I’ll be honest, I love a good feelgood moment. I love to feel good. I love to feel cozy, which is sometimes hard to achieve on a hot summer’s day. Warm and cozy quickly turns into sweaty and gross. Give me a breezy morning with a sunrise, a good cup of coffee, a light blanket and a journal, and I have found heaven on Earth.

I found this Danish word recently that doesn’t translate well into English but totally speaks to me. I’ve seen it everywhere. It’s become somewhat of a trend, which I’m not exactly into, but it definitely addresses my need for all things cozy, nostalgic, warm and fuzzy.

Derived from a Norwegian word meaning well-being, the word is “hygge” pronounced “hue-ga”). In Danish, it’s a concept that encompasses a feeling of cozy contentment and well-being through enjoying the simple things in life. It’s considered to be deeply ingrained in Danish culture, a defining feature of their cultural identity and national DNA.

Meik Wiking said in his book “The Little Book of Hygge, “What freedom is to Americans, hygge is to Danes.” It’s no wonder Denmark is consistently at the top of the list of the world’s happiest countries, even with their miserable winters.

Hygge is not just a thing or a trend — it’s a way of life. It’s acknowledging a feeling or moment, whether alone or with friends, at home or out, ordinary or extraordinary, as cozy, charming or special. You don’t have to learn it or buy anything. It only requires a certain slowness and the ability to be present. It’s the art of creating intimacy. Contentedness. Security. Familiarity. Comfort. Reassurance. Kinship. Simplicity.

I love the whole concept of hygge, but if I’m being honest, it’s the comfort part I’m most drawn to. Aren’t we all? We seek comfort above most everything else. I can see this playing out regularly in all aspects of my life as a wife, a mom, an employee, a daughter and, most frighteningly, a Christ-follower.

A friend shared this quote with me yesterday, one I’d read before but conveniently forgot, probably because it grieves my heart when I let the words sink in.

Wilbur Rees wrote in his book “Three Dollars Worth of God:” “I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please. Not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a cup of warm milk, or a snooze in the sunshine. I don’t want enough of God to make me love a foreigner or pick beets with a migrant worker. I want ecstasy, not transformation. I want warmth of the womb, not a new birth. I want a pound of the Eternal in a paper sack. I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please.”

Those words are embarrassingly true for me. There are lots of hygge moments with God, for sure, but this is far from the point of why Jesus came to die for us. He didn’t come so that we’d live a more comfortable life — to make church services how we like them or give enough money to organizations so that we don’t actually have to step outside our door and interact with people who are different from us.

In fact, if that’s all we attribute to salvation, we probably don’t have it. Living for Jesus does bring contentment, but it’s not from experiencing greater earthly comfort. The truth of the gospel is really uncomfortable — that I’m more sinful than anything I can imagine, that there is nothing I can do on my own to fix it and that I deserve death. But because Jesus lived the life I could never live, died the death that I deserve and rose to life, I am no longer dead in my sins. I am alive in Christ Jesus, and I get to know him. I get to know God personally — the one who is love, who loves unconditionally, who is always kind, compassionate, just, righteous, generous, faithful, loyal and good. That is intimacy. That is the most hygge it gets.

The Trump administration order that the Navy ship named for the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., be hidden from Trump’s view during a presidential visit to Japan provoked the Pentagon to tell the White House to stop politicizing the military. A Defense Department official said Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan is also considering sending out formal guidance to military units to avoid similar situations in the future.

Shanahan’s spokesman, Lt. Col. Joseph Buccino, confirmed a Navy email that said the White House military office wanted the USS John Mc- Cain kept “out of sight” when Trump visited Japan two weeks ago. Buccino was the public information officer for the 82nd Airborne Division until recently. This comes on the heels of a week of scrambling and story-changing by the White House about the ship and the president.

When The Wall Street Journal first reported the requested move, Trump took to Twitter to say this: “I was not informed about anything having to do with the Navy Ship USS John S. Mc- Cain during my recent visit to Japan.”

But then, later in the week, Trump said this: “I was not a big fan of John McCain in any shape or form. Now, somebody did it because they thought I didn’t like him, okay? And they were well-meaning.”

When the internal Navy email came to light, it triggered a storm of outrage. Shanahan told reporters he is not planning to seek an investigation by the inspector general into the matter “because there was nothing carried out” by the Navy. He added that he still needs to gather more information about exactly what happened and what service members did.

“How did the people receiving the information … treat it?” Shanahan asked. “That would give me an understanding on the next steps” to take. Shanahan also said he spoke with McCain’s wife, Cindy, about the incident a day or two later, but he declined to provide any details.

The order to keep the Navy guidedmissile destroyer out of sight appeared to be an extraordinary White House effort to avoid offending the president. The McCain incident dogged Shanahan throughout a weeklong trip to Asia, even as he tried to deal with critical national security issues involving the eroding U.S. relationship with China and the continuing threat from North Korea. Shanahan, who has been serving in an acting capacity since the first of the year, has yet to be formally nominated by Trump as permanent defense chief.

His speech to a major national security conference in Singapore was a chance to audition for the job on the international stage. A formal nomination has been expected, and members of Congress have said they believe there will be a hearing on his nomination in the next month or so. According to Department of Defense spokesman Buccino, Shanahan told his chief of staff to speak with the White House military office “and reaffirm his mandate that the department of defense will not be politicized.” Buccino said the chief of staff reported back that he delivered the message.

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

Rodney Brewington was a player on the 1991 South View High School football team that won the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 4-A state championship. Last year, his Tigers got a taste of that kind of success as they finished in a tie for second place in the Patriot Athletic Conference, one game back of regular-season champion Pine Forest.

But Brewington has a big rebuild to do on offense, and it involves replacing his son, four-year Tiger quarterback Donovan Brewington.

“The biggest thing we are looking for now is guys who have to step up and lead,’’ Brewington said.

They’ll also need to replace his son’s favorite target, Emery Simmons, one of the best deep threats in Cumberland County, who’s now playing for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 

One player who will be counted on heavily is running back Matthew Pemberton, the secondleading rusher in Cumberland County Schools last season with 1,667 yards and 23 touchdowns, the latter the most in the county. “Matthew Pemberton is going to carry a heavy load,’’ Brewington said.

On the defensive side of the ball, Brewington thinks the Tigers have players who can fill the positions, they just need to step up and show what they can do to make big plays.

Offensively, Brewington thinks this will be the year of the running back in Cumberland County. Nearly every school will have a talented runner in the backfield who can take the ball the distance whenever it is handed to them, he said.

South View’s best, Pemberton, is hoping to get a lot of college looks while doing all he can to help his teammates be winners.

“We have the players this year to do the same or better than we did last year,’’ Pemberton said. “We just have to be disciplined and listen to coach.’’

Pemberton said he expects to be called on to do more things to fill some of the void left by the departed seniors. “I have to do more to help the younger kids understand what they need to do in game situations,’’ he said.

Photo: Matthew  Pemberton

Meetings

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

• Historic Preservation Commission Wednesday, June 12, 5 p.m., Parks and Recreation Building

• Board of Commissioners Monday, June 17, Luther Meeting Room, Town Hall

• Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee Monday, June 24, 6:30 p.m., Parks and Recreation Center

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

• 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 July 10, 5 p.m., Parks and Recreation Building 

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 AreaKiwanis 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.

A group of protestors turned out at Fayetteville City Council’s June work session, objecting to the council’s plans to ban the homeless from sleeping or camping on city property.

Police Chief Gina Hawkins told Up & Coming Weekly about a man who camps out regularly at the main entrance to police headquarters. Hawkins said “Larry” used to camp next to a local church, but he had to move. He chose the spot next to the front door of the Hay Street police station. The chief said she had no objection to the homeless man staying there, adding that the homeless and others who live on the street have not created crime problems in their day-to-day living.

A couple dozen members of Seth’s Wish, a local nonprofit, protested with large signs in front of City Hall before council’s meeting began. The group’s founder, Lindsey Wolford, described her group as an organization whose purpose is to “help the homeless and hungry in Fayetteville.” She said the organization recently opened a community center on S. Cool Spring Street and, during May, provided those in need 1,171 hot meals and gave away 731 bags full of groceries.

Wolford said Seth’s Wish works closely with Fayetteville’s Second Harvest Food Bank and accepts donations only from private sources. She said the impoverished who live on the street are not criminals and that “the city should not criminalize them by regulating where they can live.”

City Council heard a brief presentation during its work session from Assistant City Attorney Lisa Harper, who said five large North Carolina cities have ordinances regulating camping and sleeping on public property. She was not able to provide information about why those cities established their ordinances and whether they’ve done any good, as requested by Councilman Bill Crisp.

City Manager Doug Hewett suggested that his office come up with a plan that “balances some regulation against no regulation,” saying that warmer weather had resulted in more people sleeping on downtown sidewalks and in alcoves — to the objection of businesspeople.

Estimates are that about 300 homeless people have been accounted for in Fayetteville. “The county should take the lead,” said Councilwoman Tisha Waddell, noting that health and human services are responsibilities given North Carolina’s 100 counties by state law.

Homelessness is a matter of “choice or circumstance” for most people who live on the street, she said, adding that for many, “this has become a lifestyle.” 

“The best solution is to solve the problem,” Councilman Jim Arp said, noting that public safety issues and unsanitary conditions result from the homeless camping in public. He said city government should combine compassion with problem-solving.

The downtown area is part of Councilman Dan Culliton’s district. He suggested that the administration study the needs of the homeless and how best to accommodate them while at the same time protecting the public. He asked in his motion that city staff come up with proposals for council’s consideration at its August work session.

Since his earliest days playing any sport, Terry Sanford baseball standout D.J. Herz has always played at the highest level. Now that he’s been drafted by the Chicago Cubs to play Major League Baseball, his father, John Herz said, that’s likely to continue. 

While a final decision hasn’t been reached, the senior Herz, who is also representing his son in negotiations with the Cubs, said both are leaning toward signing a contract and starting D.J.’s professional career in the minor leagues as soon as possible.

D.J. was the 252nd player chosen in the draft, going to the Cubs in the eighth round.

“He’s really ready to get started,’’ the elder Herz said of his son. “That’s just D.J.’s makeup. He’s always played up, always played with the best. He’s ready to continue that trend.’’

D.J. was a three-sport athlete during the majority of his high school career at Terry Sanford, starting at quarterback in football, playing guard in basketball, and pitching and playing in the field for the baseball team.

This past season, the young Herz was voted Player of the Year in the Patriot Athletic Conference. He led Terry Sanford to the regular-season title, a 24-3 record and the third round of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 3-A playoffs. For the second year in a row, the Bulldogs were eliminated by the eventual state champion, New Hanover.

On the mound, Herz was 8-1 with a 0.51 earned run average and a Cumberland County Schools best of 106 strikeouts in 56.1 innings. At the plate, he batted .419 and drove in 26 runs. He had a county-best 13 doubles and tied for the lead in home runs with four. He also shared the lead in triples with three.

Herz’s father said the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill pursued his son hard and was still hopeful of getting him to play for the Tar Heels this fall.

But the senior Herz indicated the preference is to focus on professional baseball and forego a college career.

Once D.J. makes a final decision to sign, he will likely be assigned to one of Chicago’s rookie league teams, which are located in Arizona.

Although it may not appear so, the leaders of both major political parties in North Carolina favor lowering the tax burden of large businesses. Their real dispute is about the scope and magnitude of the tax relief.

Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper has consistently opposed recent state budgets, crafted by the Republican-controlled legislature, that reduced the corporate tax rate from 6.9% in 2013 to 2.5% today. This year, Cooper seems likely to veto whatever budget emerges from the General Assembly, in part because it will contain a cut in franchise taxes, which tax the value rather than the net income of a business.

The administration’s spokesman, Ford Porter, put it this way after the Senate passed its budget plan: “Governor Cooper will continue pushing for a budget that represents middle class families instead of special interests and corporate shareholders.”

But Cooper has also requested and enthusiastically supported big tax incentives for companies that moved to or expanded their operations in North Carolina, including multimillion- dollar packages for Lending Tree, Honeywell, equipment manufacturer Greenheck Group, biopharmaceutical firm Cellectis, and Charlotte tech company AvidXChange, among others.

More generally, Cooper and other Democratic leaders have sought to restore, protect and expand tax breaks for politically favored industries such as solar energy and film production.

It’s not necessarily a contradiction to favor large but narrowly tailored tax relief over acrossthe- board reductions. It does require making certain assumptions — and they ought to be clearly spelled out so that North Carolinians can decide for themselves whether the assumptions are reasonable.

One such assumption is that when it comes to reducing state tax burdens, some but not all companies are “worth it.” They are more important to the state’s economic vitality, one might say, either because of their sheer size or their expected future growth in sales, investment and jobs.

Another assumption is that some companies are more responsive to taxes than others. If ACME Manufacturing is going to do business and employ people in North Carolina at roughly the same level regardless of how much tax it pays, the state might be better off collecting the revenue generated by the higher rate and spending it on public services, or so the argument goes. On the other hand, if Ach-Mee Manufacturing won’t come to or stay in the state unless it gets a tax break, North Carolina ought to give it to them.

Finally, and most importantly, advocates of targeted tax relief assume that they or some other state officials are capable of reliably distinguishing the worthy corporate recipients from the unworthy ones — that is, they can know with confidence which companies are economically vital and most sensitive to tax burdens.

When Gov. Cooper insists, for example, that North Carolina shouldn’t cut state corporate or franchise taxes across the board but that our state should devote more tax incentives to film and TV production, he is suggesting that media companies are more valuable to the state’s economy than other kinds of firms, are more likely to do business elsewhere if they don’t get their way, or both.

There are surely North Carolinians who find these assumptions plausible. I don’t. I think economies are far too complex a set of systems to be measured, forecast and planned at that level of detail. I don’t think it wise to put state officials in the position of choosing among “worthy” businesses or industries, which I suspect will inevitably lead to political favoritism and perhaps even rank corruption in the long run.

Of course, even if it were technically feasible and politically sustainable, I still think it would be grossly unfair to tax companies differently based on size, location, average wages or industry. Uniform taxation advances both fairness and efficiency. If a billionaire came to your county and offered to live there in exchange for exempting her mansion from property taxes, on the grounds that she’d boost the local economy by spending lots of money, wouldn’t you want your county commissioners to say no?

Fayetteville Technical Community College, a Military-Friendly School at militaryfriendly.com, takes pride in serving active-duty service members, reservists, veterans and military spouses. FTCC partners with Military One Source’s My Career Advancement Account. Through this partnership, FTCC is able to support hundreds of military spouses in advancing their educational backgrounds and providing opportunities to compete in a growing, high-demand job market.

MyCAA is a workforce development scholarship program that provides up to $4,000 of financial assistance to eligible military spouses. Military spouses can pursue a license, certificate or associate degree in various program areas. Persons who qualify to use the scholarship are spouses of service members on Title 10 military orders, grades E-1 to E-5, W-1 to W-2 and O-1 to O-2. Although MyCAA does not provide funding for the cost of books, supplies and materials, spouses are encouraged to apply for federal student aid to obtain eligibility for the Pell Grant.

FTCC offers 250-plus occupational, technical and college transfer curriculum programs, and FTCC’s corporate and continuing education area offers a wide range of programs and personal interest courses. With so many selections to choose from, spouses can ensure they receive the right educational program to meet their needs and desires.

For students unsure of their professional goals, FTCC explores each learner’s personal interests and examines the appropriate career fields that match a student’s individual profile.

FTCC guarantees students receive the best education possible by providing top instructors who are passionate about teaching. In addition to Fayetteville and Spring Lake locations, FTCC serves students at the Fort Bragg Training and Education Center, which is a convenient location for our community’s military population stationed at Fort Bragg.

Eligible participating spouses establish an online MyCAA account through Military One Source and complete the enrollment process. This includes filling out an enrollment application, turning in official high school and college transcripts and completing appropriate placement testing, if applicable.

The spouse then requests a MyCAA Education plan from the college and provides the plan to a Military One Source representative or uploads it to their online MyCAA Military One Source account for approval. Spouses have easy access to request payment for each course, licensure or certification program through the MyCAA account or by contacting a Military One Source representative, following approval into the program.

FTCC’s goal is to give its students every opportunity for success, and its staff celebrates the opportunity to serve students by providing a leading education through an accredited and distinguished college. FTCC considers it a great honor to be ranked No. 1 in the Top 10 Gold Category Military Friendly Schools, 2019-2020. We thank every student for making FTCC the school of choice and invite you to enroll soon.

Students can register now for summer and fall classes at www.faytechcc.edu/apply-now.

Although it may not appear so, the leaders of both major political parties in North Carolina favor lowering the tax burden of large businesses. Their real dispute is about the scope and magnitude of the tax relief.

Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper has consistently opposed recent state budgets, crafted by the Republican-controlled legislature, that reduced the corporate tax rate from 6.9% in 2013 to 2.5% today. This year, Cooper seems likely to veto whatever budget emerges from the General Assembly, in part because it will contain a cut in franchise taxes, which tax the value rather than the net income of a business.

The administration’s spokesman, Ford Porter, put it this way after the Senate passed its budget plan: “Governor Cooper will continue pushing for a budget that represents middle class families instead of special interests and corporate shareholders.”

But Cooper has also requested and enthusiastically supported big tax incentives for companies that moved to or expanded their operations in North Carolina, including multimillion- dollar packages for Lending Tree, Honeywell, equipment manufacturer Greenheck Group, biopharmaceutical firm Cellectis, and Charlotte tech company AvidXChange, among others.

More generally, Cooper and other Democratic leaders have sought to restore, protect and expand tax breaks for politically favored industries such as solar energy and film production.

It’s not necessarily a contradiction to favor large but narrowly tailored tax relief over acrossthe- board reductions. It does require making certain assumptions — and they ought to be clearly spelled out so that North Carolinians can decide for themselves whether the assumptions are reasonable.

One such assumption is that when it comes to reducing state tax burdens, some but not all companies are “worth it.” They are more important to the state’s economic vitality, one might say, either because of their sheer size or their expected future growth in sales, investment and jobs.

Another assumption is that some companies are more responsive to taxes than others. If ACME Manufacturing is going to do business and employ people in North Carolina at roughly the same level regardless of how much tax it pays, the state might be better off collecting the revenue generated by the higher rate and spending it on public services, or so the argument goes. On the other hand, if Ach-Mee Manufacturing won’t come to or stay in the state unless it gets a tax break, North Carolina ought to give it to them.

Finally, and most importantly, advocates of targeted tax relief assume that they or some other state officials are capable of reliably distinguishing the worthy corporate recipients from the unworthy ones — that is, they can know with confidence which companies are economically vital and most sensitive to tax burdens.

When Gov. Cooper insists, for example, that North Carolina shouldn’t cut state corporate or franchise taxes across the board but that our state should devote more tax incentives to film and TV production, he is suggesting that media companies are more valuable to the state’s economy than other kinds of firms, are more likely to do business elsewhere if they don’t get their way, or both.

There are surely North Carolinians who find these assumptions plausible. I don’t. I think economies are far too complex a set of systems to be measured, forecast and planned at that level of detail. I don’t think it wise to put state officials in the position of choosing among “worthy” businesses or industries, which I suspect will inevitably lead to political favoritism and perhaps even rank corruption in the long run.

Of course, even if it were technically feasible and politically sustainable, I still think it would be grossly unfair to tax companies differently based on size, location, average wages or industry. Uniform taxation advances both fairness and efficiency. If a billionaire came to your county and offered to live there in exchange for exempting her mansion from property taxes, on the grounds that she’d boost the local economy by spending lots of money, wouldn’t you want your county commissioners to say no?

This summer’s East All-Star girls basketball team will have a strong Cumberland County flavor. The head coach and three players on the team hail from Fayetteville.

Pine Forest’s David May will serve as head coach for the East team in the annual East- West All-Star game. It will be played Monday, July 15, at the Greensboro Coliseum.

The girls will play at 6:30 p.m., followed by the boys at 8:30 p.m.

Joining May as members of his East girls team will be Alex Scruggs of E.E. Smith, Kendal Moore of Pine Forest and Kate Perko of Terry Sanford.

Scruggs was the Player of the Year in the Patriot Athletic Conference while Moore made first team all-conference. Scruggs is going to Wake Forest, and Moore is headed for North Carolina State.

Perko was a second team All-Patriot Athletic Conference selection. She will be playing for Meredith College.

The East All-Star boys basketball roster was announced earlier, and there is one Cumberland County player on the squad. Brion McLaurin of Seventy-First, Player of the Year in the Sandhills Athletic Conference, will perform for the East squad.

L to R: David May and Kendal Moore

A political operative described by The New York Times as “the Michelangelo of gerrymandering” for changing the U.S. House and legislatures from one party’s control to the other for years to come dies, leaving behind his computers and associated hardware. Enter his estranged daughter, who accidentally reads about his departure from this world on the internet and then returns home to help her mother. In sorting through her father’s personal effects, the daughter finds a plastic bag of hard drives and thumb drives, all containing backed-up data from the deceased’s computer. The widow allows her daughter to keep the backups, which turn out to contain about 75,000 files of photos and personal information, along with a gold mine of political material from the operative’s partisan work.

Want more?

In her search for an attorney to handle her late father’s estate, our estranged daughter rings up a citizen advocacy group and offhandedly mentions her father’s backup files. Staff ears perk right up, and next thing you know, lawyers are trotting out the files for use in gerrymandering lawsuits in various courts all the way to the United States Supreme Court.

And the real kicker?

Not only do the files detail race-based and partisan gerrymandering schemes for several states, but they also reveal a study concluding that adding a question about U.S. citizenship to the 2020 census questionnaire would depress immigrant participation in the census, thereby shifting political clout to the political party that hired the operative in the first place. In promoting a failed plan to base Texas legislative districts not on total population but on voting-age citizens, the deceased operative wrote that maps drawn that way “would be advantageous to Republicans and non-Hispanic whites.”

You might find all this too absurd for even a made-for-TV movie, but, in fact, it is all true. The operative’s name was not Michelangelo but Thomas Hofeller, and he died in Raleigh last summer. He was the architect of North Carolina’s massive 2011 gerrymander, a substantial portion of which has been found unconstitutional while other parts are still in litigation.

His daughter, Stephanie Hofeller, did indeed find those files and ultimately deliver them to Common Cause, which has worked for decades for gerrymandering reform. Whether the citizenship question will appear on the 2020 U.S. Census form is now before the U.S. Supreme Court with a ruling expected within the next few weeks.

Gerrymandering is hardly new news, and many North Carolinians are familiar with and revolted by what happened in our state and others in 2011. A political operative’s involvement in developing questions for a constitutionally required census of all Americans is new news and also revolting. Both go to the issue of how government at all levels works for all Americans — or whether it actually does at all.

The saga of Thomas Hofeller is spectacular, but it is only one of many involving hired political operatives. All of them beg the question of whether the people we elect to represent us in Congress and state legislatures are doing that work or farming it out to professional consultants to avoid public transparency and to achieve partisan objectives.

Any of us can express our thoughts to our elected representatives if we choose to do so, but a precious few of us are insiders enough to be able to express our views to the Thomas Hofellers of this world.

The lesson here is to pay attention and be involved.

The quotation “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty” is often attributed to Thomas Jefferson, but also to Thomas Paine and others. Whoever penned it was speaking across time to us.

No. That’s the consensus of most Hope Mills residents. They think not. And, there is a reason for that: It was their money the Hope Mills commissioners so recklessly spent on a frivolous investigation that netted the same conclusions Hopemills.net and Up & Coming Weekly community newspaper have been reporting for nearly four months.

Everything we reported and editorialized about, including Lone Survivor Foundation, alleged improprieties of Mayor Jackie Warner, art sculptures, the Hope Mills Lake bulkheads, Teddy Warner, the Cumberland County Economic Development Corporation, closed sessions — all of it has been proven and brought to a vindicated conclusion. Last Wednesday, May 29, was the day of reckoning when Hope Mills Commissioners Jerry Legge, Meg Larson, Jessie Bellflowers and Mike Mitchell received the results of an investigation they initiated to try and expose improprieties and wrongdoings by Warner.

They voted to hire a Raleigh law firm to conduct an impartial investigation for a whopping $26,000 of Hope Mills taxpayers’ money. Even more alarming and disappointing to the residents of Hope Mills is that they paid that exorbitant fee for information and verification that we, as a local media source, have been providing Hope Mills for free all along.

So, even with the $26,000 price tag and complete exoneration of any wrongdoing by Warner, the town of Hope Mills staff or Warner’s family members, the question remains: Is it over? Really over? Will Legge, Larson, Mitchell and Bellflowers relinquish their pursuit to discredit Warner, impede her progress and keep her from performing her duties and responsibilities as the mayor of Hope Mills? Will they focus their attention on cooperation and pursuits that will move Hope Mills forward?

I posed the question, “Is it over?” in writing to Larson, Mitchell and Bellflowers and asked them to respond with a statement of assurance. I let them know that once received, I would print their responses, verbatim, in this article or provide them their own space in Up & Coming Weekly to state their position.

As of June 2, only Bellflowers responded. Here is what he wrote:

“The findings of the investigation have been presented, and in my opinion, any further investigation(s) and all the finger pointing needs to end here. While I am sure not everyone agrees with the findings, the bottom line is there are no winners here! Should the LSF proposal been handled and presented in a more professional matter — you bet. Lessons learned. Going forward, we need to develop and approve effective protocols regarding the purchase/sale/ lease of any town-owned, municipal property areas. My hope is, perhaps... just perhaps … we can ALL move on from this investigation and use our positive energy — collectively — to engage on completion of the most needed projects our community citizens expect and deserve from their Town Board and Staff leaders. Our citizens deserve no less!”

Our newspaper always strives to inform the Hope Mills community, providing news, insights and information they can trust and encouraging them to get involved in all those things that affect their business, family or quality of life.

We have covered the town’s elected officials for months, including conflicts over art sculptures, Lone Survivor Foundation and false allegations and charges against the mayor and her family. Our blanket coverage of this ordeal from start to finish is the near perfect example of why Bellflowers, Mitchell, Larson and Legge voted to cancel the Hope Mills Initiative with our newspaper. It had nothing to do with the $28,000 cost. It was about greed, selfishness and obsession with power. Knowledge and information are power.

They wanted to control the governing narrative by restricting media access to the citizens of Hope Mills — especially when it came to important issues. The objective was no transparency. They wanted to keep residents uninformed about town issues by limiting residents’ access to an independent media source they could not control. The board’s uncontained outrage, disdain and hostility toward Up & Coming Weekly came as a result of us not going away after they canceled our contract. It was unsettling to them that we continued to do our job of reporting the truth, advocating for the welfare of the citizens.

I will end with this suggestion for everyone in Hope Mills. You are a community of nearly 17,000 residents. That’s a 17,000-strong voting bloc. It’s much larger and much more influential than these distractors. Shut them down by ditching their negative propaganda on social media. Don’t tune in. That includes the Hope Mills Chatter. It also consists of the postings of the Hope Mills Bee and Hope Mills Outlook. Together, they represent only hundreds, not thousands, of Hope Mills residents — and therefore votes. Who cares what they say or print? They lack credibility. If they had any credibility, they would own their words and not hide behind anonymity.

The media is the natural enemy of those with intentions that are less than honorable. The previous board of Hope Mills commissioners understood this. This board, not so much.

Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly. We’re not going anywhere!

Photo: Jackie Warner

E.E. Smith High School’s Dee Major Hardy has received a number of significant honors in her long coaching career, but few will top the one she got at the school’s recent spring reunion. During the weekend ceremonies, the school announced that the basketball court in E.E. Smith’s D.S. Kelly Gymnasium had been named in Hardy’s honor, as the Dee Major Hardy Court.

Hardy was a high school basketball star at Smith before enrolling at what was then Pembroke State and is now the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. During her years there, she was second team National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics All- American in basketball in 1985 and two-time All-District player in volleyball in 1982 and 1983.

She finished her college basketball career with 1,555 points.

She joined the faculty at E.E. Smith after graduating Pembroke and has coached volleyball and basketball at the school. She’s led her teams to multiple conference titles in both volleyball and basketball.

In 2011, she was inducted into the Fayetteville Sports Club Hall of Fame.

She was the District 4 basketball Coach of the Year in 2018 and 2019. She won the 2011 North Carolina High School Athletic Association Doris Howard Female Coach of the Year Award and was a 2016 winner of the NCHSAA Homer Thompson Memorial Eight Who Make A Difference Award from Region 4.

Hardy joins Cape Fear’s Howard and Douglas Byrd’s Robin Long as the only Cumberland County female coaches to have a gym, court or field named for them. The softball field at Cape Fear High School bears Howard’s name while the softball field at Byrd is named for Long.

This past season was one of Hardy’s most successful as basketball coach at E.E. Smith. Her team compiled a 30-2 record, winning the Patriot Athletic Conference regular season and tournament titles along with the Gene Arrington bracket of the annual Holiday Classic basketball tournament.

The Smith girls advanced to the NCHSAA 3-A Eastern Regional title game before falling 62-59 to Eastern Guilford.

Photo: Dee Major Hardy

Here is the Sandhills Athletic Conference baseball team as chosen by the league’s head coaches.

Player of the year: Bryce Calcutt, Pinecrest

Pitcher of the year: Hunter Parris, Richmond Senior

Coach of the year: Jeff Hewitt, Pinecrest

First team:

• Pinecrest — Elliot Embler, Nick Phantom, Jacob Zimmerman, Davis Wilson, Pres Ostert

• Jack Britt — Chase Jernigan, Alex Reyna, Kevin Sentell

• Purnell Swett — Zachary Carter, Jalyn McIntyre, Jeremiah Locklear

• Lumberton — Parks Ledwell

• Richmond Senior — Cameron Carraway, Jake Ransom, Tyler Bass, Brett Young, Garet Weigman

• Scotland — Stewart Evans, Matt Sellers, Michael Johnson, Nic Callahan

• Hoke County — Liam Miller

Photo: Alex Reyna

• Seventy-First — Jamiese Alston

After being in operation for less than two years, the Gary Weller Foundation has enjoyed rapid growth that allowed it to triple the amount of money it awarded in its annual scholarships. After presenting two $500 scholarships a year ago, the foundation awarded a pair of $1,500 scholarships to students at Pine Forest High School this year.

The winners were Allyssa Rancour of the girls soccer team and Tanner Hendricks of the boys soccer team. The award is presented to student-athletes at Pine Forest who had to overcome adversity, befitting of a scholarship presented in honor of Weller, the former Pine Forest football coach. Weller sustained multiple serious injuries some years ago when he was run over by a driver in a stolen vehicle.

Cumberland County Commissioner Jimmy Keefe is a Pine Forest graduate and one of the organizers of the Gary Weller Foundation. He said the foundation was able to dramatically increase the amount of the scholarship awarded this year because of a highly successful Trojan Challenge obstacle course competition that was held last fall. “We’re hoping to increase it next year, hopefully with a second annual Trojan Challenge,’’ Keefe said.

Keefe said much of the credit for the success of the foundation has to go to Weller, his story and the positive attitude that has carried him through adversity. “Gary has made a lot of friends in this community and has always been an advocate for young people,’’ Keefe said. “He continued on after his coaching days, supporting the community and the young. It’s more Gary than me or anybody else on the committee.’’

In addition to another Trojan Challenge, Keefe said the committee is looking at other ways to raise money for future scholarships.

They’ve floated an idea of holding a coaching clinic for local high school, middle school and recreation league coaches, possibly using veteran coaches from the area as clinicians or speakers.

“We’d have a symposium and questions and answers,’’ Keefe said. “If we did that, we might be doing it during the summer, another way to keep the Gary Weller Foundation in the public eye as we go throughout the year.’’

There are several ways to contact the Weller Foundation about making a contribution or learning more about the organization. Email info@trojanchallenge.org, visit the website at www.trojanchallenge.org, or visit the Facebook page, The Gary Weller Foundation.

Photo: Allysa Rancour and Tanner Hendricks

Editor’s note: May 29, the Hope Mills Board of Commissioners met to hear the results of an investigation by the law firm Cauley Pridgen P.A. into the 2018 proposed sale of Lakebed #2, property owned by Hope Mills. The potential buyer was a nonprofit called Lone Survivor Foundation  LSF intended to purchase town property for development of a retreat center for military service members suffering from the aftereffects of war. The investigation by Cauley Pridgen P.A. cost the town’s taxpayers $26,000 and took five months to complete. It absolved Hope Mills Mayor Jackie Warner and her son, Teddy Warner, of any wrongdoing in relation to dealings with LSF.

An excerpt from the official report by Cauley Pridgen P.A.: The specific scope of the assignment was as follows: The Hope Mills Board of Commissioners commissioned an investigation into (1) allegations of ethical misconduct by members of the town of Hope Mills Board of Commissioners (mayor and commissioners) and town staff pertaining to various sections of the town’s code of ethics and conduct for town officials; and (2) allegations of inappropriate protocols used by all parties during the decision-making process regarding all official correspondence and efforts to purchase/lease municipal property presented or submitted by the Lone Survivor Foundation to the town of Hope Mills during the period of December 1, 2017 to November 6, 2018.

The investigation by Jeff Thompson

James P. Cauley III, president of Cauley Pridgen P.A., is an acknowledged expert in municipal law. Cauley is a certified superior court mediator and has served as a legal instructor at Campbell University School of Law, Barton College and Wilson Technical College. He was a charter member of the Council for the North Carolina Bar Association’s Government and Public Sector section and is also a past chairman of that section.

In his report to the Hope Mills Board of Commissioners, Cauley repeatedly indicated he wasn’t exactly sure what the board wanted from him other than the lengthy written report. He made a live 50-minute presentation referring to his notes. He acknowledged that his findings would likely not satisfy everyone.

Cauley learned during his investigation that the mayor and some members of the board were at odds with one another.

A significant determination was that, in his opinion, Mayor Jackie Warner did not act improperly by not immediately informing commissioners of LSF’s interest in the property at Lakebed #2.

Cauley noted that typically, mayors and town managers learn of economic opportunities before the interest becomes commonly known. He said Warner’s initial awareness of LSF’s interest in the site and her presentation to the board in a closed meeting were insignificant.

Cauley noted Warner had worked well with boards of commissioners during her eight years in office, but that “when the new board took office in December of 2017, that relationship changed.”

He declared it appeared at times that the mayor’s endorsement of a matter would automatically trigger opposition by certain members of the board. Cauley did not name the members, but Mayor pro tem Mike Mitchell and Commissioner Meg Larson have been outspoken in their opposition to Warner. Cauley went on to say that “2018 was a time of transition into the new roles and board members’ expectations.”

In 2018, after squabbling during numerous public meetings and closed sessions, the town board decided not to entertain an offer from the LSF to purchase town property.

Cauley concluded that the mayor, board members and town staff did not engage in unethical lapses of judgment or intentional misbehavior. His overall conclusion was that allegations of misconduct by any party were unfounded.

Mayor Warner and Commissioner Edwards by Earl Vaughan Jr.

Cauley said his probe into dealings between the town of Hope Mills and LSF came down to two central issues.

“It is attributable to a combination of rookie mistakes and changing governance policies,’’ he said.

In short, newcomers to the Hope Mills Board of Commissioners unfamiliar with how cooperative government works over-reached in their jobs and developed a hostile relationship with Warner, who had been serving with previous boards since 2011 with no conflicts nearly as unpleasant as this one became.

Pat Edwards, the lone Hope Mills commissioner on the current board who consistently backed Warner following the new board’s arrival after the 2017 elections, said the new members of the board didn’t realize the board needed to work together and not venture out on individual missions. 

Edwards said Warner has been active in her role as mayor, dealing with organizations and boards around Fayetteville and Cumberland County, representing Hope Mills and making numerous connections with other government leaders. “She knows so many people,” Edwards said. “She is the mayor and should be respected as the mayor.”

This issue has been deeply personal for the mayor, as attacks have been mounted not only on her but on her son Teddy Warner, who was involved with the presentation made by the Fayetteville Cumberland Economic Development Commission on behalf of the Lone Survivor project.

When Cauley exonerated Teddy of any hint of wrongdoing or standing to benefit from any of his work on behalf of LSF, the mayor said she was thinking the whole time that prayers are answered. “That is one thing we’ve prided ourselves on as parents and members of the community — character and integrity,’’ Warner said. “Do what you say and always be a good public servant.”

In defense of Warner’s son, Cauley noted that Teddy had nothing to gain financially from his role in the Lone Survivor presentation and that there was no mention of a benefit for him. “It appears he was performing his job duties as assigned, (with) the added personal incentive he genuinely thought he was bringing a coveted project to his hometown, a town in need of economic development opportunities,’’ Cauley said.

Cauley said his investigation showed previous boards gave Warner more freedom to exercise her leadership, giving deference to her acting independently as the town’s chief ambassador. That relationship began to change when the new board was seated. “It appears at times the mayor’s endorsement of a matter could automatically prompt opposition,’’ Cauley said.

A specific case in point involved the board’s reaction to its failure to renew an agreement with a professor at the University of North Carolina- Pembroke. The agreement involved contracting the professor’s students to create sculptures to be displayed at various points around town. Warner did not bring the matter of renewal to the board’s attention; it was reported the previous year, and board members knew they had to vote to renew the agreement to continue getting the art.

When Up & Coming Weekly published a story about the failure of the board to renew the agreement, the board called a special meeting to deal with the story. Commissioner Larson accused the story’s reporter of fabricating comments by the UNC-Pembroke professor. This reporter categorically denies that accusation and stands fully by the accuracy of the comment.

The comment the professor made about how the board handled the art contract basically repeated what Cauley said in his report about the board tending to reject anything Warner supports. The result was a vote of no confidence in the mayor by the board.

While the board has the legal right to set the limits of the mayor’s power, after Warner had a freer hand as mayor under previous boards, Cauley suggested the sudden switch in what the mayor can and can’t do could be a handicap for all involved.

“Their effectiveness in governing the jurisdiction depends entirely on the personalities involved,’’ Cauley said. “Hardball politics can make a board ineffective or dysfunctional.’’

Warner said her major problem in working with the current board has been that some of them don’t seem to understand the relationship between the mayor and the commissioners and the different roles they fill. “It’s not because it’s an ‘I’ thing with me,” Warner said. “Nine times out of 10, if television, radio, newspaper or anybody comes, they’re going to call the mayor. That’s just what happens.”

Warner’s parting words just before adjournment were from the heart, she said. “I don’t do anything without thinking first — is it right? Is it ethical?

“I don’t like the idea of my integrity and my character being judged. What you do sometimes in politics, it does hurt. But you do have to move forward. As mayor of Hope Mills, I try every day to make sure I represent Hope Mills the very best I can.’’

Warner said she does appreciate the current board and is doing her best to learn to work with each of them. “I hope we can move forward,’’ she said.

She then called on the Hope Mills community to end negative comments on social media. “We need your support now,’’ she said. “We don’t need to be torn apart anymore.’’

What’s next? by Elizabeth Blevins

Commissioner Jerry Legge was quick to accept Cauley’s presentation and said, “I think the lesson we’ve learned is we just need to move forward … and we need to do what’s best for this town.” His sentiment was echoed by Commissioner Jessie Bellflowers and by the mayor.

But Larson and Mayor pro tem Mitchell bombarded Cauley with questions and reiterated old accusations. Later that evening, Mitchell used social media to cast doubt on the integrity of the investigation, posting, “When ethics are no longer black and white but gray what will become of our beloved town?”

By the next morning, the situation had turned ugly. Mitchell blocked Sue Moody, a citizen of Hope Mills and Mitchell’s neighbor, from posting on his official Facebook page. The North Carolina State Supreme Court ruled in January 2019 it is unconstitutional for an elected official to block members of the general public from commenting on their social media accounts.

Moody, who attended the May 29 meeting, isn’t hopeful Mitchell or Larson can learn from the situation and move forward. Of their behavior at the meeting, Moody said, “The first question was challenging the investigator, simply to put into public record, again, the accusations when they’d already been addressed. They were defensive and aggressive; there was no spirit of working together for the good of the people. You can tell they both have their own agendas.”

The board has made a habit of spending an exorbitant amount of money on surveys, investigations and studies, only to discover they don’t like the results rendered. They follow up by discrediting the experts and the processes to invalidate those results, leaving them free to deviate in whichever directions they want to go.

For those following this investigation, it wasn’t a surprise when the mayor and her staff were exonerated. Nor was it a surprise when Mitchell and Larson refused to accept the results of the investigation.

Several members of the board need to issue apologies to a very long list of people and organizations.

Larson has publicly referred to the offer by LSF as the “LSF ordeal” on two separate occasions in the past month. She was also part of a conversation in which it was alleged the mayor’s son was offered bribes to facilitate the sale of municipal land to LSF. She and Mitchell have consistently used social media and their elected positions as a pulpit from which to judge and condemn the mayor and her family, and they’ve spent the better part of their tenure rewriting longstanding rules of procedure to strip the mayor of all authority.

They owe apologies to Fayetteville Cumberland County Economic Development Corporation President and CEO Robert Van Geons and his staff, to the Hope Mills staff at Town Hall and to members of the local media.

Finally, the commissioners owe an apology to the people of Hope Mills. After 18 months of reminding us it’s their sworn duty to be good stewards of our assets, it was difficult to watch them toss $26,000 toward an investigation based on fabricated allegations. And in the days that followed, they and their small group of supporters added insult to injury when they undermined Cauley and his investigation to justify their own bad behavior.

Despite the investigation, which had just cleared Warner of any wrongdoing, Mitchell and Larson chose to continue a one-sided feud. Fortunately, the voters of Hope Mills will render a final decision on this issue in November.

There’s nothing like a horse-drawn carriage ride through downtown Fayetteville. Even more exciting are the historical carriage tours of Olde Fayetteville that cover 250 years of history in 45 minutes. This summer, Cool Spring Downtown District invites the public to “time travel” with horse and carriage on three Saturdays: June 15, July 13 and Aug. 17.

The tours consist of about one mile of historical sites downtown, but no two tours are alike “because everybody’s different,” said Hank Parfitt, a tour guide and volunteer with CSDD and the Downtown Alliance. “All the tour guides have their special things that they like the most, so no, you wouldn’t get the same tour every time.”

Among several other sites, stops include the old courthouse on Gillespie Street, Evans Metropolitan AME Zion Church, Cool Spring Tavern and the Market House. The tour guide’s goal is to make the town’s past exciting for everyone involved, history buff or not. “That’s part of what the guides do, and it’s so important,” said Parfitt. “(They’re) not there to just spew out a bunch of facts (they) have memorized. What makes it fun is you talking and telling the stories of these events and the people connected with them.

“It’s a double whammy: You find history that is fun, you have a good time doing it, and you learn more about your town.”

Baseball lovers are welcome, too. If you attend a Fayetteville Woodpeckers home game any time from May 29 to June 10 and save your ticket, you’ll get a discount on a carriage ride. “If you bring in your used ticket … you’ll get a 40% discount,” said Parfitt. “And it has to be in advance; you can’t do it the day of. At the time you make your reservation, you’ll also be entered into a drawing for four free (Fayetteville Woodpeckers) tickets.”

Reserve a tour and bring your used ticket by the CSDD office at 222 Hay St. for the discount.

Kris Johnson, another tour guide, is excited to see historical Fayetteville’s evolution into a thriving city. “You don’t always appreciate what’s in your ow  backyard,” said Johnson. “We are in such a renaissance. It’s exciting to see people come down and get that positive energy going. Fayetteville’s got a lot to offer, and we always have; it’s amazing.”

Cool Spring also offers holidaythemed carriage rides throughout the year for holidays like Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day.

Historical carriage tours of Olde Fayetteville will take place June 15 from 1-5 p.m., July 13 from 9 a.m.-12 p.m., and August 17 from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. Groups of all sizes are welcome, but call 910-223-1089 if your group includes more than four people. Tours depart at 222 Hay St., across from the Cameo Art House Theatre. For tickets, call 910-223-1089 or visit www.visitdowntownfayetteville.com.

Time is running out to apply to be either a parade participant or a vendor in this year’s morning Hope Mills Fourth of July Parade and evening Independence Day celebration.

The separate forms for both parade participants and vendors are available on the town website, www.townofhopemills.com, by clicking on the links to Departments, Parks and Recreation and then Special Events. Both applications are due at the parks and recreation offices off Rockfish Road by June 14. The parade and the evening celebration are both on Thursday, July 4.

Meghan Freeman, who is coordinating the parade and the celebration, said both entry forms and the packets that come with them include specific rules about do’s and don’ts for both parade entries and vendors.

Any questions about what works and what doesn’t can be directed to her via her email at mhawkins@townofhopemills.com.

There will be one major change to the traditional parade route. For years, it has started at Hope Mills Middle School on Cameron Road, wound its way down Main Street, then finished up on Rockfish Road near Town Hall and Municipal Park.

For multiple reasons, this year’s parade route will be reversed. Parade entries will assemble near Rockfish Elementary School on Rockfish Road, then the parade will head in reverse back down Rockfish Road, under the railroad trestle and through downtown Hope Mills, ending at Hope Mills Middle School.

Freeman said a major reason for changing the route involved the schedule of Fourth of July events. The parade begins at 10 a.m., and when it ends there is a long delay until 4 p.m., when the celebration begins at Municipal Park.

With the new route, the area around the park will be cleared as soon as the parade has passed. There won’t be a crowd milling around waiting for the 4 p.m. activities to begin, and vendors will have plenty of time to get set up once the parade is over.

Spectators won’t notice another major benefit from the change, but high school bands and other walking units in the parade definitely will. Now that the parade is headed in the opposite direction, people on foot won’t have to walk up two imposing hills. The first hill comes up from the railroad trestle and the second is the gradual incline from Main Street up Rockfish Road to the Town Hall and Municipal Park area.

Freeman said although the bands didn’t complain, they weren’t terribly excited about the old route for that reason.

Freeman said the Fourth of July parade usually draws about 65-70 entries and 30-40 vendors at the park. The annual Christmas parade is usually a bigger draw, she said, with up to 90 entries. It’s not that one is more popular than the other, she said, noting that the season of the year has a lot to do with it.

“Christmas is usually bigger because it’s on Saturday and school is still in,’’ Freeman said. “There are more people here.’’

A long list of rules is included in the form for the parade, but Freeman hit on a few of the bigger  ones.

Businesses and organizations taking part in the parade can’t throw candy to the crowd from the floats. There is too much danger of people being injured scrambling for it. Any group that wants to give something out during the parade must actually hand it directly to spectators.

No profanity or alcoholic beverages are allowed on floats.

All parade entries who are mounted on horses have to provide for their own cleanup.

All motorcycle riders in the parade must wear a helmet.

The hours for the Independence Day celebration will be 4-10 p.m. and will include the traditional fireworks show.

Several other activities, aside from the planned vendors, will be held at the celebration at Municipal Park. They include pony rides, a petting zoo, a 28-foot rock-climbing wall, a foam pit and a mechanical shark ride. Freeman said in the past the petting zoo has included a lemur, alpaca, kangaroo, llama and a miniature horse.

She described the foam pit as being similar to soap suds. The mechanical shark is similar to a mechanical bull.

Musical groups scheduled to perform at the celebration include Open Road and the Guy Unger Band.

Dr. John D Fuller, who recently died, leaves behind a sprawling legacy bigger than the huge church building complex and congregation he helped grow during his many years as the pastor at Lewis Chapel Missionary Baptist Church. Fuller died at the age of 73, just days after his birthday on May 23.

He was honored this past weekend with three funeral services — one in Rockingham, where he served as a pastor after his retirement from Lewis Chapel four years ago, and two in Fayetteville. 

The Rev. Christoppher Stackhouse Sr., who became the pastor at Lewis Chapel in 2016 following Fuller’s retirement, said Fuller was like a father to many people. “I’ve never seen so many grown men cry at the loss of someone,’’ Stackhouse said.

One of the biggest lessons Stackhouse said he learned from Fuller was that where you live doesn’t define who you are. Stackhouse said Fuller believed you didn’t have to be from New York City or Atlanta, Georgia, to have an impact on people — or the world. His philosophy was not to use where you are as an excuse to not pursue as much as you possibly can or to not do what you possibly can.

Stackhouse said Fuller displayed a level of humility and integrity that Stackhouse has tried to model in his own life.

“For somebody that accomplished as much as he did and was respected as much as he was, he was very humble,’’ Stackhouse said. “When he came in, he didn’t come in with a lot of fanfare and flash. You would take note of his stature, but you wouldn’t take note of him because he came in being loud and demanding attention.”

The Rev. Cureton Johnson of First Baptist Church on Moore Street, who retired earlier this year, first crossed paths with Fuller when Johnson was a young minister starting out. Fuller invited Johnson to come to his Lewis Chapel Church and preach one Sunday morning.

“He’s one of those folks who helped a lot of people along the way,” Johnson said. “He produced a whole lot of ministers out of his church. I wouldn’t be surprised if he produced 100 ministers over there.”

Johnson worked with Fuller when Fuller rose to leadership positions within the Missionary Baptist Church. Fuller was president of the General Baptist State Convention of North Carolina at one point in his career.

“Dr. Fuller had a lot of influence among the Baptist churches of the city, county and around the state,” Johnson said. “He just had a gift of leadership. He took Lewis Chapel when they only had a few members and took them to 3,000-4,000 members. That takes someone with a lot of charisma and giftedness.”

People who attended Fuller’s services at Lewis Chapel, both long-term and short-term, came away impressed with his ministry.

Billy King, a former Cumberland County commissioner, has been going to Lewis Chapel since the early 1980s. He described Fuller as a spiritual and forthright person who believed in fairness and equity. “I think he really loved the Lord,” King said. “We have a good-sized church, but I think he knew the names of almost every member.” \

Marsha Mann Lake attended services at Lewis Chapel during a time in the mid-1990s when she was seeking a new church home. She recalled Fuller as being a mesmerizing speaker. “He was so engaging and enthralling,” she said. “He makes you feel special. He was extra special in everything he did.”

Photo: Dr. John D. Fuller

Here is the Sandhills Athletic Conference softball team as chosen by the league’s head coaches.

Pitcher of the year: Morgan Britt, Lumberton and Greyson Way, Richmond Senior

Player of the year: Carlie Myrtle, Jack Britt

Coach of the year: Wendy Wallace, Richmond Senior

First team:

• Richmond Senior — Savannah Lampley, Taylor Parrish, Aliyah Swiney, Payton Chappell, Kayla Hawkins

• Jack Britt — Jessica McRae, Alyssa Brown, Catie McGrath

• Lumberton — Madison Canada, Ashley Prevatte, Kasey West

• Purnell Swett — JaiLeana Deese, Chandra Locklear, Katlyn Jones, Trinity Locklear

• Scotland — Olivia Hyatt, Taylor Whitley

• Hoke County — Ina Womack, Kiya Locklear

• Pinecrest — Katelyn Chisholm, Hannah Spinali

• Seventy-First — Lacey Henry

Photo: Carlie Myrtle

Residents and business owners in Fayetteville’s historic Haymount community will soon see some significant improvements at the five-point intersection at the top of the Hay Street hill. The North Carolina Department of Transportation has earmarked $10,000 for preliminary engineering for a project designed to make the area safer for pedestrians and motorists, according to Eric Vitale, a planner with the Fayetteville Area Metropolitan Planning Organization.

The city of Fayetteville has already created new crosswalks where Highland and Oakridge Avenues intersect the business district. The other three roads, Hay Street, Morganton Road and Fort Bragg Road, are state-maintained streets. The DOT will completely remake the confluence of the five roadways with new crosswalks, traffic signals and push-button pedestrian controls.

The speed limit along Morganton and Fort Bragg Roads in the business center was reduced to 25 mph several years ago when an elderly pedestrian was struck and killed.

In March of last year, the five-point commercial district was transformed into a pedestrian-friendly area on a Saturday afternoon as part of a Build a Better Block project. “The purpose of this project (was) to revitalize the area, test ideas for the future, increase pedestrian safety, engage the community and boost the economy,” Vitale said in a news release.

During the event, Hay Street, Morganton Road and Fort Bragg Road were temporarily converted into a pedestrian- friendly area with narrowed traffic lanes, widened sidewalks, bike lanes, crosswalks, benches and plazas. “Fayetteville is a perfect place for a Better Block project, especially considering that out of the 141 cities in the country with a population greater than 200,000, Fayetteville ranks last in walkability,” Vitale said.

Much of the one-day outlook was familiar to panelists who took part in a local Urban Land Development Institute public meeting a year earlier, in April of 2017. It, too, proposed changes for Haymount Hill — in conjunction with the North Carolina Civil War & Reconstruction History Center planned for Arsenal Park. A technical assistance panel presented recommendations on strategies to leverage the future of the History Center, which is expected to generate on- and offsite income of $5 million annually.

As many as 130,000 people are projected to visit the History Center, which will become a branch of the state history museum complex. The technical assistance panel was to assess and provide advice on the challenges to create a more vibrant mixed-use Fayetteville neighborhood following the eventual opening of the History Center. The group was also supposed to address pedestrian and transportation needs. But the Urban Land Development Institute plans never came to fruition.

City officials who may know why that is have declined to elaborate. “The group hasn’t met in more than a year,” said Deputy City Manager Kristoff Bauer.

“The city no longer has someone on staff who is actively working the walkability study from a few years ago,” added city spokesman Kevin Arata.

It will be up to FAMPO and the DOT to carry Haymount’s walkability development forward.

President Donald Trump and his Veterans Affairs secretary are claiming full credit for health care improvements that took place before they were in office. Trump said he passed a private-sector health care program known as Veterans Choice, after failed attempts by past presidents. The Choice program, which allows veterans to see doctors outside the government-run VA system was passed in 2014 under President Barack Obama.

Trump’s recently appointed VA secretary, Robert Wilkie of Fayetteville, is also distorting the facts. He suggested it was his efforts that improved waiting times at VA medical centers. The study cited by Wilkie on wait times covers the period from 2014 to 2017 — long before he was appointed VA secretary.

The VA “had suffered from bad leadership,” Wilkie said. “I had to make sure that as we approach our veteran population that we make sure that they are at the center, their needs are at the center of what we do... I think we’ve had it backwards at VA for many years.”

In an interview with Fox News, Wilkie claimed that now “we have same-day mental health service.” Same-day mental health service started at the VA before Trump took office. The VA’s effort to provide same-day primary and mental health care, when medically necessary, at every VA medical center was publicized in April 2016 during the Obama administration.

Roadside trash isn’t getting picked up

“We’ve got a systemic problem,” Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin said, moments after City Council member Bill Crisp complained that areas of Strickland Bridge Road have mattresses and box springs at the curb that haven’t been picked up since he complained about it a week earlier.

The remarks came during a May 28 City Council dinner meeting. City Manager Doug Hewett reminded Council that the city can’t respond to issues as quickly as he would like.

“There’s no money in the budget,” Hewett said. “We’ve got to figure out a way to flex.”

Councilmember Kathy Jensen said the public needs to be better educated when it comes to garbage and yard debris pickup in addition to bulky items and tree limbs. Hewett noted that since 2013, residents have not been required to report special needs and so they simply put their junk at the curb.

Deputy fire chief promoted

Fayetteville City Manager Doug Hewett was apparently guided by local history when he named Deputy Fire Chief Mike Hill permanent chief of the Fire/ Emergency Management Department. Fayetteville fire department chief officers have been promoted from within since the agency became a full-time, paid department in 1947.

Hill has served with the fire department for more than 25 years and was appointed acting chief when Ben Major retired earlier this year.

“Michael Hill has the talent, experience and leadership abilities to be Fayetteville’s next fire chief,” Hewett said.

Hill has managed or been assigned to every division of the department. As chief, Hill will lead a staff of 331 operating out of 15 fire stations in North Carolina’s second-largest city geographically. He will manage a $29 million budget for a department that is internationally accredited and has achieved a class one ISO rating. ISO is the Insurance Services Office, whose ratings determine a community’s commercial insurance rates. The ratings also position fire departments competitively among themselves. A one rating is the highest to achieve.

Relief from the heat

The Cumberland County Department of Social Services is the latest agency to provide relief for those suffering from the current heat wave. D.S.S. will open an auxiliary lobby to members of the public on days when the heat index reaches 100 F and a heat advisory is issued. The effort provides relief for citizens who have no other way to escape the high summer temperatures.

The DSS building is at 1225 Ramsey St. The lobby areas will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Temperatures topped 100 F and regula

The Cole Humphrey Memorial Foundation recently made its annual donation to the football and baseball programs at the Cape Fear spring athletic banquet. The foundation is named for former Cape Fear multi-sport athlete Cole Humphrey, who died in an automobile accident. Accepting for the football team is assistant coach Chris Hall, far left, and for the baseball team head coach Wendell Smith, far right. Also present, from left, are Larry Ellis, Jana Humphrey, McRae Humphrey, Cape Fear athletic director Matt McLean and Ann Ellis.

This year’s donation is $2,000, which brings the total donated since 2014 to $12,000.

The Fayetteville Kiwanis Club presents its 68th annual Kiwanis Talent Night Showcase on Saturday, June 8, at 7 p.m. at Cape Fear Regional Theatre.

“May 18, dozens of children came through — preschoolers through 12th grade — to audition from public, private and Christian schools. There were also a lot of home-schoolers,” said Bill Bowman, chairman of the Kiwanis Talent Night Showcase. “We have five divisions, including a classical division. The talent is absolutely amazing.”

Bowman added that the showcase has lasted through so many years because of the way it is put together. He said the secret is in choosing qualified and knowledgeable judges for the event. The judges are experts in the areas of voice, music and dance, so they are informed and objective when it comes to judging the talent.

“We are putting a show together to highlight what we feel is the best of the best (students) that come out to audition,” said Bowman. “So, once we have them, we can put a show together that not only creates a wonderful evening of quality entertainment, but it gives the children a chance to showcase their talent.”

Bowman explained how the show is valuable to its participants. There are hundreds of local children who take voice, music and dance lessons, and they have very few venues in which to perform. Being able to perform at events like the Kiwanis showcase, Bowman said, “is really how you get good.”

Special guests include the 2019 Fayetteville Dogwood Festival Queens and the Campbellton Youth Chorus. The emcees of the event are John Kistler and Debbie Best.

JML Piano will provide a 7-foot grand piano for the contestants to play for their performances.

“This is a fundraiser for The Fayetteville Kiwanis Club, and all of the money raised will go back into the community in some sort of program of education,” said Bowman. “The Cumberland County Schools have been major sponsors of this event for over three decades, but everybody participates in it.”

The 2019 overall winner will receive a trophy and $200. In each division, the first-place winner will receive a trophy and $100, the second-place winner will receive a trophy and $50, and the third-place winner will receive a trophy and $25.

Four $150 music scholarships will also be awarded in the areas of voice, strings, piano and band instrument.

“I would like to thank the Cape Fear Regional Theatre for giving the kids this experience,” said Bowman. “We invite everyone to come out and enjoy this wonderful event.”

Tickets cost $8 at the door. Refreshments will be sold courtesy of Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shop. For more information, contact Bowman at 910-391-3859.