Not much is certain about the 2020 presidential race except one cold hard fact.

No matter who is elected—Joe Biden or Donald Trump, he will be the oldest man ever sent to the United States White House by American voters. At 77 and 74 respectively, neither Biden nor Trump is anywhere near spring chicken status, and that triggers more than a few thoughts about the aging of our nation’s leadership.

Are some of our leaders simply too old to serve—or as Trump sometimes put it, “losing it?”—or are we being ageist even to suggest that? Ronald Reagan was 77 when he left the White House, and more than one observer hinted that he had cognitive issues even then.

Here are the facts. We have age floors to run for political office—25 for the U.S. House, 30 for the U.S. Senate, and 35 for President.

We have no ceilings, however, and here are the ages of some of our other decision makers. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is 80. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is 78. The oldest House member is Don Young of Alaska, 87, and seeking his 25th term in Congress. Senator Diane Feinstein is also 87 and has 3 years left in her current term. Senator Strom Thurman died at 100 and was by many accounts well into la-la land when he met his maker.

State and local officials around the nation skew a bit younger. Governor Roy Cooper is a spritely 63, and Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin practically a teenager at 47.

Leaders of other nations are generally younger than ours as well. France’s President is 42; Austria’s 34; North Korea 36; and New
Zealand 40.

To what do we attribute our aging leadership, our gerontocracy, defined as a state, society, or group governed by old people?

Writing in Politico, Timothy Noah pictures a 3-legged stool.

Our leaders age in place. Many factors contribute to this. The power of incumbency keeps them in their jobs. The seniority system in Congress and state legislators guarantee that the longer one stays in office, the more powerful he/she is likely to become. And, over the last decade, extreme gerrymandering—North Carolina is ground zero of this phenomenon—makes the vast majority of seats in both Congress and state legislatures the absolute property of one party or the other. A small percentage of seats are actually partisanly competitive.

American voters are old. Pundits expound on the youth vote, which is certainly important, but reality is that Baby Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, love to vote and do so reliably. This gives them clout that other demographics can only envy until they start voting in similar numbers.

And, finally, our nation itself is old. We like to think of ourselves as a youthful nation on the world stage, but in truth we are the world’s oldest existing democracy. According to Noah, no nation in the world has an older written Constitution than ours, and ours has become a tad creaky. In this election season, our Electoral College is front and center as a Constitutional relic that needs attention unless we want to continue seating Presidents who do not prevail in the popular vote. Other provisions, enacted by white property-owning men in the late 1700s, could stand another look as well.

So, do we establish mandatory retirement ages for our electeds? North Carolina has set 72 for our state judges, and we have lost many capable people and retained some we should not. The same could be true for Presidents, members of Congress, state legislators and others. There is a lot to be said for the wisdom that comes with age and the institutional memory that comes with service.

Once we install the next elderly white man into the White House, national, state, and local efforts to decrease gerontocracy should focus on the structures and processes that have allowed it to develop and take hold, not on the individuals blessed with longevity.

My name is Heather S. Holmes and I am your Republican candidate running for the House of Representatives District 44. I am a single mom and have a 12-year-old son.

I am a Christian and a member of First Baptist Church in Raeford. I’m acting youth leader at my church and the VBS director as well as a member of the choir and handbell choir.

I have humble roots. My maternal grandfather was a WWII veteran and coal miner in West Virginia. My paternal grandfather had only a 4th grade education, but as an entrepreneur taught my parents the values of hard work, perseverance, pride of self and country and instilled not only those but my Christian values in me and my younger sister.

Professionally, I’m a government contractor and I work to provide commercial products to federal and military customers with the Defense Logistics Agency.
I want to be the one to represent you in Raleigh by introducing new legislation to protect our children from pedophiles and sexual abuse. There needs to be stricter laws and harsher punishment for those who rob the innocence of others. I will be the voice for those silenced.

I believe in school choice. As a full-time working mom who homeschools I believe parents should have the right to choose how to educate your child.

As the daughter of military veterans and law enforcement veterans, I have seen first-hand the impact of war both abroad and local to our community. Our military and law enforcement (both active and veteran) are mistreated, neglected and forgotten when it comes to their mental health. I will work with medical and naturopathic doctors to provide safe and alternative treatments for those who suffer with PTSD, depression and anxiety and other mental illness. They have given so much and don’t ask for anything in return.

I am a card carrying member of the NRA and North Carolina Grassroots and will vote to protect North Carolinians’ right to keep and bear arms.

As a Christian, I believe that all life is sacred. I am a strong pro-life advocate and will fight for the lives of unborn children.

The coronavirus has hit our state pretty hard and the restrictions that were initially put in place for safety have now become about control. North Carolina needs to reopen businesses and get back to normal life in a safe way. Small business owners especially are struggling with the shutdown and it has and still is affecting their way of life. It's important to balance the needs of the economy with the concern’s citizens have for their health. I will work with the governor and other legislators and medical officials to reopen our state and bring back our thriving economy.

North Carolina has made significant improvements in education funding and teacher pay and we are committed to continuing improvement. Democrats and Governor Cooper voted against every teacher pay raise because they said they weren't good enough.

Not only do we need more teachers, we need better education, vouchers for parents wanting to use other options for their children’s education as well as more materials and funding for the arts.

I won't play politics. I will do whatever I can to improve educational outcomes for students and help retain teachers.

I will not make promises I cannot keep but I will work very hard for the citizens of Cumberland County to not only make our county better, but also our state.

I hope you will vote for me to be your House of Representative for District 44.

My name is Christina M. Aragues, a single mother of three and Army veteran who is currently running as a write-in candidate for Cumberland County School Board District 3 in North Carolina.

I came to Fayetteville in 2010 for assignment to Fort Bragg and made this my home. I have a varied and unique background that I can draw from to help our community. I am the daughter of a retired public school teacher. I worked for special programs in California teaching math, essay writing and SAT skills in disadvantaged schools. I was an EMT in the Air Force and then an officer in the active duty Army. I have planned and helped build training areas in Romania and Bulgaria. I have worked as a project manager for a major bank developing diverse technological solutions for its customers. Developing multiple contingency plans is my expertise.

When I first learned of the lack of solutions for returning to school whether in-person, in a hybrid manner or remotely, I was appalled. I could not understand how the board had not worked with experts in the community to find solutions. We are not the only ones in the world, country or state facing these challenging decisions. We need more diversity among our school board. We need parents with diverse backgrounds who will seek to communicate and listen to all in the community.

The school board’s mismanagement during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic was the final straw that convinced me to enter the race. As an Army officer, I was taught to think about and plan for second- and third-order effects. This approach is clearly lacking with the current school board’s response to COVID-19 and I will point out why.

First, the current school board voted to keep schools closed and continue with online education. They decided this without listening to the plan that Superintendent Dr. Marvin Connelly had worked hard to create. Sadly, there are currently over 10,000 children in our county who have not logged onto the training and 7,000 special needs children. With each passing day, these kids fall further and further behind. The gap is greatly increasing between the privileged and underprivileged children. Had the school board planned for second and third-order effects they would have ensured that no child was left behind.

This leads me to my next point: the current school board members do not have children who attend school. In essence, they do not have a dog in the fight. It is easier to dictate closings, openings and school schedules when it doesn’t impact you at all. What was the impact of the school closings on single parents or dual-military parents? The school closings added an additional expense of up to $600 per month per kid for parents and single parents who already have tight budgets. Parents need a voice.

Lastly, if the school board failed to plan and adjust for COVID-19 , can we really expect them to handle the next pandemic or crisis that will arise? Are they planning for the reintroduction of children back into the school system? How many kids will get left behind under the current leadership? Since I’ve been in North Carolina my current district has dropped from 47% to low 30s% in test scores. We cannot let our children suffer anymore. The time for change is now.

As a last-minute write-in candidate, getting the word out is especially difficult. Our current board member is running unopposed on the ballot. Unless someone hears my name, she is the only choice. When elected, I plan to ensure that Cumberland County Schools are doing the right thing for all students.
For more information visit www.facebook.com/christinaaragues1/

E Pluribus Unum or “Out of many, one” is the United States’ traditional motto. I can’t think of anywhere else in the world that such a slogan would even be proposed, let alone embraced. It has produced a society that is unique in human experience. Our national personality has morphed through the years as different cultures have been adopted and embraced the American experience.

I see this in our cuisine. What shall we have tonight, Asian, Italian, Greek, Sushi, barbecue? All these are similar yet somewhat different from what you would get in the places of origin. Each is influenced by the different cultures that make up the American personality. I think they are better than the originals, and the same can be said about Americans. As a nation, I genuinely believe that we are the most accepting, generous and engaged people on earth.

So how did we get to the point where we now find ourselves? A place where friends, families and portions of society are against one another. How do we get back to E Pluribus Unum? We could start with our Constitution. In the beginning, the Preamble lays out for us the intent of this steadfast document. “We, the people of the United States of America, in order to form a more perfect union...”

Notice it says “a more perfect union,” not a perfect union. The Framers thought we should work towards perfection. They knew we had flaws, some of them severe. The challenge was to strive towards perfection, something they knew was unattainable but still worthy of the effort.

Maybe the most important word is “union.” Defined, a union is an act of joining or being joined. It’s “a club, society, or association formed by people with a common interest.”

Today we have people, agencies and organizations pitted against one another with what appears to be an all-or-nothing mentality. We seem to have lost our ability to empathize or compromise with opposing views. Worse is the willingness to vilify and demonize anyone who disagrees with us. The lack of civility in public discourse is stunning—the use of deception and falsehoods to silence someone who dares to think differently borders on being immoral. Is the willingness to resort to violence for the same purpose dangerous to individuals and the larger society? This will lead to catastrophe if we don’t get it under control. So how do we stop this level of intolerance?

First, we must accept the fact that no one is the center of the universe. While we all have value, no one is inherently more valuable than anyone else. At the same time, as the Declaration of Independence states, “We are endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” We should be steadfast in defending those rights as much for others as we do for ourselves.

Secondly, we should not just be willing to listen to other opinions; we must make an effort to truly understand them. This is tricky because we often mistake opinions for facts — especially our own. It is essential sometimes to let go of your views and listen to the other person's concerns. Emotions have to be vented before moving on to an honest discussion.

If you can bring yourself to consider the other person's point of view with an open mind and heart, you will begin to develop understanding. You may conclude that some things you thought were real and genuine are not. You may convince the other person that they were not 100% correct. You may even conclude that the things that have divided us are more about misunderstanding than they are about cross-purposes. At this point, we may even begin to drift back to E Pluribus Unum.

This is why I am running for Cumberland County’s District 43rd Seat in the North Carolina House of Representatives. Communication is crucial, and if we talk with one another and treat each other with respect and fairness, there is no situation or problem we cannot collectively overcome. I have decades of public service experience and a verifiable record of working and communicating with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to solve problems and find workable solutions for my constituents. I will continue to do so as your representative in District 43 of the NC House.

We have lots of work to do for Cumberland County and North Carolina. Recovering the economy, providing affordable health care, educating our children, protecting the environment, expanding broadband to rural areas, protecting our citizens and providing for our needy and vulnerable. These are my priorities, and they are all within our grasp. E Pluribus Unum. May God make it so.

In the “Game of Thrones” when a character wanted to scare people he would say “Winter is coming.” But before the Night King shows up in 2020, Halloween is coming. This column will grace the streets and bird cage bottoms the week before Halloween. As this year has been an abyss of boredom, it is only fitting to ponder what the endgame of 2020 might be able to bring us in the way of excitement and constitutional crisis. So far 2020 has been a mundane and forgettable experience. Nothing new has happened. Everyone has gotten along swimmingly.

The lions have lain down with the lambs without tufts of bloody wool or even rancor in the air. As our old French pal Voltaire’s character Candide said: “This is the best of all possible worlds.” Voltaire may have been funning us just a little bit with this philosophy, but he wrote in French so who knows? The French also think that Jerry Lewis was the world’s greatest comic genius and that snails are good to eat. You might want to take French philosophy with a grain of salt. If you have some salt left over you can spread it on the snails in your back yard, fry them up in garlic and wine and have them for supper. But I digress.

Back to Halloween, which next to Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday for anyone who is keeping score. Mr. Google opines that Halloween began once upon a long time ago as a Celtic festival called Samhain. Samhain is many centuries old, coming to us courtesy of the Druids. Samhain was the event horizon between the end of summer and beginning of the winter. Fun time was over and survival time was about to begin. The living and the dead bumped up against each other on Samhain. Ghosts came back to mess with the living. In order to prevent the ghosts from harming the living, the Celts turned to their priests, the Druids. Like Jerry Falwell Jr. and other religious leaders, the Druids were in charge of telling the common folks what they should do to stay on the good side of the Gods.

It turned out the best way to keep ghosts at bay was to have a party. The Druids built bonfires to offer sacrifices to the Gods. The common folks dressed up in animal skins and costumes to boogie down around the sacred bonfires. They partied like it was 100 B.C. As smart as the Druids were, they weren’t smart enough to keep the Romans out. Around 43 A.D. the Romans ruled the Celts. No one ever accused Romans of missing the opportunity to have a party. The Romans combined Samhain with a couple of their festivals: Feralia which honored dead Romans and Pomona which honored apples and fruit trees. Mr. Google says Pomona is the source of the custom of bobbing for apples at Halloween.

The Catholic church in 1000 A.D. declared November 1 and 2 as All Saint’s Day and All Souls’ Day to remember the dead. The proximity of the date of All Souls’ Day with Samhain was a means of getting rid of the Celt’s holiday but replacing it with a Vatican approved holiday doing about the same thing. The Medieval peasants partied down dressing as angels, saints and devils hanging out around bonfires. The night before All Saint’s day was called All-Hallows which eventually became our old friend Halloween. As you sit at home socially distancing this Halloween without trick or treaters or COVID-19 knocking at your door, kindly give a thought to the Druids who made this all possible.

Now back to the premise of this written waste of your time. What comes at the end of 2020 that might wake us from our stupor of this most bland of years? There is an election coming up shortly that might be somewhat interesting. Recently our Dear Leader had a rally on the South Lawn of the White House with about 400 of his friends, the good people of BLEXIT. The BLEXIT fans may have had some of their travel expenses paid to attend the rally. Nothing says we are behind you like paid supporters. The White House rally was a striking super spreader festival of red hats and turquoise shirts. It appears as a result of this rally, that Dear Leader has wrapped up the Garden Gnome vote as the attendees all dressed like Garden Gnomes. In a close Presidential election, the Garden Gnome vote could be decisive. Like Hillary Clinton ignoring the voters of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania in 2016, Joe Biden’s failure to court Garden Gnomes could prove fatal to his Presidential ambitions. There is no known Gnomes for Joe PAC supporting the Biden campaign. Biden has given short shrift to the Gnome vote.

The Garden Gnomes are a mysterious cohort of voters. No one knows why there is a G in their tribal name of Gnomes. Wouldn’t a Garden Nome without a G smell as sweet? Our favorite antelope the Gnu also has a silent G. A gnat without its G would still be as irritating as a Nat. If The Rona is causing you to gnash your teeth at night from stress, wouldn’t your teeth wear down at the same rate if you dropped the G and just nashed your teeth? What’s up with that? Why does the English language waste all these G’s? Ponder this Mr. English Professor: Nome, Alaska has gotten along perfectly well without a G in its name since it was founded in 1901.

As Tiny Tim almost said, “A Merry Samhain to us all; may the Druids bless us, every one!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pictured: The author postulates that POTUS may have secured the Garden Gnome vote since attendees at a recent rally were dressed as gnomes.

In less than 2 weeks, the U.S. presidential election and down-ballot races will be history. While it might take a while to sort out the top race, at some point either Joe Biden or Donald Trump will be declared the victor, and the United States will move forward just as we have done every year since 1792. Supporters of the winner will be elated and vindicated, and supporters of the losing candidate will be sad. There is a possibility, some observers say a probability, of violence in some parts of the nation no matter which candidate prevails.

At some point, though, there will be acceptance. The president and other newly-electeds will take up the business of governance, and the rest of us will return to our lives, such as they are during COVID.

America is going to have a monumental hangover, however, not from substances but from our own anger. Somehow politics in our country has gone from wanting the best for America, even though we might differ about how to achieve that, to anger, even rage, at each other. Both sides now call names and demean the other, although it has to be said that Donald Trump has turned rage driven name calling into a new and despicable art form. So intense is our national anger that political scholars have taken to studying and writing about it, as does Steven W. Webster in “American Rage: How Anger Shapes Our Politics.”
In his book, Webster posits that “identity politics,” mixing partisan feelings with ethnic, cultural and ideological leanings are pitting “us” against “them,” with very little concept of “we.” He also addresses the rise of “niche” media, which allow us to listen only to positions we agree with in our own little echo chambers. Ditto for the development of the internet and other technologies that allow for little policing of fact and facilitate the spread of not only false but wacky and dangerous ideas, like QAnon.

Anger operates within and motivates both Democrats and Republicans. Writing for University of Virginia Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball,

Webster says that in 2008, 43% of Democrats and 46% of Republicans reported anger toward the other party’s candidate (Barack Obama and John McCain respectively). By 2016, those numbers had zoomed to 89% of Democrats reporting anger at Donald Trump and 90% of Republicans expressing anger at Hillary Clinton. God only knows what those numbers are now with election day 2020 looming.

The question becomes, at least for me, is anger any way to choose the leader of our nation who also remains the leader of the free world?
Politicians, of course, stoke anger because it drives out turnout of their bases, and Donald Trump is the undisputed master. But we all pay the cost for that. The price is trust in government, down from 73% in 1958 to a woeful 17% in 2019, according to Webster. Government at any level is far from perfect, but it does act, at least theoretically, on behalf of the “we.” If “we” do not trust it even 20%, how can we ever keep support for programs like Medicare and Social Security that benefit millions of Americans? How can we hold our nation and our democracy together if we regularly hurl metaphorical—and sometimes actual—stones at each other?

Both Trump and Biden can contribute to the problem, but neither of them can solve it. We, the American people, have got to want our democracy enough to work for it. We have to quit allowing ourselves to be played by anger and to think not just of “me and mine” but “we and ours.”

This feels like the 11th hour.

The first segment of the 2020 Virtual Candidates Forums has aired, and the second segment featuring Cumberland County Commissioner candidates concluded Oct. 20. We can only hope that the second Commissioner's Forum provides more insights and substance than the first. With very few exceptions, the six school board candidates that participated (two did not) for the Cumberland County Board of Education segment were extremely unimpressive, lacking substance and details.

The 2020 Virtual Candidate Forum introduces candidates to the community so voters can evaluate their talent, intelligence, desire and capabilities to be responsible public servants and successfully move our community forward. Regretfully, if you are a parent or guardian with children in the public school system, once you have viewed the candidates' forum, you will probably consider moving out of the county, advocating for school education vouchers, or scrambling to enroll your child in a private, Christian or charter school program.

My disappointments with the segment were many. However, there were two that struck me as most conspicuous and egregious. First, the emphasis many candidates placed on the need for more funding and financial resources from the state and county. It was like their sole solution to a more responsive and effective school system was "more money!"

More money seemed to be the answer and overall panacea for all the ills, woes and challenges facing the CCS. Crazy! I acknowledge the current school board had to spend a lot of their financial resources dealing with the COVID-19 situation. Yet, with approximately $13 million in reserve remaining, I hardly think anyone believes they can spend their way out of a steadily declining school system.

Secondly, and the most disturbing to me personally, Cumberland County Schools Superintendent Dr. Marvin Connelly was never mentioned by any of the candidates during their interviews. The word "superintendent" was never spoken or even referenced in any context. How could this be? For decades Cumberland County has prided itself on the talent and leadership qualities of our school system superintendent. With Dr. Marvin Connelly, we have one of the best administrators with over a quarter of a century of proven success in North Carolina public education. School Board candidates did not even mention his name or indicate their willingness to work with him to support the school system's successful management. Several years ago, Dr. Connelly came to Cumberland County from Wake County, one of the state's largest school systems. The school board hired Connelly for his experience and expertise in managing large school systems. It is disturbing that no candidate recognized his contributions, accomplishments, leadership abilities, or indicated their enthusiasm and willingness to work with him and other board members to produce and secure the best possible education for the children of Cumberland County. Extremely disappointing.

Yet, many of the candidates spoke openly of the importance and need for working together in harmony by having more productive and effective communications. Again, never mentioning the school superintendent. In my opinion, a very glaring omission for anyone serious about seeking a board position. You be the judge. Go directly to the 2020 Virtual Candidates Forum at https://vimeo.com/467489706 or log on 24/7 to any one of the websites hosted by the sponsors: Piedmont Natural Gas, The Fayetteville Observer, Longleaf Pine Association of Realtors, the Home Builders Association of Fayetteville, Greater Fayetteville Chamber, and Up & Coming Weekly community newspaper.

Do this today. It is vitally important. Open Our School signs are popping up all over the county. There is a critical message here. Parents and guardians want to know who the people are looking out for their children's best interests. They want competent and responsible leaders. They want people who will reopen the schools to minimize and avoid the risk of raising our next generation of children intellectually deficient and socially ill-prepared to meet real-world challenges.

Parents, guardians and teachers alike want intelligent nonpartisan education leaders who understand the consequences of humanity's harsh realities. These realities crush ignorant, uneducated and culturally disadvantaged children without empathy in as they are helpless while trying to survive in a competitive, ruthless environment. With fifty thousand Cumberland County student lives at stake, an unqualified, inept and politically charged board of education will be engaged in a high-risk gamble using our children and future generations' lives as table stakes. It's a sucker's bet we cannot afford to make. We must know beyond a shadow of doubt in whose capable hands we are entrusting our childrens' education.

The following week's forum will feature North Carolina legislative races, and the last segment will include statewide offices, according to Henry Tyson, chairman of the Greater Fayetteville Chamber's governmental affairs committee. Forum segments are currently online. The questions presented to the candidates during the forums were provided by the Government Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Commerce, the Legislative Committees of the Longleaf Pine Association of Realtors and Homebuilders Association of Fayetteville.

Get involved. Vote! Someone said, "…. the threat of losing our democracy and American freedoms is only one generation away." Well, folks, that generation is starting kindergarten in 2020. Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

Thomas Owen put the 52nd annual Cumberland County Golf Championship in his pocket even before rain canceled the final round.

Owen shot 68-67 for a 135 total of nine under par at Gates Four Golf & Country Club. It gave him a likely insurmountable lead of nine shots over runner-up Jake Barge.

“It would have taken a pretty special round,” said Owen, when asked if he thought anyone could have caught him. “I was playing well with tough conditions so I would have liked my chances, but it's certainly possible.”

Barge, who shot 70-74 for an even par total of 144, would have liked an opportunity to play one more round.

“I don't think I could have caught him,” Barge said. “My goal was just to put a little pressure on him. As far as catching him, the way he was playing, I don't think that was a possibility.”
Billy West, who tied for third with a 145 total, agreed with Barge.

“Thomas played incredible golf considering how difficult Gates Four was playing,” West said. “The rough was as high as it's ever been out there. No one would have caught Thomas. He was clearly playing the best. He is a smart player with great course management.”

The win continued an amazing streak for Owen in the county championship tournament. Except for a few strokes, he could have five straight victories. He won the title in 2016 and then finished as runner-up three straight years before this year's victory.

“I was motivated to play my best after feeling like I let a couple slip away,” he said. “I didn't want to let another one slip away.”
Owen made 13 birdies and only four bogeys.

“I played really well,” he said. “My putting has really clicked and that's the difference in shooting really good scores. I did not three-putt which is always helpful.”

Owen has a unique way of practicing his putting. He doesn't even have to go outside.

“I putt in my living room quite a bit,” he said. “I have a good rug for putting. Even though, that's not playing golf, it's helpful to just get the ball started on the line you want it to and try to putt the ball to a small target.”

Tournament officials made the decision to cancel the final round after heavy overnight rain following the second round and an unfavorable forecast from the remnants of Hurricane Delta.

“We told the guys when they were checking in Saturday to play hard because we may have to shorten the tournament,” said Gates Four General Manager Kevin Lavertu. “We didn't see any clearing for Sunday and transitioning to cart path only. Plus, we've got some holes that from time to time hold some water on them. Overall, I think it was the right decision.”

Lavertu said the course received six-tenths of an inch of rain overnight.

“Even though it's a competitive event, you still want people to have a little bit of fun,” he said. “If people go out there and they're miserable, it just makes the whole experience bad. I always try to take the pulse of the players and weigh all the outcomes.”

Owen said he understood the decision to cancel.

“I know Gates Four can sometimes get pretty wet out there,” he said. “It can make the playing conditions almost unmanageable on some holes and the forecast was pretty terrible. It was bittersweet because I wanted to play some more golf since I was playing well. But at the same time, I was leading the tournament, so I will take it.”

Owen said he wasn't thinking that the second round might be the last one.

“That never crossed my mind,” he said. “I was a little late to realize how bad the weather was supposed to be. I was just trying to keep the pedal to the metal.”

West, who has played in all but one of the county championships in the past 30 years and is sort of an historian of the event, said it was the first time the final round had been canceled by weather since 1996.

He said another final round was canceled in the 1980s and, ironically, both rain-shortened tournaments were won by Gary Moore.

West was tied for third place with Gary Robinson, also at 145. Both men have won the most county titles with eight.

William Schaefer won the men's open division by shooting 78-79 for a 157 total. He won by one stroke over Luke McCorquodale, Michael Gonsalves and Trenton Reid.

Michael Lane shot 72-73 for 145 to win the senior division by two shots over Gary Moore.

The men's super seniors and the women's division were scheduled to play 36 holes but only played 18.

Edwin Baez shot 74 to win the super seniors by four shots over Charles Franks and Marv Houghton.

Clara Brown, who won the women's senior division last year, won the overall title this year with a round of 88. She won by four shots over Lisa Harvey.

There were only four women competing this year and that is a focus for tournament director Bill Bowman.

“We've got good women golfers in Cumberland County,” he said. “We just need to get them out and the way we're going to do that is we're going to raise the prestige of the women's play and we're going to promote it.”

Bowman has another idea to grow the tournament. Next year, there will be a youth division for players age 13-17.

“We want to try to cultivate players of the future,” he said.

There were only 63 players this year compared to 88 last year. Bowman feels COVID-19 hurt turnout.

“Covid has just overshadowed everything this year,” he said. “We had a lot of last-minute signups because a lot of people didn't think we were going to have it.”

Bowman has worked hard since he took over as tournament director in 2016 to try and increase participation. He said next year's final two rounds would remain at Gates Four but he wants to hold the first round at another county course. Last year, the first round was held at Stryker Golf Course on Fort Bragg.

“Gates Four has been really gracious in helping me retain and build this project,” Bowman said. “We're very excited about next year’s tournament, and the dates for the 53rd Annual Cumberland County Golf

Championship have already been confirmed for October 15, 16, 17 in 2021."

Details and updates can be found on the official CCGC website www.cumberlandcountygolfclassic.com. Further information may be obtained by calling the CCGC Tournament office at 910-391-3859.

Pictured above:  52nd Cumberland County Golf Champion Thomas Owen poses with his daughter and the 2020 championship trophy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pictured: Women's Division champion Clara Brown (left) poses with CCGC tournament director Bill Bowman (right) at Gates Four Golf & Country Club.

 

You can watch the Election 2020 Virtual Candidates Forum at https://vimeo.com/467489706.

This forum features candidates for the Cumberland County Board of Education.

The next forum will be Oct. 20 at 3 p.m. featuring Cumberland County Board of Commissioners candidates.

Funny how our perspective can change. Until recently, I didn't think I'd ever enjoy arriving somewhere to find it already crowded. The past few weeks have seemed completely alive in our part of North Carolina.

Waking to cooler mornings and flipping the page on the calendar to seal the arrival of October made it really feel like fall. Overnight, it became more acceptable to lean into the colors that only seem appropriate at this time of year.

Traditionally, it's a time for festivals celebrating harvests of one kind or another, and a time when people begin to drop the pretense the summer seems to carry with it.

As I drove past the farms on Gillis Hill the past few weekends, I was thrilled to see the crowds. People lined up for ice cream, and families wandering through the pumpkin patch on a quest for the one that will perfectly adorn their porch. And the kids. It was a joy to see dozens of children, unaffected by all that's tainted their parents' worlds these past seven months, laughing, playing, jumping and just being together.

If we've learned nothing else since we closed the doors on so many of our regular haunts since March, I hope we've learned how much we need each other. We're built for community. Whether or not we'll admit it, we all crave human contact.

To hear a voice speak directly to us, see a smile directed at us, and even to shake a hand or feel an arm around our shoulder is irreplaceable.

Being secluded at home and having to wonder as we wander in a store as we gather necessities has been trying at best. I wonder if he's smiling? Do I shake his hand? Is it going to freak my old friend out if I try to give her a hug? But the sunshine, the cooler days, and the feeling of fall has beckoned us all out of our castles and into the open where we can begin to share experiences once again.

With all the forces that have seemingly been working to divide us, this fresh, new season has given us all a way to both forget and remember. Like a family reunion on a grand scale, coming together again gives us the opportunity to forget that bad news gets good ratings as we remember that we were always on each others' side.

If you haven't done so already, I hope you get out and enjoy the company of other humans soon. Go for a walk in one of the great parks surrounding us. Enjoy lunch in the fresh air outside a favorite restaurant. Visit one of the many agri-tourism spots here in Cumberland County. Wear a mask if it makes you more comfortable, but let people get a peek at your smile every now and then. We need you. And we need each other.

Pictured: The beginning of fall can give us a fresh perspective on sharing our lives with each other.

 

The Carolina Civic Center Historic Theater, located in downtown Lumberton, is presenting two upcoming virtual concerts that have been pretaped on its stage while the theater is closed to in-person audiences due to COVID-19 social gathering restrictions.

These performances were originally scheduled as part of its 2020-21 season and continue the theater’s commitment to programming during the ongoing pandemic and its related audience restrictions for performance centers.

The first concert will premiere 7 p.m. Oct. 17 and will feature the Raleigh-based musician and singer-songwriter Shana Tucker and her quartet.

With a deep respect for lyrical storytelling, Tucker delivers a unique voice through her self-described genre of "ChamberSoul.™ Her melodies weave strong hints of jazz, classical, soulful folk, acoustic pop and a touch of R&B into a distinctive rhythmic tapestry.

The performances are premiering on the theater’s Facebook page at “Carolina Civic Center Historic Theater” and are shared on its website at www.carolinaciviccenter.com.

The theater’s previous “Spotlight on Local Talent” Performance Series, featuring eight installments also can be viewed on its website. This performance is partially underwritten by a grant from the Robeson County Arts Council and the North Carolina Arts Council.

Touted by JazzTimes Magazine as a jazz talent “…whose imprint and vitality has already been quite visible…” Tucker’s style and sound has been described as a blend of Dianne Reeves, Joni Mitchell and Tracy Chapman, with an efficient complexity that is reminiscent of Bill Withers.

ChamberSoul™ best describes what the listener should expect when experiencing Shana’s music. “I’m intrinsically drawn to 'real' instruments, with resonance, tone and depth that can sound without amplification. Whenever and however possible, I always try to set a tone of acoustic intimacy with my colleagues on stage, and also with the audience, so that the music, performers and audience feel close and tangible, no matter the size the venue.”

Tucker has opened for internationally-acclaimed artists including Norah Jones, Lisa Fischer, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Hamiet Bluett, Javon Jackson, the Blind Boys of Alabama and Indigo Girls.

While the concert is free, a donation link will be available to help support artist fees and production costs. The next concert will feature the all-female bluegrass group Sweet Potato Pie and will premiere Thanksgiving evening, Nov. 26.

For additional information, please contact the Carolina Civic Center at 910-738-4339 or visit
www.carolinaciviccenter.com.

Pictured:The first of two virtual concerts from the Carolina Civic Center Historic Theater will feature Shana Tucker and her quartet. The concert will premiere Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. (Photo courtesy Shana Tucker.)

On Oct. 8, Fayetteville Technical Community College hosted College Transfer Day via a virtual platform. While this year’s event looked slightly different than years past, the Office of University Outreach adapted and was pleased to continue this opportunity for FTCC students.

College Transfer Day serves as an avenue to promote the transferability of students’ community college academic credits to public and private four-year colleges and universities.

College Transfer Day represents an important opportunity for students to connect with other college representatives to receive answers to questions regarding admissions requirements, programs of study, and financial aid processes. The ability to connect with a multitude of educational representatives at the same time is a valuable and convenient resource for students.

The process of transferring to another college is not identical to applying to college for the first time. While a student’s high school transcript and SAT/ACT scores may be reviewed, these items typically take a back seat to the academic college transcript that a student has earned at the community college level. Students need to be cognizant in earning strong grades if they hope to stand out in the application process utilized by some extremely competitive transfer programs. The community college student’s academic college transcript will be reviewed more rigorously than the high school transcript.

College Transfer Day presented by University Outreach is a great way for students to learn about each school’s unique policies and deadlines. Transfer students need to be mindful of adhering to a university’s specific deadlines, a contrast to the open-door admissions policy held by many community colleges. Universities not only have deadlines that may vary from one school to another, many also have specific policies for transfer students.

College Transfer Day is a great way for students to learn about these policies and deadlines firsthand from advisors and college admissions representatives. It is also an avenue for students to make contacts, receive college and university literature, and have specific questions answered as related to academic requirements for transferability.

While the current pandemic has presented students and universities with several challenges, the challenge of being able to visit university campuses before deciding if it is the right fit is one that seems to have been solved. Many universities have begun offering virtual tours of their campuses to allow students the opportunity to assess whether or not a school meets the student’s needs both academically and emotionally.

FTCC’s Office of University Outreach provides many opportunities and programs to promote a better understanding of the academic landscape of various colleges/universities for community college students who are interested in pursuing a four-year college degree. Transfer Thursdays are offered every Thursday and allow students to make an appointment with the University Outreach office to receive an evaluation of three universities of the student’s choosing with regards to the major they are seeking. A student’s current course load is evaluated, the student is given additional advisement, and the student is then registered, if this is their end goal.

Questions regarding the Virtual College Transfer Day event or other services offered through FTCC’s University Outreach office can be directed to me at
nelsonl@faytechcc.edu or 910-678-8205.

“Lady Day at the Emerson Bar & Grill,” the musical play that opened Cape Fear Regional Theatre’s long-awaited 2020-2021 season, is far from the blockbuster musical openers of previous seasons. This is a piece of serious theater particularly well suited to its makeshift staging. Performed in a parking lot behind an abandoned building on Hay Street, complete with ambient traffic noise as background, it is easy to imagine that one is seated in the gritty South Philly neighborhood where the play is actually set.

“Lady Day” is the story of one of the great jazz legend’s last performances just a few months before her untimely death. A victim of her times (or of her own vices, let each member of the audience decide), Billie Holiday has been stripped of the cabaret card that entitled her to play the big clubs and reduced to singing in a small venue in a place she thought she’d sung herself free of.

Janeta Jackson gives a selfless performance as Holiday. Those who saw her in “Crowns” know the power of Jackson’s voice, which breaks through most notably in numbers such as “Ain’t Nobody’s Business” and “Strange Fruit.” But Jackson is playing Holiday at the end of her career, when alcohol and drugs have taken their toll on her health as well as her voice. Her performance reflects this. Clad in mink and glitter at the outset, Jackson as Holiday disintegrates onstage and the songs follow her down. Brian Whitted as Jimmy Powers, Holiday’s accompanist, brings his piano in at critical moments to prevent a complete breakdown. Much as folks passing the scene of an accident, the audience is drawn along, mesmerized.

“Lady Day,” written by Lanie Robertson, is called a musical play because there is much dialog in addition to the musical numbers. Holiday’s onstage ramblings give the audience an idea of the trajectory of her life. Some of her reminisces are hilarious but much of the dialogue is raw. Holiday is presumably speaking to a Black audience so theatergoers who are not Black may squirm a bit.

Given COVID-19 restrictions and the fact that CFRT’s theater is undergoing renovations, Artistic Director Mary Kate Burke and company are to be commended for choosing an opener that is well suited to both our time and place. The cast is small. The lighting is low. The night itself becomes part of the show. Social issues that are still relevant over 60 years after Holiday’s death are served up, if not as entertainment exactly, then certainly as art. And art is always worth supporting. If you want to hear Billie Holiday at her best, buy a CD. If you want to witness a heroic performance of serious theater, book a ticket to one of the performances of “Lady Day at the Emerson Bar & Grill.”

For information on performance schedules and ticket availability, please visit cfrt.org or call the box office at 910-323-4233.

Pictured: Janeta Jackson performs as Billie Holiday in CFRT's "Lady Day at the Emerson Bar & Grill" through Oct. 25.

After closing its doors to audience members back in March, the Cape Fear Regional Theatre spent the last 6 months innovating and leading the way for regional theaters during the pandemic.

One of the first to create daily online programming for kids, CFRT launched virtual Edutainment classes that offered daily lessons for students in grades K-5. After 9 weeks of online classes, CFRT opened its doors for 15 sessions of summer camps between June and August, following CDC guidelines for in-person camps and ultimately reaching almost 200 campers.

In September, CFRT announced the receipt of a $225,000 Community Organization Resource grant from the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County, Inc. for the 2020-2021 Season.

"We are so honored to receive this grant from the Arts Council. This funding will allow us to continue producing high quality productions and serving parents and children adapting to this new paradigm. We know how essential art is to healing and processing, and we look forward to another year of creatively engaging with our community,” said Ella Wrenn, CFRT’s managing director.
CFRT is committed to presenting an annual series of plays, performances, and special events that, in addition to entertaining, will enlighten, inspire, and educate performers and audiences.

"We are proud of the work we’ve done throughout the last year to continue to provide the award-winning productions and nationally recognized education initiatives, and we could not have this impact without the tireless advocacy and support of the Arts Council,” said Artistic Director Mary Catherine Burke.

Just last week, CFRT returned to in-person productions with “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill.” The show is being performed outside, right down the block from CFRT behind Haymount Auto Repair. Extensive safety procedures are in place for these performances. Audiences will be limited to fewer than 50 people in accordance with state COVID-19 guidelines. Seating will be in six-foot distanced pods of two or four. Masks will be required of all audience members, and temperatures will be checked at the entrance. Robust sanitation will take place between performances and the show will be as low contact as possible with digital programs and no paper tickets.

The rest of the 2020-2021 season will be performed in the spring. Dates for those shows will be announced later in the year.

The Wizard of Oz
Click your heels together and join Scarecrow, Tin Man, Lion, Dorothy, and her little dog, too. They’re off to see the Wizard in the magical land of Oz, but in order to make it there, they have to face the Wicked Witch of the West. This iconic musical reminds us that there truly is no place like home. Join us for this beloved family friendly musical that has entertained generations.
The show is by L. Frank Baum and adapted by John Kane for the Royal Shakespeare Company. It is based upon the classic motion picture. It is rated G for everyone.

Clue: On Stage
It’s a dark and stormy night, and the host of a dinner party has turned up dead in his own mansion. Inspired by the board game and film, join Miss Scarlett, Colonel Mustard, Professor Plum, and other colorful guests for this hilarious murder mystery. As the guests race to find the killer, audiences will be in stitches to try and figure out who did it, where, and with what.
Rated PG for parental guidance, this play contains mild and comedic themes of violence. It is based on the screenplay by Jonathan Lynn, the motion picture and the board game “Clue.”

Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story
Before the Beatles, there was Buddy Holly and the Crickets. It’s the 1950’s and a young man from Texas with big glasses and an even bigger dream of catapulting to the top of the Rock and Roll charts. With classic songs like “Peggy Sue,” and “That’ll Be The Day,” along with “La Bamba,” this high octane musical is a celebration of a man whose music and values were ahead of his time.
The show is rated PG for parental guidance and contains some mild adult themes. It is written by Alan Janes.

The Color Purple
Based on Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, this landmark musical is about a remarkable woman named Celie. All she knows is heartbreak and despair, until her friend Shug helps her realize her own self-worth. Celie uses her flair for fashion to build a better future. With a joyous score featuring jazz, gospel, blues, and African music, it is a story of resilience and a testament to the healing power of love.
The show is rated M for mature audiences, it contains some language and adult themes.Based upon the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel written by Alice Walker and the motion picture.

The veterans-supported nonprofit organization, Whole Vet Building Lives Together, makes its community-event debut in Cumberland County Oct. 24 with the Braggin’ Through the ‘Ville Car, Truck, Jeep and Bike Show at I-95 Muscle from 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

A classic, used and new car retailer located at 4115 Legion Rd. in Hope Mills, I-95 Muscle is a frequent host to car shows, movie nights and community events. Benefiting Whole Vet, the show features multiple vehicle divisions in both judged and nonjudged categories, as well as food trucks, a DJ, drawings and raffles. The event is open to the public for viewing.

“Life is all about connection that becomes trusted relationships” is the mantra and guiding life principle of Dale Robbins, the founder and CEO of Whole Vet, a 501c3 nonprofit serving veterans, service members and their families. The quote speaks to the doors that have opened to Robbins along his 10-year-journey with volunteer veterans affairs and with the start of this fledgling organization. However, the phrase also provides a glimpse into what matters to this local man — namely, building lasting bonds and putting programs in place to impact the lives of service members, both past and present.

Whole Vet seeks to provide veterans, transitioning servicemembers from all military branches, National Guard and Reserve members, and their families, with the tools, resources and support to have a fulfilling civilian career and life.

Robbins, a 19-year-veteran of Cisco Systems with over 25 years total spent in corporate America, never served in the military. His trajectory toward nonprofit work and interest in the nation’s armed forces and veterans began with a deep sense of admiration for those who serve and have served, coupled with years of physical and medical challenges both he and his family faced and eventually overcame. The times of struggle magnified his faith in God and belief that he was being called to do something more with his life. Already a long-term volunteer in his workplace with veteran relations and events, Robbins saw a real need and an open door to step-up and serve this population of selfless individuals more directly. Now engaged in full-time work with Whole Vet, Robbins explained his outlook for the organization.

“This is a comprehensive vision to create a platform that can serve our military and veteran community,” he said. “Everything from helping them make connections at our events to getting jobs and internships to the mentorship piece that gives them someone that really cares — these are all components of Whole Vet.”

According to Robbins, Whole Vet encompasses building up the life of the veteran physically, spiritually, mentally, social-emotionally, economically and beyond — the whole person, in other words. The organizational colors, purple and white, are symbolic of representing all branches of service memebers. Purple is the combination of Army green, Coast Guard blue, Air Force blue, Marine red and Navy blue. Hence the saying, “Purple Up!” a national slogan used to solicit support for military families and kids.

In addition to purple up, Whole Vet seeks to build up the career and family of Whole Vet clients, a twofold mission, as well as create community between the private sector and military and veteran groups. Robbins established the Military and Veteran Enablement Coalition made up of vested parties to help get this job done. Like seed to soil, the tasks grow as the nonprofit does.

While operating on Harnett and Wake county lines in North Carolina in Robbins’ home office in Willow Springs, the company founder describes his vision as stretching across the state, country and beyond. Since 2017, the Whole Vet’s Military Career Transition Event, has been held in Raleigh, Cary, Clayton and Wilmington.

Employer-focused virtual sessions kicked off in 2020 in keeping with the pandemic, with programs serving Fort Bragg, Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station and more. These networking, employer-spotlight events help transitioning service members connect with corporate representatives from companies such as Biogen, Pike Corporation, PSA Airlines, NetApp, SAS, Biotest Pharmaceuticals. Educational entities like Campbell University, East Carolina University and North Carolina State University are also at the table.

Large scale conferences from Whole Vet welcome governmental giants such as the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, NC Troops to Teachers and the State of North Carolina governmental agencies. Veterans-affiliated institutions that, on paper, reads like a Who’s Who list, have made a great showing at these Whole Vet days. Present and accounted for have been NC4ME, Onward2Opportunity, Hire Heroes USA, The Honor Foundation, USO-NC, Marine for Life Network, K9s Serving Vets and Hope for The Warriors, to name a few. Other event offerings include professional development panels, workshops, networking opportunities and inspirational speakers.

In conjunction with transition events, Whole Vet hosts quarterly Military Corporate Networking campus visits. These tours have been held at host company campuses such as Biogen in RTP, Deutsche Bank in Cary and Caterpillar of Clayton to allow participants to experience the corporate environment while gaining valuable insight on civilian career paths. The tours also help participants make connections and build relationships, a familiar Whole Vet refrain.

Though standard programming is on hold due to COVID-19, Robbins looks forward to resuming a regular schedule as soon as possible.

After rolling out the red carpet to military members and veterans with exceptional and well-executed events, Robbins plans next to put mentorship, marriage and youth programs center stage. First up: The Military Mentorship Program.

Mentors and mentees will be matched to align servicemembers who are exiting the military with a civilian that can share feedback, knowledge and contacts to ease the transition process to a nonmilitary career. Mentors will come from a participating MVEC company.

The marriage and youth tracks will begin once additional program funding is secured from sources such as grants, donations, sponsorships and fundraising avenues. According to Robbins, retreats and conferences are in the line-up for marriage programming, while collaboration with the General H. Hugh Shelton Leadership Center at North Carolina State University is on tap for youth directives.

Are you interested in learning more? Options exist to give your time, talents and resources to Whole Vet, as well as participate. Community events like the I-95 Muscle car show are held to bring fun, fellowship and some fundraising to bear.

To learn more, go to https://www.facebook.wholevetinc. You can also check the T-shirt box by sporting Whole Vet gear available at their online store, https://wholevet.square.site/.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pictured: Nonprofit Whole Vet raises funds through activities such as car shows to support veterans initiatives like mentorship programs, job networking conferences and counseling services.

Fayetteville City Council wants a select committee created by Mayor Mitch Colvin to study controversial issues pertaining to the Market House.

Council decided Oct. 5 to not take immediate action to repurpose or tear down the building. Council voted 6-4 rejecting Councilwoman Courtney Banks-McLaughlin’s efforts to require council to take a formal vote to demolish the historic landmark. Banks-McLaughlin serves District 8 on the city’s west side.

The debate over whether to tear down the historic landmark has been at the center of controversy for decades because it was a place where enslaved people were sold during the early 1800s.

Many African-Americans consider the building a constant reminder of oppression. “The Market House has been an eyesore to many citizens within the city of Fayetteville due to slaves being bought and sold,” Banks-McLaughlin said. She said people representing both sides of the debate have already made their views known to the council through comments, letters, emails and protests.

Those who support the building acknowledge that enslaved people were once sold there but point out that they were also sold at other city buildings and locations.

They note the building is on the National Register of Historic Places and has a rich and significant history not tied to slavery, as well as noted architectural significance. North Carolina ratified the U.S. Constitution at the site where the Market House now stands in center-city Fayetteville. The University of North Carolina, the oldest public university in the country, received its charter there in 1789.

Protests calling for an end to racism and police brutality have been centered around the Market House following George Floyd's death. On May 30, demonstrators tried to set fire to the building which “sustained charring and mass wood loss to the second story floor,” according to federal prosecutors. Two men have since been arrested and charged with “maliciously damaging property.”

When Fayetteville was the temporary capitol of North Carolina, the Market House was described “in a statement of significance as performing two functions: under its arches meat and produce were sold by local farmers, while the second floor served as the Town Hall.” The paperwork does not, however, mention the buying and selling of slaves.

According to a study by Duke University professor John Cavanagh the sale of slaves “happened occasionally at the State House and Market House” for about 75 years up until 1865.

“Sales were spaced on the average about two months apart, if that frequently, and in most instances very few slaves were involved in each transaction,” Cavanagh wrote.

Most of them were reportedly sold “in conjunction with the settlement of estates.” Unlike Charleston and Richmond, Fayetteville was not a slave market.

Twenty years ago, a plaque commissioned by the city was posted on a Market House pillar acknowledging the enslaved people's occasional sale. As for Mayor Colvin’s vision of a pair of ad hoc committees to deal with issues associated with contemporary race relations his hope is regular meetings will get underway soon.

“This is not on the back burner,” Colvin said.

The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners has established temporary virtual learning centers at six of the county’s public libraries for school-age children of county employees.

County Manager Amy Cannon came up with the idea of using the libraries to assist employees who have been unable to report to work because they’re at home with their children.

It is “out of a dire need to ensure that critical and needed services can be provided without delay or disruption,” Cannon said.

Approximately 160 children are expected to participate. Under the agreement, Cumberland County Schools will provide lunches and snacks for the children and assign staff members to assist with operation of the sites.

The Cumberland County school system has created a COVID-19 dashboard to provide up-to-date information on positive COVID-19 cases. District staff updates the dashboard every Friday.

“As we navigate through this pandemic, we encourage everyone to follow the guidance of health officials,” said Shirley Bolden, director of Health Services for CCS. “It’s important that we continue to practice the three Ws.”

CCS is currently operating under Plan C, whereby students participate in remote learning through the end of the first semester.

The origin of each COVID-19 case varies based on the individual; not all the cases listed in the dashboard originated on CCS campuses.

To comply with federal privacy laws, the school district does not release information about individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 beyond what is indicated in the dashboard.

The district remains in close contact with the Cumberland County Department of Public Health and continues to follow necessary protocols related to the coronavirus. To access the dashboard, visit
http://bit.ly/CCSCOVID-19Dashboard.

The Cumberland County Board of Elections is meeting frequently to review absentee ballots for the Nov. 3 election.

The meeting schedule and links for each session are posted on the Board of Elections webpage at www.electionready.net. The five-member board meets twice weekly through Oct. 16 and each weekday from Oct. 19 through Election Day.

At the first absentee meeting on Sept. 29, the elections board approved 6,793 mail-in ballots.

Before each meeting, staff members review all absentee mail envelopes received. Staff members determine whether envelopes have been properly completed, and if so, recommend to the board that it approve the applications and ballots. During absentee meetings, board members review deficient ballots and perform random checks of those that have been recommended for approval by staff members.

After each meeting, the board notifies voters that had problems with their ballots and provides them with a process to verify that the ballots are theirs. At least one member from each political party is represented at each absentee meeting when the board is approving absentee applications.

For more information on the Board of Elections, visit co.cumberland.nc.us/departments/election-group/elections.

The 71st Ruritan Club announced that District 45 Representative John Szoka and Wesley Meredith, candidate for North Carolina Senator District 19, will be special guests at its regularly scheduled meeting Oct. 15 at 7 p.m.

The public is invited, according to Ruritan spokesman Ronald Sharpe. The 71st Ruritan Club of Fayetteville meets every third Thursday of the month and membersdedicate themselves to improving the community and building a better America through "fellowship, goodwill, and community service."

The upcoming program is part of the regular series focusing on people, businesses, organizations and programs that affect Fayetteville and Cumberland County's quality of life. These programs have included representatives from the Fayetteville Police Dept., CrimeStoppers, Fayetteville Homeless Officer, Hospice, Warriors on the Water. The club also supports and sponsors organizations like Habitat for Humanity, Salvation Army, Special Olympics, Boy Scouts/Girl Scouts, Warriors on the Water, Student Essay Contest, Scholarships and Fayetteville Beautiful.

The public is invited to attend monthly meetings and get involved in their community projects. The 71st Ruritan Club is located at 240 Ruritan Drive.

For more information, contact Ronald Sharpe 910-391-1241.

Fayetteville Police detectives continue an investigation into a shooting that officers say stemmed from a road rage incident.

Police spokesman, Sgt Jeremy Glass, did not describe the incident, saying only that the victim was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries.

The preliminary investigation indicates that the shooting involved the victim and another motorist who was driving a late model black Ram pickup truck.

The police department’s aggravated assault unit has requested the public’s assistance in locating the suspect and vehicle involved in the incident that occurred on the night of Oct. 2 at Yadkin and Fillyaw roads, near an entrance to Fort Bragg.

Glass said the suspect fled the scene in the Cottonade neighborhood. Police ask that residents with Doorbell or security cameras contact the police.

When Democrat Jen Mangrum and Republican Catherine Truitt first filed to run for state superintendent of public instruction, neither could have expected that the central issue of the 2020 race would be whether to allow public schools to provide in-person instruction to North Carolina children.

No one would have seen it as a debatable issue. Of course local districts must teach their students in school, we’d all have said. Most students couldn’t succeed without it. Many working parents couldn’t keep their jobs without it. And the state constitution requires it.

Yet here we are. Whether to reopen North Carolina’s public schools is, indeed, the central issue in the campaign, thanks to COVID-19 and the understandable concerns it raises about safety.

Jen Mangrum, a former classroom teacher who now serves as an associate professor of education at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, is the more skeptical of the two when it comes to reopening schools.

During a recent televised debate, she largely defended the go-slow approach of relying on distance learning rather than in-person instruction during the fall semester. For teachers, Mangrum argued, the first responsibility is to protect “student welfare.” Delivering academic content is fourth on the priority list, she said.

“We know children are carriers” of COVID-19, Mangrum said, so it is necessary to prioritize the risk of spreading the virus at school over the risk that distance learning might prove inadequate for some.

North Carolina’s educators have “been like ninjas” since the coronavirus outbreak in March, setting up their distance-learning systems overnight and then improving them significantly over the subsequent months. “There are populations of students who are falling behind” with schools closed, Mangrum said, but there are also “populations of students who have more one-on-one [attention] than they’ve ever had before.”

The Republican nominee, Catherine Truitt, is also a former classroom teacher who now works in academia, in her case as chancellor of Western Governors University North Carolina. WGU is an all-online university, so one might expect

Truitt to be at least as sanguine about the potential upsides of distance learning as Mangrum was. But Truitt argued during the debate that disadvantaged children, in particular, often require the kind of attention that only in-person instruction can provide.

“We have children who were already significantly behind and unfortunately they are our most vulnerable students,” Truitt said. Only 28% of Hispanic eighth-graders can read and do math at grade level. For black students, the share drops to 14%. These students are frequently the ones who lack good internet access and parents available at home to supervise and assist with their children’s online learning, she said.

“My first priority is to get kids back in school,” Truitt added, while Mangrum argued that the schedule for reopening public schools is “going to depend on metrics” such as the share of COVID-19 tests that come back positive in a community.

While the reopening question has become the central one in the superintendent’s races, it wasn’t hard for Mangrum and Truitt to connect it to other longstanding issues of contention in North Carolina education. Mangrum argued that a lack of sufficient funding for personal protective equipment, cleaning, and training was a significant barrier to getting schools reopened — and that the state legislature, under Republican control for the past 10 years, hasn’t give the education system enough money to clear that barrier.

Truitt argued that a “one-size-fits-all” approach was keeping North Carolina from grappling effectively with the COVID challenge. Local districts should have been given more flexibility to respond to the pandemic, she said, and parents should have more authority to decide what kind of educational setting — in-person or at home, district-run public school or something other option — best advances the welfare of their children.

The state superintendent of public instruction is only one of many voices in formulating education policy. But it’s an important one. And North Carolinians have an important choice to make.

 

Letter to the Editor

I appreciated Jim Jones’ thoughtful article in “Publisher’s Pen” about the Market House, current unrest, and Maslow’s Hierarchy (Oct. 7). I understand his and others’ concerns about the barricades surrounding the Market House, and I know some people are anxious for them to be removed.

In fact, however, as a business owner with a store at “Ground Zero” in the 100 block of Hay Street, I have observed a steady increase in foot traffic and customers over the past two months.

This is related in part to the gradual relaxation by Gov. Cooper of COVID restrictions but also because there have been no incidents downtown since the May 30 protest and since the Occupy Fayetteville tent city was taken down. I have not heard any complaints about the barricades from customers or fellow merchants. The barricades are
not keeping people from coming downtown.

However, taking them down prematurely may invite out-of-control demonstrations and protests, which will drive people away.

As with any damaged building, the barricades must stay until needed repairs have been made.

Beyond that, however, the barricades should stay until our entire community has had a chance to learn all the facts. good and bad, about the Market House. Only then can we can make sound, carefully considered decisions about its fate.

In the meantime, we should at least begin to address racial inequality in the community.

I disagree with Councilwoman Banks-McLaughlin who, at the Oct. 5 work session said “Council has yet to have that tough conversation on … the Market House. We need to vote and decide NOW, so that we can move forward and direct our attention to other issues that are impacting our city such as COVID-19, poverty, and infrastructure.”

Unfortunately, she has the cart before the horse, her “NOW” in the wrong place.

We absolutely must talk NOW about racial injustice in our society and how racial bias affects policing, education, joblessness, unemployment and even health care in our very own community.

This is something we can do NOW, and we must. The city should consider hiring an objective, outside consultant to lead us in these difficult discussions. Not just “town halls” but meaningful, one-on-one and small group discussions. I am confident that as we work our way through this, as we sit down with each other and talk about these issues, we will find to our surprise that the question “What to do with the Market House” really wasn’t so difficult after all.

Hank Parfitt
Fayetteville

Pictured: Hank Parfitt