There has been no shortage of great running backs at Fayetteville and Terry Sanford High Schools, dating back to the tales of the great Nub Smith during the post-World War II era.

In modern times, names like Roger Gann, Booten Jackson, Louis Craft, Dwight Richardson and Jordan McRae were often in headlines.

But all of them never achieved the numbers that current standout Dorian Clark has.

Clark recently became the all-time rushing leader in the rich history of Fayetteville High and Terry Sanford. Through last week’s win over Douglas Byrd, Clark has rushed for 4,724 yards in his career as a Bulldog with 50 touchdowns.
This season alone he’s amassed 1,125 yards and 15 scores.

None of this came as a surprise to head coach Bruce McClelland, who saw Clark’s potential as he came up through the middle school ranks. He arrived at Terry Sanford as a freshman eager to learn and get even better.

“He’s one of those gym rat type of kids that always wanted to know what was going on and when we were working out,’’ McClelland said. “Combined with the skill set and wanting to work, you put those two together and you see the promise of him.’’

McClelland describes Clark as a downhill runner who can put his shoulder into a defender and carry two or three of them with him. “I would probably say at least half of his yards have come after contact,’’ McClelland said.

While Clark doesn’t possess sprinter’s speed, McClelland said he’s got enough to to make him an effective runner. It’s also been enough to attract the attention of colleges like Wake Forest, Wofford and Elon to name a few.

If anyone is surprised by Clark’s success, it’s Clark himself, who just came to Terry Sanford hoping he could live up to the reputation of the running backs that preceded him.

As far as his thoughts on his running style, he considers himself a disciple of the Dallas Cowboys’ Ezekiel Elliott. “I watch him and study how he runs,’’ Clark said. “That’s my favorite football player. That’s who I feel like I run like, with toughness, the physical part of running.’’

Clark said he still wants to hit 5,000 yards for his career. With three regular season games and a near certain first-round state playoff game left, he has time to make that happen.

But he and the Bulldogs are seeking bigger prizes. “I want us to win our conference,’’ he said. “I want us to be conference champions and go undefeated (in conference play). I’m really excited about what’s going to be coming up for us and all the things we are about to do.’’

Pictured: Dorian Clark

Two of North Carolina’s most beloved authors, Ron Rash and Charles Frazier, come from our mountain region. Two of our most promising younger writers, Jason Mott and De’Shawn Winslow, are African Americans from eastern North Carolina.

These four important writers join together in November to close the current season of UNC-TV’s "North Carolina Bookwatch."

Growing up in a working class family in rural Columbus County, Jason Mott developed an imagination, story telling gifts and a flair for writing that propelled his first novel, "The Returned," to The New York Times’ best seller-list and a television series based on the book. “The Returned” featured the reappearance in fully human form of people who died years ago. Mott’s ability to persuade literalists like me to suspend disbelief opened the door to my enjoying his provocative stories. He has done it again in his latest book, “The Crossing,” a story of a teenaged narrator and her twin brother coping in a world battered by deadly disease and war.

For many of us, Charles Frazier’s “Cold Mountain” is a favorite novel, blending his beautiful writing with a compelling story. From the books that followed, “Thirteen Moons” and “Nightwoods,” Frazier gained recognition as North Carolina’s most admired writer of literary fiction since Thomas Wolfe.

Now he has another book set in Civil War times, with another imaginative story of a refugee from war. This time the central character is Varina Davis, wife of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, and until now an obscure Civil War footnote.

Through his fiction Frazier attempts to portray a true idea of Varina’s life and the times she experienced. Frazier refers to Varina as “V.”

He builds V’s story around an unusual fact. While living in Richmond as first lady of the Confederacy, she took in a young mulatto boy she called Jimmie. She raised him alongside her children. At the end of the Civil War, Union troops took the six-year-old Jimmie away from V, and she never learned what happened to him.

Ron Rash is famous for his poetry, short stories and novels. He is perhaps best known for the best selling novel “Serena,” although some of his fans and critics say that his latest, “The Risen” set in the mountains near Sylva, is his best.
Early in “The Risen,” in the present time, the local newspaper reports the discovery of the body of Jane Mosely, who had disappeared in the summer of 1969. The central character, Eugene Matney, and his brother had become involved with Jane with drugs and sex. When Jane’s body is found, the boys, now grown men, become possible murder suspects.

Almost all the characters in Elizabeth City native De’Shawn Charles Winslow’s debut novel, “In West Mills,” are African American, but the book’s themes are universal.

West Mills is a fictional small town in eastern North Carolina, somewhere near Elizabeth City, where the author grew up.

That main character, Azalea Centre, or Knot, as she is called by everyone, has moved to West Mills to take a teaching job. Knot loves 19th century English literature. She also loves cheap moonshine and bedding a variety of men.

Two unintended pregnancies result in Knot’s having two daughters. They are adopted confidentially by local couples who name them Frances and Eunice. The girls, not knowing about their common origin, come to despise each other and fight for the attention of the same man.

On this situation, Winslow builds a series of confrontations and complications that challenge the comfortable order of the community.

I hope Bookwatch will produce a new season soon. In the meantime repeat episodes from the current season will air and give us another chance to experience these four important North Carolina authors.

South View athletic director Chad Barbour said Tyler Bazzle is the kind of student who brightens your day whenever you see him.

Despite being hampered by cerebral palsy that makes him non-verbal and forces him to walk with the help of a walker, Bazzle is a friendly, outgoing youngster who is beloved by his teachers and fellow students.

He also loves the Tiger football team, and Barbour came up with an idea for allowing him to experience being a part of the team firsthand.

In September, Barbour approached head coach Rodney Brewington with the idea of allowing Bazzle to put on a uniform, go on the field with the rest of the team and score a touchdown.

Brewington took the idea and in Barbour’s words, ran with it. He put together a full uniform for Bazzle, down to equipment and shoes, and gave it to him to remember the special night, which they scheduled for South View’s homecoming game with E.E. Smith.

Barbour then reached out to Smith athletic director Lawrence Smalls to clear it with him. The plan was to delay the kickoff of the game and run an unofficial play near the goal line with Bazzle carrying the football prior to the actual kickoff.
Barbour said Smalls agreed immediately, saying anything that the schools can do for kids they’re going to do.

Just to cover all bases, Barbour also spoke with Neil Buie, the regional supervisor of high school football officials for the Southeastern Athletic Officials Association and the North Carolina High School Athletic Association.
Buie and his officiating crew bought in, manning their usual positions on the field while the play with Bazzle was run.

The ball was handed off to Bazzle, his walker shoved to the side, as his best friend Kevin Brewington and South View star running back Matthew Pemberton helped Bazzle into the end zone for his touchdown.

Long after the game was over, Barbour said Pemberton removed his game cleats and presented them to Bazzle as another gift.

“It’s an experience I’ll never forget,’’ Barbour said.

Barbour said the whole evening was a testament to the all-inclusive athletic program that has been promoted by Vernon Aldridge, the student activities director for Cumberland County Schools.

Aldridge has been pushing the concept of Unified Sports, which tries to involve special needs students at the schools into mainstream sports. So far, special needs students in Cumberland County have been able to participate in track and field and wrestling.

This winter, plans are in place to add bowling to the list of Unified Sports the county offers.

Aldridge said he thought the special ceremony for Bazzle fit in perfectly with the county’s goal of inclusiveness. “I would love to have a unified sports in each of our sports seasons,’’ Aldridge said.

There are stories that stick with us, pictures seared into our minds and moments we’ll never forget. I’ll always remember a tragic video a local reporter took on Main Street in Salisbury of first responders treating a couple who overdosed on opioids. I’ll never forget hearing a local mother’s story about the death of her son who overdosed after doing drugs that were laced with fentanyl. And I still think about the soldiers and veterans who became addicted after being prescribed opioids for injuries sustained during combat or training.

At the end of the day, the opioid crisis truly knows no bounds. It does not discriminate based on age, race, religion, geography or income. We all know people in our community whose families have been ravaged by opioids or have lost a loved one to a drug overdose — maybe you’ve even personally experienced that pain.

For years, I’ve been deeply invested in this issue and continue to work to combat this crisis. As your congressman, I worked with my colleagues to get the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act and the 21st Century Cures Act signed into law and to ensure North Carolina receives tens of millions of federal dollars to address the opioid crisis. These were important steps, and they were considered by leading national advocates at the time as “the critical response we need” to the opioid epidemic.

Last year, I authored three bipartisan pieces of legislation that focused on the safe and responsible packaging and disposal of unused opioids. My bill was called one of “the most important opioid bills,” and I was proud to see President Donald Trump sign it into law as part of H.R. 6, the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act. This is considered the most significant congressional effort against a single drug crisis in history, and this week marks the one-year anniversary.

As a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee — the main Congressional Committee working on opioids legislation — I worked with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to learn about the opioid epidemic and what legislative solutions could be pursued.

Because of these efforts and those of our state government, local leaders and care providers, we’ve made progress. In 2018, the number of overdose deaths in North Carolina caused by opioids dropped – for the first time in five years. This is great news, but our work isn’t done.

Saturday, Oct. 26, was National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. This day serves as a reminder of the potential abuse of medications and provides a safe, convenient and responsible way to dispose of prescription drugs. DEA Take Back Days in the past have been hugely successful, collecting hundreds of tons of prescription medications over the past few years.

To find a collection site near you, visit Hudson.House.gov or contact my office for more information at 704-786-1612.

Susan Moody strongly supports anything that can improve the quality of life in her adopted town of Hope Mills. Since she moved there in 1986 she’s embraced any positive changes to the community, including last Monday’s ribbon-cutting that officially opened the new Golfview Greenway Walking Trail to the public.

But with some projects, and the Greenway probably tops Moody’s list, she wonders if the town’s Board of Commissioners hasn’t gotten ahead of itself in making the venue open without doing everything it could to make it fully ready.
Moody is a regular at Board of Commissioners meetings. When she’s not able to attend in person, she scours the minutes that are provided after the fact to see what business has been transacted.

She started having reservations about the haste involved with the Greenway when town director of public works Don Sisko discussed at length changes that would be needed to made to the greenway.

“He started sharing what it was going to take to bring it up to ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliance,’’ Moody said. “He was talking about the grades of different paths. He was talking about the width of the path, what they were going to have to do.’’

Moody said Sisko also discussed areas of the trail that were washed out and other issues.

“My concern has been all along that it’s not ADA compliant,’’ Moody said. “The town has already been sued once.’’

Moody is correct. In 2013, the town settled a lawsuit with Tim Wallen over handicapped access to the Parks and Recreation Building and facilities at Municipal Park and Brower park.

The town agreed to pay for a variety of changes and was also assessed $6,000 in attorney’s fees for the lawsuit.

But at its Aug. 20 meeting in 2018 when the Board of Commissioners scheduled tours of the golf course, Heritage Park and Hope Mills Lake bed No. 2, Mayor Pro Tem Mike Mitchell expressed no concern for taking its time in opening the new greenway at the golf course to the public.

“All this property belongs to our citizens,’’ Mitchell was quoted as saying in The Fayetteville Observer. “They should be able to make use of it. As for liability, everywhere we look we have liability. It’s what insurance is for.’’

Most people don’t purchase insurance with a goal of having to test its limits. They do it to be cautious. Pushing the envelope on what insurance covers would be risky in a case of someone who suffered a serious injury on the walking trail that would affect them and their families for the rest of their lives.

Opening the park so soon could be compared to opening a big box store to consumers when construction is still in progress, hard hats are needed in some departments and others aren’t fully stocked.

“We have a large senior population,’’ Moody said. “We have people that are wheelchair-bound. We have people that are in walkers. We have people that just can’t walk that far.’’

Moody is concerned nothing has been done to address most of the issues that Sisko first raised with the board months ago.

“It’s another rabbit hole that this board goes down,’’ she said. “They see something, the rabbit goes down the hole and they chase it.

“Where are the plans? There have been no plans presented to the board.’’

There was one plan presented that the board took no action on. At an earlier meeting a suggestion was made to construct an ADA compliant walking track at the new greenway. The board considered it, but took no action.

“This wasn’t in the (recreation) master plan that cost how many thousands of dollars?,’’ Moody said. “They are going at this piecemeal. Where is the strategic plan to do any of this? That’s my concern.’’

In a recent town manager’s report from Melissa Adams, a consultant for the town listed some minimum notices the town should post at the greenway.

The list included signage describing the length, surface and slope of the trail. The signs are currently on order but as of the ribbon cutting on Monday had not been put into place at the greenway.

Some who attended the ribbon cutting said a few modifications not related to handicapped access had been made and pine straw had been removed from the trail.

Moody said she definitely wants the greenway open for all the people of Hope Mills but not in a hit-and-miss manner where it’s going to be put a band-aid on this or a temporary thing on that.

That belief by Moody seemed to be confirmed by a Facebook post from town commissioner Meg Huse Larson. Responding to a post from someone saying that the greenway was in need of water stations along the trail, Larson said the town was putting in two watering stations and more “as finances permit.’’

The town is also leasing the greenway’s only existing parking lot at a cost of $4,800 for one year.

“What’s going to happen a year from now when this lease is out and these people have gone through and decided they are going to develop it or do something else with it,’’ Moody said.

The total bill for the greenway so far is $11,769, with much of the signage that has been ordered still not in place when the ribbon cutting took place last week.

“It should have been in place before they took down the no trespassing signs,’’ Moody said.

The good news, if you can call it that, is the insurance is in place, ready for one bad incident on unfinished walking trail to test its limits.

Picture 1: Jackie Warner went to the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Hope Mills Greenway.

Picture 2: Moody said she definitely wants the greenway open for all the people of Hope Mills, but not in a hit and miss manner.

When it comes to the long-term effects of concussions in sports, there is a wide range of information published — almost on a daily basis. Unfortunately, much of the media coverage as it relates to high school sports — and particularly the sport of football — is misleading.

Recently, the Concussion Legacy Foundation introduced its new public-service announcement that compared youth football dangers to smoking. As the pre-teen football players puff on cigarettes, the voiceover says, “Tackle football is like smoking, the younger I start, the longer I’m exposed to danger.”

The “Tackle Can Wait” campaign by the foundation is an attempt to steer children under the age of 14 into flag football. Although establishing a finite age may be difficult, reducing contact at youth levels is certainly a positive. USA Football is doing just that nationally through its Football Development Model. Likewise, the 51-member state associations of the National Federation of State High School Associations have enacted limitations on contact during preseason and practice sessions.

Our concern is the term “exposed to danger.” These types of messages continue to spread unwarranted fear to parents of high school student-athletes. The “danger” refers to reports that players who incur repeated concussions can develop chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

A 2017 study from the Journal of American Medical Association linked CTE in the brains of deceased National Football League players. Even if this report is accurate, these are individuals who endured repeated blows to the head for 20 to 25 years BEFORE any concussion protocols were in place.

Less publicized is a study by Dr. Munro Cullum and his colleagues at the Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute, which is a part of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. Cullum’s group studied 35 former NFL players age 50 and older who had sustained multiple concussions throughout their careers. The findings showed no significant association between the length of the individuals’ careers, the number of concussions and their cognitive function later in life.

Two studies, two different conclusions. Regardless of the outcome, however, they are not applicable to kids playing football before and during high school. There is absolutely no linkage to CTE at these levels, and the word “danger” should not be a part of the discussion.

A more applicable and significant study was also published in JAMA in 2017. In a study of about 4,000 men who graduated from Wisconsin high schools in 1957, there was no difference in cognitive function or decline between those who played football and those who did not as they reached 65 years of age. We would assume the majority of these individuals discontinued football after high school.

With more than one million boys — and girls — playing the contact sport of football each year, severe injuries do occur from time to time, but parents should know that efforts to lessen the risk of a catastrophic injury, including head injuries, have never been stronger than they are today.

In fact, new data from the National High School Sports-Related Injury Surveillance Study indicates some positive trends in concussion rates. The study, which was released in the American Academy of Pediatrics online issue of Pediatrics this week, indicated that concussion rates during football practices dropped from 5.47 to 4.44 concussions per 10,000 athletic exposures between the 2013-14 and 2017-18 seasons.

In addition, repeat concussion rates across all sports declined from 0.47 to 0.28 per 10,000 exposures during the same time period.

Concussion laws are in place in every state. All NFHS sports rules books have concussion management protocols. Helmet-to-helmet hits are not allowed in football. Limits on contact in preseason and practice in football are in place in every state.

After considering all the available research, we encourage parents to let their kids play their sport of choice in high school, but we would discourage moving away from football – or any contact sport – solely based on the fear of developing CTE later in life.

When Creed Kolasa was featured in a recent article in Up & Coming Weekly that told the story of his battle with a rare ailment called Duchenne’s disease, he wanted to share it with a friend of his.

That friend is Duke University basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski, and last Monday Creed and his family were given the perfect chance to do just that.

Creed, his parents, Jessica and Doren, and brother and sister, Jaren and McKinley, were invited to attend a closed basketball practice at Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium.

The audience at practice included other families from Duke Children’s where Creed is being treated, along with boosters who had paid to attend.

Creed’s mother, Jessica, was asked to speak to the group about Creed’s treatment and the work Duke Children’s had done on his behalf.

Creed and his family toured the Duke Hall of Fame in Cameron and stayed for almost the full three hours of the practice.

The children were allowed to go on the court to shoot baskets and talk with the Duke players.

Later, everyone attended a dinner with Krzyzewski where he spoke, took pictures and signed autographs.

McKinley, Creed’s sister, got to sit and talk with Krzyzewski’s wife, Mickie.

McKinley loves softball and learned that Mickie Krzyzewski played softball growing up and in college.

McKinley came away with a signed softball.

Creed returned the favor to Coach Krzyzewski, giving him a signed copy of the Up & Coming Weekly article about Creed that included a picture of him and the coach.

Creed Kolasa, bottom, with brother Jaren, sister McKinley. They are showing the note from Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s daughter, Debbie Savarino, excusing them from school Monday to attend a Duke basketball practice.

Since Hinton James hoofed it from New Hanover County to Chapel Hill in 1795 to become the first student at the first public university in our fledgling nation, the University of North Carolina has educated generations of North Carolinians. First came white, land-owning men like James from all across what was once an entirely rural state. Today, the 17-campus system, including Fayetteville State University, serves nearly a quarter of a million students, the majority — but not all — from North Carolina. The university system has been our state’s crown jewel and has shaped our progress since its founding.

All is not perfect, however, and the flagship institution, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has just had some of its dirty laundry aired on a national scale. The prestigious Association of American Universities has released a survey of nearly 200,000 students at 33 elite schools, which finds that more than a quarter of women students at UNC-CH for at least four years have experienced “nonconsensual sexual penetration,” otherwise known as rape. Most, but not all, victims were women, and the rates have risen from a similar study in 2015.

Yep, you read that correctly. Twenty-seven percent of students at UNC-CH reported that experience on the AAU survey and they are not alone. The numbers are consistent with those from Ivy League schools, including Harvard and Yale, although far above government statistics, probably because only a small percentage of university assaults are reported to law enforcement authorities. Such numbers, if true, would mean that rape occurs in Chapel Hill, New Haven, Cambridge and other bastions of academia at rates higher than in war-ravaged and otherwise traumatized nations. It seems fair to say that if this were happening in Fayetteville and Cumberland County or some other nonacademic community, residents would be up in arms.

The response from UNC-CH has been muted, with an understandable emphasis on education, prevention and overall awareness of what is acceptable and what is not. Part of what makes these numbers problematic, and the situation difficult to address, is that it is almost always a “he said, she said” circumstance. In addition, campus encounters often involve alcohol or some other mind-altering substance, a potent cocktail when mixed with raging youthful hormones. Low reporting occurs for all sorts of reasons, including embarrassment and not understanding what constitutes appropriate behavior or what to do about it, despite the rise of the #MeToo movement.

UNC-CH is responding to the AAU report with several measures: working with students, faculty, and staff to beef up prevention efforts; working on bystander intervention more frequently, promoting consent education so that “no” actually means “no”; and confronting and changing the culture of sexual harassment throughout the university community. These are reasonable responses to what in other settings would be a law enforcement emergency.

One cold, hard reality is that many of these situations involve serious criminal offenses, felonies for which many people have been imprisoned, even executed in years past. Another is that cases cannot be made, much less prosecuted, and convictions obtained if victims do not report, bystanders do not intervene, and people do not understand that a criminal offense has occurred.

We already know we have a serious problem with sexual harassment and abuse in our nation. The takeaway from the AAU survey is that the problem is even more pronounced on the campuses of our nation’s most elite colleges and universities, including the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Family concerns about health and safety issues in military housing are widespread, according to a recent Army Inspector General report that reveals systemic problems with relationships between the Army and housing contractors. The government’s current oversight of these projects was insufficient to identify housing challenges. Inspectors found there was lack of joint authority, confusion regarding roles and responsibilities, lack of training, dramatic personnel cuts and lack of transparency among privatized housing companies. Inspectors uncovered a 2013 Army policy that specifically prohibited health and welfare inspections of military housing.

Two-thirds of the 1,180 residents of military privatized housing communities who participated in the IG survey stated they were dissatisfied with their overall housing experience. Sixty-four percent said they would move off post if there were no financial costs or concerns, according to the report. The review was ordered by then-Secretary of the Army Mark Esper in the wake of reports about widespread problems of mold, water leakage, vermin infestations and other problems in military housing.

Scores of Fort Bragg soldiers and family members complained to U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., about their military housing at a recent town hall meeting. It was the latest in a series of stops Tillis is making at military installations. It was his second town hall at Fort Bragg since summer. About 200 people bombarded him with complaints. The No. 1 issue was about mold in housing units. “I’ve seen the mold, and it’s legit,” Krista Lindholm said of mold in a neighbor’s house. “They’re sick, their kids are sick, and housing is just not coming and dealing with it.”

Tillis said problems with military housing won’t be fixed overnight, but he said he hopes the information he gathers at town hall meetings helps him put things in place to speed up the process. “At every one of these town hall meetings, I ask people to call my office and open up a case so that we make sure we prioritize where medical professionals have said the conditions in the home are most likely the root cause of their health conditions,” he said.

During the meeting, someone suggested that Fort Bragg commanders be given authority to hold private contractors to the same standards civilian landlords must meet. Off-post housing can and is placed off-limits when landlords fail to comply with military requirements.

The IG report “validates the experiences of the brave military families who have spoken up for change,” said Shannon Razsadin, executive director of the Military Family Advisory Network, which conducted an online survey in early February of military families in all branches of service about their experience with privatized housing. More than half of 14,558 military families reported negative experiences. “There is a remarkable overlap between the Army IG report and MFAN’s research,” Razsadin said.

Corvias Property Management is under contract at Fort Bragg and has committed $100 million for rehabilitation and new housing units on post.  Corvias relocated 4,670 families from their existing homes to newly built or renovated homes. The homes were then backfilled after renovation with another round of relocations to ensure all families received upgrades. The Army is already addressing most of the 20 recommendations in the IG report, according to a statement issued by Army officials.

Fayetteville Technical Community College and county government have formally broken ground on the new Cumberland County Regional Fire and Rescue Training Center to serve the county’s volunteer fire departments. The ceremony took place Oct. 21 at the intersection of Corporation Drive and Tom Starling Road in the county industrial park. The complex will be constructed on 30 acres of property adjacent to the sheriff’s training center and will support Fayetteville Tech’s Fire Protection Technology program of study. The state-of-the art center will provide training opportunities for rural fire departments and other emergency responders in Cumberland County.

The Center will enable FTCC to add classes not currently offered, including fire investigation/arson certification, thermal imaging, vehicular extrication and high-angle rescue.  In addition to classrooms, the complex will include live fire buildings, fire engine bays, technical rescue areas and specialized training areas. FTCC’s Corporate & Continuing Education Fire Training Program offers a number of certification courses that will allow volunteer fire fighters to keep their certifications current and their skills up to date.

Classes will be available in daytime and evening schedules for fire academy certification courses. Interested individuals must be affiliated with recognized local fire departments and have appropriate training verification letters plus personnel protective equipment. “An educational facility that combines dynamic learning experiences for students in the classroom, laboratory, and through specialized training areas … leads to amazing results for students of Fayetteville Technical Community College and the citizens of Cumberland County,” said FTCC President Dr. Larry Keen.

Cumberland County is responsible for funding capital projects at FTCC. The local facility is projected to cost $18 million. FTCC is committing $8 million, which the college was allocated from the Connect NC Bond Referendum. Cumberland County government has included $10 million for the project in its capital investment budget and will pursue grants and other funding opportunities to support the project.

The paid Fayetteville Fire/Emergency Management Department will continue to operate its training division out of its own facility located at the airport. “The bulk of our recruit academy classes and multi-company training evolutions will be conducted at the airport training facility,” said Fayetteville Fire Chief Mike Hill. “However, we will participate in specialty classes and use some of the technical props planned for the new FTCC training grounds.” The Fayetteville Fire Training Center provides many of the same training facilities and opportunities to be offered at the county center.

The city complex also offers training in specialized fields, such as confined space and trench rescue. A confined space simulator provides several tunnels and containers that allow trainees to conduct exercises that help prepare them for actual emergency situations. Each year the Fayetteville Training Division conducts a series of benchmark drills in accordance with National Fire Protection Association standards, which allow the department’s personnel to measure their ability to effectively mitigate situations on the fire ground.

“Quickly gaining control of an emergency situation is equally as important as responding to it,” Hill noted.

When the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra set out to find a new executive director, the committee was delighted to receive applications from around the world. In the end, it was a Fort Bragg soldier who won their confidence. Jesse L. Hughes Jr. is retiring from the Army and is set to begin his tenure at FSO Dec. 4. Hughes has played the trumpet professionally and has more than 15 years of leadership in the Army as a musician, instructor and organizational adviser, managing 28 military-connected musical organizations and 400 personnel. He has extensive experience in organizing and coordinating high profile musical events. Hughes has a Bachelor of Music in music performance from Wichita State University, a Master of Music in jazz studies from Howard University and a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Northcentral University.

“We did a national search, and we had some international candidates, which we did not expect,” said Deborah Teasley, FSO interim president and CEO. “The committee, comprised of board and nonboard members, went through the applications and did a first screening and some phone interviews and then narrowed the group and did another round of interviews.”

Candidates were interviewed and the top seven were asked to write a scenario about their vision for the future of the symphony. “This allowed us to see their writing and their vision for FSO,” said Teasley. When the time came to select someone for the position, Teasley added, “The search committee’s recommendation was unanimous.”

Although Hughes’ resume checked all the boxes from experience and educational requirements to management experience as well as a knowledge of the performing arts, it was his personality that stood out. “It was clear he is someone who had vision and would jump in and help in a variety of situations that come operating nonprofits,” Teasley said.

Hughes knew he wanted to stay in the area after leaving Fort Bragg, finding a job that matched his skill set and passion so perfectly was a bonus.

His music career started in earnest when Hughes was in high school. At 15, he was playing the trumpet and taking music lessons. At 18, he was at college on a music scholarship. “I went all the way through college and grad school,” said Hughes. “Then I got interested in military bands and started going to auditions. The Army was the branch most interested in me. I joined with the intent to do one tour and see the world and then get out. Once I got in, though, I was hooked. As I progressed, I wanted to learn more about how things work behind the scenes as well. In 2013, I enrolled in a doctoral program in educational leadership.”

Hughes said he is looking forward to establishing a rapport with the community and with the other arts organizations here. He also has some big plans for helping FSO continue to grow. “I want to capture a wider audience and extend the organization’s reach to the schools to help solidify the future of the performing arts,” Hughes said. That might sound like a tall order for some, but Hughes disagrees. “It is like eating an elephant. You do it one bite at a time. There are a lot of people who don’t know there is a symphony here.” And he plans to change that.

 There are already initiatives in place that make FSO accessible and unintimidating to those unfamiliar with the symphony. “The Music Nerd,” Joshua Busman, who has a Ph.D. in musicology from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, hosts a preconcert chat before most every performance. He spends about 45 minutes before each concert talking about the performers, the composers and their inspiration for the pieces they wrote as well as many other interesting facts that make the music make sense.

The symphony was founded in 1956, and its mission is the educate, entertain and inspire the citizens of Fayetteville and the surrounding era. That means connecting with audiences. Making concerts affordable is one way to work toward achieving that goal. “We are totally indebted to our major donors,” said Teasley. “Our biggest donor is the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County, but we also have a variety of grants. In our program, we have 29 corporate sponsors who give their money because they believe in the symphony and believe in bringing music to the community. We also have an endowment. The endowment, which has been gifted to symphony, provides our operating funds. Tickets to our concerts cost $25, and we have discounts for seniors, the military and kids. It is an incredible bargain.”

There are several concerts remaining in the season. Thursday, Nov. 14, is “Copland in Paris.” It will be at St. John’s Episcopal Church on Green Street. “It is performed by three musicians,” said Teasley. “A flute, a piano and a clarinet. It features the music of Aaron Copland, the era in the 1920s and 30s, and his peer composers. The music is incredible. It is going to be a wonderful performance.”

Saturday, Dec. 7, don’t miss “Deck the Halls” at Fayetteville State University’s Seabrook Auditorium. “That is our community holiday concert … and we are doing it jointly with Cumberland Choral Arts (formerly the Cumberland Oratorio Singers) and the Fayetteville  Academy choir,” said Teasley. “It will be a huge production. It will be everything from singalongs to nice classics and even some contemporary music.”

Find out more about FSO, programs and future concerts at http://www.fayettevillesymphony.org/. Tickets are available on the website as well.

Pictured: Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra‘s new executive director is set to begin his new duties Dec. 4.

Of all the people who will be hit hardest by the departure of the Fayetteville SwampDogs from the community, few will be more affected than Sam Eaton.

Eaton is a 16-year-old special needs student at Gray’s Creek High School. For the past 12 years, the SwampDogs provided him with a place of joy that also gave his life a genuine purpose.

The team embraced Eaton and Eaton embraced the team, and finding something that will fill the void of what used to be busy summers for Eaton will be difficult.

It all started one day back in 2007 when Eaton’s mother Robin, a teacher in the Fort Bragg schools, was looking for a way to entertain her son and wound up taking him to a SwampDogs game.

“He became very immersed in the rhythm of the onfield promotion of what was going on between innings,’’ she said. “The game was secondary to the fanfare.’’

Despite an assortment of ailments that impaired his speech and also made it difficult for him to walk, Sam and the SwampDogs baseball team grew to be inseparable. He became close to the characters who wore the team’s Fungo mascot costume.

Sam became an official unofficial member of the SwampDogs staff, and as time passed his responsibilities with the team grew.

He became friends with the guys in the Fungo costume, on and off the field. He’d advise them to drink water and stay hydrated on hot days at the ballpark, even making sure they went into the walk-in cooler on especially warm days.
But he wasn’t just a sidekick to Fungo. “He knows the ins and outs of that whole place,’’ Mrs. Eaton said. “He knows when to turn on the lights, what inning to get the postgame meal prepped, what sequence of events is for the onfield promotions.’’

In the real world, young Sam is just beginning to read, hasn’t mastered writing, and can’t drive a car or ride a bicycle.

But in the SwampDogs world, he’s an asset. “He’s fully successful, depended on, relied on and treated as one of the staff and one of the team,’’ Mrs. Eaton said.

Sam isn’t the only special needs person that the SwampDogs have offered a hand to. “They did the whole Special Olympics intern program,’’ Mrs. Eaton said.

Sam is searching for something to occupy his time in place of the SwampDogs. He’s found some help at Gray’s Creek High School, where various members of the Bears coaching staff have welcomed Sam into their programs, including the baseball and football teams.

But summers are still looking like a problem now that the SwampDogs are gone and Sam’s older sister has left for college.

“I think he’ll be bored,’’ Mrs. Eaton said. “It will be a big change for our family and for Sam.’’

Sam won’t be able to fit in just anywhere, because he doesn’t consider himself a fan. “He’s a worker,’’ Mrs. Eaton said. “He was in the right time at the right place and we’re sad it’s come to an end.’’

But even in a time of sadness, Sam thought enough of his friends to make them recipients of charity from the SwampDogs.

His grandmother, Peggy Jennings, helps keep the books for the SwampDogs, and she had the idea of putting together swag bags of team souvenirs that were no longer going to be needed. Sam immediately thought of his friends.
“What came to mind were his classmates, Special Olympics athletes and Buddy Baseball athletes,’’ Ms. Eaton said. “Those are his peers. He knows they have a place with the SwampDogs.’’

One of the groups that benefitted was the special needs classes at Gray’s Creek High School where Earl Horan is a special education teacher.

He came into his classroom recently over a two-day period and saw bags filled with souvenirs, shirts and caps for his class and members of the faculty.

"Sam’s a neat little character,’’ Horan said. “He has an infectious smile and everyone likes having Sam around.’’

Horan also praised the SwampDogs for the work they’ve done with young men like Sam. “It gives the kids such a feeling of acceptance and self-worth,’’ he said. “It touches the whole family, makes them feel a part of the team and the community.’’

Picture 1: Sam Eaton posing with and SwampDogs mascot, Fungo

Picture 2: Students with Earl Horan’s special needs class show off SwampDogs swag shared by their fellow student Sam Eaton.

Did the late great writer, Pat Conroy’s late-in-life marriage to fellow writer Cassandra King make him a better writer?

Just in case you don’t remember, Conroy, who died in 2016, was the best-selling author of “The Great Santini," “The Lords of Discipline,”  “The Prince of Tides," and “Beach Music." 

All of these were dark compelling stories filled with angry characters and sad family conflicts.

Conroy had what every writer or aspiring writer longs for, being a great storyteller and having a gift for writing moving prose.

His storytelling gifts were intertwined with a life that was filled with turmoil and with unhappy and abusive family situations. Most memorable was his relationship with his father, Marine Corps Col. Don Conroy, who became the iconic and central figure in “The Great Santini.” 

Conroy said that his dysfunctional family and abusive father were gifts that fueled his moving fiction.

All that began to change in February 1995 when Conroy met Cassandra King at a party during a literary conference in Birmingham, Alabama. Their friendship began around a buffet table and conversations about food. But when the conversation turned to King’s book, Conroy told her to have the publisher send him a copy. “If I like it,” he said, “I’ll give you a blurb. If not. I’ll pretend it got lost in the mail.”

King, now Cassandra King Conroy, tells the rest of the story in “Tell Me a Story: My Life with Pat Conroy,” to be released October 29.

I will hold most of the details for a later column, but will share some of the story as it relates to the question in this column’s opening paragraph.

After a long and mostly long-distance friendship, one that only gradually turned to romance, Conroy and Cassandra wed in 1998 and settled down in Conroy’s house at Fripp Island, near Beaufort, South Carolina.

Conroy’s close friends worried about the gossip Cassandra would hear about his former wives and girlfriends. But when they learned that Cassandra’s first marriage had been to a minister, she joked, “From a holy man to Pat Conroy. Talk about a leap of faith.”

Cassandra’s writing benefited from Conroy’s encouragement. Talking with author and Conroy friend, Anne Rivers Siddons, Cassandra said she was writing a book about a group of her women friends, “real-life friends I’ve had for years.”
Siddons was alarmed and asked if Conroy had “urged you to do that.”

When Cassandra nodded, yes, Siddons cautioned, “Tread carefully. You know what that very thing has cost Pat. Beneath his tough shell he suffers more about the stuff he’s written than he’ll ever let anyone see."

In 2013, Conroy appeared with me on North Carolina Bookwatch to discuss his non-fiction book, “The Death of Santini," a memoir that centered on the death of his father. He was calm and relaxed as he talked about his writing routine.
In the early part of the day, he and Cassandra would each spend several hours writing alone, then lunch together, and have afternoons to relax. He radiated happiness. See this interview at https://video.unctv.org/video/nc-bookwatch-pat-conroy-death-santini/

And his writing did change. He published only one more long book of fiction after his marriage, “South of Broad," which got a mixed critical reaction. In his New York Times’ review Roy Hoffman, while acknowledging that “Conroy remains a magician of the page,” wrote that his traditional themes “have simply been done better — by the author himself.”

On the other hand, his non-fiction books such as “My Losing Season,” and “Death of Santini,” although they show some of Conroy’s fiery spirit, the tone is moderated and sustains an authoritative command of his narrative. These books are two of my all-time favorites.

So did marriage make Conroy a better writer?  Certainly it made him a happier one.  And, I think it made him a better one, too.

  Tricks and treats await Halloween fans at the family-friendly Boo-tanical Garden event coming to Cape Fear Botanical Garden Oct. 25-27. Each night from 6-9 p.m., guests can enjoy a haven of all things Halloween. Costumes? Check. Fun and games? Check. Candy? Check. Check.

   Now in its fifth year, Boo-tanical Garden is a highly anticipated event for those wishing to expand the Halloween season beyond a one-day calendar celebration. The festival is one way, according to CFBG Director of Events and Marketing Sheila Hanrick, “to get your Halloween going before the actual day.”

 “Boo-tanical is for all ages — children, adults, families and individuals,” she said. “This year, we are offering the same community favorites such as the Boo-tanical holiday lights and trick-or-treat stations throughout the garden, but also some new activities our guests are sure to enjoy.”

Candy stations are scattered throughout the nearly 16 acres of the garden proper lit with the Halloween colors of orange, purple, green and white found among garden flora and in the form of themed light sculptures. The warm glow of some 300 jack-o-lanterns, both friendly and frightful, will light up the Cypress Pond lawn.

The fright factor is small, said Hanrick, emphasizing the child-friendliness of Boo-tanical. However, “any time it is Halloween, you have to have a little bit of fright going on,” she said.

The smidgen of spookiness can be seen in the Boo-Crew skeleton vignettes, courtesy of Fayetteville Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine. Guests may find one of the Boo Crew planting flowers, weeding a garden bed, jumping rope or even fishing off the pond pier. They will be up to all kinds of mischief, said Hanrick, no bones about it.

Friendly animated monsters will guide children in the Monster Bash dance on the garden’s Great Hall lawn. Singing pumpkins and friendly ghosts continue the animation action, with songs and skits galore. The children’s play area features lawn games, a hay bale maze and a giant tunnel slide built from hay bales. A tractor-pulled hayride around the Great Lawn completes the heyday of outdoor fun.

Indoors the excitement continues with educational activities sponsored by Fayetteville Academy. Guests will learn about odd “monsters” in nature through hands-on lessons and touch boxes. They can meet CFBG’s eastern king snake, Duke, and eastern box turtle, Carlos. Face painting and balloon-animal making round out the inside fun.

Don’t miss the festival fare, either. Boss Ross Dogs will be serving up hot dogs and sausages all evening, along with Nothin’ Fancy funnel cakes and the Pretty Stickie company’s candy and gourmet apples, and custom cookies. Find more food offerings at the newly opened garden cafe, including soups, salads and sandwiches.

Tickets for Boo-tanical Garden can be purchased at the door each night. Tickets are $9 for garden members, $11 for nonmembers, $5 for children aged 2-12 and are free for children under 2. The event is weather dependent, so if in doubt, check the garden’s Facebook or website before heading out. For out more at https://www.capefearbg.org/.

There’s just nothing quite as distinctive as jazz music. It reaches into the depths of your core and seems to radiate throughout your being. It’s smooth, harmonious and full of dynamic rhythm. It is perfect for relaxing after a long day, hanging out with friends and even to help set the mood for a romantic evening. It expands into multiple cultures, ages and generations. The Cape Fear Jazz Society knows the impact and the reach jazz has, which is why it has invited performer, Jazzmeia Horn, to provide an evening of culture and entertainment on Nov. 3, 2019 at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington Kenan Auditorium. 

 According to Primus Robinson, who represents the Cape Fear Jazz Society, the collaboration between the Society and the UNCW provides an opportunity to bring in nationally renowned talent, such as Horn, to a larger audience within this larger facility and contributes to the arts culture of the community.

This is the first collaboration between the society and UNCW, and the staff with both organizations chose Grammy-nominated, award-winning talent of Horn to share her unique, jaw-dropping vocal talent to foster and promote jazz, a mission of the CFJS.

The day after the concert, Horn will also teach a free “Artist Master Class,” offering students and fans an opportunity to learn from her about how the art of jazz captures her essence and how they can find that within themselves.

 The CFJS presents jazz in different locations, from small to large, with its tenth season currently in progress at The Cameron Art Museum. They havehad continued success to date with a sold-out crowd for its eight-month run.

CFJS just wrapped up its five-month outdoor series at the Bellamy Mansion Museum, making it their most successful while also celebrating their 10-year anniversary.

The CFJS is a nonprofit organization and has a mission to educate others on the appreciation of jazz, which is why it will continue to present jazz artists.

In the words of Robinson, “My favorite thing is experiencing togetherness. People enjoy exploring and delighting in innovative art. Jazz is creative, intellectual, accessible and unifying. Music is the healing force of the universe, Cape Fear Jazz Society has the great gift of music and art, which is the goal of the CFJS. We've been getting it right for 21 years.”

Tickets for the Jazzmeia Horn Concert begin at $20, and the event is appropriate for all ages and demographics.

Jazz lovers can look forward to seeing Jazzmeia Horn perform on Nov. 3 at the UNCW Kenan auditorium.

At the past Cumberland County Veterans Council meeting we were informed by an assistant director of the VA Medical Center that, effective Oct. 1, there will be no smoking on the campus grounds of VA facilities. It came across that there was no warning that this prohibition was coming, and it hit the ears as a slam-dunk directive and (was) effective immediately.

I do believe most people will agree that a no-smoking policy should stand and be enforced inside all VAMC buildings for health reasons. VA has instituted many smoking cessation programs, and they are well received and are helping many veterans. However, over many recent years, medical practitioners have noted that some people are truly addicted to tobacco and will not quit or break their habits. Some truly enjoy smoking the various tobacco products and have done so for years and years, regardless of the known risks smoking entails to themselves and others.

VA set up outside pavilions so smokers could go outside the facilities, and they served the smoking veterans well and kept them away from the nonsmokers — which was also well received. Now these smoking areas are off limits, forcing the veterans who smoke to leave the VA campus. This decree coming down from VA, in my humble opinion, is not well studied in regards to the psychological affects it will have on many veterans who have PTSD and other debilitating health issues.

Smoking and its nicotine gives them a calm and relaxing time,  which helps them cope in their own way. Taking this away from these veterans will not serve their general well-being by forcing them off campus to smoke. Will this adverse action cause veteran suicides to increase? Personally, I suffered immensely over my 79 years being raised in a smoking family. My parents, brother, sisters, nephews, nieces, aunts and uncles all smoked. In 26 years in the U.S. Army, I was forced to attend countless meetings and conferences with smoke clouds so thick, at times, you could not see across the room.

I have never smoked and don’t like being subjected to it by others. I find it quite discourteous of some smokers, regardless of rank or position, who force their rancid and smelly habits upon others and expect us to tolerate them.

I still must offer words of support for my brother and sister veterans who have served their country well and find themselves in health harm’s way only to find comfort in having a smoke but having to leave the premises to do so. This is not helping the psychological well-being of the military veteran. Keep the smoking pavilions open on campus for those who need them. This situation that VA has slam-dunked on the veteran smokers should be discussed and challenged by every military fraternal organization from local to state and national headquarters, as with your help this adverse situation can be corrected by VA.

Founded in 1976 and hailing from People’s Republic of China, Hebei Province, Cirque Mei is set to take the stage at Givens Performing Arts Center in Pembroke Oct. 27. The world-renowned group has performed internationally and recently appeared on an episode of “The Ellen Show.”

In its entirety, the company is made up of 130 performers. The performance at GPAC features 40 of the elite circus artists and acrobats, who will perform popular routines, including hoops diving, lion dance, collective bicycle skills, flying meteors, foot juggling with umbrellas, female contortion and a ladder balancing act.

Givens promises traditional and contemporary Chinese circus acts in a colorful and lively celebration of the internationally renowned Chinese circus arts.

Cirque Mei blends ancient artistry with high energy for a non-stop extravaganza of family entertainment. With 30 elite circus artists and countless acrobats and stunts, Cirque Mei thrills young and old alike with their feats of agility, strength and poise.

“This is not just a circus act, it’s a real cultural experience,” said James Bass, executive director of Givens Performing Arts Center. “This is not just a Chinese acrobat performance. This show contains a lot of traditional Chinese circus artistry, and so while it is amazing to see, it also exposes audiences to some of the glorious performing arts of Asia.”

Tickets range from $10 for children under 12 to $36 and can be purchased online at uncp.edu/gpactickets or by calling the box office at 910-521-6361.

If you can’t make this show, there are still exciting performances in the season lineup, including the UNCP Holiday Extravaganza, which is set for Nov. 22. The Nutcracker Ballet follows on Nov. 24.

Established in 1887 as a normal school to train American Indian teachers, UNC Pembroke today has an enrollment of more than 7,600 in 41 undergraduate and 17 graduate programs. UNCP is a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina System.

For information about tickets and the full season lineup, visit uncp.edu/gpac or call 910-521-6361. Some shows on the season will also carry an option for the Act I Diner’s pre-show dinners. Call or check the website for dates.'

Cirque Mei promises an evening of lively entertainment at Givens Performing Arts Center.

A short time ago, the Hope Mills Police Department swung an amazing deal to get a new tactical vehicle for special situations.

Now the Hope Mills Fire Department is following suit, helping secure a generator that will provide power to keep Town Hall up and running enough to do business during times of power loss.

Deputy Chief Steve Lopez of the Hope Mills Fire Department wears a number of hats. In addition to his role as a firefighter, he is also the operations chief for the fire department and the town safety director for Hope Mills.

After a lengthy search, Lopez has located what is called a tactical quiet generator that he is now working to get final approval and installation for.

Lopez said that when the Town Hall building was originally constructed, the intent was to get a generator.

For whatever reason, that never took place, and after Hurricane Florence, when power was out to Town Hall for eight days, something needed to done.

“We had a sit down (after Florence) and did a lessons learned type of thing,’’ Lopez said. “The problem we were having was the fact all the infrastructure for the servers and the phones were located in the Town Hall.’’

During that same period of time, Cumberland County dispatch services were also down for two or three days. That meant certain services could not be dispatched by radio or reached by telephone. “The gist of the situation was we needed to try to get a generator here as quickly as we can,’’ Lopez said.

But that’s a lot easier said than done. A generator of the type Hope Mills needed to keep Town Hall running cannot be purchased at the typical big box chain. The cost for a new one runs upwards of $35,000, which is well beyond the reach of the town budget.

Lopez began looking at options available via military surplus. “The thing with generators on the military side is they are very powerful, they are made to government specifications and they are made to operate in the worst conditions,’’ he said.

Lopez finally found what he was looking for with a federal surplus outlet in Raleigh. The cost was only $3,975.

He checked it out and brought a generator mechanic with him. “He tested it and it passed with flying colors,’’ Lopez said.

He then took the generator to a local trucking company to do further checks on the generator’s diesel motor. “They judged it to be in super condition,’’ he said.

“It’s very, very quiet,’’ he said of the generator when it’s operating. “It’s actually used in a forward area where you have to keep the noise to a minimum.’’

The next step will be to get an estimate on the cost for installing all the hardware needed to connect the generator to Town Hall and set it up so it will automatically turn on just 1.5 seconds after the building loses power in the next storm event or other cause of power failure.

Should the cost to do all the connections run over $5,000, Lopez said it will have to go to the Board of Commissioners for final approval.

Lopez added the generator is not designed to power Town Hall completely like normal current would, but he also noted that not everyone comes to work when power is out so every light and power outlet in the building won’t be needed in that situation.

“There are critical functions in a municipality that need to stay functioning or have the ability to function,’’ Lopez said. “The manager’s office is one and payroll is another. We prioritize which areas we want stood up (powered).’’

Another major consideration is the detrimental effect no power can have on some equipment. During the time of Florence, Lopez said it got too humid inside the building, causing problems for some of the town’s computers.

“This generator should power pretty much everything we need in a storm event and post-storm event,’’ Lopez said.

Politics are on everyone’s minds during intense campaign seasons like this one, and progressive Democrats like Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez — aka AOC — have a lot to say about wealth distribution and associated inequities. They fret publicly about the top 1% holding and securing most of the financial cards, tamping down the dearly held American Dream of upward mobility for those who work hard walk the straight and narrow.  

Turns out, they are probably right.

Richard Reeves is a Brookings Institution researcher and author of the 2017 book, “Dream Hoarders: How the American Upper Middle Class Is Leaving Everyone Else in the Dust, Why That Is a Problem, and What to Do About It.”

Reeves defines the upper middle class as those earning the top 20% of income and addresses the growing gaps in family structure, neighborhoods, attitudes, educations and general lifestyles between that fortunate percentage and everyone else. His premise is that those at the top are increasingly effective at ensuring their status for their children, whether or not those offspring are as capable as their achiever parents. The result, Reeves says, is not just an economic gap but a fracture in our American culture.

The human experience over centuries informs us that some people will always have more than others. Some people will have great resources. Some people will have few, and most people will fall in between. This has been the American story as well, accompanied by Horatio Alger stories, true and apocryphal, of individuals pulling themselves from rags to riches, the quintessential American Dream.    

Apparently, upward mobility has stagnated. Reeves and other researchers find that people born in 1940 had an overwhelming chance, 90%, to earn more than their parents. For people born in 1984, early millennials, the opportunity is 50-50, but with not much movement either way. In other words, millions of people are stuck in place.

What Reeves points out is not so much the difficulty of rising up as the difficulty of falling down by those already in the upper 20%. Says Reeves, “There’s a lot of talent being wasted because it’s not able to rise, but there’s also a lot of relatively untalented people who aren’t falling and end up occupying positions they shouldn’t.” Parents are passing their status on to their children, which economists call “stickiness.”

Reeves calls this phenomenon the “glass floor” and notes that upper-middle-class offspring are often employed by their parents or friends of their parents — think the Trump children — setting them up for permanent membership in the 20%. This entitlement system is aided and abetted by an elite higher education system that gives preference to already privileged students. A recent Duke University study found that children from the highest 1% income families are 77 times more like to attend Ivy League universities than the lowest 20% and that the class of 2022 at Harvard has more legacy students than African Americans. Reeves points out that this system of educational entitlement not only leaves talented low-income students behind, it elevates less talented students—more stickiness.

The terrifying aspect of entrenched entitlement is that through education, our tax system and other structural factors, we are stratifying our nation and permanently building in the toxic resentment that already permeates and poisons our politics and our culture. We are putting the American Dream on the endangered list.

The progressive left may not have all the answers, but it is asking the right questions.

Is the American Dream in danger? If so, what has changed?

Business partners Mary Susan Megill and Tara Freeman don’t look at what they do as owners of Moxie Hair Studio on Legion Road as a job.

“A lot of people look at it as a hobby, which kind of in a way it is, but it’s a hobby that is also a job that we like,’’ Freeman said. “It doesn’t feel like work. I genuinely like my clients and like to make them feel good about themselves.’’

The two recently opened their new studio in the Coffman Commons shopping center at 4251 Legion Road.

“I had previously worked in Hope Mills and had built a clientele out there,’’ Megill said. “It’s close enough to most things in Fayetteville and it wasn’t too far for most of our clients.’’

Freeman lives in the Gray’s Creek area and saw it as a chance to add another hairstyling option for people in what is a rapidly-growing part of Cumberland County. "It’s an opportunity to market this area more,’’ she said.

They describe the business as a full-service hair salon available to the entire family. Women, men and children are all welcome.

For the time being, Megill and Freeman are the only stylists in the shop, but they have openings to add more stylists in the future.

There are no firm hours with most business being appointment-based. Walk-ins are welcome but depending on the appointment load, it’s better to schedule something in advance.

Generally, the studio is open during traditional business hours Tuesday through Saturdays.

Freeman got her cosmetology training at a vocational high school in Ohio. Megill learned the trade at a local hairstyling school.

Both took the traditional 1,500 hours of training, which for both is ongoing on the job. Between them they’ve got 33 years of experience on the job.

“It’s always changing,’’ Megill said. “There’s always something new, the client thing, as well. You become close to your clients. You build a relationship with them.

“We both have clients we’ve been seeing for years. (You) watch them grow with their families and their jobs and whatever else is going on in their life.’’

Megill said that technique-wise there is always something cool coming out in the hairstyling business. “It’s not boring,’’ she said. “It really, truly is a fun job.’’

While the main services they offer are hair cutting and coloring, they offer specialty work like rainbow hair coloring and balayage.

Balayage is when dye is actually painted on to create a graduated, natural-looking effect.

The procedure can take as long as two hours to perform. The two also do fashion colors and corrective colors.

For further information on the business, visit their Facebook page, Moxie Hair Studio. You can contact them at 910-491-4542 or by email at moxiehairstudio19@gmail.com.