New Year’s Eve is one of the most festive nights of the year. Despite its reputation for revelry, New Year’s Eve also can be dangerous, which underscores the need to celebrate responsibly when ringing in a new year.
American Addiction Centers surveyed 1,000 Americans regarding their alcohol consumption habits on certain holidays. The survey found that the average person consumes 4.4 alcoholic drinks on New Year’s Eve, making the holiday second only to Mardi Gras in terms of drinks consumed.

Alcohol lowers individuals’ inhibitions and adversely affects their judgment, which could make them vulnerable to criminals and more likely to make bad decisions, including driving after a few drinks. In fact, the National Safety Council estimates that 427 people may die on U.S. roads during the 2022 New Year’s holiday period.

A new year is worthy of celebration, and the festivities can be even more enjoyable when individuals take these safety tips to heart.

Recognize the risks. Recognition of the potentially serious threats that can be lurking on New Year’s Eve is vital to celebrating safely. A 2011 report from the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research in the United States noted a significant spike in the rate of assaults, murders, sexual assaults and robberies on New Year’s Eve, linking that increase to higher levels of alcohol consumption. Individuals who recognize how vulnerable overconsumption of alcohol can make them may be less inclined to overdo it this year.

Avoid the roads. Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicates that 68% of drunk driving traffic fatalities on New Year’s 2016 involved drivers with a high blood alcohol concentration. One of the safest things individuals can do on New Year’s Eve is to avoid the roads. Consider celebrating at home or staying in a hotel or the home of a loved one. If you must be on the road, call a cab or book an Uber when you need to get to and from a party.

Be careful even if you’re hosting. New Year’s Eve celebrants also must be vigilant if they’re hosting a gathering at home. Laws vary, but social host liability laws generally hold hosts who serve alcohol responsible for the actions of their guests after they leave their homes. So hosts could conceivably be vulnerable to criminal or civil proceedings if they serve alcohol to guests who are then involved in traffic accidents or other incidents after they leave hosts’ homes.

New Year’s Eve is a time for celebration. Taking steps to ensure celebrations are safe can make the night even more fun.

The New Year represents a fresh start and is the perfect time to invest in your health. However, you may be unsure what resolutions will have the biggest impact. Doctors say that the easy, tangible actions you take are some of the most important.

“Many people kick off the start of each new year with big-picture health resolutions,” says Jack Resneck, Jr., M.D., president of the American Medical Association. “The good news is that small, positive health choices made right now can have long-lasting effects.”

Want to get started today? Here are the 10 resolutions the AMA recommends to top your list this year:

1. Exercise is essential for your physical and mental health, so get moving today. A good rule of thumb for adults is at least 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity activity, or 75 minutes a week of vigorous-intensity activity.

2. Vaccination is the best protection against a number of serious illnesses. To protect yourself and your family, get up to date on your vaccines, including the annual flu shot and the COVID-19 vaccine for everyone 6 months and older. Your doctor can let you know if you’re due for a COVID booster. If you have questions, speak with your physician and review trusted resources, including getvaccineanswers.org.

3. Get screened. Estimates based on statistical models show that since April 2020, millions of screenings for breast, colorectal, and prostate cancer diagnoses may have been missed due to pandemic-related care disruptions. Check in with your physician. If you’re due for preventive care, tests or screenings, make an appointment. These measures are designed to keep you healthy and help your doctor spot certain conditions before they become more serious.

4. High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, can increase your risk of heart attack or stroke, and it affects millions of Americans. Visit ManageYourBP.org to understand what your blood pressure numbers mean and what you can do to get your blood pressure under control.

5. One in 3 American adults has prediabetes, a condition that can lead to type 2 diabetes if left unmanaged. However, there are steps you can take that can help delay or even prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes. Learn your risk by taking a simple two-minute self-screening test at DoIHavePrediabetes.org. This resource also features helpful lifestyle tips that can help you reverse prediabetes.

6. Whenever possible, drink water instead of sugar-sweetened beverages and replace processed foods — especially those with added sodium and sugar — with nutritious, whole foods, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, herbs and spices.

7. If consuming alcohol, drink only in moderation. The U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans defines that as up to one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men, and only by adults of legal drinking age.

8. Speak with your doctor or health care professional about quitting tobacco and nicotine use. Declare your home and car smoke-free to eliminate secondhand smoke exposure.

9. Follow your doctor’s instructions when taking prescription drugs — especially opioids. Always store and dispose of these medications safely to prevent misuse. Whenever prescribed antibiotics, take them exactly as directed. Not taking the full course can lead to antibiotic resistance, a serious public health problem, and will not make you feel better if you have a virus, such as a cold or flu.

10. Invest in your mental health by managing stress, getting sufficient sleep, exercising and seeking help from a mental health professional when you need it.
If you don’t have health insurance, the AMA encourages you to sign up for coverage at healthcare.gov, which has new, affordable options. The enrollment deadline for 2023 coverage is Jan. 15, 2023. Find more health resources at ama-assn.org.

For a healthy 2023 and beyond, invest in your wellness with these doctor-recommended New Year’s resolutions.

Alex McFadyen, an agent with Coldwell Banker Advantage in Fayetteville, was named RISMedia’s inaugural “Rookie of the Year” national award winner in November at the annual conference of the National Association of Realtors.

According to RISMedia, the official news source for residential real estate, hundreds of agents were nominated from throughout the United States. The field was narrowed to 10 finalists. In a ceremony at Rosen Centre in Orlando, Fla., McFadyen, 27, was announced as the honoree by Jennifer Dixson Hoff, president of Colibri Real Estate, sponsor of the award.

“I’m honored and a little surprised,” said McFadyen. “It feels good to be recognized for all the hard work of the past year.”

McFadyen’s win was based on achievements for his clients in 2021. He closed 86 units for $19.7 million in production for the year. In 2022, he is presently at 81 units and $22 million in closed sales.
After winning the honor, McFadyen recognized his mentors, including company CEO Ralph Huff and president of the Sandhills division, Lisa Geddie. He also thanked Alan Tucker, his Fayetteville broker-in-charge, now general manager for the Southern Pines office/director of marketing; Malcolm McFadyen, a long-time, top-producing broker at CBA who is his uncle; and CBA trainer Megan Gerber. Alex McFadyen spoke of growing up among the business. Another uncle, Bill McFadyen, works in commercial real estate.

Alex earned his real estate license in the final semester of his senior year at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. He believes his degree helped better prepare him for a career in real estate. He graduated with his bachelor’s in communications with a minor in business administration in December 2019. One month later, he went to work for Coldwell Banker Advantage in his hometown of Fayetteville, the #1 Coldwell Banker franchise in North America.

When asked the key to his success, he thoughtfully replied, “Always put your clients first, to make sure their interests are met, that they’re making a good investment. And grow your relationships.”
McFadyen said he jump-started his business by notifying family and friends that he had become a licensed real estate agent and by reaching out to persons who had listed their properties as For Sale By Owner.

He established trust, and the business began steadily growing through referrals.

According to Lisa Geddie, “Being selected as a top 10 finalist is a phenomenal achievement in itself. We are so proud of Alex for being chosen for such an honor as the Rookie of the Year.”

Geddie said his success comes down to basics. “Alex has embraced all the tools and training that Coldwell Banker Advantage has to offer,” she said. “Most importantly, he shows up every day ready to do what it takes to be successful.”

The head of Cumberland County’s engineering and infrastructure department on Dec. 19 assured the county commissioners that parking for the planned Crown Event Center will be adequate once the facility is completed in 2025.

Jermaine Walker told members of the Board of Commissioners’ Crown Event Center Committee that the county is undertaking a parking study.

The committee includes Commissioners Jeannette Council, Jimmy Keefe and Glenn Adams. Board Chairwoman Toni Stewart and Commissioner Veronica Jones also attended Monday’s meeting.
Walker said the center committee has considered parking throughout the site selection process and knows that building the Center next to the County Courthouse would result in a reduction of 203 parking spaces in the courthouse’s front parking lot.

He said county officials are exploring “parking alternatives” that would be within walking distance of the new theater and expo center.
Assistant County Manager Brian Haney said that although he could not divulge specifics, the county is working on options that would result in more parking spaces than are currently available at the courthouse.

Walker said the county is doing a detailed parking study to determine the impact of the site selection in terms of displaced parking and analyzing how a downtown location would affect parking capacity. Walker said the parking study results should come before the board in February.

The committee also met the EwingCole architectural design team. George Bushey, a programmer and planner for EwingCole, said the team will be back in January to start its programming phase.
Bushey said in late February, EwingCole will conduct a “concept workshop” to determine what the facility will look like, how big it will be, and how it will fit into the neighborhood.

“It will be an intensive January and February,” Bushey said.

Bushey said the events center needs to be attractive to people who will buy tickets to events there and to promoters who need to come to Cumberland County and make money.
Committee member Glenn Adams said an African American Museum is planned nearby and its organizers need to be involved in the planning process for the events center.

Walker said a contractor information session was held Dec. 6 and more than 50 companies nationwide participated.

“It was very successful,” Walker said.

Walker said that by Feb. 24, he hopes to have a short list of contractors to be considered for the job and conduct interviews March 6-10.
An advertisement for contractors will be posted in the county’s website, on a state portal for minority firms, on social media and in news releases.

After a holiday season spent racking up credit card bills, many Americans consider making financial resolutions in the New Year.
However, now is the perfect time to not only reevaluate your saving and spending, but also commit to creating a more holistic financial plan designed to protect your finances and your family.

Consumers are seeking stability and preparedness in today’s uncertain economic environment, according to a recent Consumer Sentiment Tracker study by Lincoln Financial Group. With ongoing inflation and market volatility, 56% of respondents cited protection from risk as being most important to them.

When it comes to thinking about their finances, people said they have the greatest interest in protecting their family (39%) and their income (26%).

“Our research reinforced the importance of financial solutions that can help consumers navigate through market cycles and protect their loved ones,” said David Berkowitz, president, Lincoln Financial Network,

Lincoln Financial’s wealth management business.

“People are not only concerned about having enough to pay their bills, but also saving for retirement and preparing for the unexpected. It’s important to have a well-rounded financial plan that can address those risks, protect assets and create positive outcomes for today’s families.”

To achieve a stronger financial future, don’t neglect your finances in 2023 — instead, add a little TLC (Talk, Learn, Commit). Resolve to create a robust financial plan using these three tips from Lincoln Financial:

Talk about it. Financial conversations play a crucial role. Be transparent with your loved ones about financial priorities so you can set expectations and work toward your shared financial goals. Initiate ongoing discussions to stay on track with everything from saving for retirement to paying for a long-term healthcare event, which can happen suddenly and be very costly. Also, consider talking to a financial professional who can help identify solutions that best meet your individual needs, as well as drive better outcomes. Lincoln’s research found those who work with financial professionals are more likely to prioritize retirement savings (26% vs. 10%).

Learn more about tax-deferred investments. Life insurance can be more than just a death benefit, with some types of policies offering income replacement for unforeseen events. It can also protect your financial security from the impact of taxes, market volatility and longevity. It’s not just for individuals and families either, but businesses, too.
Also, consider diversifying your portfolio with an annuity, which can provide protected growth and monthly lifetime income to help cover expenses in retirement and ensure you have a stream of income.

Commit to maximizing your workplace benefits. Look into supplemental coverages like disability, accident and life insurance that may be available through your employer. Solutions like these protect against unexpected events that can disrupt your ability to provide for your family or drive you into additional debt.

If you have an employer-sponsored retirement plan, make sure you are contributing and getting a match, if offered. Tap into any financial wellness tools offered at work to help provide an accurate picture of your holistic financial situation and lower stress.

The U.S. Army Airborne & Special Operations Museum opened a new temporary exhibit, Drawn to Combat: Bill Mauldin and the Art of War Dec. 20.
The exhibit will be available through June 11, 2023.

On loan from the Pritzker Military Museum and Library, Drawn to Combat explores Mauldin’s career with an in-depth focus on his unmatched skill in documenting and satirizing military life and political affairs.

This exhibit features nearly 150 of the Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist’s original drawings and published cartoons, as well as personal material from Bill Mauldin’s exceptional career.

For nearly 50 years, from World War II to the end of the Cold War, Bill Mauldin used his artistry and wit to provide commentary on the world as he saw it, earning two Pulitzer Prizes in the process. As a soldier and nationally syndicated political cartoonist, Mauldin used his voice and platform to critique the policies and actions of the nation’s leaders, both military and civilian, when they came up short.

Drawn to Combat is the most comprehensive exploration of the Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist’s life and career.

ASOM is open Tuesday-Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. The museum is closed on Mondays and most federal holidays. The ASOM will be closed on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

The ASOM is located at 100 Bragg Boulevard. For more information call 910-643-2778 or visit info@asomf.org.

The Cumberland Community Foundation raised approximately $1.8 million in this year’s Giving Tuesday campaign. Coupled with the $575,000 local match, that means nearly $2.4 million was raised for nonprofits in Fayetteville and Cumberland County.

“It’s a very generous community,’’ said Mary Holmes, the president and chief executive officer of the Cumberland Community Foundation. “We may not be the wealthiest community, but I’m sure we’re the most generous.”

This was the third year that the foundation has participated in the Giving Tuesday campaign and overseen the donations from Cumberland County. Seventy-six nonprofits participated this year compared with 65 last year, Holmes said. The money was raised over 10 days, she said.

Holmes said the financial gifts ranged in size from $10 to $100,000.

“Two anonymous donors gave us $100,000,” she said.

“Most of the gifts were $100,’’ she said. “We’re very proud of that. Our goal is to help people who have any ability to give to support these charitable organizations.”

Overall, Holmes said, 3,885 gifts were received from more than 2,000 donors of the different organizations.

“Our campaign is only for our grantees who decided to participate,” said Holmes. “So, that was 76 charitable organizations that decided to participate. So, we’re fundraising just for those organizations.”

In terms of individual organizations, Cape Fear Regional Theatre received the most money, said Holmes, who declined to divulge the amount. Other organizations that ranked high in receiving donations included the Cape Fear Botanical Garden, the Fayetteville Police Foundation, the CARE Clinic and the N.C. History Center on the Civil War, Emancipation and Reconstruction. The CityView News Fund also participated this year.

According to the foundation, the family of Eleanor and Raymond Manning, the Fayetteville Area New Car Dealers Association, Elizabeth M. “Beth” Keeney, Ramon Yarborough, the Cumberland Community Foundation, board alumni and an anonymous donor joined together to offer the cumulative $575,000 to match the gifts throughout the campaign. The matching funds amplify the original donation.

Giving Tuesday — which is often referred to as a global day of generosity — was held from 9 a.m. Nov. 21 through 5 p.m. Nov. 30. The donations will be directed toward “a local nonprofit working to improve Fayetteville and Cumberland County for those who live here,” the foundation states. The foundation put out a catalog featuring the nonprofit organizations participating in the campaign.

“We run the campaign over a 10-day window,” Holmes said. “If you think about it, we have so many charitable organizations here in this community doing fabulous work that really don’t have any fundraising staff.

And the Community Foundation is really good at raising money, and so why wouldn’t we use that skill to help these smaller organizations support their work?”

“We have a really good relationship with donors,” she said, “this is a good role for the Community Foundation.”

The local campaign has seen donations grow each year. In 2020, the campaign raised more than $872,000. A match of $300,000 brought the total to more than $1.17 million, Holmes said. In 2021, nearly $1.25 million was raised before the match of $400,000 was added for a total of more than $1.65 million, she said.

Giving Tuesday dates back to 2012 with the mission to help organizations raise money, Holmes said. The Cumberland Community Foundation determined in 2020 that no one was involved locally in the Giving Tuesday campaign. The foundation changed that.

“We realized that local charities were not participating in an international effort to increase giving," Holmes said, "so we decided to create an online giving catalog on our website and invite nonprofit organizations to participate."

I love this time of year!

It can be festive, joyous, sometimes quiet and peaceful, and a moment when many of us step back from our routine lives and concentrate on family and friends. I also enjoy the annual look back over the year that was — “best of” lists, memories of the notables who left us, retrospectives that make us say “aha!,” and personal tours of what happened to us and ours over the past 12 months.

It is also a time when we look ahead to the year to come, wondering what it will bring us individually and collectively. We Americans are fortunate in so many ways and outliers in others. One outlier status that impacts our nation negatively, that destroys families and communities, and divides us as a people is our gun problem.

As we move into 2023, Americans have more guns than human beings, the only nation on God’s green earth with that status. The Swiss-based Small Arms Survey reports that there are 120 guns for every 100 Americans. Statista reports that North Carolina ranks 8th in the United States for the number of registered firearms, and no one knows, of course, how many illegal weapons are in North Carolina or the United States.

Equally, if not more alarming, is the fact that guns are now the number 1 cause of death for our children, infants to age 19, more than accidents, illnesses and congenital issues. Canada is a distant second, whose gun death rate for the same age group is nine times lower than ours. The Kaiser Foundation recently reported that the U.S. accounts for 97% of gun-related child deaths, and that no other wealthy nation has guns in the top four causes of child deaths. It is certainly fair to say that accidents happen. It is also fair to say the more guns we have, the more gun accidents we will have.

Mass shootings and deaths in schools, malls and other public places grab headlines at home and internationally — other nations wonder with horror what is happening in the United States — but most American shootings do not make news.

The majority are actually suicides made impulsively easy by gun availability. Others are homicides, also impulsively easy because of gun availability. Still others are tragic accidents, like the death of a toddler in nearby Benson earlier this year. The boy found a loaded gun in his father’s truck and shot himself.
The random nature of many of these deaths came close to home recently when someone near and dear to me stood in his kitchen in a quiet neighborhood about six o’clock one afternoon when a bullet apparently fired from a nearby apartment complex blasted through his living room wall and shattered onto his floor. Police were called. Evidence was taken. We all knew, though, that there is virtually no chance the shooter will ever be identified, much less prosecuted for his/her careless endangerment.

Unlike most other nations, our Constitution expressly protects gun ownership, and many law abiding and responsible Americans, including my own sons, are hunters and enjoy shooting sports. But it is also true federal and state gun laws are lax, and state gun laws are a hodgepodge. My sincere hope for our nation in the coming year is that our elected leaders will thoughtfully consider, without hysteria, more thorough background checks, “red flag” laws for people who are dangers to themselves and/or others, and restrictions on assault weapons designed for mass killings.

Wishing us all a happy, healthy and safe 2023.

For seven holiday seasons, the town of Cary has given residents and out-of-town visitors alike one of the most enchanting and memorable festivals imaginable.
The annual Chinese Lantern Festival in Koka Booth Amphitheatre just off Regency Parkway brings in thousands of spectators from throughout North Carolina. This year, the festival opened Nov. 18 and runs through Jan. 8.

Visitors can view life-size and larger lantern displays with hundreds of parts and thousands of LED lights. Many of the animal lantern displays are animated; some are interactive. First, visitors walk through a tunnel of multicolored lighted fish lanterns, arriving at a large parakeet display.

From there, lantern displays are in the shapes of a variety of birds, dragonflies, Panda bears, dinosaurs, and traditional Chinese architecture. Some displays are built on platforms on Symphony Lake, making them more spectacular because of the reflections in the water.

It takes about an hour to walk the pathways bordering the displays. This year, 40 displays were added, according to event organizers.
Gates open at 6 nightly and close at 10 p.m. Tickets range from $11 to $36, depending on the date and time. For example, there are “any time” tickets for those who want to have the flexibility of when to attend or if they are given as gifts.

“Golden hour” tickets give access to the festival about 90 minutes before the gates open to the public. Golden hour tickets are for those who want to photograph the festival at dusk.

There are also group rates, and an educational tour offers insight into how the lanterns are made and the history of the festival. To purchase tickets or for more information, go to the Koka Booth Amphitheatre website www.boothamphitheatre.com/.

Food trucks and booths are scattered throughout the venue. The festival includes nightly performances by jugglers, acrobats, and traditional Chinese dancers. The festival was started in 2015, and although it’s in its seventh season, organizers took 2020 off because of the COVID pandemic, according to William Lewis, the town of Cary’s cultural arts manager.

Lewis said Tiyanu Arts & Culture approached the town about the festival based on the town’s reputation for quality facilities and diversity in arts and culture programming. Tianyu is the largest Chinese lantern festival producer in North America and one of the first companies to bring authentic traditions of the lanterns to the U.S. and Europe, according to its website. The U.S.-based corporation is a subsidiary of Sichuan Tianyu Culture Communication Co., which is headquartered in Zigong in China’s Sichuan province.

“After touring other potential sites throughout North Carolina, they selected Koka Booth Amphitheatre because of its overall beauty and amenities,” Lewis said in an email.

“The amenities include dedicated staff at the facility, ample parking, a full-service box office, professional-grade staging and in-house production, concessions, restrooms, a spacious lawn, and a covered deck. Plus, an adjacent greenway, Symphony Lake, and other natural features.”

"Each year, Cary staff works directly with our partners at Tianyu to design, select, and curate new lantern displays for the festival at Koka Booth Amphitheatre. After agreeing on preferred designs and layouts, Tianyu contracts with the artists in China to build the lanterns. Most of the lanterns are made in the city of Zigong in the Sichuan province, which is considered the lantern capital of China for many centuries. The craft of making lanterns has been handed down to artisans in Zigong for generations," Lewis said.

The lanterns are then disassembled and shipped from China to Wilmington, where they are loaded onto 15 tractor-trailers and driven to Cary to be reassembled.

“The festival has grown in attendance every year, with last year’s attendance topping 200,000. Cary has signed a contract to keep the N.C. Chinese Lantern Festival at Koka Booth Amphitheatre through the 2028-29 season,” Lewis said.

The Chinese Lantern Festival runs through Jan. 8.

It has been one of my greatest honors to serve the people of Cumberland County over the last two terms in the North Carolina Senate. I thank you for putting your trust in me. I am thankful for the loving support of my wife Jenny and son Grey who have sacrificed family time so I could serve.

As I look back over the last four years at what we were able to accomplish together, I am reminded that what’s most important are deeds not words. While I can talk about historic funding levels or new laws, I’d first like to talk about the people whose lives I was able to touch and in return, touched mine. People like Angelina and Gerald who didn't have adequate housing for their families but now do; and Carrie, a veteran and mother, who reached out after facing eviction because she had lost her job during the pandemic but now lives in a better home with a new job; and Ginger and hundreds of people in our county navigating the state unemployment system to get benefits they deserved during COVID; and the healthcare business owners who were not receiving reimbursement for their services who, with our help, broke through the industry red tape and began receiving overdue payments; and the many families and seniors that we helped through the state’s slow-moving hurricane recovery program, RebuildNC.

My Senate office handled over 4,000 constituent issues and I am thankful to my staff and agencies who assisted me to do my #1 job as your senator — helping people.
When elected, I said I would always represent you in Raleigh. I vowed to put people first and politics second. It was important for me that Cumberland County was relevant at the state level — that we had a strong voice. I am proud of the relationships, both at home and in Raleigh, that allowed me the opportunity to be in the middle of hard conversations that moved our state forward.

These conversations included the reopening of our schools after the COVID pandemic began to subside. I took a hard stand, one that was against many in my party, including the governor. Through bipartisan discussions, we created a compromise the Governor and General Assembly supported which allowed schools to reopen and put children back into the classroom.

We also had conversations around justice reform which led to bipartisan bills improving policing and expansion of expungement programs; bipartisan COVID relief bills totaling over $2.5 billion in state funding; and state hurricane recovery funding of $200 million.

The state budget was another test of “people over politics” after Medicaid expansion was taken off the table as part of the discussion and negotiations had stalled with the governor and Republican leadership. I reached across the aisle and worked with Republicans and other fellow brave Democrats to find a compromise for a state budget for the first time in four years.

The budget included an increase in public education funding over $1.3 billion; an increase in pay for teachers and state employees; the largest investment in PFAS protection and research; broadband investments of over $1 billion; tax cuts for working families; and investments in childcare, early childhood education and mental health. And so much more.

I am proud of my work in this budget to lower tuition to $500 a semester at Fayetteville State University through NC Promise which will afford more young people access to a college degree without the fear of massive student debt.

As an Army veteran, I was also proud to champion eliminating the state income tax on military pensions; an incredible way to honor our veterans and encourage them to make our state their final home.
I worked diligently to ensure Cumberland County was not left behind. I helped bring back a historic $421 million to our community that included funding for construction at FSU, Fayetteville Technical Community College and Cape Fear Valley; direct support for Cape Fear Regional Theatre, the Civil War & Reconstruction Center, and Martin Luther King Jr. Park; investments in local governments including funding homeless centers, affordable housing, and pedestrian safety with crosswalks and sidewalks as well as stormwater protection, including repair of Rhoades Pond; $2 million investment in community health centers and substance abuse programs and over $3 million in support of minority businesses.

As I leave office at the end of December, I hope you see someone that fought for you every day; someone who did what was best for the people in his community; someone who was more concerned about the people he represented than keeping his Senate seat; and someone that was at the table and worked across the aisle for solutions. Service is in my DNA. I do recognize and know that we have God’s hand on us in this journey of service so we will continue to trust Him and see where He leads.

New Year’s resolutions run the gamut from kicking bad habits like smoking to finding more time to exercise to learning a foreign language. Many resolutions are about self-improvement, and that desire to live better can extend into the professional arena. New Year’s resolutions can be just as beneficial to a person’s professional life as they can in that same individual’s personal life. With that in mind, professionals can consider these work-related resolutions this January.

Make a concerted effort to change careers. The numbers are in regarding satisfaction at work, and they’re not very promising. According to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace: 2022 report, 60% of workers report being emotionally detached at work. Perhaps more troubling is that 19% report being miserable at their jobs. Professionals who are not engaged at work can resolve to get the ball rolling on a career change in the year ahead. Look into what that might entail, whether it’s simply applying for new jobs in your field or going back to school to facilitate a career change, and take the necessary first step.

Rebalance your work and family life. A 2015 survey of 1,000 full-time professionals in the United States found that 77% felt they had experienced burnout at their jobs. Rebalancing work and family life can make more time for things outside of work, including family. That can lead to greater life satisfaction, including a renewed vigor for your career.

Resolve to communicate more effectively with your team. Even professionals satisfied with their careers can take steps to make their work lives better. There are many reasons why workers feel stressed and burned out, and some may find communication with their managers is lacking. Managers can make a concerted effort to improve lines of communication with their staff. Doing so can improve productivity and create a better working environment for all.

Find ways to be more productive. Remarkably, a 2019 study by Rescue Time found that, in a given workday, workers’ average time of productivity is just two hours and 28 minutes. By making a concerted effort to be more productive, workers can get more done in a typical eight-hour workday, thus paving the way for a better work-life balance. Spend less time surfing the internet, avoid checking your phone for texts and other distractions, and make a daily schedule of tasks to tackle. Each of these steps can help you be more productive in a given workday.

When making New Year’s resolutions this January, professionals can resolve to find ways to make their workdays better.

Local homeless shelters will be opening expanded space for “white flag’’ nights as the area prepares for a blast of Artic cold weather that will see overnight temperatures dip into the teens.

White flag nights are when the shelters let the homeless and destitute inside to give them a place to stay when the weather is 32 degrees or lower or in the event of inclement weather.

The Salvation Army will open for white flag nights Friday, Dec. 23 through Tuesday, Dec. 27 with the possibility of opening Wednesday as well, said Vanessa Chavis, the shelter manager.

The hours are 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. at the shelter at 220 E. Russell St.

Chavis said the regular shelter reached capacity on Tuesday.

Identification is not required for white flag nights, she said. Only a full name and the last four digits of an individual’s Social Security number are needed.

“We are prepared for white flag,” Chavis said. “We are always watching temperatures and stay prepared for that with coordinated entries. Actually, white flag has not begun for us. We’re actually waiting and preparing for it with the food and other things that we need. We usually order extra food so we can have more than enough.”

The Manna Church Dream Center men's shelter on Person Street normally offers 20 beds for those in need. On white flag nights, an additional two beds open up at the shelter. As of Wednesday evening, the shelter was two beds below capacity, leaving four available beds on white flag nights.

Manager Randy Davis said he already had a man eager to take one of the two white flag spots, leaving three beds open for the upcoming cold weather nights.

The hours are 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.

"They just need to show up,’’ Davis said. “First come, first served."

True Vine Ministries, which has provided space previously on white flag nights, could not be reached for comment.

Andrew Kren, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Raleigh, said rain showers moving into the area will increase in coverage tonight and into Thursday morning. The rain should be moving out by Thursday afternoon.

“But the main impact is what we’ve been advertising most of the week,” Kren said. “A strong Arctic cold front moving through Friday morning. With that, temperatures will be more or less dropping. That front will move through Friday morning and temperatures will pretty much tap out in the upper 40s in the early morning hours but then quickly crash into the 30s and eventually into the 20s by the evening hours. Overnight lows on Saturday morning will mostly be in the teens.”

Along with the frontal passage, he said, they are expecting some strong wind gusts Friday with some reaching upwards of 45 mph. With the high wind gusts and the Arctic cold air coming in, wind chills will likely be in the lower teens and single digits Friday night.

The coldest day is forecast for Saturday, with temperatures in the low 30s, Kren said. Morning lows on Saturday and Sunday will be in the mid-teens.

Temperatures on Sunday morning will warm up a little, to the upper 30s.

“That’s well below normal,” he said. “Our normal basically for the holiday weekend in the Fayetteville area, generally, are in the mid-50s. And our average lows are in the mid-30s. So, temperatures in the 30s for highs and lows in the teens Saturday and Sunday morning are well below average.”

The record on Christmas Eve is 14 degrees set in 1989. Saturday’s forecast calls for “cutting it close” to the record low for this area, Kren said.

The record low, he said, is 4 degrees set in 1989 for Dec. 23 and Christmas Day.

“So, we’re unlikely to reach that on Sunday morning but Saturday morning, we’ll be very close to reaching that record low of 14.”

Temperatures are anticipated to rise into the low 40s on Monday and Tuesday.

“A nice little warming trend, if you want to call it that,” he said. “Certainly, warmer than it will be this weekend. That’s still below average.”

A funeral service for Cumberland County sheriff’s Deputy Oscar Yovani Bolanos-Anavisca Jr., who was killed in the line of duty last Friday, be held this Friday, Dec. 23, according to a Sheriff’s Office news release.

Visitation will begin at 10 a.m. at Rivers of Living Water church, 1764 Bingham Drive, followed by the funeral service at 2 p.m.
Bolanos-Anavisca, who was 23, will be laid to rest at Rockfish Memorial Park, 4017 Gillespie St., the release said.

The service will be open to the public, and law enforcement officers and people who work in the justice system are invited.
Rivers of Living Water will stream the funeral service on its Facebook page, Rivers of Living Water on Facebook.

Bolanos-Anavisca died after being struck by a vehicle on Gillespie Street early last Friday, according to the Sheriff’s Office. He and other deputies were investigating a robbery report at the Circle K convenience store at 2990 Gillespie St. at 2:46 a.m. last Friday, a news release said.

As deputies returned from running a canine track, Bolanos-Anavisca, who was walking, was hit by a vehicle, the release said.
Bolanos-Anavisca was taken by ambulance to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center, where he died from his injuries.

Investigators said Nicholas Terlizzi, 24, of Linden, was driving the vehicle that struck the deputy. Terlizzi was charged with death by motor vehicle; hit and run; driving while impaired; reckless driving to endanger; driving while license revoked; no liability insurance; revoked tag; driving a motor vehicle with no registration; and failing to stop for a steady red light, according to the North Carolina Highway Patrol.

Bolanos-Anavisca was “a dedicated, selfless member of the Sheriff’s Office who lost his life protecting the citizens of Cumberland County,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release last week.

Bolanos-Anavisca joined the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office in November 2020, a news release said. Before being assigned to C Platoon, he was a school resource officer at Hope Mills Middle School.

Family and co-workers of Cumberland County sheriff’s Deputy Oscar Yovani Bolanos-Anavisca Jr. gathered Dec. 16 afternoon to recall the 23-year-old who was killed earlier in the day after being struck by a vehicle on Gillespie Street.

Nearly 30 members of the deputy’s family quietly entered the Sheriff’s Assembly Room for a news conference. Most were crying, and they comforted one another.

The family had gathered with members of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, Cumberland County staff and other officials.

“I’m standing here with a heavy heart here,” Sheriff Ennis Wright said. “Just lost a good deputy, a mother lost a son, sisters and brothers lost a brother. Cousins, nephews. I look at it as a senseless tragedy that could have been prevented. What we have — drinking and driving on these roadways.”

Bolanos-Anavisca Jr. died from injuries he received while he and other deputies were investigating a robbery report at the Circle K convenience store at 2990 Gillespie St. just before 3 a.m.

“This young man gave his life for something that he wanted to do,” Wright said.

Nicholas Terlizzi, 24, of Linden, has been charged with death by motor vehicle, hit and run, driving while impaired, driving while license revoked, reckless driving to endanger, failing to stop for steady red light and other North Carolina registration violations, according to Lt. Scott Smith of Troop B of the N.C. Highway Patrol.

He is being held at the Cumberland County Detention Center under a $1 million bond, Smith said.

Cumberland County District Attorney Billy West later said that Terlizzi’s $1 million bond had been upgraded on Friday to no bond during his first appearance.

West said his office would “get justice in this case.’’

“The one promise I can make to his family and to this community,” West said, “we will get justice in this case for what was done today. Because we lost an officer that was protecting us and willing to give his life to serve and protect us. And we lost a citizen of this county and this state. And for that, we will get justice.”

Bolanos-Anavisca was returning to the convenience store after working with the canine unit when he was hit by a vehicle while crossing Gillespie Street, the sheriff said.

“We had an officer out there doing his job,” Wright said. “What he loved to do. What he wanted to do. And his life taken away so quickly. A highly senseless act for someone to get behind the wheel after they had been drinking and decided to drive a vehicle.”

Wright recalled that when Bolanos-Anavisca joined the department two other family members also started with the Sheriff’s Office.

“And it’s something that he always wanted to do is be a deputy. All of them wanted to do — be a sheriff’s deputy,” the sheriff said. “It really bothers me because this was our week for swearing everyone back in. It really bothers me that this has just happened.”

Wright then went into the details of what occurred Friday morning.

“The morning started out, deputies responded to the Circle K at Gillespie and Black & Decker. Once the deputies got there, the suspect was gone. And like we do, being good officers, they started to try to track the suspect down.”

The deputies were returning from running a canine track. Bolanos-Anavisca and the other deputies waited until the light was red to cross the roadway, Wright said.

“The subject driving the BMW did not stop at the red-light signal,” Wright said.

Bolanos-Anavisca was hit, the Sheriff’s Office has said.

Deputies administered lifesaving efforts, a release said. Bolanos-Anavisca was taken by ambulance to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center, where he died from his injuries.
The driver of the vehicle left the scene but was located a short distance away, the Sheriff’s Office has said.

“Like I say, it weighs on me’’ Wright said. “I take the responsibility for every deputy that’s in this Sheriff’s Office. I take responsibility for that.”

Bolanos-Anavisca joined the Sheriff’s Office in November 2020. He previously worked as a school resource officer at Hope Mills Middle School, the Sheriff’s Office said in a release.

“On behalf of the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners and all Cumberland County employees, we are devastated by the tragic loss of one of our own – Deputy Oscar Yovani Bolanos-Anavisca Jr.,’’ Toni Stewart, chairwoman of the county Board of Commissioners said in a release. “We extend our condolences, our thoughts and our prayers to his family during their time of grief. Deputy Bolanos-Anavisca was part of the Cumberland County government family, and our hearts break for his coworkers in the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office and across our organization, as well as all the lives he touched.

“We appreciate the selfless service he provided to the citizens of Cumberland County over the last two years as he worked to keep his fellow citizens safe.”

The N.C. State Bureau of Investigation and N.C. State Highway Patrol are investigating the incident.

A man was taken into custody after a six-hour standoff with police on Friday Dec. 16, the Fayetteville Police Department said.

Members of the Police Department’s Violent Crime Apprehension Team received information that a wanted suspect was at a residence on the 2000 block of Caramel Drive, the Police Department said in a release.

The wanted subject, 26-year-old Raeqwon Mitchell Carlisle of Fayetteville, had warrants for his arrest for parole violation, three counts of possession of a firearm by a felon, larceny of a firearm, assault with a deadly weapon, assault on a female, misdemeanor larceny, communicating threats, carrying a concealed weapon, and resist, delay and obstruct a public officer, police said in the release.

Members of VCAT and the Police Department’s Gang Unit located Carlisle at the residence on Caramel Drive. While trying to apprehend Carlisle, he barricaded himself inside the residence, police said.

Members of the Police Department’s Crisis Negotiation Team, Emergency Response Team, Aviation Unit and Traffic Unit responded to assist in the apprehension of Carlisle, the release said.

Over an approximately six-hour effort to apprehend Carlisle, he was taken into custody without incident, police said.

He is being processed at the Cumberland County Detention Center.

A Fayetteville man has been charged in connection with the robbery that a Cumberland County sheriff’s deputy was investigating when he was struck by a vehicle and killed, according to a Sheriff’s Office news release.

Antonio Craig Bradley, 39, was arrested Sunday, Dec. 18 in the robbery at the Circle K convenience store at 2990 Gillespie St., the news release said.
Deputy Oscar Bolanos-Anavisca and other deputies were investigating the robbery just before 3 a.m. Friday when he was struck by a vehicle and died of his injuries. Deputies were trying to arrest Bradley when he ran from them. He was taken into custody after a short foot chase, the news release said.

Investigators said Nicholas Terlizzi, 24, of Linden, was drunk and was driving the vehicle that struck Bolanos-Anavisca. Terlizzi was charged with death by motor vehicle; hit and run; driving while impaired; reckless driving to endanger; driving while license revoked; no liability insurance; revoked tag; driving a motor vehicle with no registration; and failing to stop for a steady red light, according to the North Carolina Highway Patrol.

Bradley was charged with breaking and entering; larceny after breaking and entering; and possession of stolen goods in a Nov. 17 theft at the Circle K store, the news release said. He was charged with resisting arrest after fleeing from deputies last Friday.

Bradley was held at the Cumberland County Detention Center on a $52,500 secured bond, the news release said.

The Hope Mills Police Department assisted in his arrest, the Sheriff’s Office said.

A Fayetteville man is charged with exposing himself to an employee at a business on Ramsey Street, according to the Fayetteville Police Department.

The incident was reported about 6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 18 in the 5000 block of Ramsey Street, according to a news release.

The man left the business before police officers arrived but was located on foot in the area of Ramsey Street, the news release said.

Dennis Edwards Rodgers Jr., 34, was arrested and charged with indecent exposure, the release said.

The Police Department says Rodgers has been involved in at least two previous indecent exposure incidents that are under investigation.

Rodgers was held at the Cumberland County Detention Center under a $1,000 secured bond, the release said.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Sgt. Newland, the Special Victims Unit supervisor, at 910- 818-6276 or CrimeStoppers at 910-483-TIPS (8477).

The Fayetteville Police Department is searching for a man who removed his electronic monitoring device and fled, according to a news release.

Officers with the Electronic Monitoring Unit responded to a tamper alert just after 10 a.m. Monday, Dec. 19 in the 500 block of Trust Drive, the news release said.

The device was assigned to JQuan Rashod Fitzgerald, 23, according to the release. Officers said Fitzgerald had removed his electronic monitor and fled the area on foot.

Fitzgerald was arrested on a charge of robbery with a dangerous weapon. He posted bond but was ordered by a judge to remain on a monitor, the news release said.

Officers plan to obtain additional warrants charging Fitzgerald with interfering with an electronic monitor and damage to property, the release said.

Fitzgerald is described as being 6 feet tall and weighing about 180 pounds.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts asked to call 911 or contact CrimeStoppers at 910-483-TIPS (8477) or http://fay-nccrimestoppers.org.

After 32 years, Ann Mathis is shutting down the annual Bicycle Man bike giveaway that she and her husband started in the Tiffany Pines community.

“I’m retiring,’’ Mathis said Dec. 16. “It’s not an easy decision. It’s bittersweet.”

Saturday is the last day bikes and other donated items will go to deserving children. But Friday was all business for the soon-to-be 77-year-old Mathis, who took over the annual giving event when her husband, Moses Mathis, died in 2013.
Mathis was busy readying the warehouse at 1800 Wynfare Lane, directing volunteers who were setting up vendor tables. Zipping about in her mobility scooter, Mathis was pulling tables and directing where they needed to be set up. Along with repaired and new bicycles of all sizes and colors, the event also includes community organizations that provide items for the children.

Organizations include McDonalds, Panera Bread, the Cumberland County Public Library, Hood Memorial AME Zion Church and American Legion Post 525.

At least 1,000 bicycles are ready for the taking. They are neatly parked in one half of the warehouse, along with bicycle helmets and various donated items. In the other half of the warehouse are bicycles that have not been fully repaired. Mathis said they will go to a nonprofit organization, Bikes Across Borders.

The bicycle giveaway started in 1990 when Moses Mathis fixed a bicycle for a 10-year-old at Christmas in his Tiffany Pines garage. That one good deed launched the bicycle giveaway in the Tiffany Pines community. Years later, the project morphed into the Bicycle Man Community Outreach Project, and in 2011 the program expanded into six surrounding counties.

To become eligible for a bike, a parent or guardian applies at the child’s school. There, the school social worker will provide the necessary form and determine eligibility. There are no fees involved, however, any donation will gladly be accepted.

In 2013 a stroke took the life of Moses Mathis. His wife since then has honored his wishes to carry on the project.

“This time of year, he’s usually with me. I miss him,” Ann Mathis said.

Everette Lyles, the American Legion 525 commander, asked Mathis what it would take to establish a similar program. Mathis said she does not intend to leave the program to anyone else, but if the organization was serious about starting a similar program, “just do it.”

“You got to start somewhere,” she said, adding that she and her husband at first didn’t know how to run a nonprofit organization, but soon learned.

“You have to do it for the right reason,’’ she said. “It’s not easy. It took up a lot of our time and we had to put off things we wanted to do.

“It’s a full-time job. Most people just see the end result but don’t realize what it takes to get it done,” she said.

You also have to rely on volunteers.

“Beginning October, I didn’t think we’d have 500 bikes,” she said.

But after the first media interview and letting people know she was preparing for another season, volunteers and donations soared. “We had volunteers from Wake Forest and Raleigh,” she said.

But Mathis said she was ready to leave it all behind. “It’s time for me to move on. I think I’ve done enough,” she said.
Next week, Mathis will join her son in Georgia for Christmas. “Nothing will keep me from that,” she said.

“It’s been a good ride. I’ve enjoyed most of it,” she said.

City and county offices will be closed for several days to observe the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.

Fayetteville government offices will be closed Dec. 23-26 for Christmas and Jan. 2 for New Year’s, according to a city news release. Trash pickup, transit service and recreation center will operate on altered schedules.

All Cumberland County government offices will be closed Dec. 23-27, including Cumberland County Public Library and Animal Services.
The county’s solid waste facilities, including container sites, will be closed Dec. 24-25, according to a county spokesman.

Details of the city’s holiday schedule include:

• Police Department: The front lobby and records unit of the main police station at 467 Hay St. will be closed Dec. 23, Dec. 26 and Jan. 2.
• Solid Waste Division: Garbage and yard waste on Monday’s routes for Dec. 26 will be collected on Wednesday, Dec. 28; recycling on Monday’s routes for Dec. 26 will be collected on regular schedule. Garbage and yard waste on Monday’s routes for Jan. 2 will be collected on Wednesday, Jan. 4; recycling on Monday’s routes for Jan. 2 will be collected on regular schedule.
• Fayetteville Regional Airport: Administrative offices will be closed Dec. 23, Dec. 26 and Jan. 2. All other airport operations will be on a regular schedule. Questions about travel conditions and flight schedules should be directed to individual airlines.
• Fayetteville Area System of Transit: Transit services will not operate on Dec. 25 but will resume on regular operating hours Dec. 26. They will not operate on Jan. 1 but will resume a regular schedule on Jan. 2.
• Fayetteville-Cumberland Parks and Recreation: Administrative offices will be closed Dec. 23, Dec. 26 and Jan. 2. Recreation centers will be open on the abbreviated schedule of 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Dec. 23-24, Dec. 26 and Jan. 2. Recreation centers and gated parks will be closed on Dec. 25. Trails and open green spaces will remain open.

The historic Dr. E.E. Smith House will be open for Christmas tours this week in what organizers hope will become an annual celebration, according to a city news release.

The home of Ezekiel Ezra Smith, located at 135 Blount St., will be open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, according to the release.
Visitors are invited to tour the 1902 house, which is decorated for the holidays.

Smith was an educator, minister, diplomat and soldier, according to the news release.
He was the third and longest-serving principal of the State Normal School, the forerunner of Fayetteville State University.

The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Admission to the tour is free.

“We are excited to announce the first annual Dr. E. E. Smith House Christmas,” Heidi Bleazey, historic properties coordinator with the Fayetteville History Museum, said in the news release. “We hope to see alumni, families and history enthusiasts pay a visit during this open house to see the home in traditional holiday decorations.”

For more information, contact the Fayetteville History Museum at 910-433-1457 or www.fcpr.us\historymuseum.

Most of the nine justices on the United States Supreme Court espouse some version of the originalist school of constitutional interpretation. Starting early next year, most of the seven justices on the North Carolina Supreme Court will be originalists, too.

I know many politicians and activists find these developments worrisome. Some are in a panic. They ought not to be. Contrary to what they assume or have been told, originalists do not believe the Founders got everything right when they wrote the federal constitution in 1787, or that North Carolina’s constitution should never change. Originalists don’t reflexively oppose all modifications to the structure and operations of government, or think the same policies that served our needs a hundred years ago will inevitably do the same today.

Originalism isn’t about what kind of government we ought to have, or what policies ought to be adopted. It’s about who gets to decide these questions, and how.
Consider a case here in our own state: the seemingly interminable school-finance litigation known as Leandro vs. State of North Carolina. Back in 1994, plaintiffs in several low-wealth counties sued the state, arguing both that they enjoyed a right to public education under the state constitution and that the state’s funding system constituted a violation of that right.

At every stage of the litigation, the plaintiffs won on the first claim — and deserved to. Multiple passages of the state constitution can be reasonably construed to establish a civil right to what the state’s high court described as the opportunity for “a sound, basic education.” Until recently, however, the plaintiffs made little headway with their second claim: that North Carolina’s system of school finance, which relies primarily on state revenue but somewhat on local revenue, was a constitutional violation that a state court had the power to remedy.

After all, the same constitution that established public education as a civil right also clearly assigned to the state legislature the sole authority to appropriate state revenue. This authority has been upheld by the North Carolina Supreme Court multiple times, most recently in a 2020 decision by a Democratic-majority court.

That case involved a budget dispute between the Republican-led General Assembly and Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper. By a 6-1 margin, the high court agreed with the legislature. “In drafting the appropriations clause, the framers sought to ensure that the people, through their elected representatives in the General Assembly, had full and exclusive control over the allocation of the state’s expenditures,” wrote Democrat Sam Ervin IV in the majority’s ruling. “As a result, the appropriations clause ‘states in language no man can misunderstand that the legislative power is supreme over the public purse.’”

Alas, two years later Ervin would join the other three Democrats in trying to resolve the Leandro dispute by ordering the legislature to fund a school-reform plan drawn up by an out-of-state consulting firm. There is no plausible way to reconcile the two rulings. Nor is there any plausible way to reconcile the Leandro ruling with the original public meaning of the state constitutional provisions regarding public education. No one thought at the time the provisions were adopted that they gave state judges the authority to second-guess how much the General Assembly might decide to spend on teachers, textbooks, school buildings, or other educational expenses.

Now, perhaps North Carolina ought to spend much more on those items. Or perhaps we ought to give the judicial branch the authority to assess whether the state’s public schools are adequately funded, and to appropriate state revenues accordingly even if the General Assembly disagrees.

If the latter, an originalist would argue, the proper procedure is to elect like-minded legislators who would then place a constitutional amendment on the ballot for voter approval. That’s how past constitutional flaws, sins of omission, or sins of commission have been amended or overwritten.

It’s not the job of judges to decide such questions. That’s what originalism means. In this context, that’s all it means.

Editor's note: John Hood is a John Locke Foundation board member. His latest books, Mountain Folk and Forest Folk, combine epic fantasy with early American history (FolkloreCycle.com).

Those who know a little bit about the origins of Hanukkah are aware that it celebrates the miraculous victory of Judea over King Antiochus IV and his Syrian-Greek empire nearly 2,200 years ago.

Few realize that this was as much an internal struggle between Jewish traditionalists (championed by the Maccabees/Hasmoneans) and Jewish assimilationists who wanted to transform Judea into a Hellenistic nation so that they could achieve full acceptance by and integration into the Syrian-Greek empire.

In fact, it was these Jews who first brought the king into the conflict through false accusations of embezzlement taking place in the Temple treasury in Jerusalem. Mostly unrecognized is that beyond Antiochus’ army, many forces fought by the Maccabees were Jewish sympathizers of the Hellenists.

The traditionalists were not fighting acculturation through the adoption of certain features of the prevailing Greek culture. Rather, they were battling those fellow Judeans who sought to replace the Jewish faith and way of life with a pagan society and its practices, regardless of the cost to the survival of Judaism itself.

The second most recognizable symbol of Hanukkah, is the Dreidel, a four-sided spinning top used in a family holiday game,
that incorporates light-hearted gambling.

According to the most common explanation, the Dreidel originated as part of a Maccabean ruse. After Antiochus outlawed the study of Judaism, the traditionalists nevertheless persisted, while ostensibly pretending to be playing Dreidel whenever Syrian-Greek troops passed by.
In reality, this legendary account first appeared in the 19th century, shortly after the game of Dreidel was itself borrowed by eastern European Jews from a German game especially popular at Christmas time (and quite similar to the English and Irish game of Totum or Teetotum, which was first mentioned in the early 16th century). In German, the game was called Torrel or Trendel/Trundel (meaning spinning top) which the

Jews transformed into their Yiddish vernacular as Dreidel.

Various explanations (some of which were numerological or mystical) were also offered for the meaning of the four letters found on the Dreidel’s sides. The most popular was that they are the first letters of the Hebrew phrase meaning “a great miracle happened there (i.e. in ancient Israel/Judea).” In truth, the letters simply indicated instructions for the game when a side lands face-up (i.e. take the whole pot, take half, do nothing, or put one in).

While usually oblivious at the time, all groups have always appropriated and adopted aspects of life from others they interact with.
What continually strikes me is how thoroughly Judaism integrates those elements it borrows from other cultures.

They are invariably invested with so much traditional Jewish meaning and symbolism that we come to presume they have always been intrinsic to the Jewish heritage.
Some may be a little disappointed or even disillusioned to discover that Dreidel was taken from a yuletide game. Don’t be. It actually reinforces the central message of the Maccabees and Chanukah.
They refused to trade away Jewish belief and law and take on pagan practices merely in order to merge into Hellenistic society. Indeed, they were willing to die to uphold the Jewish tradition.

Still, as part of the natural development of Judean society they certainly incorporated elements of the surrounding civilization that did not threaten the fundamental nature of Judaism.

Perhaps there is a lesson for all of us. We need not fear judicious sharing among cultures and groups as long as we preserve the essential elements of individuality we cherish, and synthesize them in such a way as to enhance and strengthen our own uniqueness.

By definition, a coffee table book is “a large, expensive, lavishly illustrated book, especially one intended only for casual reading.” Not bad for a definition, but coffee table books are so much more! A good coffee table book can stimulate conversations, add personality to your living space and be a resource of information and insight at fingertip reach. The books you pick for this coveted spot should tell guests to your home a bit about you.

What story does your coffee table tell?

If you are a travel bug, like me, your coffee table tells all. Countless wonderful travel books are on the market; I am drawn to these books, particularly on trips to places I have fallen in love with. I want to remember my trips, see the pictures of the special places I've visited and read more about them long after my suitcase has been put away.

Some buy coffee table books about their favorite movie stars or musicians. For me, this would be Elvis. I’ve had several books with pictures of The King over the years of his career. When I need a walk down memory lane to reminisce about my teenage years, I pull one of them out to look through again.

Hobbies are also a favorite subject, and coffee table books devoted to them contain a wealth of information. Book lovers can buy beautiful volumes on quilting, embroidery, dolls, classic cars and almost anything you can imagine. I have books on Hummel and Lladró figurines because, even though I have only a small collection of these, I love to look at the more elaborate, pricier creations.

One of the words in the above definition of coffee table books is “expensive.” However, it isn’t hard to find gently used, “like new” copies because people’s tastes change, or they get rid of one when they find another. A book that may be anywhere from $35 to well over $100 brand new can be found at used bookstores or yard sales for a fraction of the price. Be on the lookout for some beautiful books like the ones below.

“The Face of the Monarchy: British Royalty Portrayed” by Richard Ormond

As the passing of Queen Elizabeth II has shown, many of us are obsessed with the royals. This book covers their history from the medieval kings and queens through Elizabeth II. The numerous portraits and photographs of the royal families are accompanied by informative text.

“Diving in the Indian Ocean” by Jack Jackson

Are you intrigued by the amazing creatures that live in the sea? Are you a scuba diver, or do you have a friend who is? This gorgeous book is filled with spectacular photographs that might entice you to visit this underwater region with a snorkel or scuba gear. Sitting on your sofa and reading about these amazing sights will make you feel as though you are there.

“Wildlife: The World’s Top Photographers and the Stories Behind Their Greatest Images” By Terry Hope

If images on land are more to your liking, this amazing book will certainly get you signing up for the next safari or another adventurous trip. You may want to overlook the scary, close-up image of the snake’s eye on the cover, but you must admit it is amazing.

“The Rocky Mountains: A Photographic Celebration” by Gallery Books

With 245 color photographs and detailed text describing their history from the early explorers, this book helps readers learn why the Rockies enticed so many to give up everything to travel west to find their fortune. You can peruse this book with photographs by some of the world's most accomplished photographers and perhaps use them to plan a trip to the magnificent national parks in America.

“Cezanne” by John Rewald

Is art more up your alley? This pictorial biography of the artist called the Father of Modern Painting is filled with over 270 illustrations, including 118 color plates and photographs. This gorgeous coffee table book will mesmerize art lovers, art history students and anyone who appreciates beauty.

“The Art of God: The Heavens and The Earth” by Ric Ergenbright

We often say that if you want to see God’s Hand, look at nature. Ric Ergenbright did just that with his photographs of nature and the beauty of our world. The pictures are one part of God's creation illustrated in this book. The other part — the word of God — is found in the Bible verses included in Ergenbright’s text accompanying each image of His perfect world.

“LIFE: Our Century in Pictures Edited” by Richard B. Stolley, Text by Tony Chiu

Many of us grew up waiting for LIFE magazine to come in the mail to see what was going on in America at the time. This book chronicles the decades of the 20th century from the Rough Riders, the depression, two world wars, the dissent and disobedience of the 60s and 70s and the approach of the new millennium. Over 700 photographs tell the stories of significant events and people of the last century. This selection might be the one if you had to pick just one book for your coffee table.

Coffee table books are not just to decorate your table. These reads are exciting and informative books that take us to places we have never been and teach things we didn’t know.

Editor’s Note: City Center Gallery & Books is located at 112 Hay Street in Fayetteville. For more information call 910-678-8899. This article first ran in the December issue of Women's View Magazine.