Dr. Stacey Wilson-Norman, Chief Academic Officer for Cumberland County Schools, is one of nine school administrators from across the nation named to the Chiefs for Change Future Chiefs leadership development program.

Chiefs for Change is a bipartisan network of state and district education leaders. As a participant in the 18-month Future Chiefs program, Dr. Wilson-Norman will engage in collective learning on issues central to effective leadership and receive coaching and mentorship from members of the Chiefs for Change network.

“Dr. Wilson-Norman is a phenomenal and innovative leader who is working diligently to transform the lives of students in CCS,” said Dr. Marvin Connelly, Jr., CCS superintendent. “She is a sterling example for others to emulate and is frequently called upon by educational leaders across the country for advice and guidance. I know this experience will strengthen her skill set, allowing her to make an even bigger impact on our school district and community.”

Over the course of the program, Dr. Wilson-Norman will study systems management, shadow current chiefs, receive individual coaching, attend a variety of virtual and in-person sessions.

“As a lifelong educator, I’m thankful for this opportunity to learn more about effective leadership,” said Dr. Wilson-Norman.

“I’m excited to collaborate with other leaders as we work toward enhanced learning experiences and improving student outcomes across the nation.”

Prior to joining CCS, Dr. Wilson-Norman served as the chief academic officer with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. Additionally, she has served students and families as a teacher, principal, assistant and deputy superintendent.

During her distinguished career as an educator, Dr. Wilson-Norman has received numerous notable accolades, multiple recognitions and served on various boards and organizations. She has been recognized as Principal of the Year for Durham Public Schools and Central Office Administrator of the Year by the North Carolina Middle School Association. She is also the recipient of PowerSchool’s North Carolina Excellence in Leadership Award.

January is a time of rebirth, conviction-driven resolutions, and a do-over for last year’s missteps and disappointments. It’s a time when people can look toward the future and aspire to become better than they were.

For all the joys of a clean slate, January can also be a month of harsh realities, short days, and a reminder of the ugliness that lurks at the edge of our everyday lives.
In addition to the federally recognized Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, January is also National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month.

In partnership with W.O.R.T.H. Court (We Overcome Recidivism Through Healing), Fayetteville Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, and Methodist University Social Work Department, the Child Advocacy Center of Fayetteville has put together several initiatives during the month of January to bring awareness to a crime that destroys the lives of thousands each year.
Research conducted by the American Civil Liberties Union suggests that between 15,000 and 18,000 people are trafficked yearly. Exact numbers are difficult to nail down due to the far-reaching and fast-paced nature of the crime. Still, according to the U.S. Department of State, there are approximately 24.9 million victims of human trafficking worldwide at any given time.

Human trafficking — whose victims can be any age, gender or race — is recognized as the use of force, fraud or coercion to obtain or exploit individuals for labor or commercial sex acts.
Though the epidemic is worldwide, the potential for human trafficking exists everywhere. From the bustling city scapes of New York down to rural Appalachia — there’s no such thing as a safe space.

Because of its proximity to I-95 and easy access to major cities like Atlanta, Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina ranks among the top 15 states in the nation for human trafficking.
Due to these alarming numbers, CAC has made it a priority this January to not only inform the public about the very real dangers of human trafficking, but to arm them with the tools to prevent it as well.
One initiative intended to bring the community into a larger conversation about human trafficking is the inaugural “Be Their Voice 5k Run” on Saturday, Jan. 28 at Methodist University. Race-day registration begins at 8 a.m.; the race will officially start at 9.

Fayetteville Running Club, a local nonprofit organization, is assisting the CAC with this special race meant to honor victims and bring awareness to this growing issue.
The race is $25 to participate, and the money raised will be split between the CAC and W.O.R.T.H. — North Carolina’s only human trafficking court.

“We’re proud we can use our love of running to help and serve our community. We’ve been a part of this town for almost 15 years and cherish opportunities like ‘Be Their Voice 5k’ to give back,” FRC President Shaun Wussow shared via a press release for the event.

Vagabond coffee will be on-site to warm up spectators with hot drinks and bottled water for sale. For sweet or savory breakfast options, local favorite Fayetteville Pie Company will have some of their delicious wares for purchase as well. In honor of the mission, both businesses will donate a portion of the day’s sales to CAC.

Founded in 1993, CAC, a nonprofit organization, was instituted to create a safe space for children to share their stories of abuse with a panel of professionals specially trained to meet their unique needs. Partnering with over 19 different agencies, the CAC strives to “alleviate the trauma children experience once a disclosure of sexual abuse or serious physical abuse occurs by creating a community of collaborating advocates.”

According to their website, the CAC’s mission is to collaborate with community partners to respond to and prevent child abuse. As children make up an estimated 27% of all human trafficking victims worldwide, the CAC feels it is particularly important to support all efforts to bring awareness to the danger modern-day slavery poses to an already vulnerable population.

“We want the community to have some hands-on tools to recognize the signs of human trafficking,” said Faith Boehmer, the CAC’s Prevention and Volunteer Coordinator.

“It does happen here. It happens in the small rural communities — it happens everywhere,” she said.

In addition to this month’s 5k, the CAC has put together a commendable list of activities to aid in its information dissemination efforts.

• Jan. 11 was National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, and many local community members and businesses encouraged others to wear blue in solidarity with the victims of human trafficking.
• On Jan. 19, the CAC will host a human trafficking forum featuring a panel of experts at the Kiwanis Rec Center at 6:30 p.m. Speakers include the honorable Judge Tony King of W.O.R.T.H. court, Beverly Weeks (Cry Freedom Missions, C.E.O.), Sarah Hallick (Communicare), Sgt. Nicole Mincey (Cumberland County P.D.) and Nancy Hagan (N.C. Human Trafficking Commission).
• Wednesday, Jan. 25, there will be an information session at John D. Fuller Rec Center at 6 p.m.
• Tuesday, Jan. 31, the W.O.R.T.H. Court Team will present “Day of Hope: Human Trafficking” at Cumberland Hall on the Fayetteville Technical Community College campus from 1 to 2:30 p.m.

The sheer number of scheduled activities for this month’s campaign clearly indicates its urgency. As the number of victims continues to rise locally and abroad, the need for action is long overdue, and the role of “passive citizen” is no longer enough.
Awareness and action are at the heart of this initiative. While they alone can’t make this problem disappear — it’s a great place to start — a message CAC hopes to make clear.

“Ultimately, we want for the people that attend to walk away with an awareness, education and confidence that allows them to recognize that they can do something,” Boehmer shared. “We want them to take that information to their churches, schools and social groups and help others become aware of the signs at grocery stores, hotels or restaurants. We hope they take advantage of that education and call or text the number to get help.”

If you suspect someone is a victim of human trafficking, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.

To register for the “Be Their Voice 5k Run” visit https://www.cacfaync.org/. For more information about the Child Advocacy Center, visit https://www.cacfaync.org/.

In a community of our size that is deficient in attractive gateways, greenways, sidewalks and bike paths, the Fayetteville City Council has chosen to mimic the trendy ideas of other cities despite their documented hazards and dubious positive effects on the community.

I’m referring to the Fayetteville City Council’s proposal for creating a shared transportation system utilizing electric scooters in downtown Fayetteville and other areas of the city. Yep, only our city leadership would advocate for an initiative that has a history of plaguing other metropolitan cities with the hazards and dangers of electric bicycles and two-wheeled scooters.

Well, in this case, our Council may be putting the proverbial “cart before the horse.”

First, “Micro-mobility” (B***S*** name for Mechanical Litter) may be more feasible in large cities and municipalities, however, Fayetteville is not Dallas, San Francisco or New York City. We’re not even on the level of Winston-Salem or Durham. And, though e-scooters may be perfect for short-distant trips, in downtown Fayetteville all trips are short trips.

Second, alternative vehicles such as electric bikes and scooters operate best in areas with sufficient pedestrian pathways and adequate bike paths. Fayetteville has neither. Sure, the City Council has committed bond funds for creating more bike lanes and pedestrian walkways in Fayetteville but those plans are still on the drawing board, and no telling how long it will take to complete.
Of course, organizations like the Downtown Alliance are most likely to be skeptical of the proposal because astute businesses are acutely aware of what negatively affects their business.

In addition, downtown merchants are acutely aware of what messages come out of City Hall. They do not necessarily lie but most commonly are configured as ‘half-truths.’

For instance, the city contends that downtown merchants really don’t understand the proposed draft ordinance and that they have misinterpreted what is proposed.
After all, the city’s draft ordinance clearly states that electric scooters and bicycles would not be allowed to be ridden on sidewalks. Really? So, we are to believe that our City Council and staff are more knowledgeable about this subject than say Consumer Report, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety or the Consumer Product Safety Commission?

Oh, and guess what? IIHS finds that riding on sidewalks IS dangerous for riders and pedestrians, and they have found that without a concrete plan of where and how e-scooters can be operated, they will pose safety risks for both riders and pedestrians.

The rapid growth of this industry has left municipal leaders struggling to keep up with general traffic impact and rising safety problems. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, e-scooters resulted in an estimated 50,000 emergency department visits, and at least 27 fatalities between 2017 and 2019, with injuries and deaths rising every year.

Our city officials would like to you think that other cities like Raleigh, Durham, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Greenville and Charlotte all have successfully implemented e-scooter programs and these serve as a positive endorsement that this is a good thing for our community. Wrong! That’s another half-truth.

First of all, we are NOT Raleigh, Durham, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Greenville.

Second, Fayetteville has one of the worst traffic accident records in the state and one of the highest motorcycle accident fatality rates. When the The Charlotte Observer reports in 2019 that statewide crash data shows 34 crashes resulting in serious e-scooter injuries and identifies them as 15 in Charlotte, 17 in Raleigh, and one each in Winston-Salem and Greensboro with another 17 crashes in these two cities that caused only property damage.

And, in addition, according to the N.C. Department of Transportation, many e-scooter accidents go unreported. So, there you have it! I am not a fan of “Micro Mobility.”

It is my hope the Council comes to its senses and fully understands the burden of liability it will take on if they issue permits for these types of vehicles.
The city would be wise to follow the gut instincts of the residents, organizations and business stakeholders downtown. They are correct: e-scooter vehicles are dangerous, a nuisance, and a hazard to pedestrians, and will ultimately appear as unsightly mechanical litter on the streets of downtown.

In closing, for Council members like Councilman Mario Benavente who favor finding positive ways to expand downtown, may I suggest you focus on homelessness, panhandlers, parking, crime, litter and of course, shopping carts!

Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

Dr. Anna “Theresa” Perry has been named the Executive Director of Academic and Instructional Systems for Cumberland County Schools.

Following the recommendation of CCS Superintendent Dr. Marvin Connelly, Jr., the Board of Education approved the recommendation during a Board meeting on Jan. 10. With 27 years of experience in the field of education, Dr. Perry will lead the district's information technology curricula and systems in her new role.

She will be responsible for the overall leadership and supervision of the Student Academic Systems for the school system.

Areas of supervision for the position include digital learning facilitation, PowerSchool, student records and instructional materials.

Dr. Perry earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary Education from Fayetteville State University in 1994, a Master of School Administration degree from Fayetteville State University in 1999, and a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership from East Carolina University in 2010. She began her career in Cumberland County Schools as a teacher and has served as an Assistant Principal, Beginning Teacher Coordinator and assistant superintendent for Communications and Innovative Projects.

Previously, she served as the executive director of North Carolina Teacher Corps for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. She most recently served as the Director of Professional Development for the district.

Later this year, the U.S. Supreme Court will finally compel the University of North Carolina and the rest of American higher education to halt the pervasive practice of racial and ethnic discrimination in admissions.
Academic leaders should have ended this obnoxious and counterproductive policy on their own, decades ago. It shouldn’t have required lawsuits by Edward Blum and his group Students for Fair Admissions to force universities to comply with federal anti-discrimination laws.

But it did — and even now, the higher-education establishment is plotting to circumvent what it finally understands will be a definitive ruling from the nation’s highest court. One tactic will be to diminish the significance of academic ability and accomplishment in the admissions process while elevating the role of more-subjective criteria such as essays, interviews and extracurriculars.

In this way, they hope to smuggle illegal preferences in the “back door,” so to speak, much as Harvard University already discriminates against Asian applicants by systematically giving them low ratings in interviews.

This may be one reason UNC officials sought to extend a “temporary” moratorium on the requirement of minimum SAT or ACT scores for admissions.

Originally introduced in 2020 as a pandemic-era measure, the moratorium will now last until 2025. High test scores shouldn’t be the sole or even primary criterion for university admissions, of course, but the best available evidence suggests that a combination of grade-point average and test score is a better predictor of college success than GPA alone.

Another probable response to the end of racial preferences in admissions will be, if anything, more pernicious: universities will shift their emphasis from admissions to employment.
It is already illegal, but nonetheless widespread, for institutions to take race or ethnicity into account when making decisions about hiring, pay and promotion.
Infuriated by the end of admissions preferences, however, progressive faculty and activists will press university leaders to advance “social justice” (properly used, the noun needs no such modifier) by establishing explicit hiring goals and preferences based on both racial and ideological identification.

One device for tracking the latter will be the use of “diversity, equity, and inclusion” statements. At many campuses and departments, including some here in North Carolina, individuals are already required to submit DEI statements when applying for jobs or even for admission to graduate programs.

Here’s what the UNC-Chapel Hill medical school offered as a sample of the kind of DEI statement it wants from prospective faculty:

“As I move forward in my career, I intend to continue to include issues of equity and inclusion in my bedside teaching. I commit to annually attending a seminar offered by the University Office of Diversity and Inclusion to learn more about the intersectionality of race, gender, and sexual orientation in clinical care and medical education, and to confront my own biases and the biases of our medical culture to improve inclusivity in my environment.”

What if you are an experienced, accomplished and caring physician who sincerely believes you already treat everyone with respect and dignity and prefers to devote your professional-development time to other topics, such as the economics of health care or the latest innovations in your medical specialty?

Better not say that if you want to get a job, or get ahead, at the medical school.

Contrary to the strident claims of self-styled “anti-racism” advocates, the most-effective way to combat prejudice and expand opportunity in a free and open society is to make less use of crude racial and ethnic categories, not more use of them. It is to treat individuals as individuals, not as pawns in some political game or cogs in some social-justice machine. It is to respond to specific markers of personal disadvantage — offering scholarships to poor students, for example, or well-tailored accommodations to disabled ones — rather than to membership in some politically concocted class of preferred beneficiaries.

Explicit admissions preferences will end. Then a broader debate, likely a very contentious one, will begin. The stakes couldn’t be higher.

The Fayetteville City Council approved, by a vote of 8-1, recommendations to amend the city’s waste collection ordinance at the Jan. 9 council meeting. Changes to the ordinance include limiting the amount of trash, recycling, yard waste and limbs that can be collected from people’s homes each week.

The city will also no longer drive on private streets that are not regularly maintained and could damage city collection trucks. The city will determine a place to collect waste for those streets on a case-by-case basis.

The changes to the city’s ordinance do not include an increase in fees for taxpayers in Fayetteville. The City Council will decide on fee schedules during the budgeting process in June. Mayor Mitch Colvin was the only public official to oppose changes to the ordinance. Council member Kathy Jensen was not present at Monday’s meeting.

Now that the City Council has approved the recommendations to amend the ordinance, city staff will finalize the changes and start “a comprehensive education campaign about changes to ensure residents are aware and informed,” said Jodi Phelps, chief of staff for the city manager’s office, in an email.

The changes to the ordinance will not go into effect until after the education phase is complete, said Daniel Edwards, assistant director of public services for the city of Fayetteville and head of the city’s solid waste division, during a presentation to the City Council at Monday’s meeting.

Edwards said an exact date for when the changes will begin has not been decided. He said the changes could start as early as the new fiscal year, which begins on July 1, or as late as December.

The changed ordinance will put collection limitations on the following:

• •Trash: two 96-gallon rollout carts collected every week
• •Recycling: one 96-gallon rollout cart collected every other week
• •Yard waste: a combination of 10 items containing yard waste every week
• •Limbs: a total of 10 cubic yards every other week

The city-provided rollout carts for trash collection are 96-gallon bins that are either green or brown. The recycling rollout carts are the same size, but are the color blue. Yard waste can be collected in various containers including bins and plastic bags. Fayetteville defines yard waste as leaves, pine straw and grass clippings, among other small yard waste.

The city defines limbs as tree trimmings, large shrubbery and large limbs that cannot fit in the city’s rollout carts. Previously, the city’s ordinance did not have consistent limitations on trash collection and limb collection was limited to 20 cubic yards. There were no limitations on recycling and yard waste collection. Edwards said the changes will put Fayetteville more in line with ordinances in other North Carolina cities such as Raleigh, Durham, Winston-Salem and Greensboro.

Concern over recycling

Mayor Pro Tem Johnny Dawkins said at Monday’s meeting that he was concerned about the new limitations on recycling.

“I don’t want to do anything to discourage recycling,” Dawkins said.

Edwards said that the one-cart limit on recycling is a contractual requirement required by the vendor that handles the recycling process for the city.

“As part of the contract that we have with waste management, that is we’re in charge of one cart per house,” Edwards said.

The city’s solid waste division serves 61,560 households in Fayetteville as of June 2021, according to a report from the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality. Of those households, about 4,000 have an additional recycling cart that they purchased from the city under a contract with a previous vendor, according to Edwards’ presentation to the City Council. The city will still collect from households that have an additional cart. Households with only one cart cannot purchase an additional cart under the current contract. Edwards said that the new contract saves the city money as the processing rate for recycling is cheaper than before.
Dawkins, who voted for the changes to the ordinance, said that most households who want an additional cart probably already have one, but he did want a way for more households to purchase one if they wanted to.
City Manager Doug Hewett said that the city could look into allowing households to purchase an additional cart.

“We could come back to see if waste management or someone else would have some appetite to amend the contract,” Hewett said.

Colvin, who voted against the changes, asked if the Council was going to amend the recommendation to allow for more recycling. No such recommendation was made.

“The larger cans certainly encourage more recycling,” Colvin said.

Raleigh, Durham, Winston-Salem and Greensboro allow for their residents to at least have two carts for recycling collection. Edwards said that if residents have any recycling over the one-cart limit, they can take it to the Ann Street landfill in Fayetteville for recycling. Recyclable materials can be taken to the landfill at no charge, according to the fee schedule from Cumberland County Waste Management, the entity that operates the Ann Street landfill.

Changes for private streets

The changes to the waste collection ordinance approved by the City Council Monday night also clarify where the city will not collect waste on private streets that are not well maintained and may damage city vehicles or harm city employees. According to the changed ordinance, which private streets that are considered unsafe for vehicles and employees will be determined by the solid waste division.

“Unpaved, has potholes, and literally as we’re driving along, we’re doing damage to the road and damage to our trucks,” Hewett said, describing the type of roads the ordinance would affect. He said the city has received complaints of city trucks damaging private roads.

The city will still collect on private streets that do not pose this risk, Hewett said.

“This is not the private roads that are well maintained. This is the ones which are, again, not safe for vehicular traffic,” Hewett said.

The city will work with residents on private streets deemed unsafe, on a case-by-case basis, to determine a pick-up location for waste, Hewett said.
Council member D.J. Haire, who voted for the ordinance changes, said that working with residents on pick-up locations was better than forcing them to improve road conditions.

“I think that’s much better than trying to put in an expense maybe, maybe when they’re not really ready to do the expense,” Haire said. “I like that better than trying to use a force by hand on the property owner.”

When Brendan Slocumb sat down to write his debut novel, “The Violin Conspiracy,” in the summer of 2020, he had but one goal: He hoped at least one person liked it.

Over a year since its publication, “The Violin Conspiracy” has garnered rave reviews, was named by Penguin Random House as a “Must-Read Book” of 2022, and was selected as a Good Morning America Book Club Pick. It’s safe to say his furtive goal has been met and exceeded — a fact the Fayetteville native still can’t quite believe.

“I am 100% floored at its success,” he told Up & Coming Weekly with a laugh. “The fact that it's found such a varied audience is incredible. I’m just geeking out over how many people write to me that relate to the story, had no idea this world existed, or have had their minds changed because of my book — it’s amazing.”

“The Violin Conspiracy” tells the story of Ray McMillian, a young, Black, classical musician whose dreams of becoming a world-famous violinist are stymied by the rampant racism within the fine arts realm and the theft of his great-great grandfather's priceless Stradivarius the night before the most important competition of his career.

It’s a niche subject but one the newly minted author knows well. A multi-instrumentalist, Slocumb, much like his character Ray, has dedicated his life to the pursuit of musical excellence. Since earning his degree in music education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Slocumb has taught in both private and public schools and performed with orchestras throughout Northern Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C.

On Sunday, Jan. 22 at 3 p.m., the Friends of the Cumberland County Public Library will host Slocumb at Headquarters Library as he returns to Fayetteville to discuss his work. Following discussion and questions, Slocumb will sign copies of his book, which will also be available for purchase.

“We are excited and honored to host Mr. Slocumb at Cumberland County Public Library. The Violin Conspiracy is an absolutely riveting read, and I encourage everyone in the community to join us for this exciting program,” said Cumberland County Public Library Director Faith Phillips in a press release.

Slocumb, too, is excited about his return to Fayetteville. He credits the town and its proximity to Fort Bragg with enriching his life with so many different types of people. Fayetteville is also where Slocumb found classical music — a discovery he credits to saving his life.

“The strings program was a complete blessing,” he said. “Without that program, I wouldn't be here; I’d probably be in prison. I’m so grateful for the opportunities I’ve had, the people who helped me, and all the support I received from the community in general — it was life-changing. I appreciate my time there and am proud to say I'm from Fayetteville.”

The book’s protagonist, Ray, like Slocumb, is from a town in North Carolina and must choose between following his dream or wasting his talent by following paths charted by others. He’s a character drawn from Slocumb’s own lived experience, but he represents millions of other talented young people of color who are so often left out of narratives that delve into the world of high art.
Moved by the tragedy of George Floyd as it played across the world stage, Slocumb felt the time was right to bring the idea of Ray, a Black man burdened with a beautiful gift, to the forefront of contemporary literature.

“Ray is a lot of people, mostly me, but there are thousands of Ray McMillians out there,” he shared. “I think people are waking up to the fact that he exists in many forms, and they're giving this character a second look — seeing him with different eyes.”

While holding up his character as an object for inspection, Slocumb hopes that Ray's story invites and creates a meaningful dialogue around the unspoken racism and institutional bias within the world of classical music.

Historically, classical music is a European art form — originating in the mid-18th century in countries like England, Austria, German, France and Italy. However, it’s move across the Atlantic to American shores has done little to move the diversity needle. Even today, the genre remains overwhelmingly white. Less than 2% of classical musicians are African American, and only about 4.3 % are conductors.

The lack of diversity within professional classical music sends a clear message to minority youth that their access to that world is limited, and their dreams of one day being a part of it are impractical. With his novel, Slocumb hopes to bring some sorely needed visibility to the Black musicians quietly waiting for their turn in the spotlight.

“There is one Black person on stage at the New York City Philharmonic,” Slocumb stated. “That’s not at all representative. I know discrimination in classical music is common, but I think it’s out of sight, out of mind. I hope my book shines a light on the real instances of racism and discrimination in classical music and gives a voice to people who wouldn't have one otherwise. I’m really proud of that.”

Slocumb’s next novel, “Symphony of Secrets,” is slated for release in April, and the writer/musician is just excited to be along for the ride and interested in wherever this journey leads.

“I’m just open to anything that comes along,” he said with a smile in his voice. “I’m not looking for anything, but not going to let anything pass me by. I’m writing book three, and I’m just thrilled to be riding this wave of classical music.”

Visit www.cumberlandcountync.gov/library or call 910-483-7727 for more information about the Friends of the Cumberland County Public Library, Inc. and the library programs they support.

To learn more about Brendan Slocumb, visit his website at https://www.brendanslocumb.com/.

Cumberland Family Academy, the district’s family engagement outreach arm, is kicking off the new year with a family fun night.

Cumberland County Schools’ elementary school students, along with their families, are invited to attend “Family Reading Fun” with Nationally Renowned Children’s Author Dr. Kimberly Johnson, on Thursday, Jan. 19 at William H. Owen Elementary School. The school is located at 4533 Raeford Road in Fayetteville.

Families can arrive at 5 p.m. for a pizza party and will have the opportunity to mingle and take photos with local school mascots. The reading session begins at 6 p.m.

Dr. Johnson’s high-energy, interactive “Family Reading Fun” session will provide families with tips and suggestions on making reading fun while helping students become better readers. Families will leave with strategies to implement at home to help encourage a love of reading.
Pizza, books and other giveaways will be provided while supplies last. Space is limited, so families are encouraged to register today: https://bit.ly/readingfunnight.

A children’s author and educator, Dr. Johnson is passionate about education and literacy. Originally from Shelby, N.C., Dr. Johnson is currently a professor at Clemson University and has authored 18 children’s books. She visits schools throughout the U.S. speaking to children and adults about literacy and writing. She grew up in a household with grandparents who could not read or write, yet they encouraged her to be the best person she could be! Now, she has committed her life’s journey to “empowering our children to know that they can succeed, no matter what their circumstances are.” Learn more about Dr. Johnson here.

About Cumberland Family Academy

Cumberland Family Academy (CFA) provides FREE workshops and educational events for the families of Cumberland County Schools (CCS). As part of its strategic plan, CCS launched CFA during the 2020-21 school year. From research, we understand that students achieve more when families are involved in their education. The purpose of the CFA program is to provide families with tools to support the success of their children’s education and to bring schools, parents/guardians, families, and community organizations together as equal partners. For more information on CFA, visit www.familyacademy.ccs.k12.nc.us.

A Fayetteville man has been sentenced to seven years and two months in federal prison on a charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, according to the Fayetteville Police Department.
On Feb. 27, 2020, a shooting was reported in the parking lot of McDonald’s restaurant in the 500 block of Grove Street, according to a Police Department news release.

Third-party witnesses said they saw a man — later identified as Kendale Tyrone Strange — pull into the rear parking lot and confront the victim, according to the news release. Strange struck the victim in the back of his head with a handgun, and the gun discharged, the witnesses told investigating officers. The victim fell to the ground and Strange drove away, witnesses told officers.

A spent shell casing was collected as evidence, the release said.
A parallel drug investigation by the Police Department’s narcotics unit showed drug-trafficking activity at Strange’s residence on School Street, the release said. On March 18, 2020, officers searched the home and found a 45-caliber Hi Point handgun in the trunk of Strange’s car. Ballistic analysis showed that the handgun was the same gun used in the assault in the McDonald’s parking lot, the news release said.

Strange was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, the release said.

Strange was sentenced to seven years and two months on Dec. 28 in U.S. District Court in New Bern by Judge Louise W. Flanagan.

The Fayetteville Police Department, FBI and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tyler Lemons and Nicholas Hartigan prosecuted the case, according to the release.

The Fayetteville Police Department is investigating after an 18-year-old was found dead Sunday morning, Jan. 15 on Docia Circle.

Just after 11 a.m., police responded to a call of a “suspicious subject’’ lying in the backyard of a residence on the 5300 block of Docia Circle, police said in a release.

Officers confirmed the person was dead and had been shot, the release said.

Police later Sunday identified the victim as Stephon Darius Links.

The department’s Homicide Unit is investigating.

Anyone with information about this investigation is asked to contact Detective M. Waters at 910-635-4978 or Crimestoppers at 910-483-TIPS (8477).

Two women are charged with trespassing on a school bus on separate days, according to the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies arrested Gianetta Yvonne Fredrick at 9:40 a.m. Jan. 9. She is charged with trespassing on a school bus, disorderly conduct at a school, and resisting a public officer, according to a news release.
Just after 11:30 a.m. Jan. 11, Brittany Nicole Smart was arrested and charged with trespassing on a school bus, the release said.
Fredrick and Smart were taken to the Cumberland County Detention Center. Fredrick was given a $5,000 unsecured bond and a court date at 9 a.m. Feb. 15. Smart was given a $2,500 unsecured bond and a court date at 9 a.m. Feb. 16, the release said.
The Sheriff’s Office said that only school personnel and students are allowed on a school bus. Parents can walk their children to the bus, but they are not allowed to board a bus, the news release said.

A St. Pauls man was arrested just after midnight Sunday, Jan. 15 and charged with driving his truck into an outdoor seating area at a Raeford Road restaurant and striking several patrons, according to the Fayetteville Police Department.
He then put the white pickup in reverse, backed into the seating area and struck the victims again, police said.
Joshua Caleb Hunt, 22, was charged with assault at Mikoto Japanese Restaurant & Sports Bar in the 7900 block of Raeford Road, according to a news release.
Investigators said Hunt was involved in an altercation in the outdoor seating area before the incident. Two of the victims were taken to the hospital; a third victim declined transport, the release said.
The incident was reported about 12:15 a.m. Sunday, the release said.
Hunt is charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury; one count of assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury; damage to real property; and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, the release said.
He was given a $300,000 secured bond at the Cumberland County Detention Center.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Detective B. Pleze at 910-676-2596 or Fayetteville-Cumberland County CrimeStoppers at 910-483-TIPS (8477) or http://fay-nccrimestoppers.org.

Dr. Eric Mansfield, an ear, nose and throat specialist and a former state senator, will be the keynote speaker for the 30th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Prayer Brunch.

The brunch is scheduled from 10 a.m. to noon Monday, Jan. 16 at the Crown Expo Center, 1960 Coliseum Drive.
Mansfield served in the N.C. Senate from 2011 to 2013. He ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 2020.

The brunch will be followed by Youth Extravaganza from noon to 2:30 p.m. Kevin Brooks of ThegroupTheory, a nonprofit organization that works with youths, will lead the session.

At 5 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 15 Pastor Archie Smith of Spread the Word Worship Center, will be the keynote speaker at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Worship Service at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, 400 Campbell Ave.

Tickets for the brunch and worship service are $25 for each and can be purchased in advance at the Crown Expo Center box office.
Tickets also are available at Lewis Chapel Missionary Baptist Church; Simon Temple AME Zion Church; Manna Church; Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church; New Life Bible Church; and WIDU radio.

The brunch and the worship service are sponsored by the Fayetteville-Cumberland County Ministerial Council. For more information, go to the Ministerial Council website.

Harnett County events

In Harnett County, several events are planned for Monday, Jan. 16 including a breakfast, parade and downtown rally.
The NAACP MLK Breakfast is scheduled for 8 a.m. at the Dunn Community Building on Jackson Road. Bishop Reginald Hinton will be the keynote speaker, organizers said.

The parade is scheduled for 11 a.m. Lineup will begin at 10 a.m. on the 100 block of West Broad Street. Willis B. McLeod, chancellor emeritus at Fayetteville State University, is the grand marshal.

The rally is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. at City Hall. Retired Cumberland County Chief District Court Judge Ed Pone is the scheduled keynote speaker, organizers said.

The Cumberland County Board of Education voted 6-3 on Jan. 10 to end uniform dress codes at three schools.

Uniforms will not be required at Howard Hall Elementary, Pine Forest Middle and Sherwood Park Elementary in the 2023-24 school term.
School board members who voted to drop the policy were Greg West, Donna Vann, Alicia Chisolm, Susan Williams, Jacquelyn Brown and Nathan Warfel.
Carrie Sutton, Judy Musgrave and Deanna Jones voted to keep the dress code policy in place at the schools.

Sutton, a staunch supporter of school uniforms, clasped her hands and dropped her head in silent disappointment after the vote.
The principals of the three schools had said they were in favor of uniforms, but they also spoke of respecting the wishes of their respective stakeholders.
At least 70% or more of the stakeholders at each school had voted to stop requiring uniforms.
Earlier during the meeting, Sutton had asked that the agenda item on the uniforms be pulled from consensus vote for further discussion.

The board approved her request.

“I’ll just review what I said in committee last week," Sutton said. "Uniforms work. It’s shown in private charters, church schools that uniforms are for a reason. Especially in the early grades — elementary and middle schools — for attention span, concentration. And then the social stigma is removed from

one student looking at a ‘have student’ and a student looking at a not-having student.

“Here we are again. I’m asking all the board to consider how we are to support every one of our children and that’s to learn. … I’m asking that we not approve this.”

The principals were then asked to come forward to give their views on the school uniform issue.
Sutton said she had heard last week that the principals were in agreement to keep uniforms. "Has anything changed? I’m open to hearing it," she said.

Jennifer Jasinski-McAdoo, the principal at Sherwood Park Elementary, said what she is in agreement with is what’s in the best interests of her students and stakeholders.

“I thought it was my due diligence to follow through if (we were) going forth with this survey because it’s been at least a 10-year process since this happened before," she said. "I think it’s my duty as principal to listen to what the stakeholders are saying. According to these surveys and the survey results, that’s what the stakeholders are asking for.”

Jasinski-McAdoo said she has seen research from both sides of the argument: “That they do work, and they don’t. There is no proof to show that it does increase academics or (improve) behavior …”

Cornelius Felder said coming in as the new principal at Pine Forest Middle School, they were required to have the school uniform dress code. He was going to reinstate the dress code for the next school year but said he received a lot of concerns from the parents.

Those, he added, included financial worries and the fact that uniform inventory was not in stock. Some parents wanted to do a survey.
Whatever the survey determined, Felder said, “I was going to support the stakeholders of what it said. I was going to respect the process.”
Erica Fenner, the principal at Howard Hall Elementary, said she had a lot of parents ask about conducting a survey on the issues, too.

“We are a Title one (low-income) school. I am in favor of school uniforms,” Fenner said. “But I respect the vote of the majority of our stakeholders.”

West then made the motion to consider the schools’ requests to drop their uniform policies.
Warfel seconded the motion before the board as a whole gave it final approval.

In a Jan. 10 memo, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin rescinded the Aug. 24, 2021 memorandum mandating that members of the Armed Forces under DoD authority be vaccinated against COVID-19, and the memorandum of Nov. 30, 2021, pertaining to the vaccination of National Guard and Reserve personnel. 

This rescission requirement was established by the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023.
The announcement was made in a media release from the Department of Defense.

The release stated: “The health and readiness of the Force are crucial to the Department's ability to defend our nation. Secretary Austin continues to encourage all Service members, civilian employees, and contractor personnel to get vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19 to ensure Total Force readiness.”

The full rescission memorandum can be viewed at https://media.defense.gov/2023/Jan/10/2003143118/-1/-1/1/SECRETARY-OF-DEFENSE-MEMO-ON-RESCISSION-OF-CORONAVIRUS-DISEASE-2019-VACCINATION-REQUIREMENTS-FOR-MEMBERS-OF-THE-ARMED-FORCES.PDF

A former girls basketball coach at Terry Sanford High School was arrested Tuesday, Jan. 10 on charges of taking indecent liberties with a student, according to the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office.

Thurston Jackie Robinson, 60, is charged with nine counts of sexual battery and six counts of taking indecent liberties with a student, according to a news release from the Sheriff’s Office.

Robinson is being held at the Cumberland County Detention Center under an $18,000 secured bond, the release said. His first appearance in court is set for 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 11 at the Detention Center.

More charges may be forthcoming, the release said.

According to a Cumberland County Schools spokesman, Robinson's coaching contract with the district has expired.
He was the varsity girls coach from May 4, 2020, to Aug. 1, 2022. He also was a volunteer coach at E.E. Smith High School from 2019 to 2020.

“We take this situation very seriously,” school district spokesman Lindsay Whitley said in an email Tuesday. “The safety and well-being of our students are always top priorities. Mr. Robinson’s status as a non-faculty coach was not renewed for the 2022-23 school year. When allegations of inappropriate conduct were brought to our attention, we suspended discussions about renewing Mr. Robinson’s contract while law enforcement investigated.”

According to Whitley, Robinson had no other duties at Terry Sanford High.

An interim coach, Roger “Dale” Paschall, is now leading the Terry Sanford girls team.
Whitley said in his email that Cumberland County Schools routinely conducts extensive background checks on non-faculty coaches.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Detective Sgt. J. Mcleod at 910-677-5548 or CrimeStoppers at 910-483-TIPS (8477) or http://fay-nccrimestoppers.org.

Health care in Cumberland County and surrounding communities takes a quantum leap Jan. 13 when Cape Fear Valley Health unveils the $33 million Medical Education Center & Neuroscience Institute.

You can see for yourself.

A ribbon-cutting is scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday at the five-story center on Owen Drive and adjacent to Melrose Drive at Cape Fear Medical Center. Facility tours are scheduled from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., including Simulation Center demonstrations.

“In this facility, Cape Fear Valley Health is going to cultivate a new generation of physicians to transform the landscape of health care in southeastern North Carolina,” Mike Nagowski, chief executive officer of Cape Fear Valley Health, says in a news release. “Our country is facing a serious physician shortage, with a quarter of our region’s rural communities lacking doctors in many critical specialties. The Center for Medical Education & Neuroscience Institute will build our capacity to serve more patients, address physician shortages and ensure that we can continue to provide exceptional care to all our patients.”

Groundbreaking for the building was Jan. 14, 2021.

“The physician residents will transform health care in this entire region,” Nagowski was saying Monday. “Fifty percent of our residents have decided to stay. This will allow us to attract and train the very best. This takes us to a different level, and this Medical Education Center will be among the best in North Carolina.”

The total cost of the center includes design, construction, medical equipment and furniture, according to Sabrina Brooks, vice president of the Cape Fear Valley Health Foundation.

According to the health system, funding included contributions from the state, including $15 million secured in 2022 by the Cumberland County legislative delegation of Marvin Lucas and Diane Wheatley and former legislators Billy Richardson, John Szoka, Kirk deViere and Ben Clark; Campbell University; the Duke Endowment; the Thomas R. and Elizabeth E. McLean Foundation; the Cape Fear Valley Health Volunteer Auxiliary; Cape Fear Valley Health Executive and Vice President Leaders; the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust; Systel Business Equipment; Tony and Ann Cimaglia; Jay and Charlene Wyatt; the Armstrong, Riddle and Williams families; Dr. Wes and Lucy Turk Hollis Jones; and Dr. David and Jenna Abbes Schutzer.

Funding also came from the Golden LEAF Foundation as part of the Cape Fear Valley Health Foundation's "Caring for the Future" fundraising campaign — led by co-chairs Virginia Thompson Oliver and Tony Cimaglia — that raised $7.85 million.

“Having been involved with the CFV Health Foundation for many years, I am inspired and very excited with the forward movement of the Medical Education Center & Neuroscience Institute,” Tony Cimaglia says. “Our new state-of-the-art facility will greatly aid the positive growth of medical care advancements and assistance to the ever-growing growth of the Fayetteville area health care needs; recruitment of much-needed area neurologists to assist with the ever-increasing situations of area residents requiring their services and treatment; and with the adequate space and provisions provided for the training of 300-plus doctors in their areas of specialty residency.

“All of this will dramatically impact the future of medicine in Cumberland County and surrounding areas and give hope and closeness of available treatment options. I am pleased to be a small part of this much-needed venture at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center, and I have prayers and high hopes for the continuing success of medical advancement in our area meeting the needs of so many of us.”

Ryan Aul is president of the foundation’s board of directors.

“At the foundation, when the hospital has a project to promote a stronger, healthier community, we are there to fundraise for it,” he says. “This particular project will allow Cape Fear Valley Health to continue, and indeed expand, its ability to provide training for much needed physicians for rural communities in North Carolina. Many of these residents will stay in our communities and provide high-quality medical care to those we love.

“The added neuroscience facilities are an incredible recruiting tool. We have amazing physicians at Cape Fear Valley Health, and this new facility will allow us to better care for those with neurological ailments.

“The impact of this new building is profound in so many ways — economically and in improving health care in our community,” Aul says. “I am so proud of how our community philanthropists stepped up and supported the project. Cape Fear Valley Health is an important asset to our communities, and all our donors truly stepped up to enhance the value of that asset. We are so grateful.”

Floor by floor

The center is 120,000 square feet, the health system says, and will provide surgery; emergency and trauma treatment; labor and delivery; and intensive care training.

The first floor will feature the Ellison Auditorium, a flexible space that seats 500 in one large space or can be divided into three smaller spaces, according to Brooks, of the health foundation. It also features state-of-the-art audiovisual capabilities to accommodate a learning environment. The floor includes a food court that will open later in the year. The first floor connects to the medical center and includes outdoor seating and bricks inscribed with messages from donors to the project. The auditorium is named in memory of Elizabeth Ellison McLean and made possible by the generosity of the Thomas R. and Elizabeth E. McLean Foundation.

The second floor will house offices of the Medical Residency Program and administration, a conference room, multiple classrooms, and teleconference rooms.

The third floor includes the state-of-the-art Simulation Center for medical residents and clinical teams to train in all areas of health care. It includes a resident lounge, study and exercise room.

The fourth floor is space for future growth.
The Neuroscience Institute is located on the fifth floor for expansion of treatment of neurological conditions.

“We are very fortunate to recruit high-quality surgeons and neurologists,” Nagowski says. “This facility will match their clinical capabilities.”

Dr. Charles Haworth is director of neurology for the health system. He welcomes the top-floor institute.

“It’s going to be sort of a visible headquarters,” Haworth says. “Kind of a landmark. It gives a sense of purpose. Before, we were tucked away in a little house on the corner. The whole idea of everything going in that building is a new chapter in the ongoing saga of the hospital. I’m hoping this will be a drawing card to draw other young neurosurgeons here to keep up the good and quality work we have established. It’s just taking things to another level. It’s an evolution.”

The name of the institute will be announced Thursday evening, according to Nagowski.

‘A teaching hospital’

Cape Fear Valley, in partnership with Campbell University’s Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine, launched its first postgraduate residency program in 2017 with a mission to recruit and retain doctors who would continue to practice in this region, according to the health system. The program has grown to include seven more residency programs and two fellowships at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center.

There are now 274 residents in the health system and 130 medical students. The new facility will house these residency programs and more as the programs continue to grow.

Dr. Don Maharty is vice president for medical education at Cape Fear Valley Health.

“Studies show that 50% of physicians typically go into practice within 50 miles of the location where they complete their residency, and we saw that play out with our first graduating class of residents at Cape Fear Valley last year,” Maharty says. “Studies also show that health outcomes are higher in the areas surrounding a teaching hospital. Since we launched our first residency program in 2017, we have grown to over 300 approved positions in 15 residency and fellowship programs, with plans to keep growing.”

The Medical Education Center, he says, will make a significant and profound future for health care.

“This new building will impact our community for years to come through the projected increase in physicians and specialists who choose to continue their professional careers in our region and in our health system,” Maharty says. “Additionally, the residency program is expected to add more than 900 new jobs and generate nearly $580 million in economic impact in the region over the next 10 years.”

Epilogue

So, there you have it: a quantum leap for health care in this and surrounding communities to include Bladen, Columbus, Harnett, Hoke, Moore, Robeson and Sampson counties.

“We are grateful to all of the people,” Mike Nagowski says, “who have donated so generously to this facility.”
Bill Kirby Jr. can be reached at billkirby49@gmail.com or 910-624-1961.

Fayetteville Symphony is back with another event! On Saturday, Jan. 21, Fayetteville’s very own Symphony Orchestra and the voices of First Presbyterian Church will be performing in the church’s sanctuary at 102 Ann St.

The performance will start at 7:30 p.m. and last for one hour with no intermission.

Meghan Woolbright, the marketing and office manager at Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra, said, “Jubilate Deo is the fourth concert of our season and we’re excited for our community to hear it!”
You may wonder, “What is the Jubilate Deo and where did it originate?” Dan Forrest’s Jubilate Deo brings to life the global aspect of the traditional Psalm 100 text, “O be joyful in the Lord, all ye lands,” by setting it in seven different languages and drawing from a wide spectrum of musical influences.

Each movement combines some characteristics of its language group’s musical culture with the composer’s own musical language.
Movements include liturgical Latin, intertwined Hebrew and Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, Zulu, Spanish, Song of the Earth, and a closing movement combining several of these languages with English.

The result is a stunning global celebration of joy, as all the earth sings as one, “Omnis terra, jubilate!”

Tickets for this event can be purchased at www.fayettevillesymphony.org.

Adult tickets are $32 and seniors 65 or older pay $25 for a ticket. If you are in the military, previously served, or you’re a Cumberland County Schools employee, your ticket would also be $25. College student tickets are $8 and child tickets are $5.

For more information, visit www.fayettevillesymphony.org.

Editor's note: Founded in 1956, the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra is a professional, regional orchestra whose mission is to educate, entertain, and inspire citizens.
Praised for its artistic excellence, the Symphony leads in the cultural and educational landscape for Fayetteville and our southeastern North Carolina region.

So long, Fort Bragg. Hello, Fort Liberty.

The Naming Commission process is now over and the names of bases, posts, ships, streets and more named after Confederate soldiers will change.

On Jan. 5, William A. LaPlante, the undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, directed all DOD organizations to begin full implementation of the Commission on the Naming of Items of the Department of Defense recommendations.

LaPlante acted at the end of a 90-day waiting period that began after the Naming Commission released its third and final report in September. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III accepted the renaming recommendations in September.

The services and other DOD agencies have until the end of the year to complete the process. Retired Navy Adm. Michelle Howard chaired the congressionally mandated Naming Commission. The commission's mission was to provide removal and renaming recommendations for all DOD items "that commemorate the Confederate States of America or any person who served voluntarily with the Confederate States of America."

While Army bases are the most conspicuous examples, many installations have street names or buildings named after Confederates. Even Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia has a large Confederate Memorial, which is now being disassembled. The Navy will rename the cruiser USS Chancellorsville, which commemorates a Confederate victory, and the USNS Maury — named after a U.S. Navy officer who resigned his commission to fight for the Confederate Navy — will also be renamed. Battle streamers commemorating Confederate service will no longer be authorized.

Some Army bases, established in the build-up and during World War I, were named for Confederate officers in an effort to court support from local populations in the South. That the men for whom the bases were named had taken up arms against the government they had sworn to defend was seen by some as a sign of reconciliation between the North and South. It was also the height of the Jim Crow Laws in the South, so there was no consideration for the feelings of African Americans who had to serve at bases named after men who fought to defend slavery.

All this changed in the aftermath of the police killing of George Floyd in 2020. Many people protested systemic racism and pointed to Confederate statues and bases as part of that system. Congress established the commission in the National Defense Authorization Act of fiscal 2021. Then-President Donald J. Trump vetoed the legislation because of the presence of the commission, and huge bipartisan majorities in both houses of Congress overrode his veto.

The commission issued its first report in May 2022, which addressed renaming Army bases. The commission finished their mission on Oct. 1 and there was a 90-day period for public comment. That has now expired and the renaming of the bases may proceed apace.

Fort Benning, Georgia, will be renamed Fort Moore after Army Lt. Gen. Hal Moore and his wife, Julia Compton Moore. Moore commanded U.S. forces in the first large-scale battle of the Vietnam War. His book — "We Were Soldiers Once…And Young" was made into the 2002 movie We Were Soldiers.

Fort Gordon, Georgia, is renamed Fort Eisenhower after General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower, the leader of the liberation of Europe in World War II, and the 34th president of the United States.

Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia, is renamed Fort Walker after Dr. Mary Edwards Walker — the first woman surgeon in the Civil War, and the only woman awarded the Medal of Honor.

Fort Hood, Texas, is renamed Fort Cavazos in honor of Army Gen. Richard E. Cavazos, a Hispanic American hero of both the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Fort Lee, Virginia, is renamed after two soldiers and will become Fort Gregg-Adams. Army Lt. Gen. Arthur J. Gregg was an African American soldier who rose from private to three-star during a career in military logistics. Army Lt. Col. Charity Adams was the first African American officer in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps in World War II and led the first African American WAAC unit to serve overseas.

Fort Pickett, Virginia, is renamed Fort Barfoot in honor of Army Tech Sgt. Van T. Barfoot, who received the Medal of Honor for his actions with the 45th Infantry Division in Italy in 1944.

Fort Polk, Louisiana, is renamed Fort Johnson to commemorate Army Sgt. William Henry Johnson. Johnson was a member of the famous Harlem Hellfighters that fought under French Army command during World War I. Johnson belatedly received the Medal of Honor for an action in the Argonne Forest of France where he fought off a German raid and received 21 wounds in the hand-to-hand fighting. President Barack Obama awarded Johnson the medal in 2015, long after the soldier died in 1929.

Fort Rucker, Alabama, is renamed after Army Chief Warrant Officer 4 Michael J. Novosel. The chief was an aviator who flew combat in both World War II and Vietnam and received the Medal of Honor for a Medevac mission under fire in Vietnam where he saved 29 soldiers.

Finally, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, is renamed Fort Liberty.

Few individuals in American history have made an impact as sizable as Martin Luther

King Jr. King wore many hats throughout his tragically short life, from minister to activist to scholar, leaving behind a legacy that is worthy
of celebration.

Though King was assassinated before he even reached his fortieth birthday, his life was filled with many notable events. Many of those events positively affected, and continue to affect, the lives of millions of others.

The Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University notes that the following are some of the major events of King’s life.

January 15, 1929: Now commemorated annually as Martin Luther King Jr. Day (in 2023, the holiday is observed on Monday, January 16), January 15 marks the day King was born in 1929. King was born in Atlanta, where his father was a pastor at the Ebenezer Church.

September 20, 1944: Despite being only 15 years old, King begins his freshman year at Morehouse College. King was only a high school junior in 1944, but he was admitted to Morehouse College, where his father studied for his ministerial degree, after passing the school’s entrance exam.

August 6, 1946: King’s letter to the editor of The Atlanta Constitution is published. The letter reflects King’s belief that Black Americans are entitled to the same rights and opportunities as White Americans. King’s father later admitted this letter was the first time he and his wife recognized their son’s “developing greatness.”

February 25, 1948: Following in his father’s footsteps, King is ordained and appointed assistant pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in his hometown of Atlanta. June 8, 1948: King earns his bachelor of arts degree in sociology from Morehouse College.

May 6-8, 1951: King graduates from Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania. He delivers the valedictory address during the graduation ceremony.

June 18, 1953: King marries Coretta Scott near the bride’s family home in Marion, Alabama. Coretta Scott King would also become a vocal activist, advocating for peace and gay rights and expressing her opposition to apartheid in the 1980s. She would not remarry after her husband’s assassination.

June 5, 1955: King earns his doctorate in systematic theology from Boston University.

December 5, 1955: King becomes president of the Montgomery Improvement Association after the organization is formed at the Holt Street Baptist Church. MIA is formed in response to the arrest of Rosa Parks five days earlier after she refused to vacate her seat for a white passenger.

January 27, 1956: A threatening phone call late in the evening inspires King to carry on with his activism.

January 30, 1956: King’s home is bombed while he is elsewhere delivering a speech. His wife and daughter are not injured in the blast.

January 10-11, 1957: King is named chairman of what becomes the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), which was an organization of southern black ministers working together to combat segregation.

June 23, 1958: King and other leaders meet with U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower in Washington, D.C.

September 17, 1958: Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story is published. It is King’s first book.

September 20, 1958: King survives a stabbing during a book signing in Harlem, New York. During a surgery after the stabbing, doctors remove a seven-inch letter opener from King’s chest.

April 16, 1963: King writes his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” in response to criticisms of the Birmingham Campaign, a collective effort on the part of the SCLC and the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights (ACMHR) to combat segregation in the Alabama city. The letter becomes one of King’s most famous writings.

August 28, 1963: King delivers his “I Have a Dream” speech during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

January 3, 1964: King is named “Man of the Year” by Time magazine.

December 10, 1964: King receives the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway.

March 17-25, 1965: King helps to lead civil rights marchers from Selma to Montgomery.

June 7, 1966: King and other leaders resume James Meredith’s “March Against Fear” from Memphis to Jackson, Mississippi. Meredith
was unable to continue after he was shot and wounded.

April 3, 1968: King delivers his final speech, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” as he returns to Memphis to lead a peaceful march of striking sanitation workers.

April 4, 1968: King is shot and killed on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. He is buried in Atlanta five days later.

The Gilbert Theater is offering three separate stage combat classes in January for anyone in the Fayetteville area — whether they are part of the theater community or not.

The instructor of the class, Madeline Murphy, says the workshops build on top of each other, but could also be taken separately. No former knowledge of stage combat is needed to take the classes.

“Any skill level can benefit from this, but it’s mostly for people who have never experienced this before and even if you have, it will be really fun to come in and relearn the basics and go back to fundamentals,” Murphy said.

The first workshop on unarmed fighting was successful. The second class, scheduled for Jan. 14 from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m., will focus on knife fighting techniques.
In that workshop, students will learn how to safely perform a variety of prop knife maneuvers in a choreographed fight. This includes cutting drills and patterns, disarms and basic handling of a knife in the context of stage combat.

Students are asked to bring a “knife” to practice with. It can be anything the approximate size of a knife that isn’t actually sharp, for example, a paint mixing stick.
The third and final workshop, scheduled for Jan. 28 from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m., will be about sword fighting. Students will learn the basics and fundamentals of performing a safe stage version of a classic combat style.

This class includes cut patterns and drills, parries, and both basic and creative handling of a broadsword. Everyone will get an opportunity to work with a real professional-grade prop steel broadsword.
Students are asked to bring a “sword” to practice with. It can be anything the approximate size of a sword that isn’t actually sharp, for example, dowel rods.

“At the end of every workshop, we are going to have a short little scene that everyone will have learned. It will have a few basic combat moves for each discipline in one scene,” she said. “So, they can take that home and have a nice little package, tied up with a bow to wrap it up, so they can practice in their own time and improve on.”

Students must be 18 and older and there is a limit of 20 students per class. These workshops are a part of its adult theater education program, which Tammy Woody, the education director at Gilbert Theater, runs.
The program offers fun and informal workshops for those who are new to the theater, and for those who make a living performing in the theater.

“We’ve had a few shows that we’ve done over the past couple of years that have had quite a few scenes in them, and I just thought it would be a good way for some of our regulars and also just anybody in the surrounding area that is interested in it,” Lawrence Carlisle, the artistic director of the Gilbert Theater, said. “I think it's a cool idea for the arts community here in Fayetteville.”

Those who are interested in signing up for the remaining two classes can register at www.gilberttheater.com. The cost of the classes is $40 each. All of the classes will take place at the Gilbert Theater.

Let there be joyful hearts.

And hymns of joy there were on this day of celebration for the life of Joycelyn “Joy” Walden Cogswell, the retired pianist at her beloved Snyder Memorial Baptist Church on Westmont Drive. No need for tears, she would tell us.

“I am home,” Joy Cogswell would have us know. “I am home, with my Lord and savior, where heaven’s streets are lined in gold, and with God’s mansions with many rooms, and one just for me, just like the Bible told me so.”

No need for sad faces, she would tell us. No need for sorrow. Every pew was filled Saturday, Jan. 7 in this church, circa 1949, from the lower sanctuary to the balcony above that looked down on the altar, where for 47 years parishioners found Joy Cogswell at the grand piano every Sunday until her retirement in 2018.

“I believe God gave me a gift to be able to share his love through my hands,” Joy Cogswell said in 2018 before playing a final time for the Sunday service. “That’s always been my goal: to have people not look at me, but to hear what God is trying to say to them through the music.”

She was a presence every Sabbath and dressed in her Sunday best. Her dark hair always coiffed, with every strand in place. She never missed a cue. She never missed a key. She never missed a note. Her fingers flowed gently and fluidly across the keyboard, and the sole of her shoe along the foot pedals, too. She accompanied every soloist, soprano, alto, tenor, baritone and choral voice, from “Amazing Grace” to “How Great Thou Art” to “Holy, Holy, Holy” to “It Is Well With My Soul” to “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” to “There’s a Sweet, Sweet Spirit in This Place.”

She played for weddings and brought brides down the aisle. She played with such reverence for farewells of congregation members called home. And the church’s annual “Singing Christmas Tree” for 40 consecutive years, and at Carnegie Hall in the last year of Joy Cogswell’s life.

“What struck me most about her was her genuine humility in spite of the fact that she was so gifted,” the Rev. John Cook, the church’s retired minister, would say Tuesday, after learning that Joy Cogswell succumbed to her diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. “She was one of the greatest blessings to our congregation in our church’s rich history.”

Joycelyn “Joy” Walden Cogswell died Monday evening, Jan.2. She was 75.

“I love you,’” Bob Cogswell would say in her final moments. “I love you.”

She would leave him, holding her husband’s hand.

Sunlight breaking through

“We are here today to celebrate the life and presence of her ministry,” Richard Suggs, the church’s minister of music, would say. “She was a gifted musician and educator. She played with heart and wanted to usher in the Holy Spirit in a powerful way from her heart’s relationship with God.”

Joy Cogswell, he would say, had and left a “musically and spiritual fingerprint” in the sanctuary. There was a hush in the congregation as recordings of Joy Cogswell’s customized arrangements of “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence,” “Jesus Loves Me” and “It Is Well My Soul” played in remembrance of her musical talent.

Her music resonated.

Her legacy was alive.

“She blessed us in so many ways,” the Rev. David Hailey, senior pastor at Hayes Barton Baptist Church in Raleigh, would say. Joy Cogswell often played piano at the Wake County church. “Her amazing gift of music had a way of bringing all of us a little closer to God. We are here to worship, and this is what Joy would have wanted. To be here for the glory of God.”

Soloist Barbara Lawson later would sing “The Majesty and Glory of Your Name,” as Lawson had done so many times before with Joy Cogswell in accompaniment. And a granddaughter would lean on a grandfather’s shoulder. Sunlight from an overcast day would break through the church windows as Barbara Lawson sang.

Giles Blankenship would offer “The Lord’s Prayer” a cappella, and Bob Haynes would later lead the sanctuary in the church’s adopted hymn of “There’s a Sweet, Sweet Spirit in This Place” as every man and woman and child held one another’s hands.

“It was Bob and Joy’s wish that we sing it today,” Haynes would say, “like only Snyder can.”

Sara Barefoot, who donated a kidney to Joy Cogswell on Dec. 10, 2007, would sing “I Want Jesus to Walk With Me” near the end of the service.

“I don't go a day without thanking God for her,” Cogswell once said. “I've always wanted a sister, and I have one now.”

Barefoot’s presence Saturday was poignant.

Steadfast in her faith

“Things were not always easy for Joy,” Suggs would say.

Still, her faith led her along life’s way.

“Joy believed that loving others is what really mattered,” he would say. “The world lost a gifted musician this week. But she was more than a musician. We will never stop grieving today.”
But we can handle our sorrow “by holding one another a little closer. Joy, we thank God for every remembrance.”

Joycelyn “Joy” Walden Cogswell was the little girl who grew up on the east bank of the Pearl River in Columbia, Mississippi, and found the love of the piano from age 5 under her musician mother’s eye.
“My love of music came naturally to me,” Joy Cogswell once said.

She would attend Florida State University and earn her degree in music education with a piano principal degree and also find the love of her in Bob Cogswell, a young law school student. They married Sept. 19, 1970, and found Fayetteville and Snyder Memorial Baptist Church in 1971, where Joy Cogswell would direct the youth choir and become the pianist in 1974.

Over the ensuring 47 years, she would leave an indelible mark teaching music to not only church youths and children but to aspiring piano students throughout the community, including at Methodist University and Fayetteville Academy.

“Joy lived a life of gratitude,” the Rev. Hailey would say. “She was grateful for her friends, and if you were Joy’s friend, she loved you. Joy was thankful to God for all her friends she ever met along her way. Joy had an amazing life. She never stopped being grateful and never lost sight of God’s amazing grace.”

Epilogue

No need for tears, Joy Cogswell would have wanted us to know, in this sanctuary where she told so many for almost a half century there was a “sweet, sweet spirit in this place,” where Joy Cogswell loved and counted her blessings all of her days. No need for sad or solemn faces. No need for sorrow.

“I am home,” Joy Cogswell would have us know. “I am home, with my Lord and savior, where heaven’s streets are lined in gold, and with God’s mansions with many rooms, and one just for me, just like the Bible told me so. I have touched the face of God. And it is glorious.”

This month marks 94 years since the birth of Martin Luther King, Jr. and 36 years since we have had a federal holiday dedicated to the highest values embodied by his legacy. Several of his speeches have gone down in the annals of American oratory.

I would like to reflect on one passage from an address he gave on Feb. 10, 1966, at Illinois Wesleyan University and how it complements a teaching from a medieval Spanish sage of my faith tradition — Rabbi Moses son of Nachman, more widely known as (Moses) Nachmanides.

Midway through this talk, Dr. King critiqued those who claimed that “legislation can’t solve the problem that we face in race relations because you can’t change the heart. And so we must rely on education to solve the problem and not even look to any legislation. Now I guess there is some truth in this, at least a half-truth. We realize that if the problem is to be solved ultimately, if we are to have a truly integrated society, men and women must rise to the majestic heights of being obedient to the unenforceable. And I would be the first to acknowledge that. So it may be true that you can’t legislate integration, but you can legislate desegregation. It may be true that morality cannot be legislated but behavior can be regulated. It may be true that the law cannot change the heart but it can restrain the heartless. It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, religion and education will have to do that, but it can restrain him from lynching me. And I think that’s pretty important also. And so that while legislation may not change the hearts of men, it does change the habits of men.”

Coming from a faith tradition that puts great emphasis on the spirit, here Dr. King opines that there is yet a necessary place for the law, at least as an interim measure, even a regrettably excessive one.

Traditional Judaism, of which Nachmanides was certainly a part, finds much of its expression through the idea of Torah — understood here not merely as the Five Books of Moses, but expansively as Jewish law generally — as detailed guidance in how to translate the values of Judaism, that is its spirit, into specific, concrete daily behavior.

Nonetheless, Nachmanides taught the idea that it is possible for one to be a “scoundrel within the limits of the Torah.” Despite believing that Torah was given by a perfect God, Nachmanides nevertheless maintained remarkably that it is possible to follow all the technical requirements of Jewish law while still flouting its spirit.

A clever individual, while still managing to avoid crossing any legal lines, even the boundaries of God’s Torah, can find ways to egocentrically serve oneself immorally at the expense of others.

As a rabbi I certainly believe in the mandate of my tradition to live a life imbued with Torah. Accordingly, I appreciate the lesson from Rev. King that law is often necessary.

Still, I think it is also important to learn from Nachmanides that our behavior will never be thoroughly righteous unless our conformity to the law also comes from a place of sacred values.

Officials with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission recently awarded the Lawrence G. Diedrick Small Game Award to both an individual and organization whose actions have significantly and positively impacted North Carolina’s small game populations and the hunting heritage associated with small game.

Kathryn Rand Booher of Rocky Point and the Wake County Wildlife Club were the two recipients honored with the 2022 award.

Booher’s actions and financial support have contributed to bobwhite quail conservation, including habitat improvements, greater public access, education and advocacy. She is a strong financial supporter and active volunteer of the Southeast North Carolina Chapter of Quail Forever and the South Carolina Bobwhite Initiative. She’s the liaison between the SENC and the Wildlife Commission, and with her assistance the agency created 7,000 acres of “Quail Trails” on Holly Shelter Game Land in Pender County. The trails have improved access to and the management of early succession habitat, which has enhanced small game hunting opportunities and benefited many non-game species.

Booher has overseen efforts to manage a longleaf pine forest through thinning and prescribed burns on over 340 acres of her family’s land. The direct impact of this work has improved both the habitat and the quail population. Leading by example, she has encouraged other private landowners to effectively manage their own property to enhance habitat for bobwhite quail.

G.W. Atkinson, Heather Hill and Jim Hudson of the Wake County Wildlife Club accepted the award on behalf of their 165 members who have worked tirelessly for decades to promote wildlife conservation. As a leader in conservation education, the WCWC has impacted young people who have gone on to pursue careers in the wildlife field and created conservationists with an appreciation for the natural world by highlighting the critical role that sportsmen and women play in the conservation of our wildlife resources.

Best known for hosting the Dixie Deer Classic in Raleigh, the club’s impacts reach well beyond the annual big game event. Specifically, the club hosts countless workshops aimed at hunter safety, wildlife-associated recreation, education and diversity in hunting. The WCWC is also the primary non-governmental supporter of the Fur, Fish and Game Rendezvous held each year at Millstone 4-H Camp in Ellerbe. The club offers scholarships to send teenagers to this unique weeklong camp. Since 2014, they have sponsored 30 campers each summer.

In addition to monetary support, club members volunteer as instructors to make this camp a success. The club’s efforts provide opportunities for many young adults to attend camp who otherwise may not be exposed to fishing, hunting and shooting sports.

In 2020, club officials updated the forest management plan for their 191-acre Durham County property to include commercial thinning, pre-commercial thinning and prescribed burning. These initiatives will better educate visitors about the importance of habitat management and will also improve habitat for small game on the property.

The Small Game Award is named in honor of Lawrence G. Diedrick of Rocky Mount, who served as a Wildlife Commissioner from 1993-2001. Commissioner Diedrick promoted efforts to address declining populations of bobwhites, and other species dependent on early successional habitat. Subsequent to his death in September 2002, a group of Commissioner Diedrick's friends made memorial contributions to the Wildlife Endowment Fund to support an annual small game award in his honor. The Wildlife Commission created this prestigious award in 2003. Nominations for the 2023 award will open March 1, 2023.

Editor’s note: Since 1947, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission has been dedicated to the conservation and sustainability of the state’s fish and wildlife resources through research, scientific management, wise use and public input. The Wildlife Commission is the state regulatory agency responsible for the enforcement of fishing, hunting, trapping and boating laws and provides programs and opportunities for wildlife-related educational, recreational and sporting activities.
To purchase or renew a fishing, trapping or hunting license and renew a vessel registration, go online at www.ncwildlife.org.