Bill and Betty Brown, owners of the family-friendly Evolution Ink on Cliffdale Road, debuted their free EvolutionInk Tattoo Convention last year. They said the community response exceeded their wildest expectations. This year, April 12-14, the Browns are bringing the convention back — and going all-out to make it a can’t-miss weekend for tattoo-lovers and their families. 

All weekend at this year’s free event, attendees will enjoy special pricing of $20 off all tattoos and $5 off all piercings. Up to 19 tattoo artists, about 17 in-house and two guest artists, will be present. Evolution Ink’s piercers, master piercer Nick Perron and Lyn Blevins, will also be there. 

“Most conventions charge $25-$65 for the weekend,” Bill said. “Ours is free. Our motto is, you take that money you’d spend on other conventions and use it on a tattoo or piercing at the EvolutionInk Convention.” 

For each day someone attends the convention and gets a tattoo or piercing, they’ll be entered into a drawing to win a grand prize of $2,500 worth of custom Evolution ink or a second-place prize of $500 in body piercing. “Nobody has a prize like that,” Bill said. “I wanted to go really big this year. … And it’s not like the North Carolina lottery where your odds are one in a million to win. You have pretty good chances. Someone is going to walk away with a huge prize.” 

Regardless of the drawing, everyone who gets tattoos or piercings will walk out with a free VIP Swag Bag containing $65 worth of items, including a T-shirt, water bottle, car decal, magnet and future discount cards. 

Friday afternoon, Jeff Davis from Q98 will DJ a live show on-site. That evening, locally loved and acclaimed band Rivermist will entertain with live music. 

Saturday afternoon, local celebrity and Army veteran EJ “Skullcrusher” Snyder will do a meet-and-greet. Snyder is Fayetteville’s own three-time champion of Discovery Channel’s “Naked and Afraid.” All day, the United Service Organization of North Carolina will have a mobile center set up with tablets, big-screen TVs, video gaming consoles, Wi-Fi and casual seating for service members to enjoy. 

Babann’s Southern Fried Chicken food truck will be on-site Friday and Saturday afternoons, too. 

The Fayetteville Woodpeckers will be present selling Woodpeckers clothes, hats and other paraphernalia. That day has not been confirmed yet, the Browns said, but it will likely be Sunday. 

“Kids and babies are welcome; we’re definitely family-friendly,” Bill added, noting that there will be an outdoor face-painting station set up for children. 

“It’s going to be the big event in Fayetteville. If we have too many customers on a day and someone can’t stay and get their tattoo or piercing done, we’ll give them a raincheck card. Within three months after that date, they can come back and get that tattoo or piercing and they’ll still get the discount and the Swag Bag.” 

A portion of the event’s proceeds will benefit St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, the Fort Bragg Fisher House, the Fort Bragg chapter of United Service Organizations of North Carolina, and the Fayetteville Animal Protection Society. Evolution Ink has a heart for giving animals homes and offers a year-round incentive where customers who show their adoption papers for a pet from FAPS, or any local certified shelter, get $50 off their ink. 

The EvolutionInk Tattoo Convention 2019 runs Friday, April 12, from 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Saturday, April 13, from 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; and Sunday, April 14, from noon-8 p.m. Evolution Ink is located at 5924 Cliffdale Rd. Visit www.evolutioninkstudio.com or call 910-323-2243 to learn more. 

Cape Fear Regional Theatre introduces “The Cake” to the stage April 4-21. “The Cake” tells the story of a Southern belle named Della (Libby McNeill Seymour) who owns a bake shop in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Della’s worldview is brought into question when Jen (Jessica Giannone), the daughter of Della’s deceased best friend, travels from New York to request a cake for her wedding. When Della learns Jen is marrying another woman (Olivia London as Macy), she must choose between her traditional values and the love of an old friend. “The Cake” was written by NBC’s “This Is Us” supervising producer and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumna Bekah Brunstetter. It is directed by David Hemsley Caldwell. 

CFRT is one of the first regional theaters to present “The Cake,” which will wrap up its acclaimed off-Broadway run at the Manhattan Theatre Club in New York City just a few days prior to its debut in Fayetteville. 

“The story is so relevant and so timely and also so funny,” said Ashley Owen, marketing director for CFRT. “Today, it’s so easy to (attack) people’s beliefs. This play is the opposite of that — it’s really kind to everyone.” 

According to the actors, this is a show for all people, but don’t expect to leave without first considering your neighbor’s point of view. “The themes of the show are acceptance, trying to find a middle ground, coming to terms with people who might think differently than you,” said Caldwell. Like Della, who, according to Seymour, must “(think) about alternative points of view in the world,” audience members may experience a shift of perspective. 

Greg King, who plays Della’s husband, Tim, emphasized this middle ground alongside Caldwell and Seymour. “Everyone that comes to see the show is going to feel that they can identify with an opinion that they see onstage,” he said. 

Regardless of beliefs, most play-goers will enjoy that “The Cake” is being catered by The Sweet Palette, who will provide cake for the show itself and then for audience members following each performance. London looks forward to the conversations the post-show desserts will accommodate. “(It’s) an opportunity to talk about what they just saw, (which) opens up the opportunity for them to talk about different opinions or a different takeaway,” she said. 

This “common ground,” according to Giannone, brings people together. “A lot of people like cake no matter what you believe in.” 

CFRT welcomes service members and their families, along with the public, to its Military Appreciation Night performance Wednesday, April 10, at 7:30 p.m. Playwright Brunstetter will attend the show and stay afterward for a talk-back with the audience, in which she’ll answer questions about the show and her career. Though military discounts are available for every performance at CFRT, the Military Appreciation Night discount will be 25 percent, the lowest of the year. 

CFRT is located at 1209 Hay St. For tickets or for more information, contact the box office at 910-323-4233 or visit www.cfrt.org. The performance runs Wednesdays through Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m., with tickets at $25. Preview nights are April 4-6, with tickets at $15. 

Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra will perform “Ode to Joy,” the last concert of its 2018-19 season, Saturday, April 13, at Methodist University. The inspiration for the concert title is Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy,” which is embedded in the final movement of his last symphony, Symphony No. 9. This symphony, which FSO will perform in its entirety, is considered by many to be one of the greatest works in Western music. Beethoven was the first major composer to include human voice within a symphony. For that reason, this work is sometimes referred to as the “Choral Symphony.” 

Beethoven composed “Ode to Joy” in 1824. The premiere for this work took place in Vienna May 7, 1824. In an article titled “Beethoven’s ‘Ode to Joy’ Lyrics, Translation, and History” at www.thoughtco. com, Aaron M. Green, an expert on classical music and music history, said, “despite its unpracticed and under-rehearsed presentation, the audience was ecstatic. It was the first time Beethoven had appeared onstage in 12 years.” 

Green continued, “At the end of the performance (though some sources say it could have been after the second movement), it was said that Beethoven continued conducting even though the music had ended. One of the soloists stopped him and turned him around to accept his applause. 

“The audience was well aware of Beethoven’s health and hearing loss, so in addition to clapping, they threw their hats and scarves in the air so that he could see their overwhelming approval.” 

Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” lyrics are a slightly modified version of a poem by the same name written by Christoph Freidrich von Schiller in 1785. It is a poem celebrating the unity of mankind. 

According to Christine Kastner, president and CEO of FSO, “‘Ode to Joy’ is a magnificent choral work, and it’s a great way to end a season. It’s one of those very special experiences.” It was previously performed by FSO in March 2012. 

Kastner said the vocal parts will be performed by a choir that will include members from several local singing groups. Michael Martin, the choral music director at Methodist University, coordinated the participation of the choirs, including the Cumberland Oratorio Singers and choirs from Campbell University, Fayetteville State University and Fayetteville Technical Community College. 

There are vocal soloists who will perform along with the choir. Soloists include Erin Murdock, Angela Burns, Melvin Ezzell and Jeffrey Jones. 

The concert will last approximately two hours, with Symphony No. 9 lasting a little more than 45 minutes. The first half of the concert will introduce other pieces that led Beethoven to develop the Ninth Symphony. 

According to FSO Music Nerd Joshua Busman, for composers who came after Beethoven, it was not a question of whether or not they would follow in his footsteps but simply how they would do so. He went on to say that the “legacy of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony is so long that it extends well into the 20th century.” 

As one example, he explained that the reason CDs needed to be 120 millimeters across was to allow them to hold approximately 80 minutes of music — which satisfied a mandate to Sony engineers that new audio technology be able to contain the entirety of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony on a single disc. 

FSO will perform “Ode to Joy” Saturday, April 13, at 7:30 p.m., at Methodist University’s Huff Concert Hall. A Pre-Concert Talk with Busman will begin at 6:45 p.m. To purchase tickets, which range from $10-$26, visit www.fayettevillesymphony.org. 

The question is, will Fayetteville Woodpeckers baseball fans know how to get to the new ballpark? “We will absolutely be ready for our first home baseball game on April 18,” said city of Fayetteville spokesman Kevin Arata. 

He was asked by Up & Coming Weeklyabout plans the city has to accommodate public parking during games at the baseball stadium on Hay Street. “For the April 13th ribbon-cutting event, parking downtown will be free, as with most other past large events downtown,” he said. 

“Finding public parking is difficult for visitors,” consultant Jon Martens told Fayetteville City Council during the Feb. 4 council work session. He added that making the public aware of available parking is a major challenge that must be undertaken by city government. Martens said many people he spoke with didn’t know there’s a parking garage on Franklin Street — within walking distance of the stadium. 

For families who don’t know their way around downtown, Martens suggested pole signs with recognizable logos could be used to locate off-street parking lots. The city has the capability of building signs, but at this point they are not in the plan, according to Arata. 

The city is depending on social media to help visitors find parking lots. Parking locations can be found on the city’s website, Arata said, and by downloading the city of Fayetteville mobile app and clicking “downtown parking” on the menu. 

“In a nutshell, we know what we have to do for instituting the parking changes recommended. We just need to figure out the specifics of how to do it,” said Arata. 

City government has received responses “from firms with expertise in this area to address the suggestions received from our consultant on the recent parking study,” Arata added. He said city staff wants to hear how those in the know can provide implementation plans and costs associated with those plans. 

City Council will eventually make decisions about parking needs. “I believe the city is prepared to meet the parking demand that will be created by the new stadium,” Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin said. “There are always areas that cannot be fully anticipated, but I have the utmost confidence in our staff to address any issues that may arise.” 

The Cool Spring Downtown District and the Fayetteville Area System of Transit suggested trollies to shuttle visitors downtown. City traffic engineer Lee Jernigan also liked the idea of shuttle buses. 

“Park-and-ride shuttles from areas beyond the immediate center city could be adopted,” Jernigan said in October 2018. He stated that additional considerations, such as providing convenient parking for the disabled, “would be available in a month or two.” They were not. 

“I do have concerns for the elderly and handicapped,” District 2 Fayetteville City Councilman Dan Culliton said at the Feb. 4 council work session. 

At the same meeting, council members opposed the shuttle trollies and turned down the proposal. Members said they didn’t want to spend tax money for a project that should be offered by private business. 

The city is spending $40 million to build the minor league stadium. 

The remains of a World War II Indiana paratrooper have been interred in his hometown 75 years after his death. Army Pfc. Clifford M. Mills, then 29, was reported missing in action Oct. 18, 1944, near Wyler and Zyfflich, Germany. He took part in Operation Market Garden, the invasion of the German-occupied Netherlands. 

Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died in combat. There are 72,742 service members from World War II still unaccounted for. 

After the war, the Army found no evidence that Mills had survived or been captured. He was from Troy, Indiana, in Perry County, and was a member of the 319th Glider Field Artillery Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division. 

Following the end of hostilities, the American Graves Registration Command of the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps took on the task of investigating and recovering deceased and missing American service members. It recovered thousands of unknown sets of remains. One set, designated Unknown X-2566 Neuville, was recovered from an isolated grave near a downed glider. 

The remains could not be identified and were buried as an unknown at the Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery and Memorial in Hombourg, Belgium. Following thorough analyses of military records and graves registration documents, which suggested a strong association between X-2566 Neuville and Mills, the remains were disinterred in June 2017 for analysis. 

To identify the remains, scientists from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency used dental and anthropological analysis as well as mitochondrial DNA and circumstantial and material evidence. Mills was officially accounted for Jan. 29, 2019, by The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. 

“That’s when they started the process of trying to get him back to the United States,” said Mills’ niece, who asked that she not be identified by name. “It has been an honor to be able to take care of this and getting Uncle Clifford back to the United States where he belongs.” 

The remains were returned to Zoercher-Gillick Funeral Home in Tell City, the county seat of Perry County, Indiana. His funeral was held there March 30. Burial followed at the Troy City Cemetery. 

A nine-member 82nd Airborne honor guard traveled from Fort Bragg headquarters to render military funeral honors for Mills. Members of Mills’ family and Nowy van Hedel, a resident of the Netherlands who helped research Mills’ MIA case, were on hand. 

Researcher van Hedel recently uploaded a video to YouTube showing a U.S. flag ceremony honoring Mills at the Margraten, Netherlands, American Cemetery and Memorial. It is Europe’s third largest war cemetery for unidentified soldiers who died in World War II. More than 8,300 soldiers are buried there. The graves have been adopted by locals, who attend them and lay flowers. 

Van Hedel concluded a brief recollection of his 12 years of research into Pfc. Clifton Mills with a caption to the memorial video that says: “It took a lot of time, but he will be … buried next to his wife Ethel.” 

Photo: Pfc. Clifford M. Mills

It has taken local and state officials more than two years to plan, design and figure out how to pay for a new bridge on Louise Street at the main entrance to Hollywood Heights off Skibo Road. The city closed the bridge in January 2017 after a routine inspection found support pillars had deteriorated, making the bridge dangerous. Hurricane Matthew also damaged the bridge in 2016. 

A groundbreaking for the Louise Street Bridge took place March 25. “We’ve been waiting for this, and it’s time,” said Mary Scott, a neighborhood resident for 45 years. “We appreciate everybody that has been working for us. It is a very happy day.” 

Residents have had to use the Pritchett Road access point to reach their neighborhood since the main entrance was closed. A federal grant will reimburse the city 80 percent of the $1.8 million project cost. In May 2018, the North Carolina Board of Transportation added the bridge replacement project to its infrastructure improvement program. City Engineer Giselle Rodriguez said officials hope to have the new bridge open by August. 

Fort Bragg team wins shooting competition 

The host military gunners took home top prizes last month during the U.S. Army’s International Sniper Competition. Twenty-one teams representing American and European armed services took part in a series of events designed to test competitors in sniper and reconnaissance tactical skills. 

They competed March 17-22 at Fort Bragg. The top two places went to snipers from the U.S. Army Special Operations Command. The Marine Corps team came in third. They not only competed against each other but against time limits. 

Instructors from the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School designed the events to challenge two-person teams in their ability to work together and test their speed and accuracy in various types of environments. 

Local educator Fields honored 

The North Carolina School Superintendents’ Association and the North Carolina Alliance for School Leadership Development selected Dr. Jane Fields, Cumberland County Schools assistant superintendent for secondary education, as a recipient of the Dr. Samuel Houston Leadership Award. This annual award goes to a graduate of the Superintendents’ Association Aspiring Superintendent Program, which is designed to empower transformational education leaders for North Carolina’s public schools. 

“This is a well-deserved honor for an outstanding educational leader,” said CCS Superintendent Dr. Marvin Connelly Jr. “Dr. Fields has undoubtedly earned the respect of colleagues, students, staff and parents throughout our school system.” 

Fields is a product of Cumberland County schools and has worked in the district for 23 years. 

PWC recognized by United Way 

The Fayetteville Public Works Commission has been recognized again by United Way of North Carolina as a 2018 recipient of the Spirit of North Carolina Award and the Excellence in Community Spirit Award. “PWC has received the Spirit of North Carolina Award 13 times, and no other organization in the state has achieved this level of excellence,” said Robert Hines, president of the United Way of Cumberland County. 

Ninety-nine percent of Public Works employees pledged more than $130,000 during the annual United Way campaign. PWC was one of 33 companies that received the Spirit of North Carolina Award and one of just five to receive the Excellence in Community Spirit Award for efforts the judges felt exceeded the Spirit of North Carolina standards. 

What happened to the Mini Page? 

Fayetteville ObserverExecutive Editor Matt LeClercq says the newspaper’s Mini Page is no more. “We made the tough decision in January to no longer print the Mini Page on Sundays as a way to cut expenses,” said LeClercq. “Paper is our second biggest expense after people.” 

He noted that fewer youngsters read printed newspapers these days. The syndicated Mini Page has been around for decades as an educational effort focused on children’s hand-printed pictures, games, trivia and puzzles. Universal Press Syndicate publishes the Mini Page, which is inserted in 500 newspapers in the United States and abroad. 

LeClercq went on to write, “The reality in the news business today is that newspapers will have to continue to look for ways to control or cut expenses related to printing while focusing full-throttle on growing digital readers, subscribers and revenue.” 

The iconic Easter egg 

The Cumberland County Cooperative Extension Service will offer a Better Living Series workshop, “The Incredible Egg,” April 9 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Cumberland County Agriculture Center, 301 E. Mountain Dr., Fayetteville. Participants will learn about the egg to become “eggsperts.” 

The workshop will cover egg facts, nutritional information, egg cooking tricks, safe food handling tips and recipes. As a special part of the workshop, participants will create a decoupage egg. 

For additional information, contact Susan Johnson at 910-321-6860. Or, to view a 2019 Better Living Series schedule and registration forms, visit cumberland.ces.ncsu.edu. 

Over a (just concluded) series of three columns, I contended that thought deprivation has taken a foothold in America. The series examined seven steps employed by power-seeking politicians, and others driven by the same aim, to develop and sustain thought deprivation among people living in America. “Living in America” is used here instead of “American citizens” because the effort even reaches out to noncitizens and illegal migrants. Each column opened with the following statement: 

“There is a dangerous, but tremendously effective, political approach employed in America. It could be called ‘thought deprivation.’ It’s conditioning people so they do not think with depth regarding the issues that face us as a nation. Sadly, allowing this thought deprivation approach to become routine and embedded in the political process has brought us to a point of real danger in the governing, and very survival, of this nation.” 

Many actions that should reasonably be taken are not taken. Other actions are taken that adversely impact the well-being of Americans. Finally, gridlock is a frequent consequence of this political approach; nothing is done regarding important matters affecting the people of our country. 

Examples abound that show how thought deprivation plays out, and so negatively, in American political processes. Among the many examples is what is happening as “Medicare for All” is being discussed and considered in our country. 

What is presented here is not an argument for or against such a program; it is instead a limited examination of how little depth of thought is being given to this proposal that could dramatically affect American residents for years to come. 

Let’s start the examination with how little residents know about Medicare for All. This from an article by Katie Mahoney titled “‘Medicare for All’ isn’t the Health Care Reform Americans Want, Poll Finds.” 

“Many Americans don’t understand what Medicare for All is, and when they do, they don’t like it, a Morning Consult poll commissioned by the U.S. Chamber found. 

“The poll found only four-in-ten (41%) knew much about Medicare for All. When asked, most voters believe it is a system that ensures that all Americans have access to health care services and insurance through a mix of private health care and government programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.’ 

“Fewer than one-in-five voters polled could identify it as ‘a government-run health care system, financed by taxpayers that provides essential health care to all Americans and eliminates private health insurance plans, including those provided by employers. 

When asked if they support just such a program, only 44% supported the idea.” 

A reasonable question is, how can it be that people know very little about Medicare for All? One reason is that most media have joined forces with the effort to develop and sustain thought deprivation. They simply do not aim to explain issues in detail, and coverage is, most often, slanted to support a particular position regarding an issue. I watch a lot of news and commentary. It disgusts me that most offerings are very short, timewise, on a topic and almost totally devoid of serious, honest analysis of facts. 

Possibly more disturbing is that politicians and others involved in seeking to gain and hold power are even guiltier of the failing ascribed to media in the preceding paragraph. Any time I hear a member of this group give a straight answer to a question that calls for actually informing the electorate, I am surprised beyond description. 

A case-in-point came when the following happened during an interview of presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., as reported in an article by Grace Sparks titled “Majority favor ‘Medicare for All,’ but with a catch.” 

“Harris spoke in Iowa on Monday about embracing Medicare for All, even though in most instances it means eliminating private insurance. When pressed by CNN’s Jake Tapper on whether that means eliminating private insurance, the senator from California answered affirmatively, saying she would be OK with cutting insurers out of the mix.” 

Note that Harris had to be pressed for an answer, but did, in fact, answer. This kind of avoidance by power-seekers results in the public allowing governmental actions that do not serve the best interest of, or show fairness toward, all Americans. 

However, the approach survives and is far too successful because there is deprivation of thought. 

One would also think that cost should be a pressing question from the public in reference to Medicare for All. In that regard, consider the following from an article by Jennifer Earl titled “How much would ‘Medicare for All’ cost? Democrats’ health care plan explained.” 

“Several independent studies have estimated that government spending on health care would increase dramatically, in the range of about $25 trillion to $35 trillion or more over a 10-year period. Specifically, a study released over the summer by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University estimated it would cost $32.6 trillion — $3.26 trillion per year — over 10 years. For comparison, the federal budget proposal for the fiscal year 2019 was $4.4 trillion, the Congressional Budget Office states. 

“Sanders blasted the Mercatus Center’s analysis as ‘grossly misleading and biased.’ 

“‘If every major country on earth can guarantee health care to all, and achieve better health outcomes while spending substantially less per capita than we do, it is absurd for anyone to suggest that the United States cannot do the same,’ Sanders replied, arguing on his website that his plan would cost about $1.38 trillion per year. ‘This grossly misleading and biased report is the Koch brothers’ response to the growing support in our country for a Medicare for all program.’” 

Sen. Bernie Sanders’ response assumes that America would do a program similar to the other countries, to which he makes a general reference. My research indicates what he and others seem to be proposing is not done by any of the countries viewed as somewhat successful in assuring health care for all citizens. 

I hold it is very safe to say that nobody has a good idea as to what Medicare for All would cost. It even appears there is not consensus on what the program would offer or how it would work. However, it is a fact that taxes would increase for some American citizens. 

Interestingly, support for the concept is strong— that is, until people get informed. The following information, from Kaiser Family Foundation Tracking Poll, conducted Jan. 9-14, 2019, appears in an article by Jane Sarasohn-Kahn titled “Americans Are Warming to Universal Health Care, Kaiser Poll Finds”: 

“Would you favor or oppose a national Medicare for All plan if you heard that it would do the following? 

“Guarantee health insurance as a right for all Americans — 71% favor/27% oppose 

“Eliminate all health insurance premiums and reduce out-of-pocket health care costs for most Americans — 67% favor/30% oppose 

“Eliminate private health insurance companies — 37% favor/58% oppose 

“Require most Americans to pay more in taxes — 37% favor/60% oppose 

“Threaten the current Medicare program — 32% favor/60% oppose 

“Lead to delays in people getting some medical tests and treatments — 26% favor/70% oppose.” 

As people get more informed regarding Medicare for All, or any issue of importance, interest elevates, and critical thinking happens. 

This is not an outcome that serves the aims of power-seekers well. Thought deprivation is, therefore, a primary strategy. In general, we permit the deprivation to work. 

It results in and allows for manipulation of citizens — of how they vote, of what they protest, of what they demand or expect from government and so forth. 

If we in America do not immediately break free of imposed thought deprivation, not only will current generations suffer harsh consequences. We will impose insurmountable challenges on generations yet unborn. 

I saw it on the news and then read about it online, and I still could not believe it: A United States senator addressing his colleagues in that august and historic chamber, bizarrely suggesting that the only thing needed to combat climate change is for Americans to “fall in love” and have “more babies.” 

Say what?!?! 

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, took to the floor to lambast the House climate change proposal called the Green New Deal with images of Ronald Reagan riding a dinosaur while wielding a machine gun, along with another of Luke Skywalker of “Star Wars” fame. Lee’s idea seems to have been to slam the Green New Deal as if it were as silly as his photoshopped pictures. Said Lee, “Climate change is not a joke, but the Green New Deal … is the legislative equivalent of Austin Powers’ Dr. Evil demanding sharks with frickin’ lasers on their heads.” 

And where did love and more babies come in? 

Lee told his colleagues that “more babies will mean forward-looking adults, the sort we need to tackle long-term, large-scale problems.” He concluded his remarks grandly by suggesting that the solution to every problem is to “fall in love, get married and have some kids.” 

I wonder if he includes overpopulation in his list of big challenges. 

Green New Deal supporter Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., voiced the thoughts of many when she tweeted, “If this guy can be Senator, you can do anything.” 

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Many of us know people struggling with opioid addiction, either personally or because someone we love has been upended by it, leaving family members reeling in his or her wake. In my age bracket, I see grandparents who thought their childrearing responsibilities were over doing it all a second time with grandchildren whose parents’ addictions wipe out everything else. 

There are few pretty pictures in the opioid epidemic still raging throughout the United States, including North Carolina. It’s killed 200,000 over the last two decades. 

Purdue Pharma, maker of OxyContin, has just settled a case brought by the state of Oklahoma for a whopping $270 million. Speculation is that Purdue decided it was better to pay up than to expose themselves to a televised trial with release of damaging in-house information, which could result in an astronomical jury award. Purdue is also said to be exploring bankruptcy restructuring to insulate itself, at least temporarily, from large judgments. 

Whatever happens with Purdue and other opioid makers, and whatever damages paid, the reality is that no amount of money can bring back loved ones who overdosed or who are lost to their addictions. It will be generations before the scourge of opioid addiction is over. 

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Are you wondering what to give your children that will last a lifetime? 

How about good manners? 

Myka Meier of Beaumont Etiquette, which teaches manners at the Plaza Hotel in New York City, says etiquette can be taught as soon as a child can speak and that table manners should begin in the high chair. Meier’s top 20 etiquette rules include: 

Use please and thank you every day. 

Hold silverware correctly. 

Chew with your mouth closed. 

Remember, no elbows on the table … ever. 

Learn how to write a thank you note. 

Introduce yourself properly. 

Always knock on a door before opening it. 

Don’t point or stare. 

Always cover your mouth when sneezing or coughing. 

Know how to invite someone to join a group if he or she is alone. 

The true meaning of etiquette is always to show respect and kindness to everyone around you. 

Hear, hear, parents — and good luck! 

Who would have thought the integrity and competency levels of the Hope Mills Board of Commissioners would fall lower than Hope Mills Lake’s levels? Neither is moving the community forward, and residents are not pleased at all. 

It’s an understatement to say that Hope Mills residents are agitated over the way the board has treated the town’s beloved mayor, Jackie Warner, and at the prospect of having to lower the water level of the lake to finish construction of the bulkhead. 

In the case of the bulkhead, residents feel this work could have, and should have, been planned, scheduled and finished in the winter months — not during the spring and summer season, when residents anticipate enjoying the lake most. Citizens are pointing the finger at the commissioners’ lack of vision and poor planning, their penchant for micromanaging staff and their reluctance to allow town employees to do their job. 

The board is unable to focus on the issues and priorities of the town because of their obsession with unseating and displacing Warner by stripping her of responsibilities. A well-orchestrated conspiracy to render her ineffective by making her appear careless, unapproachable and defiant is in full swing. However, as the warm weather and sunny summer days approach, Hope Mills residents are realizing it is not the mayor who has delayed progress on construction of the bulkhead, the kayak launch, the handicap ramp and the steps in the swimming area. 

The consensus is that Commissioners Meg Larson, Mike Mitchell, Jerry Legge and Jessie Bellflowers have needlessly caused these delays because of their obsession with micromanaging and controlling every detail of the project. 

It is the same kind of attention on the wrong things that allowed art sculptures created by students at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke to disappear from the Hope Mills landscape. As a result, residents are disappointed, students lose an opportunity, Hope Mills fails to move forward culturally, and future expectations of growth and economic prosperity dissipate — along with the lake’s water levels. 

Unfortunately, it gets crazier. 

The recent situation concerning the town losing its art sculptures because of a failure to renew the agreement is the near-perfect example of the misplaced priorities of most Hope Mills elected officials and their reluctance to take responsibility for their actions — or in this case, their inaction. 

Larson, Mitchell, Legge and Bellflowers called a special meeting of the board for March 25 to discuss and explain the breakdown in communications with UNC-P professor Adam Walls that had resulted in the loss of the art sculptures from Municipal Park. They also discussed an Up & Coming Weeklyarticle published March 20, written by our writer and Hope Mills correspondent Earl Vaughan Jr., concerning the sculptures. 

While the meeting was scheduled on the pretense of discussing the disappearing UNC-P art sculptures, as well as the disparaging media coverage, it was revealed to be an excuse to create another event to degrade and embarrass Warner. 

Additionally, it was an attempt to discredit Up & Coming Weekly: both me (Bill Bowman) as the publisher and our writer Earl Vaughan Jr. 

Four of the board members arrived with a written resolution to cast a public vote of “No Confidence” against Warner. Mission accomplished — while uninformed Hope Mills citizens are left scratching their heads and wondering what the heck is going on. 

Those four elected officials got their way; they have the votes. That’s the way the system works. Only Commissioner Pat Edwards had the determination and intestinal fortitude to speak her mind and call out the entire process for what it was — wrong. Even as the pressure mounts, she remains the lone holdout, refusing to accept the “destroy Warner at all costs” doctrine. 

No doubt, Edwards finds encouragement and strength in the fact that she speaks not for hundreds but thousands of Hope Mills residents who want more and expect more from their town leadership and elected officials. Specifically, the truth. 

Here is the truth about this situation. By reading on, you can begin to understand what’s going on and get the information you need to make intelligent, responsible and informed decisions about the future of the Hope Mills community. 

What follows in italics is the kind of information you will only get in this publication and on Hopemills.net. Both are free with open access to the public. We recommend you subscribe to both. 

The special meeting was held March 25 on the pretense of finding out what happened to the art sculptures and why they were being removed and to discuss Earl Vaughan Jr.’s March 20 article in Up & Coming Weekly. 

Not true. 

The real purpose was to present a resolution of “No Confidence” on Warner. The board had no intention of hearing the truth about the matter. If they wanted the truth, they would have invited and/or spoken with Walls, the UNC-P professor who was interviewed for the article; Up & Coming Weekly writer Earl Vaughan Jr., the author of the article; HopeMills.net author Elizabeth Blevins; and me (Bowman), the owner and publisher of Up & Coming Weekly. None of us were invited to attend the special meeting nor reached out to for clarification and productive discussion. 

However, I showed up and sat there, in the second row, while they slandered me and questioned the integrity of my newspaper. I sat quietly through the barrage of insults and accusations, thinking that they would eventually call on me to respond to the charges and accusations. They did not. They ignored me — as well as the truth. 

Bellflowers read out loud a paragraph that was said to be from our “deplorable” article. But, interestingly enough, you won’t be able to find the things he read aloud anywhere in the actual article that was published. 

Next, Legge read a resolution obviously composed by Mitchell and Larson. It was a collection of inaccurate statements and proof that the board members had no interest in learning the truth — only in placing blame. 

Mitchell, Larson, Legge and Bellflowers voted for the resolution. Edwards voted against it. 

Here is their resolution. It puts on full display how the board is spending its time rather than securing our art, taking care of the Hope Mills Lake projects, securing commerce and creating economic vitality for Hope Mills — think back to the Lone Survivor Foundation situation. 

1 - Whereas the Hope Mills Town Board appreciates and supports the cultural arts within our community. 

Not true.The very board members who voted for this resolution were so uninterested in the single example of art in Hope Mills that they didn’t even notice as it disappeared. 

Less than two weeks ago, Community Development Planner Chancer McLaughlin requested that the board provide a letter of approval to include in an art grants application. He explained the letter wasn’t required but would be appreciated. The board grilled him for more than 20 minutes before reluctantly agreeing to produce the letter. 

2 - Whereas the Hope Mills Town Board believes it is important for elected officials to act in an honest, ethical and transparent manner for the citizens we serve. 

Not true.Mitchell has a longstanding habit of posting questionable comments on his social media. He’s violated the constitutional rights of Hope Mills citizens who spoke against him by blocking them from his social media accounts, and he sent an email to the town manager indicating he didn’t want any member of the staff or the Board of Commissioners to attend a political rally. 

It’s illegal to prevent members of the staff from attending political events. 

3 - Whereas it is important for our citizens to trust information that is shared by our town leaders. 

Trust is important, but the commissioners are not conducting themselves in a way that earns this trust. 

As one example, Larson continues to share the PWC surveys, which PWC Chief Operations Officer Mick Noland condemned as outdated and irrelevant in July 2018. 

4 - Whereas it is important for the elected to work together and share information that is important to the smooth operation of the town. 

This is true, but there isn’t a single example of Larson, Legge or Mitchell having done this. 

5 - Whereas Hope Mills Mayor Jackie Warner had knowledge of the time sensitive deadline of the Art in the Park agreement with a local university and did not immediately direct the matter to the town manager, who is responsible for the daily operations of the town. 

Not true.The emails provided by the commissioners prove Warner contacted Town Manager Melissa Adams Aug. 22, 2018, the very day the UNC-P professor contacted her regarding the contract. 

6 - Whereas Mayor Jackie Warner knowingly withheld the information concerning the time sensitive deadline of the Art in the Park agreement from the board of commissioners. 

Not true.Every member of this board was present March 19, 2018, and again May 21, 2018, when the sculptures — and specifically, the deadline for renewing the sculptures — were discussed. This information is annotated in the official minutes from those meetings. 

7 - Whereas Mayor Jackie Warner shared information about the art in the park agreement with the reporter from a local publication without ever bringing the matter before the board. 

Not true.The responsibility of keeping the board updated on current issues belongs to the staff — not the mayor. Warner and the staff were searching for solutions to the problem; the board was not. 

8 - Whereas the resulting article from the information shared by Mayor Jackie Warner cast aspersions upon our community and board and was unsettling to a local university, a resident and his students. 

Not true.The article did not harm the professor, the university or the students. There was one comment in the article that casts doubt on the integrity of the board. It presented the opinion of a citizen — who is 100 percent entitled to his opinion. And while members of the board have reached out to him and claim he never made the comment, article author Earl Vaughan Jr. and Up & Coming Weekly stand by the integrity of the interview and the article. 

9 - Whereas March 19, 2019, Mayor Jackie Warner shared the article to her official Mayor of Hope Mills Facebook page without any clarification to the readers. 

True. However, if this justifies a censure, then Mitchell and Larson should be censured as well. They’ve both made a habit of sharing articles that are embarrassing to the town — and specifically to Warner — from another publication. In fact, Mitchell shared an article of questionable content March 27, two days after censuring the mayor for doing the same. 

10 - Whereas Mayor Jackie Warner has shown a pattern of withholding information from her fellow board members and knowingly sharing misinformation through both social media and in public forum. 

Not true.This is a thinly veiled reference to Larson’s belief that Warner was privy to more information about an offer from Lone Survivor Foundation than Warner shared with the board. 

Warner has clarified her responses to their inquiries for 10 months, and the board is funding a formal investigation into the situation. The investigator has not returned his findings, so it’s premature to levy this accusation against the mayor. 

11 - Whereas Mayor Jackie Warner has been counseled numerous times about such behavior as it misleads the public and is an abuse of her position. 

Not true.This is another reference to Larson’s misguided belief that Warner colluded with executives of Lone Survivor Foundation. While Larson has attempted to counsel the mayor, it was an abuse of her position to do so. 

Be it resolved that Mayor Jackie Warner knew about the time sensitive deadline of the Art in the Park agreement. Mayor Warner failed to immediately inform the town manager and never informed the Board, which contributed in part to the loss in art. 

Not true.Warner knew about the time-sensitive deadline, as did the entire board. They were officially notified on two separate occasions — and it’s a matter of public record. She did immediately inform the town manager. This was established by the same commissioners who wrote the resolution when they provided the correspondence between the professor and staff members and the mayor. 

Be it resolved that the Hope Mills town Board of Commissioners casts a vote of No Confidence in Mayor Jackie Warner and her ability to effectively work with the elected Board to serve in the capacity as mayor of Hope Mills. 

It’s ironic that while the commissioners were drafting this resolution to embarrass the mayor, she was actively seeking a solution to the Art in the Park dilemma. And while they failed to prove any of their points, she succeeded in securing more art for our community. 

Up & Coming Weeklystaff have repeatedly reached out to the Board of Commissioners and extended open invitations for them to comment, respond, clarify or rebut anything we print in our publication. To date, no one has taken us up on that offer. 

When Mitchell was asked to comment on a Hope Mills issue, he said he was “too busy.” 

Larson, when asked to comment on a local Hope Mills community event, responded with “I don’t participate with the Up & Coming Weekly.” 

I again extend the invitation to Commissioners Mitchell, Larson, Legge, Bellflowers, Edwards and Mayor Jackie Warner. 

Just remember, at Up & Coming Weeklycommunity newspaper, if you write it, you own it. That is why our name and photos are on every article. 

Elizabeth Blevins and I thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly. 

Photo: Mayor Jackie Warner

Anticipation for the return of baseball to Fayetteville has been steadily building for more than a year. That wait is finally coming to an end. As announced last November, the team has a name: The Fayetteville Woodpeckers. As of this month, they’ve got a place to play: the brand-new Segra Stadium in downtown Fayetteville. And in the coming weeks, they’ve got two big kick-off events: A chance to check out the new stadium April 13, followed by the Woodpeckers’ first home game April 18. Get ready for a shift in this community that’s something to cheer about — and maybe celebrate with a hot dog and cold beverage. 

Fayetteville Fans First Look: Saturday, April 13 

The public is invited to explore downtown’s new $40 million Segra Stadium at a free unveiling and ribbon-cutting event, dubbed Fayetteville Fans First Look, from noon-3 p.m. The stadium features natural grass, a 360-degree concourse, a 25-by-70-foot LED scoreboard, six luxury suites, four field boxes, a premium club level, an outdoor party deck, a kids zone and a seating capacity of 4,700. 

The city of Fayetteville, owner of the ballpark, collaborated with the Woodpeckers to create and organize this event. “We are the lead (on this event), just as the Woodpeckers are the lead for the opening game,” said Kevin Arata, communications director for the city of Fayetteville. 

“We want to show off this great new stadium that we’ve built. We’ll have volunteers from around the city in place to point people in the directions of where they can go and what they can see.” 

Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin will kick things off at noon with a ribbon-cutting followed by brief remarks. 

Then, Arata said, attendees will be able to go into the batting cages and locker and equipment rooms, along with the concession areas, the outfield bar, the kids zone, the clubhouse area and more. 

“For those of us, like myself, who are not clubhouse ticket-holders or box ticket-holders, this will be a chance to get up in those areas and see them firsthand,” he said. “This will be a looksee that people won’t otherwise get. It’s not often that you get to go into the locker room of a minor league baseball stadium.” 

Mark Zarthar, president of the Woodpeckers, described the Fayetteville Fans First Look as an open house of sorts. Visitors will get to sample a variety of food and beverage options that will be offered at the ballpark on game days, too, he said. 

“Our right field bar is our most prominent concession area; it’s called Healy’s,” Zarthar said. “We’ll have a variety of food and beverages out there, including 24 different draft beers on tap, as well as corn hole, foosball and big-screen TVs. We’ll have a stage with live music and lounge furniture. That’s going to be the coolest party area at the ballpark. It will be open on game days as well as some non-game days.” 

He described left field as being the family- and kid-friendly area. Along the first baseline and third baseline will be the rest of the concession options. “We will have a home plate bar that focuses on a variety of craft beer,” he said. “We will also have... options such as barbecue, burgers and Mexican, and a variety of other cuisines.” 

The Woodpeckers drew upon local inspiration in creating themes for and naming the different food areas. For example, the station behind home plate is called 82nd and Hay. Sherwood Steaks is named after Sherwood H. Hallman, a World War II veteran who received a Medal of Honor. “He’s an example of someone who is relevant to Fort Bragg,” Zarthar said. 

The right field bar, Healy’s, is named for John “Mac” Healy, local owner of Healy Wholesale Company. “(Healy Wholesale Company) played a prominent role in our stadium being developed and bringing to life the beer concept at the ballpark,” Zarthar said. 

The Fayetteville Woodpeckers retail store will also debut at the First Look. Zarthar said it is one of the largest stores of its kind in minor league baseball, based on square footage. “You’ll be able to purchase merchandise as well as tickets at the Fans First Look,” he said. “There will be a variety of hat concepts, replica jerseys, T-shirts, golf polos, fishing shirts — anything you can imagine, we will have.” 

First Woodpeckers home game: Thursday, April 18 

At 7 p.m., Thursday, April 18, the sun will begin to set — but downtown Fayetteville will be lit up with bright stadium lights and filled with fans ready to cheer their team on. The Fayetteville Woodpeckers will take on the Carolina Mudcats for their first home game of the season. 

The Fayetteville Woodpeckers are the Class A Advanced minor league affiliate of the Houston Astros, the 2017 major league baseball World Series champion. The Woodpeckers spent their last two seasons playing as the Buies Creek Astros in Campbell University’s Jim Perry Stadium, and their transition to Fayetteville brings professional baseball back to town for the first time in 17 years. 

The last minor league baseball presence here was the South Atlantic League’s Cape Fear Crocs, which moved to Lakewood, New Jersey, following the 2000 season. 

The Woodpeckers’ new moniker was chosen by Fayetteville citizens via a “Name the Team” contest launched in April 2017 that was followed by an invitation to vote on a favorite out of the top five entries. The Woodpeckers beat out the other top four name suggestions: Fatbacks, Fly Traps, Jumpers and Wood Dogs. 

And now that the Woodpeckers are here, they’re here to stay. The Astros signed a 30-year lease, indicating their investment in the long-term success of Fayetteville. “We are here; we’re committed,” said Zarthar. “It’s not necessarily just about baseball. It’s about providing a shot in the arm for downtown Fayetteville.” 

Said Fayetteville City Councilman William “Bill” Crisp, “(In) 30 years, we can expect the Astros to be interwoven into the fabric of Fayetteville’s economic development.” 

March 20, the team announced details of its official team charity, the Fayetteville Woodpeckers Fund, and its associated Fayetteville Community Leaders Program. The FCLP, functioning at the core of the charity fund, will help guide the team’s investment of time, energy and resources in the areas of supporting local youth sports and military service members and their families. 

Fayetteville Woodpeckers Fund plans involve investing more than $100,000 into the community this season. Projects include replacing the Massey Hill Buddy Baseball Program field, which was destroyed by Hurricane Matthew; sponsoring 15 youth baseball and softball teams across all seven Fayetteville Parks and Recreation youth sports zones; and partnering with the military nonprofit Rick’s Place to, among other things, send 50 military children to summer camp. 

“The Astros are a very successful major league baseball business,” Crisp said. “However, when you examine how they mesh in communities where they have minor league teams, you will find they are not solely about making money, but they give back to the communities. 

“They could have imported someone to head their community relations, but they hired a local lady, Victoria Huggins. (She) is local, and I remind you she was/is Miss North Carolina for last year.” 

“The other thing to point out,” said Arata, “is there are only 70 home games across the entire year. The rest of those days, (the stadium) is open for other events. The opportunities for what you can do in the stadium are kind of endless.” 

He added that the stadium’s and the Fayetteville Woodpeckers’ presence have already acted as an incentive for other businesses and entities to invest in this community. He listed the decision of private investor Jordan Jones to revive the historic but previously dilapidated Prince Charles Hotel as a prime example. 

Ticket prices to Fayetteville Woodpeckers games start at $9, which Arata pointed out is comparable to the cost of a movie ticket. “This is about involving all of the community,” Zarthar said. “We wanted to … ensure that as many people can afford to attend a game as possible.” 

Zarthar suggested that fans follow the Woodpeckers on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to stay up to date and involved. Visit www.fayettevillewoodpeckers.com for a full 2019-20 schedule, to purchase tickets and to learn more. 

Here is the Patriot Athletic All-Conference wrestling team based on results of the conference tournament and selections by the coaches. 

Coach of the Year:Heath Wilson, Cape Fear; Brian Olson, Overhills 

Wrestler of the Year:Dallas Wilson, Cape Fear 

106 — First team:Max Brewster, South View 

Second team:Jabrial Crudup, Douglas Byrd 

113 — First team:Ryan Delaney, South View 

Second team:Dylan Ramer, Gray’s Creek 

120 — First team:Pierre Young, Terry Sanford 

Second team:William Talbert, Westover 

126 — First team:Tristen Chapman, Cape Fear 

Second team:Kevin Brewington, South View 

132 — First team:Lyell Canady, Westover 

Second team:Gavin Moses, Pine Forest 

138— First team:Dallas Wilson, Cape Fear 

Second team:Frankie Manglona, Westover 

145 — First team:Jeremiah Smith, Cape Fear 

Second team:Tremaine Jackson, South View 

152 — First team:Zachary Pranka, Terry Sanford 

Second team:Jaleel Parks, Cape Fear 

160 — First team:Jalen Keith, Gray’s Creek 

Second team:Woodson Young, Cape Fear 

170 — First team:Jared Barbour, Cape Fear 

Second team:Xavier Hamilton, Gray’s Creek 

182 — First team:Kevin Pate, Cape Fear 

Second team:Andrew Bond, Overhills 

195 — First team:Arden Billington, Douglas Byrd 

Second team:Austin Hunt, Cape Fear 

220 — First team:Ray Dixon, Douglas Byrd 

Second team:Nick Minacapelli, Cape Fear 

285 — First team:Garrett Crockett, Gray’s Creek 

Second team:Zion McEachin, Douglas Byrd 

Photo: L-R: Dallas Wilson, Jared Barbour 

Abigail Carson 

Terry Sanford • Indoor and outdoor track • Junior 

Carson has a 4.13 grade point average. She is a three-year starter and a member of National Honor Society. She currently holds the girls record at Terry Sanford in the shot put for both the indoor and outdoor teams. She also volunteers with her travel track team around the community. 

Jasmine Giacomucci 

Terry Sanford • Outdoor track • Junior 

Giacomucci has a 3.58 grade point average. She is a three-year starter. She has served as a cheerleader and with the marching band for the past three years. She is also a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and works with the GEMS of Delta Sigma Theta volunteering in the community. 

Meetings 

For details about all meetings and activities, including location where not listed, call Town Clerk Jane Starling at 910-426-4113. 

• Festival CommitteeMonday, April 1, 6 p.m., Town Hall 

• Board of CommissionersMonday, April 1, 7 p.m., Luther Board Room, Town Hall 

• Citizens Academy ProgramTuesday, April 9, 6 p.m., Town Hall 

• Historic Preservation CommissionWednesday, April 10, 5 p.m., Parks and Recreation Building 

Activities 

• Food Truck RodeoThursday, April 4, 5-8 p.m., Town Hall rear parking lot. Enjoy music, an assortment of food trucks, bouncy house and games for kids, and presentations by various public service vendors. 

• Breakfast with the Easter Bunny/Easter egg huntSaturday, April 6, 8:30 a.m-11 a.m. and 11:15 a.m., Hope Mills Recreation Center. Tickets are $6. Final day to purchase tickets is Monday, April 1. Call 910-426-4109 to reserve your spot. Easter egg hunt follows Breakfast with the Easter Bunny and is free. 

• Hope Mills Area Kiwanis Clubat Sammio’s, second Tuesdays at noon and fourth Tuesdays at 6 p.m. For details, call 910-237-1240. 

Promote yourself 

Email hopemills@upandcomingweekly.com. 

Recently promoted U.S. Army Gen. Michael X. Garrett has assumed command of Forces Command at Fort Bragg. Gen. Mark A. Milley, chief of staff of the Army, hosted the assumption of command ceremony March 21. 

Garrett commanded U.S. Army Central at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, before being assigned to Forces Command. FORSCOM is the largest organization in the Army and is responsible for ensuring combat soldiers are trained and prepared to deploy. It includes more than 750,000 active-duty, reserve and National Guard soldiers. 

Garrett is originally from Cleveland, Ohio, and is a graduate of Xavier University in Cincinnati. He received his commission as an infantry officer following his graduation in 1984. In a 2010 profile for Xavier Magazine, Garrett noted he was the first member of his family to graduate from college. 

His previous assignments include command of the 3rd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division. He was named to lead U.S. Army CENTCOM in 2015. 

Garrett replaces FORSCOM’s acting commander, Lt. Gen. Laura J. Richardson. Her next assignment has not been made public. 

Two fatal motorcycle crashes on the same day 

A pair of recent Fayetteville traffic fatalities were tragically similar but had different outcomes. Both accidents involved motorcycles. Both mishaps occurred on Sunday, March 10. 

A Fort Bragg soldier, Patrick A. McDill, 22, died when his motorcycle was struck on Yadkin Road near Horseshoe Road by Jasmyne Russell-Dicker, 24, of Sanford. She was charged with felony death by motor vehicle, driving while impaired and making an unsafe movement causing injury to a motorcyclist. Russell-Dicker was released from jail after posting a $15,000 bond. 

The other crash took place on Bingham Drive at the intersection of Lakeridge Drive. Neron R. Pratt, 34, of Saint Pauls, who was operating a motorcycle, was pronounced dead on the scene by medical personnel. City police said the driver of the sedan that struck him, Fayetteville native Wendy S. Sutton, 28, did not sustain serious injuries, but her mother, Doris B. Sutton, 47, also of Fayetteville, was hospitalized. 

Wendy Sutton faces felony charges of hit-and-run driving causing injury, misdemeanor death by vehicle, driving with a revoked license and making an unsafe movement. She is being held on $100,000 secured bond. 

“It’s definitely something the magistrate’s office would have to answer for,” said police spokesman Sgt. Shawn Strepay when asked about the difference in bonds given the drivers. 

Heroism awards celebrates first responders 

The Greater Fayetteville Chamber announces People’s Choice Awards to be presented at the second annual Public Safety Valor Awards program on June 25, 2019. This event is presented by Highland Construction and Restoration and Manna Church to show community appreciation to first responders in the city and county and at Fort Bragg. The breakfast event will be from 7:30- 9:30 a.m. at Manna Church, 5117 Cliffdale Rd. 

The general public may nominate first responders who have been observed in action during the period from April 2018 through March 2019. 

Nominees must be currently employed by an emergency response agency and working in Cumberland County. Applications can be obtained on the Greater Fayetteville Chamber’s website, www.faybiz.com, under Events-Valor Awards. They are due by April 1. 

Additional nominees will be chosen by the chiefs or agency heads of law enforcement, fire/ rescue, and emergency management agencies serving Cumberland County. 

There are three major awards: Certificate of Merit for outstanding work benefitting the department, Lifesaving Award in which personnel put their own safety at risk to save the life of another, and the prestigious Valor Award for incidents in which acts of heroism were performed under extreme risk. 

The public is invited to attend — tickets are $25 and are available online at www.faybiz.com. 

The first ‘Occasion’ 

“Trauma: A Concert and Reflections” will take place April 17 at 7 p.m. at Holy Trinity Church, 1601 Raeford Rd. in Fayetteville, and on April 19 at 7 p.m. at Hugger Mugger Brewing, 229 Wicker St., Sanford. The “Occasion” will include folk music, drinks, visual aids and alone time with a handful of new best friends or strangers. The “Occasion” costs nothing. 

“We’re okay with sitting with grief and anger and sadness for a moment,” said Jeremy Fiebig, an organizer of the group. “This first event is a concert that looks at mourning, trauma, broken spirits and the like. It’s meant to be a kind of church service, but where the point is not to uplift, but to sit with tough stuff like loss and heartbreak.” 

The event is described as “not for the squeamish or for children, as we will be looking tough stuff square in the face,” Fiebig added. 

Photo: Gen. Michael Garrett

Gerry Buckley and Dewey Bunnell, the duo behind hit folk-rock band America, have thrilled music lovers nationwide for nearly 50 years. To finish off Community Concerts’ 83rd season, America will perform at the Crown Coliseum on Thursday, April 4, at 7 p.m. 

Buckley, Bunnell and former band member Dan Peek met in London in the 1960s. The trio formed their chart-topping group shortly after graduating high school and have since released 11 hits and six Gold or Platinum albums. 

Today, America is comprised of just Buckley and Bunnell, but it is still going strong. According to Michael Fleishman, Community Concert attractions director, audiences can expect “hit after hit after hit” at the April 4 show. “It’s a really interesting group (with) a really interesting sound,” Fleishman said. “They’re not just well-known in this country, but worldwide.” 

Hits such as “Ventura Highway,” “Tin Man” and “A Horse with No Name” gave America its reputation as a rock standard. Fleishman is excited to welcome such a well-known band to the stage. “If you’ve been on the planet any length of time, you’ve heard these songs … every single one of them,” he said. “These are classic rock songs, and it’s a group we’ve never had before … one we’ve looked at several times.” 

From winning a Grammy award for best new artist in 1973 to being inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2006, it’s no wonder the band is so highly sought after. America has collaborated with the Beatles’ George Martin, Toto’s Jeff Porcaro, the Eagles’ Timothy B. Schmit and more. 

A short ceremony commemorating the newest inductee into the Fayetteville Music Hall of Fame will precede America’s performance at the Crown. “Community Concerts is the creator and the producer of the Fayetteville Music Hall of Fame,” Fleishman said. “It’s going into its 12th year, (and has) done nothing but grow in stature and popularity over the years.” 

The Hall of Fame was designed to honor those that have brought musical distinction to this community, said Fleishman. Members include local citizens as well as national celebrities, such as Randy Boone. The organization continues to add to their number every year. 

“We’ve honored music teachers, people from the Cape Fear Regional Theatre, churches for what they have done musically and for children, the Cape Fear Oratorio Singer and the 82nd Airborne Chorus for all they’ve done,” Fleishman said. 

Known as Fayetteville’s oldest art organization, Community Concerts has lived up to its name for 83 years. “We try very hard to put the ‘community’ in Community Concerts,” said Fleishman. “(We’ve) done a lot over the years showcasing local artists onstage in combo with the artist.” 

Community Concerts has a heart not only for aspiring musicians but also for children of all backgrounds. “We showcase kids onstage — we had a local choir in combo as backup for one of the songs for Foreigner, a school onstage as backup for Gladys Knight, and Voices of the Heart (performed).” 

The April 4 concert will also include an announcement of this year’s recipient of Community Concert’s annual music scholarship, awarded to rising college freshmen in the community who display musical excellence. 

The Crown Complex is located at 1960 Coliseum Dr. To purchase tickets, or for more information, visit community-concerts.com/2018/08/13/america. 

Whether you love him, loathe him or are still trying to figure out who he is, former Texas congressman turned Democratic presidential hopeful Beto O’Rourke has lobbed a hot potato onto our national political stage. In addressing several examples of his youthful indiscretions — aka bad behavior — O’Rourke acknowledged that he had been treated differently than other people because of “white privilege.” Couple white privilege with O’Rourke’s gender — male — and we get “white male privilege,” a potent force indeed. 

The definition of white male privilege is squishy, to say the least, making it difficult to pin down criteria. A general definition references systemic advantages white men have over women and people of color, some of whom have faced racism. Financial resources, educational attainment and social status all play roles, as do other factors. It is safe to say, though, that one defining litmus test is that many African-American parents deliver “the talk” to their children about how to behave if they, especially the boys, are stopped by law enforcement officers. Far fewer white parents feel compelled to do that. 

The Republican-controlled North Carolina General Assembly has just displayed the power of white male privilege with its recent election of well-heeled members to the University of North Carolina Board of Governors, the 24-member policy-setting body for our state’s university system. Twelve members were elected by the legislature, 10 of them incumbents. The newly constituted board will have six women, three African-Americans and one Native American, with the remainder being white men. The lone Democrat, an African-American, was eligible — and sought re-election — but was not put back on the board. There are no Democratic members. This is in a state that has 51 percent women, 22 percent African-Americans and 39 percent of voters registering Democratic. 

This is not to say that the people elected to the Board of Governors are not capable. Most of them are, but so are many people who are not white men. Clearly, some sort of privilege is at play here. 

The concept of white privilege, including the higher subset of white male privilege, has been written about for centuries and picked up steam during the civil rights era, beginning in the 1960s, and was widely discussed in academia. As social media took hold, white privilege moved into mainstream conversations and into films and popular music. It is, however, a bit like art and pornography. We all know it when we see it, but we have trouble coming up with an actual definition. 

Author Peggy McIntosh took a stab at defining white privilege in her 1987 essay “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack.” Wrote McIntosh, it is “an invisible weightless knapsack of assurances, tools, maps, guides, codebooks, passports, visas, clothes, compass, emergency gear, tools and blank checks.” 

A scholar and activist, McIntosh also wrote, “as a white person, I realized I had been taught about racism as something which puts others at a disadvantage, but had been taught not to see one of its corollary aspects, white privilege which puts me at an advantage.” Putting it bluntly, McIntosh wrote, “if a traffic cop pulls me over or the IRS audits my tax returns, I can be sure I have not been singled out because of my race.” 

It is into this context that Beto O’Rourke dropped his thoughts on white privilege and white male privilege in particular. We have yet to see whether a national discussion will follow, but it should. The reality of white privilege pervades so many aspects of American life, both private and public, and it has smoldered for centuries. 

We will never get over it if we cannot talk about it. 

Cumberland County rural property owners will likely see a tax increase come July. The funding subcommittee of the county’s public safety task force is unanimously recommending a 0.375 cent increase in the special fire protection service district’s tax. There are 15 fire districts in unincorporated areas of Cumberland County plus Hope Mills and Spring Lake, which are supported by property tax assessments of 0.10 cents per $100 of valuation. Five small, low-wealth fire departments receive additional assessments of 0.125 cents per $100. 

The subcommittee voted unanimously March 19 to request that the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners adopt the tax increase effective July 1, 2019. 

“We have heard your concerns,” said Cumberland County Manager Amy Cannon. She and Fire Commissioner Marshall Faircloth predicted the board would go along with the increase. 

Consultant Gregory Grayson of Envirosafe Fire Support Services told the committee that “the workload and need for fire and rescue services has increased significantly.” Fire departments have become “all-hazard agencies” requiring additional salaries and training for firefighters, he added. 

He outlined the complexities of developing a new funding model for volunteer fire departments. The city of Fayetteville Fire Department is funded with salaried, full-time firefighters. 

The proposed county tax increase would boost total fire and rescue spending from $7.4 million to $8.9 million for fiscal year 2020. A series of supplements, incentives and grants would augment the existing baseline. They would be provided to strengthen the county’s overall fire and rescue delivery system. 

Supplements and incentives would be based on enhanced individual department performance. The low-wealth fire departments, including Beaver Dam, Bethany, Godwin/ Falcon, Stedman and Wade, would receive annual supplements of $83,000 each for firefighter staffing. 

Some of the seven fire chiefs who comprise the funding subcommittee spoke out with mild objections to the funding formulas. “I sometimes feel that we’re caught in the middle,” said Cumberland Road Fire Chief Steve Parish. He said his department responds to 2,000 calls annually, while others with the same number of responses have larger populations and more funding. 

“We responded to 1,900 calls last year,” Pearce’s Mill Fire Chief Ronnie Marley said. His department’s 2018 baseline was $812,000. That’s 58 percent more than Cumberland Road’s $472,000. 

“I have noted the level of discomfort, but you have to look at the needs of the entire county,” Assistant County Manager Tracey Jackson told the committee. 

“We are committed to this process,” Cannon added. 

Because all 15 rural fire departments operate independently, their individual boards of directors will also have to approve the new funding methods before county commissioners can act. The Public Safety Task Force meets next month, and county officials hope the fire chiefs will have their approvals by then. 

Fayetteville State University’s Department of Performing and Fine Arts presents its FSU Jazz Day Festival for middle school and high school jazz bands and jazz combos Saturday, April 6, from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. 

A concert featuring the Tia Fuller Jazz Quartet will take place at 7:30 p.m. at Seabrook Auditorium, which is located on the campus of the university. 

“The jazz festival started last year to basically help students in our region in the jazz field — to help develop jazz programs and to help develop more appreciation for jazz itself,” said Ronald Carter, coordinator of the jazz festival and distinguished professor in the Department of Performing and Fine Arts at FSU. “This year, I am bringing in Grammy-nominated Tia Fuller, who is a performing saxophonist for Beyoncé. She still plays and records around the world with different people.” 

The festival will include workshops, clinics and performances. “At 1:15 p.m., we will have jazz clinics presented by FSU’s jazz faculty and by Tia Fuller’s jazz group,” said Carter. “The workshops will be about how to use instruments to play jazz, how to develop the concepts, tone and language of jazz, how to play within the jazz ensemble and more.” 

Carter added the clinics will feature drums, saxophone, piano, clarinet, flute, trumpet, trombone and other jazz instruments. 

The first band will play at 8:30 a.m. “We will have high schools from South Carolina and North Carolina and two college groups playing,” said Carter. “We have Shaw University’s jazz band. Benedict College’s jazz band from Columbia, South Carolina, will play too.” 

Carter added that next year the jazz festival will be bigger and that he aims to eventually start having a historically black college jazz festival. 

“This event is educational and motivational — (it’s) a great mentorship opportunity and allows participants to meet the students (and) the jazz professors and music professors at Fayetteville State as well,” said Carter. “It is community outreach for the colleges that are coming in and also for the students that are coming in from other states as well as Raleigh and the surrounding areas.” 

All events before 5 p.m. will be free. The clinics are open to the public. The registration fee is $200 for each participating school. General admission for the Tia Fuller Jazz Quartet concert is $5 for students and $10 for adults. For more information, to register or obtain ticket information, email Carter at rcarter11@uncfsu.edu. Tickets can be purchased at www.etix.com. 

Photo: Tia Fuller

The Fayetteville Cumberland County Economic Development Corporation is a relatively new organization at just three years old. From partnerships to innovation to vision, this organization, along with its partners and the community, is bringing new ideas, development and dollars to Cumberland County and its municipalities. 

In 2018, FCEDC announced 750 new jobs from Campbell Soup Company and Booz Allen Hamilton, bringing $12.5 million in new investment to the community. Under its watch, downtown has seen more than $130 million in public and private investment, and a $37 million, 4,800-seat Astros A+ Minor League Stadium is nearing completion. The Fayetteville Regional Airport has seen $35 million in renovation, and a $12.6 million investment has delivered a state-of-the-art FAST Public Transportation Center, which operates seven days a week. 

Downtown is also now home to The CORE, an innovation corridor that connects talent, assets and resources and encourages innovation and entrepreneurship. These are just a few of the successes the FCEDC has played a part in. 

To hear Robert Van Geons tell it, these successes are all about teamwork, and this is just the beginning. Up & Coming Weeklyrecently interviewed Van Geons to hear more of his thoughts on the topic. 

Up & Coming Weekly:What is the Fayetteville Cumberland County Economic Development Corporation and why is it important? 

Robert Van Geons:We were established about three years ago. We’re a public-private partnership funded by the county, the city and the private sector, with the city and county being our biggest funders. We are a nonprofit, and our job is to help companies that are here grow and to attract new businesses to Cumberland County to create jobs and bring investment to our community. 

UCW:It seems like there are probably some challenges that come with that. 

Van Geons:We are a one-stop shop for economic development. We do everything from sites and buildings to marketing and promotion to existing industry support grants to incentives to working with the development community. 

This works because we have a lot of support from our elected leaders in the city and the county. We work well with the towns within the county, and the private sector has been incredibly supportive. … With their help, we’re starting to make some strides. 

At the end of the day, if this is successful, we are only a small part of it. It’s companies that make the investments. It’s the property owners that sell the land or the buildings. It’s the local officials that approve the incentives. It’s the citizens that show up to work. We’re the piece that tries to bring them all together. 

UCW:What do you think are some of the community’s strongest assets? 

Van Geons:Our people are our best asset. Additionally, we have a handful of really great attributes in this community. We have the youngest workforce in the Carolinas. We’re affordable as a place to do business and as a place to live. We are internationally diverse, with I think it’s 82 languages in our schools from 86 countries. 

And we are accessible. We are right along I-95. We have an airport and access to the Raleigh airport. We are near the deep-water ports in Wilmington. And we have both Class 1 rail providers and shortline rail in our community. 

It’s our people. It’s our location. It’s really the quality of our overall business environment. Those are our strengths. 

UCW:How have Fayetteville and Cumberland County grown in the last three to five years? 

Van Geons:We’ve had some recent announcements over the last few years and some exciting developments … but overall, I think we would be right to say that our community hasn’t grown as much or as quickly as we would like. 

And it’s something that we’re trying to build on the momentum of late. 

Recently, we’ve seen the Campbell’s Soup project in Cedar Creek, the $150 million-plus projects being built downtown, the completion of the work being done on I-295, the widening of I-95, the Booze Allen (Hamilton) announcements and more. So, we are building momentum. We’ve seen a lot of our vacant industrial space filled, and we have people looking to build new. 

However, we’ve seen relatively slow growth for the decade or so prior. 

Our towns are stepping up and investing in their communities as well — from Spring Lake to Hope Mills. We are working with Falcon and Godwin, and all the towns, on economic development efforts and strategies. That’s one thing our organization has as a priority — working collaboratively across all of Cumberland County. 

Just last week we had a meeting with representatives from all of the towns to talk about their individual economic development goals. We’ve been meeting with them individually since I arrived, and this was a time for us to bring them all together. We’re going to keep doing it every other month or so. 

And we’re doing some work around our airport, as well, and then looking at multi-modal transportation and development. There’s no single answer to being successful. It’s going to take the multi-dimensional approach. 

UCW:Do you think we will see some changes in the next five to 10 years? 

Van Geons:Absolutely, I do. I think we’re going to see continued to growth in technology fields, with companies like a ACLC and Worldwide Language Resources as examples, here in our downtown. 

Next-generation companies doing cyber security, virtual reality and distance learning are all going to be keys to that, and so we’re launching The CORE innovation center here. We’re seeing private sector developers, both locally and from well outside of our region, considering Cumberland County for new speculative development. 

The downtown project is transforming the way people think about our community. People are seeing and recognizing the economic potential and are starting to look at us with fresh eyes. We are hosting investors from Washington, D.C., and New York and Chicago and around the southeast frequently here. 

People are recognizing us as a great growth opportunity in a state that is growing. We don’t prosper alone in North Carolina. The momentum built by cities like Charlotte and Raleigh and Durham rubs off on us. We’re looking to leverage that. 

UCW:How do you get different businesses and organizations to work together for the greater good and a better future? 

Van Geons:When talking about where we were to where we are, have we always been as collaborative as we should be? Probably not — in the past. But it is a new time here, and the city and county are working well together on economic development. 

And now we’ve got, as an example, nine organiza

tions raising over a quarter-million dollars toward developing a communitywide brand that we all can use and benefit from. This is part of setting a joint vision for this community and working toward it as we look at what is our best tomorrow for our citizens and ask ourselves how we can effectively convey that internally and externally. 

I think we do look at that on the workforce development side. … How do we attract talent? How do we retain talent? And how do we grow talent? And that is where we’re looking at creative things around recognizing that technology and rapid innovation will be the two major drivers of tomorrow’s economy. And so we are looking at ways to increase broadband access and extend broadband here. We are looking at ways to bring, keep and grow innovative companies and to attract next-generation technology firms to our community. 

We have got to ensure that all of our children have access to tomorrow’s economy, which will be decided by their level of engagement with technology. 

You are either integrated into the digital economy or you will be left behind, and we’re working hard on that to make sure no one gets left behind. I think the one thing we know for certain is that tomorrow’s workplace will evolve exponentially more rapidly. … The No. 1 skill that the next generation worker will need will be the ability to continually learn and adapt to a changing world. 

We have another initiative going on with the workforce development board that I am co-chair of. It is a next-generation sector partnership.... We’re working with … employers to identify their talent needs multiple years in advance, so that we can work to train up our people to fill those jobs well in advance of those vacancies getting here. 

Whether you are truck driving or you’re working with our utility providers, the graying of the workforce is real. And those are opportunities for our citizens today and tomorrow to have gainful employment versus recruiting new talent to fill that from outside. 

UCW:Thinking about the future sounds like a fun part of your job. 

Van Geons:I enjoy it. With SEGRA coming into town and PWC’s dark fiber and us launching The Core, which you can check out at www.corefayetteville.com, I am optimistic. I believe we need to be an innovation corridor. Sen. Kirk deViere and Rep. John Szoka have both supported this. 

Between what happens in the private sector and Fayetteville State University, Fayetteville Technical Community College, Fort Bragg and Methodist University, we have the potential to be a leader in applied innovation — from drones to cyber to robotics to game learning. We have all of those things happening here in our community today. 

We also need to tell our story better internally and externally, and that’s part of the branding initiative we are working on. 

UCW:How do you lay the groundwork for attracting new businesses? 

Van Geons:Before the end of the month, we will cross the 1,000-job mark and around $65 million dollars in total investment through our projects since I’ve been here, which is 26 months. 

I think that’s a real positive start for us when you talk about results, but we can have exponentially more happening. And we want more. So, how do we do that? Part of it is having sites and buildings. … We work with the state and with industrial brokers around the southeast and promote our community at events and trade shows. 

We work with our existing industry to help them help us find out about customers or suppliers that would be interested in being here. 

UCW:What is your dream for Fayetteville and Cumberland County, and do you think we can pull it off? 

Van Geons:I believe we can be the community where all our citizens can build a better economic future for themselves and, more importantly, for the next generation. We can be a place where generational equity is built, meaning the next generation has a better tomorrow than we did — regardless of how they came to Fayetteville. 

UCW:What do you see as this community’s biggest challenge as far as economic development? 

Van Geons:I think we need to continue to push forward. One of the most transformative things we could do is to find ways to help those who have suffered from chronic unemployment to get back in the workforce. 

We are doing this with things like the expungement clinics and by developing and implementing training programs that are accessible and yield direct employment for people. We have employers looking for workers. We also have people looking for work — but when they don’t have the skills, the jobs go unfilled. 

We need to confront the issues we face. Whether it is the opioid crisis or children not succeeding in school, it is about helping build a path for people who have been chronically unemployed. That will change so much of our economic landscape. 

We need to continue to focus on economic development. And it will take years, not days. We need to have faith in our leadership. That’s a start. 

We are especially grateful for support we receive from the city, the county and our board. Anything good we are accomplishing is because of them and our private sector partners.

Fayetteville Technical Community College’s Association of Students for Social Justice is in its early beginnings; the group has existed for less than a year now. Members are delighted at what they have accomplished in the community in such a short time, and they look forward to what the upcoming year has in store. 

The ASSJ originated in the FTCC Sociology Department with the idea of connecting FTCC students with the local community to build meaningful relationships, create positive social change and help those in need. Members can develop their professional growth, explore their interests in socially relevant issues and participate in community activism. 

The club is a student-led group that includes a multi-disciplinary team of FTCC students and faculty. It has student members from a variety of majors as well as faculty members from various disciplines. Its goal is to remain diverse by welcoming all students, faculty and staff. 

Members of the club have been involved in several activities throughout the year. These include participating in the March for Our Lives rally held in Cumberland County last March and, most recently, the Rally for the Environment held in Cumberland County this past October. Members have also been active directly at FTCC through participation in various campus events, including FTCC Student Government Association’s “Olympic games,” a fun part of SGA’s campuswide festivities for the Spring Fling and Fall Fling. 

Most recently, the ASSJ was active at the FTCC Fall Festival by helping students register to vote for the November midterm elections. 

The club also provides students with information regarding service-learning and community engagement opportunities. Throughout the year, ASSJ leaders provided students with opportunities to learn and participate in events like the 12th Annual Prevention of Child Abuse Conference, the Very Special Arts Festival, the Dogwood Festival and, most recently, the United Way Community Stand-down event. Club members are encouraged to participate in events they are passionate about and share their experiences with other members. 

For the 2018 holiday season, the club collaborated with Seth’s Wish in Fayetteville. Seth’s Wish was established when a 9-year-old boy first asked his mom about helping the homeless. Seth’s Wish is community-based and focuses on combatting issues of hunger and homelessness in Fayetteville. 

ASSJ members share the goal of creating a service-learning culture at FTCC to help students use their academic and social interests to foster community involvement. Students who are hands-on in the community will have the advantage of learning cultural awareness, critical thinking and civic responsibility. 

Students also benefit from participating in the ASSJ because their involvement can be listed on résumé s when preparing for job opportunities. 

The ASSJ is just one of many clubs at FTCC. For readers who are considering taking classes, learn more or register now at www.faytechcc.edu or visit the Fayetteville, Spring Lake or Fort Bragg campus locations. 

Questions about the Association of Students for Social Justice can be directed to Karen Boyd at boydk@faytechcc.edu or Pamela Collins at collinsp@faytechcc.edu. 

I have seen the future, and it’s spooky. You may have seen it, too, if you watch cable news morning shows. I was half awake, having only consumed a half-cup of coffee, as the TV blared on about the latest horrors. Mercifully, a commercial appeared where everyone was happy. Usually, news shows are sponsored by Big Pharma, pushing some drug to cure some dread disease — or pushing a drug to get you off the drug they sold you to cure a dread disease. 

I’m looking at you, Sackler Family, purveyors of Oxycontin. You have to listen to the ugly side effects of the drug du jour while the people in the commercial are having no side effects at all. 

This commercial was different. The people were having a great time. They were skipping long lines, getting on uncrowded airplanes, going to see sporting events and moving with the “speed of life,” as the ad said. 

Wow. I want to move at the speed of life. Can I become one of these happy, peppy people who don’t have to wait in line like the commoners? Where do I sign up? There appear to be no side effects from this wonderful product, unlike Big Pharma’s narcotics. 

The wonderful new product is brought to you by a company I shall rename Acme BioCooties in honor of Wile E. Coyote. Acme BioCooties takes you to the head of the line. 

Acme BioCooties is a biometric identification company. It is the digital version of 23andMe, the DNA/ancestry testing company that’s been all the rage lately. Instead of spitting in a vial, send Acme your fingerprints and a scan of your eyeballs. You go to the head of the class, or at least the front of the line. 

Tired of having to show pesky personal identification documents? Just sashay over to the Acme Biometric Approval 500 Machine. Take a loving look into the Ghost in the Machine’s eye scanner and press your fingertips on a finger reader. If Big Brother likes what he sees, you can skip the line. 

This leaves all the little people in line admiring, envying and hating you for your line-skipping status. All animals are equal, some are just more equal than others. In the meantime, ask yourself the musical question: “Have I sold my soul and identity for the ability to skip other people in line?” 

Acme brags it is currently at more than 40 airports and all major league baseball parks. Acme converts the images of your eyeballs and fingertips into a series of encrypted ones and zeros “that is unique to you and only you.” 

What a dandy brave new world. I always wanted to be converted into a series of encrypted ones and zeros. This is the goal of all humanity: to be an encrypted number. Tattooed numbers on arms and identity papers are old hat. Biometrics will make it all so much easier to move along, track, and if we get a bit out of line, to control. 

What could go wrong? 

Acme proudly reports it has been approved by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. That should make you feel warm and fuzzy. Acme asks: “Are you ready to be unstoppable? Imagine every place you customarily show ID to gain entry. Now imagine Acme ID.” Acme is also seeking partners to use its biometric identifier. “It will strengthen security, increase fraud protection with real time data and analyze and leverage real-time customer data.” 

As Jerry Lewis once sang at his MDA telethons, “You’ll never walk alone.” 

Acme says it is always thinking about new applications powered by biometrics like “checking into doctor’s office at the tap of a finger” or paying for stuff with your finger prints. 

The website says more than 20 million people have already signed up to be ones and zeroes. The basic price is $179 a year until you run out of money. Your biometric numbers are encrypted and securely stored in the cloud. And as we all know, the cloud is safe from being hacked. You don’t believe me? Ask the North Koreans, or a 16-year-old hacker. 

On second thought, don’t ask. 

Already, some stores no longer take cash, requiring credit cards. A few cities have passed ordinances outlawing cashless stores as not everyone can obtain a credit card. Too bad for the poor people. The poor have no credit cards to buy bread? As Marie Antoinette said, “Let them eat nonbiometric cake.” Most people, excepting Captain Hook, have fingers for Acme. 

So, what have we learned today? When biometrics takes hold, rich people won’t have to wait in line. Be like Esau. Sell your soul and identity for a mess of pottage in the form of line-skipping. 

Once biometrics becomes universal, it will do away with cash. Let your fingers and eyes do the walking through the speed of life. Just hope that you don’t run afoul of Big Brother’s rules. He might terminate your biometric identity. It could be difficult to buy vittles if you can’t pass the eye scan test because you’ve been cancelled. 

Perhaps being an encrypted series of ones and zeroes may not turn out as well as one might hope. 

Big Brother is watching you. Big Brother loves you. He grants and taketh away your encrypted number. Don’t make waves. You’d better be good for goodness sakes — especially if you like to eat or want to buy anything. 

Is it just one more small-town business that has closed its doors? 

Or is there more to it? 

For North Carolina barbecue lovers, last week’s closure of Wilber’s in Goldsboro was like the loss of a family member. 

Wilber’s has been on my list of favorite eateries for many years. And it would be in the top two or three barbecue restaurants in this state on a list made by any barbecue expert. 

There are lots of reasons. First, Wilber’s and its owner, Wilber Shirley, had been in business since 1962 when he bought Hill’s Barbecue. Second, and arguably most important, he still cooked the old-fashioned way, over pits with wood coals and all night, slowly, carefully cooking whole hogs. The real barbecue experts say this makes all the difference. In his classic book “Tar Heel Barbecue,” Jim Early opined, “The name Wilber’s and Eastern North Carolina barbecue are synonymous.” 

Another contributor to Wilber’s long-time success was his location on U.S. 70, right on the pathway of vacationers traveling to the coast. But in 2016 the opening of a bypass around Goldsboro changed that. It certainly made a big difference. As Wilber told local television back then, “Well of course, it’s something nobody like a businessman would be jumping up and down about.” 

Then he added, “It’s something we can’t help, so we face the issue and whatever comes.” 

We hoped that Wilber’s commitment to the careful and grueling process of old-fashioned cooking over wood coals would still draw customers off the new highway bypass. 

Wilber’s pitmasters were legendary. In his book “North Carolina Barbecue: Flavored by Time,” Bob Garner described how pitmaster Ike Green “would build a fire of stacked oak logs in the fireplace. He let the fire burn down to coals for an hour or so as he trundled a wheelbarrow between the pit house and the restaurant building, loading the 40 or 50 half-pigs he would cook that night onto the pits, where they would slow-roast for nine hours.” 

Wilber’s and other classic barbecue houses have always attracted political gatherings. Visiting politicians, if they were smart, called on Wilber Shirley. Sometimes he was active in supporting some candidates. In 1984, he was serving as treasurer for Rufus Edmisten’s campaign for governor. One morning Wilber read that Rufus had told reporters he was through with barbecue. Rufus says his first call about his unfortunate comment came from Wilbur. 

John Shelton Reed, co-author of “Holy Smoke: The Big Book of North Carolina Barbecue” and champion of slow-cooking over wood coals, mourned, “Another of the greats is gone. Real North Carolina barbecue was already an endangered species. Soon it may be just a memory.” 

There is something else we are losing. Wilber’s was a community gathering place where friendships were enhanced and great memories created, treasured memories similar to those shared by Gov. Roy Cooper at last week’s Main Street Conference in Salisbury. Cooper remembered riding his bike downtown in Nashville, North Carolina, for visits to the barbershop and drugstore and with the people who packed the then-thriving downtown. He said, “Our small towns and rural communities are wonderful places to live, work and raise a family.” 

But as Scott Huler sadly points out in his new book “A Delicious Country: Rediscovering the Carolinas along the Route of John Lawson’s 1700 Expedition,” our state’s rural and small-town landscapes are struggling, “littered with empty manufacturing plants, corporate farms and forests, empty main streets and deserted houses.” 

Real barbecue restaurants and small towns: Do all you can to preserve them, and do not miss any opportunity to enjoy them now before they are gone. 

It was about 15 years ago when Aneisha McMillan had an idea for a product she wanted to launch and needed a public relations firm to give her plan a boost. The problem was, she couldn’t afford to hire someone. So, she did the next best thing. She taught herself how to do it. 

That self-training launched a new career for the Michigan-born McMillan, and now she’s bringing her business to a new storefront location on Trade Street in Hope Mills. 

Her business, Oink Agency, will share space with her husband, Shaun McMillan’s, Drama Lab, a video audition business geared toward aspiring actors. Shaun, a retired Army ranger, is an actor with multiple film and TV credits on his resume. 

Aneisha said her career in public relations snowballed after she was able to land products she was promoting on “Good Morning America” and other outlets. 

“I started getting calls from other entrepreneurs who said, ‘Hey, how did you do that?’ she said. “They started asking, ‘can you do it for me?’ It turned into an actual career.’’ 

The flying pig logo that adorns the door of her new location on Trade Street is a symbol of McMillan’s attitude toward life. 

“My entire family has an affinity for flying pigs,’’ she said. “For us, the meaning is anything imaginable is possible if you believe in yourself, believe in your dreams. The flying pig is the embodiment of that notion. Impossible things happen every day.’’ 

McMillan said her favorite clients are what she calls mom and pop shops. “They are fiercely driven and so passionate,’’ she said. 

Her biggest client for now is the Halloween and Costume Association, a group of merchants who specialize in Halloween-related products including costumes and candy. 

Last fall, McMillan collaborated with the HCA on a promotion with supermodel Heidi Klum, who was proclaimed the queen of Halloween. 

McMillan also helped promote a national push of a petition on change.org to get people to support a permanent move of the celebration of Halloween annually to the final Saturday in October. 

McMillan lives in the Gray’s Creek area and decided to open a storefront for her business in Hope Mills. “I love Hope Mills and love the lake,’’ she said. “I’m really excited it’s back in action. 

“This area is amazing, and Trade Street is very nostalgic. The history behind it is pretty rich. The building itself is a great building, over 100 years old.’’ 

Married with six children, the 44-year-old said she found solitude at home something tough to come by, so she came up with the idea of opening an office to get a little privacy. 

“It’s definitely hard to grow as a one-person show,’’ she said. “Here, I hope I can expand, bring on some more clients and some employees.’’ 

McMillan said the basic offerings of her business are public relations and marketing. “I’m the person to come to for big ideas,’’ she said. 

Even companies with in-house public relations staff have called on her, she said, looking for bigger ideas or things they’ve never thought of. 

“My kids say I make folks famous for a living,’’ she said. “I don’t know if that’s quite true, but it’s a pretty good explanation of what it is, marketing to put together multi-faceted campaigns to help people get the message out about their product via social media or direct to the media.’’ 

To find out specifics about what McMillan’s business has to offer, visit www.oinkagency.com. 

McMillan said while she will have an office open to the public at her new place of business, it won’t have 9-to-5 operating hours. 

“We’re not a traditional retail storefront,’’ she said. She will use the space as needed to meet clients in person, and her husband will also use it for videotaping auditions for his Drama Lab business. 

“Clients that want to talk should shoot me an email or call,’’ McMillan said. 

Her email address is aneisha@oinkagency.com. Her phone number is 910-849-9003. 

Photo: Aneisha McMillan

The health of Cumberland County residents is improving, but a new statistical report of Cumberland County’s overall health ranking leaves a lot of unanswered questions — mostly in the “why” category. The report indicates overall health outcomes improved slightly from 75 to 73 of North Carolina’s 100 counties. The rankings were released by “County Health Rankings,” a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute program. 

Health rankings provide a comparison of the overall health of nearly every county in the nation and how a community’s overall ranking is influenced by the length and quality of life, health behaviors, clinical care, social and economic factors and physical environment. 

“Community health rankings are a useful tool from a public health perspective,” said Duane Holder, interim Cumberland County health director. “It shows that community partners need to work together because many of these factors cannot be addressed on the individual level. The rankings show us where we live matters.” 

Cumberland County scored high in the area of clinical care, ranking 40th in the state. Data indicates, however, that the percentage of county residents who are uninsured is less than the state. They also show that the county’s patient-to-provider ratios, to include dental and mental health care, are lower than the state average. 

Cumberland County saw a decrease in premature deaths and improvement in the “length of life” category. The rankings also indicated areas for improvement, including smoking and adult obesity. The Health Department has identified exercise, nutrition and weight and respiratory disease as two of the nine priority areas as part of the 2019 Community Health Needs Assessment process. 

These priorities also include: access to health services; economy; immunizations and infectious diseases; occupational and environmental health; other chronic diseases; public safety; respiratory disease; and substance abuse. The Health Department will focus on these priorities over the next three years. 

Sexually transmitted disease rates in the county declined from the previous year but still show a need for improvement. In October, the Sexually Transmitted Disease Clinic at the Health Department extended its hours on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Regular hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The clinic also increased its community outreach efforts. 

The department is seeking the public’s opinion in the ranking of importance of the priorities. “A good health status … influences the county in all aspects of daily living,” said Holder. Residents are asked to take a few minutes to complete a survey online. To access the survey in English, go to surveymonkey.com/r/CCDPHCHNA. For a Spanish version, go to surveymonkey.com/r/CCDPHCHNAS. 

The full rankings are available at www.countyhealthrankings.org. 

More information about the Cumberland County Department of Public Health’s programs and services, health-related data or community resources are available by phone at 910-433-3600. Or, visit the information desk at the health department office building, 1235 Ramsey St. The website is co.cumberland. nc.us/health.aspx. Comments are welcome and can be submitted on the website at co.cumberland.nc.us/ feedback.