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{mosimage}We began theAmerican Idol journey in January full of hope. The singing competition promised that this would be the year of deep talent č no silly Sanjayas in the final 12. At first blush, most of the contestants did look solid. But it soon became clear that they weren’t much more than that. None of them could make your hair stand on end, ł la Fantasia Barrino. So each week you’d vote for your favorites with an uneasy sense of their limitations.
The parallels with this year’s presidential race are inescapable. As primary season grinds on, people seem to be having qualms about those contestants too, no matter how impressive they once seemed.
I suppose I’ll rouse myself to vote for David Cook in this week’sAmerican Idol finale (Tuesday & Wednesday, 8 p.m., Fox). As for Hillary Clinton, Barrack Obama and John McCain, I’m waiting to see who can sing the best version ofI Will Always Love You.
Big Medicine
Saturday, 7 p.m. (TLC)
This series features a father-and-son surgeon team who deal with obese people. In this week’s episode, a patient loses 600 pounds through diet and swimming. Unfortunately, he still weighs 400 pounds when his regimen is finished.
Wouldn’t it be a drag to lose 600 pounds and have your doctors tell you it’s “a good start”?
Academy of Country Music Awards
Sunday, 8 p.m. (CBS)
The recent CMT Awards felt about as southern as South Hollywood. You barely heard a pedal steel or fiddle all night, but rather slickly produced pop and rock that clashed with the cowboy hats and boots the performers presumably found in some costume shop. Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant and New Jersey’s Jon Bon Jovi were unlikely award winners, and Snoop Dogg was an unlikely presenter. Gone were the picket-fence and hay-bale props of past years, replaced by slinky backup dancers and glittering sets. Most stunning of all, none of the winners evoked God or patriotism at the podium. Since the Lord works in mysterious ways, today’s country stars apparently need someone who’s more on-task č say, an agent or manager č to create showbiz miracles for them.
Don’t expect anything different at this week’s Academy of Country Music Awards. If a homespun genius like Hank Williams Sr. tried to make his way on stage, I bet the security guards would draw their guns on him.
Masterpiece
Sunday, 9 p.m. (PBS)
WatchingCranfordfeels like stepping into a real English hamlet from the 1840s. The miniseries, based on novels by Elizabeth Gaskell, paints a large cast of characters on this charmingly small canvas. It makesCranfordcome alive with provincial splendor: the fears, the hopes, the cruelty, the kindness. And, of course, the gossip, which never ceases.
Cranford’s rhythms are slow, but the production pulls you in thanks to fabulous acting by Judi Dench, Eileen Atkins, Michael Gambon, Francesca Annis, Imelda Staunton and others. By this week’s finale, you’ll be clucking over the latest tempest in a teapot, just like the town’s biddies in their bonnets and shawls.
{mosimage}Here is my nomination for every college or university that sponsors a campus-wide book for students and faculty to read and discuss together:Gandhi & Churchill: The Epic Rivalry that Destroyed an Empire and Forged Our Age, a new book by Arthur Herman.
The new book is perfect for campus-wide discussion, and sadly, few, if any, campuses will pick it.
Gandhi & Churchill tells how the lives of these two very different inspirational figures intersected during the turbulent times that led to the breakup of the British Empire č and left us, their successors, with a host of challenges.
Some example discussion topics are: racism and racial pride; benevolent colonialism and the oppression that accompanied it; nonviolence and hard-nosed big power politics; the dangers of appeasement and the strategic advantages of accommodation to the reasonable aspirations and demands of opponents; the conflicting imperatives of global economic development against the spiritual advantages of local village life.
All of these important topics, and the different opinions we have about each of them, are part of the history of the first half of the 20th Century as seen through the roles Gandhi and Churchill played.
There is more: the clash of cultures; the role of accidents and luck in the course of history; good and evil men č and the enormous influence of powerful leadership in shaping events.
When Churchill was born in England’s Blenheim Castle in 1874 and Gandhi on the west coast of India in 1869, India was the jewel of the British colonial possessions. Of all of Queen Victoria’s subjects, two-thirds of them lived on the Indian subcontinent. British rule had brought stability and order to a people of more than 250 million inhabitants composed of an untold variety of languages, castes and religions. To a certain degree it had imposed its systems of laws, culture, economics and education.
Churchill believed that India was an essential part of the British Empire. Without India, he thought, Great Britain could not be a great power. He also believed that without British oversight, India would fall victim to disorder and violence as its various groups competed for domination. He proudly believed in the superior qualities of the Anglo-Saxon peoples and the importance of stern and forceful rule.
Gandhi trained as a British lawyer in London. He believed that the principles of English law required that Indian subjects of the British King be entitled to equality, self-government and their own superior culture. He thought that the most effective weapon to gain those objectives for India was through nonviolent resistance.
Both men, in their very different ways, were amazing examples of courage and character.
Ironically, each of them first proved these qualities, not in England or India, but in South Africa during the Boer War in the early 1900s. Gandhi had come there as a lawyer and became a leader of the Indian community’s demands to be treated equally. During the same time, Churchill, although theoretically a news reporter, was actually an active combatant whose heroism made him a celebrity.
Later, as the two men became leaders of their respective peoples, the conflict between Gandhi’s determination to achieve self-government and equality and Churchill’s belief that India must remain subject to British rule led to their bitter rivalry. Although I would be delighted if UNC-Chapel Hill chooses this book for its summer reading program next year, it is a long shot. The author’s politics tilt conservative. For instance, he is an articulate supporter of the war in Iraq. So his book, as genuinely “fair and balanced” as it is, would be a tough sell in Chapel Hill and in many university communities.
I hope I am wrong. Churchill & Gandhi would be a great book for campus-wide discussion.
{mosimage}It’s hard not to play along when your children come up with cute untruths.
For example, for a time one of my kids used to tell me confidently and matter-of-factly that if he didn’t go to bed, the moon would not rise. It was a reasonable conclusion based on his personal experience at the time (he was about two or three). Later, of course, his bedtime changed, he began to notice the moon in the sky even during some days, and concluded differently.
Unfortunately, many politicians have yet to grow out of the toddler phase when it comes to spotting and discarding spurious correlations. They insist, confidently and matter-of-factly, that without their favorite spending program or regulation, some huge chunk of the economy would cease to be or that ever-improving health and safety trends would suddenly reverse themselves.
The most naĢve and destructive examples of such thinking stem from misusing the concept of the multiplier effect. You’ve seen or read this many times, I’m sure. A politician will say that for every dollar spent on such-and-such a project, the public will receive multiple dollars back in economic activity and thousands or even millions of jobs. In virtually every case, the statement isn’t just invalid. It’s idiotic. And yet it just gets restated by the next earnest-sounding politician.
Most of the time, such politicians are citing an economic-impact study that takes the amount spent and runs it through a model that estimates the local expenditure on labor and materials and the resulting employment implications. While such data can be useful ą particularly if you are thinking about going into the business of supplying the labor or materials in question ą they don’t speak at all to the net economic benefits.
Getting to the net requires that you estimate the benefit of using those dollars on some alternative. Economists call this the opportunity cost. Basically, all costs are opportunity costs, whether they are denominated by dollars, time, or some other means. If you spend $8.50 eating lunch at Jersey Mike’s (highly recommended, by the way) you can’t spend the same $8.50 on some other meal, or on buying socks at the store after having skipped lunch. More broadly, the resources you consumed getting to and from the sub shop, including the minutes, can’t be devoted to something else. What you didn’t consume ą the alternative meal, the socks, the extra time at the office ą constitute the opportunity cost.
In public finance, the opportunity cost comes at two stages. Certainly, the tax dollars you spend on, say, highway construction can’t be spent on public schools or law enforcement. But there is also an opportunity cost to converting private dollars, earned through voluntary means, into tax dollars. When people keep more of what they earn, that money doesn’t disappear just because it no longer shows up in the government’s balance sheet. It is devoted either to current private consumption or to net private investment, both of which have economic impacts, too.
The only real justification for a government program is that private individuals, spending a given amount of money through voluntary exchange, won’t get as high a return on that money as the government would by taxing the money from them and devoting it to a public purpose.
The case isn’t that hard to make when it comes to basic governmental services such as law enforcement and the courts. Beyond that, you have to argue that policy makers are likely to know better than citizens how best to spend the citizens’ own money. There are such cases, I would submit. But these cases are rare.
Those who assert the magic of multiplier effects to justify their pet programs may be dissembling. But it is my experience that most of the time, they don’t know enough about the matter to be lying. They are just repeating what they’ve heard, or spotting spurious connections on the basis of limited experience.
It’s their business if they choose, Peter Pan-like, not to grow up. But they should keep their hands out of the wallets of the grownups.
Every song must come to an end. For 17 years, Alan Porter has led the Cumberland Oratorio Singers. In fact, Porter created the COS, over which he has presided as conductor for its entire history. But on May 18, Porter will exit stage left as he performs his last concert with the choral group. “It’s time to go,” said Porter, who now lives in Kure Beach. “I’ve commuted for six years from here to Fayetteville to conduct the COS. It’s time for some new blood.” That “new blood” is Michael Martin, assistant professor of music and director of choral activities and music education at Methodist University. Martin will begin conducting the COS in the fall. \But before he passes the baton to his successor, Porter has a sensational sendoff scheduled for his last hurrah with the COS. Among the pieces to be performed at the concert — which will be a retrospective of the group’s past work — will be Mozart’s Mass in C Minor, Handel’s Messiah and Mozart’s Holocaust Cantata. The COS has about 55 members — a number that has fluctuated and seen many different faces fill the chairs. Former member Gina Harvey, who is traveling from South Carolina to accompany the choir on violin, is particularly excited about performing Handle’s Messiah, a longtime crowd favorite, and Brahm’s Requiem. But she also finds the performance bittersweet because it is Porter’s last time on the conductor’s stand. “He is one of the most passionate and talented musicians I have ever known,” said Harvey, who joined the COS 14 years ago and has been driving all the way from the Palmetto State just to prepare for this show. “Even though they’re getting an excellent replacement, things will never be the same with the COS — Alan built this choir, it’s his baby.” Another musician hand-picked by Porter for the performance is Fayetteville cellist Zack May, who, like Harvey, conjured the term “bittersweet” in describing the performance. “It is kind of sad because he (Porter) has been with us so long,” said May, who has played cello at COS performances for four years. “But I am very excited about this show, especially the playing of the Holocaust Cantata.” May has a five-minute cello solo in the Holocaust Cantata. A current member of the COS, Su Vick — the section leader for the altos — said she too is saddened to see Porter go, but feels the COS is being left in good hands. “Allan has been a friend of mine for a long time,” said Vick. “He’s been a wonderful conductor. And we’re fortunate to have an excellent replacement in Michael Martin. “I will say that the good part is that even though we’re losing a conductor, we’re gaining a place to stay at the beach,” Vick said wryly, in reference to Porter’s Kure Beach home. Porter himself says he plans to enjoy his beachside retirement, though the COS will never be far from his thoughts. “It’s been a great run,” said Porter, who will stay on the COS’s board of directors. “This is my baby — I created it. But now I must step away. “But at least I know I leave it in the capable hands of Michael Martin,” said Porter. {mosimage} Martin has conducted large choral groups of 120, directed a semiprofessional group set up by audition, and conducted men’s barbershop chorus — singing for 18 years in professional barbershop quartets. Martin has said he plans to increase the size of the COS and its fans through advertising and by playing more venues in addition to the COS’s home, Methodist University’s Reeves Auditorium. Porter’s final performance will be May 18, 4 p.m., at Reeves Auditorium.
Contact Tim Wilkins: tim@upandcomingweekly.com
{mosimage}A sure sign that summer is on its way in Fayetteville is the arrival of Fayetteville After Five. This third Thursday event brings the community together in a celebration of art, music and fun. What could be more fun? Sponsored by the Fayetteville Museum of Art and some of its community friends (Cumulus Broadcasting, Distributors of Bud Light, The City of Fayetteville, The Fayetteville Observer, Up and Coming Weekly and Time Warner Cable), the event is fun for the whole family. As in years past, the event will feature food vendors and adult beverages. The Young at Art Tent, which allows children of all ages to engage in hands-on activities and art projects FREE of charge. The Visual Artist Tent will feature artists creating on-site as well as displaying and offering for sale unique, hand-crafted items. So it’s more than just music and dancing — it’s educational, it’s cultural — heck, let’s cut to the chase, it’s just fun. The kick-off event, slated for Thursday, May 15 from 5:30-9:30 p.m. at Festival Park will feature the beach sounds of the Craig Woolard Band. Those new to the area might be asking themselves what is this “beach music” and even a bigger question — what’s the shag? We’ve got some answers for you. Certain regions in the country are linked with certain kinds of music. You think New Orleans and jazz pops into your mind. You think Seattle — grunge. You think Memphis — Elvis-style rock ‘n’ roll. Nashville — country. You get where I’m going with this? You think North and South Carolina and beach music should (after you spend some time in the two states) and will pop into your head. Beach music is a regional genre which developed from various musical styles of the ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s.The styles ranged from big band swing instrumentals to the more raucous sounds of blues/jump blues, jazz, doo-wop, boogie, rhythm and blues, reggae, rockabilly and old-time rock ‘n’ roll. It’s music that reaches deep down inside you and gets you on your feet, which, by the way can’t stand still. Your feet literally start itching to move — and that’s where shagging comes into play. The shag is the state dance of North and South Carolina. It’s a close cousin to swing dancing — but there isn’t as much throwing in the air and the steps are a little more low key. The shag is more of a shuffle than a bop. It’s something best done in the sand — but Festival Park will do just fine. So, now that you know what beach music is, and you know how to dance to it, you need to know that when it comes to beach music, the Craig Woolard Band is beach music royalty. For 27 years, Woolard was the front man for the Embers, perhaps the premier beach band in the land. When the band broke up in 2006, Woolard found himself in an odd place. He still had a love and passion for music — but no one to play it with. Thanks to a group of great friends and fans, Woolard found his way and formed a new band. The band has been entertaining countless thousands for the past couple of years and has quickly earned its place in the Beach Music Hall of Fame. The band’s latest release, Come and Get This, is heating up the airwaves. The CD has produced several hits and has people hitting the floor any time it’s played. Woolard and company are favorites on and off the beach. They can frequently be found playing events like Fayetteville After Five, or more recently, fraternity and sorority parties across the state. Woolard plays the kind of music that makes you long to dig your toes into the sand and grab your favorite guy or gal and hit the dance floor. Woolard is a Fayetteville favorite. He has been performing since he was 14 years old, and has become quite the showman. He explained that he isn’t content until the audience is having as much fun as he is. And, well, since he loves what he does, Fayetteville After Five is looking to be one jumping place. Woolard and his band are committed to giving his audience more than their money’s worth. When you attend a function with the band they don’t just want you to watch, they want you to be caught up in the fun! And while beach music may have been born in the Carolinas years ago, its appeal, and so the band’s appeal, really doesn’t have any boundaries. Children and adults love the band and its music — so introduce your kids or your grandkids to some classic beach sounds at Fayetteville After Five. Don’t forget — it’s free, it’s at Festival Park and it’s going to be fun!
So You Want to Shag by STAFF REPORTS
So, you’re new to the area and you keep hearing about this thing called the “shag.” No it’s not a hairstyle and it’s not British slang. The shag is a form of swing dancing that evolved from the jitterbug and jump blues of the big band jazz era and originated along the strands between Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Wilmington, during the 1940s. It is most often associated with beach music, a genre of rhythm and blues-based songs that lends itself to this dance form. According to Bo Bryan, a noted shag historian and resident of Beaufort County, the term was coined at Carolina Beach. Today, the shag is a recognized dance in national and international dance competitions held across the United States. In the dance, the upper body and hips hardly move as the legs do convoluted kicks and fancy footwork. The man is the center of attention and the woman’s steps either mirror steps of the man’s or a sort of marking time while he does spins and other gyrations. The shag is the state dance of North Carolina and South Carolina, and is still popular among residents of both states. Thousands of people are members of shag clubs throughout the region. Fayetteville has its own Shag Club. The clubs meet on a regular basis and throw some of the best parties around. Dancing reigns at the parties — where people are only too happy to show off their fancy footwork. Most shaggers make a the spring and fall pilgrimage to Ocean Drive at North Myrtle Beach to participate in the annual SOS, a veritable shaggers paradise. For one weekend, OD is filled to overflow of dancers going from club to club — places like Duck’s and Fat Harold’s (no, we’re not making these names up) and the holy of holies — the OD Pavilion — for a weekend of dancing that is the staff history is made of. So, grab your weejuns, get a partner and head down to Festival Park. If you don’t know how to shag, someone will be glad to teach you — and if that fails, simply grab a partner, swing them around and shuffle your feet — you’ll get the hang of it.
Contact Janice Burton at: editor@upandcomingweekly.com
In 1932, Franklin Delano Roosevelt used the theme song Happy Days Are Here Again to jump start his presidential campaign and lift the country’s spirits on the heels of the Great Depression. Each member of the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners may very well be humming the same tune after voters approved a 1/4 cent sales tax increase last week that will generate about $8 million for the county to help pay for a new public library and health department, as well as cover other costs. The sales tax referendum was approved by 30,817 votes to 20,246 — 60.4 percent to 39.6 percent. This was a much higher turnout of Cumberland County voters than usual, and some commissioners say Democratic presidential nominees Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton had a huge say in the sales tax approval. “I expect the turnout was because of the presidential election,” said Commissioner Diane Wheatley. “I was a little concerned that some just came out to vote in the presidential election and didn’t know what the tax was about.” {mosimage} Dr. Jeannette Council, vice chairman of the board of commissioners, also gave a shout-out to Hillary and Barack for the passage of the sales tax increase. “I think one of the reasons we got this passed was because of the large turnout of voters,” said Council. “And I absolutely think the interest in Obama and Clinton was the reason for the turnout. “I am ecstatic about the passing of the sales tax,” added Council. “It means we can meet our budget for the year. We were facing a shortfall.” The county faced a $4 million budget shortfall if the tax had not been passed. While the new sales tax does initially add up to about $8 million a year in extra revenue for the county, the overall numbers come to $4.8 million a year, as the tax increase included an incentive to lower property taxes by 2 cents — which most of the commissioners, including Wheatley, believe was a key selling point for the approval of the tax increase. “This will give the property owners some relief,” said Wheatley. “It will also help fund the new health department, which we desperately need, and the new public library to be built on the same location as the new elementary school planned for the western part of the county.” The new health department will be on Ramsey Street adjacent to the Department of Social Services, and will be a three-story, 108,000-square-foot building. The planned public library will actually be a part of the campus of the planned elementary school, something that is fairly unique for North Carolina, said Sarah Vanderclute, director of public information for Cumberland County. “It’s not completely unheard of to have a public library and a public school in the same complex, but it is rare,” said Vanderclute. “Our spirits are very high and we are very pleased with the vote. It is a major plus for the county and it will help us build the kind of county we want.” According to Vanderclute, the health department will cost $28-$30 million, while the library will be $6-$7 million. Breeden Blackwell, chairman of the commissioners, cited three reasons for the approval of the tax increase: the voter turnout; the work of the Cumberland County Citizens for Fair Taxes, which raised about $40,000 for billboard ads and performed various other campaigns in support of the sales tax; and the decision by the commissioners to lower property taxes. However, Blackwell said he had initial concerns about the approval of the tax as the voting went late into the night. “I was there until the final returns came in,” said Blackwell,”and we worried when those first returns came in. But it turned out all right.” While the commissioners and folks involved in the county government were overjoyed, not everyone heralded the sales tax increase. James and Bonnie Craven, who live just off Hwy. 87 in the western part of the county, said it will cost them more in a time of economic uncertainty. “We don’t own property, we rent,” said Bonnie Craven. “So it’s just going to cost us more to buy the things we need when we go shopping. We just might have to go over the county line into Bladen County for some things we need.” The 1/4-cent tax increase would amount to about a penny on a $4 dollar purchase, or 25 cents on a $100 purchase. The tax would not be applied to food purchased at a grocery store. Election night was a double win for Commissioner Kenneth Edge, who not only saw the approval of the sales tax, but won the District 2 Democratic primary and will face three Republican challengers in November. “It’s just a great honor for me,” said Edge. “Obviously, the voters have confidence in what I’ve done for them and the county, and they have confidence I will continue to do a good job as commissioner.”
{mosimage} From blinking cocktail glasses to quick lube offers, Fayetteville’s roadways play host to a veritable cornucopia of signs, whose growth until 1997, were virtually unregulated. On May 5, The Fayetteville City Council got a first look at a proposed new sign ordinance designed to further regulate signs on the city’s roadways. Jimmy Teal, the chief officer for planning, presented the proposed ordinance to the council during its monthly work meeting. The sign ordinance is based on a similar ordinance in Cary. Cary, the seventh largest metropolitan city in the state, is known for its controlled growth and planning. In 1971, Cary adopted zoning and other ordinances on an ad-hoc basis to control growth and give the city structure. Passing a Planned Unit Development zoning ordinance to accommodate population growth related to the growth of Research Triangle Park, Cary’s local government placed a high value on creating an aesthetically pleasing town. A PUD allows a developer to plan an entire community before beginning development, thus allowing future residents to be aware of where churches, schools, commercial and industrial areas will be located well before such use begins. Fayetteville is putting a new emphasis on the aesthetics of the city and on planning in general. Teal said as the city moves forward with the Unified Development Ordinance, it is looking at all aspects of city development. The UDO does not address signs, Teal explained, so the council directed city staff to pull together information on sign ordinances and bring a proposal to the table. Teal said the staff took a look at sign ordinances from across the state. A recent study by the City of Winston-Salem rated municipalities on their ordinances — Cary was the most restrictive, while Fayetteville was one of the least restrictive. Teal said the city’s goal probably is to fall somewhere in the middle of the two, but used the Cary ordinance as a starting point. “The ultimate goal is to make Fayetteville a more attractive city,” said Teal. While the proposed ordinance deals with three types of signs — pole signs, wall signs and ground signs — the main concern is on pole signs. Pole signs are a fixture in the city, particularly along thoroughfares like Yadkin Road, Bragg Boulevard and Ramsey Street. Teal pointed out that in these heavy commercial areas, pole signs have been placed on relatively small lots and are located one after the other. Under the proposed ordinance, both the number and size of pole signs will be regulated. The Cary ordinance does not allow any pole signs. The current Fayetteville ordinance allows businesses to have three kinds of signs: a pole sign, no more than 25 feet high, with 150-square-feet of copy space; a ground sign, no more than 8 feet high, with 150 feet in copy space; and a wall sign. Under Fayetteville’s proposed ordinance, pole signs will only be allowed on major thoroughfares, which will be designated by the council. Only one pole sign will be allowed per site. The maximum copy size is down to 50 feet and the maximum height is down to 17 feet, with a 10-foot minimum. Roads not designated as thoroughfares would not be allowed to have any pole signs at all. For the city’s purpose, a thoroughfare is a road with more than four travel lanes and a turn lane. Teal said people looking for a business would be looking across four or five lanes of traffic and might have difficulty seeing a ground sign. The council discussed the amount of time businesses would have to bring their signs into compliance if the ordinance is adopted. The planning staff recommended a five-year amortization period for pole signs, three years for wall signs and two years for ground signs. If a business’ sign is not in compliance, they must take the sign down and pay a permit fee to construct a sign to replace it. Councilman Charles Evans suggested waiving the permit fee if businesses bring their signs into compliance during the first year of the amortization schedule. Another key point in the ordinance is defining what is and what a ground sign isn’t. When the first sign ordinance was passed in 1997, many portable signs were converted to ground signs by anchoring them into the ground. Under the new ordinance, these converted ground signs will not be allowed. City Manager Dale Iman said the ground signs were the “most egregious” offenders. “The portable signs that were allowed to be converted — signs that are propped up, signs with lights burned out — these are all problems that the ordinance will address and by addressing those it’s a major improvement in our city,” said Iman. Teal said between 75 and 80 percent of the businesses in the city will be affected by the ordinance if it is approved. Councilman Keith Bates urged the council to seriously consider adopting the ordinance noting that failure to adopt the ordinance would result in “playing 40 years of catch up again.” Bates said failure to act on the proposal would result in future councils looking back and saying the council should have done something about it. In other business, the council also took a look at billboards, with the staff bringing a proposed ordinance to ban the placement of any new billboards within the city limits. The transfer ordinance will remain in effect, under which sign companies can replace one sign as long as they take one sign down. There are currently 180 billboards in the city limits.
“Many of my young patients think about getting plastic surgery the way they’d think about getting their hair done,” explained Dr. David Alessi of Beverly Hills, Calif., who is still amazed at a woman’s willingness to endure “extreme” cosmetic alterations. “Vaginal rejuvenation” (labiaplasty) might be the most sensational procedure, but surgeons also do “forehead implants” and ankle and shoulder liposuction, break and reset jaws to tweak smiles, and lengthen or shorten toes (for “toe cleavage” with certain shoes). Alessi told aGlamourmagazine writer for an April story that one 25-year-old recently asked him to “remove” her navel (whereas most umbilicoplasty patients merely request reshaping). Said a bemused colleague, “There’s some consensus about what makes for an attractive... face, but we have no definition of the ideal navel.”
Chutzpah!
Gulfport, Miss., resident Michael Petro pleaded to a documentary filmmaker (in a clip later uploaded with his permission to the Internet) for help in recovering from his shattering loss during Hurricane Katrina, when his 115-year-old house was destroyed. Since then, he said on the video (reported by WLOX-TV in April): “Church groups have not come through, the government has not come through, insurance has not come through like was promised,” and “(S)omebody has to fight to get these things back and going.” According to WLOX-TV, the house that stockbroker Petro lost was 2,500 square feet, and the replacement he’s pleading for help with is 6,000 square feet. Said Petro to the station, “I’m not too proud to ask....”
Jerome Kerviel told reporters in April that he is planning to sue Societe Generale bank in Paris for unfair dismissal, even though he is the “rogue” derivatives trader the bank says cost it the equivalent of about $7.5 billion by making risky, unauthorized deals that came to light in January and for which he is under indictment for fraud. Kerviel pointed to an independent investigator’s conclusion that SocGen management had ignored 75 warning signs about Kerviel’s trades and continued to support him, but SocGen said Kerviel doctored paperwork to disguise trades.
Ironies
Cumberland County (Pa.) Commissioner Bruce Barclay resigned in April after disclosure that he had built a hidden video system in his home and recorded as many as 500 sexual episodes with unknowing men. While the videos may have violated state law (investigation is under way), one of them has exonerated Barclay of a separate rape charge filed by a 20-year-old man, in that the video evidenced a consensual relationship. (The young man has been charged with making a false police report.)
Instant Karma: In March in Leesburg, Va., driver’s license test-taker Nita Sureka was told by the examiner to park beside the Department of Motor Vehicles building, but she accidentally crashed into it, tearing a hole in the wall and forcing the department to close for the day.
The Manitoba (Canada) Bar Association, which was hoping to file a brief in a controversial police investigation case in Winnipeg in March, announced it would have to forgo participation because it lacked sufficient funds to hire a lawyer.
Compelling Explanations
Well, That Explains That!: Gene Morrill, 57, hoping for a shorter sentence after his conviction for soliciting sex from teenage boys over the Internet, told a court in Fredericksburg, Va., in March about his rough life as a child, beginning with the time he was sexually molested by Bigfoot.
COPYRIGHT 2008 CHUCK SHEPHERD
{mosimage}For more than 68 years, bikers have been donning their leathers and heading down to Myrtle Beach for Bike Week. Drawing more than 300,000 visitors annually, Myrtle Beach Bike Week is one of the top motorcycle rallies on the East Coast, and some would argue the third largest rally in the United States.
From May 9-18, bikers will take to the strip to enjoy the sun and fun on the South Carolina coast; however, due to the large number of participants, the event has moved away from a central location on the strip to encompass 60 miles of coast from Little River to Georgetown. The Bike Week has moved up the coast to Wilmington and further out into Horry County. The event features motorcycle racing, concerts, rides, parties and street festivals.
If you can’t find something fun to do at Bike Week, then your funny bone must be broken. Events start at 7 a.m. in the morning and run through midnight, each day of the week-long rally. Everything from motorcycle rallies to pudding wrestling is on tap at various locales along the strip. Both MTV and CMT are getting in on the action, with MTV’s Pimp My Ride’s Buck Wild and CMT’sTrick My Truck taking over the Grand Strand.
Restaurants and hotels have a variety of special packages for bikers, with several restaurants offering specials directed to bikers.
Vendors will be set up at various locales at the beach, with motorcycle products on display at Broadway at the Beach, Barefoot Landing and area malls. You can see everything from custom bikes to leather wear and jewelry. Other vendors will be set up all around the strand.
And if music is your bag, Bike Week is sure not to disappoint. One of the big attractions throughout the week will be a performance by Kid Rock at the Hard Rock Park on Tuesday, May 13. Other big names include Travis Tritt, Charlie Daniels, Confederate Railroad, the Marshall Tucker Band, David Allan Coe and Skid Row.
So, if you haven’t already decided to jump on your bike and head to the coast, what are you waiting for? Bike Week offers a little something for everyone. Just remember to ride safe, share the road and if you choose to participate in cool libations, do it after you park your bike.
{mosimage}They’ll be puttin’ on the ritz at the Temple Theatre in Sanford, May 29 through June 22, as a production of Ain’t Misbehavin’ comes to town. The musical, first performed in 1978, features the songs of jazz great Fats Waller. The musical also has been a stepping stone for such major performers as Nell Carter, Irene Cara and Debbie Allen. Waller reached his fame in the ‘20s and ‘30s and is perhaps best known for two songs that are featured in the musical — title track Ain’t Misbehavin’ and Honeysuckle Rose. The musical has a cast of five actors and a seven-piece band. It has won many honors, including Tony awards for Best Musical, Best Choreography and Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Nell Carter). Peggy Taphorn, artistic director for the Temple Theatre, says the production has been in the works for months, featuring some nationally known talent behind the scenes. “It’s going to be a great show because we have great people working on it,” said Taphorn. “We have a great director in Ray Kennedy, a great cast and our musical director Jan Powell is awesome.” Powell, who has been the Temple Theatre’s musical director for a year, says Ain’t Misbehavin’ is one of the most technically difficult projects he has worked on in his 40-year career in the theater... mainly because of the musical proficiency of Waller. “It’s really, really hard,” said Powell. “Fats Waller was a great, great musician — a classically trained musician who sort of fell into jazz. “This is the first time I’ve worked on a production of this musical,” said Powell, “but from the first time I saw it I wanted to be a part of it.” Powell is playing the piano himself. Other instruments in the band include drums, bass and a horn section. He has praise for both the theater and the young cast. “I love the Temple,” said Powell. “I think it’s one of the great, undiscovered gems in North Carolina. Despite seating more than 300 people, it still has an intimate feel. “And this cast is so good,” added Powell. “They’re extremely young, but they all sing and dance very, very well.” The five members of the cast are Christopher Berry, who plays Ken; Terren Wooten, who plays Andre; Brittany Carrie as Armelia; Cindy Hespedales as Charlane; and the role of Nell is performed by Mitzi Greshawn Smith. Berry, who is a recent graduate of North Carolina A&T, has an impressive background in theater, having participated in productions of Smoky Joe’s Cafe, A Christmas Carol, Raisin in the Sun and Dreamgirls. However, he says he is as excited about performing in Ain’t Misbehavin’ as any other musical he’s been involved in. “I think it’s going to be great,” said Berry. “The director, Ray Kennedy, has an excellent reputation in the theater world, and the rest of the cast is awesome.” Berry, a native of Westbury, N.Y., has never performed at the Temple Theatre, but he’s looking forward to his run in Sanford. “I think the people are really in for a great show,” said Berry. “The music and choreography of Ain’t Misbehavin’ just fits together so well. It’s been a lot of fun working on it.” The performance schedule is 2 and 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 29; 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday; and 2 p.m. on Sunday. The production runs through June 22 and tickets are $16 and $20. There will be a dress rehearsal on May 28 that is open to the public for $5 per person. “We’re hoping to get people who have never been to a musical interested in the theater with the dress rehearsal,” said Taphorn, “and get the folks who go to the dress rehearsal to come back for the real thing.”
Contact Tim Wilkins at: tim@upandcomingweekly.com
This weekend, families across the nation will spend time honoring mothers. Countless cards, bouquets of flowers, breakfasts in bed and spa treatments will be purchased or made, and on Sunday morning mothers (no matter where they are) will smile appreciatively and say, “Thank you, that’s just what I wanted” — even if the eggs are burned, the flowers came out of the front yard and the card is colored in crayons and smells of paste. In our community, many mothers have great reason to be celebrated. They are the mothers who leave their children in someone else’s care, put on their boots and sling their weapon to stand a line in defense of our freedom. They watch their children grow via the Internet and photos. They can’t be there to hold their children when they are sick, because they are holding a wounded comrade. They see school plays and projects via camcorders. They are the mothers who sacrifice spending birthdays and Christmas with their children, so that others can do so. There’s another set of mothers who sacrifice as well. They are the mothers who carry the load of their families while their husbands are deployed in support of our nation. They are the mothers who spend countless hours ensuring that their children do not worry too much about their dads. They are the mothers who tell their children their dads will be just fine, and after they put them to bed either cry themselves to sleep or don’t sleep at all because they are too worried about their spouses. They are the mothers who volunteer to be T-ball and soccer coaches — even though they don’t know what they are doing — because it’s important to their children. They are the mothers who spend all day at work, only to go home to cook dinner, do homework, mow the yard, pay the bills and climb into a lonely bed. And then, they get up the next day and do it all over again. Military wives and soldiers (who are mothers) are some of the strongest women I’ve ever met. They put on a brave face and do what needs to be done — even though their hearts jump into their throats every time the phone rings or someone knocks on their door or they receive a deployment notice. They are never too busy to help a friend out — even though their hands are already filled to overflowing, and when it gets to be too much, they have a quick cry, which usually ends in laughter, and get back up on their feet. I’m proud to be in their number. Unlike some military wives, I had a head start. I was raised in a military family. I saw my mother carry the load. I watched her stretch a dime until it screamed, keep five children spit and polish clean, keep an immaculate house and be the first one to go visit or take care of someone who was sick. I learned from her example. I look at my hands now, and I see hers. My mother’s hands were always busy (with five kids how could they not be?). No task was too unimportant to be seen to, and no event unworthy of notice. No lesson was too small for her to take the time to teach her children. Lessons on hard work, compassion, independence, faith and love were not only spoken, they were seen in her everyday life. She died shortly after I turned 18. I often think about all the times she was both mom and dad — and how easy she made it all seem. I wonder what she would think about me. I see my hands, which look so much like hers, but I’ve yet to see the grace hers carried in their every move. But if I’m lucky, when my son looks back, maybe he will remember them that way.
{mosimage}Fayetteville will see an explosion of red, white and blue on May10-27 as more than 1,500 American flags fly at Festival Park and the Airborne Museum (extending all the way to Freedom Memorial Park) in honor of our Veterans — retired, active duty and those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. This galaxy of stars and stripes is a result of Fayetteville being named the host city for the 2008 Field of Honor, which is going on in conjunction with the 8th Annual Glory Days Festival. Each flag measures three-feet-by-five-feet and will fly eight feet above the turf in perfect rows, with a yellow ribbon affixed to each flag pole. Set-up will begin May 9 and take just one day, but, according to Suzy Hrabovsky — one of the organizers of the event — it’s an idea that’s been a year in the making. Hrabovsky says individuals and corporations have paid to sponsor the flags; in fact the demand has been so high to sponsor a flag that Hrabowsly said an additional 300 flags were ordered when the original goal of 1,200 was surpassed. Individuals paid $25 to purchase a flag and the aforementioned yellow ribbon will bear the name of the flag’s sponsor as well as the flag’s honoree. And for each flag there is a story behind the stars and stripes — often heartbreaking. “Flags have been bought by parents and spouses of victims, even children,” said Hrabovsky. “A father{mosimage}{mosimage} died in a helicopter crash. “One of the ladies I talked to bought a flag because she was excited that her son was coming home,” said Hrabovsky. “In a lot of instances, flags were purchased in honor of soldiers who are coming home.” Hrabosky says folks have called from all over the country to sponsor a flag — there was even one call from Russia. All proceeds from the flag sponsorships go to Fayetteville Cares — a local organization that provides assistance to military personnel and their spouses before, during and after deployments. “It’s a great organization,” said Hrabovskyy. “If a military spouse needs money for an emergency or a soldier is in trouble, Fayetteville Cares is there for them.” The flags will be set up on May 9 by an army of volunteers, including 100 Boy Scouts led by Mike Archer. On May 10 at 11 a.m., there will be a dedication ceremony at Freedom Memorial Park. The dedication will include music, a color guard, the Pledge of Allegiance, and speakers made up of state and local officials, as well as the military. The color guard band will finish things off by playing The Battle Hymn of the Republic. The dedication kicks off the Glory Days Festival; this year’s theme for the festival honors military vets of the Vietnam War. Events include: A classic car cruise-in at Festival Park; a bake sale; live music at Festival Park; the N.C. State Cyclists Criterion Championship; The Fayetteville Swampdogs baseball team; ‘Patriot’s Crit’ on Hay Street; a Sunday Movie in the Park featuring, showing Good Morning Vietnam (May 25); which will feature free admission and free popcorn; a vintage military equipment and gear exhibit; carriage rides; foods, arts and crafts, and concessions. “This is just our way of saying ‘thank you’ to the men and women in the military who protect us,” said Hrabovsky, “and the ones who never made it home.”
If you’re looking to support the Special Forces and be in good company while rocking out, then you’ll want to check out the legendary band Bad Company, which is headlining the 3rd Annual Special Forces Association (SFA) Benefit Festival on May 31 at Festival Park. In addition to Bad Company, featuring lead singer Brian Howe, there will be at least six other bands rocking the festival, including Ethan Hanson, Stronghold, Super Drive, Donnaha Station, Motorjunkie and Falling in Two. {mosimage}Formed in 1973, Bad Company was a “supergroup” comprised of former Mott the Hoople guitarist Mick Ralphs, and singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke, both previous members of Free. Among the group’s biggest hits are Can’t Get Enough of Your Love and Feel Like Making Love. The group disbanded in 1982; in 1984, the two existing members of Bad Company — Kirke and guitarist Ralphs — picked Brian Howe to replace Rodgers as the lead singer. Since Howe joined the band, Bad Company has sold 19 million albums and produced such hit singles as Holy Water, If You Needed Somebody, No Smoke Without a Fireand How About That. All the other bands playing at the festival hail from North Carolina, including Fayetteville’s own Ethan Hanson. But the festival is more than just music, says organizer Jim Sawyer, president of Chapter C of the Special Forces Association. “We’ve called it a concert in the past few years, but it’s definitely a festival now,” said Sawyer. “We’ve got something for everyone.” In addition to the music, the festival features North Carolina’s own master of mystery, Captain Jim the Magician; the Geico No. 7 race car; the Cape Fear Harley Davidson drag motorcycle; food vendors running the gamut from seafood to ice cream to hamburgers; merchandise vendors; a juggler roaming the crowd; a bike show — for bikes with motors — and for kids, bikes without motors; face painting and, two beer tents. There will also be a special display by Blackwater USA, which is providing a large, armored truck of the type used in Iraq. All this for $20 at the gate — $17 if you get your ticket at ticketalternative.com. And did we mention it’s for a good cause? “After we pay expenses, all the money goes to the Special Forces Association Scholarship, Tribute, and Benevolent Funds,” said Sawyer. The SFA Scholarship Fund awards money via an essay contest to the surviving children of Special Forces soldiers killed in action to finance the child’s education; the SFA Tribute Fund provides immediate, one-time cash donations to widows of fallen Special Forces soldiers killed in action; the SFA Benevolent Fund provides case-by-case financial grants to wounded Special Forces soldiers to help them during their rehabilitation, prepare handicap home modifications, and assist with unforeseen emergency expenses. Sawyer says he’s hoping for a crowd of 8,000 to 10,000. “It’s our biggest show ever,” said Sawyer, “which means we have to raise a lot of money to pay for Bad Company and our other expenses.” To sweeten the pot for attendees, the festival is offering a raffle for a 2008 Chevy Colorado pick-up, a Fender Stratocaster with amplifier and a Smith and Wesson .45-caliber handgun. Plus, your ticket earns you a shot at various door prizes — last year, the SFA awarded more than $2,000 in door prizes. To honor our fighting men and women, SFA is donating 200 tickets to injured soldiers at Womack Army Medical Center — one ticket for a wounded soldier and one for a guest or caregiver. The festival kicks off at 11 a.m. on May 31 and will end after Bad Company leaves the stage, which Sawyer estimates will be around 10:30 p.m.For more information, check out http://www.festivalsandevents.com/featurefestival.php?lid=8633 or http://www.ticketalternative.com/Events/172.aspx
“I can’t remember if I cried When I read about his widowed bride, But something touched me deep inside The day the music died.” — Don McLean A couple of generations have sang along to the lyrics of American Pie, but few may realize that the lyrics are actually talking about Buddy Holly — an American rock icon. Holly, a Texas native, began his career playing bluegrass, but after seeing an Elivs Presley show in 1955, he turned his attention to rock ‘n roll. And he never looked back. In the time span of 18 months, Holly became one of the most influential musicians on the rock ’n roll landscape. His life was cut short when a plane he was traveling in crashed in 1959 — the day the music died. The Cape Fear Regional Theatre is celebrating the life of Buddy Holly in its river show — Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story, playing at Campbellton Landing May 9-25. {mosimage}“Buddy died when he was just 22,” said Bo Thorp, the CFRT’s artistic director. “It is so interesting to look at a man who rose that much fame in just three years. He was a ‘my way’ kind of guy. Radio wanted him to play country, but he wanted to play rock ‘n roll – so that’s what he did.” Thorp said the production is a lot like a big rock concert. She said that the music, which is used to tell the story, is the music that many people grew up with. “There’s not a song that’s going to be performed that people are not going to know,” she said. “It’s the fabric of a lot of people’s lives.” For Baxter Clement, a professional actor and musician who resides in Southern Pines and has the starring role, Buddy Holly’s life is the ultimate rock ‘n roll story. “Elvis came before Buddy, but they were all part of the same thing,” said Clement, who knows a little about rock ‘n roll having been a guitarist in a few bands, and having toured extensively. “It’s remarkable that he had 20 number one hits in that short span of time,” he said. “He broke a lot of barriers down — including racial ones. I’ very glad to be a part of telling the story.” Performing in the river show is a first for Clement, who has spent much of his career on Broadway. He noted that he was told up front to bring his allergy medicines, but he’s looking forward to the experience. Clement said that any time you are on stage, you are compelled to give your best. “The excitement that comes from performing, whether it is for 4,000 people a night on Broadway or 400 people at the river show, generates the same energy,” he said. For 71st High School drama teacher Mike Jones the river show is also a first; however, he has performed several times at the CFRT. Jones will be play “The Big Bopper” Richardson, who toured with and was killed in the same plane crash as Holly. Jones said the show is “coming together and it’s going to be great.” He likened the relationship between Holly, Richardson and Ritchie Valens to that which has developed between the performers at the CFRT. “The relationship between the character is very touching,” he said, explaining that he and the cast were forming close working relationships as well. He likens the play to a rock ‘n roll festival. “Their deaths were such a touching and traumatic thing,” he said. People loved them then, and they still love them today. They love their music.” If you want to take part in this musical extravaganza, you can purchase tickets to dinner, which begins at 7:30 p.m. or tickets for the show only which starts at 8:30 p.m. Tickets Range in price from $14 to $27. The show opens on Friday, May 9 and runs Thursday — Sunday through May 25. For more information, call 323-4233.
Mona Powell is a woman of determination. In 1996, she thought it would be a great idea for women who own small businesses to get together and form a network to help each other out. One of the network’s goals would be creating greater exposure in the community for their businesses. Just as tenaciously as she established her own business, Color Me Angel, Powell went about establishing an event by women business owners, for women business owners. In its ninth year, W.O.M.E.N. (Women Owned and Managed Enterprising Networks) expo is slated for May 9-10 at Cross Creek Mall. The event’s focus hasn’t changed much over the ensuing years — it’s still geared toward helping small business women gain exposure for their businesses, but it’s also a celebration of women, and its annual timing around Mother’s Day makes it even more special. “We are celebrating mothers,” said Powell. “It’s a tribute to mom — we’re celebrating women as mothers, who are also business owners.” There will be more than 67 women-owned businesses participating in the event. Powell said the vendors will be distributed throughout the mall. Women will be showcasing their businesses and will be supporting the day-long celebration by offering door prizes and sponsoring several fun events slated for the afternoon. “We have all sorts of fun events planned for Saturday,” explained Powell. “We have a mother/daughter lookalike contest, a dance team contest and a scavenger event.” These events have become signature events for the expo. Last year, so many people signed up to participate in the events, that there had to be two to three iterations just to let everyone participate. “The dance contest is great,” explained Powell. “It’s a mother/daughter team dancing to their favorite music. Last year, the youngest contestant was only 16-months-old, but she was shaking it.” The scavenger hunt is a great way for moms and their daughters to spend time together. It actually starts on Thursday afternoon, and participants have until 3:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon to collect everything on the list and bring it to the stage, which is located in the food court. This isn’t your average scavenger hunt. Last year, participants were required to find things like a cattail, a picture of the smallest house they could find, an eight-track tape and a 1942 Sears and Roebuck Catalog. Two people found that catalog. “It’s a lot of fun for the family,” said Powell. “The younger team members have to ask what some of the things are. We had one girl call last year and ask what an eight-track was.” Lists can be picked up at the mall’s customer service desk on Thursday afternoon or can be downloaded from www.colormeangel.com. The big event of the day is the crowning of one lucky mother as Queen for the Day. To enter your mom in the contest, you have to write a 100 word or less essay on why your mom should be treated like a queen. The winning mom will be notified in advance, and the coronation will take place at 2 p.m. The lucky mom will win a $500 gift pack including spa treatments and dinner. Powell said she has been getting calls all week from people who want to participate, and she only sees the event growing. She noted that the event kicks off with a social for the vendors on Thursday, and runs from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday. “We take Sunday off because we need time to celebrate,” she said. For more information, visit the Color Me Angel Web site at www.colormeangel.com.
The Cumberland Oratorio Singers hope to make beautiful music with their new conductor, Michael Martin. Adding a new front man is a very big change for the COS, which has been led by the same conductor — founder Alan Porter — for its entire 17-year existence. Porter recently retired as conductor, though he plans to stay on the COS’s board of directors. Martin, a native of Maine, will start in the fall. He is the assistant professor of music and director of choral activities and music education at Methodist University; he brings a wealth of experience in various fields of the performing arts to the COS. “I’ve been a choral director of several community groups,” Martin said. “Different kinds. I conducted a rather large choral group of 120 and I built that up from 35 while in New England. I also directed a semiprofessional group set up by audition. “And, I conducted men’s barbershop chorus, sang for 18 years in professional barbershop quartets,” said Martin, “and had the chance to travel all over the U.S. and Europe singing with them.” Martin is excited about the opportunity to make the COS even bigger and better, though he came within a whisker of not getting the job. “They didn’t contact me,” said Martin. “I saw that they were having auditions for a director, so I poked around for a bit and I found that they had already done a search and they had settled on two people they were going to audition. “So I talked to Fouad Fakhouri (conductor for the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra) and mentioned to him my background and he said I need to be part of that, that my experience was the direction they wanted to go.” And that experience certainly interested the FSO’s board of directors. “He (Martin) just stood out with his experience and knowledge,” said Porter. Porter said he is stepping down for various reasons, even though his love and passion for the COS has never wavered. “It’s my baby,” said Porter, who retired from Methodist University six years ago and now lives in Kure Beach. “But it’s quite a drive from Kure Beach and I was making it every day. And with the cost of gas, it gets very expensive.” Plus, added Porter, “I was ready for some new blood with new ideas and more energy.” Porter says Martin will take the COS in new directions and, hopefully, build up its membership and audience. Porter says over the course of its existence, the COS has averaged between 55 and 60 members a year. And he says the reaction to the COS has been positive in Fayetteville, even though he says it’s tough for such a specialized group to make it in a military town. “It’s always had a loyal group of followers,” said Porter,“and there’s quite a talent pool here in Fayetteville — we simply want to increase the numbers of the members and the audience.” Martin’s plan to increase the size of the COS and its fans includes advertising and playing various venues. He also says that more people in Cumberland County need to be exposed to the choral group. “My plan is to do shows in as varied a setting as possible,” said Martin. “We need to travel; this is a large area, so I would like to do maybe an established concert once a year here (Methodist University). But the rest of the concerts are fair game. I want to find venues around the county. This is the Cumberland Oratorio Singers, so people from Cumberland County should be in the group. “And I think them staying in one place doesn’t work,” added Martin, “So my thinking is maybe taking one month and have a Monday rehearsal in Hope Mills, a Monday rehearsal in Spring Lake, another Monday here (Methodist University) and have them advertised so people can come.” Martin also wants to expand the repertoire of the group, adding new music while still keeping the old standbys such as the always popular community Messiah sing. “I just want more people to be exposed to this wonderful music and to make it the best,” said Martin.
Since last fall, the Homebuilders Association has taken the lead in welcoming the soldiers and airmen from Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base home. Operation Welcome Home is designed to bring the soldiers and their families together for one big fun event that gives the community the opportunity to show them exactly how much they care. The fourth iteration of Operation Welcome Home is slated for Saturday, May 10 at 7 p.m. at the Crown Coliseum. Soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division will be honored at a Fayetteville Guard arena football game.{mosimage} Billy Hylton, the president of the Fayetteville Homebuilders Association, said the organization will once again be{mosimage} purchasing 5,000 tickets for the soldiers and their families. In the past, events have revolved around Fireantz hockey. This is the first Operation Welcome Home football game. The Fayetteville Guard, Fayetteville’s arena football team, will be taking on the Augusta Colts. To date, the Guard has a 1-4 record. So come cheer on the soldiers and the home team. Throughout the evening, the soldiers and their families will be honored in a number of ways, including the presentation of a special coin to each soldier. Hylton said the homebuilders took on this event to recognize the importance of the military in our community and the respect the community has for their dedication and sacrifice. Each of the preceding events has had record attendance, but has yet to be a sellout. Hylton hopes this event will be the sellout. “We’ve been talking with the 82nd command for some time and they are excited about participating and being a part of this event,” he said. “We want all of the soldiers to come out to the football game and have a great time.” Commanders of the 82nd will be on had to welcome the soldiers home and to share in the evening with the community. The game starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets to the game can be purchased at the Crown Box Office, and range in price from $8 for children up to $32 for adults.
While many of the county’s movers and shakers showed up at the Crown Coliseum to officially celebrate the organization’s naming of Paul Beard as its president and chief executive officer, his attention was not focused on the county’s leaders. Instead, it was focused on the current and former employees of the Crown. Beard, a lifelong resident of Cumberland County, began working at the Crown in 1995 when the facility was under construction. He worked his way up through the Crown organization, serving in a number of roles. Along the way, his hard work and dedication to his fellow employees earned him a lot of supporters. And they were all on hand on Thursday, April 24, to celebrate with him. “I’m especially pleased to see a lot of my fellow co-workers here,” said Beard. “They had a great love for this place and they still have a love for it. It means a lot to me to have you here. You have mentored me, helped me along the way and coached me to help me get here.” Beard also acknowledged the work of the Crown Center Commission, the board that has oversight of the facility.{mosimage} “Their commitment is long-term and day-to-day,” said Beard. “They spend a lot of time with us; embracing us and what we want to do. They are key to helping us succeed.” Chairman of the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners Breeden Blackwell noted that Beard was “the right man at the right time” for the Crown. He noted that Beard was more likely to brag about his staff than to tout his own success, but that his performance speaks for itself. And it is that success over the months Beard has served as interim CEO which made him the logical choice for the job. Since Beard took over the helm of the organization earlier this year, the coliseum has had five sold-out shows, and set a revenue record for the month of March. While the commission is quick to give accolades to Beard, he turns it back to his staff. “We could not succeed without the staff in this facility,” he said. “The staff here can overcome any obstacle — and they do it with a spirit of cooperation.” One of Beard’s first tasks after assuming responsibility for the coliseum was to write a new mission statement. He said he gathered the key leaders at the facility and they hammered out the mission statement. The statement centers around Beard’s idea of how the Crown’s customers and staff should expect to be treated. It also talks about raising the bar of the Crown’s fiscal performance and the way it is seen in the community. “We are building partnerships with the people in the community,” he said. “The Crown Center is an integral part of our community. The days when it was seen in an adversarial role are over.” {mosimage}While Beard is busy looking to the future — talking about expanding the facility and adding a hotel either on the campus of the facility or nearby — he hasn’t forgotten about its past. He in fact wants to embrace it. On May 19, the organization will rededicate the auditorium in honor of the men and women of the armed services. Later this year, the organization will rededicate the Charlie Rose Agri-Expo Center and its ties to our county’s farming community.
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