After more than a year’s separation, a Fort Bragg soldier has been reunited with a former partner. Army Sgt. Nicholas Milano got a big surprise when he arrived at his Nash County home the other day for a birthday party. A surprise gift was hidden among the well-wishers. But it didn’t take long for “Lion” to bolt from the crowd into Milano’s arms. Lion is a retired military working dog. He and Milano traveled the world in the Army for almost seven years. The pair even went to war together, serving two deployments in Afghanistan. The 10-year-old German Shepherd is in retirement now and gets to live on the couch.

“And he’ll be sleeping in bed with me and you,” Milano laughed while looking at his wife.

“I had zero idea, this is crazy,” Milano said of the surprise. “His [Lion’s] job was either to bite people, which he never had to do, or find bombs and weapons.”

When Milano got orders for Fort Bragg, they parted ways. He had to leave Lion at the base in Germany. “This dog has saved my husband’s life, more than once, along with others,” said Kristy, Milano’s wife.

Kristy secretly adopted Lion upon his retirement. She worked with Mission K-9 Rescue to make the dog’s adoption happen. The nonprofit paid to fly Lion from Germany to Houston, Texas. Once he arrived in Texas, a staff member drove 20 hours to reunite him with Milano in North Carolina.

The Army Airborne & Special Operations Museum in downtown Fayetteville and the Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex in Haymount are doing business again. Both museums had been closed since March because of COVID-19 restrictions. The ASOM is now open from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays. Weekend hours will be phased in gradually. Museum of the Cape Fear hours of operation have also changed temporarily. The new hours are Wednesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Attendance is limited at both facilities. Visitors are expected to wear face masks and maintain physical distancing of at least 6 feet from one another. Hand sanitizer stations are located throughout the buildings. Anyone experiencing symptoms of illness or who have recently been in contact with people who tested positive for COVID-19 are asked to postpone their visits.

No tours of the 1897 Poe House are being provided for at least 30 days after reopening.

At the ASOM, water fountains are off, but visitors may bring clear containers of water. Food is not permitted. Reservations can be made online. Upon arrival, visitors should scan the QR code at the museum entrance to complete guest registration. The gift shop is limited to five visitors at a time. Only debit and credit cards will be accepted for payment. Donations to support museum operations can be made online or during checkout in the gift shop.
Some areas of the Museum of the Cape Fear remain closed to the public. They include the steamboat exhibit, the Civil War soldier teaching corner and the general store. Visitors will be able to view these areas but not enter them. Residents can keep up to date by visiting the museum’s website at www.museumofthecapefear.ncdcr.gov. The facility is located at the corner of Bradford and Arsenal Avenues and is operated by the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

In 2007, the Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex Foundation received a planning grant from the North Carolina General Assembly to perform a benchmarking and assessment study to determine whether a new museum should focus on the Civil War and Reconstruction period in North Carolina. Because of the existing museum’s location on one of North Carolina’s most important Civil War sites, consultants recommended that a new facility replace the existing regional museum with a major statewide history center. Much of the planning has already been done.

According to the history center’s website, planners concluded that the entire state’s story is the most compelling one. A feasibility study validated this finding, demonstrating that the completed project will attract wider attention and stronger support by reaching beyond Fayetteville to tell the larger story. The result is an $80 million project involving a phased, multi-year approach to both fundraising and the history center’s overall development.

The site will include a 60,000-square-foot visitor center built just outside the Fayetteville Arsenal’s archaeological footprint, protecting the remnants of the asset seized by Confederate forces in 1861 and leveled by William T. Sherman army four years later. The existing 1896 E. A. Poe House and three Civil War-era structures will comprise “History Village” and are incorporated into the larger, interpretive plan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Picture left: ASOM is now open from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays. Weekend hours will be phased in gradually.

Picture right: Museum of the Cape Fear is set to reopen. The new hours are Wednesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

 

The Cumberland County Tax Administration office is mailing tax bills to property owners. Residents and business owners have until Jan. 5, 2021, to pay taxes with no interest charges. After that, unpaid tax bills incur a 2% interest charge the first month and .75% interest charge each month after that.

The tax collector’s office is closed to the public because of COVID-19. Still, the county can assist taxpayers by telephone and email Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Tax bills may be paid online, by mail, by phone or by using the dropbox located outside the tax administration’s customer service office on the fifth floor of the county courthouse.

It is sad and somewhat ironic that at a time when here in Fayetteville we are celebrating Marquis de LaFayette, the French aristocrat and American Revolutionary War hero who lead American troops into battle and successfully assisted our young nation in winning its independence, the French, with their American accomplice Netflix, would introduce us to the motion picture “Cuties.”

It is a pathetic movie exploiting and sexualizing very young girls that has Netflix scrambling to conjure up a socially acceptable defense justifying what many parents, grandparents and concerned American citizens are categorizing as disturbing child porn and blatant adolescent exploitation.

On the surface this film is without any redeemable social value. And, even if the French movie maker, Ms. Maïmouna Doucouré, intentions were to make a pertinent social statement about the social pressures and challenges facing young girls today she missed the mark disgustingly on many fronts. Actually, she would have been better off hiring liberal activist Michael Moore to do a legitimate documentary on the subject matter. Regardless of Doucouré’s intentions, there was no mistaking the intentions of the California based Netflix Corporation after they released a sexually explicit poster sensationalizing and exploiting the innocence and sexuality of these very young girls.

This movie was released on Sept. 9 and the storyline follows an 11-year-old girl named Amy who with her newly found 11-year-old friends form a dance group. They refine their moves by dancing and mimicking the adult sexually provocative and suggestive chorography they see on social media. They dance to sexually suggestive music with pelvic thrusts, twerking, touching themselves and gyrating around in skimpy outfits while broadcasting their own sexual immaturity and attracting enablers who lure and direct such innocents into a world of human slavery and bondage. Yes, it’s a pedophiles dream come true!

Well, now people are outraged and rightfully so. Netflix is experiencing tens of thousands of cancelations that are costing them hundreds of millions of dollars. This is bipartisan outrage and disgust as it should be. Sexual exploitation of young children has no bias. It has no advocates. What concerns me and should concern all God-fearing Americans is the gross hypocrisy that accompanies these outrageous assaults on children and how these deplorable acts coalesce into our culture negatively transforming our communities and corrupting our way of life.

Only we the people can stop this transformation of our country and deplorable acts such as the suggestive, overly sexual depiction of young girls. I said people … not Sheeple! (Sheeple defined: those who are uninvolved and apathetic to the world around them. They keep their heads down and prefer not to voice their opinions regardless of their convictions. Sheeples have no resolve or intestinal fortitude and are apt to be mindless followers without question or resolve.)

I could opine for days on this subject, however, I will conclude with these thoughts. It was only a few weeks ago when the Fayetteville community gathered at a successful and heartfelt awareness rally about human trafficking and
missing children. I heard several speakers call out appeals for assistance in searching out and finding these victims. I heard one person yell out “…children, we’re coming for you! We’ll find you. We will bring you home!” This was just days after celebrating the rescue of 39 young children from deviate criminals in Georgia and surrounding states. Yet, it will be the Sheeple who will allow movies as corrupt, disgusting and influential like “Cuties” to exist only to empower criminals and deviates.

Worst of all, while the Sheeple are voicing their sentiments and lame bravado behind the anonymous screens of social media their young and vulnerable children and grandchildren are in the next room being victimized utilizing the same unsupervised social media conduits. Social media becomes their teacher, their parents and, their role model. A young girl’s life is now judged by anonymous critiques and her worth as a human being is measured by how many “Likes” she can accumulate. No wonder suicide rates among teenage girls age 10-14 are rising at a rate of 12.7% per year. This is 5.5% higher than boys. Google it!

Netflix is making big, big money. Many prominent Americans are associated with Netflix and they too are making big, big money. So, don’t expect things to change anytime soon. However, what you can do is encourage people to stand up and speak up for American and Christian values. Secure and defend what they believe in. Don’t become a Sheeple. America and our freedom will depend on this. We need more loyal patriotic Americans standing up for what is decent and right. “Cuties” is not decent or right, yet it is the near perfect example of what we are up against in the 21st century.

Sheeple cannot and will not protect or children, our freedom or our country.

Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

You surely recognize the name Frederick Douglass and know the major role he played in American history after escaping his enslavement in Maryland in 1838. You may even know that the publication of his memoir — "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave" — was a turning point in American letters.

But do you recognize the name Harriet Jacobs?

She also emancipated herself through acts of courage and determination. She also wrote a widely read memoir of her enslavement and liberation. And she was a North Carolinian, one of the many of our state’s heroes who deserves memorializing in the form of monuments, statues or other works of public art.

Harriet Jacobs was born in 1813 in Edenton, one of three children born to her mother Delilah Horniblow. After Delilah died in 1819, Harriet came under the care of her white owner’s daughter, who fatefully taught Harriet how to read and write.

Her next owner, Dr. James Norcom, was a cruel man who soon made his lustful intentions clear. With few options available to protect herself, Harriet initiated a relationship with another prominent Edenton citizen, Samuel Sawyer, a University of North Carolina-trained lawyer later elected to Congress.

Harriet had two children by Sawyer, fending off Norcom’s advances for a while, but eventually Norcom was able to remove her to a more-remote location and threatened to subject her children to great suffering if she didn’t do what he wanted.

She refused, and this is where her tale took an even more remarkable turn. Escaping first to a swamp, and then to her grandmother’s house, Harriet Jacobs hid in the attic’s crawl space — only nine feet long, seven feet wide and three feet high — for nearly seven years.

Finally, in 1842, she escaped to a ship, then to the North, where she found a home in New York. Her brother John Jacobs had made it to freedom, as well, and she took refuge with him in Boston the following year when James Norcom came hunting for her in New York.

Both Harriet and John Jacobs became active in the abolitionist movement. During the 1850s, white and Black friends alike urged Harriet to tell her own story, as Frederick Douglass had done. But Harriet worried that readers would condemn her morals for initiating the affair with Samuel Sawyer in order to escape Norcom’s advances.

Finally, after several false starts, "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" was published in 1861. Although presented as a novel with names and places changed, it became widely known that Jacobs had written her own story in its pages.

Contrary to her expectation, readers across America and beyond admired her fortitude and perseverance amidst great suffering — among other things, her seven years hiding in the crawl space had permanently impaired her health.

During the Civil War, Harriet first toured the Northern states as a speaker and fundraiser, then plunged into relief work in the South, cofounding a school for freed slaves in Alexandria and, later, in Savannah. She lived to be 84 years old, dying in Washington.

One of my favorite passages of the book describes a visit Harriet makes to England with the orphaned daughter of a white friend. After a dinner in a London hotel, she and the girl retire to their room. “For the first time in my life I was in a place where I was treated according to my deportment, without reference to my complexion,” she writes. “I felt as if a great millstone had been lifted from my breast. Ensconced in a pleasant room, with my dear little charge, I laid my head on my pillow, for the first time, with the delightful consciousness of pure, unadulterated freedom.”

Pure, unadulterated freedom is what she and so many other North Carolinians were long denied. Pure, unadulterated freedom is the goal for which so many fought, sometimes paying the ultimate price. By commemorating Harriet Jacobs, we can honor and advance that freedom for future generations.

Some N.C. felons who have finished their active prison time will be able to cast ballots in the 2020 election, based on a 2-1 ruling from a state Superior Court panel.

The court’s order applies to any felon who is out of prison but still must pay fees or fines before his criminal sentence is considered complete.

The ruling in Community Success Initiative v. Moore represents a partial victory for the “Unlock Our Vote Campaign,” led by an advocacy group called Forward Justice. The group’s lawsuit filed in November 2019 aimed to restore voting rights for almost 60,000 convicted felons not serving active prison time. Supporters argued that state laws regarding restoration of voting rights for felons violate the N.C. Constitution.

The Sept. 4 ruling in the case offered plaintiffs mixed news. The judges refused to strike down voting restrictions for all felons who have completed active prison sentences. But two members of the panel — Judges Lisa Bell and Keith Gregory — agreed that money-related requirements for post-release felons create unconstitutional restrictions of voting rights.

“As Defendants correctly argue, the express words of [the challenged state statute] do not in and of themselves create different classifications of persons convicted of felonies — all such persons remain disenfranchised until they have been ‘unconditionally discharged,’” the judges wrote. “However, by requiring an unconditional discharge that includes payments of all monetary obligations imposed by the court, [the statute] creates a wealth classification that punishes felons who are genuinely unable to comply with the financial terms of their judgment more harshly than those who are able to comply.”

Bell and Gregory agreed to grant a preliminary injunction allowing those felons to cast ballots this year. The judges limited their injunction to felons now prevented from voting “solely as a result of them being subject to an assessment of fees, fines, or other debts arising from a felony conviction.”

Felons on probation or parole with no outstanding fees or fines would not be affected.

The third judge in the case — John Dunlow — agreed with his colleagues only in the parts of their ruling that rejected plaintiffs’ arguments. Dunlow would have thrown out the entire lawsuit and ruled in favor of the defendants.

“The Plaintiffs, throughout their complaint, briefs, filings, and arguments, complain of North Carolina’s ‘disenfranchisement scheme,’ ‘disenfranchisement statute,’ and ‘disenfranchisement of citizens,'” Dunlow wrote. “The disenfranchisement of which Plaintiffs complain is in no way attributable to [the challenged statute]. No reasonable reading of the plain language of [the statute] could be interpreted to disenfranchise any person. Rather, the sole purpose of [the statute] is to provide a mechanism whereby individuals who have been convicted of a felony offense may be re-enfranchised.”

The N.C. Republican Party responded to the ruling. “It is outrageous for these judges to change the rules for an election when absentee ballots have already started going out and voting has begun,” N.C. GOP Chairman Michael Whatley said in an emailed statement. “This is yet another example of why we need to elect Conservative Judges who will apply the law rather ran re-write the laws they don’t like.”

President Donald Trump used to refer to military commanders as “his generals.” Recently, he claimed that “the soldiers are in love with me.”

U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville has pushed back on Trump’s assertion that Pentagon leaders go to war to please arms manufacturers. “I can assure the American people that the senior leaders would only recommend sending our troops to combat when it’s required for national security and as a last resort,” McConville said during an interview with Defense One online. Trump told White House reporters that “the top people in the Pentagon” don’t like him “because they want to do nothing but fight wars so that all of those wonderful companies that make the bombs and make the planes and make everything else stay happy.”

McConville made a point of saying he was not responding to Trump’s claims. A recent Military Times poll found that Trump’s support among active-duty service members has fallen over the past year. The Atlantic magazine this month reported that Trump disparaged U.S. service members as “losers” and “suckers,” allegations that have been confirmed by the Associated Press, CNN and other news organizations. The White House has vehemently denied the allegations.

Pictured: U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville

He had to tell me that my beloved Uncle Remus was not coming back — ever. Randall Kenan was jovial, kind and wise, not unlike the Uncle Remus he was taking away from me.

Kenan, died last week at a much too early 57. Like Uncle Remus, he was an expert on trickster stories, mainly based on legends from Africa and about animals and mischievous creatures who were cunning and smart and had an ability to somehow get around the powerful and the oppressive by tricking them.

That, I said, is just like Br’er Fox who tricked Br’er Rabbit into hitting and getting stuck in a tar baby figure.

Then the rabbit told the fox he could do anything with him, but “Please don’t throw me in the briar patch.” So, of course, the fox threw the rabbit in the briar patch, where the rabbit called out happily, “I was born and bred in the briar patch.”

I told Kenan that I loved these stories told by the old African American man to the young white boy, the son or grandson perhaps of the owner of the farm where Uncle Remus spent his life.

Kenan explained that the African-based trickster stories had been appropriated by a white man, Joel Chandler Harris, who put the stories into the mouth of Uncle Remus, who was a caricature of a subservient and happy black man, content with his subservient condition.

I tried to persuade Kenan to take the trickster tales and repurpose them. Reframe them, I said, so that current and future generations would have the same benefit of the wisdom that I had found in the Uncle Remus stories.

Kenan did not preach to me about the underlying racism in the Uncle Remus stories. He just smiled, shook his head, and said simply, “I don’t think I want to do that.”

Kenan had multiple other projects that worked better for him. In 1989, he published his first novel, “A Visitation of Spirits.” In 1992 came a collection of short stories, “Let the Dead Bury Their Dead.”

In 1999 he published “Walking on Water: Black American Lives at the Turn of the Twenty-First Century,” a much admired account of his journey to African American communities across America.

A book of his short stories, “If I had Two Wings,” came out just a few
weeks ago.

Most important for him, he had his students at UNC-Chapel Hill to care for.

I liked him best when he wrote about food. In 2016, he edited “Carolina Table: North Carolina Writers on Food,” a beautiful set of essays about food in the South.

His essay in that collection was based on the foods served at funerals in his native Duplin County, specifically what neighbors brought when his great uncle died.

“People showing up heavy-laden with food to the homes of the recently deceased. Hams, fried chicken, oven-baked barbecue chicken, pork chops smothered in gravy, dirty rice, Spanish rice, potato salad galore, slaw, sweet potato casseroles, candied yams, hushpuppies, cornbread, soup, chopped pork barbecue, collard greens, pound cake, chocolate cake, coconut cake, pineapple cake, red velvet cake, sweet potato pie, lemon meringue pie.”

Kenan appeared on North Carolina Bookwatch twice and was guest host two other-times.

Those four programs are worth watching just to see the cheerful smiling twinkling eyes shining from his dark face.

At another time he could have passed for a younger Uncle Remus, but his wisdom, quiet intensity, and commitment to racial justice always shone through on Bookwatch whether he was asking or answering questions.

Thanks to his wise counsel, I have learned to live without Uncle Remus. But I am not sure how I am ever going to learn to live without Randall Kenan.

People rely on the internet every day. In recent months, reliance on digital technology was pushed even further as social distancing measures had the world going online for school and work and to maintain relationships with friends and family.

A report from Pew Research Center indicated that nearly 25% of young adults in America reported being online almost constantly.

Common Sense Media says teens spend an average of nine hours a day online, compared to roughly six hours for those between the ages eight and 12 and 50 minutes for kids younger than eight.

Students must exercise caution when spending time online.

Connectivity can be empowering, but it also puts students at risk from others and even their own, sometimes irresponsible behaviors. Staying safe online should remain a priority for students who must spend more time on the internet and using digital education tools.

These are some tips for maintaining cyber safety.

Exercise caution when sharing information like your name, address, phone number, and other personal data online.

Check with a trusted parent or teacher before sharing private data.

Report any online activity that makes you feel uncomfortable, scared or confused, whether it is directed at you or a classmate.

Think carefully before you post comments online. Data remains online indefinitely, and your words and actions today can greatly affect your future.

Respect others online by refraining from demeaning or bullying comments.

Do not try to get around firewalls and blocked websites set up by school administrators. These limitations are there for your protection.

Stick to school-sanctioned assignments and internet browsing when using school-issued devices.

Administrators may have the right to monitor student activity without students’ knowledge and you can easily get yourself in trouble.

It is easy to hide or fake one’s identity on the internet, so never take someone you meet or speak with online at face value.

Never meet up with someone you do not know or only met online.

Talk to your parents or educators about extortion and ransomware that tries to trick you into providing payment in some shape or form to prevent a perpetrator from releasing private information about you, advises the Readiness and Emergency for Schools Technical Assistance Center.

Various steps can be taken to promote cyber safety among students, parents and administrators.

The little canoe my wife and I like to paddle across Hope Mills Lake is far from what I'd call a boat, a ship or anything else. I'm not a sailor. But in addition to the myriad shows I've watched, I have listened closely to the stories of those who set sail in larger craft on deeper waters.

Here's one thing I learned: On the surface, the winds can sweep across the sea at stunning speeds, bringing with them blowing rain, lightning, thunder and an ominous darkness. Waves can grow to 20 or 30 feet high.

During a storm like this, a ship can be tossed around like a toy boat. It’s not uncommon for an oceangoing craft to be lost in such storms.

But underneath the surface, just 100 feet down, there’s no storm. All is perfectly still. No sound. No tumult. Not even a ripple.

Let me take an intentional side journey and apply those verifiable facts to the people like you and me, caught in the tumultuous events that occurred (and are still occurring) in our city, nation and world.

If you observe closely, there is a clear view of those who react much like the surface of the water in an ocean storm. They're tossed around, at once gathered and scattered, dissipating their own strength as the wind of another change blows them where it will.

Then there are those who seem largely unaffected. Same sea, same storm, just more calm. The difference for those people is very much the same as the ocean — there's more depth.

My family has endured some ridiculously weighty circumstances in our short time on earth. Probably not unlike you, I expect. Maybe different storms, but we've all been tossed around in one way or another during our lives.

I've been surprised by the peace I had as we walked through some of the worst storms imaginable.

So let me share what I know about peace — it's tied to something Jesus said as recorded in John 14:27 “I am leaving you with a gift — peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.”

Author and apologist Ravi Zacharias tells of an Indian proverb that says, "whatever you are overflowing with will spill out when you're bumped. It has in mind, a village woman carrying a port or an urn of milk or water or something on her head. And it's right to the brim. And suddenly as some careless lad runs across her path and she stops for a moment and whatever is up to the brim there, begins to spill out.

"It is intended to convey what your real character is about. Whoever you are in your character, that characteristic will spill out when somebody annoys you or cuts into your path.”

The U.S. will send about 2,200 troops home from Iraq by the end of this month, CENTCOM Commander and Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie announced from Baghdad.

President Trump made the formal announcement. "That announcement will be followed by another one in the coming days on a further reduction in U.S. forces in Afghanistan," Reuters reported.

This would be the first big reduction of U.S. troops deployed to the Middle East since the ISIS war started more than six years ago.

The 82nd Airborne Division was among the first military units mobilized in response to the escalation of tensions in the middle easy earlier this year. Four thousand 82nd troops deployed to Kuwait and Syria as the result of Iranian threats.

Actions by the Iranians and the U.S. increased tensions in the region not seen since before the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Kindred Ministries announces a partnership with Cape Fear Regional Theatre and its Passport Series, with the help of a grant of $2550 from the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County.

"Kindred Ministries is so grateful to have received this grant from the Arts Council,” said Dr. Scott Cameron, founder of Kindred Ministries.

“It will enable our community of adults with and without intellectual disabilities to access an incredible arts program at CFRT!"

Kindred Ministries exists to create opportunities for adults of all abilities to grow in friendship, primarily through the avenue of a daytime program.

A valuable component of that daytime program is the Passports Series with CFRT. Throughout the course of the Series, participants gather weekly to create, write and eventually perform an
original story.

The community is then invited to the performance, encountering a stage where people typically pushed to the margins are at the center.

Much of what Kindred does is dependent upon the gracious support of grants and other outside funding sources.

“The Arts Council is pleased to partner with Kindred Ministries in support of the partnership with CFRT for the Passport Series," said Bob Pinson, interim president and CEO of the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County.

“Project Support Grants for 2020-21 will help fund 20 projects facilitated by 15 nonprofit organizations.

These projects help strengthen our communities through festivals and concerts, youth education programs, art exhibitions and workshops, and more.”

Project Support Grants increase opportunities for access to arts, science, cultural and historical programming in Cumberland County.

The grants are awarded to nonprofit agencies in Cumberland County that demonstrate financial and administrative stability.

Kindred Ministries exists to create a community where our friends with disabilities are at the center and, as a result, everyone thrives.

It is built on the foundation of mutuality: that we can help each other, that we can learn from each other, and that when you really get to know each other, you might just encounter a kindred spirit.
The Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County serves more than 330,000 residents of Fayetteville and Cumberland County.

Since 1973, the Arts Council has ensured growth in our children’s education, our community’s cultural identity and our economic progress.

The Arts Council’s grants, programs and services are funded in part by contributions from businesses and individuals and through grants from the City of Fayetteville, Cumberland County and the North Carolina Arts Council, with funding from the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural & Cultural Resources.

We Americans talk a big game about voting, but we have not always and do not now walk the walk. When our nation was founded in the late 18th century, the only legal voters were white tax-paying or property-owning men, estimated at about 6% of the new country’s population. Gradually, voting qualifications loosened to include nonproperty owning white men. North Carolina was the last state to do this in 1856 and later included Black men after the Civil War. With the struggle for civil rights in the middle part of the 20th century, and especially the Voting Rights Act of 1965, women of all colors were the cow’s tail of voting, achieving suffrage only 100 years ago, in 1920.

It is no exaggeration to say that Americans fought and died for the right to vote, as have people in other countries. So, to say that I was offended by President Donald Trump’s remarks in North Carolina about voting twice — once by mail and once in person — is no exaggeration. Voting is nothing to make light of, make fun of, or test the waters with. Voting, in my mind at least, is a scared responsibility for every American, every adult’s right to participate in guiding our nation in the path we find most appropriate for us and the rest of humanity.

Trump suggested that North Carolinians and other Americans vote more than once — for him, of course, and what he was actually saying is “commit a felony.” In doing so, he cheapened himself, his office and us, the American voters.

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While we are on politics, North Carolina recently received a big fat “D” for women’s participation in the political process. The NC Council for Women and Children and the Institute for Women’s Policy Research finds that only 25% of our legislators are women, as are only two of 13 members of Congress.

And why should we care? Women are not necessarily better legislators than men — some are, and some are not. We are different legislators with different life experiences and different priorities. Our points of view need to be at the public policy table when decisions are made.

U.S. Senator and former presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar says flatly, “Women are held to a higher standard.”
Brianna Wu, a candidate for Congress from Massachusetts, agrees. “…men are given the most generous interpretation possible about who they are and what they want to do, and women are held to the most skeptical, cynical standard possible.”

This is a real phenomenon. So is male privilege.

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Everyone — man, woman and child — has COVID-19 fatigue. We are tired of confinement and not spending time with the people we care about. Conversely, we are also tired of spending time with the same people day after day, of working remotely and of shepherding our children through virtual school. We are tired of worrying about the pandemic’s economic effects, not only on our own families but on our state, nation and the rest of the world. That we are having occasional meltdowns and urges to “be free” is no surprise.

That said, we are also having a great time with the amazingly creative and funny side of confinement. Being cooped up has brought out the wacky observer in many of us, and the rest of us are enjoying it. There is the at home COVID-19 test involving sniffing and tasting one’s favorite adult beverage to determine whether those senses remain operational. One friend said she took that test seven times one evening and planned to take it again the next day. My current favorite is an impersonation of a school administrator. Dena Blizzard bills herself as One Funny Mother, and that she is. Check her out for a good laugh, especially for teachers and parents trying to navigate virtual education.

The middle of September ushers in the unofficial beginning of fall, a time of year when many feel reenergized by cooler temperatures and are eager to spend more hours outdoors enjoying all the local area has to offer. Whether one is collecting leaves, picking pumpkins, exploring corn mazes, or biking one of the many trails, autumn is full of fun opportunities that can make the season that much more enjoyable.

Fayetteville Cumberland Parks and Recreation offers a number of outdoor activities for the whole family, from a community garden, bike and jogging trails to the new skate park. Although COVID-19 restrictions have closed many facilities, all parks, trails and the Rowan Street Skate Park are open. Playgrounds reopened earlier this month. Basketball courts at all parks remain closed. Recreation centers remain closed. The pools and splash pads have been closed the entire summer due to COVID-19 restrictions.

FCPR posts updates to hours and restrictions on its webpage and Facebook page. For more information on specific locations, visit www.fcpr.us/ or www.facebook.com/fcpr.us, or call the administrative office at 910-433-1547.
Gardening can be a fun and educational activity for all ages and can be physically and mentally engaging. The potential benefits are endless.

The Fayetteville Community Garden is a five-acre area with plots available for planting vegetables, flowers and herbs. Plots are raised beds about 20 feet by 20 feet. Patrons rent space, and FCPR supplies garden boxes, compost and water. The garden is organic in nature, therefore no chemicals or synthetic herbicides, insecticides, fungicides or fertilizers are allowed. Plots may be rented for $25. The garden is open year-round during daylight hours. The garden is located at the intersection of Vanstory and Mann Streets.

Clark Park and its Nature Center join the Cape Fear River Trail and Moses Mathis “Bicycle Man” playground/trailhead to form a complex suited to hours of enjoyment and education. The city’s second largest regional park remains a natural area dedicated to preserving the environment, educating the public about nature, and providing the only camping in the area. The Nature Center's museum features displays and free viewing of live animals.

Visitors can picnic overlooking the woods and one of the highest waterfalls east of the mountains. For those interested in walking or jogging, the park has its own set of unpaved trails and also serves as a trailhead for the paved CFRT. Well behaved, leashed pets are welcome on trails as long you clean up after them.

Clark Park Nature Center offers nature and recreation programming for educators, groups, individuals and families. You must preregister for all programs. Contact the park office at 910-433-1579 for program information or visit www.facebook.com/fcprnature.

The Cape Fear River Trail is a 10-foot-wide paved path for walkers, joggers and bicyclists. It winds for nearly 5.3 miles, one-way, through a beautiful blend of trees, plants and wildlife with views of the river. The terrain can be flat or slightly hilly. In addition to wooden bridges, including one covered bridge, there is more than 1,000 feet of boardwalk through the marsh and wetlands along the trail.

Along the trail are signs explaining the wildlife and plant life found in the area. There are more than 700 species of plants and trees and 150 species of birds. Frogs, lizards and turtles are common sights, with an occasional deer. The River Trail area is home to an unusual combination and diversity of hardwood trees.

The Cape Fear Mountain Bike Trail is a feature of the Cape Fear River Trail/Clark Park area with just under three miles of trail accessible off the CFRT. Access is located 1 mile north of Clark Park, traveling towards Methodist College (not far from the intersection with Eastwood Avenue). It consists of two sections on opposite sides of the trail. The first half mile is more technical with tighter turns and rollers, suitable for experienced riders. After crossing the CFRT it becomes a meandering woodland trail for beginners.

The trails are open daily from 8 a.m. to dusk. Parking is available at Clark Park. Restrooms are located at the Jordan Soccer Complex and at the Clark Park Nature Center during Clark Park’s operating hours.

For those interested in agritourism, Gillis Hill Farm is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m.

The Gillis family has been farming the same land for nine generations, starting in the timber business, moving to traditional row crops and agritourism over the years.

For the price of an ice cream (or a $3 ticket), visitors can go on a self-guided tour of the working farm.

Gillis Hill also offers school and group tours that run twice daily at 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Wednesday through Friday. Group tours consist of a "Farm Life" movie showing what it’s like as a kid growing up on the farm, a historic walking tour, a wagon ride, animal feeding and a seed kit to take home.

The farm is located at 2701 Gillis Hill Rd. in Fayetteville. To schedule a tour or find additional information, call 910-867-2350 or visit https://ghfarm.square.site/.

A visit to Gross Farms offers fun and entertainment for the whole family with sites and activities including a 10-acre corn maze, a pumpkin patch, hayrides, a play area and a picnic area. Visitors can purchase a combo ticket for access to everything or buy tickets for individual activities. Military and group discounts are available.

Gross Farms is located at 1606 Pickett Road in Sandford. For information, call 919-498-6727 or visit www.grossfarms.com.

Hubb’s Farm is another agritourism destination with activities to entertain the whole family, including a corn maze, pumpkin patch, animals and a long list of attractions. In addition to being a year-round venue to book parties and events, the farm offers school and group tours.

In addition to regular farm activities, there are a number of seasonal events scheduled.

Sunflowers Galore is scheduled to open today with opportunities Sept. 17, 18, 19, 23, 24, 25. Sunflower stems can be purchased and visitors can take photographs in the sunflower field.

The Fall Drive-In Movie Series begins Sept. 26 and runs every Saturday in October. Gates open at 7 p.m. and the movie starts at 8 p.m. Movie titles will be posted on the website.

The corn maze and pumpkin patch will run Sept. 26 through Nov. 7 on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays from 1–6 p.m. Weekday hours are yet to be set.

The Flashlight Maze will be open 7-10 p.m. on Friday nights in October. Visitors can navigate the maze under the stars. Fire pits can be reserved.

Hubb’s Farm is located at 10276 US Hwy 421 North in Clinton. For more information call 910-564-6709 or visit www.hubbsfarmnc.com/ or https://www.facebook.com/HubbsFarmNC/.

 

Pictures left to right:

Sunflowers Galore opens Sept. 16 at Hubb's Farm. For a small fee, visitors can pose for photos in the field, or purchase stems to take home.

The Cape Fear Mountain Bike Trail is accessible off the Cape Fear River Trail. It offers areas for beginners and experienced riders.

Gillis Hill Farm is open for self-guided walks or group tours through the farm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mothers Against Drunk Driving, celebrating the 40th Anniversary of its founding on Saturday, Sept. 5, has released a new survey that measures the American public’s attitudes and knowledge about the impact of marijuana on traffic safety.

According to the survey, one in eight U.S. adults admits to having driven under the influence of marijuana. And as more states legalize marijuana use, it’s no surprise that 76% of the American public believe that incidents of driving after consuming marijuana will increase.

The alarming new findings came just ahead of Labor Day weekend, one of the most dangerous times for travel on America’s roads. Nearly 40% of all traffic deaths on Labor Day weekend in 2018 were caused by drunk driving. While traffic deaths caused by marijuana and other drugs are not yet tracked with the same consistency as alcohol, law enforcement officers have reported a steady rise in marijuana-impaired drivers, which increases the risk of more preventable tragedies.

“MADD has spent 40 years changing the culture so that drunk driving is now unacceptable in America. Over that time, we have seen drunk driving fatality rates cut in half due to our efforts, and yet we still see major spikes in traffic deaths during busy travel weekends like Labor Day,” said MADD National President Helen Witty, whose 16-year-old daughter Helen Marie was killed by a drunk and marijuana-impaired driver. “We are deeply concerned about the combination of alcohol consumption and other drugs such as marijuana increasing the risk of tragedies on our roads.”

To keep our nation’s highways safe, MADD is embarking on a broad initiative to educate all U.S. drivers of the dangers of driving under the influence of marijuana. Through program enhancements, public outreach and corporate alliances, MADD will continue its fight to eliminate drunk and drugged driving.

In February 2020*, MADD commissioned IPSOS, a global leader in market research, to conduct a nationwide study of adults 18 and older. The research was aimed at understanding the attitudes and awareness related to driving under the influence of marijuana, along with knowledge of the laws that surround it.

“With two-thirds of the states now allowing some form of legal use of marijuana, MADD is concerned that a clear lack of understanding about the risks of marijuana-impaired driving threatens the safety of our nation’s highways,” Witty said. “The survey highlights the confusion that exists and the shocking number of people who are consuming marijuana and driving.”

Additional findings include:
• 27% recall a friend or family member driving within two hours of consuming alcohol sometime during the past three months.
• 26% think that driving after recent consumption of marijuana is “not too concerning” or “not at all concerning”.
• 31% of parents and grandparents report discussing the consequences of driving under the influence of alcohol “often”. While 43% of parents and grandparents surveyed reported “never” broaching the subject of driving high with the next generation.
• There is uncertainty whether it is legal to drive impaired by marijuana: 40% view this as a serious crime, 27% say it is only a minor traffic offense, 4% think it is legal, and 27% are unsure.
• 41% are unsure or incorrectly believe that people who regularly use marijuana are generally not impaired, making it safe to drive.

“This survey is critical to directing our outreach and education programs as we look to the next 40 years of our mission and our strategies to stop these 100% preventable and violent crashes, deaths and injuries caused by driving while impaired by marijuana and other drugs,” Witty said. “MADD is grateful to State Farm© and General Motors for their support in funding this important project. We thank them for their dedication to our shared mission to stop these tragedies that destroy families and devastate our communities.”

To review the survey results, visit https://www.madd.org/the-solution/drugged-driving-prevention/

*This survey was conducted February 14–18, 2020, before widespread impacts of the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S. It is viewed as a baseline of perceptions and attitudes.

About Mothers Against Drunk Driving
Founded in 1980 by a mother whose daughter was killed by a drunk driver, Mothers Against Drunk Driving® is the nation’s largest nonprofit working to end drunk driving, help fight drugged driving, support the victims of these violent crimes and prevent underage drinking. MADD has helped save more than 390,000 lives, reduce drunk driving deaths by more than 50% and promote designating a nondrinking driver. MADD’s Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving® calls for law enforcement support, ignition interlocks for all offenders and advanced vehicle technology. MADD has provided supportive services to nearly one million drunk and drugged driving victims and survivors at no charge through local victim advocates and the 24-Hour Victim Help Line 1-877-MADD-HELP (877-623-3435). Visit www.madd.org or call 1-877-ASK-MADD (877-275-6233).

Beginning Oct. 1, the city of Fayetteville’s Development Services Department will be operating digitally. All development projects and plans will be serviced electronically through a new web portal, which will serve as a one-stop-shop for information developers need. The department oversees planning and code enforcement, zoning and rezoning, special-use and building permits as well as inspections, plus city engineering and infrastructure assignments. It’s a means by which city officials can be more transparent and accountable to its customers.

“It also saves them time, money and headaches tracking down what is happening to their plans,” said Development Services Director Gerald Newton.

In 2019, the city’s Development Services and Information Technology Departments caused the new portal for site plans to be submitted and reviewed electronically. To learn more about Fayetteville’s development rules and future land use plans, visit https://www.fayettevillenc.gov/city-services/development-services.

The Veteran’s Farm of North Carolina, Inc. will host its inaugural “Boots to Roots: A Farm Tasting” at the Dirtbag Ales Brewery & Taproom in Hope Mills on Sunday, Sept. 20.

After receiving a National Institute of Food and Agriculture grant in May from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the VFNC began organizing the launch of the Veterans Agricultural Training and Education Program.

The VATEP is a new initiative designed to provide 60 military veterans with hands-on vocational training on a farm in the agricultural industry.

VFNC Executive Director and Marine Corps veteran Robert Elliott will launch the organizations first VATEP class this fall, in a partnership with Fayetteville Technical Community College.

"VFNC's ultimate goal is to train, network and equip veterans, allowing them to easily transition into the agricultural industry to further serve our country while experiencing a life of peace," Elliott said in a release announcing the upcoming farm tasting event.

The VFNC is striving for program sustainability through efforts such as the “Boots to Roots” series of fundraiser events.

The “Boots to Roots” events are collaborations with other veteran-owned businesses who will facilitate and host the farm-to-table tastings. The goal is to raise money to assist the VFNC with funding to support and expand its
mission.

Transitioning from the military to civilian life can be challenging. The VFNC strives to assist veterans with training and networking while equipping them with a toolbox of skills needed to transition into the agricultural industry. North Carolina is home to many veteran-owned businesses, including veteran farmers. Creating a support network between these businesses and the general public is a win-win for the local community and veterans alike.

Kicking off this VFNC series of events is veteran-owned favorite Dirtbag Ales Brewery & Taproom, affectionately known as DBA to locals. This first “Farmer-Veteran Celebration” will be held under the DBA outdoor pavilion.

Brewmaster Vernardo “Tito” Simmons-Valenzuela will serve up signature craft beer flights paired with the small plates created by Brian Graybill, veteran owner of the DBA on-site restaurant, Napkins.

Graybill takes his inspiration for the fall-inspired tasting menu from the produce, meat, seafood and other products all grown, raised and produced on farmer-veteran farms in North Carolina.

The menu includes fall bruschetta, autumn salad, empanadas de chorizo, catfish croquetas, lamb bulgogi, beef barbacoa and bisteca con chimichurri. Ingredients for the menu are being provided by Watson Sanders Farm, Pappy’s Urban Farm, CATHIS Farm, Cedar Creek Fish Farm, Purpose Driven Family Farm, Green-Eyed Farms and Spartan Tusk & Feather Livestock.

Featured farmer-veterans will be located at various stations around the tent during the event. Each will serve attendees their featured small plate created by Napkins as attendees rotate from station to station.

Ernesto Rivas, veteran and acoustic guitar player, will provide live music. Guests will have a chance to win harvest baskets donated by local veteran artisans and business owners in a 50/50 raffle.

All staff and servers will wear masks and adhere to COVID-19 guidelines. Guests are asked to wear masks when not seated, drinking or eating.

This farm-to-table event will be split into two seatings with the first from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. and the second from 7-9 p.m.

The cost is $65 per single ticket or $120 per pair, which covers food from Napkins, a flight of 5-ounce beers from DBA and live music.

No refunds will be issued, but tickets may be transferred to others. The event is open to adults, 21 years and older. DBA is located at 5435 Corporation Drive in Hope Mills.

For tickets, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/boots-to-roots-a-farm-tasting-tickets-114750521900

Pictured: The Veteran's Farm of NC, Inc. is a farm designed and dedicated to instructing and training servicemembers on all aspects of agriculture.

The National Institutes of Health classifies the misuse and addiction to opioids as a national crisis. A mayoral proclamation issued last week observed that people who have substance addictions can accidentally overdose on prescription opioids.

Opiates include morphine, heroin, fentanyl, tramadol and methadone. Overdose symptoms include breathing problems and unconsciousness. Fayetteville police and firefighters have used naloxone nasal spray to treat opioid emergencies, saving hundreds of lives over the last four years.

Naloxone, also known by the trade name Narcan®, is given right away but does not take the place of emergency medical care. Emergency help is needed right away after a dose of the nasal spray is administered, even if the person wakes up, as symptoms may return.

Opioid overdose information is available at www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/pdf/patients/Preventing-an-Opioid-Overdose-Tip-Card-a.pdf or by calling 911 if you suspect someone is overdosing.

The Cumberland County Community Development agency is operating a new grant cycle to assist qualified local businesses that have suffered economic hardships because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Small Business Resiliency Program targets small businesses with 10 or fewer full-time employees, providing grants up to $10,000. As part of an earlier cycle, 18 local businesses received notice of awards. Several more businesses are pending final review.

The Small Business Resiliency program is supported by funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. To be eligible, businesses must operate within the Cumberland County geographic service area outside the city of Fayetteville, which has its own program.

To learn more, visit the Small Business Resiliency Grant Program link on the Community Development page of the Cumberland County website at co.cumberland.nc.us.

Has the world been too much with you lately, Binky? Social isolation and mask fights with total strangers getting you down? Can you remember B.C., the time Before Corona? Recall those thrilling days of B.C. when you could go to a restaurant without worrying the patron who coughed was going to send you into the tender arms of a ventilator to enjoy chemically induced coma dreams. We are now living in A.T., or the After Times. The Rona, like the Force, is with us. Times are frustrating if you believe in The Rona.

What if you don’t believe in The Rona? You are just as frustrated. In your world, the Rona talk is just fake news and fake dead people. Americans believing in Rona are sheeple to be scorned, or worse. You know the truth, and they don’t. The After Times is double-plus ungood because you are surrounded by dummies. According to Mr. Google, the QAnon believe “that a cabal of Satan-worshipping pedophiles running a global child sex trafficking ring is plotting against Donald Trump, who is battling them.” That’s a pretty dark place in which to live. No wonder you are upset.

One subset of Americans believes in A, and another subgroup believes in Not-A. This might not work out well. With the shutdown of much of the economy, many Americans are spending time binge-watching their personal cable news silo and social media feed, leaving little time for interaction with Americans who don’t believe as they do. If you don’t talk to people with different beliefs, it is easy to believe that your team is righteous, and the other team are evildoers who should be
locked away.

As the column ‘Can this marriage be saved’ in Ladies Home Journal used to ask back in the 1950s, can the American marriage be saved? Sure, it can. We need to find something both sides can agree upon. Like Merlin the magician, I have the answer to bring us together again. It is too much to expect both sides will like the same thing. Positivity is so 20th Century. If we can’t find something both sides like, admire the other side of the coin to find something both sides can dislike.

Negativity, like Bit O’ Honey candy’s old slogan, goes a long, long way. Hate will bring us together.

So, what should we hate collectively? Can’t be the Russians, as one side admires Putin’s strongman tactics. I pondered this question for at least five minutes before coming up with the answer. Like John Prine once said, “I’ve got muscles in my head that have never been used.”

Suddenly, a muscle in my head twitched. Imitating Archimedes in the bathtub, I yelled” Eureka!” I found the solution. Obnoxious TV commercials were the answer. These ads show up on Fox and CNN. They reach both audiences in America.

Everybody hates certain ads. Everybody sees them. Hate is all you need to reunite the country. As someone once said about the boxer Riddick Bowe, I had a spasm of lucidity which might save the country from Civil War 2.

Ponder the Navage Nose Cleaner ads for a product that will make your sinuses so clean that you can eat off them. It has salt pods. It has powered suction. It will suck the dust mites and cooties right out of your head with a device that resembles the space creature from the movie “Alien.” Remember that great scene in “Alien” where a critter jumps out of a space egg and attaches itself to John Hurt’s helmet and then into his sinuses? Every time I see the Navage ad, I think of a hungry space alien yearning to suck out my brains. It would not be much of a meal. But it is an ad that Don Draper of Sterling Cooper would be proud of because it is as obnoxious as it is unforgettable.

Another product which could unite Americans in dislike is “Pure Zzzs,” which Vicks advertises as Kidz Melatonin Gummies. It is a blend of “botanical essential oils, including lavender and chamomile,” which will put little Jimmy to sleep naturally without drugs. The ad says Zzzs are “natural berry-flavored gummies. Convenient and great tasting gummies that kids love — so you both will be looking forward to bedtime.” Remember candy cigarettes that tobacco companies used to push to get kids started on the sophistication of smoking? Mom, Pop and the little tyke will all look forward to Junior taking a hit of melatonin gummies to go to sleep and stop whining. It’s a win-win situation for everyone, particularly for Vicks. What could go wrong with a product that tastes yummy and puts kids to sleep? Kids would never think to dose themselves with what they think is candy would they?

Hate will keep us together. Think of commercials you can’t stand. Call up a former friend you stopped speaking to due to their political views. Tell them about commercials you hate. Renew “Auld Lang Syne.” Sing them some modified love songs substituting “Hate” for “Love.” Ask them to sing along with you. Here are some suggestions: The Bee Gees “How Deep Is Your Hate?” Otis Redding’s “Try a Little Hatred.” Queen’s “Crazy Little Thing Called Hate.” Elvis’ “Can’t Help Falling in

Hate.” Sinead O’Conner’s “Nothing Compares to Hate.” Celine Dionne’s “The Power of Hate.” Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Hate You.”

You get the idea. All you need is hate to make America united again. Find an ad you despise and share it with a former friend. Instead of hating each other, hate commercials. It’s the American way.

Back in 1984 when I was running for Congress, I ran into older people who explained why they could not support me, saying, “I didn’t leave the Democratic Party. It left me.”

Even in those days, the Democratic Party still had many conservatives who were loyal adherents. They had grown up in the times when the Democratic Party was more conservative than the other party. Some of those older Democrats were slow to give up their heritage and break away from the group in which they grew up.

But as the support in the Democratic Party for school desegregation, voting rights, Civil Rights, equal treatment in the workplace, and expanding the role of government in providing public resources to meet the needs of poor and underserved communities were viewed with skepticism by once loyal Democrats.

Republicans responded with a “southern strategy” that played to these concerns and, more and more, as time passed, former Democrats left their party. “I didn’t leave my party. It left me.”

Even after more than 35 years I remember that refrain.

Today, in the age of Trump, some North Carolina Republicans are, with regret, leaving their party, explaining, “I didn’t leave my party. It left me.”

In the Aug. 24 edition of The New Yorker, Peter Slevin wrote about three Republican members of the Transylvania board of commissioners who have given up their party affiliation.

Forgive this personal aside. One of the happiest summers of my life was spent in that mountain county in 1958, when I was a counselor at Camp Carolina near Brevard. On overnight hikes I told my campers ghost stories about Dracula. I had them believing that there was a connection between Dracula’s home in Europe’s Transylvania region and the Transylvania County where they were camping.

The three commissioners party change began when the commission’s chair, Mike Hawkins, heard about President Donald Trump’s speech at East Carolina University on July 17, 2019. The president attacked four Democratic congressional representatives and women of color, saying that they were “hate-filled extremists” and “You know, they don’t love our country.”

In response to the president’s attack on Representative Ilhan Omar, the crowd at ECU chanted, “Send her back!”

According to Slevin, at the next board meeting, Hawkins “called out the president saying that what happened was racist. It’s important that people identify hate for what it is—a poison to our state and to our country. And I wanted to say in a very public way that for whatever time I have remaining as an elected official, I will oppose this poison every way I can.”

After Hawkins, two other Republicans on the board, Page Ives Lemel and David Guice, offered words of support. Five months later, all three resigned from the Republican Party.

They could have been saying, “We didn’t leave our party. It left us.”

Guice had been a long-time active Republican and served two terms in the General Assembly.

Page Lemel owns and runs Camp Keystone near Brevard, as did her late father, Bill Ives, whom I knew when he served in the General Assembly in the 1990s. Bill Ives was conservative, public-spirited, open-minded and open-hearted, like his daughter.

Another prominent Republican in the mountains, former North Carolina State Supreme Court Justice Robert Orr, has broken with the president. He spent his life supporting the party and working for good causes until 2016 when he could not support Trump’s candidacy.

This year he is working hard against Trump, but refuses to leave his party. Obviously, he thinks he is more of a real Republican than the president.

Lemel says she has no intention of reversing her decision. That, Slevin writes, raises questions about the future of the GOP. History and logic suggest that the Party must pivot toward the center to remain viable in the years ahead.”

Or others will be saying, “We didn’t leave our party. It left us.”

 

Pictured Left to right:  Mike Hawkins, Page Ives Lemel, David Guice.

The American Revolutionary War was initiated by the 13 original colonies against the kingdom of Great Britain over their objection of Parliament’s direct taxation and the lack of colonial representation. The war of independence was not a brief conflict. It lasted for eight years (1775-1783).

Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roche Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, was born into a family of noble military lineage September 6, 1757, in Chavaniac, France. He was only 20 when he fled his home country during the French Revolution. Lafayette regained prominence as a statesman before his death May 20, 1834. Inspired by stories of the colonists’ struggles against British oppression, Lafayette sailed to the newly declared United States in 1777 to join the uprising.

He was initially rebuffed by colonial leaders, but he impressed them with his passion and willingness to serve. He had inherited significant wealth and agreed to serve without pay. In America, he served the Continental Army with distinction, providing tactical leadership while securing vital resources from France. Lafayette was named a major-general in the Continental Army.

His first major combat duty came during the September 1777 Battle of Brandywine, when he was shot in the leg. Gen. George Washington requested doctors to take special care of Lafayette, igniting a strong bond between the two that lasted until Washington’s death. More troops fought at Brandywine than any other battle of the American Revolution. It was also the longest single-day battle of the war, with continuous fighting for 11 hours.

Following a winter in Valley Forge with Washington, Lafayette helped draw more French resources to the colonial side. He had travelled to France to press Louis XVI for more aid. Lafayette assumed increased military responsibility upon his return to battle. As commander of the Virginia Continental forces in 1781, he helped keep British General Lord Cornwallis’ army pinned at Yorktown, Virginia, while divisions led by Washington and French forces surrounded the British and forced a surrender in the last major battle of the Revolutionary War.

The Lafayette Society of Fayetteville was founded by Martha Duell (1924-2015) in 1981 to raise funds for a statue of Fayetteville’s namesake to be erected in Cross Creek Park. The statue was dedicated in 1983 as part of Fayetteville’s bicentennial celebration. The organization has funded scholarships for high school and college students and supported the establishment of the Lafayette Room in the Methodist University library. The carriage used by Lafayette during his visit to Fayetteville in 1825 is in the local library.

Some members of the Lafayette Society also belong to the American Friends of Lafayette, an historical and patriotic association dedicated to Lafayette’s memory and to the study of his life and times in America and France. The organization was founded at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, in 1932. The library at Lafayette College has a collection of over 2,000 items related to Lafayette.

It has been reported that over 40 arrests have been made so far in the destruction and looting of the Walmart store located on Skibo Rd. during the violent protests and riots that raged in Fayetteville on May 30.

More arrests are expected as the Fayetteville Police Department continues its ongoing investigation as to who was involved in the looting and destruction of personal property in downtown Fayetteville and the attempt to burn down Fayetteville’s National Historic Landmark Market House.

The protest that began in downtown Fayetteville moved swiftly that evening to Cross Creek Mall, where J.C. Penney and other stores were looted and damaged.

City residents were able to watch the melee on televison and the internet as glass doors were broken and items such as televisons, electronics and clothing were carried out of stores.

Forty arrests are just the beginning of this enormous undertaking.

Fayetteville law enforcement officers are working diligently sifting through hundreds of videos and photos trying to identify the suspects.

Even with overtime and the publics assistance, it will likely take months to complete the full investigation.

A myriad criminal charges could result from the rioting, breaking and entering, larceny and destruction of public and private property.

Penalties for these crimes could draw up to two years in prison depending on a person’s criminal record.

Many local residents and business owners are curious to find out whether these criminal perpetrators were local residents or outside agitators like Antifa brought in to cause chaos and mayhem in support of the emerging Marxist/Socialist movement.

According to local news sources, District Attorney Billy West is on the record as being committed to handling each case individually to assure the rule of law is applied evenly and fairly to keep the process free of political influence.

Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin agrees. “While the city is committed to the First Amendment rights of free speech and peaceful protest, this sends a clear message that we are equally committed to holding those accountable who chose to engage in riotous and unlawful activities in our great city.”

These are reassuring words to Fayetteville citizens who are witnessing in real time the rioting, destruction, devastation and chaos taking place in cities where crime is ignored, police and law enforcement are disrespected, criminals go unpunished and crime victims are ignored as collateral damage.

It is refreshing to know that our mayor, police chief, district attorney and the men and women of the Fayetteville Police Department are working diligently together to pursue justice and keep our community safe and out of harm’s way during these very trying times.

The public’s input is wanted to help shape and direct the future of transportation in Cumberland County. The North Carolina Department of Transportation, the Fayetteville Area Metropolitan Planning Organization and the Mid-Carolina Rural Planning Organization recently launched an interactive survey that will help develop the Cumberland County Comprehensive Transportation Plan.

This will be the first Comprehensive Transportation Plan for the entirety of Cumberland County, which includes the FAMPO and Mid-Carolina RPO planning regions. The plan focuses on conditions, safety and ease of travel for all transportation modes using a horizon year of 2045 so that today’s transportation concerns can be addressed and prioritized for the future.

FAMPO wants you to evaluate the importance of modern roads, emerging technologies, shorter travel times, growth and development, and public or private transit.

“This transportation plan can only be successful with the input of the community,” said Joel Strickland FAMPO executive director. “You drive our roads. You know where the areas of concern are. This survey will tell us what matters to you and what the recommended transportation plan should focus on.”

Cumberland County residents and those who commute through the area can participate in the development of this plan by taking a quick online survey at https://cumberlandfampo.metroquest.com/. The survey is available in Spanish and English (La encuesta está disponible en español e inglés).

There are questions about pedestrian and biking infrastructure, as well as mass transit and traffic congestion. A map feature allows survey takers to identify specific areas of concern using drag-and-drop icons.

The survey is open until Sept. 25. FAMPO and NCDOT will use the confidential results to begin drafting the plan. After the plan is compiled, the public will have opportunities for review and for further comments before presentations to the local boards and the NCDOT.

Follow the plans’ progress virtually at fampo.org/plans.

FAMPO was established in 1975 as a result of the Federal Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1973. Any urbanized area with a population greater than 50,000 is designated as a Metropolitan Planning Organization. The Fayetteville Area Metropolitan Planning Organization includes portions of Cumberland, Harnett, Hoke and Robeson counties.

For more information on FAMPO, visit fampo.org or call 910-678-7614.