Friends,

By now, we’ve all become familiar with the term social distancing. I know many of you are sitting at home scared and frustrated, as restaurants, gyms and other businesses came grinding to a halt last week due to coronavirus. I share your concerns. That’s why I’m working every day listening to folks on the ground and finalizing legislation to boost our response efforts. Thankfully, there is good news. While coronavirus continues to impact our state and country, the U.S. Small Business Administration delivered some needed relief to small businesses last week by approving a disaster declaration for North Carolina.

This declaration means small businesses in every county in our state may now apply for low-interest economic injury disaster loans (EIDLs) as a result of the ongoing effects of COVID-19 (coronavirus). To apply, you can visit my website at Hudson.house.gov or Disasterloan.sba.gov.

In addition to my office, the N.C. Small Business & Technology Development Center can help small businesses through this process free of charge. The closest physical locations to our district are on the campuses of Fayetteville State University and UNC Charlotte. However, staff is available to assist over the phone at 919-715-7272.
Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and I’ll continue to fight to make sure they, and all workers, have the assistance they need.

That’s why I joined with Senator Thom Tillis and Representative David Price on a bipartisan effort to urge swift approval of Governor Cooper’s request for this declaration. I also led a bipartisan effort with Representative G.K. Butterfield to request more aid for small businesses struggling with cash flow while they must pay bills, payroll and other expenses.

In addition to our small businesses, I’ve been leading efforts to ensure our agriculture industry has access to the temporary workforce it needs to protect our domestic food supply, as well as to increase funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense to handle an influx of patients and strain due to coronavirus. I am happy to report the Families First Coronavirus Response Act that became law last week included $82 million for the Department of Defense and $60 million for the VA to cover the costs of testing for veterans. Following my request for increased funding, I was glad to see President Trump’s latest coronavirus aid proposal includes an additional $8 billion for the Department of Defense.

As we now continue negotiations on a third coronavirus bill, I’ll continue advocating for any and all resources that our health care providers, workers, small businesses, farmers and schools need at this time. My priorities have been shaped directly from feedback from people on the ground. Just last week, I led calls with school superintendents in our region, VA medical center directors in Fayetteville and Salisbury, and small business owners. As always, my offices are also open to take phone calls and emails and hear directly from you about any questions you might have.

As I remain focused on legislation in Congress to address this unprecedented public health challenge, President Trump has also taken action to move the tax filing deadline to July 15, suspend student loan payments, give states flexibility on K-12 testing and remove red tape for the FDA to approve new treatments for coronavirus. By working together across local, state and federal governments, I am confident we can overcome this challenge and come out stronger than ever. Please stay tuned for rapidly changing updates and guidelines and never hesitate to let me know anything I can do to serve you and your family.

What do you get when have a select group of people who didn't get the memo that the calendar had been modified and the start of the New Year was now pushed back by three months? April Fools' Day, that's what. Although the tomfoolery that occurs each April 1 may not feel very old, April Fools' Day traces its origins back several centuries.
One legend states that April Fools' Day originated in the 1500s and has remained a day for hijinks ever since. Prior to the 1500s, the western world relied on the Julian calendar to keep track of time. According to the Julian calendar, years began on March 25. However, since March 25 fell during Holy Week, the new year festivities were pushed back to the first day of April. In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII decreed the adoption of the Gregorian calendar, which switched New Year's Day from the end of March to January 1.

Many people were informed of this change, yet those who lived in rural areas, or had not heard about the calendar change, continued to celebrate the arrival of the new year on April 1. These people were mocked, and some  people in the know would try to confuse people into thinking that April 1 was still New Year's Day and that they were receiving a New Year's visit. From this tradition grew the one that is observed today, with people trying to fool unsuspecting individuals with all methods of pranks and trickery.
In France, jokes may have involved placing paper fish on the backs of the gullible. These poisson d 'avril (April fish)symbolized a young, easily caught fish, or someone who was easily pranked.

Others suggest April Fools ' Day is connected to pagan festivals celebrated during the change of seasons. On Hilaria, Romans would dress up in disguises. Some historians speculate that April Fools' Day is connected to the vernal equinox, when people were fooled with unpredictable weather.

April Fools' antics eventually spread outside of France to Britain and then around the world. While pranks were once simplistic in nature, many are now more intricate. According to Snopes, a popular April Fools' hoax dates back to 1957 when the BBC convinced its audience that spring would arrive early, and with it, an early spaghetti harvest in Switzerland. Video showed peasant women harvesting spaghetti from trees, now that the ravenous spaghetti weevil, which had caused havoc to past harvests, was finally defeated. The station received scores of calls asking to view the harvest or inquiring how they could get a spaghetti plant.

In 1996, in the United States, the popular fast food chain Taco Bell convinced the public that it had agreed to purchase Philadelphia 's Liberty Bell and wanted to rename it the Taco Liberty Bell.

In 2016, the Texas state comptroller's office announced that redback paper money would be reissued in the state for the first time since 1840, and it would feature Willie Nelson 's face on the $10 bill.

April Fools' jokes have evolved throughout the centuries. Although the exact origins cannot be accurately pinpointed, the fun ensues nevertheless.

Local government officials have declared a state of emergency in Cumberland County. County Commission Chairman Marshall Faircloth and Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin announced their decisions at a joint news conference on March 16. The community’s first case of positive coronavirus was confirmed the next day at Fort Bragg. A civilian employee who lives in Harnett County was diagnosed and is now in isolation. “This is a proactive measure to ensure we have the flexibility and resources needed,” Faircloth said.

The declaration activated the county’s emergency operations center and authorized the county to take appropriate action to protect the public welfare.
Gov. Roy Cooper ordered all restaurants and bars closed for dining in to dampen the spread of COVID-19. County Manager Amy Cannon suspended all county employee travel and all events — unless they are mandatory — through the end of the month. The county postponed its six-week citizens’ academy as well as all programming at the Cumberland County Public Library system. The headquarters library downtown and seven countywide branches are closed. Meetings by organizations scheduled at the department of social services and the health department have been canceled. “We will keep the public updated on any changes through the COVID-19 webpage on our website at co.cumberland.nc.us and our social media platforms,” Faircloth said.

Mike Nagowski, CEO of Cape Fear Valley Health System, was direct in his prediction about the pandemic reaching Cumberland County. “It’s just a matter of time,” he said at the news briefing. “This virus is serious, especially among the elderly.”

Nagowski told media representatives the health system has enough respirators for now but that more will likely be needed.

Dr. Jennifer Green, the county’s public health director, said a limited number of available test kits are being reserved for those with symptoms and have had negative flu tests. “We know the state has a limited capacity for testing,” she said. “We want to make sure that those who are symptomatic... have testing available to them.”

Court cases scheduled through April 17 will be rescheduled for at least 30 days, with limited exceptions. North Carolina Chief Justice Cheri Beasley entered an order implementing measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 and minimize the risk of exposure caused by crowded sessions of court. Information on the court schedule is also posted on the county website at co.cumberland.nc.us.

PWC said that through March 30, it will not disconnect utility services for nonpayment. Bills are not being waived, but customers will have additional time to pay. Customers must call to arrange payment plans. PWC’s Customer Service Payment Center is closed to walk-in traffic through the end of the month. The drive-thru will be open during normal business hours. All other customer service transactions can be conducted by phone, at 910-483-1382, Monday through Friday. FAST Bus Service to the PWC Payment Center has been suspended.

Residents with questions about coronavirus can call Cape Fear Valley Health System at 910-615-LINK (5460). Also, the county has opened a general information line about county services at 910-678-7657. The public is encouraged to seek information from credible sources, Green said, including the Cumberland County COVID-19 webpage at co.cumberland.nc.us/covid19 and the North Carolina DHHS website at ncdhhs.gov.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the town of Hope Mills took swift action to limit the exposure of its citizens to possible infection with the virus.
At the top of the list of actions was the declaration of a state of emergency by Mayor Jackie Warner that took effect on Monday, March 16.

The action gave the Hope Mills Police Department authority to deny access to any areas in the town that may be necessary to keep the spread of the virus under control.
Anyone attempting to gain access to any area that is blocked by the police would be considered guilty of a misdemeanor.

The town also announced cancellation of all appointed boards, commissions, committees and upcoming special events through Monday, April 6.

Specific events are listed below:

All town facility rentals from March 16-April 6 are canceled. No additional reservations will be scheduled during that time period.

Easter in Hope Mills and Breakfast with the Eastern Bunny on Saturday, April 4, and the free Easter Egg Hunt are canceled.

Ag Day on Saturday, April 4 is canceled.

Effective Monday, March 16, the Hope Mills Recreation Center closed for an indefinite period.

All scheduled Parks and Recreation programs, athletics, activities, trips and open gym times are suspended through April 6. Registration and payment for future programs and activities can be done online at https://secure.rec1.com/NC/hope-mills-N.C.

Hope Mills Municipal Park, Golfview Greenway and Hope Mills Park open spaces will remain accessible for public use.

Town Hall and the police department lobby will not be closed. Residents are asked to limit visits to both facilities. Use online forms where possible and mail checks for permits. Those who must come to Town Hall or the police station are asked to call ahead and make an appointment to make sure someone is available to assist you.
Call 910-424-4555 for Town Hall or 910-425-4103 for the police department.

Visit http://www.townofhopemills.com/directory.aspx  to find alist of direct extensions.

Stephanie Bentley likes the direction Hope Mills is heading in and wants to be a part of the good things going on in the community. That’s a big part of the reason she and her husband Josh are kicking off a new business, Yakalacky Outfitters NC.

“I have a great passion in making things happen,’’ Bentley said. “I’ve done it before in past businesses. I’m very resourceful and creative. This is going to be a fun thing for the community.’’

The business she is putting together will roll out over a period of weeks, starting first with a kayak rental business that will be based in a mobile format to take the kayaks down to Hope Mills Lake.

Her physical business address, which likely won’t be open until mid-April at the earliest, will be just around the corner from the lake, literally, at 5552 Trade Street in a former paint store.

The building she plans to occupy has been vacant for nearly two years. She’s in the process of cleaning the building inside and out. Once that’s done, she’ll be able to devote full time to installing kayak racks on the trailer she plans to bring her rental kayaks down to Hope Mills Lake.

She has set a tentative date of March 28th to have some travel writers and photographers visit the new business and take a tour of the lake. That event is on hold as the current COVID-19 situation may limit the ability of the writers to travel to Hope Mills until a later time.

But she does plan to crank up the kayak rentals soon, advertising and taking reservations on her company’s Facebook page.

She is working on pricing plans that will make the rental affordable for people who have no experience using kayaks and just want to try it out. She’s also going to have longer rental times for veteran kayakers at a higher price.

“It’s definitely going to be affordable,’’ Bentley said. “I want everybody to be able to afford it.’’

She is hoping to make the Trade Street building more than just a typical store. She wants it to become a place where people can visit, shop and enjoy some time relaxing and socializing.

“We’ll sell bait, fishing tackle and sundries,’’ she said. “We’ll probably have apparel down the road.’’

To save money, and prevent the need to keep the building constantly stocked with kayaks she’s purchased to sell, Bentley plans to work out contracts with different distributors of various water sports products and have them come in on a rotating basis to do demonstrations of their products.

She’s currently negotiating with a company in Texas that makes a unique paddle board with pontoons.

Bentley also plans to offer loaner rods and reels for fishermen and eventually hopes to be able to sell fishing licenses at the store.

She hopes to do some landscaping in the store’s back yard and turn it into a place where people can come and relax in the shade during the summer months, possibly even constructing a small pond with koi or goldfish.

Her primary goal is to offer items that people will want and need when they visit Hope Mills Lake, either as fishermen or kayakers.

While she’s starting with kayaks, eventually she hopes to offer different types of water craft, including canoes, rowboats and possibly even pedal boats.
“The pedal boats are very expensive,’’ she said. “When we get that ball rolling the town is going to let us keep them on the water.’’

Eventually, Bentley hopes to have some kind of storage facility at the lake so she can keep the kayaks there as well and not have to move them back and forth.
She also plans to offer kayak owners the chance to bring their kayaks to her and let her sell them at the store.

She’d also like to sell items made by local artists and craftsmen. “I want to give them an outlet inside the store,’’ she said, “help them and help me.’’

As mayor of Hope Mills, Jackie Warner is always looking for opportunities to spark economic development and downtown revitalization. That’s why she and town finance director Drew Holland recently attended the 40th annual North Carolina Main Street Conference in New Bern.

The conference was geared toward communities roughly the same size as Hope Mills and looked at creative ways various towns had used to promote interest on the part of visitors that didn’t involve huge expenditures of money.

Warner and Holland split up during their time at the conference so each could come back with different ideas on revitalization.

With the news that the historic Trade Street property in Hope Mills has been put up for sale, Warner was particularly interested in things that the town can do to preserve the history there and possibly renovate some of the buildings along the street.

“We had already brought in somebody that explained you can get tax credits for historical preservation and renovating the building,’’ Warner said of a recent presentation that was put on by the town.

One of the most interesting presentations Warner attended involved something Hope Mills has already started doing, the addition of art to the downtown
landscape.

Ironically, before the presentation started, Warner saw pictures displayed from a town art display in nearby Laurinburg that was the inspiration for Hope Mills’ initial foray into municipal art.

Warner’s son, Teddy, worked with the town of Laurinburg when it started the idea of buying a lot, clearing it and setting up sculptures. “They were featured in one talk about how that helped economic development,’’ Warner said of the Laurinburg project.

Hope Mills established an agreement with Adam Walls, who lives in Hope Mills and is an art instructor at UNC-Pembroke, to have his art students provide the town with sculptures.

Warner noted that the presentation highlighted the success of art in other small North Carolina towns.

She mentioned the whirligig park in downtown Wilson, which features a variety of tall, colorful wind-driven sculptures.

Lexington, which is famous for its barbecue, features an assortment of pink pig statues.

The nearby town of Sanford has become famous for local murals that tell the story of the town.

“We could use those murals to show what Trade Street was like years ago,’’ Warner said.

Warner would especially like to do something to bring back the memories of the days when there was a train depot in Hope Mills and trains made regular stops in the town, instead of whizzing through over the downtown bridge as they do today.

Her desire is to get some kind of grant assistance to create a mural on Trade Street near where the old depot once stood. “We’ve got pictures tied to the railroad when it ran through town behind the old mill,’’ she said.

There are many other things Warner saw that could bring back an old-time feel to Hope Mills while at the same time bringing the town into the 21st century.

One thing she saw at the gathering were solar-powered street lights that have a retro look from the 1900s. “Solar lights are very cost effective, and you don’t know it’s a solar light,’’ Warner said.

She also saw some things in a tour of two New Bern churches that could be used at the Thomas Campbell Oakman Memorial Chapel downtown.

“They have times of the day when they are open for prayer,’’ Warner said. “I looked at a garden they had done beside one of them. “They also had a hidden restroom facility that we could easily do by our church. It was cost-effective and served a good purpose.’’

She looked at pavers, bricks and different types of sidewalks. There were also park benches and playgrounds.

Warner hopes to visit Sanford to take a look at the murals there. She would also like for the Hope Mills Creative Arts Council to visit Washington, N.C., a small North Carolina town that has raised significant money for the arts through various partnerships. “Because we’re a tier one county, there is money available if we go the right route to apply for it, to do some of the things we may want to do,’’ she said.

It is hard to get our heads wrapped around the Coronavirus, also known as COVID-19. March 2020 is not the same America we knew in February of 2020. It is hard to understand the size and scope of this virus. To put this in perspective, this disease was first reported in China, on December 31, 2019. On January 11, 2020, the Chinese government announced the first death. On January 23, the World Health Organization declared that the virus does not yet constitute a public health emergency of international concern. On January 21, the U.S. announced the first case. On February 22, California announced its first case, and the White House said the president put Vice President Pence in charge of the response. On March 9, Europe went into lockdown. In an election year, and a world of 24-hour media, it is easy for anyone to take shots at the government and the captains of industry, but to put these things in perspective, as of March 12, Jeffery Dahmer had eaten more people than had died in this country. Just for reference, he ate 17 people. So, it is hard to understand how fast pandemic can spread.  This is probably one of the first times in history that we have had so much access to information in real-time, which makes us helpless spectators.

COVID-19 challenges us with science and arithmetic. While the smart people figure out what to do and how to contain this, we all know we need to take a deep breath, but our mind conflicts with what we see and what we do.

In Ed Sherwood’s book, “The Survivors Club: The Secrets and Science that Could Save Your Life,” we learn lessons about where is the safest seat on an airplane, where is the best place to have a heart attack, why does religious observance add years to your life and how can birthdays be hazardous to your health. He also talks about some terrible choices that people have had to make to survive in terrible situations. That is how the world feels this week. While the medical community hunts for answers and cures, we have been hunting for toilet paper and water. If you are one of the lucky ones that found some, you were faced with a moral dilemma: Should you buy more than you need? How much do you need? When will it be available again? And, the big question — should I buy more than I need?

We are living in that space I like to call “strategic space.” This is the space where the government has to do something but also has to come up with something to make it appear everything is under control to create distance between our emotions and chaos. Closing schools, activities and telling people to say home is probable good advice in this situation, as we know that the virus takes up to 14 days to manifest itself.

In Cody Lundin’s book, “98.6 Degrees: The Art of Keeping Your Ass Alive,” Lundin stresses that a human can live without food for weeks and without water for about three days or so; but if the body’s core temperature dips much below or above the 98.6 degree mark, a person can literally die within hours. Temperature is one of the first symptoms of CORVID-19. According to the CDC, symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure. Symptoms include fever, cough, and shortness of breath. If you develop emergency warning signs, get medical attention immediately. Emergency warning signs include:

•  Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
•  Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
•  New confusion or inability to arouse
•  Bluish lips or face

*This list is not all inclusive. Please consult your medical provider for any other symptoms that are severe or concerning.

Until there are enough test kits and reporting mechanisms, there is no way to figure out who, where or how many people are spreading the virus. Couple that with the knowledge that the science community is telling us it may take up to a year-and-a-half to test and get the data back for a viable vaccine. This is a large gap to deal with.
As for the run on stores, we live in Fayetteville. In the last few years, we have had water mains break, hurricanes, tornados and a variety of other challenging situations. Having water, food and medical supplies on hand should be part of your everyday life — no matter where you live.

We all know that fear and greed drive the stock markets. We’ve heard that our whole lives, and if you listen to most news outlets right now, it’s absolute hysteria.
Do you believe that the American economy is doomed and that it will never return? Do you believe that all of the companies that you are invested in within your individual investment portfolio are going under? I don’t think this is the case, but as the stock market bounces up and down, remember to buy low and sell high.

Dr. Spencer Johnson’s book, “Who Moved My Cheese?” is a wonderful parable about the different ways we respond to life’s changes and how doing so skillfully can help us find more success and happiness in our lives. What is changing as of today?  Kids will learn to do homework, practice distance learning, and learn more computer skills. Employers are looking at teleworking. Many jobs are computer-based anyway.  You will learn about social isolation — or the joys of working independently. The entertainment business will take a hit, but the internet streaming businesses will be up. We may have to learn to cook, grow a garden or learn to go out and have a picnic.

It is easy to criticize the government for not having enough test kits or vaccines for everyone in America when the majority of people didn’t have enough toilet paper or water to get through a couple of weeks. Your beliefs will either build you up or let you down. Remember, your beliefs are yours alone, and your choices are yours.

The U.S. Senate has temporarily blocked the promotion of an Army colonel who formerly commanded Fort Bragg’s 3rd Special Forces Group, The New York Times reported. Col. Bradley Moses was in line for promotion to brigadier general. He was the commanding officer in charge when an ambush claimed the lives of four U.S. soldiers outside of Tongo Tongo, Niger on Oct. 4, 2017.

He did not receive any punishment and is eventually expected to receive his promotion. But for now, Senate members are delaying the matter.

Investigations following the Niger ambush were criticized for placing much of the blame on lower-ranking officers. Family members of the fallen soldiers criticized the Pentagon’s handling of the investigation. The leader of the ambushed Operational Detachment Alpha, also known as an A-Team, was Capt. Michael Perozeni. He took much of the blame until it was revealed that he asked to not continue the mission before the attack, according to a redacted investigation. The probe revealed the ambush highlighted problems with the U.S. mission in West Africa, including poor medical evacuation capabilities and a lack of air support for troops on the ground.

Moses’ No. 2, Lt. Col. David Painter, told the A-team to continue the mission, a decision Moses also approved, according to The Times. Painter was subsequently punished following the ambush and not promoted to full colonel. Moses was not punished. 

Maj. Alan Van Saun, an Operational Detachment Alpha team commander who was home on paternity leave at the time of the ambush, received a formal reprimand when the investigation was concluded, effectively ending his Army career. Investigators determined he failed to prepare his soldiers for the deployment.

“Following a complicated tragedy with no clear proximate cause, First Special Forces Command issued reprimands with inaccuracies and inconsistencies, focusing on pre-deployment training and personnel issues, instead of operational decisions made leading up to the ambush,” Van Saun wrote. “Senior leaders within Africa Command... presented their findings to the families of the fallen based on circumstantial evidence, which left them with more questions than answers.

“Africa Command held a press briefing, that, for the most part, admonished one of my Green Beret teams for their premission planning and preparation but barely mentioned the decisions made above their level,” he added.

Family members of those killed and even some green berets with the Third Special Forces Group expressed anger at the numerous investigations, spread out over almost two years, and lack of reprimands for high-ranking military officials, including Colonel Moses, for ordering the 11-member Special Forces ODA on the mission without knowing the enemy’s strength. Islamic State fighters had been tracking the team and were preparing to attack. Five Nigeriens accompanying the Americans were also killed in the hourslong gun battle. The four Americans killed — Sgt. 1st Class Jeremiah W. Johnson, Staff Sgt. Bryan C. Black, Staff Sgt. Dustin Wright and Sgt. La David T. Johnson — all received posthumous valor awards.

It’s important to have cash available for your everyday spending and the inevitable rainy day. However, you also need to develop a cash strategy that can contribute to your long-term financial success. But just how much cash do you need? And in what form?

To answer these questions, it’s useful to look at the four main uses of cash:

• Everyday spending — Your everyday spending includes the cash you use for your mortgage, utilities, groceries and so on. As a general guideline, you should have one to two months of living expenses available during your working years, and perhaps a year’s worth of living expenses when you’re retired. The latter can be adjusted higher or lower based on your income from Social Security or a pension. You’ll need instant access to this money — and you need to know your principal is protected — so it may be a good idea to keep the funds in a checking or cash management account.

• Unexpected expenses and emergencies — If you needed a major car repair or a new furnace, or if you incurred a big bill from a doctor or dentist, would you be able to handle the cost? You could — if you’ve set up an emergency fund. During your working years, this fund should be big enough to cover three to six months of living expenses; when you’re retired, you may be able to get by with one to three months’ worth of expenses, assuming you have additional sources of available cash. You’ll want your emergency fund to be held in liquid vehicles that protect your principal, such as savings or money market accounts or short-term certificates of deposit.

• Specific short-term savings goal(s) — At various points in your life, you may have a specific goal — a new car, vacation, wedding, etc. — that you’d like to reach within a year or two. Your first step is to identify how much money you’ll need, so think about all the factors affecting the final cost. Next, you’ll need to choose an appropriate savings vehicle. You could simply put more money in the accounts you use for everyday cash, or even in your emergency fund, but you would run the risk of dipping into either of these pools. Instead, consider opening a separate account — and tell yourself this money is for one purpose only.

• Source of investment — You can use cash in two ways as part of your overall investment strategy. First, cash can be considered part of the fixed-income allocation of your portfolio (i.e., bonds and CDs). Because cash behaves differently from other asset classes — such as stocks and bonds — it can help diversify your holdings, and the more diversified you are, the less impact market volatility may have on your portfolio. However, diversification can’t guarantee a profit or protect against all losses. The second benefit of cash, in terms of investing, is it’s there for you to purchase a new investment or to add more shares in an existing investment. In any case, you probably don’t want to be too cash heavy, so you might want to keep no more than 10% of your fixed-income assets in cash.

As you can see, cash can be valuable in several ways — so use it wisely.

Men who coached with him called the late Nathan Pittman one of the smartest people they ever knew, and an assistant football coach who was impossible to fool.
Pittman, who was part of four championship football teams in Fayetteville, died recently and was recognized during a celebration of life
service on March 15 at Rogers and Breece Funeral Home.

A native of Florida, Pittman came to Fayetteville as a young man and held assistant coaching jobs at a variety of local high schools. But it was at Seventy-First and South View high schools where he saw his greatest success in his role as defensive coordinator. He helped lead the 1970 Seventy-First team to the Eastern 3-A title, which was as far as schools could go in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association playoffs at the time.

He was a part of three state championship teams under head coach Bobby Poss, two at Seventy-First in the 1980s and a third at South View High School in the 1990s.
After Poss left South View, Pittman ended his coaching career with stops at Terry Sanford and Gray’s Creek high schools.

Greg Killingsworth played for Pittman his first year at Seventy-First and later hired him to coach at Terry Sanford when Killingsworth was athletic director there.
“If you were playing Trivial Pursuit, you wanted him on your team,’’ Killingsworth said. “He was the smartest man I ever met.’’

As for his skills as a football coach, Killingsworth said Pittman was way ahead of the game as a defensive coordinator. “He studied what people did and predicted exactly what they were going to do,’’ Killingsworth said. “You could move the football from the 20 to the 20, but when the field got smaller, his defense always rose to the occasion.’’
Bernie Poole, who became head basketball coach at Seventy-First, came to the school in 1984 and worked with Pittman as an assistant football coach.

“He made great adjustments when he watched films,’’ Poole said. “He never wanted to be a head coach. He liked who he worked for and that’s what kept him going.’’
Poss, who has won more NCHSAA football championships at different schools than any coach in state history, called Pittman a big part of any success he had while coaching at Seventy-First and South View.

“He was intelligent and he wasn’t one to get snookered,’’ Poss said. “You weren’t going to pull the wool over his eyes, whether you were the backup linebacker or the head coach.’’

Former Terry Sanford and Gray’s Creek head coach Bill Yeager took Pittman with him when he started the football program at Gray’s Creek.

“He was as knowledgeable as any football coach I’ve been around, I don’t care what level,’’ Yeager said. “I didn’t have to worry about the defense at all. He ran the defense, from top to bottom.’’

But Yeager said there was more than Xs and Os with Pittman. “He cared about the young men as far as being good people,’’ Yeager said. “The kids knew he cared about them. That was why they played so hard for him.’’

Facing some of the most challenging decisions the North Carolina High School Athletic Association has ever had to cope with, Commissioner Que Tucker stressed a positive attitude moving forward as she spoke to statewide media recently about her organization’s reaction to the pandemic caused by COVID-19.

Despite that upbeat mood, the initial announcements from the NCHSAA office in Chapel Hill were grim for coaches, athletes and high school sports fans.

Tucker was forced to announce that the state high school basketball championships, which saw Fayetteville’s Westover boys and E.E. Smith girls advance to the state 3-A finals, were postponed indefinitely.

The entire spring sports season was also put on hold, as were all practices and off-season skill development sessions until at least Monday,
April 6.

However, Tucker stressed the April 6 date was flexible and that her staff and members of the NCHSAA Board of Directors would continue to assess the situation in hopes it might be possible to play both the basketball championships and as much of the spring sports season as possible.

Tucker said the NCHSAA will study the calendar in hopes the situation with COVID-19 improves and see how much of a spring season with championships can be played.
She said that the spring season will not be extended into the summer months if play can resume in time because playing that late would conflict with graduation exercises and commitments some students may have with college camps.

If the spring season can be played, Tucker said the NCHSAA would have to work with conferences on coming up with some kind of formula to determine conference champions since all of the games likely could not be played in the time available.

She suggested they might use a percentage of conference games won, which is how conference standings are determined. She added the MaxPreps national and state rankings, which are used to seed NCHSAA playoff sports, may not be used in this situation.

As for the basketball championship games, if they are played there are many variables to deal with.

One would be allowing the teams that qualified for the finals sufficient time to practice and get into shape before playing the games if they can be scheduled. Another problem could be finding venues to play them. Reynolds Coliseum at N.C. State and the Smith Center at the University of North Carolina were supposed to host the championships.
If those arenas aren’t available, Tucker said the NCHSAA would first turn to other college venues then look at civic arenas.

It is possible if the games aren’t played that the NCHSAA could declare cochampions or do something it did in football years ago and have Eastern and Western champs with no outright state winner.

“I always like to lean toward the positive,’’ Tucker said. “I’m going to be hopeful and prayerful that by the time we get to April 6, as we get closer and closer, this situation will be different and maybe we will have some opportunity to look at resuming spring sports.’’

Puzzles are fun and entertaining, but their benefits go beyond simple recreation. In fact, playing and solving puzzles on a regular basis can benefit adults and children in various ways.  Puzzles often stimulate problem-solving centers in the brain and can improve brain health. Researchers have found that, by completing crossword puzzles, playing challenging games or doing other puzzle-related activities, individuals may be less likely to develop brain plaques that have been tied to Alzheimer's disease. Data published in the Archives of Neurology found a distinct connection between people who exercised their minds with stimulating activities in their early and middle years and brain health. This group had less Beta-amyloid protein uptake in their brains, which is linked to the onset of Alzheimer's, than those who didn't engage in puzzles during the same time frame.  Beyond their health benefits, puzzles offer some additional perks.

 Puzzles boost vocabulary. Puzzles such as crosswords or codewords/cryptograms introduce people to new words. This helps people expand their vocabulary and can help them improve their spelling.

Puzzles teach patience. Puzzles can be challenging, and such challenges can promote patience in regard to approaching and realizing goals.

 Puzzles can reinforce lessons. Teaching through puzzle play is an effective way to tap into memory retention while making lessons fun.

Puzzles may improve intelligence. Engaging in puzzles can force players to think and reason using general knowledge, memory, spatial imagery and logic. These skills help to sharpen intellect over time. Researchers at the University of Michigan even found that adults could boost their IQs by four points after spending 25 minutes a day doing puzzles.

 Puzzles reinforce concentration. Concentration is required to find words hidden in a word search puzzle or to solve a brainteaser. According to data on
SelfGrowth.com, puzzles naturally induce a state of creative, focused meditation. 

Puzzles improve visual-spatial reasoning. When solving a jigsaw puzzle or working one's way through a maze, players have to look at different shapes and figure out where they fit within the larger picture. Better visual-spacial skills can help with packing, driving and using a map and can be valuable career tools in fields such as architecture. Puzzles are a fun recreational activity that also can boost brain health.

Check out our puzzles on page 22 of our issue and see the benefits for yourself.

The health of members in our community is important. Due to the spread of the coronavirus, as a precaution, several events have been cancelled throughout the community. Please call to confirm events.

It’s been four years since Hope Mills Mayor Jackie Warner created the Hope Mills Mayor’s Youth Coalition. It is composed of students from Gray’s Creek, South View and Jack Britt high schools and seeks to better inform the community’s young people on the business of the town.Since it was started, Warner has been impressed with the talents of the young people who have served on the coalition and how involved they were with their schools.

Initially, she recruited students who were active in the Student Government Association at each of the three schools. But as time passed, she learned there was a problem with that.

The SGA students as a group were extremely busy at their respective schools and often involved in multiple projects. So this year, Warner increased the pool of students involved in the coalition. She sent an email to the principals of each of the three schools. She asked them to nominate two members from their SGA as usual, but also extended an invitation to members of the Key Club and students involved in JROTC.

“We’ve found that Key Club members volunteer a lot,’’ Warner said. “I’ve also been really impressed with the JROTC programs.’’

The result this year is the largest group of coalition students the town has ever had, and they are tackling a project called Hope Mills Beautiful as they work together to coordinate a litter sweep of the town on April 18.

“It’s neat the way all three high schools have worked together,’’ Warner said of the current group. “I think the benefit is building unity among the youth (and) how they relate to each other. Bringing them to the table, it’s interesting to watch them work well together.

“We hope to get the majority of them involved in our Citizens Academy.’’

The chairman of this year’s coalition is Candace Williamson from South View. She is a member of the JROTC at her school.

Vice-chairs are Christopher Vanderpool of the South View Key Club and Melissa Medina of the Jack Britt Key Club. The secretaries are Hunter Stewart of Gray’s Creek SGA and Briana Jackson of the South View SGA.

In addition to their work on the litter sweep, this year’s coalition has composed a letter endorsing the town’s work on Heritage Park. Down the road, they may be looking at finding ways to improve conditions in Hope Mills for people with disabilities.

Williamson, who is a senior at South View, initially didn’t want to be involved in JROTC but decided to join in order to carry on a family tradition.

“I realized we are all a big family and we all have different stories,’’ she said. “We all came together. It taught me leadership skills and stuff I can carry on after high school.’’

Williamson’s JROTC advisor at South View, Sgt. Maj. Ruby Murray, said Williamson reminds her of a butterfly. “She didn’t let her light shine,’’ Murray said. “She’d sit in class and keep quiet, but she’s always gotten her work done.’’

As years passed, Murray said Williamson displayed more and more leadership ability, eventually rising to the role of battalion commander at South View.

“She started showing more leadership ability, taking charge,’’ Murray said. “She became the eyes and ears her second year. When the mayor sent out that email (requesting nominations for the Mayor’s Youth Coalition), I knew I had to put the right person in charge.’’

Williamson said being a member of the coalition is helping her learn how to better herself and hopefully avoid repeating some of the mistakes her elders have made.

She said being part of the coalition has helped her understand everyone has their own voice. She feels she and her fellow members of the coalition are trying to use their various voices in harmony so they can come to agreement on decisions. 

She feels the mission of this year’s coalition, as shown by their involvement in the Hope Mills Beautiful project, is to make the town better.

She said the students from the three different high schools bring a variety of perspectives to the table. “I think that’s a good idea,’’ Williamson said, “sitting at the table with different leaders.’’

Pictured from top to bottom: Candace Williamson, Jackie Warner

The health of members in our community is important. Due to the spread of the coronavirus, as a precaution, several events have been cancelled throughout the community. Please call to confirm events. 

Shows like "American Idol" and "The Voice" have captivated the eyes and ears of people all across America for over a decade. These shows seemingly find some of the best vocal talent right off the street and plop them into living rooms in front of the whole country as they compete to see who has what it takes to be America's next hit performer. So, many people whose lives and voices tug at your heart strings filter through season to season but seem to disappear after it is all said and done. You're left saying, “Hey, what happened to that guy?” or “I really liked that one girl!” but have no clue what they've been doing since the show's finale. 

In 2009, on Season 8 of "American Idol," we met Wisconsin native and former church music director, Danny Gokey, who quickly won the hearts of the nation with his larger-than-life voice. However, there was more to Gokey than just his voice. Just four weeks before his audition, his wife of 12 years died due to heart disease but not before encouraging him to audition for one of her favorite shows — "American Idol."

America watched Gokey nail every performance in the middle of his overwhelming grief as he rose to third place that season. But, after the season ended, he seemed to disappear into the background of the music industry. 

After a couple of less-than-successful mainstream pop records, Gokey made the move musically to go back to where his heart could truly sing — he was signed to Christian music label BMG in 2013 and released his first Christian album in 2014.

Since 2014, Gokey has been nominated for eight GMA Dove awards and a Grammy, and he won a GMA Dove award in 2016 for Christmas Album of the Year. He most recently won K-LOVE Fan awards for Male Artist of the Year and Breakout Single for his song “Tell Your Heart to Beat Again” in 2018. Gokey has seen many milestone career moments, with all four of his albums debuting at No. 1 on Billboard Christian, RIAA Certified Gold Single, over 750,000 albums sold and over 175 million online streams. 

Even better news? His current tour, Unplugged: Stories and Songs featuring Coby James, is coming to our area. Mark your calendars for Thursday, April 2 at 7 p.m. at Central Baptist Church in Dunn. Get your tickets at www.christian1057.com, and click the Danny Gokey banner on the homepage.

Due to the spread of COVID-19, as a precaution, the delivery of the smoke alarms has been postponed. The new date is to be determined.

Free home smoke alarms are coming to Hope Mills, courtesy of the American Red Cross.

Phil Harris, executive director of the Sandhills Chapter of the Red Cross, is looking for community volunteers to make up teams that will be headed for Hope Mills on Saturday, April 25, to areas in town that have been identified as being at higher risk for home fires or lacking smoke detectors.

The Red Cross has been involved in installing smoke alarms since 2014, and the program has now gone national, Harris said.

“We do it throughout the year, but we want to make a push in April,’’ he said.

Harris said the Red Cross knows that working smoke alarms save lives. He said since the Red Cross began installing the free smoke alarms nationwide, 715 lives have been saved by alarms that were placed in homes.

“We know people don’t think it will ever happen to them,’’ he said of a home fire. “If we get that extra alert, we remind them they only have two minutes to get out,’’ he said.

In addition to installing the smoke detectors, the Red Cross provides the people they visit with basic fire safety information.“Do they know how to crawl below the smoke?” Harris said. “Do they know to get out and stay out?’’

Harris said the Red Cross also stresses the importance for families to have a plan on how to get out of the house and where to go when they have left the home.

In addition to having at least two routes planned to escape their home in a fire, Harris said it’s important for families to have a central meeting place where everyone should rendezvous when they’ve left the house.

“You need to have a meeting spot so the firemen don’t go in and think somebody is still in there,’’ he said. “Everybody is accounted for. All of those things come into play with saving a life.’’

Harris said the Red Cross is able to provide free smoke detectors thanks to some grants and the support of major sponsors like Lowe’s and Delta Airlines. He said the Sandhills chapter continues to seek more local businesses to sponsor the program in this area.

The Red Cross also has a home fire campaign that can provide direct financial assistance to families who have been displaced by a fire.

Previously they’ve helped 166 families deal with the aftermath of a fire.

The alarms the Red Cross installs are what Harris referred to as 10-year alarms. “We found these are great for seniors who can’t change a battery periodically,’’ Harris said. 

Harris said the Red Cross cooperated with the Hope Mills Fire Department to identify high-risk areas in the town most in need of smoke detectors.

Now they need approximately 125 volunteers to fan out in teams on April 25 and install the smoke detectors.

Each team will be composed of four people, Harris said. There’s the actual installer, one member who will record the number of people in each home, one to educate the family on basic fire safety and one to introduce the team to each household and explain its purpose.

People can volunteer as late as the day of the event, but early signup is preferred. They can sign up at soundthealarm.org or call the local chapter at 910-867-8151.Hope Mills Mayor Jackie Warner applauds the Red Cross for bringing the free smoke detectors to Hope Mills. “It’s going to improve safety,’’ she said. “I was glad they targeted Hope Mills. This is the first time they’ve entertained coming here.’’

Let’s put things in perspective.

Coronavirus 2019, coming from Wuhan, China,  is the latest incarnation of the war between viruses and humanity. Viruses and bacteria have existed for Millenia, viruses being robotic molecules and bacteria being live one-cell creatures; both want to inhabit, multiply and damage or kill the human body. It is a drama worthy of zombie movies. 

The good news: Mankind is winning. Observation and human intelligence via the microscope, which was invented in 1590, and the electron microscope, which was invented in 1931, have allowed these entities to be visualized, given a name and analyzed for their weak spots. Thus, antibiotics, antivirals and vaccines were born.

However, it has been a struggle and a learning curve. 

As of this writing, 63 people have died in the United States from COVID 19, whose source is the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) COV-2 virus, under research in the Wuhan Virology Lab of China. Identified city clusters are Seattle, Washington; Santa Clara, California; and New Rochelle, New York. 

Over 3,600 are now infected. The vulnerable are the over-age-60 group with underlying lung or organ disease and the immuno-compromised. 

Yet, compare that to 2009 with the Swine flu (H1N1) where the protected were the over-age-60 group and the vulnerable were the children and young people. In the course of one year, 60 million cases and 12,000+ deaths occurred in the U.S. 

Even more dramatic, compare that to 1918 with the Spanish Flu, also an H1N1 viral type. That was a devastating time. World War I was in full force. More American soldiers died from that influenza (58,000+) than perished in battle (52,000+). Deaths occurred in training camps or while serving in Europe or on their return home. Vintage war photos show nurses wearing cloth masks or gas masks while caring for the ill. Stateside, Americans could die within 24 hours of symptom onset. That such mortality was high in healthy young people of ages 20-40 was unique to this disease. Pharmaceutical measures were absent 100 years ago; simple advice was followed.

Open air was considered the healthier tactic than staying indoors; teachers held classes in front of bleacher-sitting students and religious services were held on church steps or gardens. Of course, parades and public crowds were canceled.

Globally, 33 million people died by month nine; an estimated 100 million died by month 18. Five hundred million were ultimately infected. That was one-third of the world population at the time. 

Odd that it takes a crisis to remind people of how lucky we are to live in this current century and to follow common sense like washing your hands and covering your cough. It is amazing how social etiquette — to include elbow-bump greeting, social distancing of 6 feet, e-learning and e-working, drive-by health testing — is being molded by a health crisis. We are living in historic times. Evolutionary measures that would have taken a generation are happening overnight.

So … humankind continues to win. Global cooperation and common sense will shorten this bell-shaped curve of infection. There is no need for hysteria.

This 100-nanometer terrorist molecule will be defeated.

Ironic terminology that its invasion has gone viral. 

Visit https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/ to learn more.

Column Gist: We live in a time when most American politicians will say anything, promise whatever appears politically profitable, to get elected. After being elected, the normal course is to forget promises and go along with what is dictated by the established political order. Every now and then, a politician comes along who is not malleable and does not bend to the will of the establishment. 

In a recent column titled, “Malleable Politicians: As American as Apple Pie,” I assessed Mike Bloomberg as being a “malleable politician.” I contend President Donald Trump is a rare exception to the “Be Malleable” rule. Because he is an absolute exception, the political establishment, and a lot of everyday Americans, has no idea how to deal with him productively.

I do not know where former Vice President Joe Biden will stand in his run for the Democratic presidential nomination when this column is published. However, his primary argument for being nominated is that he can beat Trump. Polls show this is the No. 1 priority of most Democratic voters. Although he talks some about policies and issues, Sen. Bernie Sanders also leans heavily on the claim that he can beat Trump.

Much of the call for Trump’s defeat is driven by his refusal to bend to the norms expected of an American president and be the calm, nice-talking, noncombative, go-along-to-get-along, talk-and-do-little kind of person. Trump comes in talking tough, cussing, doing what he promised and not rolling over in the face of verbal attacks and baseless efforts to force him from the presidency. He is not politically malleable. Despite all the good he is doing for the country, that refusal to bend has brought him a level of onslaught that I cannot understand how he survives. 

This is a sad state of affairs because, by just about any measure — excluding the high level of pure vitriol — one chooses, America is at a much better place today than three years ago. The scary fact is that the opposition, sometimes reflecting pure hatred of the president, is emotional. In this regard, I had an encouraging conversation with a young black lady a week before the 2020 North Carolina primary. She encouraged me to vote for Mike Bloomberg. I told her that was not going to happen. Then she wanted to know who I was supporting. After a bit of hesitation on my part, I told her I was a Trump supporter. I did not have the time nor the energy to go through the question, given that I am black, of how I could support Trump, which (to many) makes me a sell-out to my race. Then would come the part about me being stupid and a bunch of similar characterizations. Even further, she might pick up on my being Christian, and that would open the door for questioning the genuineness of my faith. 

To my absolute surprise, this young black lady said to me, “I don’t have a problem with Trump. If people would get beyond their emotions and look at what he is doing, they would appreciate him.” 

She went on to list some of the president’s accomplishments. I confessed my surprise, told her how encouraging it was to hear what she said and that she did so with conviction. I thanked her and we parted ways. In my estimation, that young lady understands how to move beyond emotion to the examination of facts. 

A prime example of how emotions and thought manipulation push reasoning aside showed up in the 2016 presidential race. Candidate Trump encouraged black Americans to vote for him. Then he asked the question that reverberated across the length and breadth of America, “What the hell do you have to lose?” 

The outrage from most black Americans, and many others, was deafening. This was seen as an affront, disrespectful and maybe even racist.

 My response was to ask three questions. First, what did Trump mean by I had “nothing to lose?”  It was clear to me that he was saying Democrats have done nothing of substance for blacks in America and, therefore, I put nothing at risk by voting for him.

Secondly, given that understanding of his point, is it true? My position is that Democrats, throughout my life, have done absolutely nothing of substance to help blacks in this country. Consequently, I saw his “nothing to lose” as accurate.

The third question was: Should I disregard his argument because his language was a bit coarse? No, I went right past the coarseness of his language to the truth of the facts supporting his statement and the accuracy of his assessment. Forthrightly, transparently, stating facts and accurately assessing them is not a common practice in American politics. It follows, then, that this kind of conduct by Trump is a turn-off for some people, and it definitely puts him at odds with the American assemblage of so many malleable politicians.

With Trump in office, black Americans have, and are, realizing tremendous gains.

The examples of Trump refusing to follow the rules that govern American political conduct are almost without end. Roger Stone is a Trump supporter who was involved in his 2016 presidential campaign but not officially on the staff. In November 2019, Stone was found guilty on seven counts, including perjury, witness tampering and obstruction. Robert Mueller’s investigation prompted this prosecution. Note that none of these charges were connected to misconduct or criminal actions in connection with the actual premise of the Mueller investigation. All these crimes allegedly happened because of, and in the course of, Mueller’s investigation.

Before Stone’s sentencing, the prosecutors recommended that he serve 7-9 years. Trump spoke out against this recommended sentence, arguing that it was excessive. He also (I think with good reason) pointed to Democrats and FBI personnel whose conduct was similar to that for which Stone was tried, yet no charges have been brought against them. There was tremendous condemnation of the president because he spoke up before the sentencing. Again, this is a case of people disregarding the facts, refusing to do transparent and honest assessing of facts and seeking political advantage while expecting that a president would be quiet in the face of injustice. 

Beyond what has not been done to Democrats and FBI personnel, how what was recommended for Stone compares with sentences for others should be considered. An article by Joe Carter titled, “7 Figures: How long do criminals spend in prison?” states: “By offense type, the median time served was 13.4 years for murder, 2.2 years for violent crimes excluding murder, 17 months for drug trafficking, and 10 months for drug possession.” 

Granted, this speaks to state prisons, while Stone’s offenses were federal. However, even if federal statistics are a bit higher, 7-9 years for what Stone was convicted of is excessive, and that is what the president contended.

There was much more fallout from the Stone case, but the point here is that Trump did not follow the American political norm and keep quiet in the face of injustice. He was not malleable. 

I hope there are more people than I think who follow the approach of that young black lady. Americans who move beyond emotion to examine facts and reach conclusions based on accurately assessing those facts. As she said, for those who oppose Donald Trump based on emotion, this approach might lead to an appreciation of him.

“Gas prices are falling in the Carolinas and around the nation thanks to an oversupply of oil and growing fears about the impact of the coronavirus on the economy,” said Tiffany Wright, AAA spokesperson. Coronavirus concerns have resulted in a drop in global demand that is benefiting motorists at the pump. The national gas price average has been getting cheaper week to week this month, giving the majority of driver’s savings at the gas station. 

Motorists are already paying less, but prices are about to plummet even more. The U.S. average price of gas has been fluctuating between $2.40 a gallon and $2.30 most of this month. But a week ago, gas fell to near $2. In fact, on March 10, the first Cumberland County gas stations to sell regular, unleaded for $1.99 were the Sunoco station at 4537 Raeford Rd. and Murphy Express at 621 Lillington Hwy. in Spring Lake.  

Prices are expected to drop below $2 generally by the end of March, according to Gas Buddy’s forecast model, with the cheapest gas at $1.85 in the Great Lakes region and the Midwest. Gas Buddy is an online gas price tracker. The prediction comes as the price war heats up between two of the largest oil-producing countries and as the spread of the coronavirus continues to strain global travel. 

“This is unprecedented,” said Allison Mac, a spokeswoman for GasBuddy. “Nothing like this has ever really happened before, given the coronavirus as well as a price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia.”

They have been unable to negotiate a pathway to curb oil output in an already oversaturated market. Rather than compromise, Russia’s refusal to temper oil production led Saudi Arabia to flood the market instead, depressing oil prices. Before the spat between the countries, oil had already been on a downslide since mid-February because of the ripple effects from the COVID-19 pandemic. China, the world’s second-biggest oil consumer behind the United States, has decreased its consumption after shutting down much of its economy to contain the disease. 

As the virus spread to Europe, Australia, Africa, South America and North America, governments advised their citizens to adjust their travel plans to varying degrees. People around the world are trying to mitigate their exposure risk by staying home and avoiding highly populated areas like shopping malls, airports, movie theaters, restaurants and amusement parks. 

With nearly 330 million Americans staying put, the country’s collective consumption of gasoline is creating a paradox. Lower gas prices tend to encourage people to travel by car or plane, but fear of coronavirus exposure may reduce the number of people going anywhere. If the sharp decline in oil prices continues, “that’s going to mean spring and summer gas prices will likely be cheaper than last year,” Jeanette Casselano, a AAA spokeswoman said. For those who remain undeterred to travel, this is the time to take advantage of low prices. But consider keeping a box of cleansing wipes in your car and wipe down the gas nozzle while you’re filling up because it’s packed with germs.

According to the Small Business Administration, nearly 98% of businesses in North Carolina are small businesses, and 46% of North Carolina employees work at small businesses. According to the North Carolina Department of Commerce, North Carolina has routinely ranked as one of the best states in the nation in    which to start a business.

One essential professional new entrepreneurs can have on hand is a business attorney. Unfortunately, many new business owners only contact an attorney after a legal problem arises. Below is a look at how new businesses can benefit from the counsel of an experienced business lawyer. As the saying goes, “An ounce of prevention can be worth a pound of cure.”

Choosing a business structure

This is one of the most critical business decisions any entrepreneur will have to make. Different business structures have different liability and tax implications, which could have a drastic impact on the potential of a business to grow in the future. A sole proprietorship, for example, is very easy to set up, but comes with a large amount of liability risk, meaning that if a claim is made against the business, then the business owner’s personal assets could be at risk. A corporate structure, on the other hand, exposes the owners (or directors) to very little personal liability.

Drafting agreements and contractsMany business owners only talk to a business attorney once a dispute has arisen, usually with a fellow business partner, employee or client. Such disputes, especially if they end up in court, can be costly. Many of these disputes are the result of poorly written or nonexistent business contracts and agreements. An attorney can help new business owners draft business start-up agreements, including employment contracts, buy-sell agreements, partnership agreements, shareholder agreements, and so forth, to provide greater peace of mind. An attorney can also help draft and review any business contract. 

Complying with the lawBusinesses must comply with a maze of laws and regulations, including environmental, work safety, tax and employment laws. These laws and regulations can be notoriously complex, and most business owners may not be aware of all of their legal and regulatory obligations. However, ignorance of the law is no protection from the fines and penalties that can result from violating it. That is why business owners need a business attorney on hand to ensure they are compliant with all the rules and regulations that may affect their businesses.Entrepreneurs should focus on growing their business and protecting that business by getting good legal guidance upfront. By talking to an attorney first, new business owners will have the advice they need to set up a business for success.

The calendar has turned to March, which in the world of high school sports can only mean one thing — basketball. It is time for state tournaments, March Madness and, yes, the annual rhetoric about the merits of the shot clock. 

For the almost one million boys and girls who participate in high school basketball, there is nothing quite like the state tournament. Although there are great memories from the one-class days, led by Carr Creek’s almost upset of powerhouse Ashland in Kentucky in 1928 and Milan’s Cinderella victory in Indiana in 1954, today, basketball provides more opportunities for girls and boys teams to be crowned state champion than any other sport.

This month, about 450 girls and boys teams will earn state basketball titles in championships conducted by NFHS member state associations. Multiple team champions are crowned for both boys and girls in all states but two, with the majority of states sponsoring tournaments in 4-6 classifications for each and four states conducting state championships in seven classes.

That is truly March Madness, which is appropriate since the term was first used in connection with high school basketball. Although the tag line became familiar to millions on a national scale in relation to the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, the NCAA shares a dual-use trademark with the Illinois High School Association (IHSA), thanks to H. V. Porter, the first full-time executive director of the NFHS. 

In his final year as IHSA executive director in 1939, Porter published his “March Madness” essay in reference to the mania surrounding the IHSA’s annual state basketball tournament. Eight years later, in a 1947 Associated Press article, Porter said, “Naturally, we think basketball has done a lot for high school kids, but it’s done something for the older people, too. It has made community life in general a lot more fun each winter.”

While many things have changed in the past 73 years, the value of high school sports — and especially state basketball tournaments  — remains as strong as ever today. In some states, seemingly the entire community will travel to the site of the state tournament in support of the high school team. 

As a footnote to the use of March Madness, Scott Johnson, recently retired assistant executive director of the IHSA in his book “Association Work,” discovered through research that the first recorded mention of March Madness in relation to basketball occurred in 1931 by Bob Stranahan, sports editor of the New Castle Courier-Times in Indiana. 

While the sport remains strong and March Madness is set to begin in earnest across the nation, there is a belief by some that the addition of a shot clock would make the game even better.

Although there are some arguments for implementing the shot clock, the NFHS Basketball Rules Committee, similar to the other 14 NFHS rules committees, must make decisions based on what is best for the masses — the small schools with less than 100 students as well as large urban schools with 3,000-plus students. Rule changes will always be made with considerations for minimizing risks, containing costs and developing rules that are best for high school athletes. 

Nine of our member state associations have elected to use a shot clock in their states, which certainly adds to the clamor for its implementation nationally. And, we at the NFHS have read the headlines, seen the social media posts and received the phone calls advocating for the shot clock’s adoption. However, the Basketball Rules Committee will continue to assess the shot clock based on the aforementioned considerations, as well its members representing all areas of the country.

We encourage everyone to support their local high school teams by attending this year’s exciting state basketball tournaments.

Photo credit: NFHS.

 North Carolina Rep. Elmer Floyd’s Democratic Primary defeat this month was a shocker for many. He was one of only two incumbent legislators who lost their seats in the March 3 election. Floyd, 77, a retired city of Fayetteville Human Relations director, has served in the legislature since 2009. He was seeking his seventh consecutive term in the 43rd House of Representatives District. He lost to Kimberly Hardy, 48, a professor at Fayetteville State University, who has lived in Cumberland County for four years. A political unknown, she won 54% of the vote and will face Republican Diane Wheatley, 68, a former Cumberland County commissioner and board of education member. 

A realigned 43rd District was disadvantageous to Floyd but could be advantageous for Wheatley, a prominent Republican. It covers all of Cumberland County east of the Cape Fear River and the Linden area, plus precincts in eastern, central and southern Fayetteville. 

Wheatley lives in Linden, north of Fayetteville. Demographics of the territory give her a chance of winning the seat because more Republican voters live there now. Overall, the district is a mish mash of Republican and Democratic voters. Wheatley and Hardy will meet in the November general election.

The district map was revised last year because the court found it to be an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander. Many of the voters in the new legislative district were unaware that the district map had been redrawn. They were no longer represented by Rep. Billy Richardson, D-Cumberland, and were being asked to elect a candidate they didn’t know. Richardson won the primary in his new district.

Floyd was one of only three House Democrats who initially voted for Gov. Roy Cooper’s budget bill last June, which had Republican support except for Cooper’s insistence that Medicaid expansion be included. Floyd said he supported the budget because of the millions of dollars included for Cumberland County projects. He had been encouraged to cross over by Rep. John Szoka, R-Cumberland. 

Hardy stressed her support for Medicaid expansion, which Republicans would not support. The controversial bathroom bill also came into play. Floyd faced criticism for voting for House Bill 2, vehemently opposed in the African American community. He later supported the partial repeal compromise. Hardy made LGBT rights a key element of her campaign. She won an endorsement from the advocacy group Equality NC.

Both candidates raised relatively small amounts of money in the primary. Campaign finance records show Floyd raised $36,200, much of which he spent on television commercials the last two weeks before the primary. Hardy raised about half what Floyd did. She said her grassroots campaign of attending community events, meeting voters and promoting her message on social media made the difference. “You can’t know anybody until you’ve gone out into the community,” she told the News & Observer of Raleigh. The old fashioned, yet always effective, grassroots campaign is door knocking, telephone calling and personally identifying who will vote for you.

 Fayetteville police are withholding the name of the officer involved in a shooting death two weeks ago. “He will be publicly identified at a time when deemed appropriate based on our internal investigation,” said police spokesman Sgt. Jeremy Glass. The officer has been placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure. The State Bureau of Investigation is in charge of the probe. Gary Lee Tierney Sr., 73, of the 1300 block of Pamalee Drive, died after being admitted to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center. Tierney fired several shots at police officers who had responded to a complaint March 4. Glass said Tierney was wounded “when he refused to comply with multiple attempts to de-escalate the situation, and eventually fired toward the officers.” Anyone with information regarding the investigation should contact Fayetteville/Cumberland County Crime Stoppers at 910-483-TIPS. Crime Stoppers information can also be submitted electronically at http://fay-nccrimestoppers.org or by downloading the FREE “P3 Tips” app.  

More children are staying in school

The dropout rate among Cumberland County school students continues to decline.  New data from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction affirms the work being done to help students overcome the obstacles they face. Cumberland County Schools system’s 2018-2019 dropout rate was 1.67%, down from 2.01% in the 2017-2018 school year, which is below the state average. The school system has reduced its dropout rate for the third consecutive year. 

“We are making tremendous progress,” said CCS Superintendent Dr. Marvin Connelly, Jr. “We are very pleased to see our dropout numbers decreasing, but we have more work to do.” 

The state also released data on disciplinary offenses and suspensions. Last year, the number of short-term suspensions decreased to 9,084 from 9,363 the year before. Long-term suspensions increased slightly from 17 to 18. Overall reportable acts committed went down by 6%.

Why are veterans killing themselves?

More veterans die by suicide every two days than were killed in action last year. The suicide epidemic took center stage in Washington, D.C., earlier this month with veteran advocacy groups testifying before the Veterans Affairs Committees of both houses of Congress. 

Jan Brown, head of American Veterans, urged that Congress and the VA reevaluate mental health care. He called the system “horribly broken that... regardless of billions spent, our suicide numbers haven’t budged an inch.” 

Nearly 20 veterans are dying by suicide every day, about one-and-a-half times as high as the civilian suicide rate, according to the most recent federal statistics. Lawmakers say they are frustrated by the lack of nontraditional approaches to the crisis. Brown praised some of the VA’s suicide prevention services but said there needs to be more attention paid to alternative approaches. 

Craig Bryan, executive director of the National Center for Veterans Studies, said easy access to firearms increases the risk. According to the VA, 50% of veterans own guns. “We spend hardly any time talking about the role of firearms,” Bryan said. “The biggest blind spot involves continuing to view suicide only from the lens of mental health.”

 The Veteran Crisis Line is staffed 24 hours a day. The number is 800-273-8255. Select “1” for a Veterans Affairs staffer. 

GenX community forum

March 26, North Carolina Rep. John Szoka, R-Cumberland, and Sen. Kirk deViere, D-Cumberland, will hold a public meeting on the latest research into PFAS and GenX contamination of drinking water supplies in southeastern Cumberland County. The meeting will be at Gray’s Creek High School, 5301 Celebration Dr. The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality and the Department of Health and Human Services began investigating the compound known as GenX in the Cape Fear River in June 2017. The Chemours plant near Fayetteville was determined to be the source of the chemical, which was used for industrial product development. The state’s investigation focused on the protection of public health and drinking water. The release into the Cape Fear River of GenX and two other fluorinated compounds has stopped. Water quality is now well within state health goals. State officials say they continue to develop information needed to protect North Carolina’s water quality and public health.

Field of Honor

The Cool Spring Downtown District is partnering with the Airborne & Special Operations Museum Foundation for the 13th Annual Field of Honor®. Since its inception in 2007, the Field of Honor® has been an annual tradition in downtown Fayetteville. Hundreds of flags will fly on the museum parade ground at 100 Bragg Blvd. Each flag has its own story and displays a tag identifying the person who sponsored the flag and the honoree. The display honors all who are currently serving, those who have served, and those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. Flags may be purchased to honor the memory of a veteran or current service member of any branch for $35 at the Airborne & Special Operations Museum gift shop. An opening ceremony will be held at 9 a.m., Saturday, May 16. Flags will remain up until Friday, July 10.

Kevin Brewington

South View • Football/wrestling/track • Senior

Brewington has a 3.6 grade point average. He recently signed to play college football for Western Carolina University. He was the winner of the 138-pound weight class in this year’s Patriot Athletic Conference wrestling tournament.

Nyjara Stephens

South View• Track • Senior

Stephens has a 3.9 grade point average. She is a member of Health Occupations Students of America, Key Club, Student Government Association and Tigers for Christ.

Due to the spread of COVID-19, this event will be rescheduled for a future date.

Dr. Tremaine Canteen thinks 2020 is a significant year to celebrate the importance of voting rights in this country and is seeking to do it through an oratorical contest for high school students.

Canteen, in conjunction with the Hope Mills chapter of the Zeta Phi Beta sorority, originally planned to the contest on Feb. 29 at the Hope Mills Parks and Recreation Center. Because of a lack of participants, the event was postponed.

A new date has now been set for Saturday, April 25, still at the Hope Mills Parks and Recreation Center. The contest will begin at 1 p.m.

The contest was originally meant to coincide with Black History Month, but Canteen said the significance of the topic makes the date of the contest a bit more flexible, although she’s encouraging anyone interested to sign up as quickly as possible.

The contest is open to all high school students from grades 9-12. They do not have to be residents of Cumberland County.

The topic for the speeches is “Her Story: African-Americans and the vote.”

Canteen feels 2020 is an excellent year to hold a contest like this for several reasons.

“This is the centennial for the 19th amendment that deals with the right to vote regardless of sex,’’ she said.

She added it’s the 150th anniversary of the 15th amendment, which deals with having the right to vote regardless of race.

She feels it’s important to hear from teen-age voices on the subject.

“I think this is a good year to celebrate change, but to bring awareness to where we are in society right now,’’ she said. “Who better to hear it from than children?”

Canteen feels teenagers have powerful things to say on the subject and bring a different perspective to the topic.

Each speech will be limited to three to five minutes, and the speakers will be timed during their presentations. The judges will be listening for creativity and content.

One reason Canteen is encouraging young people to sign up for the competition as quickly as possible is so members of the Zeta Phi Beta sorority can work with them prior to the competition to help them with basic speaking skills.

For details on how to sign up for the contest, contact Canteen at drtremainecanteen@gmail.com.

Trophies and three cash prizes will be awarded, $150 for first place, $75 for second an $50 for third.“I see this as a way to prepare kids for life,’’ Canteen said. “In any career you’re successful in, there is going to be an element of public speaking. This is a topic that’s never going to die.’’

Visit https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd21fkHXJ5JDb7LhomyfpmybaVp4LojZOmw8Wd0jDH284z4wA/viewform to apply online.