Editor’s note: This is part of a series on Cumberland County high school spring football workouts.

Terry Sanford football coach Bruce McClelland lost 52 seniors over the last two seasons. His new team begins fall practice Aug. 1.

“We’ve got a ton of young guys and new guys,’’ McClelland said. “We’ve got a lot of holes to fill in key positions.’’

Fortunately, there’s some talent returning at a couple of key spots that should make things easier. Among the biggest returners is an experienced quarterback, Jacob Knight, who’s been waiting in the wings behind past stars Christian Jayne and Davidjohn Herz.

“He’s been good enough to play the last two years,’’ McClelland said of Knight. The fact that both Jayne and Herz are now playing minor league baseball is a good indication of the level of talent McClelland has enjoyed at the quarterback position.

Another player who will have to step up his game is running back Dorian Clark, who shared ball-carrying duties with Leonard “Flo” Mosley. 

Both Clark and Mosley ran for 1,000 yards last season. Clark had 1,662 yards to Mosley’s 1,423. Clark scored 13 touchdowns, Mosley 15.

“Dorian will have to tote the ball a little bit more with Flo gone,’’ McClelland said. Helping to block for him will be returning lineman Roscoe Blue.

Two key All-Patriot Athletic Conference players return on defense, lineman Elijah Morris and linebacker Jackson Deaver.

Morris, a defensive tackle, said spring practice has been about fitting new players into open positions and getting back to the goal of winning the conference title.

“I think we could really be a good team this year,’’ he said. “There’s a lot of leadership at every position.’’

He added teamwork is the key. “Instead of depending on one person for the whole team, we can play off each other’s strengths,’’ he said. “Working together. That’s the main thing.’’

One of the biggest players back is tight end and defensive end Ezemdi Udoh. Honorable mention all-conference at tight end last year, Udoh’s stock rose sharply after the season because he received more than a dozen college scholarship offers. He has orally committed to North Carolina State University.

It likely didn’t hurt Udoh that his brother Oli from Elon was taken by the Minnesota Vikings in the NFL draft.

“He’s 6-feet-5 and already up to 240 pounds,’’ McClelland said of Ezemdi Udoh.

McClelland expects another close race for the Patriot Athletic Conference title. “I think it’s going to be deeper this year,’’ he said. “I really think Douglas Byrd and Westover are making strides. It’s anybody’s conference.’’

Pictured top to bottom: Ezemdi Udoh, Elijah Morris

North Carolina’s recent budget standoff in Raleigh called into question whether the state could afford Medicaid expansion. Republicans offered a Medicaid expansion compromise bill, but Gov. Roy Cooper, D-N.C., and Democrats wanted full expansion of Medicaid to provide health insurance to an estimated 600,000 poor North Carolinians, many of whom are eligible children.

CNBC reported this month that North Carolina had built one of the country’s strongest business climates over the past two decades, fueled by low business costs, incentives and a young, educated workforce, many of whom have been trained at the strong universities in the state and Research Triangle Park.

Three years ago, Forbes ranked North Carolina’s economic development No. 1 in the country. No state’s economy is on more solid ground than the tar heel state. The state attracted $2.6 billion in venture capital in 2018, the sixth highest figure in the nation. It is also attracting skilled workers, who are moving to North Carolina in droves. But the tar heel state is no exception to push for Medicaid eligibility expansion, which is growing at a rapid clip nationwide.

In Ohio, for example, Medicaid rose 35% from $18.9 billion in fiscal year 2013 to $25.7 billion in 2017. Ohio Medicaid spending has grown 88% over the past decade, more than double the rate of growth in total state spending. Medicaid was already the largest category of state spending a decade ago, and currently the program consumes an even greater share of the state budget. In 2017, Medicaid consumed more than 29% of total state spending, up from 20% in 2008.

In 2008, North Carolina beneficiaries grew to a grand total of 1,407,257 who were covered by Medicaid — or Health Choice, for children who do not qualify for Medicaid. By 2015, that number had increased to 1,911,918. Over the same time period, the state’s population grew at an annual rate of 1.2%, a rate of growth that’s less than Medicaid eligibility is growing. Matt Salo, head of the National Association of Medicaid Directors, said about one-third of all kids in the country are covered by Medicaid as are more than half of all births.

Forty-one percent of North Carolina’s kids are covered under Medicaid or Health Choice, which is higher than the national average. Salo said the good news is that kids are less expensive to cover. Analysts like Steve Owen, senior fiscal analyst for the North Carolina General Assembly, have told state legislators several times over the past year that part of North Carolina’s success at holding down Medicaid costs is due in large part to the increase in the number of children enrolled, because their coverage is cheaper than adults and families.

Thirty-six states and Washington, D.C., have opted to expand Medicaid over the years. North Carolina is one of the 14 states that have not expanded coverage. Medicaid spending is the largest budget category and has grown at a faster rate than all other areas of state spending including education, public safety, and infrastructure. “By restraining spending growth to an average of 3.5% over the two-year budget, North Carolinians get to keep more of their money,” wrote Becki Gray, senior vice president at the conservative John Locke Foundation.

Two prominent Army generals with ties to Fort Bragg have become the nation’s top military leaders.

During the Clinton administration, former 18th Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg Commanding Gen. Hugh Shelton was the first airborne officer to become chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Gen. Mark Milley served as commanding general of Army Forces Command at Fort Bragg before being named chief of staff.

President Donald Trump tapped Milley, 60, to lead the Joint Chiefs. Milley will replace Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, who was named to the post in 2015. Trump nominated Dunford for a second two-year term last year.

Trump tweeted, “I am pleased to announce my nomination of four-star General Mark Milley, Chief of Staff of the United States Army — as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, replacing Gen. Joe Dunford, who will be retiring.

“I am thankful to both of these incredible men for their service to our country! Date of transition to be determined.”

Milley’s military career has spanned numerous commands and staff positions in Special Forces and eight divisions, according to his Defense Department biography. Before being named chief of staff in 2015, Milley served in command and leadership positions in the 82nd Airborne Division and the 5th Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg.

Highly decorated, his awards include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal and the Army Distinguished Service Medal. A native of Winchester, Massachusetts, Milley graduated and received his commission from Princeton University in 1980.

In 2018, Milley was involved in deciding whether the Army would publish a controversial report on the Iraq War, a two volume, 1,300-page study. Milley reportedly decided that he wanted to read the entire 500,000-word study before deciding on publication. Milley also directed that an external panel of scholars review the work before he made a decision. The panel returned glowing reviews on the study, including one that described it as “the gold standard in official history.”

In September 2018, Secretary of the Army Mark Esper and other Army officials decided to distance themselves from the study by casting it as an independent work of the authors, instead of being described as a project by the chief of staff of the Army’s Operation Iraqi Freedom Study Group.

When confronted by a reporter with The Wall Street Journal in October 2018, Milley reversed the decisions and directed that the report be published officially with a foreword that he would write. He declared the team that wrote the study “did a damn good job,” that the study itself was “a solid work” and noted that he aimed to publish the study by the holidays (2018).

Within days of this revelation, two members of Congress who sit on the House Armed Services Committee, Reps. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., and Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., sent a letter to Army leadership expressing their anger with the Army’s delay of publication of the report. The study was published in January 2019.

Pictured: Gen. Mark Milley

Fayetteville offers the experience for people to immerse themselves in art and entertainment every month for 4th Friday. The enriching event takes place in the historic downtown area, where people can enjoy food from restaurants, walk through shops and browse local art galleries. The theme for July’s 4th Friday, which falls on July 26, is “Parking Lot Party.”

“Downtowns are the ‘free throw line’ of any city,” said Greg Weber, president and CEO of The Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County. “To win a game, you need to get to the free throw line and hit those buckets.

“The Arts Council is increasing its investment in bringing people to Fayetteville’s ‘free throw line’ — downtown activity on 4th Friday. We are working to sink more buckets, and our expansion of activities on 4th Friday is an important first step.”

The Arts Council’s newest 4th Friday Artist’s Program will foster a space for artists to create and show their work and share their passion with others. Artists can visit www.theartscouncil.com/ParkingLotParty to sign up to showcase their work.

The Parking Lot Party will begin at 6 p.m., but other downtown organizations are getting involved in the fun, too, by providing their own activities.

The Market House will be open Friday from 6-10 p.m. for a free exhibit called “Vintage Postcards.” The display offers a look into the past, displays of documents like vintage receipts, bills, and letters from businesses past and present in downtown Fayetteville.

At Cape Fear Studios, attendees can see the creations of visual artists on display as part of the “8 by Exhibit.” The art will reflect the work of visual artists of a variety of mediums, and each piece has to have one dimension that is 8 inches.

Enjoy a free performance from the local musicians of the Bella Venti Woodwind Quintet at The Wine Café at 6:30 p.m. The professional musicians play the flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and French horn. Cash tips are encouraged.

The Fayetteville Woodpeckers will be playing against the Carolina Mudcats, and they’re celebrating Christmas in July. The game starts at 7 p.m. and features a Woodpeckers Winter Hat Giveaway for the first 700 fans through the gate. A fireworks show will take place after the game.

After strolling around and enjoying the art, attendees can catch a show at Gilbert Theater. As a part of its Summer Play Fest, at 7 p.m. there will be performances of “A Ghost Story, Abridged,” “The Devil You Say” and “Grocery Store.” Tickets cost $16.

The Summer Play Fest starts on July 24. The purchase of one ticket buys access to all of the shows for the week, through July 28. For more information or to buy tickets, call the theater at 910-678-7186.

Call the Cool Spring Downtown District at 910-223-1089 or visit www.theartscouncil.com to learn more about 4th Friday.

The Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County’s newest 4th Friday Artist’s Program will foster a space for artists to create and show their work and share their passion with others.

For every American who chanted “send her back” at last week’s Trump rally in Greenville, North Carolina, there are millions who were repulsed, saddened or both.

Count me among the latter group.

Various theories are floating around about why Trump supporters started those vile chants. Most suggest chanters were simply trying to show support for the president, not urging deportation of an American citizen serving as an elected member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Perhaps the chanters have never heard of simply clapping or cheering, or perhaps they do not understand our Constitution.

Video footage does not show Trump chanting, but he does stand quietly by while the audience chants behind him. No video shows him asking for the chants to stop. Various news outlets report some Republican officials, as well as Trump’s wife and daughter, have urged him to tone down the rhetoric, so we shall see how that goes.

The chanting was instructive, however. It reveals what his re-election campaign will be like for the next year-and-a-half. It will repeat his 2016 maiden voyage — filled with racist language, hateful rants against people he perceives as the “other,” impulsive and hurtful remarks. It will be aimed again at appealing to working-class whites, his core constituency, and designed to whip them into a voting frenzy.

The handwriting is on the wall for Trump and his party. They are not attracting women, minority or younger voters, so the idea is to turn out every Trump supporter they can corral and suppress the votes of those voters not attracted to Trump or not motivated enough to go vote against him.

Trump and his campaign strategists may be right. Racist and hateful language designed to bring his voters out may well work as it did in 2016. It is also true that every election is different — no one election can ever be duplicated, as thousands of incumbents tossed out of office every year can attest. Our American landscape is littered with losing candidates who were convinced the formula that elected them the first time would work every time.

What happened in Greenville says a great deal about Donald Trump and how he perceives our nation, but it also says a great deal about the rest of us. North Carolina has long prided herself as being different from other Southern states — more caring about public education, more nurturing of business ventures, more welcoming of social diversity. Since the chants, many among us have comforted themselves by saying things like “this is not who we are” and “we are better than this.”

But, in fact, this is who some of us are. The Charlotte Observer editorial board put it like this. “… it is, of course, part of who we always have been in America. And in North Carolina. It’s who we were in Wilmington in 1898. … It’s who we were when we redlined blacks out of white neighborhoods decades ago. It’s who we were on a July night in Greenville, and it could be what’s coming to Charlotte next summer.”

At some point, Trump will no longer be president. It may be by 2021, or it may be in 2025 after a second term. Whenever he fades into history, Americans will have to come to terms with not only his sometimes shameful behavior but our own. Some of us have kept silent when we knew we should speak up. Some of us may have chanted. Some of us may have taken more overt actions.

All of us should remember the words attributed to philosopher Edmund Burke and made famous by John F. Kennedy. “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”

From top to bottom: Rep. Ilhan Omar, President Donald Trump. 

Editor’s note: This is part of a series on Cumberland County high school spring football workouts.

After back-to-back 0-11 seasons, Douglas Byrd finally got in the win column last year with a 4-7 record that included 3-5 in the Patriot Athletic Conference. While head coach Mike Paroli was glad to see some improvement, he’s concerned that building on the positives of last season will be difficult this fall.

“We really only have eight returners off that team and only four seniors,’’ he said. “We had some great seniors that will be difficult to replace. And we have the production of Earlee Melvin, which is very difficult to replace.’’

Melvin, who came to Byrd from Cape Fear, sparked the Eagle offense a year ago with a Cumberland County Schools best of 1,713 yards from scrimmage and 20 rushing touchdowns.

There will be a big load on four-year starter John Carroll, a versatile player who could be at quarterback, running back or wide receiver for the Eagles.

As a running back last season, he gained 266 yards and scored three touchdowns.

Alton Simmons, another Cape Fear transfer, will also be counted on at running back. He rushed for 201 yards and three touchdowns for Cape Fear last season.

Another key returner is Zyon McEachin in the offensive line, who will man the left tackle position.

“This year we’re trying to continue the legacy Coach Bob Paroli built and trying to give Coach Mike Paroli a legacy to build on,’’ McEachin said. “We want to make our record better than we had last year.’’

McEachin said the current Byrd football team is committed to growing the program. “We want to try to get connected to the middle schools so we can have some middle schoolers come over and help build the team, make the population better on the team,’’ he said. “We have to replace the players that are moving on, fill in the spots.’’

McEachin said the goal for this year is to be a better role model for the younger players. “We want to leave a good footprint on the field so they have someone to look up to when we move on,’’ he said.

Paroli expects the Patriot Athletic Conference to again be a tough league. “You’ve got the 4-A teams (South View and Pine Forest) and then Cape Fear and Terry Sanford, which in reality are still 4-A teams,’’ he said.

He’s not sure Byrd will be a serious contender for the state playoffs this season. “I don’t think we’re in that conversation yet,’’ he said.

“Maybe the year after this one, with only four seniors starting, we should return most of the team, if we can get a good ninth grade class in here and keep them with us.’’

Pictured: Zyon McEachin

For a second time, the restored Hope Mills dam has been recognized with a national award for its design and construction. The town recently announced that the dam has been awarded the Envision Bronze Award from the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure. Don Sisko, head of public works for the town of Hope Mills, said the award is presented to projects like the Hope Mills dam on the basis of their resilience and sustainability.

Sisko said the award was based on 64 grading criteria. The dam has already been through two hurricanes since the water was impounded behind it, but Sisko said he’s not sure if that was part of the grading criteria that earned Hope Mills the award.

In his work with the dam, Sisko said it has been relatively carefree to maintain. “You always anticipate you’re going to find a little glitch here or there,’’ he said. “As far as actual operation of the dam goes, we’ve not had any problems with that.

“We’ve done our standard maintenance. I haven’t had to do anything out of the ordinary.’’

Currently, the levels in Hope Mills Lake are low to allow for the installation of a permanent bulkhead along one shoreline, where the will public have access.

Sisko said there has been no problem during that time with dissolved oxygen levels, nor any reports of fish kills downstream from the lake. It also hasn’t interfered with any downstream work projects.

“It’s worked as advertised,’’ Sisko said of the dam. “Like I tell folks, it was designed based on good scientific practices and built on good construction practices.’’

The town’s elected leaders, including Commissioners Jessie Bellflowers and Pat Edwards and Mayor Jackie Warner, all praised the work of Schnabel Engineering and ASI Constructors, builders of the dam.

“The Schnabel engineering design team collaborated with the town of Hope Mills Lake Advisory Committee, town officials and public involvement,’’ Bellflowers said. “As a community, we are extremely proud of this national award-winning project that serves the quality-of-life needs of our community for years to come.’’

Edwards praised the members of the previous Board of Commissioners who chose Schnabel and ASI for the building of the new dam. “The people we worked with and the geniality we had with everybody, and a board that worked together as a team, you can get a lot more accomplished,’’ she said. “The dam is beautiful. I love it. Everybody loves it.’’

While proud of the award, Warner expressed sadness that town leaders like the late Edwin Deaver and Bob Gorman were not alive to see the result of their hard work.

Warner, Deaver and Gorman were part of the traveling team representing the town that went to Concord, Charlotte and Raleigh during the process of choosing Schnabel and ASI to oversee the dam’s construction.

“It would have been nice if they had been around for that first ribbon cutting,’’ Warner said of Deaver and Gorman, adding in the names of former mayors Al Brafford and Eddie Dees.

“It’s a sustainable design, meaning it should last for many years,’’ Warner said. “It has already withstood two hurricanes and a whole bunch of bad weather. I think it has taken the test already (that) you might not have expected it to take for lots of years.’’

The Hope Mills dam, pictured left under normal conditions, has already withstood two hurricanes, pictured right. It recently won its second national award for its design and construction. 

The Vision Resource Center has been around since 1936, but it incorporated in 1939. In 1936, a group of Sunday School teachers got together and decided they were going to become The Association for the Blind. In 1939, they incorporated and worked with the Department of Social Services to become The Center for the Blind. The Vision Resource Center was one of the first four United Way of Cumberland County agencies. Since then, the organization has worked to make life for the visually impaired in the community better.

“Currently we have 676 blind and visually impaired adults and kids in Cumberland County,” said Terri Thomas, executive director of the VRC. “Right now, we are actually working with 250 of those individuals; 230 of them are adults, and 20 of them are kids.”

Thomas added that there are a lot of blind and visually impaired individuals in the county that the VRC does not know about as those individuals are not on the blind registry.

These are exciting times for the VRC, as the organization moves from the Dorothy Gilmore Recreation Center to its new home on Cedar Creek Road. “I would like to thank the city for allowing us to be in the Dorothy Gilmore Recreation Center for 10-plus years,” said Thomas. “Without them, we would not have been able to expand into what we have become now.” 

VRC was previously housed in a 199-square-foot facility at the Dorothy Gilmore Recreation Center. The new facility is a 2,700-square-foot building on 7 acres of land located at 2736 Cedar Creek Rd.

“Now we are going to be able to provide more things within our own location,” said Thomas. “We will have assistive technology skills training, our own gym, a kitchen for cooking classes, a conference room and more.”

Thomas added that the benefit of the VRC having its own facility is that the blind and visually impaired will have more opportunity for freedom and independence. They will be able to enjoy a cup of coffee, play games, listen to music, sit in a rocking chair and listen to the birds chirp. They have a place they can come to that’s outside of their homes, where they can stay as long as they want to and go home when they want. Thomas noted that this is one of the benefits of having a house — the therapeutic nature of the space.
“We now have a conference room area for the National Federation for the Blind to meet in, and we have families with support groups,” said Thomas. “Our blind and visually impaired members have a place that they can come and hang out instead of … sitting at home by themselves.”
Thomas has been executive director of the VRC for nine years and has fought for many of the things these individuals have needed.

“I came to the Vision Resource Center in 2010 by way of one of my blind friends at church who told me that she had a job for me working with the blind,” said Thomas. “I ended up at the Vision Resource Center with no (experience working with people who are blind) and just a will to help people.

“Everything that we do to enhances their lives deals with mind, body and spirit.”

Thomas added that VRC believes in wellness and in incorporating a lot of physical fitness for those who are physically able to participate. “We do exercise classes, ensure they do their elliptical, treadmill, ride bikes, walk at the John D. Fuller Recreation Center and other activities,” said Thomas.    
 

“Our next thing is socialization, which is key (for) people who are visually impaired because they don’t really get out, and they are not around people like them,” said Thomas. “They talk about how their family does not get it and (how) being around other blind people is something that they strive to do.”

Some of the activities with VRC include going to plays, eating lunch at various restaurants, visiting the beach, surfing, horseback riding, arts and crafts, making pottery, and visiting the Cape Fear Botanical Garden, Durham Performing Arts Center in Durham, PNC Arena in Raleigh and more.

“The core of all of it is more about the socialization and camaraderie between people that have a (similar) disability,” said Thomas. “We’ve made the things that seem impossible possible by doing whatever we can to make whatever activity they enjoyed when they had sight, the same way without sight.”

Some of the assistive technology equipment that blind and visually impaired individuals use includes 20/20 pens, Bump dots, iPhones, iPads, Wi-Fi service, Ruby magnifiers, CC TVs, Penfriend Audio Identifiers and other items. “People can have low vision but can’t see well enough to drive,” said Thomas.

The VRC will host Out of Sight Night at the Park Saturday, Sept. 21, from 6-10 p.m. at Segra Stadium. It’s the seventh annual “Out of Sight” fundraising event for the organization.

“We will have heavy hors d’oeuvres, vendors, activities, the Guy Unger Band, and a Game of Chance,” said Thomas. “Cocktail attire will be the attire this year.”
 

Thomas said there will be a different spin on the silent auction this year called the Game of Chance. Participants will be able to pick their fate with what kinds of gifts they like instead of writing down how much they want to pay for it.

“This year, instead of individuals wearing blindfolds, we are going to purchase glasses that have different levels of visual impairments; a sponsor will be supporting those,” said Thomas.

“As you walk around with your glasses, you will be able to see what it is like with different visual impairments. We have to educate people on what blind and visually impaired is not,” said Thomas. “It is my duty to make sure the Fayetteville community knows all about it.”
 

Tickets for Out of Sight Night at the Park cost $75. Segra Stadium is located at 460 Hay St. For more information, visit the website at
www.visionresourcecentercc.org or
call 910-483-2719.

In Raleigh, our elected scramble to gather the votes needed to override the governor’s veto of the budget. Much hangs in the balance for Fayetteville and Cumberland County as projects that would create thousands of jobs, enhance our community’s economic development and elevate our quality of life all hinge on the governor’s obsession with expanding Medicaid in North Carolina. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper is engaged in partisan politics. He is trying to impress his fellow left-leaning political cronies by demonstrating he’s a team player willing to reject the state budget to bring North Carolina into the fold by implementing Medicaid expansion. And, with support from political opportunists like freshman Sen. Kirk deViere, D-District 19, Cooper has put Fayetteville/Cumberland County’s $132 million infusion into our community in jeopardy. 

It is obvious in this situation that self-serving politics are taking priority over the governed people. If the budget veto stands, there will be many losers throughout the state.

The good news is that our Cumberland County delegation has demonstrated a refreshing display of unity, cooperation and communication when it comes to the needs and priorities of the people in our county.

Republican Rep. John Szoka has been diligent in his efforts to elevate the status of Cumberland County and to support the projects that will have a long-term and meaningful effect on the entire community. But the real soldiers in this fight to bolster our community are Democratic Reps. Elmer Floyd and Billy Richardson.

Floyd and Richardson have taken a tremendous amount of heat from fellow Democrats who will only side with their party because that is the thing they are expected to do — regardless of logic or ethics. Win or lose this battle over the budget, we can see who the leaders with integrity and character are. Win or lose, the true leaders will wake up every morning knowing they tried to do the right thing for the residents of Fayetteville and Cumberland County.

Win or lose, Floyd and Richardson have earned the respect of their constituents, who will not soon forget these representatives’ fight to remain diligent in their desire to create a stronger, more vibrant, more competitive Cumberland County for residents and future generations.

We have responsible leadership with vision — leaders who are willing to place people over politics while assuring citizens of Fayetteville and Cumberland County that we will be taking our place alongside the larger and more prosperous cities in our state. It is this delegation that, along with a substantial number of residents, businesses and organizations, has worked for years to improve our community. For too long we have watched while other North Carolina communities received special favors and funding from our state legislature while ignoring the needs of Cumberland County, allowing us to slowly become a Tier 1 county.

Many of our former legislators worked hard to improve Cumberland County and Fayetteville. Their efforts laid the groundwork for this current delegation to garner support for these much-needed projects — projects that will impact this community’s quality of life for decades.

This 2020-2022 state budget, if the veto is overruled, would bring a whopping $132 million to our county in projects that will benefit the entire community. These projects could net Cumberland County $20-$40 million a year in additional revenues. Think of what that will mean to this community. This budget is a once-in-a-lifetime win-win for Fayetteville and Cumberland County.

A special thanks to Republican Rep. Szoka and Democratic Reps. Floyd, Richardson and Marvin Lucas and Democratic Sen. Ben Clark for leading this charge. Again, win or lose, these gentlemen have drawn a line in the sand.

·        $12 million for the North Carolina Civil War and Reconstruction History Center; $3 million in year two with anticipation of a total payout of $46 million in the years ahead

·        $8 million to fund Cape Fear Valley Medical Center’s physician residency program

·        $1.85 million for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park

·        $1.5 million for Kingdom Community Development affordable housing construction

·        $900,000 for the North Carolina Military Business Center headquartered in Fayetteville, each year for two years

·        $750,000 for Airborne & Special Operations Museum’s renovation fund

·        $750,000 for the Cumberland County Veterans Healthcare Program

·        $16.2 million to Fayetteville State University

·        $20 million to Fayetteville Technical Community College

Opportunities like these don’t just happen. To make projects of this magnitude a reality for any community, it takes hard work, diligent legislative maneuvering and thousands of local residents, businesses and organizations spending time, energy and money. It takes forward-thinking an and understanding of the needs of our community by a dedicated group of hard-working, business-savvy political leaders who care more about their constituents than they do about themselves or their political futures.

This is why it is vitally important that we support and encourage our local delegation to stay the course and stand up for Fayetteville/Cumberland County by keeping people before politics. Encourage them to pursue the $132 million and reject Cooper’s veto.

For some Democrats, it will be a bold and challenging move. However, it will demonstrate to everyone in Fayetteville, Cumberland County and the rest of North Carolina that our leadership has the integrity, vision and talent needed to aggressively move our community forward by doing the right thing for the right reasons. No one said it would be easy, but that’s what real leadership is all about. The rewards will be many, and the consequences are few.

Again, a very special thank you to our hardworking local delegation: Clark, Szoka, Lucas, Floyd and Richardson. Keep up the good work.

Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

Photos, top to bottom: Rep. Elmer Floyd, Rep. Billy Richardson, and Rep. John Szoka 

When asked to single out the best players on his state championship Hope Mills National 8U Dixie Youth Baseball team, coach Jesse Cox couldn’t come up with an answer. “I love all 12 of them,’’ he said. “Every kid did a job and did it well.’’

Cox, who has been coaching Dixie Youth baseball for six years, will join his fellow coaches and the national team on a long ride to Ruston, Louisiana, for the Dixie Youth 8U World Series. Opening ceremonies are July 26. Hope Mills will begin pool play at 9 a.m. the next morning against Alabama and then at noon against South Carolina.

This is Cox’s second year coaching in Hope Mills, after previously coaching in Gray’s Creek. The all-star team he is taking to Louisiana is composed of players from the four teams in the Hope Mills 8U league. There are eight players from Cox’s regular-season team with four more coming from the other teams in the league.

Cox said he got input from his fellow coaches and their wives when putting the all-star team together.

The 8U level in Dixie Youth is what’s known as a coach-pitch league. The players from each team don’t pitch in the games. A coach from each team pitches to his own players when they are at bat while the opposing team is in the field playing defense. There is a pitcher on field with the coach who is pitching, but that pitcher only plays the position as a defender.

Each batter gets five pitches to try and hit the ball. If the batter strikes out normally on three strikes, that’s an out. If the batter fails to put the ball in play in five pitches, he’s declared out.

Since there’s no way to scout the opposition before going to the World Series in Louisiana, Cox said he’s focusing on the basics with his team along with trying to raise money any way possible to help pay the team’s many expenses for the 13-hour trip.

“We are preparing for another tournament, the next six innings of baseball,’’ Cox said. “We keep a level-headed focus with these guys so they don’t see any intimidation factor.

“We make them feel like, mentally, they can play with anybody. That’s how we approach every practice and every game.’’

Cox said there have been no changes to the way the team practices, just sticking with fundamental baseball.

The top two teams in each division of pool play at the World Series will advance to the eight-team double elimination championship bracket. The teams that fail to qualify will be placed in a consolation bracket where they will compete separately before heading home.

L to R: Coach Jonathan Ransom, Hunter Matthews, Dallas Lupo, Tanner Parrish, Joshua Ransom, Colt Burns, Landon Lusignan, Gavin Bowen, Coach Joshua Lusignan, Noah Reivera, Coach Jesse Cox, Ziriyon Campbell, Aiden Petereson-McAlexander, Corey Cox and Jonathan Lupo.

Cox’s team has held a number of fundraisers, including seeking corporate sponsors for a banner. If anyone would like to make a last-minute contribution to the team before they leave July 26, contact Cox at 910-308-5524.

If you’re looking for raucous celebrations from coach Doren Kolasa and his Hope Mills Angels 10U state champion Dixie Youth softball team, you’ll quickly be disappointed.

“We don’t jump up, and we don’t act silly,’’ Kolasa said of his team when they win. But it’s not because they’re an unhappy bunch — just a respectful one. “We teach them to stay humble. Make sure (they) understand somebody lost. We have time to celebrate later.’’

Kolasa’s team has been doing a lot of celebrating so far in the run through the state Dixie Youth 10U tournament. The team now finds itself headed to Alexandria, Louisiana, and a trip to the 10U Dixie Youth World Series.

Kolasa has been pleased with the way this 12-player group of all-stars has meshed in the postseason.

“I think they the first thing is communication,’’ he said. “It’s hard to get players to communicate.’’

In addition to communication, Kolasa has some genuine talent on the team, starting with pitcher August “Little A” Kebort. “This is a girl people need to watch,’’ he said. “She struck me out the other day in practice.’’

Kebort has been striking a lot of people out. In 20.2 innings, she has 52 strikeouts. She’s also the team’s top hitter, with an .850 batting average.

Another pitching standout is Haylee Lamb, who has 17 strikeouts in 9.2 innings. A surprise addition to the rotation is Jaycee Parnell, who was the catcher most of the season. In the postseason she’s pitched 8.2 innings with 19 strikeouts.

Parnell is also a leading hitter, with a .650 batting average, along with Kolasa’s daughter, McKinley “Boo Boo” Kolasa. She’s batting .556 and is also a defensive star at first base. Another defensive standout is Jazelle Young at third base.

At press time, the full schedule for the World Series had not been set.
After opening-day ceremonies July 26, Hope Mills is scheduled to play Georgia in the first game of the nine-team double elimination event July 27.

“For the last three or four months, we’ve told them defense wins championships,’’ Kolasa said. “Nothing is going to change. We always talk about focusing on fundamentals. Stick with basics. That seems to dial them in pretty good.’’

Anyone wishing to make a last-minute contribution to the team before they leave on July 25 can contact the Hope Mills Youth Association via its Facebook page.

Adults: Head coach Doren Kolasa, assistant coaches Brandon Boone and Mike Johnson
Players: Haylee Lamb, Lizzie Johnson, Dania Berry, August Kebort, Olivia Herron, McKinley Kolasa, Meadow Critchfield, Jazelle Young, DeeDee Rivera, Kenzie Smith,
Jaycee Parnell, Zee Owens

South View track athlete Isaiah Fultz made history and won a state championship earlier this year in a rented wheelchair with a flat tire. Now the school is trying to get him a chair he can call his own.

Fultz, who was left paralyzed after a childhood car accident, became the first Cumberland County athlete to compete and win an event in the wheelchair division of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 4-A track meet this spring. He won in the 100-meter wheelchair division with a time of 21.91 seconds.

So far, Fultz has been competing in a rented wheelchair that costs $150 a month. In addition to the cost of renting the chair, he had to spend additional money for repairs during the recent track season.

The week of this year’s state championship meet proved to be a nightmare for Fultz, South View athletic director Chad Barbour and South View track coach Jesse Autry. The Monday of the state track meet, Fultz had a tire to blow out on his wheelchair. Barbour took it to a local vendor, who promised to have it repaired in time for the meet. The day of the meet, the vendor had not received the new tire for the chair, and it wasn’t ready. Barbour and Autry picked it up and did the best they could to patch the tire so Fultz could race.

“He actually could have raced a lot faster,’’ Barbour said after Fultz won in his broken chair.

So this summer, Barbour began pricing racing wheelchairs and found one that sold for $3,055. Barbour started a fundraiser for the chair, but so far has only raised $150.

Barbour said the investment in the chair on Fultz’s behalf would be worth it to potential donors. “He’s the type of kid, if you get him what he needs, he’s going to be out there putting in the work,’’ Barbour said. “He’s as determined a young athlete as I’ve ever seen. He’s just a great kid who inspires me to do my job better.’’

Donations of any amount are welcome and can be dropped off at South View High School during normal summer business hours or mailed to Barbour at the school mailing address: 4184 Elk Rd., Hope Mills, NC 28348.

Barbour said checks should be made out to South View High School/Chad Barbour.

Photo: Isaiah Fultz currently relies on a rented chair for racing

Syndicated columnist Leonard Pitts Jr. published a column earlier this month in the Raleigh News and Observer with the arresting headline, “What will we do when there are no newspapers?”

What, indeed?

Friends have told me that they do not use electronic readers because they prefer the physical feel of actual books, and others say the same about reading newspapers instead of online editions. It is the same sentiment regarding two different forms of communication, and the difference is, of course, that books are static. They do not change unless their authors issue updated editions. Newspapers, by nature, are different every day and require daily — now hourly, even second-to-second updates. As do broadcast and electronic media, they require massive volumes of information, hard news and many other kinds of stories, that require large staffs and vast amounts of money to churn out regularly.

That is one of the main reasons the newspaper — as we have known it since the inception of the United States and even before — is endangered. Newspaper readers fret about their shrinking size, both physically and in terms of content. Another big reason for their decline is that newspapers appear once a day, and much of what they tell us we already know from the internet, television and radio. The internet, CNN and other media tell us in seconds what we used to find out the next morning in our daily paper.

If — maybe when — newspapers as we know them do disappear, there will still be news, of course. The internet, CNN and other media will surely keep us informed about what the president is up to, which aspect of climate change is currently scaring us to death and what Prince Harry, Meghan and baby Archie are doing over the weekend. What we will have a much harder time learning is what our local legislative delegation is doing for — or to — us in Raleigh or when the governor is coming to town. If no one is reporting on our city council or county commissioners, it is more convenient for us to attend those meetings ourselves than it is to take a road trip to the General Assembly in Raleigh. Realistically, though, most of us are not going to make the effort.

Hence, Leonard Pitts’ scary column, which points out a 2018 University of North Carolina School of Media and Journalism report that we have lost nearly 1,800 newspapers across our nation since 2004. The future is upon us, and it looks devoid of newspapers and local and regional journalism.

Here is how Pitts describes our situation.

“The passing of newspapers would have a devastating impact on the coverage of local events. The hole they leave would not be filled by CNN, whose original reporting tends to center on national — usually political — news. It would not be filled by local TV, whose original reporting tends to begin and end with street crime, weather and sports. And it would not be filled by social media, whose original reporting tends to be nonexistent.

“Bottom line, it would not be filled. If you’re living in a news desert and the mayor is crooked, the cops corrupt or the businessmen pervy, how would you know? Chances are, you would not.”

The demise of newspapers is a clear case of not appreciating what we have until we lose it. We newspaper readers have taken it for granted that local and regional reporters will keep us informed about actions that affect us, especially governmental actions. We have taken it for granted that local newspaper editorial staffs will help interpret the world around us and what it means for us and our families.

It is increasingly our own responsibility to find outlets we can trust not just to feed us their points of view but to give us concrete and truthful information. It is increasingly our own responsibility to interpret what we learn and what it means for our communities.

It is all we can do until new local and regional media emerge in whatever forms they take.

Meetings

For details about all meetings and activities, including location where not listed, call Town Clerk Jane Starling at 910-426-4113.

• Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee Monday, July 22, 6:30 p.m., Parks and Recreation Center

• Appearance Commission Tuesday, July 23, 6:30 p.m., Parks and Recreation

• Veterans Affairs Commission Thursday, July 25, 6 p.m., Parks and Recreation Center

Activities

• Good2Grow Farmers Market Saturday, Aug. 3, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., between Town Hall and Parks and Recreation Building.

• Hope Mills Area Kiwanis Club at Sammio’s, second Tuesdays at noon and fourth Tuesdays at 6 p.m. For details, call 910-237-1240.

• Hope Mills Parks and Recreation Senior programs at Parks and Recreation Building. Senior programs are for those ages 55 and up who are residents of Cumberland County. Various activities, especially Zumba classes, are scheduled Monday through Sunday throughout the day. For details on times and days, check the schedule at townofhopemills.com. You can call the recreation center at 910-426-4109 or e-mail Kasey Ivey at kivey@townofhopemills.com.

• Hope Mills Parks and Recreation is currently accepting registration for men’s and coed adult softball for the fall 2019 season. Registration will end Aug. 3 or when all leagues are filled, and the season will begin Aug. 12. The cost is $500 per team. For additional information, call 910-308-7651.

Promote yourself: Email hopemills@upandcomingweekly.com.

It’s been 14 years since the first National Day of the Cowboy. Once a year, on the fourth Saturday of July, cowboys and cowgirls all over the country strap on their boots in memory of the Wild West and the simple yet strong values that came with it. The folks at 7 Branch Farm in Lumber Bridge, North Carolina, celebrate and embody these values, including good stewardship, honesty and hard work, in their everyday lives.

The public is invited to celebrate 7 Branch’s sixth annual National Day of the Cowboy on Friday night, July 26, and Saturday night, July 27.

The rodeo includes all the favorite pastimes of the Old West, including cowboy mounted-shooting. This attraction consists of horsemen shooting .45 caliber pistols at targets while riding horses, according to Buddy Blackman, general manager of 7 Branch Farm.

Professional entertainer Cowpaty the Rodeo Clown will be back as will the Carolina Stars Trick Riders. Carolina Stars Leslie Reed and Lori Graham are the original trick riders from the Dixie Stampede, and they’ve worked with 7 Branch Farm since its first National Day of the Cowboy, according to Blackman.

The duo is trained in adrenaline-spiking stunts: “Trick riders stand on top of (the horses), ride on the side of them, ride them backwards,” Blackman said. Perhaps because of Carolina Stars, 7 Branch’s National Day of the Cowboy rodeo just keeps growing and growing. “Every year, we have to add more bleachers,” Blackman said. For the same reason, he also encourages attendees to arrive early with lawn chairs in hand.

There will be plenty for the kids to do, too, including bounce houses, face painting, free pony rides and a bucking machine, which both kids and adults can ride. Raging Rooster Catering, along with taco trucks and ice cream venders, will provide refreshments. Snow cones, funnel cakes and other concession foods will also be available, Blackman said. In the spirit of family-friendliness, there will be no alcohol at the event.

The fun continues with a few highenergy competitions. According to Blackman, 64 competitors from all along the East Coast will perform in bareback horse riding, saddle bronc riding, bull riding, calf roping, team roping, steer wrestling, cowgirls breakaway roping and barrel racing.

There’s a reason this event draws so many competitors to 7 Branch — 14 more this year than last year. “We were the first one in North Carolina,” Blackman said, speaking about the rodeo. When the National Day of the Cowboy Organization reached out to 7 Branch to start a North Carolina-based rodeo, the farm stepped up to the plate. To this day, 7 Branch is the only sanctioned venue in North Carolina that hosts National Day of the Cowboy.

National Day of the Cowboy began in 2005 when Wyoming’s late U.S. Sen. Craig Thomas sponsored the event as a day to celebrate the contribution of the cowboy and cowgirl to America’s heritage and culture. The event has been growing ever since. In fact, North Dakota passed the National Day of the Cowboy bill into law in April of this year, the 14th state to do so since 2005.

A piece of the culture celebrated at this event is the lifestyle exemplified by America’s cowboys. The Wild West didn’t have a written law for frontiersmen and frontierswomen to live by. In fact, these people took pride in following their own unwritten rules rather than those set by the federal government. Today, cowboys are remembered for the principled way of life outlined in the following Code of Conduct.

The National Day of the Cowboy Code of Conduct for Cowboys & Cowgirls:

1. Live each day with honesty and courage.

2. Take pride in your work. Always do your best.

3. Stay curious. Study hard and learn all you can.

4. Do what has to be done and finish what you start.

5. Be tough, but fair.

6. When you make a promise, keep it.

7. Be clean in thought, word, deed and dress.

8. Practice tolerance and understanding of others.

9. Be willing to stand up for what’s right.

10. Be an excellent steward of the land and its animals.

Like the cowboys of the frontier, the people at 7 Branch know something about hard work. Blackman’s father, Ron Payne, started the family-run farm 10 years ago with only eight acres. Today, 7 Branch boasts 30-plus acres and hosts several rodeos and training events every year.

The family also gives back to the community. Part of the rodeo’s proceeds benefit Cape Fear Valley’s Friends of the Cancer Center, which 7 Branch has supported for several years.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.dayofthecowboync.com or at the gate. Tickets are $15 per person, and kids 3 years old and under get in free. Active-duty military receives one free child pass with a paying adult. Gates open at 5 p.m., and the event begins at 8 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday night. 7 Branch Arena is located just outside Hope Mills at 62 McGougan Rd., Lumber Bridge. For more information, call 910-813-7881.

Former coworkers at South View High School and friends from the education community remember McKinley “Macky” Hall Jr. as a devoted supporter of education who had a strong loyalty to his many friends in the South View school district. Hall, a former football coach, Hope Mills political leader and longtime school board member, died earlier this month at the age of 85.

Bobby Poss was head football coach at South View during Hall’s final years as the school’s athletic director. He had a special nickname for Hall no one else used, calling him Tiger One.

“He was so encouraging and supportive,’’ said Poss, who guided the Tigers to their only state 4-A football championship in the fall of 1991. “He was a great administrator but also a very good friend. That’s all he tried to do, be a helper. He was thinking and the wheels were turning.’’

When Poss arrived at South View in 1989, the school had never made the North Carolina High School Athletic Association football playoffs in its previous 17 years.

Poss was placing his first equipment order with Hall, and Hall asked if there was anything missing. Poss told Hall that at his previous job at Seventy-First, he always ordered new socks for his team to wear in the state playoffs.

“South View had never been to the playoffs, but Macky said we better order playoff socks,’’ Poss recalled. South View finished the 1989 season 9-4 and won the first two state football playoff games in school history.

“We ordered playoff socks and we got to wear them,’’ Poss said. “That was an example of the kind of encouraging he can do for a guy.’’

Poss said Hall did the same for other South View coaching legends like Randy Ledford, Ron Miller and Eddie Dees.

“I don’t think a coach ever felt slighted by Macky,’’ Poss said. “He was the first all-in guy before it became a popular term.’’

Greg West served with Hall on the Cumberland County Board of Education. He called Hall a pleasure to work with and someone who cared deeply about schools, both the buildings and the people in them.

“He didn’t raise his voice, and he spoke to the point and spoke his mind,’’ West said. “He wasn’t confrontational. He worked with people to try to talk you into seeing it his way.’’

Current South View athletic director Chad Barbour first got to know Hall five years ago when Barbour took over the position. Though retired, Barbour said Hall continued to show support for the schools, and especially South View.

“Anything you look at as far as South View athletics and the success we’ve had in the past is basically a direct reflection of his efforts here as athletic director,’’ Barbour said. “He was the engineer behind that great state championship run.’’

Over a period of about a half-dozen years just before and after Hall stepped down as South View athletic director, the Tigers won state championships in baseball, football, boys golf, boys basketball and softball.

“He got the right coaches in place, gave them what they needed, and they built somewhat of a dynasty through his leadership,’’ Barbour said. “That carried over for many years.’’

Even after his health began to fail, Barbour said, Hall was a regular at South View home football games and was instrumental in getting the school a larger, modernized press box. Unsuccessful attempts have been made to have the press box named in Hall’s honor.

“He held South View very near and dear to his heart,’’ Barbour said.

Former Cumberland County Schools student activities director Fred McDaniel coached with Hall when the latter was head football coach at Terry Sanford in the mid-1970s.

“He was really an advocate for kids,’’ McDaniel said. “As a board member, he was concerned with athletes, not so much winning and losing, but our integrity, making kids do the right thing. He worked hard for kids and their well-being, giving them the best opportunity.’’

Hope Mills Mayor Jackie Warner followed Hall's work as athletic director at South View and recalled he was a familiar fixture at town events, athletic fields and restaurants.

“He was involved in the community beyond being on the school board,’’ Warner said. “He was always very active until the last few months.’’ 

Warner said Hall was part of a special time when South View was the only school in Hope Mills, before Jack Britt and Gray’s Creek opened.

“It was the height of school spirt in Hope Mills,’’ she said. “That was when they decorated the town orange and black.’’ This was something that Tiger One certainly appreciated.

Photo: McKinley "Macky" Hall

My apologies to the two or three of you who had the misfortune to read my recent column about our Alaska trip. That column was written under the influence of jet lag and the king of all sinus infections, which I obtained in the 49th state. Being cranky and ill, I was unfair to Alaska. Mea culpa Alaska, you are wonderful. My fourth-grade teacher, Ms. Delgrande, would have probably given me a B on that column. Her daughter Susan Delgrande, out of kindness, gave me an A. Let us look back in gratitude to the great state of Alaska.

We flew out of RDU. The lengthy line for TSA review resembles Walt Disney World’s queue for Space Mountain. The TSA has added something new, a starter’s line for fliers to stand behind until their row is called. You walk down a 30-foot strip as a drug-sniffing dog weaves in and out of the tourists. The lady next to me said, “I’m sure glad I left my brownies at home.”

After the usual soothing air travel experience, we arrived in Fairbanks in early afternoon. Our tour kept pushing something called the Alaskan Salmon Bake for only $99 for two. Being gullible, we went. A school bus picked up a flock of tourists at the hotel. We were hauled off like so much Soylent Green to the tourist shearing. Truth in advertising would demand it be called the Alaskan Tourist Bake. It was the Alaskan equivalent of Dillon S.C.’s South of the Border, or a Myrtle Beach all-you-can-stomach fried seafood buffet. All the salmon you could eat — along with a salad bar featuring brown lettuce. Wine and beer cost extra. The next day, after applying the rule that Tragedy + Time = Comedy, I realized the tourist food scam was funny.

There is a four-hour time difference between North Carolina and Alaska. Who knew there was a time zone beyond Pacific time? Alaska time, like the cheese, stands alone. The University of Alaska at Fairbanks has an excellent museum in which I slept through a highly educational movie about the aurora borealis. Fairbanks also has the first Moldovian restaurant I have ever seen featuring a specialty apparently called Placenta Primavera. Yum.

The rumors about Alaska being the land of the midnight sun are true. The sun does not disappear at night. It drops into a low crawl across the horizon moving from west to east and then starts back up into the sky in the morning. Watching the sun refuse to set was worth the price of admission. A side trip took us to a giant Alaskan Gold Dredge, which can scoop out entire mountains looking for gold. We got to pan for gold. We came up with $26 worth of gold, according to the proprietors. They did not offer to buy it back from us. However, the gift shop had necklaces for sale for $76 into which you could put your gold flakes to preserve your precious memories of your Klondike gold strike. They did give us a free cookie and coffee to go along with our gold. We took a picture next to the Alaskan pipeline to scare environmentalists.

The next overnight stop was near the mountain called Denali, which formerly was known as Mount McKinley. That is one large mountain. The restaurant there sold wine in a can. This allowed you to sit on the deck, drink canned wine and admire America’s tallest mountain while thinking profound thoughts. One thought was that there are very few fat tourists in Alaska. You have to be in reasonably good shape just to get there.

There is very little access to actual printed newspapers in Alaska. I read the same Wall Street Journal I brought from home for a week until I found a New York Times in Anchorage. You can get excellent shrimp and grits with a fried egg on top in Anchorage. Who knew low-country cooking would turn up in the north country? While we were in Anchorage, Trump got into a twitter war with Bette Midler, calling her a washed-up psycho. Kind of made me nostalgic for daily news.

Once on the cruise ship, I was pleased to learn they showed a different episode of “The Love Boat” TV show every day. There is nothing finer than a 1970’s TV show with faded stars from yesteryear finding love on the Love Boat. Captain Stubing, Dr. Bricker, Gopher, and Isaac the Bar Tender remain on board. I still can’t get the theme song out of my head: “Love, exciting and new/ Come aboard/ We’re expecting you/ Love, the sweetest reward/ Let it flow/ It flows back to you.”

Have you learned anything from this waste of your reading time? Probably not. However, I now strongly recommend going to Alaska. Once the jet lag and the sinus cooties disappeared, I was able to appreciate the wonders that comprise the Last Frontier. One last note, Alaska delights in selling T-shirts and hats that compare the size of Alaska to Texas. Size matters. Alaska is 2.5 times bigger than Texas.

Alaskan people are among the friendliest and most self-sufficient folks I have ever met. If you can smile where it gets 60 degrees below zero in the winter, you are America’s finest.

Fort Bragg is probably best known as headquarters of the famed 82nd Airborne Division. But it’s one of several major combat commands on post. They include U.S. Army Forces Command, Army Reserve Command, 18th Airborne Corps, Army Special Forces Command, the Army Special Operations Command, Joint Special Operations Command, John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, 95th Civil Affairs Brigade, 528th Sustainment Brigade (Airborne) and the 4th Military Information Support Group (Airborne). An estimated three dozen general officers, including a four-star and half a dozen three-star generals, are stationed at Pentagon South, as Fort Bragg is colloquially known.

A veteran of the 75th Ranger Regiment is on his way to Fort Bragg to become senior NCO of the secretive Joint Special Operations Command. Command Sgt. Maj. Craig Bishop is currently the senior non-commissioned officer of the 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley, Kansas. He was named to replace JSOC Command Sgt. Maj. David Blake, according to a Pentagon press release.

JSOC oversees elite special operations strike forces, including the Navy’s SEAL Team six, the Air Force’s 24th Special Tactics Squadron and the Army’s Delta Force, officially designated the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment. JSOC is also responsible for studying special operations requirements, ensuring equipment standardization and developing joint tactics among special operations forces.

Bishop enlisted in the Army in September 1992 from Sweetwater, Tennessee. Over the course of his Army career, he has performed all NCO leadership positions, from team leader to command sergeant major for the 75th Ranger Regiment. Bishop has been through all levels of the NCO education system, including Special Operations Command Summit course and the Joint Special Operations Forces Senior Enlisted Academy.

Bishop will serve under Air Force Lt. Gen. Scott Howell, JSOC commander and the first Air Force general to lead the legendary unit that was born out of the Iran hostage crisis in 1980.

Since 9/11, few elements of the U.S. military have been more involved in the fight against terrorism than soldiers of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, or USASOC. Established at Fort Bragg on Dec. 1, 1989, to enhance the readiness of Army Special Operations Forces, USASOC also functions as the Army component of the U.S. Special Operations Command, which is located at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. In Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom and numerous other hotspots around the world, USASOC soldiers have been among the first forces to deploy in support of U.S. and coalition force objectives.

Many of these soldiers, most of them having served in numerous combat rotations, remain deployed to those locations along with conventional forces and multinational partners to help ensure the success of all GWOT operations, whether in a frontline combat role or a humanitarian assistance function. Green berets ordinarily serve shorter deployments than traditional forces but are sent into combat more often.

Photo: Command Sgt. Maj. Craig Bishop

Publisher’s note: I am yielding this space to Rep. John Szoka, R-N.C. I have the highest respect for John and all our elected public servants, regardless of political affiliation. Up & Coming Weekly is proud to be the local community newspaper, and we welcome contributions without regard to race, religion or political affiliation. This unbiased diversity is what makes Up & Coming Weekly successful and uniquely appealing to our readers. The only mandatory requirement we have is that the writers own their words. This is why we require photos and bios to run with all content features. Our readers want to know who is speaking to them. It’s also the reason many politicians will not contribute. Our policy: “You say it! You own it!” — Bill Bowman, Publisher

In the aftermath of the governor’s veto of the budget, Democrats in the House who agreed to vote to override the veto have been labeled as disloyal to their governor and disloyal to the Democratic Party. How dare a Democrat step out of line? It’s “My party, right or wrong.”

These Democrat House members are being portrayed as disloyal traitors and are threatened with being primaried by their own party. In fact, some were called to the governor’s mansion and introduced face-to-face to their next Democratic primary election opponent if they don’t toe the line. Raw political threats by elected and appointed people in positions of great civic responsibility is disappointing and so very wrong, to say the least. But remember, it’s “My party, right or wrong.”

Equally disappointing are left-leaning organizations like Progress North Carolina. This organization is on social media claiming that Democrat Representative X is trading healthcare for pork, depicting a picture of a hog’s head and a stack of money right next to an unflattering photo of Representative X. Add to that the executive director of the North Carolina Justice Center, who was a guest on a local radio station last Thursday morning, echoing the same sentiments. Pork? Really? Funding the residency program at Cape Fear Valley Hospital is pork? Helping the town of Falcon repair its town hall when insurance came in about $60,000 short is pork? $20 million for capital improvements at Fayetteville Technical Community College, $16 million for capital improvements at Fayetteville State University and $28 million for new schools in Cumberland County is pork? Seriously? But remember, it’s “My party, right or wrong.”

North Carolina’s economy has been booming for the last several years. Because of prudent fiscal policy and controlled spending over the last four budget cycles, we have seen a dramatic increase in job creation and increasing wages. North Carolina’s unemployment rate is at a record low, and tax collections have outpaced budget estimates for the last four years because of our booming economy. These are the reasons we can fund these important and necessary projects across the state that might not otherwise be funded. Pork? Politically speaking, pork can be defined as spending money you don’t have for projects you don’t need. What this budget does is return the “good economy dividend” to its rightful owners, the taxpayers, for projects benefiting taxpayers.

House Democrats who’ve reached out across the aisle to work with Republicans — who have reached out to them in-kind — are being villainized and portrayed as party traitors. I thought this was called compromise. If I can believe even a small portion of what I see on TV, and read about in countless editorials, that’s exactly what everyone wants, compromise. And now everyone can see who is truly interested in compromise and who isn’t.

Working for our constituents by working together for the common good is, after all, why we were all sent to Raleigh. So, instead of recognizing and acknowledging these House Democrats for what they have been able to achieve in spite of their own party, they are subjected to disdain, criticism and disrespect from their party peers and leftleaning organizations. Reps. Billy Richardson and Elmer Floyd are two such public servants who don’t deserve the contempt and disdain being heaped upon them.

Actually, these two public servants deserve grateful appreciation, respect, support and thanks from their constituents and community. They understand that it’s not “My party, right or wrong,” but it’s about honoring their duty as public servants and doing the right thing for the right reasons for their constituents, community and state.

For this, gentlemen, I thank you — even if no one else will.

Photo: Democrat Reps. Elmer Floyd

The apprenticeship is over for Jarrod Britt at Pine Forest High School. Now he’s ready for the spotlight at Cape Fear.

After 10 years helping Tom Willoughby with the Trojan baseball team and another four guiding girls tennis to success, Britt has been named the head baseball coach at Cape Fear. He replaces longtime Colt head coach Wendell Smith.

Britt said that when he began his coaching career a decade ago, his ultimate goal was to become a head baseball coach. When the Cape Fear job came open, he conferred with Willoughby and then applied for the position.

Cape Fear’s tradition in baseball, which includes a state 3-A championship in 1994, had a lot to do with his decision. “There’s a lot of excellence (there) when it comes to baseball,’’ Britt said. “I have a lot of friends that teach there, too, so I knew it was a really good place to work.’’

Cape Fear is in a transition phase with its administration. Former South View and Scotland High School Principal Brian Edkins will be coming aboard to replace current Cape Fear Principal Lee Spruill.

“It was a plus when I found out Brian Edkins is going to be the principal,’’ Britt said. “He’s just a good guy, (a) really down to earth, honest person that I think I’m really going to enjoy working for.’’

The only bad thing about the timing of Britt’s hire is it won’t allow him to get in any summer work with his new team. The week of July 15-20 is the final dead period for high school coaches in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association to work with athletes this summer. By the time they return from that, the official start of football practice on Aug. 1 is looming.

“You don’t want to run into football season," Britt said. "You’ve got guys that want to play football, and they want them to be able to throw their full attention to that.

“Once the school year gets started and the first dead period is over, you get started with workouts. I want to make sure I have a chance to meet all the guys and kind of figure out what the program is going to look like.’’

Britt said he has high expectations for his first season at Cape Fear. “I’ve heard really good things from the people that were in the program and from the Mac Williams (Middle School) coach that had a pretty good class last year,’’ Britt said. “I’m excited about some of the guys coming up.’’

Britt said his first job will be to make his players understand they need to dedicate themselves to the game, while reminding them that it is a game and they shouldn’t let baseball alone define them.

“You play the game because you enjoy playing the game,’’ he said. “When you don’t enjoy playing the game anymore, you get off the field. If you don’t have fun, you’re not going to be successful.’’

Britt said he hopes to build relationships with his players and let them see how hard he works so they’ll be motivated to give him everything they have as well.

“Players want to play for guys that they enjoy being around and that they respect,’’ he said. “It’s building a foundation with them so right off the bat they know what I’m all about.’’

Photo: Jarrod Britt, pictured, replaces longtime Colt head coach Wendell Smith.