The Department of Defense’s $7 billion boom in new, major construction projects on bases in North Carolina is now history. However, new construction at Fort Bragg, Camp Lejeune, Cherry Point and other installations remains strong — the third highest in the country for fiscal year 2020 at $616.3 million. Military installations are also turning to operation and maintenance funding to execute additional sustainment projects on existing facilities, and hurricane recovery work may drive military-related construction spending to new highs.

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Sustaining, restoring and modernizing existing infrastructure will be a primary strategy for bases in North Carolina to address their facility needs for the foreseeable future. Operation and maintenance-funded work provides new opportunities for North Carolina construction-related businesses capable of executing small, mid-size and even large sustainment, restoration and modernization projects either as prime, also called general, or sub, also called specialty, contractors. 

Additionally, the destruction caused by Hurricanes Florence and Matthew in 2018 provided additional opportunities for the construction industry. Naval Facilities Engineering Command Mid-Atlantic recently announced a $1.7 billion program to restore Camp Lejeune and Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point due to these hurricanes. The impact of Hurricane Dorian — either in new damage or exacerbating old damage — has not yet been determined. 

To connect businesses in North Carolina to these opportunities, the offices of Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C.,  and Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C.,  and the NCMBC will co-host the 2019 Southeast Region Federal Construction, Infrastructure & Environmental Summit at the Wilmington Convention Center on Oct. 23-24. The Summit is the premier, best-established and most-recognized federal construction event in the Southeast — businesses that are already engaged or want to perform in the federal market should attend.

The Summit brings together over 700 representatives of the Corps of Engineers, NAVFAC, Fort Bragg, Marine Corps Installations East, Seymour Johnson AFB, other Army, Air Force, Navy and USMC installations, the U.S. Coast Guard, Department of Veterans Affairs, General Services Administration, other federal agencies and construction-related contractors from throughout the Southeastern United States.

Attendance is encouraged for general and specialty contractors, design firms, construction supply firms and companies  provide facility-support contracts. The businesses must work in Virginia, N.C., South Carolina, Georgia and/or Florida.  Current federal contractors seeking partners and suppliers are also welcome.

For more information on The Summit, visit: https://summit.ncmbc.us or contact the North Carolina Military Business Center (www.ncmbc.us).

The North Carolina Military Business Center is a business development entity of the North Carolina Community College System, headquartered at Fayetteville Technical Community College. The mission of the NCMBC is to leverage military and other federal business opportunities to expand the economy, grow jobs and improve quality of life in North Carolina. The NCMBC’s primary goal is to increase federal revenues for businesses in North Carolina. The Department of Defense has an annual impact of $66 billion and is the second largest sector of North Carolina’s economy at  — 12% GDP.  With six major military bases, 116 National Guard and 40 Army Reserve facilities and the third highest number of uniformed military personnel in the country, the state of North Carolina created the NCMBC to leverage opportunities with these installations, DOD commands and federal agencies operating worldwide.

Reprinted with permission from The Stanly News & Press

The North Carolina High School Athletic Association has put the North Stanly High School cheerleaders on probation for the rest of the football season for their part in holding up a Trump banner during the Aug. 30 game against Piedmont.

The Aug. 30 incident happened before the game began, when some of the North cheerleaders and a couple other individuals gathered for a photo. A cheerleader and a young male held up a banner that read “Trump 2020 ‘Make America Great Again.'” The photo circulated on Facebook after a North teacher posted it.

After talking with the central office, and since the incident appeared on social media and caused people to feel uncomfortable, the NCHSAA took a greater look at it.

“One of the rules we have is that every contest should be conducted in a wholesome, athletic environment,” North Carolina High School Athletic Association Commissioner Que Tucker said. “We take that to mean that it’s in an environment where good sportsmanship is shown, where people feel safe … that respect for all people participating is being shown.”

Due to the fact the incident caused concern for many and helped create a negative athletic environment, according to Tucker, the NCHSAA decided to reprimand the cheerleaders by putting them on probation.

Superintendent Dr. Jeff James said Dean Shatley, of Shatley and Campbell law firm, reviewed the NCHSAA’s decision and felt it was appropriate.

James said the school system did not discipline any of the students because there were no violations of the student code of conduct. He said school officials will likely update the code to include rules against political campaigning on school campuses during sporting events.

Following multiple media reports about the North Stanly incident and a letter sent to the NCHSAA from Congressman Richard Hudson regarding the matter, Que Tucker, NCHSAA Commissioner, released the following clarification:
While the NCHSAA does not have a specific policy prohibiting the display of political advertisements at athletic events, the behavior was contrary to the NCHSAA’s “Philosophy of Cheerleading” in the NCHSAA Handbook. This philosophy emphasizes the cheerleader’s important role in representing the school to its fans and others in attendance in a positive manner, while eliciting appropriate support for their team in accordance with the spirit and letter of NCHSAA and local school policies and expectations.

It is our understanding that Stanly County Schools has a policy against political advertisements on campus or at school events. It is also our understanding that Stanly County Schools does not make political endorsements. As the district officials related in their release yesterday, ‘Because the cheerleaders were in uniform and were acting as representatives of the school, the display of the sign could be perceived as the school or school system endorsing a political campaign."

NCHSAA probation, in and of itself, is not a punishment. It serves as a notice of behavior or action that is against NCHSAA Handbook Policy or contrary to expectations of sportsmanship and proper behavior. Should infractions occur during a probation period at a member school or within a team at a member school, additional sanctions such as fines or suspensions could be implemented. In the aforementioned instance, opportunities for participation were neither eliminated nor limited.

 The decision to place the cheerleaders on probation was made to highlight the NCHSAA’s philosophy of cheerleading as well as Stanly County Schools’ local district policy on political endorsements by individuals representing the school. The NCHSAA has no comment on the letter released by Representative Hudson.”

Editor's Note: Late Friday afternoon, the Stanly County Schools announced that because of new safety concerns in the wake of the school’s cheerleaders being placed on probation, Friday’s Sept. 20 home football game with China Grove Carson was postponed to Saturday morning, Sept. 21.

Pictured: Que Tucker

Linda Lockamy is gearing up to put on the 10th Tee It Up For MS Charity Golf Tournament. It will be held Friday, Oct. 11, at Cypress Lakes Golf Course.

But Lockamy’s passion for the event is just as strong as it was at the first one in 2009.

That’s because her commitment to raising money for the fight against multiple sclerosis is personal, starting 18 years ago when her daughter, Mandy Lockamy, was first diagnosed with the disease.

Currently in remission, the younger Lockamy’s condition has been improved by an assortment of MS drugs, including an infusion of a new medication a few years ago that nearly halted the disease in its tracks.

But as Linda Lockamy noted, while Mandy’s condition is improved, she’s not cured. She continues to take medication for headaches and fatigue related to the MS, and she takes a special medicine designed to help her walk.

Many of her treatments have come from the research that money from events like the golf tournament have helped to fund. Since it was created, Linda Lockamy said the tournament has raised about $72,000 for the fight against the disease.

For Linda Lockamy, it all started in 2002 when friends of Mandy told her about the local MS Walk. Linda formed a team and has participated in the walk ever since.

But she wanted to do more, and she got her chance when she got a call from the former Beef O’Brady’s restaurant about sponsoring a charity golf tournament.

The original plan was for the benefit to rotate among local charities, and MS would be the focal charity once every three or four years.

While she appreciated the help, Lockamy soon realized one tournament every three or four years wasn’t enough.

“There were so many people in that first golf tournament that knew people with MS, we said we can’t wait three or four years,’’ she said. “We need to do this every year.’’

And that’s what happened, save for one year when Mandy Lockamy was undergoing treatments. Since the first tournament in 2009, save that one year, the MS golf tournament has been held every October at Cypress Lakes Golf Course.

“We’ve got people that have played in every tournament,’’ Lockamy said. “I have people call me in late summer asking when the tournament is and do you have it scheduled yet.’’

The cost of this year’s tournament is $300 for a four-man team. The entry fee includes lunch, a goody bag, beverages and a dinner.

Registration opens at 11 a.m. the day of the tournament with a noon shotgun start.

While the deadline for registering is one week before the tournament is held, Lockamy said individual players often show up the day of the tournament to see if they can get on a team and no one has been turned away.

For those who don’t play golf, some companies have paid sponsorship fees for first responders, allowing them to play. Hole sponsorships are also available for $100 a hole. If a team in the tournament sponsors a hole, the cost of the sign is only $50.

Registration forms are available at the Cypress Lakes clubhouse and on Lockamy’s Facebook page, Linda Swanson Lockamy. You can email her at swanlock74@aol.com or call 910-977-8662.

Pictured: Amanda Lockamy 

Publisher’s Note: There’s always something to do in Cumberland County! This past week was a perfect example of the diverse activities that are happening. We have theatres, festivals, car shows and even events celebrating the accomplishments of service organizations in our community. The Vision Resource Center, over the weekend, brought the community together in Downtown Fayetteville to thank them for their support and to raise money for the continuation of their relentless service to our blind and sight-impaired population. This kind of activity is popping up all over the county. I am yielding my space to Earl Vaughan, Jr. who has discovered an emerging cultural organization in Hope Mills. Their projects are aimed at enhancing the arts and cultural awareness in Hope Mills as well as the quality of life for its citizens. Without a doubt, Hope Mills ROCKS! Thanks for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

It could be said that the Hope Mills Creative Arts Council is off to a rocky start. Fortunately, it’s in a positive way.

The newly created arts council recently got the help of a couple of local Girl Scout troops to introduce itself to the Hope Mills area and recruit more artists and volunteers to grow the organization.

This past weekend, the council held a rock-painting event to create miniature works of art that will be given away at the upcoming Ole Mill Days at Hope Mills Municipal Park.

“We were trying to come up with something we could do to announce our presence and be a small part of Ole Mill Days,’’ said Elizabeth Blevins, executive director of the council and a contributing writer to Up & Coming Weekly.
“We have a small budget so we invited Girl Scout troops to come paint rocks,’’ Blevins said. “Painting them and hiding them in parks is a big thing at the moment.’’

The arts council provided the Girl Scouts from troops 1147 and 2147 the rocks and the paint to create the miniature art works.

Blevins said the council has also teamed up with other civic organizations that will work with the members of the arts council the night before Ole Mill Days on Saturday, Oct. 5 and hide the rocks around Municipal Park on Rockfish Road where most of the Ole Mill Days activities will be held.

“They will be able to find the rocks and this will let them know we are there,’’ Blevins said.

The public is welcome to keep the rocks or hide them again for someone else to find at a future date.

Blevins said one of the rocks she’ll be hiding was one she and her husband Jim found during a recent visit to Calabash. “Sometimes it’s about moving them from place to place, the joy of having found them and being able to distribute them,’’ she said.

For further information on the Hope Mills Creative Arts Council, visit its Facebook page of the same name. The staff is working on a website and will provide the name of it on the Facebook page as soon as it’s available.

“We are always excited to hear from artists, musicians, performers, volunteers and people who just want to be involved,’’ Blevins said.

To contact the group directly, email to hopemillscac@gmail.com or call Blevins at 910-853-4539.

Ole Mill Days, the annual Hope Mills community festival that celebrates the town’s rich history as a mill village with a wide variety of family-related activities, returns at the slightly earlier date this fall of Saturday, Oct. 5.

Meghan Freeman, assistant director of programs and events for the Hope Mills Parks and Recreation Department, said the change in the date was made to avoid a conflict with Fayetteville’s annual Dogwood Festival.

“Historically it’s been toward the end of October,’’ Freeman said of Ole Mill Days. “We looked at the calendars for surrounding areas and it didn’t seem like there were any big, big events that would be a conflict.’’

Freeman said the event is a way for families to enjoy the community and see the assortment of family-related activities the town has to offer that day.

“There are a lot of activities for the kids as well as vendors and food trucks,’’ she said.

Hours for most activities at Ole Mill Days will be from noon until 6:30 p.m. Interactive events for the children will be from noon until 4 p.m.

One new feature of the event will be a 105-foot inflatable zipline. There will also be a bungee trampoline.

The traditional petting zoo will also be featured. Provided by It’s A Zoo Life, the zoo typically includes a lemur, an alpaca, a kangaroo, a mini-horse, a goat, a sulcata or spurred tortoise, a capybara (the world’s largest rodent), a mara (a rabbit-like animal), a fennec fox (a small fox with big ears) or a llama. The selection of animals varies due to availability from week to week, Freeman said.

Ole Mill Days will coincide with the town’s final monthly Good2Grow Farmer’s Market of the year, which will be held from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.

For the adults, Dirtbag Ales will sponsor a beer garden.

There will be two live bands performing, Upscale N Casual at 1:30 p.m. and Rivermist at 4:30 p.m. Upscale N Casual primarily features smooth jazz. Rivermist performs classic rock and is described as a variety party band.
They have been voted Best Local Band for the last three years in Up & Coming Weekly’s Best of Fayetteville survey.

An annual feature of Ole Mill Days will be the reunion for the millworkers from Hope Mills. It will be hosted at Town Hall from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m.

Primary parking areas for the event will be at Rockfish Elementary School across the street from the Town Hall and Municipal Park complexes, as well as behind Fields 4, 5 and 6 at Municipal Park, as well as the public library.
Tables and chairs will be provided, but the public is welcome to bring its own portable chairs Freeman said.

Those planning to attend should not bring coolers or alcoholic beverages. All of the activities will be free of charge, excluding the things being sold by the vendors and the food trucks.

For any questions, contact the Parks and Recreation Department at 910-426-4109.

A few weeks back, I wrote about riding to Sturgis, some of the preparations I did beforehand and some ideas to help make your future rides more comfortable and enjoyable. Today, let us talk about after the ride.

 For Sturgis, we rode over 4,500 miles. When I returned, I unpacked and let her sit for a few days. My bike, named Traveler, was pretty dirty. A few days later, I washed her off and then brought her into the garage and broke out my cleaning supplies and my tool kit.

 I usually start from the top to bottom. I remove the windshield and set it aside. Then I apply Honda Spray Cleaner and Polish around the bike to give a sharp-looking polish and clean. I have used this product for years. More recently, I have bought it by the case on Amazon. It does a beautiful job of cleaning my bike, plus it makes me touch every square inch of the bike.

 As I go over every inch of Traveler, I take my tools and ensure that every nut and bolt is tight. During your travels, something will inevitably start to come loose. This little preventive maintenance will save you a lot of time and money down the road if something pops off.

 As I use my bike's tool kit, I am also checking to make sure that I have every tool I need for it. This trip, I discovered I was missing a #4 metric Allen wrench. Having a couple of bikes, I also put colored tape around each of my tools to make sure that I have the right tool for the right bike.

I use window cleaner on the windshield and replace it on the bike.

Lastly, I take the GPS off and download my route and any extra waypoints I saved and clear up my GPS's memory.

 Once the bike is finished, I know she is ready for our next adventure.

If there is a topic that you would like to discuss, you can contact me at motorcycle4fun@aol.com. Ride safe!

The number of people using the Post-9/11 GI Bill has fallen substantially for each of the past two fiscal years, federal data indicates. About 54,000 fewer people used the GI Bill in fiscal 2017 and 2018, a 7% decline both years, according to data from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Officials of veteran service organizations, and some of the schools that enroll the greatest numbers of GI Bill users, said they’re not overly concerned about the falling GI Bill usage — at least not yet. Fayetteville Technical Community College has been ranked No. 2 by Military Times in its “Best for Vets: Career & Technical Colleges.” Schools like FTCC, which have put the most thought and effort into tailoring programs and policies around veterans’ unique experiences, have experienced growth.

Experts offered several possible explanations for declining enrollments, including more vets earning degrees, GI Bill rules that could be discouraging vets from using the benefit and the strong national economy. Meanwhile, public universities continued to account for most GI Bill students. “A lot more of the public and the not-for-profit private schools are offering distance education now,” said James Schmeling, executive vice president of Student Veterans of America.
For years, the for-profit University of Phoenix has enrolled more GI Bill users than any other institution, but it has seen plummeting GI Bill enrollment recently. In fiscal year 2018, the school shed more than 5,940 Post-9/11 GI Bill students — about 21% — dropping to 22,428 such students. The school declined to answer questions about its falling GI Bill enrollment.

The recent overall drops in GI Bill usage in fiscal 2018, among all universities, mirror a similar trend affecting military tuition assistance, which saw usage rates decline 6% from fiscal 2016 to 2017 and then go down another 2.5% from fiscal 2017 to 2018. The 7% declines charted in fiscal 2017 and fiscal 2018 were calculated by adding all schools’ GI Bill populations and comparing year-on-year changes.

Veterans Affairs did not respond to interview requests to discuss declining GI Bill usage.

In addition to enrollment losses, the amount of money spent on GI Bill benefits decreased by nearly $287 million in fiscal 2018 to about $4.6 billion, a 5.9% drop.

Officials offered a variety of theories to explain the falling numbers. “A reduction in beneficiaries may indicate more veterans successfully complete degrees and are moving into the workforce,” said John Aldrich, a vice president at the country’s fourth most popular GI Bill school, American Military University, a for-profit institution.

Another possible explanation Aldrich offered is that students may be turning away from the GI Bill because it shrinks their housing stipends if they attend school entirely online.

The Forever GI Bill, signed into law in August 2017, allowed anyone who left the military after January 2013 to use the GI Bill at any time in the future. Previously, all benefits had to be used within 15 years of separation. In addition, officials pointed to a common higher education trend: More people go to college to improve their job prospects in bad economies, while fewer go to school when the economy is strong.

Hurricane Florence was a powerful and long-lived Cape Verde hurricane that caused extensive damage in the Carolinas in September 2018, primarily as a result of freshwater flooding. Florence dropped 35.93 inches of rain in Elizabethtown, becoming the wettest tropical cyclone recorded in the Carolinas, as well as the eighth-wettest overall in the contiguous United States. The first major hurricane of the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season, Florence originated from a strong tropical wave that emerged off the West Coast of Africa. The system became a tropical storm on Sept. 1 and fluctuated in strength for several days over open ocean. Rapid intensification occurred on Sept. 4–5, culminating with Florence becoming a major Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph.

As forecast models indicated an increasing threat to the Southeastern United States, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper declared a state of emergency on Sept. 7. Transportation rules for farmers were waived to enable faster harvesting. President Donald Trump declared an emergency in North Carolina, granting the state access to federal funds. Strong wind shear then tore the storm apart, and by the evening of Sept. 13, Florence had been downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane, though the storm began to stall as it neared the Carolina coastline.

An overnight curfew was established in Lumberton for the duration of the hurricane. Early on Sept. 14, Florence made landfall just south of Wrightsville Beach and weakened further as it slowly moved inland. Despite making landfall as a weakened Category 1 hurricane, Florence still had enough wind speed to uproot trees and cause widespread power outages throughout the Carolinas. A ridge of high pressure over eastern North America stalled Florence’s forward motion for several days while making landfall.

This led to Florence moving forward at only 2–3 miles per hour; the storm continually dumped heavy rain along coastal areas from Sept. 13, when the outer rain bands first began to be felt, to Sept. 15, when the storm was still stalled out only a few miles west of Wilmington. Coupled with a large storm surge, this caused widespread flooding along a stretch of the North Carolina coast, from Wilmington to New Bern. As the storm moved inland, from Sept. 15 to 17, heavy rain caused widespread inland flooding in Fayetteville, Lumberton and Smithfield as major rivers, including the Cape Fear and Lumber, spilled over their banks.

Most major roads and highways in the area experienced some flooding, with large stretches of I-40, I-95 and US Route 70 remaining impassable for days after the storm had passed. The city of Wilmington was cut off entirely from the rest of the mainland by floodwaters. At least 54 deaths were attributed to the storm. Property damage and economic losses in the United States reached $24 billion. Estimated insured losses ranged between $4.8–5 billion. One preliminary estimate for North Carolina was nearly $17 billion, more than the damage from Hurricane Matthew and Hurricane Floyd combined.

The first major hurricane of the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season, Florence originated from a strong tropical wave that emerged off the West Coast of Africa.

Look down, look down that loathsome road and decide today’s question: Are e-cigarette companies worse than heroin pushers? At least with heroin, the first shot is free. Ponder this issue for a moment to divert you from deciding whether having to buy the ACC network from cable vision is a rip-off or merely an abomination. First, a brief tour through the candy-flavored mists of vaping history. In 2006, a Chinese company brought out an e-cigarette called the Ruyan V8. It was billed as a way to help people stop smoking tobacco. The Ruyan V8 sounds like either a vegetable health drink or a snazzy sports car that James Bond might have driven.

Gentle reader, perhaps you are curious about what vaping involves. The Ruyan began with simple tobacco flavored e-juice. This tobacco juice proved. E-cigs soon begat a variety of flavored e-juices. There are some pretty funky ingredients in e-juice.

Consider the components. E-juice contains sweet-tasting glycerol, which is also used in explosives and antifreeze. It has propylene glycol to create the beautiful and sophisticated clouds of vapor. Oils both natural and unnatural flavor the e-juice. Nicotine rounds out these taste treats. Nicotine provides the bracing addicting element that keeps vapers coming back for more. Fun fact: One e-juice pod is about the equivalent of a pack of cigarettes. The final ingredient is benzoic acid, a food preservative that has the added benefit of increasing the potency of the nicotine.

The ingredients in e-juice could have come from Shakespeare’s play Macbeth. Recall the witches hanging around the stew pot mixing up their own e-juice chanting: “Double, double toil and trouble/Fire burn and caldron bubble/Fillet of a fenny snake/In the caldron boil and bake/ Eye of newt, and toe of frog/Wool of bat, and tongue of dog/Adder’s fork, and blind-worm’s sting/Lizard’s leg, and owlet’s wing/For a charm of powerful trouble/Like a hell-broth boil and bubble/Double, double toil and trouble/Fire burn and caldron bubble.” I would take my chances with the witches’ brew before an e-pod.

Smokers put e-juice into the internal combustion engine of the vaporizer to impregnate their lungs with the deeply satisfying molecules of nicotine and the other delicious chemicals. This process of inhaling witch’s brew of e-juice by the addicted vaper is reminiscent of the scene in “Silence of the Lambs” where Buffalo Bill tells the captive lady in the pit: “It puts the lotion on its skin, or else it gets the hose again.” The vaper puts the e-juice in his lungs, or else he gets the nicotine shakes again.

Vaping is big business. “The Wall Street Journal” reports $7 billion of vaping went on in 2018 by 8 million adults and 5 million children. Unsurprisingly Big Tobacco is all over e-cigarettes. The Altria Group, which used to be named Phillip Morris, owns 35% of Juul — the leading seller of e-cigarettes. Juul runs full-page ads in “The Wall Street Journal,” saying it doesn’t want children to buy its product. Similarly, I, as a UNC fan, don’t want North Carolina State to get rid of a bad basketball coach, either.

Debate remains about whether the various e-cigarette companies are sincere about not selling their product to children. If you go on an e-cigarette website, you have to click on a box that says you are over 21 to buy e-cigarettes there. It’s the honor system. Clicking on the box is as effective as the old stickers on cigarette machines that said minors could not buy cigarettes from the machine. Consider the names of some flavored e-juices that various vaping companies used to entice underage buyers to purchase their products. I am not making these flavors up: Cool Mint, Mango, Crème Brûlée, Cool Cucumber, Fruit Medley, Chocolate, I Love Donuts- Blueberry, I Love Cookies, Vanilla Custard, Cinnablaze, Corn Flake Tart, Blueberry Jam, Baby Clouds, Blueberry Cobbler, Peanut Butter Cup, and Custard’s Last Stand. There are hordes of manly men out there wanting to smoke Baby Clouds e-cigarettes.

Here actual ad copy on an e-cigarette web site that doesn’t appear to be aimed at adults. To wit: “Many smokers who switch to vaping start out with tobacco flavors and move on to find delight in these sugary e-liquids, which are also available in seven or more nicotine levels. Many of these e-cig dessert flavors are available in our high-VG Ultimo Vapor E-Juice, including Napoleon’s Fave. When you vape it, it feels like you’re devouring a cone topped with a triple-scoop of vanilla, strawberry and chocolate ice cream that never melts! Vapers and former smokers can also find e-cig indulgence in our prefilled e-cig cartridges, where these dessert e-juices are among 150 flavors that come loaded up and ready to deliver you pure vaping pleasure.”

As Macbeth’s witches said: “Scale of dragon; tooth of wolf/ Witches’ mummy; maw and gulf/ Of the ravin’d salt-sea shark; Root of hemlock digg’d in the dark; Sliver’d in the moon’s eclipse/ Nose of Turk and Tartar’s lips/ Make the gruel thick and slab;/ Add thereto a tiger’s chaudron/ For the ingredients of our cauldron/ Cool it with a baboon’s blood/ Then the charm is fine and good.”

Take a puff; it’s summertime. Enjoy the pure vaping pleasure of the hell-broth.

The Arts Council of Fayetteville and Cumberland County will host the 41st International Folk Festival Sept. 28 and 29. IFF packs an amazing amount of diversity into the two-day festival.

The longest running festival in the region gives the Arts Council an opportunity to introduce Fayetteville to the unique variety of original artistic traditions from dozens of diverse cultures. Fort Bragg brings many people to our community from all over the world so many of these cultures are represented in the Fayetteville community.

The festival kicks off Saturday at 10:30 a.m. with the Parade of Nations on Hay Street. Experience the distinct and vibrant cultures of more than 30 nations as representatives parade down Hay Street wearing their native dress.

Following the parade, head to Festival Park and take in seven unique cultural performance areas with craft and food vendors. Enjoy authentic cuisine, live performances, arts, crafts and vendors from around the world.

Saturday night’s festivities include Rocksplosion! — the ultimate rock star tribute show. It is one band with four distinct performances, representing Madonna, Tina Turner, Bon Jovi and Jimmy Buffet.

Sunday’s events begin at 1 p.m. with Praise in the Park, a performance of 10 praise and worship dance groups and 10 faith-based choirs. It concludes with the 6 p.m. performance of gospel sensation, Yael Hilton. Hilton, a Fayetteville native, has a powerful voice reminiscent of Nina Simone.

In addition to the cultural performances, the schedule includes live demonstrations from area artist, mimes, aerialists, drum circles, performance art, belly dancers, storytelling, fiddle players, magicians, balloon artists, painters, fire dancers and traditional American blues performances.

This year, the Art Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County has teamed up with the Grandstand App to provide attendees with the best festival experience. Download the app through your app store to find maps of the performance areas, lists of vendors and show times. The app lets you share information through your social media accounts, add to your list of events and add events to your personal calendar so you don’t miss a single thing. It’s available for iPhones at  https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/grandstand-events/id1196052305 and for Android devices at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.grandstand.grandstandfa. For more information about the International Folk Festival visit http://www.theinternationalfolkfestival.com

“You shouldn’t be so worried about the transition in the barbecue world.”

Jim Auchmutey was trying to reassure John Shelton Reed and me about our loss of old-time barbecue restaurants, including Wilber’s in Goldsboro and Allen & Son in Chapel Hill.

Auchmutey wrote for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for almost 30 years, specializing in stories about the South and its history and culture. His new book, “Smokelore: A Short History of Barbecue in America,” is a must-read for barbecue fans and social history students. Retired UNC-Chapel Hill professor Reed is one of North Carolina’s barbecue gurus and co-author of “Holy Smoke: The Big Book of North Carolina Barbecue.”

Auchmutey understands how we are grieving the loss of our barbecue icons, but he urged us to consider some positive developments. “Young people who have been on the barbecue contest circuit have learned the science of heating and cooking meats. They are better than some of the old masters, and they are opening up restaurants where the barbecue is more consistently good than some of the old masters.”

He pointed out that the young restaurant owners are expanding their menus. And not just with ribs and beef briquettes. They are experimenting with wood-fired dishes from all over the world, adding opportunities for expanding the palate.
Reed and I conceded that there are some fine new restaurants, such as Picnic in Durham, where young owners have delivered outstanding results, thanks to careful sourcing of the meats and consistent cooking methods.

But, we told Auchmutey, there is a problem. The new places have to charge higher prices to cover the increased rent, new cooking equipment, loan payments and compliance with new construction and environmental requirements.

Higher prices and fancier menus mean we do not get the same mix of construction workers, white collar people, students and folks of modest means. Reed held out Stamey’s in Greensboro as the ideal, where a simple barbecue sandwich with fixings can be within the lunch budget of almost everybody who works for a living.

These newer places, Reed said, don’t give us a place where people from all walks of life can come together for a good meal at a modest price.

Something like what is happening to barbecue restaurants here in North Carolina is happening to other diners across the country according to a story by Steven Kurutz in The New York Times last month.
Kurutz describes the Oakhurst Diner in Millerton, New York, as “a living time capsule.”

“Housed in the original 1950s Silk City dining car, it screams classic diner: crimped stainless-steel facade, Formica counter with stools, pink-and-blue neon sign, specials scrawled on chalkboards.”
“But,” he writes, “the nods to midcentury nostalgia mostly end there.”
He explains that the menu includes a bowl of seaweed and brown rice, kimchi, and a hamburger made from “grass-fed and grass-finished” beef. That fancy hamburger costs $16.

It is the “same look and vibe as the classic steel original, but the food has been upgraded to reflect current tastes.”

“And,” mourns Kurutz, “So was born the greasy spoon serving avocado toast and deconstructed chicken potpie.”

Kurutz introduces and quotes Richard J.S. Gutman, author of “American Diner Then and Now,” who explains the current appeal of the old diners. “You feel at home in the diner whether you’ve been there dozens of times or it’s your first time. There’s a buzz inside. There’s a kind of energy when you’re sitting stool to stool, cheek by jowl, asking for the ketchup. That feeling, that place you’d go with your grandpa or your auntie, where is that anymore? There’s something so democratic about diners. They’re part of the community. I think that’s what people are craving.”

It is also what Reed and I are craving and what we are missing as our old-time barbecue places bite the dust.

Westover linebacker Taurienne Freeman was the only Cumberland County football player chosen to this year’s Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas.

“He’s very aggressive, doesn’t take any plays off,’’ King said. King coached in the Shrine Bowl last year as an assistant coach and said it’s an honor to have Freeman representing Westover High School, Cumberland County and the state of North Carolina in this year’s game.

Pictured from top to bottom: Taurienne Freeman, Ernest King 

The state of the political discourse was lousy. “Laws are no longer made by a rational process of public discussion,” wrote one longtime columnist. “They are made by a process of blackmail and intimidation, and they are executed in the same manner. The typical lawmaker of today is a man wholly devoid of principle — a mere counter in a grotesque and knavish game.” The same writer observed that, compared to “a state legislature in session,” a visit to the local zoo would be “informing, stimulating and ennobling.”

His name was H.L. Mencken. He was writing about the contentious politics of 1930, not the contentious politics of 2019. And Mencken was grossly exaggerating.

Our political process is under tremendous pressure, no question. In North Carolina and beyond, politics has been overly coarsened, polarized and trivialized. But the system isn’t irreparably broken.

Lawmakers continue to draft important bills, recruit bipartisan support and make substantive arguments for or against enactment. Political leaders still engage each other without constantly resorting to schemes or insults. North Carolinians of differing views haven’t stopped talking to each other.

We don’t do these things enough, of course. We must do more. But cynicism about our civic dialogue is premature. There are positive examples out there, examples that deserve attention and emulation.

The North Carolina Institute of Political Leadership has been doing this kind of work for decades. I have long been on its faculty and currently chair the board of directors. Its signature program is the IOPL Fellowship. Twice a year, IOPL selects a class of promising leaders — North Carolinians aspiring to be public servants in some capacity — and provides extensive training to prepare fellows to fill those roles effectively.

The participants, faculty, and board of IOPL are carefully balanced by party, ideology and other characteristics. Fellows learn the nuts and bolts of political campaigns, to be sure, but they also learn how to govern wisely, in either elective or appointive office, as well as how other institutions such as associations, interest groups, think tanks, and media outlets help to shape political events and issues.

Four years ago, IOPL decided to take its message to a larger audience by cohosting a series of hometown debates, along with local chambers of commerce. During election years, the series focuses on statewide offices or referenda. In nonelection years, IOPL and its partners assemble panels of elected officials and policy practitioners to debate critical issues facing North Carolina.

The 2019 series of hometown debates  began on Tuesday, Sept. 24, at the 119 West Third Event Center of the J. Smith Young YMCA in Lexington. Former Rep. Nelson Dollar, R-Wake, and former State Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin, current chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party, joined two other panelists to discuss Medicaid transformation and expansion.

On Oct. 1, Rep. Carla Cunningham, D-Mecklenburg, and Sen. Carl Ford, R-Cabarrus, will headline a panel at the Norvell Theater in Salisbury on health insurance issues. On Oct. 8, Sen. Jim Perry , R-Lenoir, and Sen. Don Davis, D-Greene, will be part of a debate at East Carolina University’s Black Box Theater on how to improve health care access in rural areas. Finally, on Oct. 17, Reps. Maryann Black, D-Durham, and Donna White, R-Johnston, will discuss issues of health care delivery at the Civic Center of Vance-Granville Community College.

All four one-hour debates begin at 7 p.m. and will be moderated by Loretta Boniti, senior political reporter for the cable channel Spectrum News. Each will be broadcast on the Spectrum website and, in edited form, as an episode of Boniti’s weekly public-affairs show “In Focus.”

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, the Independent Insurance Agents of North Carolina, the North Carolina Association of Health Underwriters and the North Carolina Rural Center are among the series sponsors. If you want to elevate the political conversation, attend or watch the hometown debates — and help organize similar projects in your community. We all have a part to play in improving the practice of self-government in the state we proudly call home.

The 2019 series of hometown debates  began on Tuesday, Sept. 24.

The Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas announced rosters for this year’s game last week, a move that caught some people by surprise. In past years, the announcement has been held until closer to the end of football season.
Ronnie Blount, who is general chairman of the game and lives in Cumberland County, said there was logic behind the decision to move the announcement date up a month.

Pictured: L-R Former Pine Forest assistant football coach Jimmy Teague, Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas general chairman Ronnie Blount and Dean Boyd of York Comprehensive High School in York, South Carolina announce this year's Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas teams live on Facebook. Teague is head coach at Reidsville High School and North Carolina head coach this year. Boyd is the South Carolina head coach.

Most people begin to worry about hurricanes when the weather reports grow ominous as a major storm advances on the place that they live.

Harris said it’s also a good idea to be aware of what rescue personnel with the fire department can and can’t do when a storm hits.

The Hope Mills Parks and Recreation Department is in the third year of a program to make sleeping mats for the homeless from plastic bags.

“It’s great to see someone who has never done anything like this before. There’s something for everyone in this program.’’

Pictured: Paula Ray, center, a Hope Mills volunteer, delivers mats to staff at the Veterans Administration Stand Down Center last August

Inappropriate adult behavior at high school athletic events throughout the country has reached epidemic proportions.

The secret to eternal youth is a lot simpler than we make it. It's not found in some rejuvenating elixir or dietary plan. The only remedy to growing old is to simply stop waking up. Because the fact of the matter is that every time we wake, we are certain to have aged — at least a little.