Leaders of Color (ELC). The ELC is a free professional leadership development program and team-building workshop for early to mid-career arts and cultural administrators of color. Eighteen individuals from each of South Arts’ nine-state region were selected for the second Southern cohort of the program.

Renteria will participate in professional development and leadership training offered in partnership with South Arts and the Western States Arts Federation. The ELC Program provides tools, continued learning opportunities, and networks to arts administrators of color who seek to build their capacity as leaders in the arts and culture sector.

Staff, faculty, and alumni affiliated with the ELC Program selected Renteria because he exemplifies qualities in arts leadership and has the capacity to be a leader at his organization and in the broader community.

“I am committed to building relationships with local artists, nonprofit organizations, and other community partners who make Fayetteville a vibrant and welcoming community for artists and other creatives,” Renteria said in a press release.

Americans have traditionally valued education in general and higher education in particular. Harvard University was founded in 1636, more than a century before the United States managed to birth itself. As our newly formed nation was gelling, North Carolina legislators chartered our country’s first public university, what is now known as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It is worth a mention here that an education-hungry young man named Hinton James walked close to 150 miles — you read that correctly — from his home in Wilmington to Chapel Hill to enroll as UNC’s first student. He was UNC’s only student for about two weeks until some others turned up, for an initial 1798 graduating glass of six. A 20th-century dormitory in Chapel Hill is named in James’ honor.

Since young Hinton took his long walk, millions of American families have sacrificed and saved, borrowed and sought financial aid to make higher education possible for those they love. Over the centuries, more and more of us have achieved that goal. Higher education has made us professionals of all stripes, led to successful careers in many fields and enriched countless lives the way only an understanding of the world around us can.

Here comes the challenging news.

The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center reports that about one million fewer undergraduate students enrolled in higher education institutions in 2021 than in 2019. The declines are seen at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, at public and private institutions, at four-year institutions, most dramatically at community colleges and for-profit institutions. The declines are more pronounced among minority students as well.

While a million fewer students over two years is an eye-popping statistic, the trend is not new.

College enrollment has been declining for at least a decade, in part because our nation’s low birthrate means fewer 18-year-olds to enroll at all and because the cost of college continues to spiral. The COVID-19 pandemic, still besetting us in 2022, has merely accelerated the trend. “The reality is that the pandemic has disrupted the education of the next generation of young professionals, and that’s going to have immense consequences on the career options, their livelihoods,” said Doug Shapiro, executive director, Student Clearinghouse.

Shapiro is correct, of course, because educational attainment correlates with lifetime earnings. At the same time, declining higher education enrollment scares the socks off employers looking at fewer skilled workers in their immediate future.

COVID-19 and high costs are apparent factors in the decline, but other factors may be at work as well.In 2013 70% of adult Americans told Gallup pollsters they believed a college education was “very important.” In pre-Covid 2019, only 51% thought so.

Both students and parents are debating the value of higher education compared to its price tags, but is there something more? Something more nebulous and more difficult to pin down?

It is clear many Americans have thrown traditional scholarship and learning to the winds for reasons the rest of us will never know, much less understand.

How else do we account for Covid-deniers, anti-vaxxers, conspiracy theorists of all sorts—people who persist in their beliefs and behaviors despite scholarship and scientific evidence to the contrary? How else do we perceive a seemingly growing anti-intellectualism in our nation? I saw a woman on television tell a reporter that she simply did not care about the facts. “I just believe what I believe,” came out of her mouth before an international audience.

We need a visit from Hinton James to help us remember why education is important to us as individuals and as a nation.

Book Black Women, LLC will be hosting a night of performance, Feb. 13, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the SkyView on Hay in downtown Fayetteville.

The concert-like event will feature four local female Black singers. Refreshments will be served by Chef Judy from Uptown.

"I created this entity [Book Black Women] because I wanted to provide performance opportunities for Black women. With colorism being loud and silent all at once, it can sometimes be hard for Black women to get the shots they deserve," said Ayana Washington, founder and CEO of Book Black Women, LLC.

Washington came up with the idea of holding a concert in the spirit of Nina Simone's "Four Women."

"Nina Simone knew the Black woman is not a monolith. She used that song to speak to that, and I hope to do the same," said Washington.

Washington will perform in the Feb. 13 show herself, reprising Simone's famous song during her time in the spotlight. Washington was born in Fayetteville and has performed with Cape Fear Regional Theatre. She last appeared on the CFRT stage as the Dragon in Shrek, the Musical.

Also performing will be North Carolina native Desiree Tolodziecki. Tolodziecki has also previously worked with CFRT and is currently pursuing a career in New York. Ashley Jones, a Fayetteville native who works in law enforcement, will also be taking the stage.

A fourth singer is in the works to round out the quartet.

"These ladies will sing songs that mean something to them and hopefully capture the attention of people in the audience who would like to book them for other events!" said Washington. "I am excited to watch these ladies perform and tell their stories through song. It's rare we get the chance to be 'unapologetically Black and female' and show people that that phrase has a range you wouldn't believe!"

Four Women is the first event planned by Book Black Women, LLC. Washington says she plans to stay busy and has several other events planned for the year. Potential performers and sponsors can contact her at bookblackwomen.nc@gmail.com. Performers don't have to be singers, according to Washington.

Those interested in attending can find information and tickets for Four Women at visitdowntownfayetteville.com/events/four-women-presented-by-book-black-women-llc/. Tickets range from $55 to $75.
Select tickets will have access to an open bar. Attendees can take photos in a 360 photo booth, and tickets include a swag bag. The event is formal, with black tie attire requested.

From time to time, we all have things pop up that throw a wrench into the works of our usual schedule, and as it turns out, I'm not immune.

I work in radio, and I host a local radio show that meets people in their cars on their way to start their day. However, on a recent morning, I had some appointments, so I prerecorded a portion of my on-air work the previous day.

I typically spend some thoughtful time preparing the things I'll talk about through the morning. I even prepare and plan to talk about what people think about as they head to work or school. In addition, there are remarks I'll make in passing – things that strike me at the moment or come out of something I recently read or heard someone say – and on this particular day, I made one of those passing remarks that caused someone listening to respond with a text message after it played on the air the following day.

Keep in mind that the number of comments and stories I might share over the course of a week (three and a half hours a day, five days a week) is considerable. Suffice it to say: I don't always remember exactly what I said.

The text message I received was, "I want to be a bridge." Though it came as a result of one of those comments I made in passing, it was driven by something that had been in my notes for a while.

As a Christian, it meant enough to me that I jotted it down to keep it as close to top-of-mind as possible.

What I said was more of a question on this day.

I asked, "What kind of representative are you as a follower of Jesus? Are you a bridge, or are you a barrier to people coming to Christ?"

Honestly, these questions should be top-of-mind for anyone who calls themselves a Christian.

What we do, the things we say, the love and compassion we lack or show – they all factor into what those around think and believe about who Jesus is.

Just as the Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the church in ancient Corinth, "Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God." (2 Corinthians 5:20, ESV)

As an ambassador, people equate the message we bring or send with one coming directly from the one we represent.

In other words, the opinions others form about the one who sends us depends, to a great extent, on how we treat them as we deliver the message.

Whether you represent your family, our government, the place you work or – in this case – Jesus, it's best to be true to what you declare.

And like the person responding to my questions that day, as a Christian, I want to be a good ambassador and bridge rather than a barrier to people coming to Christ.

Being an Artist: A Way of Life is the newest upcoming exhibit opening at Gallery 208 on Feb. 8. What defines the nature of being an artist sounds like a riddle: "inside out, outside in." This exhibit will showcase artists with different art careers but live the riddle by remaining practicing artists. Being an Artist: A Way of Life includes a variety of styles, confirming how each artist experiences the "outside in," resulting in the expression of those experiences, "inside out."

Being an Artist: A Way of Life is one of four local exhibits in February and March celebrating how a historically black university (HBCU), Fayetteville State University, enriches the local, regional and national cultural landscapes.

HBCUs were founded in the 1800s to provide Black Americans an opportunity for higher education. Like all institutions across America, it was the path to becoming successful academically and professionally. Even today, black graduates of HBCUs are significantly more likely to have felt supported while in college than graduating from predominantly white institutions.

Fayetteville State University was established in 1867. Fast forward to the present, HBCUs now provide diverse learning environments for a diverse student population. Curating Being an Artist: A Way of Life is as much my story, after teaching at an HBCU for 29 years, as it is the 20 alumni who attended FSU and were selected to exhibit together. Like all my art colleagues, I have had the honor of having the participating artists in my classes, encouraging their development, witnessing their mastery of talent. And now sharing the courage they show continuing to be artists after graduating.

The exhibit is unique for several reasons. First and foremost, it takes courage to be an artist. Vulnerability is a consequence of expressing yourself to the public; courage requires centeredness within yourself and an assertion of self. It is rare to show a group of artists who have all attended the same university and see how their careers have unfolded due to their talent, perseverance, and courage. In the exhibit, each artist has a profile text panel explaining why being an artist is important to them and their way of life.

Second, many parents discourage their children from majoring in visual art because of the starving artist perception that lingers in our culture. Each text panel includes different art jobs and art careers of the artists in the exhibit.

This article below includes abridged versions of the art-related jobs, where each artist is located and answers explaining why they made personal choices for art to be their lifestyle.

Marcela Casals:

Professional Actor and Performance Artist, New York City, NY.

"Being an artist is not a choice; it is the thread by which I weave my life."

Dustan Elliot:

Graphic Designer for Champion Media and Results Optimized, Lumberton, NC:

"Art is simply everyday life for me. It was a huge part of my upbringing, and I want to pass that down to my children as well."

Namera Graybeal:

Cumberland County Art Educator, Fayetteville, NC.

"Creativity is the core of who I am that can't be ignored."

Carla Guzman:

G1-12 International School, Taiwan, recently moved to Fayetteville, NC.

"Being an artist is my career path; it is my preferred way of life."

Beverly Henderson:

Assistant Curator Ellington White Contemporary Gallery, Fayetteville, NC.

"Art continues to be a form of therapy for me, allowing me to leave the cares and stresses of everyday life outside the studio doors. I love the mess, the physicality of materials."

Babs Holland:

Illustrator and Designer for a marketing firm, Orlando, FL.

"I am a visual storyteller; I can't think of myself as anything else."

Andrew Johnson:

City of Fayetteville Graphic Production Supervisor, Fayetteville, NC.

"Being an artist brings me joy and allows me to share those moments with others. I can draw inspiration from all aspects of life."

Eric Longley:

Registered Art Therapist Department of Veteran Affairs, West Haven, CT.

"I use art every day as a healing tool both for myself and the Veterans I serve."

Damien Mathis:

Professional Artist, Fayetteville, NC.

"The freedom to express the emotions we sometimes can't explain. We all have something to give to the world."

Karmimadeebora McMillan:

Boston Center for the Arts two-year Residency Program, Boston, MA.

"Research and creating are an integral part of who I am along with constant curiosity and a thirst for knowledge."

Ebony Morlte-Oates:

UX/UI Design Intern at IBEX, Atlanta, GA.

"Art helps me determine what emotional state I'm in, in times where I'm not even sure. Art helps me express my view of the human psyche and the state of the world spiritually."

Vicki Rhoda:

Art Faculty at Fayetteville State University, Fayetteville, NC.

"I consider my artwork political; there is always something to say! Making art makes me feel good about myself."

Stacy Robinson:

Illustrator and Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL.

"I was always an artist. I teach art and make it."

David Scott:

Digital Projects Graduate Services Assistant at the University of Texas, Denton, TX.

"My art allows me to be the voice of those who may never be heard. I believe art, my art, can change hearts and minds, open eyes, reveal truths and change the world."

Shantel Scott:

Art Specialist-Ederle Art Center, Vicenza Italy, presently lives in Alexandria, Virginia.

"Visual imagery provides a sort of universal language by which viewers can interpret individually. Creating art is a source of catharsis. I am most myself when I am making art."

Angela Stout:

Painting Instructor, Cape Fear Studios, and FTCC Continuing Education lives in Broadway, NC.

"The process of creating is what my heart desires. The act of making helps me express what I struggle to express in words."

Amanda Stephens:

Lead Sculptor, Kerns Studio Mardi Gras World, New Orleans, LA.

"Art is inseparable from life. It is the most fulfilling endeavor both in the creation and the continued learning of skills and self."

Jean Newton Unser (Dieter):

Art teacher in NC schools lives in San Antonio, Texas.

"As an artist, I am a collector, a maker, a participant, and support other artists be an artist."

Aaron Wallace:

Self Employed Professional Artist, Willow Spring, North Carolina.

"I see my entire living space as a studio and canvas. I am lucky to have a life where I can work at my own pace and have plenty of space to create."

Neysa Wellington:

Master of Fine Arts in Photography graduate student, Tyler School of Art & Architecture at Temple University, Philadelphia, PA.

"Being an artist is embracing my ancestral calling of being a visual griot. Art saved my life, but photography changed my life."

Lastly, a reason for the exhibit is to share the diverse talent and styles of 20 artists. Jean Newton Unser (Dieter) from San Antonio, Texas, exhibits her refreshing approach to watercolors in a soothing painting titled Landscape. Unser's painterly work is in stark contrast to Ebony Morlte-Oates' digital work titled Layered Purging. Similar in color, Morlte-Oates' portrait is a flattened contemporary portrait evoking a psychological state of being.

Two artists have explored the portrait genre. Shantel Scott is exhibiting a female reduced to line, black and white. In her digital vector drawing titled Fruits of Self Trust, Scott has presented us with a stylized contour drawing - an encounter with a female cosmic oracle. Scott's minimalist approach is the exact opposite of Angela Stout's. Stout is the only realistic painter in the exhibit and exhibits a meticulously painted portrait titled His Story. Stout uses light in her painting to reveal meaning about the male subject; a crackled background texture compliments the subject's strength and permanence, and gaze.

Visitors to Being an Artist: A Way of Life should plan on spending time with the exhibit. A variety of styles and mediums to enjoy, but it will take some time to read the artist's profile text panel. The panel has an image of the artist, their art jobs, statements about attending an HBCU for their education, statements about art as a lifestyle, and links to the artists' website or instructional YouTube videos.

The exhibit opens at Gallery 208, Feb. 8 at 208 Rowan Street from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The public is invited to the opening.

The exhibit will remain in the gallery until late March. The gallery is open Monday – Thursday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. For information on the show, call 910-484-6200.

"To martial music proudly tread, The stars and stripes above me wave,
And lay my fife beside me there, I'd miss it even in the grave.
And when ye rest beside the spring, At morning's dawn or evening gloom,
Discharge a volley o'er the spot, And cheer the silence of the tomb."
— Excerpt from The Grave of Hammond, Luola Miller, published August 1858

Isaac Hammond's military service should have come to a close with the Militia Act of 1792. When the act passed on May 8, 1792, Hammond's position as a fifer became illegal for him to continue. Only white men were allowed to join militias and serve their country. Yet, less than a year later, in April of 1793, Hammond, a free Black man, resumed his fifing duties with the Fayetteville Independent Light Infantry, a position he would hold for 30 years.

"The Militia Act of 1792 said that no Blacks were allowed to serve in militia units. Yet here he was in the FILI. You could kind of say he was breaking the law, and the FILI let him," said Charles Anderson Jr., a history lecturer at Fayetteville State University.

An FSU double alumnus, Anderson has been teaching history to FSU students since 2015. He has conducted African American history tours of Fayetteville, with stops at the original site of FSU, the E.E. Smith House, the Chesnutt House and Isaac Hammond's grave on the parade grounds of the FILI located at the intersection of Cool Spring and Meeting Streets.

Hammond's birth date, even the year, is unknown. What is known is he was a barber, living in Fayetteville as a free Black man. Hammond's baptism in September of 1755 seems to be his earliest record.
During the Revolutionary War, Hammond joined the 10th Regiment of N.C. Continental Line as a fifer. Hammond was among those who spent that very cold winter of 1777-78 in Valley Forge with Gen. George Washington.

"It was his dream to be a company fifer, and he did it," Anderson said.

A fifer's position within the military ranks was an important one. A fifer plays a small shrill flute called a fife. The fife was particularly useful because soldiers could hear its high-pitched tones over the sounds of combat.

The fifers and drummers would signal battle plans and movements during marches and battles. Soldiers would hear the instruments across the battlefield and know what each drum beat or flute note would mean. By all accounts, Hammond took his job as a fifer very seriously.

When Hammond returned to Fayetteville, he returned to his life as a barber. However, the idea of serving his country never left him. The Revolutionary War ended in 1783. It would be another decade before Hammond would pick up his fife as part of an organized militia. Hammond became the company fifer when the Fayetteville Independent Light Infantry was organized on August 23, 1793.

"Here [in Fayetteville], you had folks that were enslaved. He's free, and he's serving in a military unit, in an important position. In some ways, it can kind of give hope. 'I'm enslaved, but this guy is free. What can I do to be free?'" Anderson said.

Hammond served as the FILI's company fifer until he died in 1822. Records show that not only did he serve despite not being allowed to, he also voted in local elections. His wife petitioned for his pension from the government after he passed. Their family Bible recorded the name of a child, George. Other possible descendants of Hammond are unknown.

Hammond wished to be buried on the FILI parade grounds, to remain near the company he loved. He was given a burial with full military honors, wearing his uniform and his fife at his side. He is the only known person buried on the FILI parade grounds.

"Isaac Hammond demonstrated a willingness to serve something greater than himself, and hopefully that allowed a door to open so that other folks could eventually follow him," Anderson said.

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 This piece is part of our series, "Local Black History", where we will be featuring local Fayetteville Black history heroes in each issue in February.

Fayetteville State University will allow spectators back into the Felton J. Capel Arena for the first time since the pandemic. Facial coverings are required for everyone inside a campus building and/or facility.

The first game that will allow spectators is Saturday, Feb. 5 when the Broncos host Johnson C. Smith University. The basketball doubleheader will have the women’s game tip at 2 p.m. with the men to follow.

General Admission tickets can be purchased in advance online at fsubroncos.com/tickets or the door. The adult admission is $20. Visiting students and children over five years old are $10. Senior Citizens, faculty, staff, and military with ID are $15. Full-time Fayetteville State students will be admitted with a valid FSU ID.

Doors will open one hour before the game. No outside food or beverage will be permitted at the game.

The PNC Foundation is awarding more than $2 million to five Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in North Carolina, including Fayetteville State University. PNC wants to establish the PNC North Carolina HBCU Initiative, an effort that aims to enrich the future of entrepreneurship and create workforce opportunities in the state.

The grants will be distributed over a three-year period to help fund the development and delivery of entrepreneurship resources and programming for students.

"At PNC, we recognize how important HBCUs are to our state's success," said Weston Andress, PNC regional president for Western Carolinas. "HBCU graduates contribute significantly to the talent pipeline that is fueling North Carolina's economy, and these institutions are foundational to shaping the workforce North Carolina needs to remain competitive in business."

The money will be used to build the Fayetteville State University Entrepreneurship Lab (E-Lab), an action learning opportunity designed to help students accelerate new ideas and product development. Student entrepreneur teams creating or growing their own ventures may compete for E-Lab funding to help fuel their projects. Additionally, the E-Lab will offer business and economic development support for community members and foster self-employment opportunities.

Other colleges and universities receiving a grant from the PNC Foundation include Elizabeth City State University, Johnson C. Smith University, North Carolina Central University and Winston-Salem State University.

When COVID-19 hit in March 2020, the economy stuttered to a standstill, and hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians lost their jobs over the next year and a half.

Amid the loss of income, the biggest expense for the vast majority of those workers was sometimes left unpaid: rent.

To answer this need, Congress allocated billions of dollars in rental assistance through federal stimulus funds. North Carolina cities and counties received those funds to oversee disbursement.

Cumberland County and the city of Fayetteville received a combined $18.1 million, which they jointly used to create the Fayetteville Cumberland Rental Assistance Program, or RAP.

Nearly eight months after RAP launched, more than $17.3 million has been spent — almost 96% — to aid more than 7,600 renting households, according to figures from the city and county provided to Carolina Public Press late last week.

As of Monday, the program is not accepting new applications until it gets new funding, as program administrators still need to work through over 5,000 pending applications.

More than 750 new COVID-19 cases, due to the omicron variant, were reported in Cumberland County on a typical day throughout January, well above rates before this surge.

If the pandemic continues to close businesses and eliminate jobs, then more help will be needed, said Dee Taylor, Cumberland community development director.

“There’s some uncertainty of what our future poses as it relates to this crisis,” she said. “If this continues, then yes, more than likely, we’re going to need additional aid in the future.”

‘We were already struggling’

Before the pandemic, tenants in Cumberland County were already struggling to pay rent.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s five-year American Community Survey in 2019, 48% of renting households spent 30% or more of their income on housing costs.

That’s higher than the statewide rate of 43% for the same time frame.

The target for many housing experts and advocates is to keep housing costs at or below that 30% mark.

“We were already struggling with the lack of affordable housing in our community,” Taylor said. “We’ve always had a short supply of affordable housing. As far as the housing market, it does not help those who are living in poverty. To be able to afford the market rate housing in our community — that’s where you have a big challenge, especially in this community.”

Increased fees on new round of assistance

In the last $1.7 million of federal funding into Cumberland’s portion of RAP, the county Board of Commissioners increased the portion of administrative fees and housing stability services from 8% to 25%, CPP previously reported.

This is the maximum that U.S. Treasury Department guidelines allow.

While RAP will spend 15% on administration by Innovative Emergency Management, the agency that the county and city contracted to disburse the aid, the remaining 10% will be spent on housing stability services.

The U.S. Treasury, in its guidelines for emergency rental aid disbursement, allows for eviction diversion programs and case management related to housing stability, among others, under these services.

Taylor said the eviction diversion could be used to offset the tenant’s costs for legal services and court fees when facing eviction.

She would anticipate that a majority, though, would be spent on case management, as it helps finalize rental assistance agreements between tenant and landlord, especially in Cumberland’s case as it navigates through its remaining applications, she said.

“In general, it helps (tenants) navigate through the application process,” Taylor said.

“When they submit their application, they still have to turn in certain documentation to show that they’re eligible for the program. … Sometimes, not always, a lot of times the applications are not always complete with the required documentation.

“So, the case managers are there to help them gather that information and service the end communication between the tenant and the landlord.”

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 Photo Credit: Multi-family housing in the Stanton Arms complex off Whitfield Street in Fayetteville is seen on Saturday. Melissa Sue Gerrits / Carolina Public Press

A new congressional seat in North Carolina is getting much attention from political hopefuls and resident politicians. Congressional District 4 will now encompass Cumberland County, Sampson County, Johnston County, most of Harnett County, and a section of Wayne County.

Many Republican candidates have thrown their names into the hat, hoping to become the Representative for the new district. This past Saturday, the Cumberland County GOP hosted a forum for ten candidates to discuss crucial issues and introduce themselves to voters in Fayetteville. Nine of the candidates were present, as Christine Villaverde was unable to come due to a case of pneumonia; however, her campaign team was in attendance.

Some of the issues discussed were national, such as opinions on federalizing the elections, solving the problem of illegal immigration, becoming energy independent, the security threat of China, and how the federal government can address the rising crime.

Other questions were more individualized, like which committees they would want to serve on and who they would support for a House Speaker.

Michael Andriani
Andriani is a newcomer to politics and recently resigned from the U.S. Army after refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine. He did request to get a religious exemption, however, that was denied. Andriani was commissioned as an Army officer and graduated from the Virginia Military Institute with a degree in history.

Andriani did not indicate who he would support for Speaker of the House but did throw out the suggestion it should be former President Donald Trump.

Andriani did say his priorities would be to defend the Constitution and enforce the law.

When it comes to being energy independent, he believes that the U.S. should look at multiple energy sources, particularly nuclear energy.

 

DeVan Barbour
Barbour, a native of Johnston County, has worked as a delegate for the Republican National Convention, but this is his first time running for office. He co-founded Cornerstone Employee Benefits and previously worked for Pierce Group Benefits. He is running a campaign as "one of the people."

He says he is a conservative Republican and wants to vote for conservative values. When it comes to the Speaker of the House, he says he will see who Trump endorses and would like to serve on the House Agriculture Committee or the House Armed Services Committee.

While he is not a fan of federalizing elections, he says he wants to look into a national voter I.D. system and a federal ban on ballot drop-off boxes. He also believes that the border wall needs to be finished, and he would like to see an end to all catch-and-release programs.

Rene Borghese
Borghese worked for 31 years as a nurse and is currently the Director for Logistics of the Air Medical Program for Duke Life Flight. She says she decided to run for the first time because she wants to see conservative values return to the country.

She would like to see streamlining in the government and create better communication between local/state governments and the federal government.
For Speaker of the House, she says she will vote for someone who shows up and votes and not someone who makes behind-the-door deals with lobby groups. She would like to serve on the House Committee on Appropriations and focus on healthcare due to her experience in that field.

She said she would like America to be more independent with energy and economics and be less dependent on China. She raises concerns about outsourcing jobs and the purchasing of companies and their properties by China-owned companies. She says you can't put the cart before the horse for energy independence, which she believes President Joe Biden has done with shutting down the Keystone Pipeline.

Bill Brewster
Brewster is a veteran from Charlotte but now lives in this seat's area for his business. He previously ran in the 2020 election for the U.S. House North Carolina District 12 but was disqualified after not paying his filing fee. He also launched his 2022 campaign for District 13 before the new redistricting map was published.

He says that the U.S. Government needs leadership with character, motivation and dedication. When asked about who he would support for Speaker of the House, he said it should be someone younger with vitality and not someone like Mitch McConnell - who currently serves in the U.S. Senate. He also stated that he would be interested in serving on the House Agriculture Committee and would like to work on a committee regarding business or one that helps veterans.

When it comes to federalizing elections, he said he would support a federal voter I.D. law, but everything else should be left to the state to decide on election law.

Tony Cowden
Cowden is a veteran and business owner in Sampson County. He is new to the political world; this is the first elected seat he has run for.
He says his decisions and core principles are based on the ten commandments, the constitution and constituents and announced that he would only serve four terms if he were to be elected.

Cowden says he won't vote for someone who compromises with the left when choosing the next Speaker of the House. If elected, he says he would like to serve on the House Agriculture Committee, House Homeland Security Committee, or the House Armed Services Committee. He did bring up concerns over barracks living and how the House could improve the lives of service members.

When it came to energy independence and illegal immigration, he believes America can resolve these two issues if the U.S. decides to invest more in our southern neighbors than Europe or the Middle East. He says we should focus on becoming a stronger hemisphere rather than worry about issues halfway across the globe. By investing in countries to our south, we could help support jobs that deter immigration to the U.S.

Renee Ellmers
Ellmers is no stranger to Cumberland County. She served as the U.S. Representative for District 2 from 2011 to 2017, when Cumberland County fell in District 2. She previously served on the Energy and Commerce Committee, House Agriculture Committee, the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Small Business Committee. She was endorsed by Trump in 2016.

Ellmers says she doesn't want to name anyone at the moment for a possible Speaker of the House but says she will pay close attention to the person's staff and who they pick to work with them. She also said she is open to someone new who may be running in the 2022 elections.

If she were to be elected, she would focus on ending the Green New Deal and help support an American Parents Bill of Rights that would allow parents to have the right to know what curriculum is being taught to their children and have a say in it.

She stated that she does not view President Joe Biden as a legitimate president but is against federalizing election law. She would help support Voter ID and Picture ID laws but it should be left up to the states.

Nat Robertson
Robertson is a familiar face to Fayetteville natives as Fayetteville's former Mayor. He was also appointed to the Trump White House Roundtable on Infrastructure, the North Carolina Governors Crime Commission under Pat McCrory, N.C. League of Municipalities, The Task Force on Veteran Homelessness, the Task Force on Opioid Addiction Awareness and the Fayetteville Police Foundation.

When it comes to the Speaker of the House, Robertson says he will listen to what the Republican leadership says and go with them. He said that making those connections early on would help him pass legislation later. He also said that he would be interested in serving on a committee that would work for veterans.

He says he is not a fan of big government and believes many issues, such as crime and elections, should be done on a state and local level.

He also emphasized family values throughout the forum. However, he says he is concerned that China-owned companies compromise those values.

Alan Swain
Swain is a veteran who previously worked at the White House under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush as the Executive Officer to the White House Drug Czar. He told people at the forum that he knows D.C. and is a fighter.

He stated that he would have concerns if Kevin McCarthy was elected as House Speaker and be more comfortable voting for Steve Scalise. However, if Scalise doesn't run for House Speaker, Swain said he would also look at Jim Banks, a well-liked fresh face.

Swain also noted that he would be interested in serving on the House Oversight Committee, House Judiciary Committee and the House Armed Services Committee. However, he did mention that he would want term limits and would pass that if voted on.

He is worried about illegal immigration and how many federal departments are becoming biased and not enforcing what they are sworn to do, like the Departments of Justice, Health and Human Services and Homeland Security. He also noted that China is one of the U.S.'s most significant enemies, and we need to be more prepared in defense against them.

John Szoka
Szoka is a veteran and is currently a representative for North Carolina House District 45 and has been in that seat since 2013. He is currently serving on the Banking Committee, Election Law and Campaign Finance Reform Committee, Energy and Public Utilities Committee, House Finance Committee, Health Committee, House Redistricting Committee and the Rules, Calendar and Operations of the House Committee.

Szoka says he currently has no favorite pick for a possible House Speaker and says that the Republican Party needs to focus on having a successful election. He would be interested in serving on the Armed Services Committee or the Energy and Commerce Committee.

He believes in making sure no federal law passes regarding state elections, even relating to Voter ID. However, he said the most significant impact that voters will have on election law is the upcoming fall election of the State Supreme Court.

Like the other candidates, he believes that the pipeline should reopen to secure energy independence. However, while companies should work towards sustainable energy, no mandates should force them to follow sustainable energy options.

He also noted that the United States needs to maintain a strong military force, especially against China and Russia.

He says he is concerned about online security, and that needs to be a more prominent topic on how to stop electronic hacks on our government.

Following the forum, the Cumberland County GOP Chapter held a straw poll, both in-person and online.

The top candidates for the in-house straw poll were Barbour, polling at 25.6%, Szoka, polling at 23.3%, and Cowden, polling at 20.9%. The people at the bottom of the poll were Brewster, Andriani and Borghese.

The Primary Election will take place on May 17.

The Cumberland County Juvenile Crime Prevention Council (JCPC) is seeking new programs to help serve delinquent and at-risk youth. The JCPC has announced that $1,119,291 will be available for various programs beginning July 1.

The JCPC anticipates receiving the funds from the N.C. Department of Public Safety Division of Adult Corrections and Juvenile Justice, Juvenile Community Programs for the state Fiscal Year 2022-2023.

The deadline for the proposal submissions is March 1 at 5 p.m. Applicant RFPs should address the following items:

• Program services that are compatible with research that is shown to be effective with juvenile offenders.
• Program services that are outcome-based.
• The program must have an evaluation component.

The JCPC will consider proposals for the following needed programs:

• Mentoring Programs
• Teen Court
• Mediation/Conflict Resolution
• Parent/Family Skill Building
• Tutoring/Academic Enhancement
• Interpersonal Skill Building
• Restitution/Community Service
• Substance Abuse Treatment
• Sex Offender Treatment
• Vocational Development
• Group Home Services
• Counseling
• Clinical Evaluation/Psychological Assessment
• Temporary Shelter (Emergency/Crisis Placement)
• Juvenile Structured Day Programs
• Gang Prevention Services

Proposed programs should target the following risk factors for delinquency or repeat delinquency:

• School Behavior Problems
• In-School Suspension/Out-of-School Suspension/Teen Dropouts
• Behavioral Health Needs (Mental Health/Substance Abuse)
• Family Conflict/Parenting Skills
• Negative Peer Relationships
• Runaway Programs

An application must be completed and submitted online here.

Governmental agencies, 501 (c)(3) non-profit corporations and local housing authorities are invited to submit applications. After submitting the application electronically, print and submit hard copies. In order to be considered for funding, all required documentation must be submitted with the program application by the March 1 deadline. It is required that two copies of the RFP be submitted.

The applications can be mailed to Nichelle Gaines, JCPC Coordinator at Cumberland County, Suite 512, P.O. Box 1829, Fayetteville, NC 28302. Gaines can be contacted at 910-437-1884.

For questions about the proposals or assistance with submissions, contact JCPC Area Consultant Crystal Bennett at 919-710-5331.

Households in Cumberland County that had their water services cut off or have received notice that their water services are in danger of being cut off can apply for assistance in paying their bill through a new federal program called the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP). 

LIHWAP is a temporary emergency program that will help eligible households and families afford water and wastewater services. The temporary program provides a one-time payment for eligible low-income households directly to the utility company. 

Households that currently receive Food and Nutrition Services (FNS), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or Work First services, or those that received Low-Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP) services between Oct. 1, 2020, and Sept. 30, 2021, are automatically eligible to receive this benefit.

“This program will assist Cumberland County residents keep their water service running for proper hygiene and better health,” Heather Skeens, Department of Social Services Director, said in a press release.

All other households that have lost water services or are in danger of losing service can apply online at www.epass.nc.gov. Individuals can also apply by printing a paper application from www.epass.nc.gov and dropping it off at a drop box outside the Cumberland County Department of Social Services, 1225 Ramsey Street in Fayetteville, or by faxing it to (910) 677-2885 or by calling (910) 677-2983 to apply by phone.

All households that are not in danger of losing their water service can apply for assistance if they meet the eligibility requirements. To be eligible for the LIHWAP program, a household must have at least one U.S. citizen or non-citizen and:

• Has income equal to or less than 150% of the federal poverty level,
• Has household services that are disconnected and are in jeopardy of disconnection or have a current outstanding bill
• Is responsible for the water bill

For more information on this program and eligibility, visit the LIHWAP website.

LIHWAP runs through September 2023 or until the funds run out.

Refresh this page for the latest information about closures, delays, and winter weather forecasts throughout Cumberland County.

City of Fayetteville

The City of Fayetteville leaders says that they will monitor forecasts which call for cold temperatures, rain and possibly light snow this weekend.

All Fayetteville-Cumberland Parks and Recreation games, practices, programs and activities for Saturday, Jan. 29 have been canceled due to the anticipated snowfall and elevated risk of travel hazards. All facilities and gated parks will be closed on Saturday. FCPR said they will return to normal operations on Monday, Jan. 31.

“No matter how much accumulation we see, make good decisions,“ Emergency Management Coordinator Scott Bullard said. “Your life is important. It doesn’t take much snow to pose a hazard, slick roads can be deadly. A weather event can change your life. We’ve seen what a vehicle crash, wind and even power outages can do.”

Many City services such as Police Reports and Permit applications can be accessed online. Departments also recommend phone calls to assist with research and questions during operational hours.

Elements from the 82nd Airborne Division and the 18th Airborne Corps from Fort Bragg have been placed on alert for possible eastern Europe deployment.

Other units placed on alert include the 18th Airborne Corps and the 101st Airborne at Fort Campbell, KY and the 4th Infantry at Fort Carson, CO. No deployment orders have been issued as of Thursday afternoon.

Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby made the announcement at a press conference Thursday afternoon.

"The vast majority of the troops that the secretary put on prepare-to-deploy are in fact dedicated to the NATO Response Force. And if and when they're activated, we'll be able to provide more specific detail in terms of breakdowns and numbers," Kirby said.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III announced Monday that 8,500 troops were put on heightened alert, so they will be prepared to deploy if needed to reassure NATO allies in the face of ongoing Russian aggression on the border of Ukraine. If the NATO force is activated, Austin's order will allow the United States to rapidly deploy additional brigade combat teams, along with units specializing in logistics, medical, aviation, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, transportation and more.

Kirby said Thursday that the buildup of Russian forces near the Ukrainian border has increased “in the last 24 hours.”

"The Immediate Response Force is always prepared to go anywhere," Lt. Col. Brett Lea, a spokesperson for the 82nd Airborne Division told Up & Coming Weekly on Tuesday. "We are always on standby."

Passes and leave for service members on standby have been revoked.

---

 (DoD photo by Air Force Tech. Sgt. Brigitte N. Brantley/Released)

"The Last Days of Judas Iscariot" is a new take on an old story, according to Matt Gore, the director of the latest Gilbert Theater production.

"'The Last Days of Judas Iscariot' is a reconfiguration of a lot of New Testament dogma in a way that is new and fresh," said Matt Gore, who also plays the character Satan in the play. "It is a reconsideration of the entire case of Judas Iscariot."

Matt Gore added that Judas is in the lowest circle of hell, the ninth circle, and he has been there for a long time. In purgatory, they are retrying his soul to see if he deserves to stay there for eternity or if he deserves forgiveness.

The author of "The Last Days of Judas Iscariot" is Pulitzer-prize-winning playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis.

"It is basically a courtroom drama, but it deals with metaphysical religious questions of free will, forgiveness, culpability and are we responsible for our own actions," said Lawrence Carlisle, artistic director at the Gilbert Theater and he plays the characters Judge Littlefield and Caiaphas, the Elder in the production.

"I found the play to be incredibly well written, and I thought it was an interesting way to do it as in a courtroom."

He feels the play's content appeals to everyone, not just those who are religious.

"I am not a particularly religious person, but I thought that a lot of the questions it asks and the ideas it puts forth are kind of universal," said Carlisle. "It does not matter what religion you are, and if you are no religion, these are all questions and things that concern the human experience."

The play features several interesting and prominent characters.

"I read the script a little over a year ago, and everybody wants to be Satan when they read the script, but I wanted to be Judas," said Justin Gore, who is the character Judas in the play.

"I think Judas is one of the most interesting characters from a lot of different perspectives, but mostly Judas calls into question the entire premise of what God is capable of because if everything is pre-ordained, is Judas wrong for what he did or did he actually have free will and he deserves his punishment?"
Justin Gore added, "I did not do that much preparation for the role besides watch a couple of different movies, read the script and talk to the director."

"There are lawyers from hell trying this case, and the judge is from purgatory," said Carlisle. "We call witnesses that include Mother Theresa, Sigmund Freud and Satan himself."

"This is a very interesting and challenging play to direct because it really requires you to think outside of the box, and it requires you to tackle various things that are not altogether easy to tackle," said Matt Gore.

"From a religious standpoint, it does ask questions that are difficult, but at the same time, I think a lot of people who are religious and a lot of people that might not be anymore, still have those questions and this play asks them and those things are important to me."

He added, "The message is don't be afraid to ask the hard questions and if you don't find an answer, keep searching until you do."

Carlisle hopes that people will broaden their horizons and leave behind preconceptions.

"I would love it if people would leave their emotions at the door and really just take the play for what it is," said Carlisle. "I want people to think because the main purpose of art is to make you think and feel something."

The play will run from Jan. 28 to Feb. 13. and is rated R as it contains a fair amount of adult language and themes and is for audiences 18 years and older.

Tickets cost $18, but there is a discount for students, the military and groups. Tickets can be purchased at www.gilberttheater.com. For more information, call 910- 678-7186.

The focus on the Black experience as a source of light and inspiration is fueling the 2022 Middleground Arts Series (MAS) festival.

MAS launched in November 2020 to create new, electric experiences in the middle ground between divergent communities.

MAS began in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic with collaborative festivals, including the communal painting of a large triptych led by Kellie Perkins in November 2020. Additional events followed that included a jazz concert by Skip Walker & Friends, classical duets such as Duo-Cellists Paul and Diana Kirkpatrick and Darrin Thiriot with Scott Marosek, Kirtan Bliss Band, meditation events, a speaking presentation from Buddhist speaker Heiwa No Bushi, collaborative writing workshops led by UNCP Professor Laura Hakala, an Americana blues concert with Aaron Alderman, a piano and electronic music concert with Yaroslav Borisov and more.

MAS plans to focus on celebrating and space-making in the arts in 2022. They are working on "creating moments of integration, connection and community through the arts," according to their website. MAS describes themselves as being "located in a shared space -- the high ground of the Sandhills and Fayetteville's Historic Haymount district, the low country of Eastern North Carolina, the overlapping territories of the sacred, secular and natural worlds -- MAS sits at the intersection of diverse artistic forms, political ideologies and interests."

On Jan. 27 to 28, MAS is holding their latest festival, "The Idea of Freedom (TIF)."

"We try to hold a major event each fall or Spring and then smaller events throughout the year. This is scheduled to be our main event for 2022," Nan Cekuta, Rector of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, said.

MAS is creating a new experience to bring artists together to express themselves. TIF is a mix of performance, audience interaction and experiential installation. What is fresh about this event is that artists will be paired up to create new art inspired by the artists and the attendees.

There will be three groups of two artists coming together. During the two-day event, the groups will create two projects. At the end of the festival, the six works will be combined with an attendees' piece, so there will be seven artworks total.

The plan is to experience a journey along with three different spaces. The artists and attendees will have truly up-close experiences with light, sound and most importantly, art.

The event will occur at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 1601 Raeford Road. The event will also be streamable at www.holytrinityfay.org/middlegroundartsseries.

Folks interested in attending can find the schedule for the festival on the Holy Trinity website. MAS will be held from Jan. 27 to 28, from 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. each day. Registration for the events is available at holytrinityfay.org/middlegroundartsseries. Donations of $10 per person are recommended, and organizers ask larger groups contribute $3 per person.

Edward Jones is celebrating their 100th anniversary, and Financial Advisor Debbie Best has scheduled the opening of her downtown Fayetteville storefront to coincide with this momentous occasion Friday.

"I am excited to be opening an Edward Jones office in downtown Fayetteville because we see a need for the type of service we provide," Best said.

"This firm concerns itself with the needs of individual investors and small-business owners, and I'm happy to be bringing that kind of personalized service to this community."

Finding just the right location was a challenge compounded by supply chain issues, but Best feels, in the end, they have gotten it just right.

"I am very excited about our office," Best said.

"It has been a long time coming due to the difficulty finding a location that would suit our needs, as well as the lag time of the buildout with Covid.

"It has all turned out amazing, and Tiffany, my business office associate, and I love coming in! It is a beautiful place to work."

Best is no stranger to Fayetteville. It is her home.

"Fayetteville has been my home for 28 years. I have raised my children and built my career here, as well as developed many close friendships and business relationships over that time," said Best.

"Fayetteville is a community that has many non-profits and organizations committed to making our city and downtown a better place to live. I believe deeply in giving back and being a part of this transformation in a personal way. This has made Fayetteville a natural fit for me to open my new branch office."

Best offers a wide variety of financial services to her clients.

"I help clients with portfolio and wealth management solutions strategies, look at tax-efficient investing, retirement and estate strategies, business retirement strategies, insurance, long-term care and 529 plans to name a few," explained Best.

Best aims to help serious, long-term individual and business investors achieve their financial goals by understanding their needs and implementing tailored solutions.

"My clients include successful business owners and professionals," Best said, "as well as retirees focused on income and wealth transfer strategies."

Best hopes that folks will come out and see all that she and her new location have to offer.

Various activities are planned, including a Ribbon Cutting and Edward Jones 100 Year Anniversary Celebration.

Guests will have an opportunity to tour the new office. The event will take place on Jan. 28 at 2 p.m. at her office at 228 Winslow St., Fayetteville.

“Prove it.”

One of this column’s readers challenged me to back up my recent assertion that characteristics of some Americans could be explained by our connections to certain regions of the British Isles. I was focusing on those who are hardnosed, sometimes rebellious, resistant to direction, suspicious of people in charge, unwilling to give up individual choice to some kind of group direction.

I wrote about the ways in which our ancestors’ folkways still influence us and play a part in the way we act and think today, but the reader was not convinced there was a connection.

My column was sparked by Joe Klein’s article in The New Yorker about a 1989 book, “Albion’s Seed: Four British Folkways in America,” by David Hackett Fischer. Klein says the book explains how “the history of four centuries ago still shapes American culture and politics.”

Many of the early European settlers in North Carolina were what we call Scots-Irish. But they also include emigrants from Ireland and the borderlands of Scotland and England. In these areas for more than seven centuries, there was constant fighting. People had to live in the middle of conflict. No one else was going to provide order and peace.

When they settled in North Carolina and adjoining regions, they brought that culture of violence and resistance to external control to their new homeland.

In his book Fischer writes that these emigrants came from “a society of autonomous individuals who were unable to endure external control and incapable of restraining their rage against anyone who stood in the way.”

He quotes one settler woman: “We never let go of a belief once fixed in our minds.”

So how does Fischer prove that the descendants of the early immigrants from the British border areas are still influenced by where their ancestors came from? He builds his case by detailing the folkways of British border areas and showing how they still exist in sections of America today.

One of those folkways is our way of speaking, the words and phrases we use and how we frame and sound them. He has a term for the way of speaking in our backcountry. He calls it southern highland speech and shows how it is related to the border speech in Britain.

He writes, “This southern highland speech has long been very distinctive for its patterns of pronunciation. It says whar for where, thar for there, hard for hired, critter for creature, sartin for certain, a-goin for going, hit for it, he-it for hit, far for fire, deef for deaf, pizen for poison, nekkid for naked, eetch for itch, boosh for bush, wrassle for wrestle, chaney for china, chaw for chew, poosh for push, shet for shut, ba-it for bat, be-it for be, narrer for narrow, winder for window, widder for widow, and young-uns for young ones.”

Sound familiar?

Once when we were living in Bristol, Tenn.-Va., deep in the Appalachian Mountains, my mother worried that her children would pick up the mountain dialect. As she explained to one of her Atlanta friends, “Up here they say tar for an auto tire. And they say tire for the tar to pave a road.”

Fischer concedes that the southern highland speech used in America today is not exactly the same as that spoken in Britain. But he insists that scholars agree that this language developed from the spoken language of the British border areas. It is the clear ancestor of “a distinctive variety of American speech which still flourishes in the southern highlands of the United States.”

Does this close language connection prove that immigrants from the British border brought not only their special speech ways to the southern highlands, but also their hard-nosed rebellious attitudes?

Maybe not, but the connections are more than a little thought-provoking.

Editor's Note: The content included below was submitted by each candidate to Publisher Bill Bowman, and has only been edited by the production staff for spelling and punctuation.
Publisher's Note: These views are the candidates and their's alone and do not reflect the opinions of our newspaper. Up & Coming Weekly is not endorsing these candidates. These are views from citizens who want to contribute their time and talents to the community.

To Citizens and Residents of Fayetteville: I am a lifelong resident of Fayetteville, having raised my three daughters and built a successful family business here. Other than being a father, son and brother to my siblings, one of my greatest honors is serving as your mayor.

Over the past four years, our city and indeed our country, has faced unprecedented challenges including natural disasters, a global pandemic and social unrest relating to events which unfolded in Minneapolis and Washington, D.C. In addition, Cumberland County has been designated as a Tier 1 county which means that it lags behind the state’s largest cities in terms of the key indicators of quality of life such as unemployment rate and low tax base. If that is not enough, the residents of our city have unfortunately been confronted with baseless allegations about city leaders and private individuals which resulted in another community distraction and diverted our collective attention from the real work we must do to move our city forward.

As has been said before, these are serious times which requires serious solutions. One of my top priorities as mayor has been to strengthen our city through industry recruitment, job creation, higher wages, increased contracting with local and minority-owned businesses, investment in infrastructure and increasing the availability of affordable and workforce housing. My goal has been to be pro-people and pro-business.

In the last four years, more than $250 million in new private investment has been made in Fayetteville and over 2,500 new jobs created. In addition, our city is increasingly becoming a logistics center which supports e-commerce and takes advantage of our strategic proximity to major highway systems and the deep-water shipping ports in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

We have made historic investments to improve our streets, sidewalks, and stormwater systems. I’m particularly proud to have worked closely with the Public Works Commission to facilitate an investment of $70 million for a fiber-optic broadband network serving Fayetteville and also providing broadband internet access to much of Cumberland County.

The city has made unprecedented investments towards ending homelessness and housing affordability. Recently, we broke ground on a new $4 million Homeless Day Center on South King Street which was funded substantially by federal dollars. We also worked very closely with the Fayetteville Metropolitan Housing Authority to create approximately 300 new garden style apartments on Grove Street which presents an attractive gateway to the city. We also supported our seniors with $12 million in funding for new state-of-the-art senior wellness centers.

All of the progress we have made together is reflective of our “Can Do” spirit and our new branding strategy. Along with the Fayetteville Cumberland County Economic Development Corporation and other municipal partners, a project to rebrand our city from the old stereotype to our attractive new “Can Do” theme was commissioned and can be seen throughout the city.

We recognize that the city should be safe no matter where you live or work. In response to the national crime trends that are affecting the entire country, we commissioned the Gun Shot Detection software platform which allows city policeman to identify the source of gunshots. We have made significant in public safety infrastructure to reduce our street paving from an average 47-year cycle to 16 years [sic].

While it is true that the last four years has tested our city and the rest of the country, our city has had a good deal of success. I am particularly grateful for the way our city has come together to respond to the unprecedented global pandemic. In this regard, I am urging everyone to remain vigilant and take everyone [sic] precaution to protect your family and neighbors from this unforgiving COVID-19 virus and its variations.

My warmest personal regards, Mitch Colvin, Mayor

Editor's Note: The content included below was submitted by each candidate to Publisher Bill Bowman, and has only been edited by the production staff for spelling and punctuation.
Publisher's Note: These views are the candidates and their's alone and do not reflect the opinions of our newspaper. Up & Coming Weekly is not endorsing these candidates. These are views from citizens who want to contribute their time and talents to the community.

In 1961, Ronald Reagan said, "Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction." This statement rings true even now, 60 years later.

In 2020, COVID-19 descended upon our nation, and at the time, we moved cautiously, many of us willing to follow the guidance of the CDC amidst the uncertainty. But as we learned more about the virus, that it has a 99.75% survivability rate, somehow the restrictions grew tighter, and the mandates began to affect every aspect of our lives.

At the same time, Fayetteville faced riots that ravaged our very own neighborhoods and small businesses. Police were attacked, racial tension reached an all-time high and the citizens of our fair city were more divided than ever.

It seemed our way of life, not only here in Fayetteville but through all of our country, was being turned on its head with no one seeking to set it right. I thought to myself; I could sit idly, grateful that my family was making it through, or I could do everything in my power to make a change for all of Fayetteville. I choose to make a change.

My name is Nyrell Melvin, and I am running for mayor here in Fayetteville, North Carolina. I ask for your vote that we may stand together for the values that make our city great.

Every single American has rights and freedoms granted by God and protected by the Constitution. It is the job of elected officials to protect those rights, not to take them away. Here, today, I stand for your freedoms.

According to the Constitution, I stand for every law-abiding citizen's right to "keep and bear arms." Our neighborhoods have seen a massive increase in violent crimes in the last two years, and Fayetteville citizens need to know that they can protect their homes and families.

I believe strong families are the building block of a thriving community, but the family unit is under attack. The worst attack on the family is abortion, America's greatest injustice of our time.

We've seen injustices cast lasting darkness upon the nation throughout our history, injustices such as slavery. But slavery, unlike abortion, was ultimately abolished, and today we look back in horror at its evils, all while we continue to slaughter nearly 3,000 unborn children every day. If elected, I vow to protect those innocent, defenseless lives, all while working to make adoption more accessible (and affordable) for those in our community who are praying for a child.

I also stand for strengthening and fully funding our local law enforcement. We know that when law enforcement is active and present, neighborhoods are safer. But instead, law enforcement budget cuts and layoffs are destroying many communities in this state in an era of defund the police.

Defunding the police means fewer officers responding to calls, fewer resources to investigate high-level crimes, and fewer neighborhoods with regular patrol to protect the families who live in areas plagued with rampant corruption. Today Fayetteville sees 1,839 violent crimes each year, nearly twice the state average, and it's only getting worse. Our current mayor, city manager and chief of police's crime prevention policies have proven ineffective and are costing families their loved ones.
It's time we recognize the importance and value of our law enforcement and the risks they take every day to keep us safe. If elected, I will continue to work closely with the local law enforcement agencies to stand for truth and justice to provide safe neighborhoods for our children to grow up in.

Part of crime prevention includes a focus on quality and sound education. I will not hesitate to say that I've had a troubled past. As a young man, I attended Tarheel Challenge Academy, a dropout recovery program that helps at-risk youth earn their high school diploma. The academy helped me gain the American values, life skills, education and self-discipline necessary to succeed as a productive citizen.

But today, our public schools are failing to produce productive citizens. In North Carolina, only 57% of public school students have proficiency in English Language Arts, and only 59% have proficiency in math. Meanwhile, educators are spending precious class time teaching white students they are oppressors and teaching black students they are oppressed. I've seen it first hand. They are teaching radical sex education to students as young as kindergarten. Someone once said that "all education is a moral education." Therefore, we must be careful what morals are being taught to our children. That's why we need to get involved with public schools.
If elected, I will continue to work closely with the Cumberland County Board of Education to ensure our kids have the best opportunities to excel in not only reading, writing and arithmetic but also the arts and music, as well as financial literacy. I will work to ensure our children have the knowledge, skills, and values for a prosperous life. As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, "Intelligence plus character — that is the goal of true education."

Part of developing true character includes acknowledging our Creator. As a Christian, I found Christ on Easter Sunday in 2014, but it wasn't until I was in a jail cell that my life was radically changed for the better. And whether or not you believe in Christ, it's no secret that America was founded on Judeo-Christian principles. Our religious heritage is embedded in our coins and in the language of our founding documents. As Reagan said, "If we ever forget that we're one nation under God, then we will be one nation gone under."

One of the most outrageous aspects of the COVID lockdowns is the attack on the church. Many of us were told to stop gathering together, stop singing together, stop worshipping together. And more than an attack on our religious freedom, the attack on churches hurt the struggling families and the homeless in our community who rely on the services and support of the local church. Our local churches feed people spiritually and physically at no cost to the taxpayer. When many churches were forced to close or go online, our community was cut off from crucial spiritual and physical resources.

If elected, I will stand for moving forward from tyrannical, authoritarian COVID restrictions. I need you to really understand this with me. We're on year three of "fifteen days to slow the spread," and the goalposts continue to change daily.

To this day, we have no evidence that these lock downs and restrictions have made any difference. Right now, New York, a state with some of the strictest lockdown measures, has eight times the number of COVID cases per 100,000 people than Florida, a state with some of the fewest lockdown measures. We, the people, can see what works and what doesn't.

We cannot continue decimating our economy for a virus with a 99.75% survival rate, a virus with an average age of fatality that is higher than the average life expectancy, a virus that already has an established and easily accessible vaccine. I stand for moving from COVID restrictions to restore Fayetteville citizens' God-given and God-granted freedoms, which are Constitutionally protected.

If you choose to elect me as your mayor, I can promise you this one thing that I will wake up every single day fighting for these causes and more.

I will never give up on our future because I firmly believe that we can move forward together as one when we come together as Americans. John F. Kennedy once said, "United, there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. Divided, there is little we can do — for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder." And it's time for us to move forward from covid to make a better Fayetteville for tomorrow!

Again, my name is Nyrell Melvin, I stand with Fayetteville, and I am running to be your mayor. I would be honored to earn your vote. May God bless you, and May God bless America. Thank You!

Editor's Note: The content included below was submitted by each candidate to Publisher Bill Bowman, and has only been edited by the production staff for spelling and punctuation.
Publisher's Note: These views are the candidates and their's alone and do not reflect the opinions of our newspaper. Up & Coming Weekly is not endorsing these candidates. These are views from citizens who want to contribute their time and talents to the community.

Well, since I have decided to run for the Mayor of Fayetteville, I should introduce myself. I was born in Germany in 1966 of Italian and Greek descent. I lived there with my brother and sisters until an American family adopted my older sister and I. My dad was third-generation U.S. Army and proudly serving our great nation, and luckily he got stationed at Fort Bragg. I fell in love with Fayetteville. I graduated from E.E. Smith High School and attended college in Indiana to be closer to my family. However, I found myself drawn back to the Tar Heel state and returned to Fayetteville. Once back, I attended Campbell University and followed my father's footsteps by enlisting in the U.S. Army, where I served with the 82nd Airborne Division and 7th Special Forces Group[(Airborne)].

While still serving at Fort Bragg, I joined West Area Fire Station 15 and have been a firefighter for 33 years. My children were born and raised here, and I currently own and operate several Fayetteville businesses. I can't imagine living anywhere else. I love this city and feel it is vitally important to take an active role in it. I have been president of the Aaron Lakes West and Wells Place Community Watch, Vice-Chair for the Fayetteville/Cumberland Human Relations Commission, where I'm presently serving as a commissioner. I'm past Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce Military Affairs Council and work with many veteran groups and local non-profit organizations. All in an attempt to make life better for Fayetteville and Cumberland County citizens. We help and support each other, and it's what neighbors do. I want to provide Fayetteville with common sense leadership, transparency, more and better services, and fluid communications between City Hall and our citizens. I believe we need "A Fayetteville for the People."

I want to be the peoples' mayor. I am running on a platform based on what the people want:

Public Safety: Fayetteville has experienced a record-setting crime rate since 2016. The city's 2021 homicide rate is at record levels at 48 during 2021, up from the previous record of 32 in 2016, while other various crimes continue to rise dramatically. The brazen murder of an unarmed motorcyclist during an altercation last week [Jan. 1 to 8] on Skibo Road and the recent shooting and death of Jason Walker on Bingham Drive are only two very dire examples of how 2022 is starting.

Traffic in Fayetteville is horrendous and dangerous in Fayetteville for both passengers and pedestrians. Traffic citations and stops have fallen from approximately 70,000 per month to about 22,000 in 2021. Yes, there is a shortage of law enforcement officers patrolling our streets, and it is the police officer's instruction to stand down and ignore minor infractions. This is why we have too many unlicensed off-road ATVs and dirt bikes speeding in and out of traffic on the city's busiest streets, pulling wheelies, darting in and out of traffic, and knowingly and wantonly disregarding the law and putting our citizens in great danger. Unpunished minor crimes, beget more enormous crimes. I will work with all Law Enforcement agencies in providing them with the tools needed to properly "serve and protect" Fayetteville citizens.

Economic Development: I know that top industry businesses would like to set up shop in Fayetteville. We must provide them decent incentives to locate here. We need to make it easy to do business here. This will give us high-paying jobs and a solid tax base. I will work with the Fayetteville Economic Development team to do whatever it takes to bring these companies to Fayetteville.

Education: (Work Experience Education) Training and teaching our citizens the proper skills needed to land one of these higher paying jobs is necessary for showing our citizens that we care and want them to succeed. I will work with Fayetteville officials, the Chamber of Commerce, F[ayetteville ]T[echnical] C[ommunity] C[ollege,] and other local organizations to ensure that Fayetteville has a fighting chance to land these jobs.

City Beautification: Not long ago, we achieved, for the third time, All American City status. Fayetteville was recognized for being clean and beautiful. We need to be proud of our city. A clean city is a reflection of its citizens. I will work together with the Fayetteville Beautiful organization to bring that beauty back to our city.
I know this is a huge platform for any candidate. Yet, anyone who loves this community knows that these are the issues of most significant concern and should be the highest priority. They are my highest priority. This is why I am asking for your vote [and] support.

"A Fayetteville for the People"

Franco Webb for Mayor of Fayetteville