Military commissary officials have stepped up their efforts to beef up savings, convenience and overall shopping experiences for customers. When are beer and wine coming to your commissary? No answer yet, according to DoD officials. Right now there is a limited test selling beer and wine in 12 military commissaries. Fort Bragg is not one of them. Commissary and exchange officials are “gathering and analyzing all factors related to beer and wine sales,” said DoD spokeswoman Jessica Maxwell.

The 12 test stores have limited selections and restricted floor space for beer and wine, typically a four-foot shelf space each for beer and for wine. The selections have been purposely kept small at the 12 stores, and are being culled and changed, said one industry source. Beer and wine sales are expected to be rolled out slowly to other stores, he said, as officials evaluate the initial sales and remain sensitive to the needs of customers and the military services’ desires to deglamorize alcohol.

One industry source said the Fort Myer, Virginia, commissary — the store closest to the Pentagon — has the best sales of all 12 stores. Although its selection is the smallest, its placement near the meat section is key, a local official said. “It’s all about where you put it, and how you stage it.”

Even with just four-feet of shelf space devoted to each of their beer and wine offerings, that store sold $165,596 worth of libations. Its wine sales brought it over the top: 66% of the sales were wine, which far surpassed the other 11 stores.
Following a 90-day pilot program in the last half of 2018, DoD decided to continue sales of beer and wine at the 12 test stores while it evaluated whether to expand sales to the rest of the system’s 226 commissaries in the U.S. and abroad. As of December 8, 2018, some $394,315 worth of beer and wine were sold in the 12 commissaries — $190,574 in beer, and $203,741 in wine, according to Lt. Col. Carla Gleason, a Pentagon spokeswoman.

The spirits industry had been hoping that a test of spirits sales at the commissaries might follow. But the DoD decided it will not move ahead with a pilot test for spirits. “The department has evaluated the sale of alcoholic beverages in commissaries,” Gleason said, “and stands by its original decision to limit sales to a small selection of beers and wines.”

“Spirits, wine and beer all compete for the same drinking occasions,” said David Ozgo, senior vice president for economic and strategic analysis for the Distilled Spirits Council. “By discriminating against spirits, the DoD is picking marketplace winners and losers and trying to dictate consumer preferences … excluding spirits puts us at a competitive disadvantage.”

Following a 90-day pilot program in the last half of 2018, DoD decided to continue sales of beer and wine at the 12 test stores while it evaluated whether to expand sales to the rest of the system’s 226 commissaries in the U.S. and abroad.

In Munich, Germany, Oct. 6 marked the end of one of their oldest and most celebrated traditions, Oktoberfest. However, at St. Patrick Catholic Church on Village Drive, last Sunday’s celebration of Oktoberfest marked over four decades of food, fun, frolic, music and beer — lots of beer, sauerkraut, potato salad and sausages. All Bavarian-style. This annual event, hosted by the St. Pat’s Knights of Columbus organization, is a major fundraiser for the church. Traditionally, Up & Coming Weekly rarely writes about programs and events that have already taken place; however, this event was special and so impressive I felt impelled to make an exception and advise our readers to put it on their calendars for the first Sunday in October 2020.

I guess with this event coming on the heels of the Fayetteville Greek Festival and the International Folk Festival, it made me cognizant and appreciative of our incredibly diverse community.

Knight Fred Cutter was the chairman of this year’s festivities, and he and his committee went to the far extreme to capture the authentic ambiance and culture of a true Bavarian festival, right down to the decorations, food, music and costumes. Surprisingly, many in attendance dressed in traditional Bavarian attire; the men wore lederhosen, and the ladies wore colorful dirndls — pronounced dern-DULL — which is an ensemble that includes a blouse, skirt and apron. The music was exceptional. Throughout the evening, attendees marched, sang and danced to the Little German Band and Dancers out of Raleigh. They were quite talented, performing songs, waltzes and polkas from the Bavaria region of Germany that energized and electrified the audience. The German word “Gemütlichkeit” describes a state of belonging when being surrounded by good friends, with good music and good times.

So, nothing to do in Fayetteville? What nonsense. There’s plenty to do here. And, the best common denominator all these community events and venues have is the people themselves. We encourage everyone to get involved and get to know our residents and our community. St. Patrick’s Oktoberfest is only one example of the excellent events that define our unique community.

Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

St. Patrick’s Catholic Church on Village Drive celebrated Oktoberfest this past Sunday with a fun family affair.
Picture 1, L-R: Lia, Lexie and Yiotta Hasapis

In this time of political rancor and hate, it is nice to find something that old time politicos agree on regardless of political affiliation, when they answer this question: Who is North Carolina’s most colorful political figure?

The answer today is clear: It is Rufus Edmisten, Democratic nominee for governor in 1984, attorney general, secretary of state and author of a recent book, “That’s Rufus: A Memoir of Tar Heel Politics, Watergate and Public Life.”

Edmisten begins his book not with his birth and growing up on a farm just outside the mountain town of Boone but with his favorite story. In 1973, he served the president of the United States with a subpoena on behalf of the Senate Watergate Committee, which was led by another North Carolinian, Sen. Sam Ervin. Serving the president with this demand for the records ultimately led to President Nixon’s resignation. Edmisten’s position as Ervin’s right-hand man made him a nationally known personality that he leveraged into political stardom.

Edmisten makes the story a good one. He describes the frantic rush to prepare the subpoena document, including a heated discussion about using correction fluid to cover a mistake and a ride to the Executive Office Building where the president’s lawyers respectfully accepted the subpoena. Then the cheeky Rufus reached in his pocket, pulled out his copy of the Constitution and gave it to the president’s lawyers in a pointed message that they should study it.

This incident and Edmisten’s work with Sen. Ervin were the launch pad for his political career.

Edmisten’s prelaunch story is set in the North Carolina mountains on a farm near Boone, where he grew up tending cows and pigs and working fields of cabbages and tobacco. He made extra money plowing garden plots for his neighbors and used a tractor to visit his kinfolks around the mountains.

After success in athletics, Future Farmers of America, student politics and academics in high school, and almost winning a Morehead Scholarship, he landed at UNC-Chapel Hill. From there, he made his way to Washington, D.C., teaching at a Catholic high school, attending law school at George Washington and securing a low-level job on Sen. Ervin’s staff. Edmisten soon became one of the senator’s full-time trusted assistants in the Watergate-Nixon impeachment matter.

The “That’s Rufus” chapter on Watergate is good background for those following the current battle between Congress and another president.

He returned to North Carolina in 1974 and mounted a successful campaign for attorney general. His triumph over a host of prominent Democrats gave notice he would run for governor someday.

That day came in 1984 when Gov. Jim Hunt ran for the U.S. Senate and a host of Democrats lined up to run for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. Edmisten won in a brutal primary runoff against Eddie Knox and then lost the general election to Jim Martin.

Some believe he lost because he made disparaging remarks about barbecue. His version of that incident is, by itself, worth the price of the book. But Edmisten says it was Ronald Reagan’s “sticky coattails” that “swept both me and Jim Hunt away from our dreams. We were not alone, either. The sweep was broad and far reaching.”

Edmisten felt crestfallen and abandoned. “The ache in the bottom of my stomach was so great nothing appealed to me except finding some dark place to crawl away and hide,” he writes. “I swear I saw people cross the street so they wouldn’t have to talk to me.”

“That’s Rufus” describes how Edmisten came back from that defeat, won election as secretary of state, lost that position in disgrace, came back as a successful lawyer and lobbyist and learned lessons that will be important for every citizen.

In a future column I will share some of that wisdom.

The Fourth Annual North Carolina Fall Festival takes place Thursday, Oct. 17, through Saturday,  Oct. 19, on Main Street in downtown Raeford.

 “This is the fourth year of the Fall Festival, but it is the 35th year of our festival in Hoke County,” said Melissa Pittman, executive director of the North Carolina Fall Festival. “The name was changed five years ago from the North Carolina Turkey Festival to the North Carolina Fall Festival.”

 Pittman added the name was changed because at the time the festival was organized the largest employer and commodity of Hoke County was turkeys. “We changed the name to make it more inclusive of all of the businesses in Raeford,” she said.

 The celebration kicked off Saturday, Oct. 5 with the Second Annual Golf Tournament. Card Tournament Tuesday will be Oct. 15. Senior Day is Wednesday, Oct. 16, with bingo, lunch, health screenings and a guest speaker.

 The parade takes place Thursday, Oct. 17, at 5:30 p.m. “We do the parade every year, and that allows students to show off their band, their cheerleaders, their sports team. Each of our schools and several businesses in town will get a float,” said Pittman. “It’s a huge event that only happens once a year in Hoke County.”

 A “Stuffin’ and Stompin” dinner takes place from 5-7 p.m. at West Hoke Middle School Friday, Oct. 18. The cost is $8. The Turkey Bowl follows at 7 p.m. at Hoke High School in Raz Autry Stadium.

 The last day of the festival is Saturday, Oct. 19, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Live music will be provided by The Dowdy Boys, Dv8er, Donnie Henderson and Winslow Ratliff. The featured band is Soul DeCree, who will perform at noon.  “Our festival sets out each year to bring artists, different cultural events and craftsmen to (the) community,” said Pittman. “Many of our children have seen storytellers that they would have never seen if it had not been for the festival.”

 There will be a Children’s Corner at the festival that features a climbing wall, double slides, obstacle courses, a trackless train ride and games. “They get to come and participate in our Children’s Corner, which is entirely free this year with our county and city governments paying for that area so our local children and any child that comes will not have to pay,” said Pittman. “We will have craftsmen that do their work on the street, cultural dancers and a dance troupe that will perform, the Lumbee Tribe who will perform, step teams and bands.” There will also be a food court and a wine and beer court.

 Also, there will be an art contest between all of the students in Hoke County.  Cash prizes will be awarded, and their art will be displayed from Oct. 18 – Nov. 11. The school that wins the overall display receives a donation from the festival to go toward  the school’s art program.

 The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call 910-904-2424 or visit www.NCFallFestival.com.

You are probably asking yourself the musical question, “How did Up & Coming Weekly’s copy editor let such a stupid mistake creep into the title of this stain on world literature?” Or you may even be asking a more profound question, “Why are these annoying columns impinging on my eyeballs before they get turned into fish wrap?” Alas, some questions don’t have answers. But as to the spelling of lyre, it is correct. Today’s visit into the swamp of free media is going to consist of a visit to our old Greek friend, the lyre-playing Orpheus. For those of you who may have missed the class on Ancient Greek Music Appreciation 101, a lyre is a small U-shaped harp.

We are exploring the story of Orpheus because the talking heads on the news are reporting on everyone calling everyone else liars. You have probably heard enough about Ukraine this week and who is lying about whom. So today, take a break from political liars and ponder musical lyres.

Orpheus was the Elvis of his day. He could pluck his lyre till the cows came home. When Orpheus sang and played the lyre, trees and rocks would dance, rivers would change course and lions would lie down with lambs. After listening to Orpheus, cannibals gave up human protein and became vegans. Orpheus was that good. Naturally being a Greek god helped as Orpheus had a supernatural musical talent that would have made John Lennon jealous. Like all Greek mythology, there are many versions of Orpheus’ story. Today you will get the version I like best.

Orpheus’ baby daddy was probably Apollo. The ancient Greeks didn’t have 23 & Me to test their DNA, so the paternity of most gods is a guess at best. As a lad, Orpheus had the old wanderlust. He scratched that itch by sailing with Jason and the Argonauts. On their course on the Love Boat, Orpheus and the Argonauts had to sail by an island populated by the Sirens. The Sirens were a bunch of bodaciously beautiful babes who were singers themselves. The Sirens made Jennifer Lopez look like a boy — if you know what I mean, and I think you do. Sailors would hear the Sirens singing and it was Katy, bar the door. To hook up with the Sirens, sailors would jump into the water and drown or crash their ships into the rocks, ending up in a watery grave. When the Sirens began belting out their songs for the Argonauts, Orpheus whipped out his lyre and played “Fire on the Mountain.” His music drowned out the Siren songs, letting the sailors keep sailing safely onward.

Like all Greek gods, Orpheus had a troubled love life, sort of like yours. But I digress. Orpheus fell in love with the elegant Eurydice. He proposed to her, and she accepted. Alas, the course of true love never runs smooth. At her wedding, Eurydice was walking around in the tall grass when she was set upon by a satyr. Satyrs have horns on their heads as befits a half goat and half man. Satyrs liked to drink and make whoopee. Eurydice knew all this. She ran to try to escape the satyr. Unfortunately, in her haste, she stepped into a nest of vipers. She sustained a viper bite to her heel, which caused her to expire. Sad.

Eurydice, being dead, had no choice but to descend into the Underworld, where the dead folks hung out under the watchful eyes of the Underworld’s rulers, Hades and Persephone. Orpheus, being love struck, went down into the Underworld looking for his beloved. Normally, when you go into the Underworld, you don’t get to come back. However, Orpheus rosined up his bow and started playing that lyre to beat the band. The bosses of the Underworld were so taken with his music that they agreed to let Orpheus take Eurydice back to the land of the living. There was one condition. Orpheus had to walk in front of Eurydice without looking back at her until they both got out of the Underworld. Naturally, Orpheus messed up this simple task. Like most men, he couldn’t follow directions. When Orpheus got back topside, he turned around to look at Eurydice, who was still in the Underworld. Yuge mistake! He got one good look at Eurydice, and then she disappeared forever.

Orpheus wandered lonely as a cloud while weeping piteously after he realized what he had done. He had some more adventures until he finally went to see the Oracle of Dionysus. A funny thing happened to him on his way to the Oracle. The Oracle had a cult following of women called Maenads. These ladies were wild dancers who did all sorts of things about which we cannot speak in a family newspaper. The Maenads were plenty riled up when Orpheus came into view. Unhappy with being interrupted, the Maenads tore Orpheus into shreds — even breaking his lyre.

What, if anything, have we learned today? To quote Winston Churchill: “If you are walking through Hell, keep going.”

Gentlemen, if you are lost, ask directions and follow them. If you come upon a crowd of ladies wilding in the woods, turn around. And as Andy Griffith once said, “Don’t ever, ever, mess with the ladies of the Altar Guild.”

Orpheus was the Elvis of his day. He could pluck his lyre till the cows came home.

Who knew tragedy could be so funny? The theater company of Sweet Tea Shakespeare did. Imagine if Shakespeare and Monty Python had a child, who was now a teenager; now you have a glimpse into the hilarious, interactive performance of “HamLIT.” You definitely don’t want to be caught taking a drink while you’re enjoying the show, or do you? You may be “voluntold” if you don’t volunteer to be a part of the drinking games in the first and the second act. “HamLIT” premiered at the Fayetteville Dinner Theatre Sept. 27 and 28 and will play at different venues through Nov. 9.

The evening began with musician Dean Dibling leading the cast members in a few modern tunes to help get the audience in the right mood. Brandon Bryan, who plays Polonius, asked for the audience’s input for his monologue that he would perform later. It’s a sort of vocal Mad Libs group project. This led to an interesting, adult humor monologue that had the audience literally laughing out loud.

Mary Gainer Mariyampillai is Ophelia and has incredible chemistry with Jacqueline Nunweiler, who plays Ophelia’s brother, Laertes. The blocking of their scenes and the dynamic in their relationship shows the audience the depths of each character’s personal struggles. At the same time, the two expose the comedy within the tragedy of their roles.

Codirector Traycie Zapata plays Gertrude. Let’s just say if there was a “Real Housewives of HamLIT,” she would be running the show. Traycie engages the audience members in a way that makes you feel as though you alone are meant to be a part of the show. While at the same time, you are there to be entertained. However, her role is not complete without Claudius.

Nathan Pearce, also a codirector, plays the roles of Claudius and The Ghost, who is Hamlet’s dead father. Nathan brings The Ghost to life with charm and wit. In his role as Claudius, he comes right to you. Really. He’ll sit right at your table, eat your cake, or your popcorn, or even hide behind you. He almost flutters about the audience while still weaving ideas of destruction to Hamlet and Laertes. The audience was so busy laughing at his ability to do this that we wanted to have disdain for him, but couldn’t.

Nelson Soliva plays the role of Horatio, Hamlet’s Fortnite buddy and best friend. He’s also the friend who isn’t always down for the bad ideas but loves the latest royalty gossip — mostly because he delivers an occasional news broadcast of the recent gossip to the audience.

And finally, Taj Allen, codirector and Hamlet himself. Taj makes the role of Hamlet appear not only natural but eloquent and hilarious. If both can exist as one, they definitely do with him. The audience feels Hamlet’s pain of losing his father but also sees how dimwitted Hamlet’s choices and behavior are, leading him down a path of self-destruction.

Sweet Tea Shakespeare takes a classic story, adds impeccable improv, drinking games and audience interaction, for a night of memorable entertainment. Visit www.sweeteashakespear.com for tickets and information.

More than 40 years ago, Miki Phillips’ doctor told Miki she had just five years to live. She was 23 at the time and in her senior year at Duke University when the diagnosis of systemic lupus was doled out to her. “I was scared,” Phillips said. “I was put on steroids that utterly destroyed my health.”

She didn’t let that stop her though. Phillips has Bachelor of Arts degrees in both Chemistry and Biology from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and a Bachelor of Health Sciences degree in Medical Technology from Duke University Medical Center. Today, the mom of two and grandmother of four has had her share of adventures and career successes and conquered enough challenges to last several lifetimes, including six pulmonary emboli, diabetes, fibromyalgia and liver, kidney and stage-four thyroid cancer.

When it came to her health, Phillips played by the rules and followed her doctors’ orders — for 20 years.  She worked at the VA and later ran clinical drug studies for 25 years. “I loved what I did, but six pulmonary emboli grounded me from flying, and traveled a lot for work,” she said. “After 20 years of steroids, my doctors told me, ‘we can’t do anything else to help you.’”

With no other options, “I took matters into my own hands,” Phillips said, “I stepped up and took responsibility for my health.”

That meant being open to a more holistic approach and alternative therapies. During her research, Phillips found the quantum biofeedback machine. After more research, she bought one. “In 10 months, I went from sleeping 14 hours a day and working one job to working two jobs and playing tennis five days a week,” she said. “My doctor has been blown away.”

She knew she had to share what she’d discovered. Today, Phillips owns Mind Body Seimei and works as a natural health coach, working in conjunction with her patients and their doctors to bring balance to lives and bodies. “Traditional medicine is great, especially for diagnosis and trauma,” said Phillips. “Definitely listen to your doctor. But there is more information and there are other treatments out there for many of the conditions people suffer from.”

Mind, Body, Seimei offers biofeedback treatments. A frequency-based modality, biofeedback includes a three-minute scan measuring how patient’s body responds to  10,000 frequencies. “It’s not diagnostic,” said Phillips. “It identifies what is out of balance. Then I can help you start addressing them.”

Seimei is another component of Phillips’ work. Seimei is a Japanese, hands-free pain relief technique that can change/resolve the expression of a person’s pain, for example,  sharp, shooting, burning, tightness, as well as the intensity of their pain.

She also offers customized Healthy living programs and sells Nature’s Sunshine Products health supplements as well as embracing the benefits CBD oils and other natural products.
Find out more at http://www.mindbodyseimei.com/.
 

It’s October, so that means it is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. The Department of Homeland Security uses this month to remind everyone of the importance of cybersecurity. This year’s campaign — "Own IT. Secure IT. Protect IT." — is designed to encourage everyone to be proactive about their cybersecurity and to take responsibility for their online behavior. As part of that effort, there are several methods that can be used to create strong passwords to protect accounts.

Creating an online account starts with a username and a password. Most websites require users to use email addresses as usernames, which is easier to find online than most of us would like. All that is left for a hacker to figure out is your password — the same one many people use on many websites. In one survey, 83% of respondents used the same password for multiple sites. If you use your one good password on a website that gets hacked, you are at risk of losing something valuable from an account with that same password, such as your bank account information.

 Below are some steps to consider taking regarding passwords.

1. Use a password manager. With so many accounts requiring a unique password, it is hard to remember them all. Password managers can be used on a desktop and/or a mobile phone via an app.
2. Create unique, hard-to-guess passwords for every account.
a. Shorter passwords, no matter how complex, are easier to crack. Allow the password manager to create 20-character or longer passwords or use passphrases (i.e. Joe=Rides=2Yam$=Back2Back).
b. Do not use common words or easily determined passwords. Is your password one that many use, such as P@$$word1? Can a hacker guess your password by your online information, such as your child’s name, birthdays or hobbies? Many password-cracking tools can quickly crack passwords from a dictionary, a famous quote, or line in a book.
c. Do not use patterns. When you create or change your passwords, do not use a pattern that makes it easy to guess other or future passwords. For example, many users change the end of their passwords to the current year or go from a single "!" to two "!!" or add a "1,""2" or "3" for three passwords for three different sites, for instance. With the many breaches that have occurred, there is a good chance an old password or two of yours is online.

3. Add login protection to your accounts. Enable multifactor or two-factor authentication, also called an MFA or 2FA, if available. When logging in to an MFA-enabled account, you enter a username, password, and something that you can only get from your MFA device or that you can provide because it is unique to you, like a fingerprint. If you use your mobile phone as an MFA device, then you might have an app to open and get your code or receive a text message with a code you must also enter. If given a choice, the app is more secure than text.

4. Do not enter login credentials via an unsolicited email or website. No legitimate organization will send you an email that asks you to click on a link and enter your username and password, unless you just requested a password reset or just created an account and this is the account verification email.

Visit the National Cybersecurity Awareness Month website at https://niccs.us-cert.gov/national-cybersecurity-awareness-month-2019 for more information. To learn about FTCC’s Systems Security Analysis program of study visit www.faytechcc.edu or call 910-678-8400.

North Carolina has long prided herself on the wild horses along our Outer Banks coast. Bankers, as they are known, are descendants of Spanish horses brought to the New World in the 16th century. They are compact animals, resourceful enough to have survived for centuries along the Outer Banks in what can be a harsh and unforgiving environment. The few hundred feral horses remaining in North Carolina are a major tourist attraction, the subjects of countless vacation photographs.

A state championship event headed to Fayetteville and an update on the complicated process of realigning the state’s high school conferences were the major topics of discussion at last week’s Region 4 meeting of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association held at the Cumberland County Schools Educational Resource Center.

NCHSAA commissioner Que Tucker and members of her staff spent the morning discussing the business of the association and shared a variety of information with the athletic directors, coaches and superintendents in attendance. The region includes high schools in 11 counties in the Fayetteville area as far west as Richmond and Montgomery, north to Harnett and Lee and south to Robeson, Bladen and Columbus.

The biggest surprise of the day came when Tucker announced that this year’s NCHSAA volleyball state championships will be temporarily moving from their home at North Carolina State’s Reynolds Coliseum and coming to Fayetteville State University’s Capel Arena.

The Wolfpack has a women’s basketball home game scheduled Sunday, Nov. 10, against UNC-Wilmington that would have cut into the time needed to get Reynolds Coliseum ready for basketball the day after the volleyball championships.

The volleyball championships are scheduled Saturday, Nov. 9.

Tucker said the NCHSAA explored a variety of other places where they had previously held state championship events, but none of them were either suitable or available for the volleyball championships.

When the NCHSAA contacted Fayetteville State, the school expressed interest. Tucker said Fayetteville State has an away football game that day, at Winston-Salem State, and there were no other on-campus conflicts that would prevent hosting the volleyball.

“You go where you’re wanted and we are excited about the possibility,’’ Tucker said. “Capel Arena is a wonderful facility and we look forward to it.’’

Vernon Aldridge, student activities director of the Cumberland County Schools, said the school system has an excellent working relationship with Fayetteville State. Capel Arena is a regular home for the county’s high school swimmers and has also hosted both the NCHSAA Eastern Regional basketball tournament and the finals of the annual Cumberland County Holiday Classic basketball tournament.

“Anytime you get to host a state championship event it’s great for the local area,’’ Aldridge said. “We have a great working relationship with Mike King (assistant athletic director at Fayetteville State) that will allow us to put this on short notice.’’

Realignment

The headache that is realignment of the NCHSAA’s conferences is about to begin anew after the association’s Board of Directors decided to put it on hold at its meeting last spring.

The NCHSAA got into the business of deciding what schools play in which league back in 1985-86 Tucker said when schools drew up their own leagues and left some member schools with no place to play.
Now, realignment is ordered by the NCHSAA bylaws every four years.

Because there was some potential for major changes in how realignment works, last spring’s board decided to delay the process to allow additional information about realignment to be gathered.

The initial step will be to create a special realignment committee which will number about 25 people from across the state who will come up with the official plan for realignment that will be presented to the full board of directors near the end of the process.

Schools had until the end of last week’s series of eight regional meetings around the state to submit potential names to serve on the committee from each region.

Region 4 has two representatives on the NCHSAA Board of Directors for 2019-20, Gray’s Creek athletic director Troy Lindsey and Cape Fear High School principal Brian Edkins.

They will work with the president and vice-president of the NCHSAA to narrow the list of nominees for the realignment committee from Region 4. When the committee is picked, each region only gets two members. Additional members on the realignment committee will come from the state coaches and athletic director’s associations and the state department of public instruction.

Tucker said a special meeting of the board of directors will likely have to convene in late February or early March of 2021 to hear the final report from the committee.

One of the major questions that the committee will likely have to wrestle with is whether to change the number of classifications the state has. For years the NCHSAA has operated with four classifications based on school enrollment: 4-A, 3-A, 2-A and 1-A.

The idea of adding a fifth classification for the largest schools, 5-A, has been discussed but never implemented.

Even if the committee thinks 5-A is an good idea, it can only suggest it to Tucker and the NCHSAA board. A change would require a call for a vote of the membership to decide if a fifth classification can be added, or if any change can be made in the number of classifications.

One important note Tucker added regarding the average daily membership figures is the numbers the NCHSAA gets from the State Department of Public Instruction that are the enrollment of each school in the state.
Tucker said the NCHSAA is guided, but not bound by, the ADMs in determining conference membership.

Other notes

Here are some other items of interest from Monday’s regional meeting:

• The sites have been determined for this fall’s NCHSAA football championship games. The 4-A and 4-AA will play at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan Stadium. The 3-A and 3-AA will play at North Carolina State’s Carter-Finley Stadium. The 2-A and 2-AA will be at Wake Forest’s Groves Stadium and the 1-A and 1-AA at Duke University’s Wallace Wade Stadium.
• For the 2018-19 school year, the NCHSAA assessed 154 penalties resulting in $63,950 fines with 11 teams winding up ineligible for the state playoffs. The list included seven football teams, three boys’ basketball teams and one girls basketball team.
To date in 2019, there have been 39 penalties with $16,150 in fines and one team ineligible for the playoffs.
• The NCHSAA is joining the number of state associations who are beginning to feel the squeeze on the availability of high school officials to call games. The average age of officials in the state is from 59 to 60. The NCHSAA noted that some states like Tennessee have resorted to playing high school football on multiple nights each week to spread games out because of the officiating shortage.
• Tina Bratcher, administrative assistant to Vernon Aldridge, was named the 2018 winner of the NCHSAA Region 4 Special Person award. The presentation was delayed a year because year’s meeting was canceled due to the hurricane.
• The NCHSAA has established an education-based athletics grant program for its member schools. Any person on the staff of an NCHSAA member school may submit an application for the grant.
The only criteria is that the money must be used for unmet needs facing the student athletes at a particular school.
The application is available at the NCHSAA website, NCHSAA.org, and can be found under “Fundraising and Grant Opportunities” in the School Central section of the website.
The deadline to apply this year is Nov. 30.

There will be a vacancy on Fayetteville City Council come the first of the year. Longtime councilmember Bill Crisp won’t be there. Crisp, 79, has served for 12 years. He was first elected as a result of the so-called Big Bang annexation of western Cumberland County in 2005 when more than 40,000 people were involuntarily annexed into Fayetteville. The controversial move was a major reason that the state legislature did away with unsolicited annexations.

Crisp became an influential and respected member of City Council. He served in the U.S. Army for 27 years, retiring with the rank of Command Sgt. Maj. in 1987. When asked about his greatest satisfaction of serving on council, Crisp said “I love people and appreciated being able to serve them.”

The area Crisp serves is one of nine political districts, each representing approximately the same number of people. District 6 is on the southwestern side of the city. To this day, Crisp says the big bang annexation “was a disaster” calling it “a land grab for tax dollars.”

The result made the city of Fayetteville the second largest in the state geographically, encompassing 148-square-miles. Only Charlotte has more land area. Crisp is among those who believe that bigger isn’t better, that the government lacks the capacity to serve its 210,000 residents. He takes pride in significant accomplishments he contributed to in his dozen years, including development of the multimillion-dollar Hope VI residential community off Old Wilmington Road. Modern apartment buildings replaced a post-World War II housing project.

Crisp is especially proud of Fayetteville’s designation as home of North Carolina’s Veterans Park, the nation’s first state park dedicated to military veterans from all branches of the Armed Services. Then-Gov. Beverly Perdue was on hand for the ground-breaking in February 2010. Crisp was a major supporter of the city’s $40 million commitment to build Segra Stadium on Hay Street. Officials say it will be the impetus of more than $100 million of private development.

City council colleagues have come and gone during Bill Crisp’s dozen years. He did not hesitate when asked who he most enjoyed working with on the governing body. District 1 councilwoman Kathy Jensen is his favorite. “She isn’t as experienced as most, but is one smart lady,” he said.

Crisp noted he developed a partnership with District 8 member Ted Mohn, who was also elected as the result of the 2005 big bang annexation.

Crisp’s decision this year to not run for another term was based on his poor health. “It’s an ordeal for me,” he said. Crisp has had prostate cancer surgery, spinal infusion and has had three tumors removed from his lungs. Diminished lung capacity and a weakened heart required that the people of District 6 elect a new member of council. Suffice it to say Councilman Bill Crisp will be missed.

Pictured: Fayetteville City Councilman Bill Crisp

I don’t think North Carolina should expand Medicaid under the provisions of the Affordable Care Act. It’s the wrong response to the wrong problem, paid for in the wrong way — with massive federal borrowing.

When a Republican-led Congress and Democratic President Bill Clinton reformed the nation’s cash-welfare programs in the mid-1990s, work requirements were a centerpiece of the strategy. Following the lead of successful welfare-reform initiatives at the state level, the federal legislation truly was a bipartisan accomplishment. But it had its progressive critics. They asserted that requiring recipients of the former program Aid to Families with Dependent Children to work would be both ineffectual and heartless.

Conservatives and progressives have been arguing about the proper size and scope of the welfare state for decades.

The seventh annual Run for the Pink 5K to support the fight against breast cancer is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 19, at 8 a.m., in Hope Mills near the municipal complex at the police and fire stations off Rockfish Road.

Coco Ramirez established the race with the help of her husband Julio Ramirez and has continued it for the last three years in his memory, after he passed away from leukemia.

Her goal is to raise money to donate to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center to help fund breast cancer screening for women who may not be able to afford it.

Ramirez stressed that the Run for the Pink is a family-friendly event designed both for serious runners and for people who just want to get out and walk the course to support the battle against breast cancer.

“It’s very emotional for me to continue,’’ Ramirez said. “The community supports me a lot. My goal is for them to have a very good time.I’m trying to bring a lot of people. You can run, you can walk to support the Cape Fear hospital.’’

There are multiple divisions and various prices for entering them.

The fee for the 5K is $30. There is an additional $3.50 signup fee.

The 5K for children ages 13 and under is $25. That is the same fee for participants who want to compete as members of a team.

For active duty military, the 5K is $20. That is also the fee for cancer survivors.

All teams must register to compete by Oct. 12.

There will be cash prizes awarded for the top three overall male and female winners, $100 for first, $75 for second and $50 for third.

Medals will be awarded in all age groups for the first 400 to cross the finish line.

For more information on the race and to signup go to www.runsignup.com and search for Run for the Pink 5K. Ramirez can be contacted directly at 910-922-6301.

In addition to the Run for the Pink 5K, Ramirez also holds the annual Cinco De Mayo 10K and 5K with Fayetteville Elite Running in downtown Fayetteville.

Recent articles have documented the rising costs of club sports, with one noting that about 62 percent of “travel ball” parents will go into debt to involve their kids in year-round sports.

​A USA Today article in 2017 suggested that travel baseball or volleyball could cost a family upwards of $8,000 a year, with soccer running about $5,000 on the high end. A study by TD Ameritrade suggested some parents were spending about $100 to $500 a month to fund their kids’ participation on a club team, with about 20% spending $1,000 a month.

​Why? In some cases — unquestionably the minority — students are in the elite category from a skills standpoint and could benefit from a higher level of competition in preparation for college. In most cases, however, it is a case of parents spending beyond their means with the hope that playing club sports will be the difference-maker in their children receiving an athletic scholarship to an NCAA Division I school.

​It is, in fact, true that an overwhelming majority of NCAA Division I athletes played club sports. According to an NCAA survey, 92%of women and 89% of men played club basketball, and 91% of women’s volleyball players competed on a non-school team in high school. At the other end, however, only 24% of football players competed on a club team.

​Herein lies the difference. There are more than 540,000 boys who played high school basketball last year and fewer than 6,000 who played basketball at the NCAA Division I level, where most of the scholarships are available. Stated another way, about 1% of high school boys basketball players will play at the NCAA Division I level. About 2.8% of the one million-plus boys in high school 11-player football will play at the Division I level.

​The answer? Parents should encourage their kids to play multiple sports for their high school teams and save the money they would spend on club sports for college tuition if scholarship money does not materialize. Even in those situations where students are charged a modest fee to participate, school-based sports remain an incredible bargain when compared to club sports.

In many cases, Division I football and basketball coaches are looking to recruit multiple-sport athletes. While there are a few sports where non-school competition is crucial, college coaches will find those athletes who excel in school-based sports.

​High school-based sports have more interest, more media coverage and more fans than club sports, and the kids have more fun because they are representing their team and their community.

​Playing one sport in the fall, another during the winter and yet another in the spring is the best route to future success — whether that success is on the playing field or court, or in a boardroom.

Feathers, food, glamour and mystery are all on the playlist for the Child Advocacy Center’s sixth annual Pinwheel Masquerade Ball & Auction to Unmask Child Abuse, but topping the chart is the awareness and support raised to benefit this longstanding Fayetteville nonprofit. You can contribute to the safe and child-friendly center’s goals to interview, investigate and provide support for child abuse victims by joining in the fun and philanthropy Oct. 19, from 7-11 p.m., at this year’s new venue, Cape Fear Botanical Garden.

CAC Executive Director Roberta Humphries is excited about the event’s new location.

“The event has grown each year,” she explained. “The new garden venue will allow us to have more space in addition to indoor and outdoor seating. Guests will also have full access to view the Boo-tanical Halloween lights unique to the garden in October.”

To get in the spirit, gala guests are invited to don their fanciest masks of the non-Halloween variety and ballroom attire for the event. Entertainment for the evening includes a DJ, dance demonstrations, photo booth fun, chic cuisine, mask contests and both live and silent auctions for amazing prizes. Expect to see a flurry of food choices from 10 local culinary sponsors, beer, wine and other beverages, including the night’s signature drink, a pumpkin martini. Auction items up for bid include jewelry, college sports tickets, wine baskets, gift certificates and trip packages from Amfund to many desirable destinations — redeemable for up to three years.

Or instead of an item, why not bid on a service needed by a child abuse victim or family member? Stuffed animals priced to match the cost of essential resources will be up for bid, with a name and storyline to boot. For example, a plush dog tagged at $150 matches the price point of three mental health counseling sessions for a CAC client.

The Pinwheel Masquerade Ball is one of two signature fundraisers the CAC has each year. Locals love the excitement and mystique of the fall gala and the musical merriment of the spring’s Fayetteville Ultimate Lip Sync Challenge, too. According to Humphries, the center depends on these events, grants and charitable donations to be able to serve the approximately 700 child abuse victims the center sees each year.

Services include providing forensic interviews for child abuse victims in a safe setting, child advocacy to initiate the recovery process and direct assistance through mental health counseling and communitywide prevention education.

Until Oct. 5, early bird pricing for the Pinwheel Masquerade Ball & Auction is $75 per person,  $140 per couple or $1,000 for a limited number of premier reserved tables for eight with added amenities to include Champagne, signature drink tickets, special table decor and signage.  Standard pricing begins after Oct. 5 at $100 per person, $175 per couple and premier tables prices of eight at $1,200. Tickets are available for purchase in person at the Child Advocacy Center at 222 Rowan Street or online at www.CACFayNC.org or www.Eventbrite.com.

Last year, the Pinwheel Masquerade Ball & Auction raised more than $47,000 to help local children.