A few weeks ago Bill Bowman of the Up & Coming Weekly and Kidsville News! called and asked for my help. He asked me to co-captain with him on the committee for the upcoming Hogs and Ragscharity event. After we talked a few minutes I agreed to help. I don’t know Bill very well but his enthusiasm is contagious. Over the past few weeks I have found it very exciting to be a part of something that really will help a lot of people.

Saturday, April 30, is going to be a great win/win event for everyone.

Hogs and Rags is an annual event for owners of motorcycles and convertibles to raise money for a variety of charities. This year, the proceeds will go to the Shriners Hospital for Children, the American Cancer Society and Kidsville News!of Cumberland County.

The event is part of the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival. The ride is a very nice route from Fayetteville that will end at Landry’s Seafood Restaurant at Boardwalk on the Beach in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

The ride is $50 per entry and $30 for additional passengers. At first that seems like a lot of money, but remember it is for a good cause. The best part is that it includes a breakfast and lunch. The event will start at 8 a.m. at Cape Fear Harley Davison with breakfast. Kickstands up at 9:30 a.m. Once you reach Myrtle Beach you will be treated to a wonderful lunch. You just can’t beat that!

I know I keep saying this is a win/win event (because it is), but it is not the Shriners Hospital for Children or the American Cancer Society or Kidsville News! of Cumberland County that wins but the people that they touch.

I had a nephew that burned himself from his chest down and the Shriners Children’s Hospital helped him through rehab and put his family up during this terrible ordeal. They helped him heal and go through rehab. They bless so many children and families when they need the help the most.

Cancer is a terrible thing to go through. Cancer is one of the few illnesses that medical breakthroughs are changing before our eyes. Twenty years ago the “C-word” was a death sentence. Today, there is still a long way to go. The news is frightening but usually delivered with hope and options in many cases. The fight is not over and there is still a lot of research, treatments, and people that really need your help.

The Kidsville News! publication is a great literacy and educational resource provided free to children, teachers and families in Cumberland County. It is a wonderful way to help our children read and learn. Check it out at www.kidsvillenews.com/cumberland.

The Hogs and Rags charity fundraiser is for all types of motorcycles and convertibles. This includes Jeeps. So all of you bikers and open-air lovers in town please come out and join us!

This is going to be a great time so mark your calendar and tell your friends.

You can pre-register or make donations online at www. hogsandrags.com. See ya there! Hogs and Rags is an annual Dogwood Festival event for motorcycles and convertibles to raise money for a variety of good causes.

Since 1997, The Crown Coliseum has hosted great entertainers and family events. In addition to being the home of Fayetteville’s beloved hockey team the FireAntz, the Crown has been been honing its reputation for bringing the brightest, most entertaining and enjoyable acts to Fayetteville ever since the doors opened.

On Tuesday, March 29 at 7:30 p.m., The Crown continues this tradition with the Burn the Floor dance show. Called a mix of dance and acrobatics, Burn the Floor is not what you would expect from a ballroom-dancing show.

The ballroom dancing the world recognizes competitive ballroom dance, sometimes known as dance sport. It is comprised of ten dances, which can all be danced in “closed ballroom” hold. The style danced in Burn the Floor is called “international style” and has been danced in competition since 1920.

International style ballroom dance consists of 10 dances, split into five Latin American dances and five ballroom dances (standard). Each Burn the Floor dancer has spent a lifetime training to compete against other dance couples. This show allows the dancers to demonstrate their love and passion for their art, in their stark simplicity of simple outfits and bold dance moves, compared to the cavalcade of ruffles, sequins, tassels and over choreographed acts found in other dance acts.

Flashing lights, mirrored balls and clouds of billowing smoke add flair and create an exhilarating background for the talented artists to perform.

There are moments of real beauty, moments between two ubertalented dancers that will make you forget you are watching a performance, and become consumed in the magnitude of the dance.

Burn the Floor has been taking the world by storm, making stops in New York, London, Toronto and now of course, Fayetteville. For more information or to purchase tickets, contact the Crown Center at 438-4100.

Have you ever thought about how great it would be to have all of your favorite restaurants under one roof? If so, consider the sky as the ceiling and head out to the “The Swamp” on Saturday, April 2 for the Fayetteville SwampDogs 1st annual Big Bite. You may even want to skip lunch so you’ll have plenty of room to try all of the delectable delights

Big Bite is a gathering of some of the best local chefs, giving them the opportunity to showcase some of their fabulous culinary creations. Participating restaurants will have displays set up featuring samples of some of their most popular items as well as dishes that may not yet be on their menus. Riverside Steakhouse, Shalimar and Gyro City are just some of the restaurants that will participate.

In addition to the food samplings, there will be plenty of entertainment on hand. Live bands will play all afternoon and there will be bouncy houses set up for the kids. Also in attendance will be Fun-Go, the SwampDogs mascot, who will be there to greet guests. Everyone is encouraged to gather up their friends, pack up lawn chairs or blankets and spend the entire evening relaxing and enjoying some great music. Get there early because the first 500 folks, to arrive, age 21 and over, will receive their choice of a complimentary commemorative beer or wine glass to take home for free.

When asked about why our local ball team chose to host this event, Trey Wright, for the SwampDogs responded, “We want the residents of the Fayetteville area to be able to come out and enjoyFayetteville’s local fare in an affordable manner.” 

He also stated that while admission is free, sampling tickets must be purchased in order to sample the food. There will also be beverages available for purchase, including adult beverages from some of the participating restaurants.

Finally, if you are a chef or restaurant owner, there’s still time to sign up. You may do so by calling the Fayetteville SwampDogs Baseball office at 910-426-5900. That same number may be used if you need further information about the event. Once again, Big Bite will be held on April 2 at the Swamp. The sampling will begin at 3 p.m. and the final samples will be served at 8:30 p.m. The Swamp is located at 2823 Legion Rd. right here in Fayetteville.

Photo: Head out to the “The Swamp” on Saturday, April 2 for the Fayetteville SwampDogs first annual “Big Bite.”

Open since 1994, the Gilbert Theater has always been successful in bringing excellent plays and productions to Fayetteville.

In keeping up with that fine tradition, a Pulitzer Prize winning play, Long Days Journey into Night written by American playwright Eugene O’Neill will open March 31 at this charming and intimate venue and will run through April 17. 

Originally written in early 1940s, the play takes place in a cottage known as Monte Cristo, located by the seaside in Connecticut. The play revolves around a cobweb full of family drama that contains addiction and the dysfunctionality of the family that comes along with such severe issues.

The main characters of the play are James Tyrone Sr., Mrs. Mary Tyrone, James Jr. and Edmund. James Tyrone Sr. is the patriarch of the family who owns several pieces of land making him well off financially, yet struggling because his wealth is tied up in land. Along with his two sons, James Jr. and Edmund, James Tyrone Sr. are all addicted to alcohol which adds fuel to the fire of other family issues going on in the Tyrone household.

“Be always drunken. Nothing else matters: that is the only question. If you would not feel the horrible burden of time weighing on your shoulders and crushing you to the earth, be drunken continually. Drunken with what? With wine, with poetry, or with virtue, as you will. But be drunken” a line by James Tyrone Sr. explains his conclusion to all problems.

The play invokes many emotions of frustration, anger, resentment and more. Life is full of different spices, which helps keep it interesting. Certainly, that is the case here as well. Long Day’s Journey into Night is something we all can relate to in a sense that we all are busy working, juggling, and rearranging our lives to end that journey into the night every day.

Long Day’s Journey into Night has also won many awards such as the Tony award for Best Play in 1957. The play has also been made into a movie, making this play a must see. The Gilbert Theatre is also encouraging guests to take advantage of the opening night as they are offering, “Pay what you Can.” This allows everyone to have a chance at enjoying Long Day’s Journey into Night for whatever they can afford to pay.

Gilbert Theatre is located at 116 Green St., Downtown Fayetteville. Tickets are $12, (except for opening night) and can be purchased by calling 678-7186 or vy visiting ww.gilberttheater.com.

It’s been awhile since Fayetteville has heard from the Cumberland Oratorio Singers, since before Christmas, in fact. But they’ve been hard at work and on Friday, April 1, they’re performing at Berean Baptist Church.

The performance will include two works, both of them composed by John Rutter. The Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra is working with the Oratorio Singers and will provide the instrumental portion of the performance.

“One of the works is mostly strings and such,” said Mary Potter, president of the Cumberland Oratorio Singers. “And the other will include some brass and other instruments.” Potter loves both pieces, but for very different reasons and fi nds it diffi cult to choose a favorite.

“These pieces are very different with the Requeim being the more somber of the two,” she said, and added “I guess Gloria, for me, is more interesting because it does have brass and percussion instruments and it is more lively. I guess you could say everyone’s taste is different, but the Requiem has some beautiful passages to it. There is the “Pie Jesu” that comes from this work. It is mainly a soprano solo and it is just a glorious piece of music.”

In addition to the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra, the Cumberland Oratorio Singers are partnering with the Child Advocacy Center to help them spread their message of keeping children safe.

“We are partnering with Child Advocacy, in the sense that they will be there with a table and some information about child advocacy, because April is Child Abuse Prevention Month,” said Potter. “We are partnering with them on this to get out the word that this is Child Abuse Prevention Month and to make people aware. We will also have someone speak before the concert about child advocacy.”

With such close ties to the community it is no wonder that the membership numbers for the Oratorio Singers has swelled these past few years. They not only partner with the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra, but they’ve reached out to the youth of the area as well. According to Potter, there will be several local students performing in this concert. In addition, with such a transient population, the voices are always changing for the group.

“This being a military community, we have people coming and going a lot,” said Potter. “We are about 60 singers strong right now, and we have members from all age and ethnic groups — all walks of life.”

One of the benefi ts for young singers is that when students sing with the Cumberland Oratorio Singers they are not required to pay the dues. All high school and college students can sing with them for free.

It’s been a great season so far and Potter mentioned that their last performance of the 2010-2011 season will be in partnership with the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra on April 30 at Reeves Auditorium.

“We will be singing with them for Serenade. It is one of the pieces they will be doing, and we have auditions, not for the whole chorus, but within the chorus and we are really looking forward to that.”

Get your tickets for the April 1 concert for $12 at the door. College students (of any age with ID) and school age children are admitted free. Find out more at cumberlandoratoriosingers. org or call 822-4447.

Photo: Cumberland Oratorio Singers Artistic Director and Conductor Michael Martin.

Womack Army Medical Center will open two Community-Based Medical Homes (CBMHs) in March. One clinic will be located 3351 South Peak Dr. in Hope Mills, and one will be located at 2350 Bentridge Ln. in Fayetteville off Raeford Road. The clinics will serve active-duty families who would like to enroll in these two clinics.

“The idea behind this concept is that the Army is delivering the promise of improving access to care and increasing customer satisfaction in a community based setting,” said Col. (Dr.) Niel Johnson, director of Community-Based Medical Homes (CBMH) at Womack Army Medical Center.

“In many ways, these clinics will represent a great improvement in how primary care is provided across the Army. The staffing, funding and design of the CBMHs are our chance to get it right.”

The entire staff will be permanent civilian employees, which eliminates the problems that arise when military providers deploy or get called away for nonclinical duties.

“Continuity of care is very important. These two clinics will be designed so that the patients will see their healthcare provider 90 to 95 percent of the time. It will allow our patients to establish a relationship with their provider and will be able to develop a more personalized and comprehensive care plan for each patient,” added Johnson.

Enrollment has begun, and is on a voluntary basis, based on specifi c zip codes surrounding the communities where the clinics are. “Patients satisfi ed with their current doctors on or off post will not be forced to move,” Johnson says. New families moving to the area, however, will be enrolled to the new clinics if they live in the affected zip codes.

Each clinic will serve approximately 8,000 family members, most of whom will shift from existing Fort Bragg clinics. “This will help us right-size enrollment across the entire WAMC system and increase capacity for retirees and their family members to return to WAMC for their primary healthcare,” according to Lt. Col. Charles McKeithen, special projects offi cer for WAMC’s Clinical Operations Division.

The new Community-Based Medical Homes will offer support services similar to existing Fort Bragg clinics. Each will be equipped with its own lab and pharmacy, however, radiology services will be available at a local radiology imaging center near the clinics or at WAMC.

These clinics are designed with the medical-home model design concept in mind which promotes a team approach to every single patient. Each clinic’s two teams will have two board-certifi ed family physicians and one family nurse practitioner serving as primary care managers. A complete nursing staff of four registered nurses and 18 licensed practical nurses will support the providers on the care teams. In addition, a physician assistant will be on hand to augment the teams and provide coverage whenever and wherever it is needed, and a licensed clinical psychologist will be available for all behavioral-health needs.

The medical-home model is more than providing episodic care and allows the care teams to be more proactive with their population. “Personalized, synchronized case management is the hallmark of the medical-home concept,” says Johnson. “We willbe looking out for our patients’ needs when they’re healthy, and, of course, we’ll be more than ready to take care of them when they’re not.”

“The medical-home team concept allows us to be more effi cient and focus on the patient. We’ll also see an increase in staff satisfaction as they will all be operating within the scope of their licensure — physicians will do physician work, nurses will do nurse work and administrators will do administrative work” said James Alarcon, group practice manager for the Fayetteville Clinic. “It will allow the care team to focus on the patient and deliver care within the scope of their training and experience.”

“When a patient receives care outside of the community-based medical home, in the emergency room, hospital orsubspecialist’s offi ce, the patient’s care team ensures that care is coordinated and integrated into the comprehensive care plan,” said Terry Oaks, group practice manager, Hope Mills.

All active-duty family members who wish to enroll, that are currently enrolled to either an on-post primary-care clinic or to a civilian network provider and who live within the appropriate zip codes should go to their Fort Bragg Primary Care Clinic patient representative or registration clerk for details. For those family members currently enrolled in a civilian network, they can contact any of these clinics in order to enroll.

Photo: Hope Mills Medical Home.

It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature. Don’t make her mad. She will turn you into a zombie. Consider the curious case of how a brain controlling fungus evolved from turning ants into zombies into a brain controlling fungus that turned the highest levels of the American government into zombies. Let us ponder the Brazilian carpenter ant and the U.S. Treasury as a case in point.

Scientific guys in white coats have identified a brain controlling fungus, Ophiocordyceps unilateralis which crawls into carpenter ants and controls the ants’ brains. When the fungus infects an ant, it uses some creepy chemical to take over the ant’s free will and turn it into a zombie following the instructions of the fungus. The ants become Calvinists lacking free will. Their actions become predetermined by the fungus. The fungus tells the ants to take a hike away from their home sweet ant colony to go off on a frolic and detour of their own. Nonzombie ants do not leave home alone. Once the ant is zombifi ed, it marches to the fungi drummer.

The Ophi fungus tells the ant to chomp on the bottom of a leaf and hang on. The zombie ant does what it is told, hanging there until the fungus kills it. Jaws locked in place, the dead ant becomes a vessel for more Ophi mischief. Ophi eats the inside of the ant and shoves a tendril out of the ant’s head. Yuck. Tendril is the night as the fungus shoots out spores at passing ants to create more zombie ants in its nefarious plot to take over the world.

Right now you are probably asking yourself, who really cares about zombie ants? If the ants are zombies, they won’t come to my picnic. Don’t be short sighted. This could happen to you. It has already happened to the U.S. government. Remember The Invasion of the Body Snatchers? In that movie, Kevin McCarthy had a parade of patients complaining their loved ones were imposters. They had been taken over by pods from outer space. The space pods were clearly advanced Ophi spores.

A more evolved version of the ant infesting Ophi fungus is the government infesting fungus Goldman Sachs, Goldmanyceps Sachalis which has taken over America’s fi nancial system. The Goldy fungus has turned the American government into a zombie doing the bidding of Goldman.

It doesn’t matter whether the President or Congress are nominally controlled by the Republicans or the Democrats, it is Goldy fungus that controls the government. Ponder recent Goldman Sach’s alumni who have been in charge of America’s fi nancial system: Henry Paulson, chairman of Goldman until appointed by George W. Bush as Secretary of Treasury, Rahm Emanuel — on retainer to Goldman before serving as chief of staff to Obama; Robert Rubin, 26 year employee of Goldman and Secretary of Treasury under Clinton, Timothy Geithner, protegee of Robert Rubin and Secretary of Treasury under Obama.

The Goldy fungus has eaten the brain of the U.S. Government. The U.S. Treasury has been forced to bite on the hind parts of a pig and crank out money at the whim of Goldy. In the recent fi nancial troubles, Goldy sent out tendrils from the US Treasury spewing out vast spores of money to such worthy entities as Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, AIG, Bank of America, General Motors, JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Wells Fargo.

Some soreheads have questioned why the government would bail out the very companies that caused the global melt down. The answer is simple, the brains of the government are controlled by the Goldmanyceps fungus. The government is fi lled with Pod People who have no free will. The U.S. Treasury will do whatever Goldman tells it to do.

When the fungus came for the ants, I remained silent. I was not an ant. When the fungus came for the U.S. Treasury I remained silent. I was not a bureaucrat. When the fungus came for me, there was no one left to speak for me. Remember what Kevin McCarthy yelled in The Invasion of the Body Snatchers, “They’re here already! You’re next! You’re next!” Sweet dreams.

Hope you’re feeling lucky on Friday, March 25, because that is the evening that the Highland Country Club will be transformed for Casino Night, complete with roulette wheels , black jack and poker tables.

One night a year since 2006, the Home Builders Association of Fayetteville brings Vegas to Fayetteville. The glitz, glam and adrenaline that come with a night of gaming not only offers attendees a fabulous night out, it also benefi ts the community.

“Two years ago we made a commitment that this event would always benefit a nonprofit organization,” said Natalie Woodbury, executive officer of the Home Builders Association of Fayetteville. “This is the 6th Annual Casino Night and we have raised $81,372 over the past five years.”

This year, Habitat for Humanity will be the lucky benefi ciary of the proceeds. The Executive Director for Habitat, Ann Griffi n, is excited about how the money will be put to good use in the community. “I want to say how excited and proud we are to be the chosen charity this year for casino night. It is a real honor,” she said. “The money will go towards our mission — we build and sell homes to partner families who cannot afford a conventional mortgage ”

This year Griffin has plans in the works for Habitat to build nine houses. That’s nine families that would not otherwise be able to afford a home. Both Woodbury and Griffin see this as a great fit for their organizations, since the vision of the Home Builders Association is that home ownership can and should be within the reach of every American family and Habitat for Humanity works to help families achieve the dream of home ownership.

“It is a perfect fit, the Home Builders Association and Habitat for Humanity — it just goes together,” said Griffin.

On the night of the event, there is a place for everyone at the (poker) table, even if you’ve never played before.

“There are all kinds of games complete with professional dealers,” said Woodbury. “And for those that don’t know how to play, the dealers are really nice and will teach you, which is great for people who maybe have never played those games but who still want to participate and join in the fun.”

Tickets are $75 and every ticket includes entry to the event, one drink ticket and $500 in funny money. There is no real cash at stake, unless you choose to spend yours to purchase additional funny money as the night progresses. Heavy hors d’ouevres will be served throughout the evening as well. 

When it’s time to cash in your chips, Woodbury says that there are plenty of impressive prizes that are up for grabs. “At the end of the night the top three winners will choose from our three top prizes. One is from Hinkamp Jewelers, another is a flat-screen TV and the third is cash.” She added that “For every $1,000 that you win, you get a raffle ticket. Once the top three winners are announced, then we start pulling tickets. We have more than 50 prizes, so a lot of people leave that night with something in their hand — which is good.”

The fun goes from 6:30 - 9:30 p.m. Prizes will be distributed at 10 p.m. Tickets must be purchased in advance at the Home Builders Association of Fayetteville Offi ce. Find out more at 826- 0648 or www.fayhba.org.

Photo: The Homebuilders Association of Fayetteville is hosting Casino Night on March 25. Proceeds will benefi t Habitat for Humanity..

When a big rig passes by, Little Johnny straightens up in his seat. When he hears the engine roar his heart speeds. He ogles the enormous tires. He hopes the driver, who sits much higher than he does, will shoot a glance in his direction. This month, Johnny will touch, climb and sit in the driver’s seat.

St. Andrews Academy will host its fourth annual Truck Touch event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on March 26 at 121 Lofton Drive off Ramsey Road in Fayetteville. The event is a fundraiser for the school, which is hoping to raise monetary support to improve classrooms and buy additional supplies and books, according to Candice Moody, the organizer of the event.

“The purpose for Truck Touch is to provide a great family event that everyone can enjoy. Last year the money we raised went to our beautiful new playground. This year we will use it for improvements and expansion,” said Sara Ryberg, the coordinator of St. Andrews Academy’s parent group, Parents of Preschoolers.

Truck Touch will feature more than 15 different vehicles ranging from basic street vehicles like the Jeep Wrangler to humongous headliners like a cement truck and 18-wheeler. The City of Fayetteville is providing a Police K9 Team and street sweeper truck. 

“This is the first time we’ve been involved with something like this,” said Scott Thornall, Street Maintenance Superintendant for Fayetteville. “The kids will have fun with it and it will give us a chance to educate the community.”

It’s important to Thornall that the kids learn something about street sweeping and storm water maintenance. “It’s not just about aesthetics, we are cleaning oil and greases that could be harmful to the environment,” Thronall said.

Not to worry, Mom and Dad will have something to do as well. In addition to the trucks, St. Andrews Academy will host a silent auction, a yard sale featuring community-donated items, vendor sales, face painting, bounce houses and more.

 “I am very excited for this year’s TruckTouch. Besides the vehicles and bounce houses, we have added an inflatable racetrack for the kids to enjoy. The adults will also be able to have fun while shopping at our small-business expo and yard sale,” Ryberg said.

Tickets for the event are $4 and can be purchased at the event. Early birds can save a dollar and buy tickets at the school office prior to March 26. The rain date for the event is April 2.

“I liked big trucks as a kid,” said Thornall. “The truck has lots of knobs and controls and the kids will be able to sit in the cab.”

Next time Little Johnny heads down I-95, he’ll see another big rig. This time, when his eyes meet the trucker’s, he’ll nod with a respectable, “I’ve sat in your seat before.”

PHOTO: St. Andrews Academy will host its fourth annual Truck Touch event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on March 26.

Gnomeo and Juliet (Rated G)

Gnomeo and Juliet (84 minutes) leaves some burning questions unanswered: where was Torchwood when all the gnomes were running around? Exactly how many poorly chosen Shakespeare references can you squeeze into 84 minutes? Why don’t the owners of the side-by-side houses get along better? Why don’t those owners ever notice all the destruction caused during mid-afternoon/overnight gnome romping? What are the Freudian implications of the big hats? How much money do you have to pay Sir Patrick Stewart to voice act in your horrible movie? And most importantly, where do little gnomes come from? How long do their parents treat them like children? And how is their apparently eternal childhood (which resembles the protracted adolescence of Claudia in Interview with a Vampire) not super-creepy?

There’s more, but it’s time to move on to making fun of Director Kelly Asbury — who took an idea with tons of potential and turned it into stale flavorless marshmallows. I mean, he may have started out on Stallion: Spirit of the Cimarron, but he moved on to do Shrek 2, which was totally cute! For all the talent involved, he got nada out of his actors. There are no genuinely likable heroes to root for, no attempt to reach beyond a straightforward Romeo and Julietrip-off for kids, and all the secondary characters sound like they are voiced by Robin Williams. And that is not a good thing.

At least the opening of the movie is fairly cute. A little guy in a big hat stands on a stage and introduces the “two houses, alike in dignity …” while avoiding a cane that aims to remove him from the stage. Enjoy the laughs while they’re easy to come by, because they get few and far between as the movie progresses.

Mrs. Montague (Julie Walters) and Mr. Capulet (Richard Wilson) own two halves of a duplex. Their yards are filled with tribes of warring garden gnomes and other kitschy objets d’art. The blue gnomes include Gnomeo (James McAvoy), Benny (Matt Lucas), and Gnomeo’s Mother (Maggie Smith). The red gnome camp consists of Juliet (Emily Blunt), Nanette the Frog (Ashley Jensen) Tybalt (Jason Statham), Fawn the Deer (Ozzy Osbourne), and Lord Redbrick (Michael Caine).

Wait — for real? Michael Caine? Maggie Smith? Am I missing something? This movie sucks! Where did all the star power come from and why isn’t it helping the movie to not suck so much? Maybe I’m getting cynical in my old age, but the script seems to go from set piece to set piece without any real plot or substantial narrative innovation. And let us not forget the soul-destroying Elton John reboots!

A child begins screaming in the middle of the theater. I am sure we would both feel a lot better if the movie would just end already. Or maybe we just need the introduction of a cool Mercutio type character to make this all a bit more int

eresting. Hey! A pink lawn flamingo (Jim Cummings) just showed up! Maybe he’ll be cool? No. Nope. The pain goes on. The movie limps to an unsatisfying conclusion. I have no idea where all the box-office success is coming from. You’re welcome to send an e-mail and explain it to me. 

The Mighty Male Mentoring Program (3MP) is a goal-oriented program designed to support the educational and professional aspirations of minority males (also known as mentees) at Fayetteville Technical Community College (FTCC). The 3MP seeks to increase completion of developmental and curriculum courses, retention, graduation rates, and transfer to a UNC four-year institution. To accomplish this, the program increases exposure to academic and financial aid advising and to educational, professional, and civic opportunities.

It’s uncontroverted that minority males face many personal challenges and obstacles when it comes to college education-program admittance, financial resources, job skills, job placement, stereotypes, low grade point averages, low Accuplacer test scores, and a sense of future direction, to name a few. This is where the 3M Program steps in with mentors and academic advising.

Advising students in the Mighty Male Mentoring Program at FTCC involves developing a more personal relationship between student and advisor/mentor. Regular contact (at least twice a month) allows the student to bond and identify with his mentor.

Larry Vick, a 3MP mentor/criminal justice instructor, notes that “As college faculty and staff members, we’re often called upon to lend our time, effort, and expertise to various projects. These projects are often worthwhile, but sometimes we’re left to wonder if our investments have achieved the sought-after results. For those involved with the Mighty Male Mentoring Program, or 3M, as it’s called, the answer is clear. The 3M Program is more than just worthwhile – it’s a game changer. That’s because its benefits are permanent. By matching students who have demonstrated a desire to succeed with dedicated faculty and staff members who serve as mentors, relationships are forged that create win-win situations. Not only do the mentees reap tremendous rewards, but the mentors benefit greatly.”

The process begins with potential mentees filling out an application that memorializes their commitment to improve both as students and as male members of their communities. Upon acceptance, the mentees complete a contract with their mentors wherein they attest to a plan of action. Mentors are pre-screened to identify their areas of expertise and level of commitment. To ensure program participants stay motivated, twice monthly plenary meetings are scheduled to augment any individual meetings between mentor and mentee. In addition, there are numerous activities available that reinforce the program’s mission, purpose, and expectations.

FTCC’s 3M Program is still in its infancy, but significant strides have been made under the leadership of Theodore Thomas, James Steadman, and Bryant Youngblood. Their efforts have been supported by a group of dedicated volunteer mentors. Equally encouraging has been the caliber of the mentees who have been participating.

Recently, there have been trips planned to Tarboro and Winston-Salem to engage in 3M leadership conferences and mentor training. Mentees are also scheduled to participate in such hands-on activities as mentoring eighth graders from the Ramsey Street Alternative School as part of the Future Seekers Career Exploration Project.

Please take the time to speak with members of the 3M Program when you see them in your neighborhoods performing community service. They’ll be the young men with looks of determination and purpose, as well as a smile.

PHOTO: The Mighty Male Mentoring Program (3MP) is a goaloriented program designed to support the educational and professional aspirations of minority males.

The 50/50 Rule

A national study of U.S. family caregivers, sponsored by the Home Instead Senior Care® network, shows that the dynamics of family relationships can thrust one sibling into the role of primary caregiver for an aging parent. This can create an “anything you can do I can do better” tug and pull between brothers and sisters who should be working together for the best interests of their senior loved ones.

The study, conducted by The Boomer Project, included 711 adults ages 35-64, with living siblings or stepsiblings, who said they either currently provide care for a parent or older relative, or did provide care in the past 18 months.

This inability to effectively work together often leads to one sibling becoming responsible for the bulk of caregiving (true in 43percent of families) which can contribute to a deterioration of sibling relationships.

Three key factors, more than any others, will determine if relationships between the adult children will deteriorate, and whether the quality of care to the parent will be compromised. Those factors are the adult children’s ability to make important decisions together; their ability to divide the caregiving workload; and their level of teamwork. The lower the self-reported scores on these measures, the lower the overall grade they give themselves and their siblings in working together to provide care to their parents.

Forty-six percent of caregivers who say their sibling relationships have deteriorated say their brothers and sisters are unwilling to help.

Furthermore, survey participants were much more likely to give themselves excellent ratings for important personal caregiving traits than they were their brothers and sisters.

The implication is that sibling relationships and caregiving quality suffer when there are not effective family processes or dynamics in place to help brothers and sisters make successful decisions, equitably divide the workload and build a caregiving team.

In response, the Home Instead Senior Care network has developed The 50-50 RuleSM (www.solvingfamilyconflict.com). The 50-50 Rule refers to the average age when siblings are caring for their parents (50) as well as the need for brothers and sisters to more equitably share the planning responsibility (50/50).

The stakes are high — sibling relationships and the quality of their parents’ care are at risk. But with new approaches and a focus on building better family relationships, caregiving can make families stronger.

Over the next several weeks we will share specific approaches suggested to siblings who are caring for their parent(s). So stay tuned, help is on the way!

If you would like a copy of “The 50-50 Rule” booklet, stop by the local Home Instead Senior Care office at 2825 Arlington Avenue, Fayetteville, NC 28303 or call us at 910-484-7200.

PHOTO: With new approaches and a focus on building better family relationships, caregiving can make families stronger.

According to www.rapecrisisonline. org: one out of every six American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime and about nine out of ten rape victims are female. One out of every 33 American men has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in his lifetime. Ages 12-34 are the highest risk years. Girls ages 16-19 are four times more likely than the general population to be victims of sexual assault.

Adding to the outrage of such a horrific event, almost 2/3 of sexual assaults are committed by someone known to the victim and only about 6 percent of rapists ever serve a day in jail.

On Saturday, March 19, the Rape Crisis Volunteers of Cumberland County and Musha Dojo are offering a free women’s self-defense class. According to Ze Suratt-II, the victim’s advocate and volunteer coordinator, “The main purpose is to help empower women so that they can feel more safe when they are out and about. They won’t be learning how to fight per se, but they will be learning some key strike moves.”

She added that the instructor “is very passionate about helping women to prevent, as much as possible, an attack — by teaching about the somewhat small things they can do that would possibly give them those few valuable seconds or minutes to scream out loudly or run.”

The class is free, and runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Space is limited though. Participants should be at least 15 since the material will be sensitive. Physically impaired women are especially encouraged to attend. Call 485-7273 to make a reservation. Space is limited, however, there will be more self-defense classes offered on April 23 and July 19 as well.

While preventive measures are always a good thing, the Rape Crisis Volunteers of Cumberland County are there to help when the damage has already been done. They take calls from victims of sexual assault, rape or domestic violence and provide them with local resources and help guide them through the different stages of reporting(if a victim chooses to report the crime) and healing. 

“There are a lot of resources available that women are not aware of,” said Suratt-II “We try to give them all the information that we can about these resources so that they can make decisions about the things they may want to do next. We also advocate for victims.”

That includes going to the hospital with them after an attack, should the victim choose to go, and helping them through the hospital exam and dealing with the police by letting the victim know what is going to be happening and how it is going to happen as well as what courses of action are available. T

he support does not stop there. The Rape Crisis Volunteers will go with a victim to court proceedings too. Surrat-II pointed out that reliving their experiences in the court room is also a very traumatic time.

While the goal is to help in healing and recovering from such traumatic events, the Rape Crisis Volunteers are very firm in their belief that each person must feel safe and confident in how they choose to handle their situation.

“It is our job to let them know what is available and let them make that decision (whether or not to report the crime) themselves. We are not going to tell a victim what they should or shouldn’t do. We want them to be able to make their own decision. It is important that we keep it that way,” said Surrat-II.

“When we do speak with victims we do try to suggest and recommend that they go for counseling because we do believe in counseling being a very healing tool for recovery.”

The organization is always looking for kind hearted and compassionate volunteers and theyhold training sessions quarterly. They next rape sensitivity training sessions will be held May 14 and 21. Call 485-7273 to find out how you can be a part of the healing. 

PHOTO: On Saturday, March 19, the Rape Crisis Volunteers of Cumberland County and Musha Dojo are offering a free women’s self-defense class.

  For more than 20 years the Cape Fear Botanical Garden has been inspiring, educating and enriching the lives of visitors. Its self-proclaimed role in the community is “In addition to showcasing nature’s beauty, our garden serves in many roles: environmental stewardship, education and research, the preservation of our agricultural heritage, a unique setting for activities and events, a prime attraction for visitors from near and far, a valuable economic resource for our community.”

On April 1, the CFBG is hosting the Second Annual Rhythm and Blooms Benefit Concert. The gates open at 7 p.m. and the concert is at 8 p.m.

“We are featuring the Blue Dogs who are from Charleston, S.C. Their sound has kind of like a blue grass, bluesy, kind of country feel,” said Anna Grantonic, assistant director of development and marketing at Cape Fear Botanical Gardens. “It is going to be kind of neat because you will get to see the new pavilion — it won’t be open but it will be kind of a sneak peak before the grand opening the next day. It will be a fun and relaxed event where you can hear some good music, have some drinks and eat some good food.”

The food will be provided by the Invisible Chef. It will be light fare including things like sandwiches and salads, according to Grantonic. There will be food and drinks and a cash bar available. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door.

With all that the garden provides to the community, this is an opportunity for nature lovers, gardening enthusiasts, music lovers and folks who want to see Cape Fear Botanical Gardens prosper to come out and not only support a good cause, but enjoy a fun and relaxing evening in the garden.

“Rhythm and Blooms is a fundraiser for the garden,” said Grantonic. “Proceeds will go toward our expandedprogramming. With the new building and future special events we want to expand the type of events we offer. And of course, it will also support general operations. We are facing big changes and want to be ready.”

On April 2, the public is invited to come and check out the new Wyatt Visitors Pavilion Complex. According to Grantonic, the visitors pavilion has been on the drawing board since the garden was founded more than 20 years ago. After much planning, fundraising and construction, it is finally ready to unveil to the public. The garden will open at 10 a.m. that day and there is no admission charge.

“We will have children’s activities and special speakers. Since it is the grand opening it is the fi rst time the public can come and tour the building,” said Grantonic. There are going to be tours available, face painting, live music, food and drinks. “Local columnist and gardening expert Roger Mercer — he was one of the gardens founding members — will be there to talk about the journey of the garden, its history and how it got to this point. It is going to be a fun day; we want everyone to come and enjoy it,” she added.

The visitor pavilion is 33,000 square feet and boasts several different areas perfect for meetings or other special events. The biggest special event area is called “The Orangery” and it is 9,000 square feet. It has wood decked ceilings and is designed to provide a lovely natural feel. It has the capacity for a standing reception of about 1,000 people making it perfect for things like wedding receptions. It also has arched glass doors so even though it is an indoor space, it has an outdoorsy feeling. The pavilion also boasts a grand hall which can be partitioned into three smaller rooms, which Grantonic pointed out is great for a conference or meetings. The garden staff will also benefit from the building, and will have new offi ces.

Once the pavilion is offi cially opened, the folks at the garden are planning to maximize its use. They have a new gift shop which will have specialty garden items, souvenirs and nature related things. The public is welcome to browse and shop there and they will be able to do that without having to pay admission to the garden.

During nicer weather, and on peak days, they are also are going to have the Invisible Chef providing lunches, so visitors can come and have lunch at the garden, without paying admission.

“There is a lot of new stuff,” said Grantonic. “We are so excited.”

They aren’t wasting time putting their new space to good use. On April 9, the public is invited to the Spring Plant Sale and Symposium. It’s an expanded version of the spring plant sale that the garden has offered for years. The vendors and garden centers that people have come to expect and anticipate will be there. What is different is the addition of speakers and presentations. The sale starts at 9 a.m.

From 10-11 a.m. check out the Orchid Potting Demonstration and Help Session with Keith Clayton of the Sandhills Orchid Society. From 11 a.m. to noon walk and talk with Roger Mercer about his favorite plants and places, including Cape Fear Botanical Garden.

At 12:15 p.m. stop by and catch a Container Gardening Demo with Sandy Connolly of Green Biz Nursery and Landscaping.

With all of the extra activities going on, don’t forget that the garden is open daily as an oasis to the public. Take a walk, get inspired, catch your breath and refresh your spirit. It is open Monday through Saturday: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. and Sunday: 12 p.m. - 5 p.m.

Admission is currently $6 (Military and AAA receive a $1 discount), children ages 6-12: $1 and children 5 and under are free. Prices are expected to increase slightly after April 2. Find out more about Cape Fear Botanical Gardens at 486-0221 or www.capefearbg.org.

PHOTO: On April 1, the CFBG is hosting the Second Annual Rhythm and Blooms Benefit Concert.

March 25 is a special day in Downtown Fayetteville. That’s the day community residents are invited downtown to participate in another 4th Friday.

Sponsored by the Downtown Alliance in partnership with Miller-Motte College, an evening filled with laughter, music, food, art and other forms of entertainment is planned. This 4th Friday is centered around the theme Community Can Do. The result? A host of downtown businesses and other local organizations will be collecting canned goods to donate to local hunger-relief agencies.

Students of Free Enterprise from Fayetteville State University are holding a contest inviting high school students to put together teams to compete in the Campbell’s Let’s Can Hunger Challenge, sponsored by Campbell Soup Company. With an FSU mentor, each team must use a minimum of 500 cans to build a structure during the 4th Friday event. A challenge that sounds so simple can prove to be quite diffi cult. Teams are only allowed to use rubberbands to hold each sculpture together, all other adhesives are prohibited.

Tammy Frutchey, from FSU, says that this is not “just an opportunity” for “FSU students to get involved and give back,” instead it is an opportunity “for the entire community to come together; and create an awareness that there is a very serious hunger issue in our town, state and country.”

Like all competitions, there will be a winner. The contest winner will be determined by votes. Each vote is $1. At the end of the contest Students of Free Enterprise have a goal of collecting at least 5,000 pounds of non-perishable foods and $1,000 in cash donations that will be donated to the Fayetteville Second Harvest Food Bank.

Sponsors of 4th Friday are doing their share to make sure this event helps the Fayetteville community. However, one featured merchant wants to give to community residents. While enjoying the downtown events, stop by the Downtown Alliance table at 222 Hay Street and register to win dinner for two at Pierro’s Italian Bistro.

Young country-pop duo Summerfield is scheduled to perform at the Twisted Jeweler throughout the evening. The duo, which was recently featured in Up & Coming Weekly, will perform songs from their new CD. Called a cross between Taylor Swift and Lady Antebellum, the duo has a pop/country sound much like that of another country duo, Sugarland.

Jill Charles is also a scheduled performer. She will perform from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Horne’s Cafe and So Chic Bebe. Charles will be perform some original songs as well as some familiar country and pop cover songs. First arriving in Fayetteville by way of the military, Charles has become a part of the community through her musical abilites. She has performed “God Bless America” for the SwampDawgs baseball team, the “National Anthem” for the Fireantz Hockey Team and has been in concert several times at local churches. Charles is a well known local, but she is no stranger to big name stars and she has opened for Chris Daughtry.

At the Arts Council, join in the celebration of the opening of We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball. The Fayetteville State University Jazz Trio will perform. Join the Arts Council for smooth jazz, great food and an awesome exhibit.

See amazingly talented artists demonstrate their work every 4th Friday Arts Alive on Maxwell Street from 6 to 10 p.m. Artists inside Cape Fear Studios also demonstrate their techniques — and you are invited to watch them create!

Be sure to catch free rides around downtown on the Cotton Exchange Express.

Arts Alive artists showcase baskets, jewelry, glasswork, painting, loom weaving, pottery and photography. Artists interested in participating in Arts Alive must submit a jury application. Jury and booth fees are waived through April! The only fee is a $10 city selling permit, if you plan to sell your artwork. (Demonstrating only is free.)

For more information, call Ashley Hunt, the Arts Council’s special events coordinator, at (910) 323-1776, ext. 230.

4th Friday’s have received great responses since the initial conception, the March 4th Friday is hoping to continue this trend.

When visitors to our community stay in Cumberland County, we hope that they also play in Cumberland County. To that end, the Cumberland County Tourism Development Authority (TDA) oversees the monies collected from the 6 percent occupancy tax funded by visitors to area hotels. The TDA is responsible for the distribution of these funds to promote travel and tourism. The Arts Council, the Crown Center and the Fayetteville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau (FACVB) receive dedicated funding from the TDA. A percentage is also used to fund specifi c grant requests.

The Cumberland County Tourism Development Authority recently received grant requests of $25,000 each from the City of Fayetteville to help fund marketing for Veterans Park and Downtown Fayetteville. The Airborne and Special Operations Museum also requested a $25,000 grant for marketing. The TDA requested that the Convention & Visitors Bureau coordinate a marketing plan incorporating the three requests.

“The TDA stepped back and looked at the fact that if we give each of these grants individually, they will promote themselves singularly. So, why not combine those resources with what the CVB is already doing?” said John Meroski, CEO of the FACVB. “Then, go back into the private sector and get matching dollars so we can have a 12-month marketing strategy for the downtown area.”

According to Meroski, it’s a matter of effi ciency and putting out a unifi ed message. The TDA questioned “What’s the best return on investment? How can the investments be measured and know they are used in the most effi cient manner?” Meroski adds, “You get a bigger bang for the buck when it’s used in a co-op fashion.”

Vivek Tandon, chairman of the TDA, echoes that. “We felt since all three requests were positive downtown assets, that a combined effort by the CVB would give each asset a better return on the investment that TDA would make on their behalf,” said Tandon.

“The CVB is hired for marketing and that is their specialization, so with their abilities to market in the right areas, streamline from their databases, and their experience of knowing what works and does not work, we feel that the CVB would be the best source for each of the downtown assets,” Tandon added.

The TDA contracts with the FACVB to promote travel and tourism for Cumberland County. “I think it works well for Cumberland County. You contract with the CVB who does an ongoing program, 24/7, 365 days a year,” said Meroski. “Since 2006, all of the downtown attractions are already worked into the CVB products.”

On March 28, the Fayetteville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau (FACVB) will host a meeting for downtown area merchants and organizations to discuss the TDA marketing initiative which will include $75,000 from the TDA and $50,000 from the CVB. But according to Meroski, downtown is more than Hay Street and the area near the Market House.

“When I say downtown, I mean from the Botanical Gardens, to the river, all the way through downtown to Haymount,” explained Meroski. He went on to explain that the Airborne and Special Ops Museum has 100,000 visitors a year, but Cumberland County has 160,000 overnight visitors a month. “That’s nearly two million people staying overnight in our community. Our job is to get them to Veteran’s Park, to the restaurants to eat, to attend events and to plan return visits,” Meroski says. “Why not add to that and encourage people to stay longer. If you are going downtown to eat, let them know, here are the shops that are open when you will be there; here are specifi c things to do during different times of the day.”

Currently, the different organizations and businesses downtown do not have a consistent marketing message. Millions of dollars from the city, county, state and private organizations have been invested in downtown projects. “But whose responsibility is it to market downtown?” asked Meroski. “The CVB, Chamber of Commerce, city, Arts Council events, the private businesses through the Downtown Alliance? What’s contributed to the revitalization of downtown is all the agencies that help promote downtown.”

“We’re talking about packaging destinations, working together. It’s really facilitating information and getting a consistent message out there and really working together.”

“On March 28, that’s where the CVB can really help,” Meroski continues excitedly. “We can deliver that target audience of visitors, military, visiting family and friends. That can be done by sharing our knowledge. We can build on a good co-op plan that matches the TDA funds, some CVB funds, and we will be selling other partnerships so people can invest in this. Then we can leverage it over a 12-month p

eriod to build a consistent marketing message. Really get the message to resonate with the people.”The meeting will be held at 9:30 a.m. on March 28 at the Cumberland County Headquarters Library, and is open to people in the greater downtown area who are interested in a 12-month marketing plan.

“If people are interested in co-promoting, we would really like to hear from them. The Downtown Alliance has 70 business members, but in this area there are over 500 businesses. We are trying to reach those folks to be part of this effort,” said Meroski.

Jami McLaughlin, Downtown Development Manager for the City of Fayetteville, is optimistic about the marketing initiative. “I think partnerships are always a good thing, especially when it comes to marketing. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts,” said McLaughlin. “As downtown continues to grow and we have more vision, more possibilities, this is the best time to all come together and unify those marketing decisions. All in all, this is a good thing.”

Chris Villa, the President of the Downtown Alliance, is also optimistic about the future of downtown. “For us, our intention is to get people to shop local and shop downtown. Shop, eat, play, live is our mantra,” explained Villa. “We are encouraging our members to come out to the meeting and have a voice.”

The CVB will build the marketing plan and then they will go back to the TDA to present the plan. “We’ll present the plan, the funding requests, who the supporting partners are and a recommendation of how to proceed with the funding — whether in full, in part, individually or not at all,” he said. “We can facilitate something that is very much needed. If we can get all the players around the table with the common goal of a 12-month plan, some really good things can happen.”

To say he is excited about the prospects of the project is an understatement. Meroski says “In our business we say ‘everything begins with a visit.’ It takes getting that person to visit fi rst. It’s a big task and there are some fun challenges. But like our mascot of Uncle Sam, I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and work hard at providing a solution.”Photo courtesy of FACVB, by Tim Sciandra.

PHOTO: The proposed TDA and FACVB marketing initiative will shine a new light on the greater downtown area.Photo courtesy of FACVB, by Tim Sciandra.

WHAT'S YOUR BEEF?

I have never understood quite why, but we Americans do love our statistics.

Which NBA basketball player who once played for Carolina scored the most points ever in a second half?

What was the box offi ce take for The King’s Speech the weekend it opened?

How are President Obama and Governor Perdue doing in North Carolina’s political polls this week?

What are the top 10 vacation spots in the world?

North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper has just released some stats from his office in honor of National Consumer Protection Week, so now we know our state’s Top 10 consumer areas that drive us crazy — what we and our fellow Tar Heels, almost 22,000 of us, complained about last year.

And for the sixth year running, the winner is — what else? Healthcare!

More than 4,600 of us were so upset about some aspect of healthcare that we took the time and effort to complain to our Attorney General. Complaints included medical care providers, their services and charges, medical insurance providers and how they handle or do not handle claims and various healthcare products. More than 4,600 more reasons our country needs healthcare reform.

Next up, lending issues.

More than 3,900 of us were unhappy with some lending practice, including high interest rates, various fees for late payments and pre-payments, adjustable rates mortgages and continuing foreclosure problems. Our AG reminds us that it is illegal to charge an upfront fee for foreclosure assistance. Sadly, we in North Carolina are hardly alone in facing such lending issues with the industry many believe brought us the Great Recession.

Numbers 3 and 4 include my personal pet peeves, unwanted telemarketing calls and telemarketing fraud. Both my home phone and my cell phone numbers are listed on the Do Not Call Registry, but I still get those calls on both phones. It is to the point that I simply do not answer any 800 or like calls, and I delete their voice mails without listening to them as do many people.

But enough of us must be taken in by whatever they are saying, because they keep calling. It is frightening to think about how many people must be hoodwinked by these callers, including senior citizens. Roy Cooper would tell you that if someone we do not know calls and asks for personal information — Social Security numbers, credit cards, bank accounts — we should just say no and hang up.

Scams to “repair” poor credit, pushy debt collectors and identity theft generated more than 1,600 calls, and with good reason. In our electronic world, unscrupulous people are indeed stealing the identities of others and running up debts in their names. In many cases, the victims do not even find out about this until well after the fact, and these cases are diffi cult to unravel, much less prosecute.

Most of us cannot do without our vehicles for transportation to and from our jobs and other places, so it makes sense that there are often issues in this arena. They include problems with purchases and repairs, trouble getting titles from sellers and warranty disputes. I would be hard pressed to think of anyone I know who has not dealt with several of these.

If our homes are our castles, then we want them just the way we want them, and that sometimes presents problems. More than 1,600 of us had issues 7 and 8, revolving around home furnishings and home repairs. A friend learned a hard lesson when she convinced her skeptical hubby to spring for a custom sofa costing several thousand dollars. Payment was made and but no elegant sofa appeared. Not surprisingly, the seller quit taking her calls. The sofa did turn up a full fi ve years late — after my friends had moved to another community and had a new home and a new decorating scheme.

Home repairs can be equally painful, often involving contractors who disappear with money, leave an incomplete job, miss deadlines and go over project budgets. And then there are scammers who talk people into unneeded repairs and sometimes simply disappear with the money. Trusting seniors are often the targets of these cheats.

In our electronic age, there are bound to be complaints in this area, so television services and cell phone issues round out the Consumer Protection Top Ten. Whether the problem was bundled bills that do not provide the promised savings or poor reception, about 2,000 of us got mad enough to contact Roy Cooper.

Just thinking about some of my own experiences in these areas is enough to make me consider giving Roy’s offi ce a buzz. If you share my sentiment or if you have specifi c issues you need advice about how to resolve or you want to fi le a complaint, the Consumer Protection Division is just a few keystrokes or a phone call away at www.ncdoj.gov and 1-800-5NO-SCAM.

Our tax dollars at work for us.

Unknown (Rated PG-13)      3 STARS 

Unknown (113 minutes) is an entertaining drive through the spy genre even if the plot holes are big enough to drive a finely made German taxicab through. This particular version of a well-tread story is based on a French novel, but Director Jaume Collet-Serra doesn’t do a whole lot to distinguish his material from any other mysterious man films.

Dr. Martin Harris (Liam Neeson) and his daughter Elizabeth (January Jones) arrive in Berlin for a biotechnology summit. He gets a little handsy with her during the taxi ride over, which might explain her overall shirtiness when dealing with the hotel staff. That’s no way to love your daughter, Dr. Harris!

While his daughter checks them into a fancy suite, he realizes he left his briefcase with all his secret spy papers and espionage stuff at the airport so he runs to get it. He ends up in Gina’s (Diane Kruger) cab, and then Gina’s cab ends up in the river. In the first of many, “Gosh, should I save him? Yes, Yes I will save him” moments, Gina pulls an unconscious Harris from the river, and he is taken to a hospital.

During his coma he has many inappropriate flashbacks about his daughter — whoops, my bad, apparently that’s his trophy wife — and then wakes up to find that he has been in a coma. Since patients recently woken from a coma with no identification or any way of proving who they are get to do whatever they want in German hospitals, he checks himself out.

He manages to get back to the hotel he left from only to find another man macking on his wife and claiming to be Dr. Martin Harris (Aiden Quinn). Since secret agents have absolutely no survival instincts to draw on when they find themselves in bizarre situations, the man with no proof of his identity proceeds to raise a ruckus and draw lots of attention to himself. When that doesn’t work in his favor, he gathers his wits and tricks hotel security into getting him a cab back to the hospital, then tricks the cabdriver into letting him out immediately. Very tricky, this guy.

He draws on the apparently limitless funds he was carrying (while leaving all his important paperwork in a briefcase that he totally left at the airport) to blunder around Berlin for most of a day, never thinking to check in at the embassy. Because of the conspiracy? Or something? Eventually he decides that he is, in fact, as crazy as all the conspirators keep telling him he is, so he heads back to the hospital and stays safely out of the way until the end of the movie. Just kidding! A dude totally kills like, a million important people, and tries to assassinate him thus revealing that all is not as it seems. Duh. All in all, it’s not an awful movie.

Why the three stars? Well, when 58-year-old January Jones (or Kruger, for that matter) gets to run around with a 33-yearold James Franco, then we’ll start talking about an extra star. I would LOVE to provide a simpler example … but the male actors who are 25 years younger than January Jones are all currently starring on the Suite Life of Zack and Cody. So the only film where they work as romantic leads is the Lifetime Movie Network’s The Mary Kay Letourneau Story. And I don’t think January Jones has the chops for that. Because she can’t act. And while we’re on the subject, Maggie Grace, who played Neeson’s daughter in Taken is only five years younger than January Jones. Yeah. Think about that.

Wow. What a shame that busting on Unknown is so easy … it’s really not such a bad little movie. True, Liam Neeson has pretty much played out his “man with certain skills” range, but that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable to watch him drive around crashing into things.

Always a huge production, Winter Jam is set to be bigger and better than ever this year. It’s Christian music’s largest annual tour and breaks attendance records every year. Produced by Premier Productions and presented by Holt International, the tour will feature the most artists and dates in its 16-year history. The concert is on March 19, at the Crown.

The concert will be hosted by GRAMMY nominated performers Newsong. NewSong’s 28 years in ministry have yielded 17 albums, 20 #1 singles, a Dove Award, and a GRAMMY(r) Award nomination, among numerous other achievements. The band’s latest recording, Give Yourself Away, released last fall.

Newsboys; David Crowder Band; Kutless; Francesca Battistelli; RED; KJ-52 and guest speaker Tony Nolan will be featured too. In addition, the show includes a Pre-Jam Party presented by the American Bible Society with Sidewalk Prophets, Chris August and Chris Sligh.

“This year’s tour will be unlike any other Winter Jam in history,” says Roy Morgan, owner, Premier Productions, producer of Winter Jam. “Winter Jam 2011 will have tons of surprises that no one is expecting. You will not want to miss this. Also, if someone has never experienced a Winter Jam event before, then this is the year to come.”

Winter Jam was the number one tour in America for the first quarter of the year. It landed at number 2 in pollsters 2010 Worldwide Ticket Sales “Top 100 Tours” chart with a showing of more than 400,000 people in attendance.

Approximately 74,000 people made decisions for Christ in 2010. More than 10,000 sponsorships to Holt International were garnered through Winter Jam 2010 too. Holt International helps to meet the needs of orphaned children around the world.

“It’s amazing and humbling to see how God has continued to bless the Winter Jam Tour over all these years,” says NewSong’s Eddie Carswell. “We specifically created and designed this tour to impact the lives of others for the sake of the Gospel. Our prayer is that God will continue to use Winter Jam for His glory and honor.”

The show starts at 6 p.m. Tickets are $10 at the door. Call the Crown box office at 438-4100 for tickets.

PHOTO: NewSong will host the 2011 Winter Jam.

As Chair of the Fayetteville Young Professionals, I would like to thank Up & Coming Weekly for the first of what will be a monthly column written by a member of the Fayetteville Young Professionals on topics of interest to our members and the community at large. I hope that you will look for this column, or check us out if you have not already.

As many of you may know, the group was started in August of 2009 by the Fayetteville-Cumberland County Chamber of Commerce to bring together young professionals from across the community to not only socialize, but to organize a number of professional development and civic events. The Chamber was responding to younger chamber members who felt a disconnect with some of the events which were geared toward networking, but they felt were only attended by more established members of the community.

As one of those members who only attended Business After Hours because my dad asked me to, I can attest that I did not really get what was in it for me or frankly for my business.

Also, as someone who moved back into this community after college to work at my family’s business, it was really hard to meet people unless you went to school with them or worked with them. Many of my peers were simply not going to Chamber events. Now you can be guaranteed to see a Young Professional member at every Chamber event.

While this group was started by the Chamber, it was led and created by 20 outstanding steering committee members who stepped up to organize it and make it the group that you see today. From creating a website, to decorating an event, to leading professional development seminars, this organization was formed and maintained by the vibrant young individuals that make this community so great.

Over the next several months you will hear from the members of the FYP executive committee who have stepped up to lead this effort. These are people like you and I who are just as busy at their jobs, with their families and with other community organizations. However, they step up to lead FYP because they want this group to be successful and they are willing to squeeze one more minute out of everyday.

From their leadership, we have raised thousands for area civic organizations, hosted more than 15 professional development events, placed second in co-ed softball, played close-quarters dodge ball and partied like it was 1999. I know that personally I have made so many friends, that my social calendar is booked into 2012.

Even though we are a young organization, we have more than 350 members who are teachers, entrepreneurs, doctors, airmen, realtors, bankers and yes, we even have some lawyers too.

While we have a lot of differences, the one thing that we have in common is that we enjoy meeting each other and giving back to the community. If you have not had an opportunity to join us at a Fireantz Tailgate or at our lunch and learn seminars at Sammios’ please contact me at chair@fayyp.org.

I look forward to meeting you and telling you more about the organization and how you can get involved. For more information, please visit www.fayyp.org or look up Fayetteville Young Professionals on facebook.

Methodist University plays an integral part in Fayetteville’s arts and culture scene. The Friends of Music offer concerts several times a year and Reeve’s Auditorium is often filled with the musical talents of the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra. Now add to that the William F. Bethune Center which holds 2D visual arts courses as well as art history courses. The 8,844 square foot fl oor plan includes a printmaking studio, a painting studio, a graphic design lab, a photography lab, a digital photo studio, and a drawing and art education space — as well as an exhibition gallery. The exhibition gallery is named after local artist and contributor to the project and is called the David McCune International Art Gallery. The gallery hosts student shows as well as local, regional, national and international artists.

On Saturday, March 12, Methodist University welcomes the public to the latest exhibit opening in the David McCune International Art Gallery.

The works of the gallery’s namesake, David McCune will be on display in an exhibition titled Heavy Metal. The Heavy Metalopening reception is from 6-8 p.m. on March 12.

Although McCune works in water color, acrylics, makes furniture and jewelry and even has a few songs to his credit, just like the name implies, this exhibit is all about fabricated metal. “It is all one of a kind with lots of colors and lots of interesting shapes,” said McCune. “It is amazing how you can take a fl at piece of metal and within moments give it shape and form that makes it look real. That is what I am doing in this exhibit, too — shape and form.”

With everything from ecosystems and wildlife to abstracts and patterns represented in his work, McCune brings life and color to each piece, striving to create work that will have an emotional and visual impact on the viewers.

“That is pretty much it — what I try to do is just to create the magic for people,” said McCune “That is what I try to do in art — create the magic the mystique and the illusion.”

McCune uses two different techniques when he creates metal wall art. First he makes the piece into its shape, from there it is either powder coated in black and then color is added to it, or a clear coat is applied and then color is added. Because McCune’s work can be displayed indoors or outdoors he is careful to make sure that everything is very well protected from the elements.

Once the surfaces are prepared, the creativity and fun kick in.

“The way I paint, it is like looking through a microscope,” said McCune. “Under a microscope you can see different layers of the tissue. That is how I paint — in layers. It really adds an element of depth.” Look for annual exhibits by McCune, but the other eleven months of the year expect to see high quality work from students, local talent and national and international names as well.

“Another reason for the art gallery is to try and step up our art community. We have a really nice art community right now,” said McCune. “But we are trying to bring it to another level where people can start seeing all the different arts and artists... to bring in some international artists that our community can enjoy and then get to the point to where people from Raleigh and Greensboro will drive to Fayetteville to see art displays.”

The exhibit will be open from March 14 to April 4. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Call 630-7100 or visit www. methodist.edu/art/gallery.htm for more information.

PHOTO: David McCune works on a piece for the Heavy Metal exhibit.

For 25 years, American girls have been playing with, and reading about, American Girls. The books and dolls at the center of the American Girl company have put a new spin on play by encouraging young girls to be confi dent and strong, much like the girls in the books.

Since 1993, the Child Advocacy Center has been working to build strong, healthy children in Fayetteville. The center, located on Ray Avenue, just across from Festival Park, provides a safe, child-friendly place where its 19 partner agencies come together to interview, investigate and provide support for abused children. In the absence of the center, victims of child abuse would be required to visit numerous agencies and tell their story over and over.

Each year, the agency hosts a number of events to raise funds to support its operation. None are as highly anticipated as the annual American Girl Fashion Show. This year’s event is slated for March 26-27 at the Crown Center Ballroom. The fashion show, which features hundreds of local girls, showcases historical and contemporary fashions for girls and their dolls.

This is the fourth year that the Child Advocacy Center has hosted the American Girl Fashion Show, and according to Jean Harrison, the marketing director for the Child Advocacy Center, each year the attendance has grown. Last year 800 people attended the event, which netted more than $28,000.

“We hope to sell out all shows this year,” said Harrison. “We have a capacity for, 1200 people at all four shows.”

Harrison added that there are more than 120 girls modeling this year.

“Many of the girls are from Cumberland County but we also have some models from Raleigh, Wake Forest, Holly Springs, Leland, Jacksonville, Raeford and other North Carolina communities,” she explained. “The event could not happen without the dedication of many volunteers under the leadership of Julia Adkins, Cindy Huguley and Carol Jones.”

For Adkins, participation in the event stems from her strong belief in the organization’s mission.

“I became involved with this project for a couple of reasons. I believe in this center and what it does for its victims,” she said. “It takes special people to deal with the stories that come through these doors. The people here are amazing.

“Another reason for my involvement is that this event is a way to involve today’s youth in volunteerism and communityawareness. My daughter is a prime example. Through my involvement she has now actively become an advocate for the CAC. My dream is that after becoming involved with the American Girl Fashion Show these little girls and their moms will fi nd something to dedicate their time to.”

While at the fashion show, attendees will be delighted with the fashions while lively commentary, music and decorations will create a memorable experience. Audiences will delight in historical clothing that resembles what the popular American Girl characters might have worn.

Contemporary “Just Like You” outfi ts for older girls and sweet Bitty Baby fashions for little ones complete the program. This year’s show will include new, special occasion fashions and commentary and a celebration of the 25th birthday of American Girl dolls.

The event includes elegant refreshments, party favors, raffl es and door prizes. Tickets may be purchased online at www.ticketmaster.com or in person at the Crown Center Box Office, 1960 Coliseum Dr. in Fayetteville. In addition, tickets are available at Ft. Bragg Leisure Travel Services.

Advance orders of souvenirs, party packages, guest model opportunities and more are offered at the Child Advocacy Center’s website, www.childadvocacycenter.com, or by calling(910) 486-9700.

The Airborne and Special Operations Museum Foundation will host its Second Annual Golf Tournament on March 18, at 12 p.m., at the Stryker Golf Course, located on Fort Bragg. Paul Galloway, the Executive Director of ASOM, said that the museum “had a great turnout last year.” Jim Ryder, a representative for the museum, says that the museum hopes to reach their goal of 120 golfers, exceeding last year’s numbers.

The tournament is to benefi t the museum with all proceeds going towards programs and direct support to ASOM. Ryder says “that the museum has a number of projects they are supporting including the Medal of Honor Wall, the Vietnam/POW exhibit and the NC Veterans exhibit.”

To participate in the golf tournament registration is required. Individual and group registration costs are offered for the event. The price for individual registration is $65 and $225for a four-person group team. Registration will be available the day of the golf tournament. However, there is no need to wait until the day of the event to register; teams and individuals can register one of two ways. Register by calling 910-678-2778 or by accessing the registration form online via the Airborne & Special Operations Museum website at www.asomf.org. To offer further help with this community event, businesses and individuals can become sponsors by calling 910-678-2778.

The Airborne and Special Operations Museum Golf Tournament is a highly anticipated event. Ryder hopes that people in the community plan to attend “because it’s a lot of fun, a great way to relax and enjoy some time with friends and meet new friends.” He also says that the tournament “supports a wonderful cause — the Airborne & Special Operations Museum Foundation.”

ASOM Features Author for Book Signing

On March 12, the ASOM will welcome Douglas Waller, author of Wild Bill Donovan: The Spymaster Who Created the OSS and Modern American Espionage. The author will talk and sign copies of his book at the ASOM, from 12:30 to 3 p.m.

Donovan was one of America’s most exciting and secretive generals and was director of the Offi ce of Strategic Services (the country’s fi rst national intelligence agency) and the father of today’s CIA. He introduced the nation to the dark arts of covert warfare on a scale it had never seen before.

Donovan’s life was packed with personal drama. He fought heroically in World War I, where he earned the nickname “Wild Bill” for his intense leadership and the Medal of Honor for his heroism. After the war, FDR tapped him to be his strategic intelligence chief. A charismatic leader, Donovan was revered by his secret agents. Yet at times he was reckless, risking his life unnecessarily in war zones and engaging in extramarital affairs that became fodder for his political enemies.

Wild Bill Donovan reads like an action-packed spy thriller, with stories of daring young men and women sneaking behind enemy lines for sabotage, breaking into Washington embassies to steal secrets, plotting to topple Adolf Hitler, and suffering brutal torture or death when they were captured by the Gestapo. It is also a tale of political intrigue, of infi ghting at the highest levels of government, and of powerful men pitted against one another.

The book is available in the museum gift shop.

Hey, where has good customer service gone? “When the going gets tough... the tough get going!” Really?

Well, economically speaking, it seems the last few years have been as extremely “tough” as it can get for maintaining a business and customer service. Recordhigh unemployment, cutbacks, exploding gas prices and a wave of fi scal restraints are crashing over our community like a tsunami. This has many business owners struggling and wondering whether they can or will survive.

Well, of course, we hope they do.

However, the low-level of customer service we are experiencing in the marketplace does not refl ect much of this “sense of urgency.” Usually, when business is off and sales and production quotas are not being met, the level of customer service, which costs next to nothing, gets better as businesses compete and attempt to attract new customers and retain existing ones. Well, at least you would think it would. However, not so much, in reality.

In too many cases, customer service is getting worse or being eliminated all together. This is not good. As a community, and as a nation, we must be careful not to forget or diminish the positive effect customer service has on our productivity and how it defi nes and fulfi lls the American dream. In other words, we should be working harder in these tough economic times and all Americans need to step up their customer service and productivity levels for the betterment of the community and nation.

Everyone must realize that we cannot work at the same intensity during a recession and tight economy as we did in a vibrant, stable economy. It just doesn’t work.

Businesses need to work harder, smarter and more effi ciently in a tight economy. Eliminating and cutting back services and productivity are the worst things a person, business or organization can do in these challenging and stressful economic times.

So, to improve our community and our local economy, I recommend that businesses step up their levels of productivity and customer service. Consumers should expect and demand excellent products and customer service and settle for nothing less. In doing this, everyone one will be contributing to getting America back on the road to fi scal stability and out of the grips of this stifl ing recession. So, let’s all get to work.

Thanks for reading.

Pam Kelly loves fiber — every aspect of it. She enjoys knitting, dyeing, nuno felting, needle felting, spinning and weaving.

In fact, she is so enamored by the world of fiber and fiber art that she opened her own shop this past August where customers can not only purchase supplies, they can also take classes. It’s called Sunfl ower Fibers and is located just of Hay Street at 123 Anderson St.

One of the things that makes Sunfl ower Fibers unique in this day of big-box stores and one-size-fits-all establishments is that Kelly builds relationships with her customers and does everything in her power to meet their needs.

“If someone comes in and tells me that they are interested in learning a certain technique, I try to put a class together for them as quickly as I can,” said Kelly. “If you come in here with a question about fi er and I don’t know the answer, call me back in a few days and I will have answer for you.”

Kelly is so dedicated to her customers that she’s been known to loan out her personal knitting needles for them to use while they wait for her to special order the right size.

“It’s always worked out,” said Kelly. “I always get my needles back and they end up buying the one I’ve ordered for them.”

The list of yarns that can be found at Sunfl ower Fibers is enough to thrill any knitter or crochet buff out there. There is everything from Abuelita, Feza, My Muench, Louet yarns, Shepherds wool and even hand-painted knitting yarns. If she doesn’t have it in stock just ask and Kelly will make a special order.

“I have the staples like wool and angora. I’ve got cashmere and other higher end yarns too,” Kelly noted. “You won’t find the types of yarn that I have at Wal Mart. Most of what I carry are novelty fi bers that you can use to make very high quality pieces”

Being just the slightest bit fascinated in fi ber is reason enough to check out the store. Once you cross the threshold, Kelly will help match you up to a class that most fi ts you, if you are interested in learning something new or want to meet new people and make some new friends. If getting in and out with supplies in hand is the primary goal, rest assured, that is not a problem either.

In addition to teaching the basics, Kelly offers things like Flick night where participants bring their fi ber project and watch a movie while they work. There is a sweater knit along club, a scarfof- the-month club, a club that makes an afghan block each month and at the end of 12 months they assemble the blocks into a quilt. There is a shawl class as well. If there is a class you are interested in, just mention it to Kelly, and chances are it will be offered before you know it.

If needle work is not your thing, pick up a loom, either triangle or square, and weave your own wearable work of art. The looms come in 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 foot sizes and are handmade by Kelly’s husband Jim.

They are adjustable and designed to bring countless hours of pleasure to the owners, with wonderful results to show for it.

“I’ve used my loom for more than making shawls,” said Kelly. “I’ve been able to make sweaters with it too, and they just turn out wonderfully.”

Visit her website www. sunfl owerfibers.com or giver her a call at 223-1314 to find out more.

Photo: A loom and sample of yarn that can be found at Sunflower Fibers.