This June, Rick’s Place will host a volunteer “Work Day” and start kids’ summer day camps to teach essential survival skills. Rick’s Place is a 50-acre reintegration park in Fayetteville for military families and contractors. Founded in 2014 by military families for soldiers and their families, the park provides fun, quality activities to help strengthen relationships around the deployment cycle. Rick’s Place’s Work Day will be held June 8 from 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Work Day provides meaningful volunteer activities for teams and families to help build the park. Typical activities include carpentry, gardening, ditch-clearing and park beautification. A community meal is provided free of charge to all who register online by the deadline of June 3. The Rick’s Place staff asks that volunteers register for the event so that they prepare the right number of projects. To find the event online and register, search “June Work Day” on Eventbrite.com, with Fayetteville set as the location.

Parents must supervise their kids. Rick’s Place encourages parents and kids to work side-by-side to help build a park that is, in turn, a place that families can go to have fun and to relax.

Starting June 10, Rick’s Place hosts day camps for kids ages 8-14. This summer, a limited number of scholarships for military children are available courtesy of the Fayetteville Woodpecker’s Community Leaders Program. The day camp is called the Super Fun Quality Camp or SF Q-Camp, a play on the Special Forces Qualification Course, also known as The Q-Course. SFQC teaches kids skills that blend the best of living in nature with appreciation of key military survival skills such as land navigation, fire building, knot tying, and animal and plant threat identification. The camp also provides opportunities to let off steam with paintball battles, foam machine play and old-fashioned tale-telling.

One 23-year Army veteran and father of five said, “Rick’s Place provides my family with an environment where we can work together, play together and just be together, in a beautiful outdoor setting, no strings attached. It’s a place to unwind and disconnect from the pressures of everyday life, while forging bonds with other military families — and the community that supports us — that can sustain life long after we’ve left the grounds.

“I love the look on my kids’ faces when they pile out of the minivan and see the latest addition to the recreational scene at Rick’s Place: the trampoline in the trees, zip line, Nerf-gun battleground — there’s always a moment when they look back and me as if to say, ‘Dad, are you sure I’m allowed to do this?’ The answer, at Rick’s Place, is always yes.”

Rick’s Place is operated by the Rick Herrema Foundation to support family bonding and reintegration between deployments. The park is located at 5572 Shenandoah Drive, Fayetteville.

For more information about Work Day or day camps, visit rhfnow.org/events, email info@rhfnow.org, call the Rick’s Place team at 910-444-1743 or come for a visit. The park is open dawn to dusk every day to support war stress reduction for military families and contractors.

When built in 1925, the Hotel Prince Charles was downtown Fayetteville’s tallest building. It was a grand landmark like no other. But over the last 40 years, the structure deteriorated to the point that the fire department closed it down several years ago. In 2014, PCH Holdings LLC bought the hotel at auction for $200,000. The surrounding property was purchased for $2 million. Fayetteville native Jordan Jones is one of the owners and is serving as project manager of the company’s reconstruction of the interior of the building. It’s a family affair for Jones. His great, greatgrandfather, James A. Jones, built the hotel 94 years ago.

When North Carolina’s largest banks showed no interest in downtown Fayetteville investment opportunities, a local community bank said yes when asked to join in a long-term investment. Carter Bank and Trust Company is the major investor in the $18.3 million reconstruction project. “It was a pretty huge win for downtown,” Jones said. He added that over the last year the big banks have seen the commitments that the city of Fayetteville and PCH Holdings have made, and now consider the city “investable.”

Jones said the Prince Charles project was much more than a renovation. None of the existing interior walls still stand. One-bedroom units have about 650 square-feet. Apartment rentals from the second to the seventh floors range in price from an average of $1,200 for one-bedroom units to $1,700 for larger two-bedroom units. 

Two-bedroom apartments have two full baths. All apartments have washers and dryers in addition to kitchen appliances. There are 11 separate floor plans. A dozen or so of the 59 apartments overlook Segra Stadium. Not all the apartments are ready for occupancy, but Jones said it won’t be long. The former ballroom on the eighth floor has been leased to a firm with 3,300 square-feet of open office space. The original hardwood floors remain.

The 300-plus windows in the building represent a significant, unintended expense for the developers. The Historic Resources Commission is responsible for reviewing and approving all exterior changes in designated districts and to landmark properties. It required that the windows be repaired, not replaced. “We sent them to Florida to be fixed,” Jones said. Austin Historical Restorations of Orlando was paid $850,000 to preserve the window frames. Jones added that much of the original glass was used.

The apartment building’s first floor at ground level will feature two full-service restaurants. A high-end steakhouse is planned for the former lobby of the hotel. A pizzeria with 2,600 feet of open-air space is planned for the rear of the building near the baseball stadium entrance. And, the Coffee Scene with shops on Morganton Road and Fort Bragg will also have a location in the Prince Charles, just off Hay Street.

Tenants will have reserved parking spaces in the adjacent five-story parking garage. The city owns the building at a taxpayer cost so far of $16 million. PCH Holdings has put $2 million into the parking deck and has asked the city for another $1.5 million. It’s estimated that of the 482 spaces in the parking tower, 200 of them will be available to the public depending on time of day.

Fayetteville’s annual Memorial Day Ceremony at Freedom Memorial Park is set for Monday, May 27, at 11 a.m. Bleacher seating for 300 will be available, but the seats typically fill quickly. Attendees can also bring lawn chairs for seating. Parking is available at the Airborne & Special Operations Museum, 100 Bragg Blvd.; and the Medical Arts building, 101 Robeson St. A gateway to downtown, the park includes graceful monuments honoring military veterans of World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the global war on terrorism. The ceremony ensures the sacrifices of those who fought for our freedom are never forgotten.

The Cool Spring Downtown District is partnering with the ASOM Foundation in support of the 12th Annual Field of Honor. Since its inception in 2008, The North Carolina Field of Honor has been an annual tradition in downtown Fayetteville.

Through June 27, hundreds of flags fly on the parade ground between the ASOM at 100 Bragg Blvd. and the North Carolina Veterans Park. Each flag comes with its own story and displays a tag identifying both the person who sponsored the flag and the honoree. This display of heroism flies as a patriotic tribute to the strength and unity of Americans. It honors all who are currently serving, those who have served, and the men and women who have made the supreme sacrifice for our nation’s freedom.

Flags may be purchased to honor the memory of veterans or current service members. To sponsor a $35 Field of Honor Flag, visit the ASOM Gift Store.

May 25 is 4th Friday. Starting at 6 p.m. downtown, there will be big-band music at the Headquarters Library and the opening of the “Dance of Art in India” exhibit at Cape Fear Studios. Saturday, May 26, Spring Lake’s Memorial Day Tribute begins with a parade at 10 a.m. at Veterans Park at Ruth and Main streets. Soldiers from Fort Bragg will participate in the ceremony.

Monday, May 27, the U.S. Special Forces Command Memorial Day service is at 10 a.m., at Memorial Wall, United States Army Special Operations Command. 

Also on May 27, join the Fort Bragg Chapter of Wear Blue: Run to Remember at the Memorial Day event to be held at the Jordon Soccer Complex on Treetop Drive in Fayetteville. This event begins with a Circle of Remembrance ceremony, when the names of fallen service members are spoken aloud. Afterward, the group unites as a living memorial for the fallen service members with a self-paced run or walk.

Hope Mills has long paid tribute to fallen members of the military on Memorial Day. The tribute will take place May 27, at the war memorial located adjacent to the Hope Mills Recreation Center on Rockfish Road at 4 p.m. Several groups and organizations will take part in the ceremony, and the general public is invited to attend.

Mecklenburg County State Sen. Dan Bishop, R-N.C., won the makeover 9th Congressional District Republican primary election. The May 14 special primary came three months after state election officials threw out the November 2018 election, which was marred by fraud allegations in Bladen and Robeson counties.

Half of Cumberland County is in the 9th District. Bishop will face Democrat Dan McCready and two third-party candidates Sept. 10 in what’s expected to be the nation’s most closely watched special election. The district has been without a member of the U.S. House of Representatives since the first of the year. A Republican has held the seat, which has changed over time, since the 1960s. Bishop defeated nine other Republican Party candidates.

“Dan McCready went through two elections without telling anyone where he stood on anything — that ends now,” Bishop told supporters.

In a statement, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee fired back, noting Bishop was the architect of House Bill 2, the so-called “bathroom bill,” and heir to what it called Republican election fraud.

Bragg Boulevard intersection change

Construction of the new Rowan Street railroad bridges is resulting in a new traffic pattern west of the overpasses. Bragg Boulevard is being rerouted to intersect with Murchison Road and Rowan Street.

The change was made this month while construction of the roadway continues. Another new section of the roadway will redirect Murchison Road to make for a smoother transformation. The change cuts off a historic service station now being used as a used car lot. It was the only building in the vicinity preserved because of its historic significance.

City Manager Doug Hewett said the city hopes to acquire and restore the property. The old section of the boulevard between Rowan Street and the North Carolina Veterans Park will be converted into a cul-de-sac, Hewett said.

The $36 million project is an initiative of the North Carolina Department of Transportation and the Fayetteville Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, which replaces the structurally obsolete bridge along NC 24-210 that passed over Hillsboro Street, the CSX Railroad and the Norfolk Southern Railroad in downtown Fayetteville. Construction is scheduled for completion in November.

New PWC electricity rates now in effect

Fayetteville Public Works Commission has implemented time-of-use rates for residential and small commercial electric customers. PWC says on its website that the new rates are in keeping with the way the utility purchases power from Duke Energy — at higher rates during peak hours, when consumers typically use more power. 

Rates for electricity used during off-peak hours will be 30% lower than during peak times. Peak hours vary depending on the time of year.

From April-October, they are from 3-7 p.m., weekdays. Winter peak hours between November and March are from 6-10 a.m., Monday through Friday.

PWC said its average residential customer uses 1,017 kilowatt hours of electricity each month; 21% during peak hours and 79% during off-peak hours. Customers can save money by adjusting their daily weekday routine and shifting more of their electrical use to the off-peak times of day.

PWC suggests customers use toaster ovens, crockpots and microwaves when cooking. They use less energy than the stove or oven. Always take care when cooking. It is the No. 1 cause of house fires in the United States.

Official I.D. cards are now available to everyone

North Carolina citizens whose driver’s licenses or permits are suspended or revoked can now receive state-issued identification cards from the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles. 

D.M.V. began the process this month of issuing identification cards to residents with revoked, suspended, canceled or disqualified driver’s licenses. The General Assembly passed the law during the 2018 session.

State-issued identification cards can be used as a form of photo identification. They do not authorize holders to drive. DMV will mail identification cards to individuals after the it receives the seized or surrendered licenses. There is no charge. The ID card issuance is not retroactive and applies to driver’s licenses that were surrendered starting May 1.

Fox bites mom and son

A rabid fix bit a local woman and her son last week. The State Public Health Lab in Raleigh confirmed the fox that bit two people May 13 has rabies. The incident occurred at a home on Christina Street off Cliffdale Road in Fayetteville. The victims were not identified by authorities.

Animal Control responded to the scene to investigate. Officers said a growling fox approached three adults sitting on the front porch of their home and bit a mother and son before another son removed the fox from the porch without being bitten.

Animal Control officers who responded were able to locate and secure the fox. Officials said the animal died while being transported to the Animal Control facility. The two victims sought treatment at the Cape Fear Valley Medical Center’s emergency room and are receiving post-rabies exposure treatment. This is the first case of rabies in Cumberland County in 2019.

Photo: Dan Bishop

I have to admit it. Bob Mueller’s report missed the biggest Russian spy in the 2016 election. How can you miss a 3,500-pound, 18-foot-long Commie Olympicclass swimmer? This Russian spy is the size of the SUV that Tony Soprano used to drive before his unfortunate last meal as James Gandolfini in Rome.

For once, I have to admit that Dear Leader President Trump’s followers are right. The fix from Hillary and Obama was in. Mueller ignored Hillary’s closest confidant, the James Bond of the Seven Seas, Hvaldimir the Beluga whale. Nothing in Mueller’s report mentions spying on Dear Leader’s campaign by Hvaldimir. The lid of the Democratic cover-up is blown all the way to the Arctic Circle. Hvaldimir now is the most famous Russian spy since Col. Rosa Kleb defected from SMERSH to join SPECTRE in the second James Bond Movie, “From Russia With Love.”

Unless you were living under a rock, you will have seen the news about Hvaldimir the Beluga whale who worked in the Russian Secret Undersea Special Forces. For those of you who may have had some sedimentary rock overhead, here is a brief update on the fascinating story Hvaldimir.

Last month, the Hvaldimir was the Beluga spy who came out of the cold. Hvald, as his friends call him, defected to the West in the icy waters of Norway near the island of Rolvosoya. Despite Russian brainwashing attempts, Hvald remained a friendly guy. He will come up to mere humans when called by Norwegians.

Unlike most Beluga whales, Hvald was not skinny dipping. He was wearing a leather harness on which were written the fateful words “Equipment — Saint Petersburg.” It is pretty obvious Hvlad was not from St. Petersburg, Florida, as he squeaked in Russian and not in Spanish. This narrowed his origin down to Commie Land. Observers were quick to point out that his harness was well-suited for mounting a camera or a weapon. Putting two rubles and two rubles together, it quickly became obvious the Commies had rigged Hvald up to be a spy.

The Russkies have an animal re-education facility at Murmansk where they have publicly bragged of teaching sea lions, Beluga whales and seals to do undercover, underwater spying and worse. Clearly, Hvlad was a graduate of the Murmansk Academy of Aquatic Mammals as he is well-trained and can do tricks on command.

The cover story leaked by the Commies was that Hvald served as a pet and escaped from a therapeutic center for underprivileged Russian children. This explanation sounds suspiciously phony — like the cover story that the secret meeting in Trump Tower between Don Trump Jr., Paul Manafort, Jared Kushner and some Commies was actually about Russian adoptions and not to gather dirt on Hillary.

In reality, the MAAM project is much more like the SPECTRE training camp where Grant, James Bond’s nemesis in “From Russia with Love,” is chosen by Col. Kleb to assassinate Bond. Nothing good happens in Russian training camps for either Beluga whales or would-be assassins.

Not every aquatic animal can be a graduate of MAAM. Only the strong survive and graduate. Consider poor Charlie the Tuna who was a MAAM school dropout after first being rejected by StarKist tuna.

You might remember Charlie in his TV commercials. Charlie desperately wanted to be a StarKist tuna. He was so anxious to be in a StarKist tuna can that he wore a beret and fake glasses to look like a beatnik so StarKist would think he had “good taste.” Charlie would get a rejection note saying “Sorry Charlie” from StarKist on a fishhook. The voiceover would attempt to ease Charlie’s rejection blues by telling him: “Sorry Charlie, StarKist is not looking for tuna  with good taste, but rather for tuna that tastes good.” Charlie was a good sport about the whole rejection thing and ended his commercials by telling people to go out and buy StarKist tuna and “Tell ’em Charlie sent you.”

The news has been suspiciously quiet about what has happened to Hvald since his discovery as a former Russian spy. For your eyes only: Has he been arrested? Traded for Bill Clinton? Sent to the gulag of Sea World? Shredded into StarKist Beluga cans? Like the Kingston Trio’s famous song about Charlie on the Metropolitan Transit Authority, his fate is still unknown. He may swim forever neath the seas of Norway. He’s the Beluga who never returned.

So, what, if anything, have we learned today? As usual, not much. Five minutes of your life wasted. But here is a podiatry self-defense tip. If you are ever in the same room with Col. Rosa Kleb and she tries to kick you with her poisoned switchblade shoe, pick up a chair like a lion tamer and keep her away from your shins. If you can avoid her kick, remember you only live twice.

Editor’s note: Once again, publisher Bill Bowman relinquishes his space to accommodate an article on a timely issue — The North Carolina Civil War & Reconstruction History Center. Sharing relevant information on important topics is what Up & Coming Weekly is all about.

Projects, both public and private, begin as a little kernel of an idea in someone’s mind and chug along for days, weeks, months and years before taking on lives of their own, if they ever do. When that someone shares an idea with others, they will either get on the bandwagon or see enough flaws to shoot down that idea. Development is always a journey.

What we now know is the North Carolina Civil War & Reconstruction History Center has been germinating since the late 2000s. It began with supporters of the Museum of the Cape Fear, who realized that the regional museum concept was not cohesive enough to create a booming and sustainable state museum and began looking for a bigger idea. A professional consultant was brought in and pointed out the obvious.

The United States Arsenal, built on Haymount hill in Fayetteville in 1838 and handed over to Confederate rebels in 1861, brought Union Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman to our city to destroy the Arsenal in March 1865, and destroy it he did. Sherman’s 62,000 Union troops and 25,000 camp followers swept into what was then a hamlet of 4,000-5,000 souls and swept out three woeful days later, leaving little but rubble on the Arsenal site. Sherman continued north into Virginia, and the Civil War was over within six weeks.

What happened in our community, and its aftermath, helped end the deadliest and arguably the most painful period and armed conflict in our nation’s history. Why not focus a comprehensive state institution on what happened to the people of North Carolina before, during and after the American Civil War?

By 2010, that idea had become a twinkle in the eyes of residents and museum supporters, including nationally known historian Mary Lynn Bryan and then-State Sen. Tony Rand. They enlisted others, like former Fayetteville Observer publisher Charles Broadwell, local businessman and community activist Mac Healy, and this Up & Coming Weekly columnist, forming a nonprofit foundation to explore and develop this idea.

Over this decade, support grew, and the foundation raised money to hire an architect to design an appropriate building, engaged a nationally known exhibit design firm to develop modern exhibits and collaborated with scholars and historians to develop a narrative of stories of North Carolinians — black and white, Union and Confederate.

Also, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction is working with the History Center to allow fourth-, eighthand 11th-grade students studying North Carolina history online access to History Center resources. The idea is to tell real stories, at least one from each of our 100 counties, rather than displaying weapons and battle flags.

Along the way, the NCCWRHC garnered an advisory board, co-chaired by former governors Jim Hunt and Jim Martin, raised $7 million from private sources and an additional $5 million grant from the state of North Carolina. It has also received $15 million in financial pledges from the city of Fayetteville and Cumberland County, as well as funding from the North Carolina General Assembly. History buffs from across our state and beyond are looking forward to this one-of-a-kind resource as part of our state museum system.

All of this has happened since that kernel sprouted in local minds and hearts. The NCCWRHC has been researched and thought through at every stage of development and has the best organization, design and scholarship available behind it. The History Center is now poised to become reality.

Why should you care about this when our community and our state have so many divergent and pressing issues facing us?

Fayetteville and Cumberland County should care for a practical reason. A facility of this magnitude is an economic development project, bringing both visitors and resources to our community for the foreseeable future. Once operational, the History Center will be operated by the state, not by local government.

Less tangibly and perhaps more importantly, the History Center is an opportunity for North Carolinians and all Americans to understand the issues of our past, how those issues continue to plague us today, and how they may compromise our future if we cannot resolve them as a nation.

Writer and philosopher George Santayana put it this way. “Those who cannot remember history are doomed to repeat it.”

Everyone loves a good murder mystery at the theater. But what happens when you deep-fry the plot in Southern flavor, salt it heavily with comedy, invite audience members to interrogate the suspects and throw in a fancy dinner, y’all? Fayetteville-born and Charlotte-based playwright Elaine Alexander explores this question with “‘M’ is for Mullet!” It debuts, presented by Fayetteville Dinner Theatre, May 31-June 1 at Gates Four Golf and Country Club.

Darleen Dewberry, beloved hair-cutter and mullet-master in the small Southern town of Grissetville, owned Curl Up and Dye Salon before her untimely expiration. She was found dead in her salon next to a spilled bottle of Cheerwine, a can of Aqua Net hairspray and a half-eaten fruitcake. But who killed her?

Audience members will have opportunities to watch for clues and talk to suspects during the show and try to figure it out. “When you arrive at the venue, you will be arriving at Darleen’s memorial service,” FDT Producer Bill Bowman said. “It’s an immersive theater experience where the actors will be interacting (in character) with you.”

In their own words, let’s meet the six official suspects in the murder of Dewberry.

Editor’s note: The following “interviews” come from a feature on “‘M’ is for Mullet!” written by playwright Elaine Alexander that was first published in the May 2019 issue of Women’s View Magazine.

Beau E. Johnson, “The Mullet Man”: “I’m a local legend as the inventor of ‘The Mullet’ hairdo. I may have cut hair too short, but I’ve never cut a life too short. If you’re investigating somebody who could have murdered Darleen, look at the other five suspects or the town’s new mayor. I heard she hated her new Mullet hairdo that Darlene gave her.”

Mario Fellini: “My restaurant has a reputation for having the best Italian cuisine, and I’ve got a reputation for cheating on the ladies. But I’m not a killer. I’m a lover! Interrogate my waitress — she’s an excon. Or maybe the town’s new mayor. She showed up at my restaurant cursing Darleen’s name.”

Kat Chatterton: “I’m the town’s biggest celebrity — the TV hostess of ‘Kat’s Chat,’ Grissetville’s local lifestyle show. Why would I risk my fame to kill Darleen — even if she was seeing my boyfriend, Mario? Y’all need to interrogate the town’s con artist psychic, Verita. Or the town’s other crook, Grissetville’s new mayor.”

Rae Shawn Simmons: “I run the Bounce That Booty Gym. I give ‘killer’ workouts. But I’m not a killer, although Darleen did threaten to sue me. If you want the real killer, I’d check out Mario, who was two-timing her with Kat. Or the town’s new mayor. She was sweating last time I saw her. And I know it wasn’t from exercise.”

Wanda June James: “I’m a former cheerleader stuck waiting tables at Mario’s Italian Restaurant. I’m also an ex-jailbird, and there’s no way I’d do something to get me caged up again. If you want to know the real killer, talk to Rae Shawn or that new mayor. I’ve heard them both at the restaurant complaining about Darleen.”

Verita Delgado: “I may be a psychic, but I don’t know who murdered Darleen. I just know it wasn’t me — even though she ruined my fortune-telling business with her lies. My tarot cards say to look at two-timing Mario or that new mayor. I saw her give me the Evil Eye.”

Of the the show, Alexander said, “It’s an unconventional night of entertainment. You’ll die of laughter; it’s not serious, and it’s fastpaced. Murder has never been so funny. All the characters have a motive.... If (the audience) is paying attention, they’ll figure it out.”

Prior to the formal start of the show, a reception for Darleen’s memorial service will feature a wine-tasting and cash bar courtesy of Leclair’s General Store, and live music by KasCie Page.

Once seated, audience members need not sleuth on an empty stomach. Dinner includes a double entree of seasoned beef tips and chicken picatta, Southern-style green beans, buttered parsley red potatoes, dinner rolls and strawberry cheesecake. Mystery door prize bags will also be distributed.

The table that figures out who the killer is will receive a grand prize at the end of the evening.

Bowman said what caught his eye about Alexander’s script was her unique sense of humor and the story’s clever twists. “The way she tied in these different characters and everything actually had me laughing out loud because they’re almost like cartoons,” he said. “It’s unique. It’s a different kind of comedy.”

Alexander’s one-act comedies have been festival winners at theaters throughout the United States, most notably in New York City and Los Angeles, California, and as far away as Sydney, Australia, and Cuenca, Ecuador. She is a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Media and Journalism alumnus and a fourth-generation Fayetteville native.

“My great-grandfather rode in the first car in Fayetteville,” she said. “My family has lived on a farm that was owned by my great-grandfather since practically the 19th century, on Morganton Road.

“I grew up in Fayetteville. I’m a Southern girl. The characters in the play are ones that I have known in my life.” Obviously, Alexander, added, they’re a bit exaggerated for comedic effect.

Bringing “Mullet’s” characters to life are The Hot Mess Players, a Charlotte-based dinner theater group Alexander created to perform both private and public murder mystery productions throughout the Carolinas.

Bowman thanks the show’s pemiere sponsors for their generosity: Healy Wholesale, Ramada Plaza, and Paul Mitchell the School Fayetteville.

There are three opportunities to see “‘M’ is for Mullet!” at Gates Four Golf and Country Club, 6775 Irongate Dr. Friday, May 31, there is a matinee showing at noon; doors open at 11:30 a.m. It costs $55. That evening, there is a show at 7 p.m., with doors opening at 6 p.m. Saturday, June 1, there is a show at 7 p.m, with doors opening at 6 p.m. The evening shows cost $75 per person or $65 for seniors, active-duty service members and Gates Four residents. Reserve your spot and purchase tickets at www.fayettevilledinnertheatre.com.

Photo:  L to R: Peter Guarascio as Mario Fellini, Dominic Hilton as Rae Shawn Simmons, Keith Hopkins as Beau Elvis Johnson, Kellie Floyd Payne as Kat Chatterton, Eva Montes as Verita Delgado, Eileen Davis as Wanda June James and Lonnie Gregory as The Sheriff.

Photo credit: Carlo Pieroni

Downtown parking during Fayetteville Woodpeckers baseball games is not the issue that a lot of people thought it would be — except for some employees of center-city restaurants. Many wait staffers have complained that paying to park in city lots is causing them a financial hardship.

“It’s a problem that we didn’t have before (the existence of) this much (parking) demand downtown,” Mayor Mitch Colvin said.

During home games, the city has been charging $10 for people to park in city lots. Private property owners charge as much as $20 for special event parking. City Council cannot regulate private lots but has agreed to reduce the fee restaurant workers pay to $5 if they’ll use the Donaldson Street parking lot, which has 167 spaces.

City officials are now having to deal with these unintended consequences. Some restauranteurs have also complained that the $10 parking fee is causing people who are not going to ballgames to think twice about dining downtown. “We hope that what we are proposing... would give the business owners and the employees who work at the restaurants some real options for parking in the interim until we come back with a larger and more comprehensive parking management program late in 2019 (or) early in 2020,” City Manager Doug Hewett said.

Consultants hired by the city have made numerous recommendations for modernizing downtown parking. Jon Martens of Walker Consultants said the city should hire a parking manager to keep tabs on issues that might arise.

The $10 special event parking fee at city-managed lots takes effect two hours before the games begin, which on weekdays is 7 p.m. Even the Franklin Street parking deck everyday fee of 50 cents an hour with a maximum of $4 a day goes up to $10 during baseball games. On-street parking is free, but those spaces are the first to be taken.

“We don’t want people not to come downtown for any reason,” Colvin said.

Reducing the fee to $5 for downtown workers was the suggestion of Fayetteville Traffic Engineer Lee Jernigan. “My recommendation is that downtown employment be validated by the Cool Spring Downtown District after which the city would work... to issue parking permits that reduce the event parking fee to $5,” Jernigan’s memo stated.

City Councilman Jim Arp said the city needs to do a better job accommodating the disabled. Handicapped parking is currently provided at city lots behind City Hall. That’s almost two blocks from the entrance to Segra Stadium. “For many of our citizens, that’s a long walk,” Arp said. He initially opposed the use of shuttles but now says a shuttle from Franklin Street to the stadium is an idea worth considering so the elderly and disabled don’t have to walk.

Detailed parking information is available at www.Fayettevillenc.gov and on the city’s smart phone app.

For the second time in three years, Cape Fear High School has won the Patriot Athletic Conference Maxwell/Wells Fargo Cup for overall athletic excellence. The Colts took the cup back from last year’s winner, Terry Sanford, which finished second in this year’s chase for the honor.

The award is based on points awarded to each school for order of finish in official conference sports.

Cape Fear had 150.5 points to 145.5 for Terry Sanford.

The Colts used a strong finish in the spring sports season to wrap up the trophy. They shared the regular-season title in softball with Gray’s Creek and won boys golf while placing second in boys tennis and boys track. The Colts took third in baseball. Other championships won by Cape Fear this season were volleyball, girls golf, wrestling and boys and girls swimming.

Terry Sanford also had a strong spring, winning girls soccer, baseball and boys tennis, with a second-place finish in girls track.

Terry Sanford’s other championships this year were in boys soccer and girls tennis.

Pine Forest finished third with 132 points. The Trojans won conference titles this season in football and boys basketball.

The Trojans didn’t win any championships in the spring but took second in girls track, boys golf and girls soccer.

Other conference titles for the year were won by South View in boys and girls cross country and boys and girls track. E.E. Smith won girls basketball. Cape Fear and Gray’s Creek shared the conference regular-season title in softball.

Other point totals for the conference were Gray’s Creek 128.5, South View 125, Overhills 99, E.E. Smith 87.5, Westover 53.5 and Douglas Byrd 32.5.

Photo: Cape Fear athletic director Matt McLean arrives at Terry Sanford with a dolly to reclaim the Wells Fargo Cup.

Jason Porter

Gray’s Creek • Basketball • Senior

Porter has an unweighted grade point average of 3.74. He averaged 4.3 rebounds per game for the Bears basketball team last season.

Sarah Emilie Edge

Riverside Christian Academy • Softball • Junior

Edge has a 4.0 grade point average. She is a member of the Cedar Creek Baptist Church Youth group. She volunteers to run sound equipment at Riverside Christian for school and church programs. She is a member of the Beta Club and volunteers with Samaritan’s Purse and Baptist Men’s Disaster Relief.

The first Good2Grow Farmers Market, held at the Hope Mills Town Hall complex recently, was a rousing success.

One thing that certainly didn’t hurt was timing the first market with several other major town events that created a lot of foot traffic in the area. On the same day as the farmers market, the town held its annual hazardous waste collection and document shredding events for citizens, along with the annual litter sweep of area streets.

Chancer McLaughlin, development and planning administrator for the town, said there were some 17 vendors who took part in the farmers market.

While there was obviously an emphasis on produce and farm-grown products, McLaughlin noted there were also many vendors with handmade crafts.

Vendors offered a variety of items like farmraised pork products, goat cheese, handmade jewelry, strawberries, jalapeño jams and jellies, natural remedies, essential oils, candles, baked goods and even natural mosquito spray.

“Every vendor that was there was so excited (about) how it turned out,’’ Hope Mills Mayor Jackie Warner said. Many of the vendors sold out of the items they brought.

Warner was especially pleased with the family atmosphere of the event. “You saw kids running around, eating strawberries,’’ she said. “Parents were shopping. So much was going on.’’

Warner is hopeful that the event will continue to grow in popularity and add more vendors over time.

“The next one (June 1) will be the same Saturday as Pet Fest,’’ she said. “Pet Fest will be between Parks and Recreation and Town Hall. (The) farmers market will be in the area next to the ball fields.’’

McLaughlin said the market will continue through October, on the first Saturday of each month.

The fees for vendors are $50 to set up at the market every month or $20 if a vendor only wants to take part in the event one month.

The original deadline to submit information to become a vendor was April 26, but McLaughlin said that has been extended. Vendors can now apply as late as the day before the next event.

All application information and rules for being a vendor at the farmers market are on the town of Hope Mills website, www.townofhopemills.com.

For those who don’t have access to the internet, McLaughlin said you can stop by Town Hall at 5770 Rockfish Rd. during normal business hours and pick up a hard copy of the application and rules.

McLaughlin said organizers are working on getting a vendor that will sell fresh fish for the next market. They are also looking for more varieties of produce, including watermelons, more fruits, okra and other vegetables. He said a lot of the vegetable and fruit options will be dictated by what’s available during certain seasons of the year.

To contact McLaughlin with questions or concerns regarding the farmers market, email him at cmclaughlin@townofhopemills.com.

Meetings

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

• Board of Commissioners Monday, May 20, 7 p.m., Luther Meeting Room, Town Hall

• Lake Advisory Committee Tuesday, May 21, 6 p.m., Parks and Recreation Building

• Veterans Affairs Commission Thursday, May 23, 6:30 p.m., Parks and Recreation Building

• Appearance Committee Tuesday, May 28, 6:30 p.m., Parks and Recreation Building

Activities

• Good2Grow Farmers Market, Saturday, June 1, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., Between Town Hall and Parks and Recreation Building

• Pet Fest, Saturday, June 1, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Hope Mills Park

After a five-month hiatus to regroup and reorganize, the DK Sports Page sports radio talk show has resumed on Monday nights from 6-8 p.m. It airs on WFNC 640 AM with hosts Trey Edge and Bill Boyette.

“Fayetteville needs a local talk show based on local sports, from the high school level to the college level to NFL ties,’’ said Edge. In addition to hosting the show, he’s the play-by-play voice for the DK Sports, Inc., game of the week in various sports. He’s also the Friday night voice of Terry Sanford during football season.

Also on the game broadcasts are Boyette, providing color commentary and occasional appearances by Don Koonce, founder of DK Sports, Inc.

When it comes to the DK Sports Page, Edge said the show will try to cover everything but will focus primarily on local sports.

“We’ll always have a high school segment each and every week,’’ he said.

When the show returned to air for the first time last week, high school guests included Terry Sanford baseball coach Sam Guy and Jack Britt softball coach Sebrina Wilson. Also interviewed were University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill football coach Mack Brown and Fayetteville Woodpeckers general manager David Lane.

The initial version of the show, which debuted in the late summer of 2017, was heavy on interviews with coaches. Edge said the goal this time around will be to try and talk with more players, both active ones and former players from the area who have moved on to the professional ranks.

Boyette, Edge’s cohost, is a veteran high school basketball coach who led his Fayetteville Academy Eagles to the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association 2-A championship last season.

Edge said Boyette is an avid sports fan who obviously has a lot of expertise in basketball but is detail-oriented in all aspects of sports. “That’s probably why he’s successful as a coach too,’’ Edge said.

The show was strictly studio-based during its initial run, but Edge said that could change with the revived edition. “We may be looking to go out live,’’ he said, “for example, to a Woodpeckers game. We may try to do something where we get in front of people and do live broadcasting from there.’’

To keep up with the show and to send suggestions for possible topics or guests, Edge said fans should follow the show on Twitter at @DKSportsPage.

Fayetteville Police special victims’ detectives have jailed a Robeson County man they describe as a serial rapist. Johnnie B. Green Jr., 45, of Parkton, faces nearly 50 charges. He is accused of committing a dozen rapes and is being held in the Cumberland County Detention Center under a $13.5 million bond. The rapes — nine in Fayetteville, two in rural Cumberland County and one in Hope Mills — occurred between June 2009 and November 2010.

Investigators dubbed the attacker the do-rag rapist because the victims described their assailant as wearing a scarf on his head. He was in jail for an unrelated case when charged with the crimes. Authorities have filed 14 counts of second-degree rape, 21 counts of second-degree sex offense and multiple charges of kidnapping, first-degree burglary, felony breaking and entering, and common law robbery against Green.

Police spokesman Lt. Gary Womble said the attacks took place throughout the city, from Ireland Drive to Bragg Boulevard, McPherson Church Road to Rosehill Road and from Pamalee Drive to Cliffdale Road.

Womble said Green became a person of interest through a genetic genealogy analysis of his DNA. Genetic genealogy is a relatively new science developed by Parabon NanoLabs of Reston, Virginia. The firm has worked with Fayetteville Police for about two years. When a genetic genealogy search yields useful related matches to an unknown DNA sample, it can narrow a suspect list to a region, a family or even an individual. It is paired with snapshot DNA phenotyping to reduce the list of possible matches further. It is the same service used to identify other suspects in unsolved rape investigations that resulted in arrests in Fayetteville.

New city senior management team member

Fayetteville City Manager Doug Hewett has selected Angel Wright-Lanier as a new assistant manager. She was assistant city manager in Goldsboro, North Carolina, from 2013 to 2015 and deputy town manager in Mooresville, North Carolina, from 2015 to now.

Wright-Lanier succeeds Jay Reinstein, who is retiring after being diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease. “Angel Wright-Lanier has the experience, knowledge and people skills to be the next assistant city manager for Fayetteville,” Hewett said. “Her extensive background in managing a large variety of departments and interacting well with the public make her a good fit for the position.”

Wright-Lanier earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, a Master of Public Administration from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and a Master of Science in Management Information Systems from Strayer University.

North Carolina transportation leaders meet in Fayetteville

The North Carolina Board of Transportation gathered in Fayetteville last month. The board took its monthly meeting on the road to see firsthand the unique assets and transportation challenges in Highway Division 6, which is headquartered in Fayetteville. Board members designated all 39 miles of the future I-295 as the “Airborne & Special Operations Highway.” Fayetteville City Council and Fort Bragg’s garrison commander requested the designation.

Board members also named the section of I-295 between I-95 and Ramsey Street after Lyndo Tippett. The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners requested the special designation. Tippett was the state’s longest-serving transportation secretary under Gov. James B. Hunt, serving from 2001 until 2009. Tippett had previously served on the board of transportation.

Airborne Hall of Fame Inductees named

The 82nd Airborne Division has announced the inductees for the 2019 All American Hall of Fame Class. The ceremony honoring the inductees will be held at 10 a.m., May 22, at Fort Bragg’s Hall of Heroes.

A board of senior leaders selected 15 legendary figures from the Division’s 102-year history for enshrinement this year. They were chosen based on their service with the division, their lifelong commitment to the division’s values, valorous combat action and contributions to their chosen field.

Inductees include Command Sgt. Maj. Joseph R. Allen, Gen. Lloyd J. Austin, Maj. T. Moffatt Burris, Lt. Col. Robert E. Chisolm, Lt. Gen. George A. Crocker, Lt. Col. Gordon “Duke” Dewey, Pfc. Robert W. Dodson, Command Sgt. Maj. Steven R. England, Capt. Kimberly N. Hampton, Lt. Gen. James H. Johnson Jr., Brig. Gen. Dennis D. Kerr, Gen. Carl W. Stiner, Maj. Gen. Reuben H. Tucker, Lt. Gen. John R. Vines and Chief Warrant Officer 4 Johnathan A. Ward.

Animal control foster program

The Cumberland County Animal Control Shelter is seeking foster families to provide temporary care for animals until they are ready for adoption. There is a great need for kitten fosters currently, said Director Elaine Smith. “Fosters are a huge help in increasing the number of kittens that we can care for at the shelter,” she said.

Foster orientation sessions are held the third Saturday of each month at 2 p.m. at the Animal Shelter, 4704 Corporation Dr. The age and condition of the animals determine how long they stay in foster care. Some animals also need special care, such as bottle feeding or medication administration. 

The only requirement to foster is that parents be 18 years old, sign liability waivers and attend orientation sessions. All supplies are provided.  For more information about fostering, or to sign up for an orientation session, call 910-321-6828 or 910-321-6965.

Photo: Johnnie B. Green Jr. 

Bill Green, adjutant quartermaster for Hope Mills Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 10630, encourages everyone in Hope Mills to take time during Memorial Day weekend to honor the memory of those who died in service of this country, as well as those who served and remain as veterans or active duty members of the military. The Hope Mills Veterans Affairs Commission will again hold a special ceremony to remember the fallen on Memorial Day in Hope Mills. It will be held at the Veterans Memorial Park in Hope Mills near the Parks and Recreation Center on Monday, May 27, at 4 p.m.

In the event of inclement weather, the ceremony will be moved indoors to the recreation center.

“Memorial Day is to honor the sacrifices of our great men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice,’’ Green said.

The format for this year’s observance will follow a familiar pattern and feature things like the invocation and call to order, performances by a dance group, and speakers who were winners of an annual VFW contest. Hope Mills Mayor Jackie Warner will also read the official proclamation from the town.

There will be some special additions to this year’s observance, Green said. One will be a presentation by Hope Mills Commissioner Jessie Bellflowers, a former commander of the local VFW post. He will share some comments about the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion at Normandy, which will be officially observed in June.

Three nameplates will be added to the memorial at the park, honoring three members of the local VFW post who have died: Jim Clark, Joe Edwards and George Hill.

“Their families will be there so we can put nameplates on the memorial,’’ Green said. “This is just one way we can recognize them. When you put your name on a memorial, it’s there forever. This way, they are never forgotten.’’

It’s the act of remembering that’s most important to Green.

“You should take a brief moment... and give thanks,’’ he said of the Memorial Day observance. “If it wasn’t for the veterans, (citizens) wouldn’t have the freedoms they have today. That’s what it all boils down to.’’

Warner thanked the Veterans Affairs Committee for all the hard work its members do in making the Memorial Day observance in Hope Mills possible.

“We have an opportunity to remember those that have served and also recognize the active duty (soldiers) and the veterans that live in Hope Mills,’’ she said. “It’s always a somber and very special event. It’s important for Hope Mills because of our military attachment here.’’

Warner especially praised the late Jim Clark for his years of service on the Veterans Affairs Committee in Hope Mills.

“If you needed something, especially if you needed something from the VFW, he was willing to get it done for you,’’ Warner said. “He was instrumental in helping me get the flags we used to recognize all the veterans the first time we did a field of flags in Hope Mills.

“He kept it alive and moved to get more veterans involved with different groups here in Hope Mills.’’

Unknowns are driving local government officials to meet a deadline that could yield a state grant to help fund a joint 911 call center. Subcommittees of the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners and Fayetteville City Council agree that co-locating a new emergency communications center is a good idea. But it’s an expensive undertaking that could cost tens of millions of dollars.

County government is the lead agency in the grant acquisition, and Deputy County Manager Tracy Jackson told committee members he can’t say how much a grant from the state 911 Board might be. He made clear that initial cost estimates to acquire, renovate and equip the facility for $30 million are obsolete.

Cumberland County Manager Amy Cannon said the county will move forward to develop the call center with or without the city’s participation or a grant from Raleigh. The county acquired a building at 500 Executive Place for the communications center for $5 million. City council members Kathy Jensen, Ted Mohn and Larry Wright met with County Commissioners Glenn Adams, Marshall Faircloth and Jimmy Keefe May 6 to hash out details of a proposed interlocal contract to co-locate their separate operations.

“The spirit is to forge an agreement,” Faircloth said. Subcommittee members agree that working together would reduce renovation and operation costs for the city and county. They said the hope is to one day consolidate the 911 call centers. 

City council and county commissioners need to approve the agreement this month before a grant application is submitted. Council member Kathy Jensen said that dealing with unknowns will be difficult for the other seven members of city council.

It’s unclear what chances a grant application to the state would have even if it’s agreed to locally. Mayor Pro Tem Mohn suggested operations should move forward without seeking an unknown grant.

The agreement discussed by city and county officials said the two governments would co-locate their 911 operations “with the mutual intent to fully consolidate in the future.”

“Even though it’s going to be expensive,” Faircloth said, “it won’t be as expensive as two separate facilities.”

The pending agreement does not specify whether the city or county will be responsible for management. It says only that “each party’s respective 911 director and employees will be subject to its own personnel policies and procedures.”

“Good faith and good will and a fair shake is what we’re agreeing to,” Councilman Larry Wright said.

County Commissioner Jimmy Keefe noted that a consolidated 911 center has been discussed for 30 years. “We have an opportunity,” he said. “This is as close as we’ve ever come.”

Cumberland County’s emergency communications center is in cramped quarters in the basement of the law enforcement center on Dick Street. It has been considered obsolete for many years. The city of Fayetteville’s 911 center is on the second floor of City Hall. Since the terror attacks of 2001, new emergency communications facilities are expected to be secure facilities away from downtown centers of government.

Being a music lover, I’ve gone to many a concert in my 29 years. I grew up secretly “borrowing” albums from my mom’s CD collection, back when being in a mail-order CD club was the cool thing to do. Many weekends, my mom and I would hit I-95 to head out to the Walnut Creek Amphitheatre in Raleigh to hear one of her favorite artists. I’m guessing I surprised her when she noticed I could sing along to all the songs at my first Alanis Morissette concert — not my proudest 6-year-old moment. Needless to say, her CD collection was moved to the top shelf of the bookcase after that particular show.

Nonetheless, even an unreachable CD collection couldn’t stop my love affair with music. And live music? What a treat! I would find any reason for my mom to take me to see live music. I even asked to go see my 60-year-old, 6th grade P.E. teacher play in his beach music band in a run-down, hole-in-the-wall restaurant one summer when I was in middle school. And, after seeing NSYNC perform at the “Dean Dome” at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in ’01, I knew I had the whole college thing figured out. Desperate? I think so.

But I had to be around music. It moved me. I needed to feel it pounding in my chest. I needed to know every lyric, every guitar solo, every era, every genre, anything I could get my hands (and ears) on.

I had a good friend in middle school, a best friend, who introduced me to my love of lyrics — figuring them out, what they meant, where they came from and what they said about the human race. We’d write out lyrics we didn’t understand and pick them apart until we did. I found myself dissecting songs I had heard a million times, trying to find a song I identified with past the good beat and interesting melody. I fell in love with words written beautifully. Poetry moved me. Songs came alive for me when I could find a lyric I could sing with all my heart because it felt like my own. Where my words failed me, music explained me.

I found a song for everything — missing my friends, graduation, heartbreak, feeling known and seen, dancing, happiness, freedom. What a release it is to sing a song that resonates with you deep in the core of who you are. It makes you feel like someone gets you. It lets you know you are not alone.

I think that’s why I love worship music, which is just like that but on a whole different playing field. It helps me “get” Jesus.

At WCLN Christian 105.7, we have a portion of the day we like to call Midday Praise. It’s an hour and a half of worship music, full of lyrics centered around who Jesus is, how Jesus is and how we should respond to his love and grace. Boy, am I always rocked to my core. Connecting that truth that I am loved beyond anything I could ever imagine with a song that digs deep into my heart really connects what I know with what I feel, or at least what I desire to feel. I definitely know Jesus loves me... but I want to feel it, especially on days when it feels otherwise. Worship music helps me do that.

Check out Midday Praise if you get a chance, every weekday from 10:30 a.m. until noon on 105.7 FM. I know I need a little extra peace during the day. Maybe you could use it too.

’Tis the season.

Not the season of Santa Claus but of something far better for many of us — graduation from high school, college and beyond. These are occasions of pride in accomplishments, high expectations for the future and both individual and family celebrations. They bring moments of relief at what has passed, and hopes for the future, with nagging touches of anxiety thrown in as well. They are gifts to ourselves for the rest of our lives. In short, graduations are both rites of passage and life markers.

More than ever, nontraditional students are walking in caps and gowns in graduation processions. They are generally older people who, for whatever reasons, did not complete their educations, and people returning to school for additional degrees and certifications. For the most part, though, graduates are young people just dipping their toes in the real world of careers and adult relationships. Their lives are ahead of them, and it is traditional that graduations come with advice from family, teachers and commencement speakers who have labored hard to come up with original thoughts.

My graduations are long behind me, but I do remember some of the advice I received that has served me well over the decades — both in work and in personal life.

Education is the key to self-sufficiency. If you are lucky, you will find a partner with whom to pool your earthly resources, but make sure you can support yourself. There is nothing in life like your own paycheck.

Get to know yourself, trust yourself and enjoy your own company. Even with a large family and a wide circle of friends, the truth is that no one — not your parents, your siblings, your partner or your friends — will take every step of life with you. You will be happier and more successful if you appreciate yourself and your abilities.

You may wind up not working in the fields you studied in school, but your education will enrich your life in other ways. It has almost certainly sparked your curiosity about the world and taught you how to find out what you want to know about it, which will be a blessing all your life.

Outstanding commencement speakers are much in demand, of course, and chief justice of the United States Supreme Court is a rarified office indeed. Our nation has had 45 presidents, including the current White House occupant, who with one exception were eligible for one or two terms. Our chief justice, on the other hand, is appointed for life or until he or she resigns, and only 17 men have served in that capacity. John Roberts, our current chief, is 13 years into his tenure, and unlike our president, he is a deliberate man who chooses his words carefully and delivers them calmly.

Roberts has surely made more than a few commencement addresses, and The Atlantic recently reported on one of them. Two years ago, Roberts addressed his son’s ninth-grade class of all boys at a private school in New Hampshire. The chief skipped the traditional “congratulations and good luck” route and gave the boys his thoughts about how to behave as an American, particularly an American of privilege and as a citizen of the world.

Said Roberts, “I hope you will be treated unfairly, so that you will come to know the value of justice.” And, this. “I hope you’ll be ignored, so you know the importance of listening to others.” He continued. “Understand that your success is not completely deserved, and that the failure of others is not completely deserved either.”

And, finally, Roberts acknowledged the privilege of the boys, including his own son, and told them they were good boys and left them with this. “You are also privileged young men. And if you weren’t privileged before you came here, you’re privileged now because you have been here. My advice is, don’t act like it.”

Godspeed to all graduating this season, and I wish you a speaker as wise as our chief justice.

“Origami in the Garden2” opened at Cape Fear Botanical Garden May 5 and runs through Sept. 8. As the name implies, the metal sculptures in this exhibit are inspired by the Japanese art of folding paper. Husband and wife team Kevin and Jennifer Box created the exhibit, which includes original works by Kevin as well as his collaborative works with renowned origami artists Te Jui Fu, Beth Johnson, Michael G. LaFosse and Robert J. Lang.

The exhibit includes an audio tour and an explanatory sign accompanying each piece. As patrons stroll the garden, they can make a call on their cell phone, enter the artwork number and hear a recording of Kevin explaining the story of the art. “A lot of times, art is beautiful, but we have done a lot of work to answer the ‘why’ and give people access to that,” Kevin said.

There are 17 displays and 20 sculptures that make up the exhibit. The metal sculptures were made using a combination of the 6,000-year-old art of wax casting and the 2,000-year-old-art of paper making. “I pioneered a technique that combines the two processes,” Kevin said. “It makes paper more durable and bronze more light. It’s a 35-step, 12-week process.”

Several years ago, as he was working at a foundry and trying to develop his voice as an artist, Kevin started playing with the art of wax casting. “When you are working in an old art form, there is a lot that has been done,” Kevin said. “I wanted to tell a different story that would remind us of the same stories that have been told for thousands of years and address the challenge of how we navigate life and what decisions we are going to make.”

Kevin said what drew him to origami was different than the appeal for many people. “I found it to be a simple metaphor and reflection of an ancient philosophy called tabula rasa,” he said. “The philosopher Aristotle started it. The idea is that we begin with a blank slate. When I was studying that in history, I think of it as the blank page because it captures the creative challenge we all face — whether you are a writer, a painter, a mathematician. What do we do with blankness? How do we create something out of nothing?”

He started working on projects that started with a square piece of paper — because his last name is Box. He used that as a way to try and capture what he envisioned the human soul to look like. His first signature pieces looked like snowflakes. Because he was already working at the foundry, he started working on a way to combine paper and metal.

Kevin began to make bronze sculptures and patina the bronze white, transforming it into the look of paper. People reacted saying that it looked like origami. Kevin rejected that idea at first. But later, a friend gave him a book titled “One Thousand Paper Cranes.” Kevin decided to make an origami crane. After folding and then unfolding the crane, he had an epiphany. “In every origami design, the paper remembers all the creases that you’ve made,” he said. “It revealed this star pattern, and it looked like a snowflake, which was similar to what I was already pursuing. It is like origami on the inside — like the architecture of the soul.”

Kevin works in his studio near Santa Fe, New Mexico. The 35-acre property sits among spring-fed wetlands and beautiful rock formations. The studio is designed around an Earth-friendly philosophy, embracing the reduce, reuse, recycle method not only for creating but for caring for the land and its resources.

Kevin’s wife, Jennifer, has an education background, so finding ways to engage and inform audiences is a priority as well. “We are conservation- minded artists,” said Kevin. “And my wife has a master’s in education. She heard the stories I was telling and realized that if we organized the content and interpretation, there was a lot of educational programming there.

“As we traveled with the show across the country, we discovered that botanical gardens have educational departments and resources. They are places people go to rest and to learn. And sometimes the best place to learn is when you are at rest. So, we have collaborated, and things come together where we work with gardens that can educate, enlighten, enhance and inspire a lot of (people in regard to) our subject matter. And we were inspired by how generous botanical gardens are to their communities.”

Jennifer reached out to CFBG not long after Hurricane Florence hit in 2018. She was hoping to partner with the Garden. Although CFBG wanted to host the exhibit, damage from Florence made the cost of hosting it prohibitive. “Here was a garden that needed help; Jen had two choices,” Kevin said. “She could have said, ‘Oh, they can’t do this. I will stop calling.’ But her second choice was hearing that and thinking how can we work with them in a different way.” This innovative thinking led Kevin and Jennifer to start a scholarship program for gardens.

“The exhibit is here because we applied for their scholarship program after we suffered so much damage from Hurricanes Florence and Mathew,” said CFBG Marketing Manager Taryn Renz. “While the exhibit is here, the Garden will have special programing that relates to the exhibit — like an Ikebana class on May 18, which is Japanese floral arranging.” 

While there are still areas of the Garden that need work, Kevin said he hopes the exhibit will bring plenty of visitors to not only enjoy the garden but to learn how they can help it flourish.

“We’re really excited to have the exhibit here,” said Renz. “Exhibits like these give visitors a reason to keep coming back. It’s the perfect time to become a Garden member — so you can keep coming back for events and programs all summer.”

Find out more about the exhibit, CFBG and its programming at www.capefearbg.org. Learn more about Kevin and Jennifer Box and their work at https://outsidetheboxstudio.com. “Origami in the Garden2” runs through Sept. 8.

Cumberland County Schools made history at last week’s North Carolina High School Athletic Association annual meeting in Chapel Hill at the Dean E. Smith Center. For the first time, the same school system captured the NCHSAA’s coveted Exemplary School Award in consecutive years. Cape Fear won the honor in 2019, and Terry Sanford made it two straight by winning this year’s award.

They are the second and third county schools to take the honor. Jack Britt won it in the 2009-10 school year.

Vernon Aldridge, student activities director for Cumberland County Schools, said the award means much more than athletic success. He said the award also recognizes the number of nationally certified coaches a school has on its staff.

“On the academic side, they look at testing scores and the number of students taking advanced placement honors classes, as well as how students do on advanced placement exams,’’ he said.

“It’s an all-around award, truly recognizing a school that has embraced the idea of the student athlete.’’ 

Terry Sanford athletic director Liz McGowan said it’s great for the school to be recognized by both its peers and a statewide organization like the NCHSAA. “It’s not just coming to school and doing a good job,’’ she said. “It’s my coaches taking extra classes, my kids going to leadership conferences they are invited to. My kids’ grade point averages are awesome, working hard inside the classroom as well as on the field.’’

Terry Sanford principal Tom Hatch said the award validates what the school’s coaches do every day, as well as the work they do beyond the athletic field.

Retired Cumberland County student activities director Bill Carver often referred to high school athletics as the front porch of the school. Hatch said he agrees with that philosophy.

“Athletics allows people who graduated from a school or live in that community to come around and watch a lacrosse match or a wrestling match, football or basketball, talk about what’s happening with their child,’’ he said.

‘’Athletics is the front porch of the school, and our front porch looks pretty good right now.’’

Photo:  Left to right: Vernon Aldridge, Cumberland County Schools student activities director; Joe Franks, NCHSAA Board of Directors member; and Liz McGowan, Terry Sanford athletic director

Many people grew up with their elders reminding them to eat their vegetables. It turns out they were onto something. Prima Elements Holistic Wellness Center presents Fayetteville’s 2nd Annual Vegan Festival on Saturday, May 25, 11 a.m.- 5 p.m. at the corner of Anderson and Old Streets in downtown Fayetteville.

“The general purpose of this festival is to encourage our community … to live more of a compassionate lifestyle and to have more of an educational purpose to what the vegan lifestyle is,” said Audriaunna Kitterman, executive director for Fayetteville’s Vegan Festival.

“We encourage everyone to become more aware of what plant-based nutrition will be able to provide for them in the long term of their family and those around them.”

The vegan diet involves no meat or dairy. “You are alleviating the meat and dairy and substituting them with plant-based (alternatives),” said Kitterman. “In essence, it is going to help one sustain more of a prolific lifestyle, help overcome a lot of health concerns and ailments and help with living nutrients that are predominantly derived within these plant-based alternatives. And the living enzymes help one overcome diseases and cancer (by) breaking down (inflammation) and more.”

There will be five panelists at the festival. “Dr. Sailesh Rao is the co-producer of two largely known documentaries, which are ‘Cowspiracy’ and ‘What the Health,’” said Kitterman. “He will educate the community on his philosophy and passion and (share) what he plans to continuously do for the community on a worldwide basis.”

Kitterman said the additional panelists include Daniel Turbert, Adrian Burgos, Tita Nieves and Erin Fergus. They will share their journeys about transitioning to the vegan lifestyle, bring awareness about mass-produced farm animals, give insight on the importance of plant-based nutrition and talk about how the vegan lifestyle affects physical and emotional well-being.

Festival vendors include vegan-friendly businesses and groups like food preparation demonstrators, musicians, wellness organizations, educational organizations and more.

“Our first vegan festival was amazing, and it was outstanding to see such a remarkable response from the community,” said Kitterman. “We had about 2,500 people that flooded Anderson and Old Streets. The compassion, joy and love that everyone shared with one another was truly a beautiful feeling.”

Vegan food vendors will be on-site. Donations are appreciated. Individuals who make a $20 donation or more will receive a T-shirt and peace bag with samples of vegan products and coupons. Ten percent of the proceeds will be donated to animal shelters and rescue groups around the United States to help and protect animals in need.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.veganfestivalfaync.com or call 910-483-8406.

This week our publisher, Bill Bowman, yields his space to Dr. Hank Parfitt to address the city’s new $10 parking fees that affect downtown during home baseball games at Segra Stadium.

As a downtown resident, property owner, business owner and longtime activist for downtown revitalization, I am excited about the new baseball team and stadium and the Prince Charles development. I applaud our city council for having the vision and for working determinedly with each other to support these projects. I have enjoyed watching the Woodpeckers. It is a good brand of baseball, and it is a delight to see young families having a fun night at the ballpark.

However, the new parking fees are driving away business. Most of us accept the fact that paid parking in some form will be a necessity downtown. A parking study conducted for the city by Walker Consultants in 2018 recognizes the complexity of the problem and suggests a comprehensive array of measures requiring money, time and coordination with downtown stakeholders. Unfortunately, the city jumped to a single solution and slapped a $10 fee on the city lots before the first pitch was thrown in Segra Stadium.

Well, guess what? Baseball fans are not stupid, and they quickly figured out how to avoid the paid lots. Did anyone seriously think it would be otherwise?

On a recent baseball night at game time, I drove around and did a car count. The fans had already taken every free parking space except for the county courthouse lot, which is not within reasonable walking distance of the stadium or most businesses. The majority of the paid lots were nearly empty. And baseball fans had it finely calculated as to which lots were worth paying for. All the parking in the huge Med Arts lot was $10, but the spaces on the Russell Street side farthest away from the stadium were empty, while the Hay Street side close to the stadium entrance was full.

The downtown sidewalks, I might add, were basically deserted because our regular customers stayed away.

The $10 fee is clearly not working for businesses — nor is it working for the city. Empty paid lots don’t make much money for city coffers, yet the city has to pay more to McLaurin Parking Company, which manages the paid city lots, for the added staff. And it isn’t working for the Woodpeckers. The key to sustained attendance is for fans to see a bustling downtown when they come to a game and for every member of the family — not just the diehard baseball fans — to have a complete, enjoyable evening that might include dinner and a little shopping as well as baseball. That was the whole idea of putting the stadium downtown in the first place.

City staff doesn’t seem to realize there is a problem. In Tuesday’s Fayetteville Observer, city traffic engineer Lee Jernigan said there is plenty of free parking downtown. Of course there is — all taken by the baseball fans. The city manager’s solution is to give employees a break and charge them only $5 to give them “some real options … in the interim until we can come back with a larger and more comprehensive parking management program late in 2019 or 2020.” OK, but why didn’t they just hold off on the $10 fee until they could “come back” with that plan?

Staff is apparently tone-deaf to the consequences of the $10 fees, so I ask the elected representatives of our city to consider rescinding them for a year. That way, all types of paid parking can be considered as part of an overall strategy that is implemented over the next year with thoughtfulness and deliberation and input from all stakeholders. At the very least, open up all the underutilized paid lots now and set some aside for customers and some for employees.

On a rather frequent basis, I get to spend time with and engage in conversation with a wonderful group of Christian men. Topics addressed in our discussions run the spectrum from matters of our faith to those of politics and society. Part of my attraction to, and appreciation for, this group is that the tenants of our faith run throughout and provide foundation for whatever the topic might be. That is the case even when we get into what might be considered trivia.

In fact, during a recent gathering, we spent substantial time and energy exploring a question that was put on the table under the “trivia” heading. One gentleman asked how the date for Easter is determined. When none of us could give the precise answer, he reported having read that Easter is held on the first Sunday after the first full moon occurring on or after the vernal equinox. That report led us to research “vernal equinox.” After this discussion had gone on for a while, somebody piped up and said, “When I want to know the date for Easter, I just look at the calendar.” We all laughed and went on to other topics.

That “look at the calendar” statement stuck with me. It points to a great truth. That is, deciding how to address some matters does not require all the discussion, all of the back-and-forth, that we invest in deciding on a course of action. There is a rather straight line to the answer, to what should be done. I hold that this is the case with deciding whether there should be a citizenship question on the 2020 census.

The situation referred to here came about when Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross approved a question on citizenship for the 2020 Census. The following segments from an article by Peter Ciurczak provide an overview regarding the contentious debate resulting from Ross’ action. The article is titled “Citizenship and the census, in context.”

It reads, “In late 2017, the Department of Justice (DOJ) under Attorney General Jeff Sessions requested that the Census Bureau, which is overseen by the Commerce Department, incorporate into the 2020 census a question on citizenship status. The DOJ argued that the more granular data allowed by the census would be useful in enforcement of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination against any citizen’s voting rights on account of race, color, or membership in a language minority group.

“A number of previous census directors have written to Ross opposing the addition of a citizenship question, while 14 states led by California’s Attorney General Xavier Becerra are suing the Trump administration over the inclusion of the question. The Attorneys General charge that introducing a question of citizenship goes against the constitutional requirement to “count each person in our country – whether citizen or noncitizen – ‘once, only once, and in the right place.’”

Seeing that the issue of a census citizenship question does not require all the back-and-forth it is receiving might start with an examination of the claim in the final sentence above. That is, the argument by a group of attorneys general that the Constitution requires counting of each person in our country. As best as I can determine, they take this position based on a part of Article I, sec. 2, clause 3, of the U.S. Constitution. It says:

“Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons.”

Looking above, the crux of the argument from the attorneys general hinges on “…of all other Persons.” From Yahoo Questions, consider the following analysis of that argument in a post titled “What does ‘three fifth’s of all other persons’ mean in the Constitution?”

“It was a compromise between states that supported slavery and those that didn’t when it came to how representatives would be assigned to states and to how taxes would be distributed to the states. Those states which didn’t support slavery only wanted to count the free inhabitants of each state — meaning those states without slavery would receive a greater proportion of representation. Those states which supported slavery wanted all the states inhabitants to count — free or not, which would have given those states more representation. The biggest part, however, was that since slaves could not vote, states with slaves (in particular the slaveholders themselves) would have greater representation in house of representatives and in the electoral college.”

The first takeaway from this quote is that “all other Persons” refers to slaves. By no means does this phrase require counting every person in the country, including any who might have been here illegally. Interestingly, Native Americans were not to be counted. That was an exception. For me, this analysis destroys the prime argument being put forth by the attorneys general. There is an exception for one group and “all other Persons” refers to slaves, not everybody. This is a “look at the calendar” moment.

The second point that demands attention is the motivation of the attorneys general — especially California’s because of its large illegal migrant population. That motivation is similar to those that were at play concerning slaves. This is about increasing the number of persons counted in the census so that states get a larger number of representatives in the House of Representatives. The census count also determines the number of electoral votes allocated to each state. Consequently, in the pursuit of power to influence governmental decisions, counting illegal migrants definitely helps.

Beyond representatives and electoral votes, this push to count illegal migrants is about money going from the federal government to states. An article titled “Debunking the Myths about the Citizenship Question on the 2020 Census Form” includes this statement: “Census data also influence the allocation of more than $800 billion in federal government resources to states, localities, and families every year, such as for health care, education, housing, transportation, rural access to broadband, and other services.” This is further reason for states to push counting of illegal immigrants.

Another argument opposing the citizenship question is that there will be an undercount because some individuals will be reluctant to answer the citizenship question. Given what has been addressed to this point, it seems obvious that we should not be counting those who will not answer because they are in the country illegally. That being the case, why be concerned? Again, this is a “look at the calendar” issue.

It troubles and amazes me that, in this illegal immigration battle, the impact on American citizens seems to get little or no consideration. This is reflected in the tremendous emphasis on illegal migrants, while little or no attention is given to consequences such as what is reported by George J. Borjas. The following is from his article titled “Yes, Immigration Hurts American Workers”:

“Both low- and high-skilled natives are affected by the influx of immigrants. But because a disproportionate percentage of immigrants have few skills, it is low-skilled American workers, including many blacks and Hispanics, who have suffered most from this wage dip. The monetary loss is sizable. The typical high school dropout earns about $25,000 annually. According to census data, immigrants admitted in the past two decades lacking a high school diploma have increased the size of the low-skilled workforce by roughly 25%. As a result, the earnings of this particularly vulnerable group dropped by between $800 and $1,500 each year.

Given all that is presented here, and similarly compelling considerations not even addressed, I cannot make sense of the back-and-forth regarding having a citizenship question on the 2020 census. This is a “look at the calendar” matter.