It’s been a little less than 10 years since the Gary Sinise Foundation lent a helping hand to the Cotton Volunteer Fire Department. The charitable organization was founded by Sinise, the actor known for roles in "Forrest Gump," "The Green Mile" and "Apollo 13." Now, the foundation has once again come to the aid of the Hope Mills fire station to help upgrade its equipment and ability to perform a wider variety of rescue operations.

Cotton Deputy Chief Hank Harris said the Sinise Foundation helped Cotton obtain a new inflatable boat for water rescue operations, along with an assortment of other rescue equipment.

Cotton’s first encounter with the Sinise Foundation took place about seven years ago following a tragic triple fatality fire. Harris said the foundation learned about the fire and reached out to the Cotton Fire Department to see if they could donate some equipment to help out.

“They were more than generous,’’ Harris said.

The latest help from the foundation is the result of Cotton Fire Department's growing need for a better ability to handle water rescues.

Harris said this need has grown because of an increase in localized flooding from heavy rain. Another factor has been the threat of widespread flooding in the area spawned by hurricanes.

The new rescue boat is a small model that can be quickly inflated and used in areas that are hard to access. Larger boats that need to be carried on a trailer, Harris said, don't work for tight spaces. He cited farm ponds as an example.

Among the additional equipment obtained thanks to the Sinise Foundation was a rope gun, which can be used over long distances like a flooded river or creek. The rope gun allows firemen to set up lines to help bring people to safety.

The remainder of the new equipment includes personal protective equipment for the firefighters who have to get in the water. Items like dry suits, thermal suit liners, helmets, gloves, boots and personal flotation devices are all part of that gear.

Harris said Cotton Fire Department got a list of prices for the assorted gear from their vendor. The Sinise Foundation paid the vendor directly, and the equipment was then shipped to the fire department.

Most of the firefighters are already trained in the use of the new equipment, Harris said. The few that aren’t will get in-house training and certification training at a later time when it’s available.

Harris said there aren’t a lot of resources of this nature in county firefighting stations. “We’re trying to up our game a little bit where our resources and equipment need to be,’’ he said. He added that Cotton would have eventually been able to purchase the equipment with its own money, but there would have been a considerable wait.

“It would have been a little bit here, a little bit there,’’ he said. Harris praised the work of Sinise and his foundation. “The foundation itself means a lot to first responders,’’ Harris said.

In addition to first responders, Harris said Sinise strongly supports military groups and builds houses for veterans. “He’s an amazing guy,’’ Harris said.

Not quite a year ago, as summer reigned across North Carolina, my beloved Station Wagon No. 7 — my home away from home, my filing system, my repository for everything I did not know where else to put — suddenly lost her air conditioning. I tried to tough it out until fall arrived, but the heat got me. When the verdict came that the A/C would cost almost half my beloved’s trade-in value, I bit the bullet and came away with Station Wagon No. 8. I felt terrible leaving my elderly 2010 model sweetheart in the dealer’s lot,tears I hoped no one saw.

Cars came a long way during the 20-teens. And my new one, an updated version of precious No. 7, has some fine features new to me, including a handy backup camera, a Bluetooth connection for audio books, lights that flash if another car is coming up beside mine, a selfdriving system that nudges me back into my lane should I stray into another, loud beeps if another vehicle or a person is close by, and automatic emergency braking. I am accustomed to these convenient features now, but my first reaction was, who knew? Highway safety experts say new technologies are making American roads and highways safer regardless of our national angst about “driverless cars.” Technology, it seems, can save us from some of our human frailties.

Technology is likely one of the reasons traffic crash fatalities fell by nearly 700 souls between 2016-18, although the U.S. Department of Transportation has not speculated on that.

Other aspects of our roadway safety are not so positive.

No matter how Americans might joke among ourselves about wild driving styles in other countries, particularly emerging nations, ours are the most dangerous roads in the industrialized world. Our fatality rate is nearly double those of Canada and Australia, even of Germany with its world-famous high-speed autobahns. Some of other nations’ declining fatality numbers have followed national highway safety campaigns, something the U.S has not undertaken recently. As David Leonhardt of The New York Times pointed out earlier this month, vehicle fatalities kill almost as many people in the U.S. as gun violence, although they receive far less public attention.

So, what’s our problem? It’s likely several issues.

We speed. The Governors Highway Safety Association recently issued a report subtitled “Rethinking a Forgotten Traffic Safety Challenge,” which asserts that nearly one-third of our traffic fatalities are caused by excessive speed. It cites “widespread public acceptance of speeding and lack of risk perception” among American drivers. A cruise along I-95 or I-40 confirms this public acceptance within seconds.

We talk tough on impaired driving, but we are not walking the walk. As a nation in love with our vehicles, we slap many impaired drivers on the wrist and send them back onto our roadways. Most communities, including ours, have lawyers who specialize in this area and have handsome incomes to prove it. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that someone dies every 51 minutes in an alcoholrelated crash. Prepare to hear more about legal moves to lower the legal blood alcohol limit from 0.08 to 0.05. That alone could save some of the 10,000 people who die in alcohol-related crashes every year in our nation.

“Distracted driving” is a term often used to describe texting and other technology use while driving, but it actually means everything we do in our cars that is not driving — eating, drinking, tuning the radio, looking at back seat passengers — the list is individual and endless. Americans are in our vehicles so much that we seem to forget that we should not do in them everything we do when we are out of them. Our driver’s ed teacher’s advice still holds — two hands on the wheel and eyes straight ahead.

Nervously but hopefully yours from behind the wheel of Station Wagon No. 8,

Margaret

Meetings

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

• Veterans Affairs Committee Thursday, June 27, 6 p.m., Parks and Recreation Center

• CANCELED: Festival Committee Monday, July 1, 6 p.m., Town Hall, Front Conference Room

• CANCELED: Board of Commissioners Monday, July 1, 7 p.m.

• Historic Preservation Commission Wednesday, July 10, 5 p.m., Parks and Recreation Building

• Board of Commissioners Monday, July 15, 7 p.m., Luther Board Room, Town Hall

• Lake Advisory Committee Tuesday, July 16, 6 p.m., Parks and Recreation Center

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

Activities

• Independence Day Parade and Celebration Thursday, July 4. Parade starts at 10 a.m. near Rockfish Elementary School. Celebration runs from 4-10 p.m. at Hope Mills Municipal Park.

• Good2Grow Farmers Market Saturday, July 6, 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.

Promote yourself: Email hopemills@upandcomingweekly.com.

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

The winning tradition established under Duran McLaurin continued at his alma mater, Seventy- First, last fall. The Falcons made the deepest run in the state football playoffs of any of the Cumberland County Schools, reaching the 4-A Eastern Regional finals before falling to Sandhills Athletic Conference rival Scotland. They finished the season with an 11-4 record.

To make a similar run this season, McLaurin will have to improve the Falcons’ depth and fill a big loss at quarterback caused by the graduation of multi-talented Kyler Davis.

McLaurin will coach Davis one last time next month. The two are scheduled to take part in the annual North Carolina Coaches Association East-West All-Star football game in Grimsley High School’s Jamieson Stadium in Greensboro.

“Losing Kyler is going to be a big area of concern for us,’’ McLaurin said. “We’re going to have to replace Kyler’s production at several positions.’’ McLaurin indicated the Falcons will need to get more offensive production from their running backs and receiver corps to offset Davis’ exit.

One player McLaurin is counting on is receiver Jermaine Johnson, who had 29 catches and two touchdowns last fall. There will also be some younger prospects joining the varsity from the Falcons’ last two successful junior varsity teams.

“Seventy-First has a winning tradition,’’ McLaurin said. “That’s what we do over here, and we’re going to try to continue that.’’

One key to that this season will be the play of two-way lineman Russell Hewett, who will again see action on the offensive and defensive fronts.

“We are depending on his veteran experience and leadership on both sides of the ball,’’ McLaurin said of Hewett. “He’s very important where it counts, in the trenches on the offensive and defensive lines. He’s one of our toughest players. We’re expecting a whole lot from him.’’

Hewett said the focus of Seventy-First’s spring workouts was to get better than the day before. “We just keep working so we can be successful this season and make it to the championship,’’ he said.

Whoever winds up playing quarterback for Seventy-First this year, Hewett said the pressure is on the offensive line to protect him. “We need to block for our quarterback,’’ he said. “Our key is just to block for them, and they’ll take us to the championships.’’

Photo: Russell Hewett

The Fayetteville Running Club presents its 6th Annual Firecracker 4 Miler Race on Thursday, July 4, at 7 a.m., at the North Carolina Veterans Park in downtown Fayetteville. The 1-mile fun run begins at 7:50 a.m.

“This is the event that the Fayetteville Running Club uses to support several different charities,” said David Wilkes, president of the club. “Our largest recipient is the Gold Star Teen Program. That sends the kids of a Gold Star family to camp, and they have different activities throughout the year.” Wilkes added that a Gold Star family is one that has lost a family member during that member’s military service.

“We also have two scholarships that we give out to two high school track or cross country runners,” said Wilkes. “We give one male and one female $1,000 a piece who are seniors and have participated on their cross country or track team during that time.”

Wilkes added that every month, the organization makes a $500 donation to a local charity. Some of those charities include The Rape Crisis Center, Operation Inasmuch, Action Pathways, the Autism Society, the Bicycle Man, Fayetteville Urban Ministry and more.

“We created a 4-mile route that highlighted many of the scenic and historical sites downtown,” said Wilkes of the July 4 run. “It goes through Arsenal Park behind the Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex, the various downtown water fountains, Freedom Memorial Park and other areas.”

Awards will be given to the top three overall winners and the top three male and female winners in each age category. All 4 Mile and 1 Mile finishers will receive a medal. There will be awards for most spirited, best costume, fastest wheels and more. Raffle prizes will be given. There will be fruit, beverages and music at the event.

“The Fayetteville Running Club’s mission is to support our community through living a healthy lifestyle, and there will be about 2,000 people who will show up for this event, which is one of the largest running races in town,” said Wilkes. “We look forward to everyone coming out to participate.”

Same-day registration begins at 6 a.m. The cost of the 4 Miler Race is $30. Packet pickup is Wednesday, July 3, from 4-8 p.m. at Fayetteville Otolaryngology, which is located at 1839 Quiet Cove Rd. Race-day parking is available at the Medical Arts Center and the parking garage on Franklin Street. For more information, visit https://its-go-time.com/firecracker-4-miler/.

Work has finally started on demolishing the home football grandstand at Terry Sanford High School. The structure beneath the bleachers had reached a point where it could no longer be repaired. For the 2019-20 school year, the Bulldog football, soccer and lacrosse teams will play home games at Reid Ross Classical High School's John Daskal Stadium. Plans are to return to the rebuilt Terry Sanford stadium in the fall of 2020.

There’s a longstanding opportunity to engage with this community’s arts and culture scene: Fayetteville’s monthly 4th Friday, sponsored by Cool Spring Downtown District. This month’s event, as usual, takes place in idyllic downtown Fayetteville. Set for June 28 from 6-10 p.m., its theme is “Love Local.”

“Love local” is an easy mandate to follow, as downtown is bursting with both longtime and new galleries, bookstores, bistros and shops to explore.

Cape Fear Studios and Gallery, located at 148- 1 Maxwell St., will hold an opening reception for its 2019 Nellie Allen Smith National Pottery Competition. The reception will last from 6-8 p.m., and the show will be up through July 23. CFS has hosted this competition for more than 20 years. The initial goal was to give local clay artists an opportunity to compete with their peers. The show has now grown to provide a nationally competitive stage, with entries coming in from across the U.S. To learn more, visit www. capefearstudios.com/monthly-exhibits or call 910-433-2986.

The Fayetteville Area Transportation & Local History Museum will hold a special 4th Friday celebration highlighting its current exhibit, “Baseball in Fayetteville.” This fun and educational exhibit focuses on the nearly 150 years of baseball history in this community — including the fact that Babe Ruth hit his first professional baseball home run here. It was also here that he picked up the nickname “Babe.”

The Market House, at the roundabout of Person, Hay, Green and Gillespie Streets, will open a new temporary exhibit, “Centennial of Pope Army Airfield,” from 6-9 p.m. The Market House’s permanent exhibit, “A View from the Square: A History of Downtown Fayetteville,” will also be open.

There’s also live music to enjoy. Alice Osborn, a Piedmont-area performer whose music and lyrics are rooted in folk Americana and the New South, will perform at Bright Light Brewing Company, 444 W Russell St. From 7-10 p.m., Osborn will play tunes that are upbeat and informed by her identity as both an accomplished poet and an American history buff. She is the president of the North Carolina Songwriters Coop and lives in Raleigh with her family. She also plays Celtic fiddle and bluegrass banjo. Visit www.aliceosborn.com to learn more about her, and call Bright Light at 910-339-0464 to learn more about her show in Fayetteville.

These are just a few of the many events and activities happening downtown June 28. For more information about 4th Friday, visit www.theartscouncil.com or call Cool Spring Downtown District at 910-223-1089.

Photo: Alice Osborn

Editor’s note: This piece first ran in Up & Coming Weekly on June 26, 2017. As we approach Independence Day, it’s fitting to recognize those who have embraced the liberties we have here.

Gregory Gorecki was a young boy living in Poland when the Germans invaded in 1939. Even as his country was ravaged and the unspeakable became his reality, young Gregory’s spirit yearned for freedom. By the time he was a teen, the Russians ruthlessly ruled his homeland, quelling ambitions and crushing dreams in the name of socialism. He was bright and ambitious: a trapped bird ensnared in a world void of freedom and personal choice. And freedom was all Gregory wanted, really — freedom to be the very best version of himself.

Gregory’s days were filled with hard work and drudgery. At night, he and his brother plotted their escape and dreamed of better days. They quietly planned for every possible scenario, vowing that one would not leave without the other. They knew their departure would mean hardship and government retribution for their loved ones and that consequences would be harsh should they be found out. The years passed, and Gregory became a physical therapist.

Freedom presented herself to the Gorecki brothers in 1960 at the Summer Olympics in Rome. They’d been approved to travel to the Olympics with the Russian competitors. Gregory and his brother were in their 40s now and well-established professionals. Without a whisper to their colleagues or even a parting message for their loved ones, they reached for Lady Liberty’s hand and never looked back.

The two hopped a train to Vienna and made their way to America only to learn their Soviet training and credentials were meaningless. Gregory had to start over. And he did. With great success. Only this time, it was on his terms. He built his physical therapy practice to his standards and settled in the San Francisco Bay area. He not only helped those in need; he also brought jobs to his community. He traveled. His kitchen was filled with the freshest produce, the choicest cuts of meat, the finest liquors. He embraced and embodied everything great about the American dream. He came with nothing and worked hard. He never said no to an opportunity — even the exhausting and ugly ones. He faced adversity, fought the odds that were so greatly stacked against him and found success. Happiness. Freedom.

Gregory’s daughter is my best friend. We’ve spent countless hours pondering what makes him tick. What drove him to reject everything he knew — even success behind the Iron Curtain — in favor of chasing a dream? Why was he willing to risk everything he’d built to embrace the unknown? How could he have been sure that freedom would taste so sweet?

Gregory and millions like him remain a powerful example of the very best of this experiment we call America and of all she has to offer. His passion for personal freedom and his drive to succeed and give back to the country that removed his shackles are what fuel the American Dream. He heeded the call to freedom and took seriously the responsibility that comes with it.

This great country is filled with people like Gregory. As we prepare to celebrate America’s birthday, this seems the perfect time to give a nod of deep respect and appreciation to them — those who invested in a dream and did the hard work to make their lives and our country better.

To the rebels, the risk-takers, the entrepreneurs, the dream-chasers, the laborers, the scholars and everyone else who loves and has loved this country enough to give beyond themselves to keep the American Dream alive, and to those who fought and died defending it, thank you.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder is a mental health disorder that some people develop after experiencing or witnessing a life-threatening event, like combat. Stellate Ganglion Block is an established procedure used by anesthesiologists to relieve pain. Research suggests that SGB may also help veterans with PTSD who have not found relief via traditional treatments such as therapy and medication. CBS News highlighted the new developments during “60 Minutes” June 16.

This month is PTSD Awareness Month. The designation is meant to help raise awareness about the various PTSD treatment options.

Medical professionals say it’s normal to have upsetting memories, feel on edge or have trouble sleeping after a traumatic event. At first, it may be hard to do normal daily activities, like go to work, go to school or spend time with people you care about. But people usually start to feel better after a few weeks or months. “60 Minutes” pointed out that many people who have PTSD often don’t get the help they need because they don’t reach out.

SGB is emerging as a potential treatment for service members and veterans suffering from the aftereffects of warfare. The number of soldiers and veterans who have PTSD is the highest ever after 18 continuous years of war. SGB has been around for a long time. It has been used for decades to treat complex pain syndromes that affect the head, face, neck and arms. During the procedure, a doctor or other health care provider uses X-ray or ultrasound imaging to pinpoint a needle into a bundle of nerves located near the base of the neck. The provider then injects a local anesthetic into the nerve tissue like a dentist delivers numbing medicine before a dental procedure.

The anesthetic lasts only a few hours, but the effects of the procedure can last for several weeks — or longer in some cases.

U.S. Marine Sgt. Dakota Meyer received the treatment. The Medal of Honor recipient said SGB greatly reduced his anxiety. But the experimental treatment he received is only available in a dozen of the 172 Veterans Affairs hospitals. Retired U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Donald Bolduc has also benefited from SGB therapy and is calling for the procedure to be made a part of all PTSD treatments. He has traveled the country helping other veterans who suffer from PTSD.

Despite the billions of dollars the government has spent on PTSD, only about 40 percent of sufferers find any relief. Bolduc, a former Green Beret and the only senior officer to admit to having PTSD while on active duty, wants to change that. “There’s enough evidence out there that this is a valid therapy and it’s something that works,” he said.

Bolduc said that his wife confronted him about his PTSD, and he received SGB treatment. “It was magnificent. Everything was crisper and clearer,” he said during a “60 Minutes” interview. 

The Army is now funding the first clinical trial of SGB. “I think (SGB is) hugely important and it needs to be an intervention that’s part of every posttraumatic stress therapy,” said Bolduc.

SGB is not a cure, and the treatment does not work for everyone. However, it is a promising option for veterans with PTSD symptoms who have not responded to other evidence-based treatments.

Kayla Pless has been named the new varsity girls basketball coach at Pine Forest High School. The announcement was made last week by Trojan athletic director Jason Norton.

Pless replaces David May, who will be stepping down as the girls basketball coach but will continue to work at the school, his alma mater. His new position will be as assistant boys basketball coach and girls golf coach.

May will represent Pine Forest as girls basketball coach one last time at next month’s North Carolina Coaches Association East-West All-Star basketball game at the Greensboro Coliseum.

Cumberland County players who will be on the East team include Pine Forest’s Kendal Moore, E.E. Smith’s Alex Scruggs and Terry Sanford’s Kate Perko.

Pless is a 2012 graduate of Topsail High School in Hampstead, North Carolina. She played college basketball at Methodist University, graduating in 2016 with a bachelor of science in sports management.

She coached youth basketball in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for two years and was a junior varsity coach at Terry Sanford High School last season. She also coached a 16-and-under Amateur Athletic Union team from Durham.

Pless is currently working on a master's of education at Methodist with a concentration in coaching and athletic administration.

Photo: Kayla Pless

There are times when circumstances dictate that individuals and groups speak up, even at the risk of being made to suffer. The Equality Act presents one of those occasions for Americans. The House of Representatives has passed the legislation, and it is now with the Senate for action.

The act begins with this stated purpose: “To prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation, and for other purposes.” If enacted, the negative impacts of this legislation seem almost endless. An article from the Heritage Foundation titled “The Equality Act: How Could Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) Laws Affect You?” presents several impacts: 1. The Equality Act would force employers and workers to conform to new sexual norms or else lose their businesses and jobs. 2. It could force hospitals and insurers to provide and pay for these therapies against any moral or medical objections. It would politicize medicine by forcing professionals to act against their best medical judgment and provide transition-affirming therapies. 3. This politicization of medicine would ultimately harm families by normalizing hormonal and surgical interventions for gender dysphoric children as well as ideological “education” in schools and other public venues. 4. By silencing the scientific debate on transgender-affirming therapies through the politicization of medicine, the Equality Act would further normalize this radical protocol and create an expectation that parents comply. 5. It could ultimately lead to the erasure of women by dismantling sex-specific facilities, sports and other female-only spaces.

The Heritage article, in general, points to negative religious impacts. However, an article by Kelsey Dallas and Matthew Brown titled “Would the Equality Act harm religious freedom? Here’s what you need to know” is more specific. It reads, “‘The Equality Act fails to provide essential religious liberty protections that would allow a diverse group of social service and civic institutions to continue to thrive,’ said Shapri LoMaglio, senior vice president for government and external relations for the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, in an email.

“In addition to creating new protections for gay and transgender Americans, the act would limit the scope of federal religious freedom protections, preventing religious people and organizations from using the Religious Freedom Restoration Act as a defense against discrimination claims.

“If it passes, religiously affiliated schools and other faith-based organizations could face lawsuits over policies on gay, lesbian or transgender students, customers or employees, said Tim Schultz, president of First Amendment Partnership, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that promotes religious freedom protections.

“‘There would be an effort to punitively sue them into oblivion and they would not be able to use (the Religious Freedom Restoration Act) in their defense,’ he said.”

The danger in this legislation runs across the full landscape of American society. The final paragraph in the Heritage article succinctly summarizes what this legislation would do to citizens of this country.

“The Equality Act actually furthers inequality, especially for women and girls, by punishing anyone who does not affirm a single viewpoint of marriage and biological sex. A federal sexual orientation and gender identity law would empower the government to interfere in how regular Americans think, speak, and act at home, at school, at work and at play. Any bill promoting such authoritarianism is a danger to our freedoms.”

The Equality Act is based on the argument that as the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was used to support provisions of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, it also, supposedly, supports providing the protections in this act. The 1964 Civil Rights Act outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The 14th Amendment approach was used in 1964 because, as explained at www.law.cornell.edu/wex/ equal_protection, “Equal Protection refers to the idea that a governmental body may not deny people equal protection of its governing laws. The governing body state must treat an individual in the same manner as others in similar conditions and circumstances.”

Proponents of the Equality Act contend that, based on equal protection considerations, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer — referred to as ‘‘LGBTQ’’ — persons must have the same protections as provided to other groups in the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

Sen. Barry Goldwater was a Republican who represented Arizona for five terms in the U.S. Senate and lost to President Lyndon Johnson in his 1964 run for the presidency. Goldwater voted against the 1964 Civil Rights Act. All these years later, the argument being made for the Equality Act confirms that his objections had merit. That can be seen in an article by Lee Edwards titled “Goldwater’s vote against Civil Rights Act of 1964 unfairly branded him a racist.”

Two paragraphs from different sections of that article follow: “Goldwater wanted to support the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as he had the civil rights acts of 1957 and 1960. But he reluctantly decided he could not, because he could see that the bill’s Title II and Title VII were unconstitutional. He predicted that Title VII, which dealt with employment, would end in the government dictating hiring and firing policy for millions of Americans. So it has come to pass.

“When confronted with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and its questionable constitutionality, Goldwater’s conscience led him in a different direction than his fellow Republicans. He did not flinch from the consequences, saying simply, ‘If my vote is misconstrued, let it be.’ His concern was not with himself or any single group but with the nation and ‘the freedom of all who live in it and all who will be born in it.’”

I contend that the Equality Act is exactly what Goldwater feared. The equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment is being misapplied. The foundation for that misapplication is the extent to which it was used in supporting the 1964 Civil Rights Act. That foundational argument is being employed to add other groups to the protection of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

A prime example of how the Equality Act would adversely impact the freedom of others, as it seeks to protect one group, shows in its effect on religious freedom. In essence, the act would allow for, would produce, discrimination against people of faith. That discrimination would be prohibited under freedom of religion as provided for in the First Amendment. A Heritage Foundation video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVKeOrxRnb0 explains “Religious Freedom” and how the Equality Act would allow for denial of this freedom.

Start with this from the video: “What is religious freedom? Religious freedom is more than the freedom to worship in a synagogue, church or mosque. It means people shouldn’t have to go against their core values and beliefs in order to conform to culture or government. Religious freedom protects people’s right to live, speak and act according to their beliefs, peacefully and publically. It protects their ability to be themselves at work, in class and at social activities. Okay, that sounds good, but does such freedom allow people to do whatever they want under the cover of religion? Well, that answer is no.”

The video goes on to say, “The Supreme Court has said the federal government may limit religious freedom, but only when it has a compelling interest to do so in order to protect the common good and limit people’s ability to harm others.”

Cutting to the quick of what I conclude from the remainder of the video, the question is, does the federal government have a compelling interest that justifies adding to the 1964 Civil Rights Act the groups encompassed by the Equality Act?

Consider the compelling interest question concerning race and the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Jim Crow laws were state and local laws that enforced racial segregation in the Southern United States. Those laws denied necessities to black Americans and did so because of our blackness. Every black American in the South was adversely affected. The federal government clearly had a compelling interest that supported rectifying that situation.

On the other hand, LGBTQ individuals are, by no means, in a situation similar to that of blacks under Jim Crow Laws. For instance, if a minister refuses to perform a same-sex wedding because of his or her religious beliefs, and not because the couple is homosexual, the couple can easily identify a minister who will perform their ceremony. The same is the case with bakers, photographers and others who are now being discriminated against because they will not, due to religious convictions, provide their services to LGBTQ persons. Some individuals who take this faithbased position are being sued, even having to close businesses. Passage of the Equality Act will put in place, without the federal government having a compelling interest, legislation that will make religious freedom and other freedoms a thing of the past.

All Americans better see this legislation for the danger to freedom that it is and take a stand. The argument being made for the Equality Act validates the position taken by Barry Goldwater. Even though the cost might be high … like Goldwater, we better speak up.

With a paper roadmap folded on the dashboard of a rental car, Jerry Hogge logged hundreds of miles in a three-week span up and down the East Coast to spread the word about Methodist University’s professional golf management program. That was in 1988.

“I went from here to Portland, Maine,” he said. “I was on Long Island, in New Jersey, in Delaware and Virginia. I visited just about every kid we had that summer doing internships.”

Since then, the program has graduated more than 1,100 students, each of whom has landed a job in the profession. Methodist alumni now lead some of the most prestigious golf courses in the world, from Baltusrol Golf Club in New York, site of the 2016 PGA Championship, to Oakmont Country Club in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, site of the 2016 U.S. Open.

After 32 years as the program’s director, Hogge, 72, is stepping aside to take on a new role for the school. Methodist’s Board of Trustees named him director emeritus.

“The...title is awarded in gratitude for Jerry’s many years of dedicated and excellent work,” said Methodist University President Stan Wearden.

“During his tenure, Jerry has added immeasurable value to the PGM program and the university,” said Dena Breece, interim dean and associate dean of the Reeves School of Business, who wrote the nomination.

Emergency Medical Service earns award

Cumberland County EMS and Hoke County EMS have received the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline EMS Gold Plus Award for 2019. The honor is for implementing quality improvement measures for the treatment of patients experiencing severe heart attacks.

Every year, more than 250,000 people experience an ST-elevated myocardial infarction, the deadliest type of heart attack. They are caused by blood flow blockage to the heart and require immediate treatment. Blood flow must be restored as quickly as possible, either by mechanically opening the blocked vessel or by providing clot-busting medication.

The Mission: Lifeline Initiative provides tools, training and other resources to support heart attack care based on the most recent evidence-based treatment guidelines. The initiative also recognized emergency medical services for their efforts to improve care to rapidly identify suspected heart attacks and to promptly notify treating medical centers and their awaiting hospital personnel.

“Cumberland County EMS is dedicated to providing the best emergency medical service in the country, not just the region or state,” said Mark McLaurin, Cumberland County EMS director. This is the sixth consecutive year the EMS department has been recognized. Hoke County EMS has been recognized for five consecutive years.

Mayor launches weekly radio program

Mayor Mitch Colvin has launched a weekly Facebook Live broadcast, entitled “Mayor’s Moment.” It airs on Mondays at 8:30 a.m. Colvin hosts the program from City Hall. He asks that residents provide input on his Mayor Colvin Facebook page about issues they would like him to address during the “Mayor’s Moment.”

“In the interest of transparency, I want to hear citizens’ concerns,” Colvin said. “As mayor, I’ve always tried to make Fayetteville a better place, and it’s a constant goal of mine. So this broadcast helps me serve that purpose.” Citizens are encouraged to use Facebook to engage with the mayor every Monday during the broadcast.

Visitors’ Bureau publishes Hope Mills guide

The Fayetteville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau is publishing a Hope Mills Visitor’s Guide to showcase the community’s variety of entertainment and shopping opportunities. The town of Hope Mills is a family-friendly town of about 16,500 residents. Its offerings include the Hope Mills Lake, Millstone Cinemas 14, a putt-putt golf course, walking trails, a brewery, farmers markets, a food truck rodeo, two waterparks, and a variety of restaurants and shopping options.

“This is the second community-focused visitor’s guide we have produced,” said John Meroski, FACVB president and CEO. “Both the Spring Lake and Hope Mills guides showcase unique communities with plenty to offer.” The 64-page guide has a matte finish for easy note-taking.

“Thank you for providing such a wonderful guide for Hope Mills,” said Mayor Jackie Warner. The Hope Mills Visitors Guide is available at the FACVB office on Person Street in Fayetteville, Hope Mills Town Hall, the town library at 3411 Golfview Rd. and the Chamber of Commerce office at 5546 Trade St.

Photo: Jerry Hogge

I was asked to do a presentation last winter, and while doing my research, I stumbled across information that floored me. According to Forbes magazine, student loan debt in this country is second only to mortgage debt. Forty-four million people in the U.S. owe $1.56 trillion in student loan debt.

Of the 44 million who owe student loan debt, 11% of them cannot pay their student loans; they are in default. This example reminds me of taking out a car loan for a car you cannot drive. There is something seriously wrong with this situation. So, what do we as a nation do?

If these 4 million students who cannot pay their loans had begun their educational journeys at a community college, not only would their loans be significantly less in debt, chances are they could also pay on smaller loans with money earned from the jobs obtained after graduation. Earning a two-year degree in a trade skill such as welding or auto body repair not only ensures employment, it is more affordable. The same applies to a two-year degree in nursing or criminal justice.

If a four-year degree is the goal, students can begin their education at a two-year college and transfer to a four-year college. This can save them up to $20,000 or more a year in debt, depending on the four-year university. This is great news.

Fayetteville Technical Community College is currently registering students for the fall 2019 term, with classes beginning Aug. 19. Visit www.faytechcc.edu and click on the “Get Started” link at the home page. The link goes directly to the admissions page. Here, after you've completed the Residency Determination System process, you'll be directed to the free College Foundation of North Carolina application. Once the application is complete, FTCC sends an email to the email address used in the application. FTCC also sends a hard-copy letter to the physical address used by the student when completing the CFNC application.

Once the FTCC application is complete, the student should visit www.FAFSA.gov. The FAFSA services at this website are free. Students should be careful to ensure that the location is www. FAFSA.gov to avoid any charges; if there is a charge, then it is the wrong website. Apply for the academic year 2019/2020. Be prepared with tax documents. Most students who live at home will use their parents’ income information, but extenuating circumstances may result in needing different information.

In this high-tech world, FTCC recognizes face-to-face assistance is still important, and its staff are proud to offer the personal touch. FTCC offers over 280 degrees, diplomas and certificates. FTCC career and guidance counselors can help narrow a student's choices by providing a one-on-one career assessment for them. Once students have a pathway, FTCC will help them along the way. Assistance is available for steps like completing the FTCC application, financial aid and transcript evaluation processes, along with much more.

Call 910-678-8473 or visit FTCC at the Fayetteville Campus in the Tony Rand Student Center, the Spring Lake Campus, or the Ft. Bragg Training & Education Center.

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

Cape Fear High School continued the most successful era of football in school history last season with a 7-5 record. It included a trip to the first round of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 3-AA football playoffs.

But for that tradition to continue, head coach Jake Thomas is going to have to fill some significant gaps caused by graduation.

“Obviously we lost some really good linebackers,’’ Thomas said. “We also lost some good running backs. That’s the main focus of the guys we’ve got to replace from last season.’’

The good news for Thomas is he’s got a few skilled players back this year, among them quarterback Ki’mani Britton and running back Cayden McKeithan.

Britton completed 70 of 138 passes for 613 yards and five touchdowns.

McKeithan rushed 89 times for 289 yards and scored five touchdowns.

Thomas said Britton has progressed well from his freshman season last year and showed positive signs during the spring.

The Colts’ leading receiver from 2018 is back, Taiquan Gamble. He had 33 catches for 281 yards and two touchdowns.

One of the most experienced Cape Fear returnees is offensive lineman Caleb Krings.

Krings said the Colts have a new team and a new beginning as they head into summer and fall workouts. “In the offensive line we’ve got half of us coming back,’’ he said.

On the defensive side of the football, Thomas will be counting heavily on cornerbacks Micah Nelson and Lamon Lock to anchor the pass defense, along with versatile athlete Nick Minacapelli.

There is one returner in the linebacking corps, Donta Autry. Thomas said he has put in a lot of hard work in the offseason.

Most of the spring, Cape Fear has focused on getting its base defensive package installed so the team can immediately react to any offensive formation or motion it sees in a game.

Offensively, the team stressed learning three or four base plays with the ability to run a counter play and a pass play off each one.

Photo: Caleb Krings

During the summer months, it is important for students to retain the skills learned during the school year. Here are some free summer reading programs for your child that will help keep those skills going.

1. DOGOBooks Summer Reading Program Kids are invited to read books and share their reviews of the books. The top 10 reviewers will win a book prize pack, and the next 25 top reviewers will be eligible to win a $10 gift card. Find out more at www.dogobooks.com.

2. Barnes and Noble’s Summer Reading Kids can read any eight books and record them in the Barnes & Noble Summer Reading Journal, which is available online or in stores. Once readers complete the journal, they can take it back to the store to choose a book from the free book list. Learn more at www.barnesandnoble.com/h/summer-reading.

3. Chuck E. Cheese’s Reading Rewards Calendar Download a Reading Rewards calendar, which requires your child to read each day for two weeks. They can then turn the calendar into your local Chuck E. Cheese for 10 free game tokens. Read more details at www.chuckecheese.com/kids-corner/rewards-calendars.

4. Scholastic’s Read-a-Palooza Summer Reading Give Back Kids can log summer reading minutes to earn digital prizes. Children participating in the challenge can help unlock a giveaway of 200,000 books from Scholastic in collaboration with United Way to kids in need across the country. Learn more about it at www.scholastic.com/summer/home.

5. Half Price Books Feed Your Brain In June and July, kids 14 and under can earn a $5 coupon by reading at least 300 minutes a month and tracking their minutes on a reading calendar. Get more information at www.halfpricebooks.com/fyb.

6. Book Adventure Kids K-8 read books that include 7,000 titles and take a short quiz to earn points. The points can be redeemed for virtual prizes. Find out more at http://bookadventure.com.

7. Reading Rewards Customize a reading incentive program and set up personalized reading goals for your children. Then, allow your kids to buy rewards in the reward store created by you. Learn more at www.readingrewards.com.

8. Sync Summer Reading Program for Teens This is a summer reading program established for teens 13 and older that will get them two free audiobooks each week through July 25. Each week, there will be a current young adult book that teens will be able to download for free. Find out how it works at www.audiobooksync.com.

9. Cumberland County Public Library & Information Center The summer reading program is for readers of all ages. Stop by any library branch and pick up a reading record. Summer programs include visits from Pete the Cat and Clifford the Big Red Dog and the use of STEM kits involving crafts, experiments and more. Teens and adults are eligible for prizes and drawings for gift cards as they progress toward their reading goals. Learn more at http://cumberland.lib.nc.libguides.com/src.

We’ve all heard the thrilling story. On July 4, 1776, the 13 American colonies declared their independence from Great Britain. Although the colonies wouldn’t actually win the War for Independence and form the United States until eight years later, Massachusetts made July Fourth an official holiday in 1781 — and it stuck. Here we are, more than 200 years later, celebrating America’s birthday. Here is a list of local events celebrating the Fourth of July.

Friday, June 28

Fayetteville Woodpeckers vs. Myrtle Beach Pelicans: Fireworks!

Segra Stadium invites the public to watch the Fayetteville Woodpeckers at 7 p.m. There will be a patriotic postgame fireworks show. Call 910-339-1989 for more information.

Mommy’s Time Off: 4th of July Crafts

Kidcreate Studio – Fayetteville invites parents to drop the kids off for some fun Fourth-of-Julythemed crafts. The studio requests that parents pack a nut-free snack and drink for their child. The event takes place from 9 a.m.-noon. Search the activity title on Eventbrite.com for more information.

Saturday, June 29

D-Day 75th Anniversary Exhibit

The Airborne & Special Operations Museum presents the 75th Anniversary D-Day Exhibit in tribute to our veterans this Fourth of July. This special event will honor those who fought on the “Day of Days” with priceless artifacts that have never been on display until now. Detailed histories and insights about the artifacts, including their significance and who owned them, will be included in the display.

The exhibit will be open Tuesday-Saturday until Aug. 31. Call 910-643-2778 for details.

Sunday, June 30

“Baseball in Fayetteville” exhibition

This exhibit highlights the 150-year history of baseball in Fayetteville and why our citizens love it so much. Located at the Fayetteville Area Transportation and Local History Museum, this free exhibit is open weekly from Tuesday-Saturday until Dec. 31. To learn more, call 910-433-1457.

Monday, July 1

Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra’s “Independence Concert” and Fireworks

Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra will be at Festival Park on July 1 for the concert of the year, presented by the city of Fayetteville. Beginning at 7:30 p.m., the concert will include patriotic tunes and popular songs to kick off Independence Day celebrations. The night will end fittingly with fireworks. Admission is free, and attendees are encouraged to bring a lawn chair or blanket. For more information, call 910-433-4690.

Wednesday, July 3

Freedom Fest 2019

The games, fireworks and Southern barbecue buffet at this festival are sure to make the eve of Fourth of July unforgettable. Entertainment also includes part two of the Rock the Cradle Concert Series featuring Departure: The Journey Tribute Band. Freedom Fest takes place at Pinehurst Resort, 80 Carolina Vista Dr., Pinehurst, from 5-9 p.m. Visit www.thepinestimes.com/community-events/ pinehurst-events/9-pinehurst/121440-freedomfest-2019 for details.

Fayetteville Woodpeckers vs. Salem Red Fox: Independence Day Celebration

There’s nothing quite like celebrating USA with America’s favorite pastime. The game will take place at Segra Stadium at 6 p.m. and finish with the largest postgame fireworks show of the season. Call 910-339-1989 to learn more.

Fayetteville SwampDogs vs. High Point-Thomasville HiToms: Fireworks Extravaganza!

The SwampDogs are known for their postgame fireworks displays that celebrate Independence Day. The game starts 7:05 p.m. and takes place at J.P. Riddle Stadium. For more information, call 910-426-5900.

Thursday, July 4

Fort Bragg’s 50th Annual 4th of July Celebration

Fort Bragg’s famous annual 4th of July Celebration is held at Main Post Parade Field. Musical guests include 3 Doors Down and The Fifth. Other activities include parachute free-fall demonstrations, fireworks, the popular flag ceremony and food and beverages. Pets, barbecue grills and glass bottles are not allowed. The gates open at 1 p.m., the opening act starts at 3 p.m., and fireworks start at 10 p.m. For more information, call 910-396-9126.

37th Annual Hope Mills Independence Day Parade

The parade starts at 4975 Cameron Rd., Hope Mills, at 10 a.m. The public is invited to enjoy the 37th Annual Hope Mills Independence Day Party in the Park afterward. The party, taking place at Hope Mills Municipal Park Fields 1 and 2, runs from 4-10 p.m., with patriotic fireworks at 9:15 p.m. Live musical entertainment includes Open Road and the Guy Unger Band, and there will be food trucks, a large petting zoo, an inflatable waterslide and more. Call 910-426-4109 for details.

Firecracker 4 Miler

The run starts at North Carolina Veterans Park, 300 Bragg Blvd., at 7 a.m. There will also be an untimed 1-miler race, beginning at 7:50 a.m. at the same location. To register and to learn more, visit www.its-go-time.com and click on Firecracker 4 Miler.

Spring Lake’s Fourth of July Festival

This free festival takes place on Main Street, Spring Lake, from 3-10 p.m. For details, call 910- 436-0241 or search the event on Facebook.

Friday, July 5

MOB Entertainment presents: “Heat of the Summer”

The independence week festivities finish with a summertime concert. The Crown Coliseum is hosting multiplatinum-selling artist Jeezy live, along with Stunna 4 Vegas, Carolina Red and Tigo B. The show starts at 7 p.m. Call 888-257-6208 to purchase tickets.

There is little we can do to prepare for some of life's best moments, yet everything we've ever done has prepared us for each one.

Graduation season has come and gone here in North Carolina. Emotions run the gamut as young men and women everywhere experience that final trip through the doors of their schools as students. Most will reflect fondly on the days they spent preparing to launch into the world. They'll begin writing their own stories. And like every generation before them, both friendships and rivalries they swore would last forever will begin to fade as others grow. Of one thing they can be certain: relationships with fellow students, educators and even their families will all change in some way as they continue their journey through life.

Of all the things that could possibly cause me anxiety, concern for future generations is somewhere near the top of the list. This is partly because of their expectations and partly because of the condition of the world we're leaving them. Not the physical world, but the condition of mankind in general. Somewhere along the line, we seem to have taught young people in America that winning is more important than character. The very people who we need to be able to look up to are failing and falling around us. And we are too quick to condemn and step around them to notice and avoid the brokenness that led them there in the first place.

So, can we change the course? Can we raise up a generation of leaders with the intestinal fortitude to right the many wrongs we've left them to deal with? As a person of faith, I believe we can, and it's really a matter of moral integrity stemming from deep convictions and an acknowledgment of a creator to whom we're all accountable. Yes, God. Many will disagree and stop reading right here, so if you're still with me, maybe we agree — if only a little.

Our real problems begin at home. There's a growing indifference to patterns of behavior that erode families, from what we allow to enter through the television screen to our relationships with our children's friends and their families. Everyone knows the phrase “it takes a village," but when the village steps in with advice, it's too often taken as a personal affront. And someone stomps away only to return with a posse willing to prove how wrong the offender is and how the mob can destroy them and their way of thinking.

What we've reaped so far is an unhappier, less fulfilled and definitely angrier world. We can do so much better. By modeling love, respect, kindness and accountability to our children, we can begin to right this ship. A short trip through the red letters in the Bible will yield a wealth of wisdom we can use to prepare our children for what lies ahead. And when we begin to embrace and adopt those words in our own lives, we will see a change for the better in the mirror as well.

Fayetteville City Council has adopted its operating budget for the new fiscal year, which begins July 1. It totals almost $229.7 million, which is a 6.6% increase over the current fiscal year’s budget. The property tax rate remains at 49.95 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.

The FY 2020 budget includes an additional $1.5 million for the parking deck adjacent to the Prince Charles Apartments. The city had already committed $14.8 million to build the five-story garage, which is being constructed by PCH Holdings, the firm that is developing the property adjacent to Segra Stadium. It is a public facility that has been leased in part to PCH to provide parking for the apartment building and two high-rise structures.

The developer plans to build a five-story Hyatt Place Hotel and a seven-story office building atop the garage. Jordan Jones, project manager of PCH, has said previously that construction costs have increased since the financial estimates were made. He noted the original estimate was a best guess arrived at before the projects had been fully conceived.

Council members noted that the massive parking garage is literally the foundation for two buildings that will be built on top of it. The five-story parking deck is the foundation for what will become a 12-story structure, which will make it the tallest structure in downtown.

That complex is part of a larger economic development undertaking of investments worth more than $100 million, including the $40 million minor league baseball stadium and 59 one- and twobedroom apartments in the Gathering at the Prince Charles.

PCH Holdings also agreed to purchase the Festival Park Plaza office building from the city. Mayor Mitch Colvin noted that the combined projects are expected to produce more than 1,000 jobs and contribute a combined $126 million to the local economy.

Developers have pledged to pay property taxes to the city on $45 million of tax value — even if the complex appraises for less. Colvin said he has been told the buildings should be completed in 18 months.

Fayetteville State University Chancellor James Anderson is stepping down but will remain with the university. Anderson has served as chancellor for 11 years.

An FSU news release indicated Anderson is stepping aside for personal reasons. It did not indicate his date of departure. The news release said Anderson will take a yearlong sabbatical, during which time “he will continue to serve the military, the university and city in different roles.” Thereafter, he will be eligible to return to a faculty position in the Department of Psychology.

University of North Carolina System Interim President Dr. Bill Roper will name an interim chancellor to lead FSU while a national search is conducted to find a successor. Academic standards, student enrollment and fundraising increased during Anderson’s tenure.

Second marine sentenced in Green Beret death

An elite Marine Raider has been sentenced to four years in a military prison after admitting to his role in the strangulation death of a Fort Bragg Green Beret, a fellow special operations troop he described as a friend. Staff Sgt. Kevin Maxwell Jr. pleaded guilty to negligent homicide, burglary, obstruction and other charges in a plea bargain to avoid more serious charges, including murder, in the June 4, 2017, death of Army Staff Sgt. Logan Melgar.

The death occurred in the Malian capital city of Bamako, West Africa, where SEAL Team Six and a unit of Army special operations troops were deployed. Maxwell testified Melgar’s killing was the accidental result of a devious hazing plan — which he initially thought was merely a joke — launched over late-night drinks at local bars.

Maxwell told the military judge, Marine Col. Glen Hines, he would never forgive himself for participating in the “ridiculous and harmful, abusive trick” against a buddy. From the witness stand, Maxwell turned to Melgar’s widow, Michelle Melgar, in the first row of the courtroom gallery, telling her that her husband was a better man than he.

Maxwell described a tense climate among the military special operators serving in Mali, especially between Navy sailors and soldiers with Fort Bragg’s 3rd Special Forces Group. They shared a house in Bamako.

Gun violence awareness

America observed National Gun Violence Awareness Day earlier this month. Across the country, over 900 events took place to raise awareness. Chiefs of police from Raleigh, Durham, Fayetteville and Apex, the Durham county sheriff, three legislators and Moms Demand Action gathered at Durham Police Headquarters to advocate for common-sense gun laws.

“Today, leaders of the Triangle are taking a strong, united stand on this issue,” said C.J. Davis, Durham’s police chief, “not just today but every day.” Davis said her department is using a combination of enforcement activities and community outreach to fight violent crime, which is up 17% this year.

Fayetteville Police Chief Gina Hawkins said her department is involved in a program called EKG, Educating Kids on Guns. Hawkins spoke of the “three elements of policing: suppression, intervention and prevention.”

Every day in America, 100 people lose their lives to gun violence, and many more are injured, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention database. There are more than 38,000 deaths from gun violence in the U.S. An estimated 60% of those deaths are from suicides or accidental shootings.

School board member resigns

The Cumberland County Board of Education’s newest members has resigned. Peggy Hall cited personal and medical reasons for stepping down. She was elected in November of 2016 to succeed her husband, Macky Hall. He chose not to seek re-election to the seat he held for 24 years.

“I am taking this step solely because of personal and medical issues, which have developed beyond my control in recent weeks and necessitate that my time be prioritized with my family,” she wrote in a letter to chairperson Donna Vann.

A vote to replace Hall on the school board is likely to take place in August.

School is out for the summer

Many parents are considering ways to keep their children fed during the summer months because they depend on free and reduced-price meals for their children at school.

Cumberland County Schools’ Child Nutrition Services provides free meals to children during the summer. The meals are served Monday through Friday through Aug. 2. There are no income requirements or registration. Anyone age 18 or younger can eat free.

“The Summer Meals Program is an excellent benefit for the children and families in our community,” said Beth Maynard, CNS executive director. “The program ensures all children have continued access to nutritious meals.”

Meals are available throughout the summer at numerous open sites and at participating local camps, church programs and organizations that are a part of the Summer Meals Program. Each year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture partners with local organizations like the CNS to provide free meals to children when school is out for the summer. Email summermeals@ccs.k12.nc.us for a list of locations, or call 910-678-2502.

Photo: James Anderson

The Hope Mills Boosters American Legion baseball team solved a nagging problem while also paying tribute to a beloved supporter who recently died.

Getting to road baseball games each summer was a challenge for the boosters as coaches and team members had to find their own transportation to and from games. 

That problem was solved thanks to the support of the Massey Hill Lions Club and one of its members, Fred McFayden. With their help, the Boosters bought an old Cumberland County school bus and converted it into an activity bus.

They used it for the first time last month. 

“The bus was bought for safety reasons at the conclusion of last season,’’ said Mark Kahlenberg, coach of the Boosters team. “The Massey Hill Lions Club has been a great support system for our program. Fred was the biggest reason the bus was purchased, and he’s always been there for us.’’ 

Tragically, McFayden died unexpectedly this April, at the age of 64, before the 2019 American Legion baseball season began.

“The club thought it would be fitting to name (the bus) in honor of Fred as an enduring testament to his love for Legion baseball and his dedication to keep it alive in Hope Mills,’’ Kahlenberg said.

Pinecrest High School won the Wells Fargo Cup for the Sandhills 4-A Athletic Conference, according to a press release from the North Carolina High School Athletic Association.

The cup is awarded to the conference school with the best overall athletic program as determined by points awarded for order of finish in each official conference sport.

Pinecrest capped its championship this year with a strong showing in the spring, taking conference titles in boys and girls track and baseball.

Jack Britt placed second in the chase for the cup. The Buccaneers won boys tennis and placed second in softball this spring.

Richmond Senior placed third with a title in softball and second place in baseball.

Here are the point totals for each school: Pinecrest 138.5, Jack Britt 118.5, Richmond Senior 103.5, Lumberton 73, Scotland 73, Hoke County 64.5, Purnell Swett 48.5, Seventy-First 43.

• Some people were a little surprised to see the name of Pine Forest’s Isaiah Bennett during the closing rounds of the recent Major League Baseball draft. A pitcher for the Trojans, Bennett has seen little action for more than a year as he’s been recuperating from Tommy John surgery.

Bennett had already committed to play baseball at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill when the San Diego Padres took him in the 36th round of the draft.

The East Village Times said Bennett is the thirdranked player overall in the state of North Carolina despite his injury problems. They called him an athletic right-handed pitcher with a high upside. They said his fastball is between 89 and 91 mph, sometimes hitting 92 or 93.

Multiple sources indicate Bennett will likely decide to decline the draft opportunity with the Padres and enroll at North Carolina to play for the Tar Heels.

• Two players from Terry Sanford were named to the North Carolina Baseball Coaches Association 3-A All-State team earlier this month: Davidjohn Herz and Justin Ebert.

Herz decided to forgo playing with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, signing a professional contract with the Chicago Cubs last week. He is awaiting assignment to a Cubs rookie league team, most likely in Arizona. Ebert is committed to play baseball at High Point University in the fall.

• At the most recent meeting of the Cumberland County Board of Education, South View High School’s Isaiah Fultz was recognized for his accomplishments in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 4-A track and field meet.

Fultz became the first wheelchair-bound athlete from Cumberland County to both compete and win in the state 4-A track meet. He took the championship in the wheelchair 100-meter competition with a time of 21.91 at the state meet at North Carolina A&T in Greensboro.

South View athletic director Chad Barbour said as far as he’s been able to determine, Fultz is the first wheelchair athlete from Cumberland County to compete in track and field at the state level.

Photo: Isaiah Fultz, left, is the first wheelchair-bound athlete from Cumberland County to both compete and win in the state 4-A track meet. To his right is South View athletic director Chad Barbour

I have devoted most of my life to building, inhabiting and sometimes leading organizations devoted to advancing the cause of freedom. But what I mean by that term may be quite different than what you mean.

Even if the context is limited only to political matters, most people would agree that “freedom” is an essential public value — and then proceed to disagree about what public policies are required to protect or expand it.

The roots of such disagreements run deep. In his seminal work “Albion’s Seed,” the historian David Hackett Fischer describes four waves of settlement, emanating from four different regions of the British Isles, that helped shape the history and politics of the North American colonies during the 17th and 18th centuries. Each of the four “folkways,” as Fischer put it, contained its own conception of freedom.

For the Puritans who settled New England from East Anglia and the Netherlands, the organizing principle was “ordered liberty.” You were free if you were part of a free, self-governing community. “Public liberty,” as the concept was also called, was “thought to be consistent with close restraints upon individuals,” Fischer explained.

For the Royalists who settled Virginia and neighboring colonies from their original homes in the south of England, the organizing principle was something closer to “hegemonic liberty,” in Fischer’s phrase. In other words, while they emphasized individual freedom instead of the Puritans’ sense of collective liberty, Virginians didn’t think everyone was entitled to it. Rank had its privileges, in other words, and obviously, those held in bondage were excluded entirely.

Quite different was the “reciprocal liberty” espoused by the Quakers and other religious dissenters who settled Pennsylvania and its environs. Their conception “embraced all humanity and was written in the Golden Rule.” While religious liberty was essential to this tradition, its protection of individual autonomy extended to other spheres of life, as well, including property rights and procedural rights for those accused of crimes.

Finally, large waves of settlement from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Northern England during the 18th century brought the idea of “natural liberty” to the backcountry of early America. Rejecting the idea of tempering their personal freedom with the communal authority of the Puritans, the hierarchical authority of the Royalists, or the radical egalitarianism of the Quakers, the backcountry folk insisted that they simply wanted to be left alone. Indeed, as a group of Mecklenburg County leaders put it in 1768, their individual liberties came before their political obligations. “We shall ever be ready to support the government under which we find the most liberty,” they stated.

These were just the original British folkways that help shaped America’s political culture. Weave in the distinctive beliefs of America’s other origin cultures and you have an ideological tapestry of intricate complexity. The late University of Oklahoma scholar Rufus Fears described freedom as existing at three levels. Individual freedom means the right to do what you choose without the government telling you otherwise. Political freedom means the right to vote and participate in civic affairs. Finally, national freedom means the right of a people collectively not to be ruled by some other people.

Ideally, one would enjoy freedom at all levels. But for most of recorded history, most people have enjoyed just one or two of these freedoms, if any. For example, under the Roman empire, quite a few people enjoyed individual freedom and some enjoyed the political freedom to elect local magistrates. But no one outside Rome itself experienced national freedom.

To my way of thinking, individual freedom is the end-goal. I value political freedom and national freedom precisely because I think they are most likely to protect individual freedom from encroachments, foreign or domestic. To be free is not necessarily to be happy. It certainly doesn’t make one free of social attachments, or capable of obtaining any particular goal. It simply means you can pursue whatever goal you wish without government telling you otherwise.

And I think it’s worth fighting for.

Fayetteville/Cumberland County property tax rates will likely remain stable in the foreseeable future. That is primarily because new commercial business construction is picking up much of the tab.

“The increases in values from new construction, renovations of existing properties and the natural growth in property values all are used to maintain a favorable tax rate,” said Fayetteville City Manager Doug Hewett. City and county government officials are holding the line on ad valorem tax rates for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

Data provided by the Cumberland County Tax Administration office indicates that the 2018 value of commercial property in Fayetteville increased by nearly $88 million over the year before, for a total of $4.123 billion. “Large projects like Freedom Town Center and its continued expansion are a boon to both shoppers and the city alike,” Hewett added.

There has also been significant business growth along the Skibo Road corridor between Cliffdale Road and Raeford Road. And Ramsey Street continues to yield economic growth.

The Cumberland County Tax Administration office establishes appraised property values, also known as market value, for all taxable property within the county. Market value has been defined by the U.S. Supreme Court as the sale price of real estate as agreed upon between a willing buyer and willing seller. Real property — land and the improvements — is valued on a countywide basis by the county tax assessor every eight years. In appraising real property, the assessor must consider the elements set forth in North Carolina General Statutes as to land — location, zoning, soil quality, mineral deposits, adaptability for different uses, past and future income, etc. — and buildings or other improvements, including types of construction, age, replacement cost, cost and adaptability for use.

Residential values also went up this past year over 2017, following property revaluation, by almost $62 million. Combined with business development, that’s a $150 million increase in the taxable value of the city’s commercial revenue base.

“The natural growth in tax revenues and the work city council and staff do to reduce costs also help us keep the cost of government much lower than our peer cities,” Hewett said.

Some would argue that Fayetteville has no peer cities as such. Virtually all other metropolitan areas of North Carolina rely on big business and industry for tax revenues and employment opportunities. The local Goodyear tire plant is big, employing nearly 3,000 well-paid workers. But, it stands alone. Fayetteville cannot claim a major business, bank or industry with its home office here.

As a bedroom community for Fort Bragg, Fayetteville’s economy relies on the retail and service sectors, which provide stability. Activities associated with the service sector in addition to retail and wholesale sales include transportation and distribution, restaurants, clerical services, media, tourism, insurance, banking and health care. In the U.S., about 80% of the labor force is employed in this sector. The median property tax in North Carolina is $1,209 per year for a home value of $155,500. Counties in North Carolina collect an average of 0.78% of a property’s assessed fair market value as property tax per year.

North Carolina has one of the lowest median property tax rates in the United States, with only 14 states collecting a lower median property tax than North Carolina.

The weekend of June 21-23, Sustainable Sandhills will join forces with local businesses and organizations to celebrate pollinators. It’s only fitting, as June 17-23 is National Pollinator Week. Dubbed “Pollipalooza,” the local event creatively spotlights the many ways pollinators like bees, bats and butterflies impact our world — and our wellbeing.

“Pollinators are vital to our ecology,” said Jonelle Kimbrough, executive director of Sustainable Sandhills. “We wanted to draw attention to the fact that pollinator populations are in decline.

“One-third of the food we eat depends on pollination. We wanted an outlet to bring awareness to the community about the importance of pollination. We thought a fun event that would highlight food and beverages that are pollinated would be a fun.”

Kimbrough noted that a lot of people don’t realize that tea plants depend on pollination. Winterbloom Tea came to mind as the perfect partner to showcase this fact. From 7:30-9 p.m., Friday, June 21, join the Pollipalooza Tea Party at 238 Hay St. Tickets cost $35 and include a hot and cold tea tasting, a honey tasting by Beehive Yourself and sweets by Ariana’s Cakes. There will also be an auction featuring items by Fayetteville Pie Company, The Household 6 Catering, Ariana’s Cakes, Sustainable Sandhills and more. Tickets can be purchased at www.pollipalooza.com.

Saturday, June 22, from 10 a.m.- 2 p.m., visit Sink Field at Methodist University to learn about pollinators and how to make your outdoor space inviting for these essential creatures. There will be educational workshops, including Beekeeping 101 and Gardening for Pollinators, as well as children’s activities and vendors. Tickets cost $5 at the gate.

“People can come to attend the workshops and learn about plants that pollinate and that bees are attracted to,” said Kimbrough. “And the Beekeeping 101 workshop will cover equipment, resources and certifications (involved with beekeeping).”

Saturday, June 22, from 5-8 p.m., Dirtbag Ales Brewery and Taproom will host “Nature’s Nectar: Bites and Brews Pollinator Party.” The offerings all focus on pollinated products. This event features a flight of five beer and wine creations— all influenced by pollinators’ efforts. The ticket price also includes a flight of five tapas-style delicacies, also featuring pollinated ingredients. There will be a live band and a silent auction as well. Tickets cost $55 and are available at www.pollipalooza.com.

Sunday, June 23, enjoy Dirtbag Ales Famers Market from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. The market will maintain a focus on pollinated products in honor of National Pollinator Week. Vendors offerings include local honey, flowers, candles and produce. There will also be live music, craft beer and food trucks.

Sustainable Sandhills will have an information booth and will be selling wildflower seeds and a Build-A-Buzz Children’s craft. The farmers market is free to attend. Prices for individual activities and products vary from vendor to vendor.

A portion of the proceeds from Pollipalooza will go to Sustainable Sandhills, whose mission statement is: Through education, demonstration, and collaboration we are dedicated to supporting and enhancing the communities and environments of the Sandhills region for current and future generations. Find out more about Sustainable Sandhills at its website, www.sustainablesandhills.org.