Spring is right around the corner. It’s the perfect time to show your abode some love, spruce things up and maybe tackle projects that got put on hold during the winter months. Whether that to-do list is a mile long or you are just looking for inspiration, the North Carolina Spring 2020 Home Expo is the perfect place to start. The Expo runs Feb. 21 through Feb. 23 at the Crown Complex Exposition Center, and according to David Laughlin, marketing director at Nationwide Expo, there is something there for just about everyone. Come browse the latest in home design, remodeling, automation, improvement, outdoor living and more — much more. The more than 100 vendors are ready to serve, teach and inspire.

“This is going to be a great show,” said Laughlin. “This time of year, a lot of people are huddled inside doing projects or gearing up for spring cleaning, spring redecoration and bigger projects, too. That’s what makes this such a timely event. There will be everything related to homes and living spaces, including things like tile, wood, carpet and bath and kitchen vendors. If you’re looking for something for a project — big or small, do-it-yourself or to hire out — there are vendors who can help, and they are all getting together at the Crown.”

For people looking to get work done, the Expo is an opportunity to shop around, get quotes and interview different vendors. “They do all sorts of projects, indoors and out,” said Laughlin. “And, often, they can do it in a day or two. Many of the vendors don’t have storefronts, so you’ll get good pricing. Virtually all the vendors are local. There are some national companies, but the ones who will come into your home are 85% to 90% local and include businesses like plumbers, HVAC companies, electricians, — you name it.”

The show is also perfect for people thinking about buying or building a home. Find out what the latest trends and technologies are, compare products and prices and talk to financial institutions about how to make it happen. “If you’re thinking about buying a house, we will have bankers, lenders and mortgage companies — everything you can think of,” said Laughlin. “You don’t have to own a home to enjoy the show. Mattress companies will be here, kitchen companies will be selling the latest gadgets, and there will  be cooking demos and food samples and all sorts of other vendors, too.”

Like many other industries, technology changes fast in the home=building and home improvement arena. From solar products to home safety, Laughlin said it’s always interesting to see the latest trends and technologies. “My favorite thing about this is the education. I learn something at every show.”
Don’t miss the main stage, where vendors will do presentations. And come ready to bring home some the swag. “There is always swag, like key chains and pens and visors, but the other thing is there will be giveaways as well,” Laughlin said. “At one show, a roofing company gave away a new roof.”

With vendors offering products and services that cover anything home- and even apartment-related, the expo is an obvious choice for a way to constructively spend a few hours. Tickets cost $5 per person. Find out more at http://www.crowncomplexnc.com/events or by calling 910-438-4100.

Fifty years ago this month, U.S. Army Captain Jeffrey MacDonald slaughtered his pregnant wife and two young daughters in their apartment on Castle Drive in Fort Bragg’s Corregidor Court housing area. MacDonald, now 76, has adamantly maintained his innocence. Federal prosecutors alleged that MacDonald killed his wife, 26-year-old Colette McDonald, and their daughters Kimberley, 5, and Kristen, 2, with a knife and an ice pick, then stabbed himself to make it look like he was attacked while defending his family. Up & Coming Weekly Reporter Jeff Thompson was a local radio journalist for more than 40 years before joining U&CW four years ago. He covered the sensational event as a young reporter and has a vivid memory of the morning the MacDonald murders occurred. This is his report:

Feb. 17, 1970, was a miserable day in more ways than one. During the predawn hours, it was cold and wet. It had been raining for several hours. In those days, I got up early and went to work at 3 a.m. My routine was to check on overnight crime by driving downtown to the police station on Bow Street and the sheriff’s office in the basement of the old courthouse. It was so cold that day that my car wouldn’t start, so I called the sheriff’s office Capt. Don Wade. I asked him if he would have Deputy Leroy Graddy come by my house in Arran Hills to jump-start my car. I knew Leroy worked in the 71st area.

Captain Wade said he had no one available to help because his officers were tied up at roadblocks at Fort Bragg. He said military authorities told him a woman and two children had been murdered on post and that an Army officer had been hospitalized at Womack Army Medical Center. I had been in the broadcast news business for two years in what turned out to be one of the biggest stories of my career — and my car wouldn’t start!

I called a friend who lived down the street and asked to borrow his car. I drove downtown and asked Wade if he had any additional details about the murders on post. He said he’d been told that the word “PIG” had been scrawled on the headboard of the woman’s bed to mimic the Charles Manson murders six months earlier and that the surviving officer was a Green Beret doctor who had been clubbed and stabbed with an ice pick.

I hurriedly drove to the WFNC radio studios to prepare the 6:30 a.m. newscast. Instead of airing the news live, I decided to record it for playback so I could drive to Fort Bragg. It was an open post in those days, and I had no difficulty finding the housing area where the triple murder investigation was unfolding. Responding media representatives were able to park on Castle Drive in front of the apartment and walk to within 30 feet of the building. I observed an Associated Press photographer walking along the side of the apartment, unrestrained, snapping pictures through the windows.

The area was muddy. I saw military police officers casually traipsing in and out of the MacDonald apartment. Suffice it to say, law enforcement crime scene methods have changed a lot in 50 years. Having confirmed reports of what happened, I returned to the radio station to update the news. I called the United Press International office in Charlotte, North Carolina, to report the story. It went nationwide because of its similarity to the Tate-LaBianca murders perpetrated by the Manson “family” in August of 1969. Before hanging up, the UPI correspondent had a final question: “Is there any suspicion that the husband and father had committed the murders?”

The crime scene was gruesome: 5-year-old Kimberly was found in her bed, having been clubbed in the head and stabbed in the neck between eight and 10 times. Two-year-old Kristen was in her bed and had been stabbed 33 times with a knife and 15 times with an ice pick. Colette, who was pregnant with her first son, was lying on the floor of her bedroom. She had been repeatedly clubbed and stabbed 21 times with an ice pick and 16 times with a knife. MacDonald’s torn pajama top was draped across her chest.
M.P.s found MacDonald next to his wife, alive but wounded. His wounds were not as severe nor as numerous as those his family had suffered. He was taken to the nearby army hospital. MacDonald suffered cuts and bruises on his face and chest, along with a mild concussion. He also had a stab wound on his left torso that a staff surgeon described as a “clean, small, sharp” incision that caused his left lung to partially collapse. He was released from the hospital after one week.

MacDonald was placed on military house arrest pending the outcome of the initial investigation. A military Article 32 hearing was held in July of 1970 to determine whether there was sufficient evidence to charge him with the murders. He was exonerated in a matter of days and left the Army. MacDonald became an emergency room physician in southern California. But in 1979, he was indicted in federal court in North Carolina and sent to Raleigh to stand trial. The rest is history.

North Carolina is experiencing an economic boom. Forbes ranks North Carolina as the best state in America to do business. CNBC ranks North Carolina third of all 50 states in the same category, and North Carolina has ranked in the top five years now. Much credit must go to the Republican majority for their efforts on tax reform and fiscal restraint.

Despite being the fifth most populated county in the state, Cumberland County doesn’t seem to be sharing in this boom. While the state’s economy grew last year by 2.4%, we lagged behind at 1.7%. Unemployment in Cumberland County is 4.6%, 35% higher than the state average, and while the average income for the state is $46,117, here in Cumberland County it is only $38,780.

There are a number of factors that go into making a vibrant economy, but I think three of the most important are education, transportation and quality of life. While I was on the board of education, we started the academy system, which gave students the opportunity to choose a school based on their interest in a specialized curriculum, such as finance, health professions or a classical education. We also built 12 new schools. I would now like to go to Raleigh to gain additional state support for students attending school in less affluent areas like ours.

Commerce also needs good transportation. Wake, Durham, Guilford and Mecklenburg counties seem to constantly have major road construction in progress. Cumberland is the fifth largest county in the state, yet our area seems to never get its fair share of infrastructure funding. Maybe it’s time for the state government to combat the urban sprawl in the Triangle and Charlotte areas by diverting some attention to Cumberland County. With my experience as a County Commissioner and chair of the Joint Planning Board, I feel I can make a strong case for that.

Certainly, quality of life has a lot to do with a company’s decision to invest in an area. This is something we can point to with pride. The progress we have made in the past few decades is truly impressive. There is nothing that can be mentioned, whether it be theater, museums, entertainment, sports teams, dinning, parks, a revitalized downtown or whatever, that we do not have. The only thing we don’t have is an image that matches up with reality. People who are not from here do not appreciate what a vibrant community we are. They don’t know the many wonderful people who have worked so hard to get us to this place. We are an untapped resource, a diamond in the rough that can be a tremendous economic asset to the whole state. That’s a message I would be honored to take to Raleigh.

All my adult life I have tried to help make Cumberland County a better place to live. I have volunteered on over 20 boards and served on both the school board and as a county commissioner. For the first time in my life, I am in a position to give it my full-time attention. I know I have the desire to do it. I feel I have the experience to do it well. All I need is your help to get there. I humbly ask you to vote for Diane Wheatley for the North Carolina House of Representative in the 43rd District.

Thank you and God bless,
Diane Wheatley
 

The town of Hope Mills is open for business and moving forward with new energy.

That was the message Chancer McLaughlin and other representatives from the town had to share recently when they attended the Building Business Rally at the Ramada Plaza in Fayetteville.

The purpose of the rally was to connect contractors and vendors with organizations that have projects in planning and money to spend on them.

McLaughlin, who is the planning and economic development director for the town, said Hope Mills currently has about $37 million worth of projects scheduled over the next five years.

The Building Business Rally gave contractors in Fayetteville and the surrounding area a chance to connect with the Hope Mills town staff at the rally.

McLaughlin said the town receives bid from companies located around the state and from states like South Carolina or even Florida. While the town is looking for the best bid, McLaughlin said it wants to make sure some of those bids are coming from area businesses.

“We would like to engage the local businesses and local contractors to come take advantage of these opportunities,’’ McLaughlin said. “We are saying these projects are here.’’

The rally wasn’t just about big construction projects, like the estimated $16.5 million public safety building for the police and fire departments that the town plans to begin work on this year.
Smaller projects are also involved. At last year’s rally, Hope Mills connected with a company that installed water coolers in town offices.

“We realized we didn’t have any (coolers) in the offices at the governmental complex,’’ McLaughlin said. “That ended up being a contract for the police station, fire station, town hall, parks and recreation and public works.’’

McLaughlin said smaller contracts can cover everything from janitorial services to landscaping to catering to providing security at construction sites.
The people at the event who were officially representing Hope Mills were McLaughlin, public works director Don Sisko and deputy public works director Bruce Clark.
Also attending to support the town staff who were on hand but not involved in direct negotiations with any of the contractors at the event were Mayor Jackie Warner and Commissioner Jessie Bellflowers.
McLaughlin said he’s already seeing positive results from attending the rally.

“I’m getting emails right now,’’ he said. Those sending the emails include businesses that want to get on the Hope Mills list of vendors along with organizations that want to learn more about business opportunities available in Hope Mills.

The pending public safety building alone made the Hope Mills table at the rally a popular stop for many of the businesses attending. Among the interested businesses asking about the public safety building were firms involved with landscaping, general contractors and janitorial services, McLaughlin said.

In addition to the public safety building, McLaughlin said the town has a number of other significant  projects that attracted attention. The list of big ticket items that the town will be looking at in the coming years includes the long-proposed development of Heritage Park, which after the public safety building is the most expensive endeavor under consideration. There are also smaller projects involving the public works department as well as the stormwater department.

McLaughlin said the public safety building and the development of Heritage Park appear to be the two items on the list that are closest to having work actually start as soon as this year. Also on the drawing board is completion of a new town museum.

The town remains open to engaging local contractors anyway it can, McLaughlin said. “We want to increase our bidding opportunity with local contractors,’’ he said. “We do think that’s important. That helps to stimulate the economy, growing the local businesses.’’

He thanked the various organizers of the Building Business Rally, including PWC and NCWorks. Other sponsors were the Greater Fayetteville Chamber, the Fayetteville State University Construction Resource Office and the Small Business Development and Technology Center.
McLaughlin said he’s always anxious to hear from any local businesses that want to do business with the town.
He welcomes phone calls from all interested parties. He can be reached during regular business hours at 910-426-4103. McLaughlin’s email address is cmclaughlin@townofhopemills.com.

In your life, you will have all sorts of relationships — with your family, your friends, your coworkers and even with civic groups and charitable organizations you support. But have you ever considered another key relationship — the one you have with money?

Of course, this type of relationship has several aspects, such as saving, spending and investing. And your fellow Americans clearly face some challenges in these areas. For example, in a recent survey by financial services firm Edward Jones, only 21% of respondents reported that they feel happy when thinking about saving money, while 92% said they see room for improvement in their financial health. Yet only one in four plan to improve their spending habits. Furthermore, just 26% said retirement was a top savings priority.

If you share some of these concerns, what should you do? Here are a few suggestions:

• Identify your money-related emotions. Try to recognize the emotions you feel in connection with saving and investing. Do you get nervous about spending? Does putting away money for the future give you satisfaction or not? Do you worry that you don’t know how much you should be investing, or whether you’re investing in the right way? Clearly, these types of questions can cause some anxiety — and, even more importantly, they may lead you to make poor decisions. Emotions are obviously closely tied to money — but they really should not play a big role in your spending, saving and investing choices.

• Develop a financial strategy. By developing a sound financial strategy, you can reduce money-related stress and help yourself feel empowered as you look to the future. A comprehensive strategy can help you identify your goals — a down payment on a new home, college for your children, a comfortable retirement, and so on — and identify a path toward reaching them. Your financial strategy should incorporate a variety of factors, including your age, risk tolerance, income level, family situation and more. Here’s the key point: By creating a long-term strategy and sticking to it, you’ll be far less likely to overreact to events such as market downturns and less inclined to give in to impulses such as “spur of the moment” costly purchases. And without such a strategy, you will almost certainly have less chance of achieving your important goals.

• Get an “accountability partner.” Your relationship with money doesn’t have to be monogamous – you can get help from an “accountability partner.” Too many people keep their financial concerns and plans to themselves, not even sharing them with their partners or other family members. But by being open about your finances to your loved ones, you can not only avoid misplaced expectations but also enlist the help of someone who may be able to help keep you on track toward your short- and long-term goals. But you may also benefit from the help of a financial professional — someone with the perspective, experience and skills necessary to help you make the right moves.
Like all successful relationships, the one you have with money requires work. But you’ll find it’s worth the effort.

Twitter can be a wonderful thing, especially when you heed the advice of Coach Herman Edwards, one of my heroes, and don’t press send before you transmit something ignorant into cyberspace.

One of the best ways Twitter is helpful is as an archive to record statements and promises people have made in the past to see if they’ve lived up to them.

It was just five years ago in late January when the Atlantic Coast Conference released its 2015 football schedule. I happened to save a portion of the press release from the North Carolina High School Athletic Association on Twitter, when that schedule included Friday night college games going head to head with high school football.

Here is what the statement said:

“At the NCHSAA we believe Friday nights should be reserved for high school football as the tradition has been for a long time. The ACC has indicated this should not be a regular occurrence, but there are contractual obligations out of our influence and control. We will maintain our focus and hope fans, parents and supporters of high school football will continue to attend local games on Friday nights in the fall.’’

Fast forward to late January this year, when the ACC released the 2020 football schedule.

Let’s quickly examine that second sentence. “The ACC has indicated this should not be a regular occurrence, but there are contractual obligations out of our influence and control.’’

Why am I immediately getting an image of Pinocchio with the growing nose from the insurance commercials?

On the 2020 ACC schedule, from Friday, Sept 4. until Friday, Nov. 27, there are eight Friday night football games. That includes a doubleheader on Friday, Sept. 4, and six games that will take place during the thick of the regular season.

Most people have given up on fighting the Friday college football trend, saying it’s a lost cause and that the colleges will never walk away from all that money and exposure.
I’m not among them. Neither, fortunately, are some of the college football coaches.

One who has spoken out frequently against the Friday night games is the University of North Carolina’s Mack Brown. As soon as it was announced his Tar Heels will host North Carolina State on Friday, Nov. 27, Brown issued a statement saying he disagreed with playing college football on Friday nights and is lobbying for that game to be scheduled for an afternoon kickoff so it won’t interfere with the state playoff games that will be held that evening.

Other people who’ve given up, including many in the media, tell me I’m complaining for no reason. I heard some talking heads on a regional radio show say they didn’t see college games on Friday having much impact on high school football. They noted with the advance of technology you can easily watch a college game on a mobile device while you sit in the stands at a high school game.

That may be true in some locations, but not everywhere. I’ve been to a few high school stadiums in my day, and most of them didn’t have the benefit of free Wi-Fi for everyone to plug in and use their smartphones without draining the data they’ve purchased.

I bet that’s especially true in the rural areas of the state where small, unsuccessful football schools count heavily on every dime they get from gate receipts when people come to the game to watch.

Yes, diehard fans are going to show up for high school games. I won’t argue that. But high school football pays the way for the entire athletic program at a lot of schools, and it needs every walkup ticket from casual fans it can get.

Throw in an inviting college game on TV on Friday nights, add some inclement weather, and it’s likely going to hurt everybody’s gate.

College football coaches have some clout, and I beg them to make use of it. Band together. Don’t let voices like Mack Brown and a few others be the only ones out there in the wilderness with me complaining this is wrong.

Reach out to your boosters, your alumni, your average fan, and preach to them that this dog does not hunt and it’s time for the NCAA to stop desecrating the rich tradition of Friday night high school football with the college brand.

Let’s give Friday nights back to the high school coaches and players.

Whenever the Fayetteville Sports Club announces its newest Hall of Fame Class, after the congratulations are handed out, one of the first things I hear is, “Why is so and so not in the Hall of Fame?’’

The best answer I can give is they likely haven’t been nominated. The committee that picks the Hall of Fame members is not omniscient and doesn’t have a crystal ball that shows every viable candidate when it sits down to vote.

If anyone has a candidate in mind that should be considered, nominations are welcome, but it should be much more than an email saying this person deserves to be chosen. Anyone who’d like to nominate someone for the Hall of Fame can send the information to me at earlucwsports@gmail.com and I’ll forward it to the committee.

Please include as much background information on the candidate as you can, including major athletic accomplishments, providing documentation for why the individual should be chosen.

This year’s class will be honored on Wednesday, Feb. 26, at 6 p.m. at Highland Country Club. Tickets are $50 and can be purchased by contacting Ashley Petroski at Nobles and Pound Financial at 1315 Fort Bragg Road. The number is 910-323-9195.

Members of the class are Melanie Grooms-Garrett, Neil Buie, Brent Sexton, Roy McNeill, Jimmy Edwards Jr. and Bob Spicer Sr.

Wes Davis is on a mission to get young women to put down their smartphones and trade them in on a lacrosse stick.

“Girls lacrosse is the fastest-growing sport for high schools around the United States for four years in a row,’’ he said.

His love for the sport led him to approach the Fayetteville-Cumberland County Parks and Recreation Department eight years ago to ask them to start a lacrosse program.
“They said they were starting but only had four or five girls sign up,’’ Davis said.

So he went on a recruiting mission to elementary and church league basketball teams.

Davis feels girls’ lacrosse shares common ground with the sport of basketball, calling it more of a finesse game and less physical than boys’ lacrosse.
“We use the same skill set as basketball and soccer,’’ Davis said. “We run set plays. We run zone defense. We do the pick and roll.’’

Davis wound up with 19 girls that first year who agreed to give lacrosse a try. Two years later he began the Fayetteville Flames club lacrosse team for girls.

“It was a way for girls playing in the spring to play in the summer and the fall,’’ he said.

Through his work with the Flames, offseason opportunities for girls have continued to grow.

Last spring he had about 135 girls involved in his program.

The spinoff is visible in the local high schools as Cape Fear, Terry Sanford and Jack Britt have girls’ teams. Davis said Fayetteville Academy is planning to field a girls’ team this year.

Meanwhile, Davis is continuing plans to offer offseason opportunities for lacrosse players. His Flames program will conduct a short season in the summer, from around May 7 to June 7. That will be followed by a more extensive program during the fall, which will run from around August 24th until Nov. 1st.

In the meantime, both high school and recreational lacrosse are getting set to start up for the spring, with the program at the Fayetteville-Cumberland County Parks and Recreation Department and the local high schools fielding teams scheduled to kickoff this week on Thursday, Feb. 13. “They provide the equipment for you, which is pretty awesome,’’ Davis said of the recreation program.

Interested athletes at the high schools with teams should contact the school athletic director or lacrosse coach. Anyone interested in the parks and recreation program should call the lacrosse director, Robert Corzette, at 910-433-1393.

Davis said one of the biggest challenges in growing the sport locally is finding good coaches, but they’ve been helped in that effort by Fort Bragg, where a number of people with experience playing and coaching the sport are stationed.

He also said the lacrosse program at Methodist University has been supportive of the local club program.

Davis said the recreation department program is especially important because it exposes the girls to competition from established lacrosse areas in the state like Pinehurst, Raleigh, Apex and Holly Springs.

He hopes more girls will take part in the sport and see it as a possible avenue to a free college education. “We’ve had a lot of girls get college scholarships,’’ Davis said, noting that seven girls from the Flames program are competing at either the Division I, II or III level.

One of them is Davis’ daughter, Mattie Davis, who signed with Jacksonville University, a traditional women’s lacrosse power. Jacksonville was 17-4 last year, won the Atlantic Sun Conference and qualified for the NCAA tournament.
Davis has scored 104 goals in her career at Terry Sanford with one season left.

The Dental Assisting curriculum at Fayetteville Technical Community College prepares individuals to assist the dentist in the delivery of dental treatment and to function as integral members of the dental team while performing chair-side and related office and laboratory procedures. Students receive up-to-date training in the dental field from a CODA-accredited program. This means students who graduate from FTCC are considered DA II’s in the state of North Carolina and are eligible to perform some expanded functions in this state without paying for further training or certification.

Dental assisting is an exciting career in the dental field that gives students a variety of options upon graduation. They can work in general dentistry or in one of the specialties: orthodontics, oral surgery, pediatrics, etc. There is also work in administrative roles or with dental vendors. Training in dental assisting gives students knowledge and flexibility to advance in the dental field. The program at FTCC covers instruments, both general and specialty, and their functions — infection control policies and procedures, dental radiography, dental materials, dental sciences, anatomy, and practice management. Students have training on campus as well as clinical rotations to dental offices in Fayetteville and surrounding areas. Rotation sites include general dentistry and specialty areas. This exposure gives students valuable training with real patients as they learn to function as a member of the dental team. As students move through their semesters, they also prepare for their national board exams. Students have the option to take the boards in three sections: Infection Control; Radiation Health and Safety; and General Chairside. Or they can take all three components at one sitting. Students are Certified Dental Assistants or CDAs once they have passed all exam components, and that is a national recognition.

Training to become a dental assistant is a one-year program. The training starts in the fall semester, and students graduate the following summer. Most graduates have secured jobs prior to graduation and have gained valuable hands-on experience from their clinical rotation sites. The job outlook for dental assisting shows that there will be growth in the field through at least 2032, and the average salary for a North Carolina dental assistant is $38,720. Students who have advanced certification and training are more likely to have the best job prospects according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics.

Students interested in dental assisting are encouraged to call or email me for further information at 910-678-8574 or walkers@faytechcc.edu. The application process for all health programs is open from November through Jan. 30, and financial aid is available for qualified students. Students will need to make an application to the college first and have all transcripts sent to FTCC for processing. Late applications to the program may be accepted. The faculty and staff at FTCC are excited to help get you started on the path to your new career! We look forward to having you come and learn with us and become part of our dental family at FTCC.

Army Gen. Stephen Townsend’s No. 1 concern as commander of U.S. Africa Command is that another deadly attack like the one in Manda Bay, Kenya, will occur on his watch. That’s why AFRICOM is now examining the security at Manda Bay and other U.S. installations throughout the entire continent. On Jan. 5, al-Shabab militants attacked U.S. and Kenyan forces at Manda Bay Airfield, which led to the deaths of Army Spc. Henry Mayfield Jr., 23, and two U.S. Department of Defense contractors, Dustin Harrison, 47, and Bruce Triplett, 64.

Townsend, 60, is a four-star general who has served as Commander of U.S. Africa Command since July 26, 2019. He previously commanded Fort Bragg’s 18th Airborne Corps from May 2015 until January 2018. Townsend also served with the 82nd Airborne Division. He fought in Operation Urgent Fury, Operation Just Cause and Operation Uphold Democracy. Townsend commanded the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, leading it in the Battle of Baqubah during the Iraq War, and later commanded the 10th Mountain Division during the War in Afghanistan.

While serving as Fort Bragg’s commanding general, Townsend, in late August of 2016, took command of the Combined Joint Task Force — Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq —where he served until 2017, after which he returned to Fort Bragg. Raised in an Army family, Townsend was commissioned as an infantry officer upon graduating from North Georgia College in 1982. He has led and commanded troops at every echelon from platoon to corps and combined joint task force, to include leading all U.S. and multinational forces fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

“I think it’s self-obvious we were not as prepared there at Manda Bay as we needed to be,” Townsend told lawmakers on the Senate Armed Services Committee last month. “Al-Shabab managed to penetrate onto that airfield. They killed … three Americans and destroyed six aircraft there,” he said. “We weren’t as prepared, and we’re digging into that to find out why that’s the case.”  The command has launched a senior-leader-led investigation examining the circumstances surrounding the attack, and Townsend said approximately 120 infantrymen are now working to secure the area and install proper measures of defense.

The incident has prompted AFRICOM to evaluate security at other areas across the continent as well, especially since Manda Bay was considered a safe area, Townsend said. “Al-Shabab has shown their reach, and the danger that they pose, and I think that we need to take that seriously,” the general said. “So, I’m looking with a clear eye at every location in Africa now.” 

In 2019, AFRICOM conducted 63 airstrikes against violent extremist organizations in East Africa. So far, this year AFRICOM has already conducted four airstrikes against al-Shabab militants in Somalia. “What we do is we keep an eye on al-Shabab every day, and we’re looking for ways to reduce their capacity wherever we can,” said Townsend.
The U.S. has approximately 6,000 Department of Defense personnel on the African continent.

I am not a building architect, contractor, construction engineer, acoustical expert, or renowned and highly paid out-of-town consultant. However, I am a concerned and observant taxpaying resident who has lived in this community for more than 50 years, and I have a few concerns and historic observations that may be relevant as city engineers explore the origins of the newly detected concrete cracks in our new $40 million Segra Stadium, home of the Fayetteville Woodpeckers, a Carolina class A-Advanced minor league affiliate of the Houston Astros. Also, in a related observation, I have a few thoughts and speculations as to where the city and county should locate our long-anticipated and sorely needed performing arts center. After all, the size of this community at 300,000 plus would support such a venue and time is of the essence. With the imminent closure of the 2,400 seat Memorial Auditorium at the Crown Complex looming with a deadline of October 2022, unless a decision is made relatively soon, Fayetteville and Cumberland County could find themselves without any major facility to host local events, outside commercial entertainment venues or educational programs for thousands of Cumberland County school children.

So, you are probably wondering what the connection is between concrete cracks at Segra Stadium and the location of the proposed performing arts center. One word — railroad. It’s not hard to imagine that with dozens of trains rumbling through Fayetteville every day that building foundations of brick and concrete would be effected in some way. I’m amazed concrete can even set/harden properly with the constant vibrations and tremors caused by thundering train engines pulling thousands of tons of railway cars — all swaying back and forth on the rails — only yards away from these structures. Unfortunately, Segra Stadium is sandwiched between two sets of these tremoring railroad tracks. Hopefully, the concrete cracks detected and investigated by city engineers will be of no consequence. With plans to build two seven-story buildings on top of the new $16 million+ parking deck, I’d say an in-depth investigation by the city into the cause of the concrete cracks and the effect of heavy train traffic on this construction project is prudent and well worth the time and money.

What does this have to do with the proposed performing arts center? Everything. First of all, anyone who has attended a major celebration, event or concert at Festival Park has experienced the disappointing disruption of an otherwise wonderful performance caused by the intrusive disruption of train traffic. Initially, the trains were ignored and perceived as a minor annoyance. As a result, the proximity of the stage to the train tracks has rendered Festival Park useless as a serious entertainment venue.

When selecting the future location for a performing arts center, we should be even more sensitive to the presence of negative outside influences such as noise and turbulence, such as that created by train traffic, especially, if the facility is to be considered a serious cultural venue where plays, operas and symphony orchestras will be invited to perform. Last year, consultants hired by the city recommended East Gillespie Street. Now, Spectra Venue Management, which manages the Crown Complex, has hired professional consultants to do a similar study to possibly identify and recommend appropriate sites to locate and build a first-class performing arts center. It would be advantageous to locate the center close to downtown, adding to the pedestrian flow and its economic vitality. Unfortunately, there are few areas of downtown where you can escape the tremors, sights and sounds of Amtrak, CSX or the railway switching stations. A performing arts center will be a welcomed addition to our community and serve to expand and heighten our cultural sensitivities, but only if the project is executed properly. We will have only one opportunity to get this right. No do-overs! City and county officials would bode well to study this situation carefully, listen to the experts and set their egos and biases aside for the betterment of the entire community. Otherwise, time will run out, and our community will again be “railroaded.” Thanks for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

“It is one of the best books I ever read, maybe the best.”

That got my attention, but when my friend told me it was a family history book, I cooled down.

 “But this one is something different. It is special. I couldn’t put it down.”

So when she pushed a copy of John May's privately published “The Mays of Alamanns’ Creek: A Family Odyssey” on me, I agreed to read a few pages. That decision was made easier because May, a retired textile executive, is also the author of “Poe and Fanny,” an imaginative and deeply researched novel based on a portion of Edgar Allan Poe’s life. It is one of my all-time favorites.

Still, I was skeptical. Family histories can be interesting. But, even when written by great writers, they can also be tedious or too inwardly focused to have broad appeal.
Because May grew up in a prominent Burlington family, I thought the book would teach me some interesting regional history. Maybe I would learn more. Family histories and memoirs reach back generations, sometimes even going back across the ocean to times before the family came to North America.

It turns out that May follows his family to times long before their arrival in Burlington, before his ancestors landed in Pennsylvania and moved to Burlington. He follows them all the way back to the 1500s in Germany.

And if that weren’t enough, he then takes his family back to the origin of human and human-like species in Africa thousands and thousands of years ago.

Using the results of recent findings in genetics, anthropology and other science, he builds a framework to tell stories about what might have happened to his ancestors as they migrated. Over thousands of years they moved slowly from Africa, across to Asia, then along lands beside the Black Sea, through what is now Bulgaria and Rumania, up the Danube and down the Rhine rivers winding up in a small village near Frankfurt, Germany.

May explains how the slow migration often took place in clans or family groups. When a settled group outgrew the capacity of its surrounding land, it would break up and move far enough away to have its own separate land that could provide sufficient game and other food.

Slowly, over thousands of years, these incremental relocations would lead to massive movements of populations.

As he did in “Poe and Fanny,” May mixes fact and fiction. His ancestor, Jorg May, born in 1520 in Gelnhausen, Germany, managed a vineyard. That is fact. Also factual are the accounts of the uncertain times created by the religious and political upheavals that resulted from Martin Luther’s break with the Catholic Church. Based around these facts and his research about the times, May creates believable and interesting characters and stories of their lives.

May’s story becomes more relevant when Jorg’s descendant, Daniel May, a poor German farm boy, read glowing reports about North Carolina in a publication called “The Golden Book.”

He made his way to Amsterdam and then to Pennsylvania and down the Wagon Road to what became Alamance County. He arrived in time for the Regulator Rebellion and the American Revolution.

Daniel’s grandson, Henry P., moved to Indiana, served in the Union Army and moved to California before coming back to Alamance to court and marry Barbara, a woman he met before the war when she was working in a textile factory. Their grandson, William Henry May, built a textile empire in Burlington. He is John May’s grandfather.

All these stories, blended fact and fiction, set in different times and places, and so well told by May, make for an unusual and satisfying reading experience.

Sadly, May only printed a few copies for friends and family. We may have to wait a while before more are available.

Editor's note: The Siberian State Symphony Orchestra has been cancelled. The National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine will be at Givens Performing Arts Center on Feb. 18 at 7:30 p.m. The orchestra’s performance will replace the previously scheduled Siberian State Symphony Orchestra. Tickets range from $21 to $31 for adults and $8 for children.

Live from Russia: The Siberian State Symphony Orchestra embarked on its eight-week United States tour in January 2020. Music played by the acclaimed 80-member orchestra from Krasnoyarsk, Russia will fill the Givens Performing Arts Center on Feb. 18, at 7:30 p.m.

Led by Music Director and Conductor Vladimir Lande, the Siberian State Symphony Orchestra will play celebrated Russian classics in an enchanting symphonic evening. Included in the performance are classical music compositions by 19th century Russian composers Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky and 20th Century composer Dmitri Shostakovich. Lande is also the Music Director and Conductor for the Washington Soloists Chamber Orchestra and the COSMIC Symphony Orchestra.

The orchestra dates back to 1977 in the former Soviet Union, winning the reputation as one of the premier orchestras of the time. After the political regime change in the Soviet Union, the Siberian State Symphony Orchestra was allowed to tour internationally and was received on the international stage with much praise.

Considered a culturally important institution, the Siberian State Symphony Orchestra eagerly shares the musical arts of Russia with the world through concerts and albums.

During the concert Peter Laul, award winning pianist and regular performer with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic and the Lincoln Center in New York, as well as other venues around the globe, will entertain guests with a solo performance.

Attendees will enjoy Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, Shostakovich’s "Tango" from the ballet “Bolt,” and Mussorgsky’s "Pictures at the Exhibition."

Fun fact: Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concert No.1 was personally conducted by Tchaikovsky at the opening of Carnegie Hall in New York City in 1891. This was a rare occasion for a well-known composer of 19th Century European Romantic period music to come to the United States to perform.

When asked how the GPAC is able to host such an internationally acclaimed orchestra, Chad Locklear, Marketing Director for the Givens Performing Arts Center, stated, “The GPAC is committed to bringing high-caliber and diverse arts experience to our community. This orchestra meets that category because it has a reputation as being one of the best in Russia.”

“In the digital age of Netflix and social media, nothing will ever take the place of experiencing the arts live in person,” he said. “I hope attendees will come away feeling appreciative and inspired to continue to attend and support the arts.”  

The performance is expected to last 78 minutes with a 15 minute intermission in between. The GPAC seats 1,600 people and there are discounts for groups of 10 or more and for children under age 13.

Tickets may be purchased by phone at 910-521-6361 or online using the link found on their website. Tickets may also be purchased in person at the GPAC box office. Tickets prices are between $21-$31 for adults, $18 for children, $16 for faculty and staff, and $5 for UNCP Students. Visit https://www.uncp.edu/resources/gpac/professional-artist-series/siberian-state-symphony-orchestra for more information. 

Editor's note: When the following article was written, the Parish House had not yet been torn down. The house was demolished on Jan. 28.

Hope Mills Mayor pro tem Kenjuana McCray and commissioner Pat Edwards are both weary of a group of town citizens who continue to point fingers and complain about plans to demolish the Parish House donated to the town by the former Christ Episcopal Church.

Both agree that now that the current board has twice voted to have the building torn down, it’s long past time for the town to move forward on multiple projects that will preserve the true history of the mill village.

McCray noted that many of those who support saving the Parish House were members of the Hope Mills Historical Preservation Commission. Multiple members of that organization either resigned or did not re-apply to remain on the commission after the last election when McCray was elected and both Edwards and Mayor Jackie Warner were reelected.

“This is the same group of people that said they wanted nothing to do with the town,’’ McCray said.

She also noted some members of the commission who have stepped down are in possession of property that was donated to the town for use in the proposed town museum. “I have not heard any follow-through about them returning any of those items,’’ McCray said.

McCray said if she had been a member of the commission, she would not have stepped down simply because of one point of disagreement with elected town officials.
“There is a whole lot of historical preservation we can do,’’ McCray said.

McCray added she does not understand the full reasons why committee members stepped down or didn’t re-apply, but she does read a lot into the conduct of the former members of the commission and the way they have treated her and other members of the current Board of Commissioners since the election last November.

“I’m going off their behavior, the things they have done since I was elected,’’ McCray said. “As far as being cyber bullied or harassed for a decision I made, it does not make me listen to you anymore.’’

McCray noted she was initially receptive to overtures made by former commission members to the board when a representative of Preservation North Carolina was invited to Hope Mills to tour the Parish House and speak to the board about possible options for saving it.
“We do preserve history,’’ McCray said. “We are saving the (Christ Episcopal) church. We have a town museum. We are investing in our history.’’
McCray thinks many people in Hope Mills are misinformed about what those who support saving it repeatedly refer to as the historic Parish House, citing that it is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.
In fact, the building itself is not on the list of historic buildings that are located in the downtown historic district. McCray has researched the subject and found the building’s real history to be suspect.
“I challenge the historical value of the building,’’ McCray said. “It was rebuilt in 1985. It has burned multiple times. Most people don’t know there’s termite damage. There’s mold. All these things have to be repaired.’’
McCray noted that the church, which will be saved and is next door to the Parish House, and the proposed Heritage Park on the adjacent property are in desperate need of parking. The land where the Parish House is presently located  provides that space once it is demolished.
“You’re going to have this beautiful church and Heritage Park and you’re not going to have proper parking,’’ she said, if the Parish House was allowed to remain.
As for those who argue to save the building, McCray said she has not heard any concrete plans from them on what they want to do with the building if it was restored or how they plan to raise the money that would be needed to restore it. Base figures suggest it could cost at least six figures to make the building stable. Hope Mills commissioner Bryan Marley, a veteran firefighter, said if a thorough inspection of the building was ever done, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to suggest the figure to fully restore the building could reach $500,000.
McCray said this is the third Board of Commissioners that’s wrestled with the Parish House dilemma. She feels it’s time to move forward. “There are a lot of other projects we can work on,’’ she said. “I think if the community rallies around to make those projects successful, that’s the best way to move forward.’’
Commissioner Edwards said the heart of the debate over the Parish House has nothing to do with history. She thinks it all stems from personal animosity many of the members who stepped down from the preservation commission have toward Mayor Warner.
“If our mayor was not Jackie Warner and did the very same things she’s doing now, they wouldn’t be going through all of this,’’ Edwards said.
“She wants what’s best for the town and they can’t see that,’’ Edwards said, noting that the previous board which frequently voted 4-1 against anything Warner supported had two years and a consistent voting majority on the board to deal with the Parish House and did nothing.
“Now they are coming back at us because we want to demolish it, and we had planned to do that back in 2016,’’ Edwards said.
Edwards said the current board has made its plans for a positive future for Hope Mills clear, and hopes the citizens will be supportive. “There are so many possibilities, if we could get turned loose and start on it,’’ she said.

If I were a property owner or downtown Fayetteville business, I would be looking at the members of the Fayetteville Historic Resources Commission with one eye closed saying, “What the hell were they thinking?” after voting 6-1 to allow Mayor Mitch Colvin several unapproved changes to his downtown building that violated the commissioners’ Certificate of Appropriateness guidelines.

Colvin’s building is the old Kress building. He painted the building and added glass and aluminum doors to it.

Eight responsible Fayetteville citizens were charged with overseeing policies designed to establish and maintain the dignity and historic integrity of our downtown community. Then they spinelessly acquiesced with authoritative objections as meaningless, ineffective and ferocious as a collective pack of paper tigers. The unintended consequence of this action is heard loud and clear by all downtown property owners: Mea culpa is an acceptable strategic tactic to get things accomplished downtown since COA violations have no consequences. No fines, no sanctions, no reprimands or penalties. Out of the eight — only one responsible, policymaking, law-abiding, honest, Fayetteville citizen with integrity took their responsibility as a board member seriously and had the backbone to ward off the threats and intimidation of those who perceive themselves above the law. That is downtown businessman Bruce Arnold, owner of Rude Awakening coffee shop. Even with his sense of responsibility, he is that lone voice in the wilderness when it comes to demonstrating a leadership style that reflects doing the right thing for the right reasons. It was Arnold who pointed out that Colvin violated the COA and gamed the system by making unauthorized changes to his building. Sadly, even after acknowledging and condemning the violations, the FHRC board voted to approve the changes 6-1 with Henry Tyson abstaining because of a compromising conflict of interest.

Even with this dubious victory tucked securely under his belt, Colvin took to social media to continue his undignified attack on Arnold by doubling-down and playing the race card. No doubt to draw attention away from his misdeed by garnering sympathy from his supporters — without any regard to the fact he is dividing our community. This is not leadership. However, it is a near-perfect example of why Fayetteville struggles to project a positive image and gain respect among statewide peers and why it’s difficult to attract industry to our community. But, there is something even more troubling here. Colvin is only one person cashing in on his authority and privilege. Bruce Arnold is only one person trying to do the right thing for the right reasons.

 Troubling is the fact that seven Fayetteville residents serving in leadership positions on the Fayetteville Historic Resources Commission (Thomas Batson, Jeremy Fiebig, Gordon Johnson, Tiffany Ketchum, George Turner, Henry Tyson, Liz Vernadoe), collectively not only recognized, identified and acknowledged Colvin’s violations and wrongdoing, but they refused to take the appropriate action. Their refusal left one of their own FHRC board members, who followed the rules, enforced the policies and executed the FHRC’s responsibilities, out in the cold to absorb the full wrath of the mayor all by himself. That’s a significant betrayal of trust and dereliction of responsibility.
Sure, we assume we know what the commissioners were thinking when the vote was taken: “Too late now. The work is already done.” True as that may be, the question remains: Why are they serving on the board in the first place? And, what about the future? How is this commission going to handle the next set of COA
violations?

Something else is disturbing about this situation. Before Bill Kirby’s comments appeared in Saturday’s Feb. 1 edition of The Fayetteville Observer’s article “You are right, Mr. Turner; vote doesn’t look good,” many people had already expressed the same sentiments as Kirby. Social media and blogs exploded and were having a field day with the FHRC decision and the resulting 6-1 vote, saying it was shortsighted and ill-conceived. Kirby’s observations and analysis were right on point, but after the fact. In the weeks before the vote, The Fayetteville Observer could have and should have assigned a reporter to this story, talked with the mayor about the situation and interviewed downtown residents, businesses and property owners from the downtown historic district as well as individual FHRC commission members.

This style of investigative reporting is the purest form of journalism, yet, it didn’t happen. Why? I suspect it would have caused a public outcry, resulting in the mayor having to comply with the COA. Or maybe that it would put some of the FHRC members at odds with the mayor or any of the building’s “unnamed” partners. Transparency and a little objective reporting just might have stirred up public sentiment, which would have provided the information and confidence that the FHRC board needed to face the violation head-on. Unfortunately, it’s too late now, and the virtual can has been kicked way down Hay St. Bad decisions always have consequences. You can bet you will see that can again in the near future.

In marketing, your brand — whether personal or business — is defined by a combination of who you are, what you are and what you stand for. I’ll be surprised if the stigma of this poor decision doesn’t cause at least a few, if not all, of the FHRC members’ resignations. No one enjoys being used or publicly compromised. This case could be the poster child for both. We’ll see.

Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

The Hope Mills Creative Arts Council will hold a meet and greet on Saturday, Feb. 8, from noon until 2 p.m., at Marci’s Cakes and Bakes at 5474 Trade Street in downtown Hope Mills.

Elizabeth Blevins, executive director of the council, said the purpose of the meeting is to try and grow the organization’s membership and to reach out to artists of every genre possible to involve them in the council’s projects.

The goal of the event is also to connect with possible volunteers and contributors who can help the council jump start its efforts to share art throughout the Hope Mills community.

The group will soon be holding a photography workshop, scheduled to run from February through May, for teenagers. The goal is to hold other teaching workshops in different fields of art.

Blevins said the council has created a dozen different committees dealing with an assortment of planned projects but needs more people on board to make them happen.
“We are trying to increase the visibility of Hope Mills as a destination,’’ Blevins said, “not only by incorporating art into the landscape as often as possible, but by providing opportunities for the community and visitors to participate in art in some form or another: concert performances, theater, art workshops, art shows.’’

Blevins said art is somewhat of a foreign ground for Hope Mills and the council is testing the waters to see what really resonates with the local population and what types of art they’d like to see more of.

She said the group would like to explore things like poetry slams, dance, basic writing workshops, anything and everything they could possibly create and introduce art to the community.

“That’s another reason for the meet and greet,’’ she said. “You don’t have to be an artist or interested in volunteering. If you want to come in and talk to us, I would really love to see this happen in the Hope Mills community.’’

One topic the council has been discussing is the creation of a Hope Mills choir. “We’d like to have our own group of musicians that would come and perform at various events,’’ Blevins said. “Maybe just as background music, ambience.’’

Blevins said one reason the group needs more volunteers is it wants the council to establish a visible presence in town parades.

“We’ll need volunteers to be in the parade as part of the float, create the float and the costumes,’’ she said. “We are hoping to connect with art lovers, art enthusiasts, volunteers. Anyone that has an idea is welcome to talk to us. We want to share with them the ideas we have put on the table and the goals we’ve set for this year, hopefully get them excited about it and be a part of it.’’

Blevins said the group has had a pretty good response from local artists so far, but added the ones they have connected with to this point are all non-Hope Mills residents.
“That is something we are hoping to change,’’ she said. While the group is open to all artists from Cumberland County, they especially want to promote those with a direct Hope Mills connection.

“If you’re an artist from any genre, we want to talk with you,’’ Blevins said. “We would be very interested in doing artist showcases where we secure a venue for artists and put their work on display.’’

Blevins stressed the council is not limited to promoting any one genre of art. “We’re always open to artists, musicians, actors, anyone from any area in Cumberland County,’’ she said.

The council has discussed big projects like murals in public areas around town, but for now those are a bit too expensive to pursue. “Because we are working on nonprofit status and are a startup, we don’t have that kind of money right now,’’ Blevins said.

They are applying for grant money, and if that comes through, they will hopefully be able to get aggressive on installing the town’s first mural sometime in the near future.
If anyone has questions about the council’s goals or the meet and greet, the email address is hopemillscac@gmail.com.

Participation by females in the sport of high school wrestling is on the rise nationally as well as in Cumberland County.

A check with Cumberland County Schools athletic directors revealed there are 15 female wrestlers competing on varsity teams in the county this year with only E.E. Smith and South View reporting no females on their wrestling teams.

The schools with the biggest turnout of females this season are Pine Forest with four and Jack Britt with three.

Coaches Byron Sigmon of Jack Britt and Charles Daniels of Pine Forest both encourage females to take part in the sport at their schools.

“I’m recruiting everybody, especially now that women’s wrestling has taken off in North Carolina,’’ Daniels said.

Last year, the North Carolina High School Athletic Association held its first state wrestling championship tournament solely for female wrestlers. The second one is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 8, at Carolina Courts in Concord.

Sigmon, who sometimes tries to recruit female wrestlers from his weightlifting class, said he’s noticed an increase in participation in the sport by females from the upper weight classes.

Last year, a Jack Britt wrestler, Madajah Trapier, won the 152-pound state title in the first NCHSAA women’s wrestling tournament. The school awarded her a state championship ring.

“That kind of opened the eyes of a good many girls on our team and in our school,’’ Sigmon said.

Talking to the various girls from Cumberland County who are involved in wrestling, it’s clear they have a variety of reasons for giving the
sport a try.

Andrea Moore is a 113-pound sophomore in her second year with the Buccaneers. She doesn’t want boys to think the sport is just for males. “It’s for anybody,’’ she said.
Adria Bell, a 138-pound sophomore at Britt, is the sister of former Buccaneer star Erick Martinez.

She said a lot of older women come up to her at matches and tell her they wish they had had the opportunity to try wrestling when they were in high school.
“Whenever I get on the mat, I’m nervous,’’ she said. “It’s teammates supporting and motivating you that helps. We can all relate to it more.’’

Diandra Tejada brings an unusual skill set to the wrestling mat. She’s in the lowest weight class, 106 pounds. The Jack Britt newcomer just moved in from Texas and is a cheerleader, dancer and singer. She also runs track and competes in weightlifting.

One of the things that strikes her most is how small the wrestling community is, probably because the sport is so challenging.

“The physical part has been extremely demanding and a lot different from anything I’ve ever done,’’ she said. “I make sure I’m eating right and taking care of myself mentally and physically.’’

Her goals whenever she gets on the mat are simple. “I just do my best to wrestle as hard as I can, so I can step off the mat and be proud of myself,’’ she said.

At Pine Forest, Anamaria Bailey is the veteran among the female contingent. A senior in the 170 pound class, this is her fourth year on the Trojan wrestling team. She comes from a unique athletic background, participating in rugby before she switched to wrestling.

She admits it was awkward when she started wrestling as a freshman, being the only female on the team.

“There was always a stigma and there’s always going to be one regardless of the changing times,’’ she said. “There were always people asking questions and making weird faces. I never let it bother me.’’

Bailey understands the natural curiosity but she’s glad the sport is becoming more inclusive.

“I’m happy to have my girl teammates, just as much as I am for the boys to be here,’’ she said.

Like Bailey, teammate Jewel Arrowsmith, a 126-pound sophomore, brings an interesting background to the sport. She’s a gymnast, who took up wrestling after her brother became a member of the team.

Like most of the females, Arrowsmith said she has to overcome a lack of strength against most male opponents by emphasizing technique. “Day by day I get better,’’ she said. “I would definitely like to place in the women’s state tournament. I look forward to having a medal.’’

Another Pine Forest wrestler, Kahala Bandmann, a 138-pound junior, also followed her brother into the sport. A soccer player, she’s convinced her work in wrestling will help her to be in excellent shape when soccer season for girls starts in the spring.

She said she tries to overcome any shortcomings with strength by outthinking her opponents, but admits that can be hard. “You get carried away when you’re in the moment,’’ she said. “You have to stay focused.’’

That focus includes not being caught up in the fact she’s facing a male opponent on the mat most of the time. “Your goal is just to beat them,’’ she said. “You’re not thinking about how close you are to a guy or anything else that goes through your head.’’

Hailie Misplay, a 132-pound freshman, plays softball and feels wrestling is helping her get stronger and improve her power at the plate.

She knows most of the males she faces will be stronger than she is, but that’s not something that she worries about. “I have to be smarter, quicker and out-technique them to beat them,’’ she said.

As for the future of the sport, most of the girls feel that participation by females is only going
to increase.

“If they see more girls are going out to wrestle, it’s like a trend,’’ Bell said. “One starts, then more come. It’s a domino effect.’’

Top picture from L-R: Anamaria Bailey, Jewel Arrowsmith, Kahala Bandmann and Hailie Misplay.

Bottom picture from L-R L-R Adria Bell, Diandra Tejada, Andrea Moore.

The military commissary agency has been required to track customer savings since fiscal 2016, to help defense officials and Congress monitor the commissary benefit. Commissary customers save 25% more than in civilian grocery stores. The upward trend in fiscal 2019 averaged 25.6%, according to a report from the Defense Commissary Agency. Overall, the savings are up from 23.9% for fiscal 2018. But savings in overseas stores declined from the 2018 level. Officials attribute the drop overseas to the lower cost-of-living allowance in fiscal 2019.

The overall savings level for U.S. stores was 22.3% for fiscal 2019. DeCA compares prices with up to three commercial grocers, including one supercenter, in the local area of each commissary in the U.S. Fort Bragg is the largest Army post in the country and has two full-size commissaries. The comparison looks at 38,000 items at a regional level and local prices on about 1,000 products that are representative of a shopper’s typical market basket, officials say.

For years, commissary savings were touted as an overall 30%. But, in 2016, as mandated by law, DeCA established a baseline of savings using a more thorough methodology. Congress now requires the agency to maintain savings levels that are reasonably consistent with the 2016 baseline, since the agency can now use variable pricing — lowering or raising prices on items, rather than selling them at cost, as they did for decades.

Commissary officials have had the authority to do this for several years, as a means of being competitive with local stores, and to allow commissaries to use some of the profit made to reduce the amount of taxpayer dollars — over $1 billion a year — that’s used to run the stores. Taxpayer dollars have been a target of people in DoD in efforts to save money. One retiree contacted Military Times to say he’s been shopping at commissaries for more than 50 years, “and from what I can see, prices are noticeably going up!”

Savings depend on the items, as well as the region. For example, there are more than 900 items in the commissary’s Your Everyday Savings, or “YES!” program, which lowers prices year-round on items that commissary customers purchase the most. That has contributed to the increase in savings, said Robert Bianchi, a retired Navy rear admiral who is a Defense Department special assistant for commissary operations.

The YES! program is designed to help commissaries level the playing field when it comes to the perceived value of the benefit, Bianchi added.

Too many consumers get a false impression about the value of the overall savings of a civilian grocery store based on a few loss leaders. These are items that stores are willing to accept revenue losses on so they can attract consumers. Bianchi said a commissary’s grocery department — for example, packaged foods — is the main driver of savings for commissaries in the South Atlantic region. The 30 stores in the region showed Fiscal Year 2019 savings of 20.4%.

Abby Carson
Terry Sanford • Bowling/Track• Senior

Carson has a grade point average of 4.21. She is a starter on the Terry Sanford bowling team. She plans to attend Fayetteville State to study nursing and participate in track and field. 

Joana Ferreira
Terry Sanford • Swimming• Senior
Ferreira has a grade point average of 4.4. She ranks 19th in the senior class and was a marshal in 2019. She is a member of the National Honor Society, Academy of Scholars and Global Studies. She has more than 300 hours of community service and is active at her church. She took part in the AP Capstone Program at Terry Sanford. She plans to attend East Carolina University and pursue a degree in nursing.