Looking for someplace in the Hope Mills area to grab a snack where the staff is committed to its work and they all have hearts of gold? Look no further than the newly-opened Creek General Store at Gray’s Creek High School.

The store is the latest project of Miller’s Crew, an organization founded by Terry Sanford High School soccer coach Karl Molnar and his wife, Kim.

Miller’s Crew is named after the Molnars’ son, who is autistic. The purpose of Miller’s Crew is to establish vocational training and vocational labs in educational settings for adolescents with special needs.

By doing this in an educational setting, the hope is to give participants the chance to practice specific skills that will carry over into the workforce when they graduate high school.

Miller’s Crew already has stores, or labs as they prefer to call them, set up at Jack Britt, Pine Forest, Terry Sanford, Seventy-First and West Bladen High Schools. Another lab is near completion at Westover High School. Miller’s Crew has also been contacted by Union County Schools near Charlotte about doing labs there.

Lisa Stewart, the principal at Gray’s Creek, met with Kim of Miller’s Crew last summer to begin planning for the lab at Gray’s Creek.

“I thought it was an amazing opportunity for our students, teachers and community,’’ Stewart said. “It’s something that will benefit our students and  let them learn some life skills.’’

Molnar said the lab at Gray’s Creek is one of the smaller ones in the Miller’s Crew program, which got its start in October of 2016.

Some labs, like the ones at Jack Britt and Pine Forest, are larger and include stations for stocking groceries. The one at Pine Forest has a bicycle assembly station.

“The whole point of these labs is to create as many jobs within that setting so the children can be trained and feel comfortable being trained,’’ Molnar said.

The lab at Gray’s Creek is under the leadership of occupational course of study teacher Ali Arostegui. Arostegui and her students surveyed the faculty at Gray’s Creek to see what items they’d like to be on sale at the Creek General Store.

The store can only sell pre-packaged food items, so the teachers opted for selections including coffee, pastries, muffins, granola bars and peanuts among other similar items.

“Ms. Arostegui has done a great job training the students,’’ Stewart said. “She’s been training them most of the first semester. We wanted to open the second semester.’’

The store is located in a converted teacher workroom at Gray’s Creek, on the first floor of the school building near the atrium.

The store can only be used by teachers because of restrictions placed on what kind of food can be sold to students during the school day. Typical store hours are from 8:45 a.m. until 11 a.m.

If teachers can’t leave their classroom to get to the store, the students running the store are allowed to make deliveries to a teacher’s room.

The startup stock for the store was provided by Miller’s Crew through grants that have been awarded to the organization. The goal is for the Creek General Store to become self sustaining and be able to use the profits it makes to restock the store.

“When that door opens and the kids are in Miller’s Crew Gray’s Creek aprons, they have the purest of grins and are happy to see you,’’ Stewart said. “If that doesn’t warm your heart, you must not have one.’’

There are about a dozen Gray’s Creek students currently working at the store, Stewart said. The goal is to add students from another class of special needs students later.

“The biggest benefit for Miller’s Crew and the Creek General Store is they are able to learn how to work as a team,’’ Stewart said. “They’re able to learn how to serve other people. They are pouring coffee, getting food ready, taking their money, making change, prepping for the day, getting inventory ready.

“They take pride in their jobs, and that’s most important.’’

There’s a sign painted on the wall of the store that says it all, Stewart said. “Opportunity. Community. Bear (as in Gray’s Creek Bears) essentials.’’

For any school interested in learning more about bringing a Miller’s Crew lab to their school, visit www.millerscrew.com.

  “It’s something about being able to express yourself through notes,” old-school jazz guitarist Nick Colionne said of his love for the genre. “A lot of people don’t get into jazz or instrumental music because they don’t take time to know that there’s a story being told in instrumental music just like there’s words. I mean, there’s commas, periods, questions.” Fayetteville audiences will get a chance to hear what Colionne has to say through music when he brings “Nick Colionne’s Valentine’s Day Concert” to town Thursday, Feb. 14. The concert takes place at Fayetteville State University’s J.W. Seabrook Auditorium.

Colionne, who grew up on the West Side of Chicago, Illinois, is the winner of national and international awards for his music and showmanship. He traces his connection with jazz to “being that my stepfather and my mother listened to nothing but Wes Montgomery.... (That music) touched me in my heart,” he said.

His stepfather played guitar, and by age nine, young Colionne was learning to play.

“When I got my first electric guitar, I had to learn Bumpin’ on Sunset’ note for note,” Colionne said. “To this day, Wes Montgomery is still my hero.”

Six years later, 15-year-old Colionne was regularly playing high school talent shows with The Mellow Tones, a band he’d formed with a few buddies. They even won a citywide talent show.

He was also cruising around town in a shopping cart due to his lack of a vehicle. “I was a free-playin’ guy,” he said. “I was goin’ around in a shopping cart. And that ain’t so easy in the snow in Chicago.”

Then, one summer afternoon, he bumped into Mavis Staples (of the Staples Singers) and Artis Leon Ivey Jr., better known as Coolio, in the common area of a recording studio space. “I told them I played guitar, and I knew a couple of the older guys who played with them,” Colionne said. “They said they needed a guitar player, so I went upstairs to another studio and auditioned for them.

“That was a Monday. On Wednesday, I went on tour with them.”

From that point on, every summer until he finished high school and then more regularly after graduation, he toured with the Staples Singers and other performers, including Curtis Mayfield and The Impressions. He briefly joined a heavy metal band at age 17, he admitted with a laugh, but he returned to jazz after a few years.

In 1994, he released his first solo album, “It’s My Turn.” That was the beginning of a career in which he’d receive numerous accolades. Among them, he won the International Instrumental Artist of the Year Award at the Wave Jazz Awards in 2007; trumpet superstar Chris Botti had won it the year before. Colionne was nominated for that award again in 2009.

Colionne was nominated as Guitarist of the Year and Entertainer of the Year by the American Smooth Jazz Awards in 2010 and won Performer of the Year for the Catalina Island JazzTrax Jazz Festivals in 2010 and 2011, as well as Artist of the Year at the 2011 Rehoboth Beach Jazz Festival in Delaware.

He’s also received awards for his now 22-plus years of mentoring youth — primarily at St. Laurence Catholic School in Elgin, Illinois, and some West Side-area schools — as well as his championing of breast cancer causes. He was recognized with the Wayman Tisdale Humanitarian Award in 2010, and he was named Alumnus of the Year at Malcolm X College in Chicago in 1996.

Though Colionne primarily mentors at schools near where he grew up and still lives, he also makes a point to visit schools and colleges when he’s on tour.

He said he never set out to be a youth mentor. It started because the principal of St. Laurence asked him to play for a fundraiser for the school, back when Colionne was still getting established.

“I met the kids (at the school); they asked me to come back, and I came back,” Colionne said. “Next thing I know, I was there twice a week, teaching kids to play the guitar. … Then I’m helping them put on passion plays and the Christmas program, and I’m chaperoning trips. Kids — when they love you, they love you unconditionally. The kids know I don’t get paid for coming there. I come there because I love them.

“I don’t want a check, I just want to be part of their lives.”

One of those children whom Colionne taught to play guitar is named Chris. Colionne first visited his elementary school when Chris was 8 years old. Chris later attended college on a guitar scholarship. Today, he’s worked as Colionne’s road manager for many years and is taking a break from that to welcome his first child.

As for Colionne’s work championing and raising money for breast cancer causes, he said this kind of work is a no-brainer for anyone who’s had a loved one struggle with it. “My mother is cancer-free now,” he said. “But my mother has had breast cancer four times. … My (significant other) had breast cancer. And I’m just a person. I don’t want to see another woman suffer with it, and whatever I can do, I do.”

A single conversation with Colionne makes it evident he’s remained humble, grateful to his audiences and rooted in his deeply personal love for jazz throughout his 20-plus year career.

It’s this attitude that’s led to him being often referred to as the best-dressed man in jazz. “I’m an old-school kind of cat,” he said. “I feel like people pay their hard-earned money to come and see me. I believe that for me to dress and look the best I can when I perform is showing the audience respect.”

He said his journey has been exceptionally personally rewarding.

At one point, he said, he and musician Brenda Russell were getting ready to travel for performances when a man approached them. “This cat was coming across the parking lot, and he was calling my name. He was like, ‘Man, I had to catch you. Will you sign this for me?’” It was one of Colionne’s CDs. The young man asked Colionne if he’d be willing to play at a tribute for the young man’s father.

“I was like, who was your father?” Colionne said. “He says, ‘my father was Wes Montgomery.’”

For his upcoming concert in Fayetteville, Colionne said, “I might get onstage and flip the script. I don’t think about it. I play what I’m feeling at the moment.

“I learned how to play guitar, God put the music in my heart, and I just let it go.”

He added there’s always a portion of his concerts called the “wild and loose section. We have only one requirement. If you have anything that will fall, take it off,” he said, referring to the fact that audience members will be encouraged to get up and dance.

“Nick Colionne’s Valentine’s Day Concert” in Fayetteville takes place just about 25 years from the release of his first album. The show is part of FSU’s 2018-19 Seabrook Performance Series and starts at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 14. J.W. Seabrook Auditorium is located at 1200 Murchison Rd.

For tickets and to learn more, visit www.uncfsu.edu/nick-colionne.

 Gilbert Theater continues its season with “Doubt,” which will run Feb. 1-17. The play is by John Patrick Shanley. Gilbert Theater Artistic Director Matthew Overturf will direct it.

“This play is set in 1964, and the playwright, John Patrick Shanley, writes in the prologue that when he wrote it, he thought about this time and it was as if the world was going through a giant puberty,” said Overturf. “There was so much change occurring during this time, such as The Civil Rights Act being passed. And John F. Kennedy had just been assassinated the year before.”

Overturf noted that the Catholic Church had just gone through a significant change. The Vatican II Council was trying to become more open and welcoming and look a bit more like the communities it served, he explained. Everything was shifting and changing during this time.

The drama involves Sister Aloysius, a Bronx Catholic school principal, who takes matters into her own hands when she suspects the parish priest, Father Flynn, of improper relations with one of the male students.

As Aloysius and the Father face off, it brings out the worst in both of them and reveals weaknesses, humanity and doubt in so many things. The production deals with the struggle of faith and doubt, right and wrong, and the gray area in between.

“The male student happens to be the first African-American student in the school because the school had just become desegregated,” said Overturf. “Basically, the play becomes about Sister Aloysius’ crusade against Father Flynn. She brings on Sister James, a fairly young nun, to kind of help in this because (Sister James) is the teacher of the student.”

The play is called “Doubt” for a reason. “There are a lot of circumstantial things and a lot of ideas that Sister Aloysius has that may not necessarily be founded in facts or truths, but she has her suspicions,” said Overturf. “And those, to her, are just as important as any facts.”

Overturf continued, “We have a phenomenal cast. It is an important play for me because I fell in love with it in college and always wanted to direct it. It is a hard-hitting play.

“What I love about it is that it is guaranteed to cause you to leave and talk about it. People will be discussing it and what they believe the outcome is because it is a wonderful show.”

For more information, or to purchase tickets, visit www.gilberttheater.com or call 910-678-7186.

 For Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra Music Director Stefan Sanders, programming concerts for holidays can be especially fun. The Feb. 9 “Love is in the Air” concert is no exception. It includes classic pieces sure to stir the soul as well as a performance by guest pianist Anton Nel, who will perform Sergei Rachmaninoff’s “Piano Concerto No. 2.”

“Concerts close to holidays offer an opportunity to program thematically, and love and romance and longing for someone are a major part of the human condition,” said Sanders. “Putting together a concert is like creating a menu. You want to put together things that pair well and accent each other and are palatable. Think about the songs we listen to on the radio. As people, we have strong feelings, and there is a lot of great music that is love-inspired.”

And there will be plenty of them in this performance. Whether it’s romance or great music you are after, FSO has a well-programmed performance set for the weekend before Valentine’s Day. The playlist includes selections from Prokofiev’s “Romeo and Juliet,” plus iconic music from “Casablanca” and “West Side Story.”

“The symphony is going to play some incredible, beloved romantic music — some of the songs will be very recognizable,” Sanders said. “There is also a lot of music that has been used in TV and film so that the audience will hear it, and even if they don’t know it by name, they will recognize it.”

Special guest Anton Nel has been an international performance pianist for nearly four decades. He is also an acclaimed harpsichordist and fortepianist. But it is not just his talent that makes him a great fit for this FSO concert. Sanders credits Nel with inspiring not just audiences but the performers with whom he shares the stage — a pleasure Sanders has had more than once.

“Any time you work with someone, there are some unknowns,” Sanders said. “But just the rapport with someone you have worked with and can trust makes for a positive experience. And Anton is an incredible artist. He is renowned for his interpretation of certain composers. I think the other performers will enjoy working with someone of this caliber.

“I have seen several performances with Anton and other greats where their artistry inspires everyone else on the stage to be their absolute best. Anton is one of those artists who brings out the best in other artists.”

The piece Nel is playing is significant for more than one reason. It’s great music, but the back story is also something many people will be able to relate to and find hope in. It’s about mental health. Early in Rachmaninoff’s career, he wrote a symphony. When it premiered, the performance was abysmal. The audience hated it.

“This threw him into a very deep depression,” said Sanders. “He was at the bottom. Thankfully, he was able to get help.”

A therapist helped Rachmaninoff to get out of his deep depression. And Rachmaninoff did more than just survive. He started thriving. “He felt inspired to write a second concert,” said Sanders. “And he dedicated it to his therapist, Nikolai Dahl. It goes to show that the things people deal with today are similar to what people dealt with years ago.”

With a mission to educate, entertain and inspire the citizens of the Fayetteville region as the leading musical resource, FSO is creative in its programming and outreach initiatives. The organization is built on the premise that great symphonic music should affordable and fun.

One of the initiatives that aims to make the symphony fun and approachable to everyone is the “Music Nerd” preconcert talks. About 45 minutes before the concert begins, Sanders and FSO Musicologist Joshua Busman will take the stage. Sanders described the Music Nerd portion as a casual chat. “It is a way for curious minds to learn about the music and other interesting facts related to the programming,” Sanders said. “Often, people like to have more context than what a program note provides. It is a way for people to learn more about the music we are going to play.”

FSO also provides program notes on its website so attendees will have a good idea about what the performance will contain. The program notes are available at www.fayettevillesymphony.org.

Methodist University will host the concert at Huff Concert Hall, 5400 Ramsey St. The Music Nerd talk starts at 6:45 p.m. The concert starts at 7 p.m. Visit www.fayettevillesymphony.org or call 910-433- 4690 for tickets and information.

  Fayetteville City Council members will meet next month for their annual planning retreat. Last week, they held a preliminary session designed to zero in on issues they believe most important to the people in the year ahead. For the first time in many years, crime control is not on the list.

The priorities include initiating a development plan for the Murchison Road corridor. Members have been talking about economic improvement along the roadway for years. Mayor Mitch Colvin owns Colvin Funeral Home & Crematory at 2010 Murchison Rd. Murchison Road stretches for 10 miles from downtown Fayetteville to Spring Lake.

City Council plans to take on the revitalization in segments, the first being from the new Rowan Street railroad overpass to Langdon Street, just beyond Fayetteville State University. Local business development, improved street lighting, additional bus stops and mobility are potential areas of improvement. It “could be 15, 20 years before this whole corridor is done,” said Mayor Pro Tem Ted Mohn.

Another area of interest to council would be the city’s investment in a modern, high-speed broadband system. Councilman Jim Arp spoke of making Fayetteville a Top 50 smart technology city, saying “information is the commerce of the next century.”

The city administration calls these special interest projects targets for action. Other projects include completion of the comprehensive land use plan, development and maintenance of city street and stormwater systems, and development of options for a young adult engagement program and an internship program.

The objective of the session was to get the council thinking in greater detail about the goals it will concentrate on during the annual planning retreat. In addition to public safety concerns, they scratched development of parks and recreation programs from their list. P&R Committee Chair Kathy Jensen noted that passage of the $35 million bond referendum three years ago had stabilized funding needs.

The list of targets for action did not include crime control in Fayetteville. Statistics continue to reflect an overall upward trend in crime over 17 years with both violent and property crimes increasing. Based on this trend, the crime rate in Fayetteville for 2019 is expected to be higher than in 2016 according to CityRating.com. The city had a record number of homicides in 2016 — 33.

In 2016, the violent crime rate in Fayetteville was higher than the violent crime rate in North Carolina by 103.42 percent, and the city’s property crime rate was higher than the property crime rate in North Carolina by 66.23 percent.

The source of data on Fayetteville crime rates is the FBI Report of Offenses Known to Law Enforcement. The projected crime rate data was generated from the trends and crime information available from previous years of reported data. The FBI cautions that statistics comparing yearly data solely on the basis of population is meaningful only upon further examination of all variables that affect crime.

 Almost 50 years ago, “Deep Throat” gave Washington Post investigative journalists Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward advice so fundamental that Americans, both journalists and ordinary citizens, have found it useful ever since. “Follow the money,” whispered the thenanonymous source in the murky depths of a Washington, D.C., parking garage. His admonition resulted in the only presidential resignation in American history, at least so far.

Money both ebbs and flows, so let’s take a look at some that is flowing — or soon will be.

China, with whom President Donald Trump and his family have conflicted relationships, has granted Ivanka Trump preliminary approval for five additional trademarks. These involve sunglasses, child care centers, wedding dresses and brokerage, charitable fundraising, and art valuation services.

Ivanka’s supporters argue the trademarks are necessary to protect her famous name from others who might seek to capitalize on it. Critics say that a Trump asking a foreign government for valuable trademark rights opens the door to pressure from that nation in all sorts of government negotiations. It unquestionably lays out the welcome mat for lucrative business possibilities in the future.

That money faucet is poised to flow. 

Money also ebbs, even disappears, for both individuals and entities. The Public School Forum of North Carolina, a nonpartisan advocate for public education, charged this month that reduced funding to traditional public schools in favor of charter and private schools has undermined public education for millions of North Carolina students. The vast majority of our children are in traditional public schools. The group urged the General Assembly to “renew North Carolina’s commitment to public schools for the public good.”

Said Lauren Fox of the Public School Forum, “Recent policy decision have served to discredit, defund and devalue our state’s public education system.”

Rural North Carolina also suffers from a money flow that has morphed into a money trickle from both public and private sources. Some small towns and rural areas are highly creative in making their communities unique in some way to combat the increasing concentration of resources — cultural, educational and monetary — in growing urban areas. Others are flattened by the lack of opportunity that sends their young folks to “the big city,” be it in North Carolina or somewhere else.

Our state, once known as “Variety Vacationland,” is blessed with one-of-a-kind nooks and crannies from Murphy to Manteo and Tuxedo to Turkey. Our travel dollars would be well spent giving ourselves special memories and helping prime our small towns’ money faucets.

And, money does indeed grow, even if not on trees. Increasingly, in the United States and other developed countries, wealth is concentrating in the coffers of the few while the many accumulate debt.

Statistics abound and vary, but virtually all find that the richest are getting richer. CNN reported last year that the top 1 percent of Americans now hold 38 percent of the nation’s wealth, up from just under 34 percent a decade ago, while the bottom 90 percent holds about 23 percent of the wealth, down from 28 percent.

Within those numbers are significant racial and ethnic gaps. The Pew Research Center reports that since the Great Recession of the last decade, white families continue to hold more wealth than other demographic groups.

In addition, while we may not know the exact numbers ourselves, we do understand our economic system is not working for many of us. The World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, this month released polling results. They reveal that Americans, along with people in other developed nations, are losing faith in capitalism. Nearly two-thirds of Americans surveyed no longer believe our economic system is a path to upward mobility.

“Deep Throat” steered the intrepid reporters toward criminal activities that changed the course of our nation and made millions of Americans distrustful of our government. The ebb and flow of money is not usually criminal, but it affects all of us, and we should be aware of when and how. We should also press for policy changes when we believe they are needed.

  A Fort Bragg Green Beret died from enemy gunfire in Afghanistan Jan. 22. The Department of Defense announced the death of Sgt. 1st Class Joshua Z. Beale, 32, of Carrollton, Virginia. He was mortally wounded by enemy small-arms fire during combat operations in Uruzgan Province, the DOD said in a news release. SFC Beale was a member of the 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg and was posthumously promoted to sergeant first class, a spokesman with the U.S. Army Special Operations Command said.

“He will be greatly missed by everyone who had the fortunate opportunity to know him. We extend our deepest condolences to his family for this tragic loss,” said Col. Nathan Prussian, commander of 3rd Special Forces Group. This was Beale’s fourth combat deployment, and his third tour to Afghanistan.

Will the city join the county at its 911 center?

A nondescript, gated building that formerly housed U.S. Defense Department offices is the future home of Cumberland County’s joint 911 communications and emergency operations centers.

Surveillance cameras are mounted on every corner of the structure. Perimeter wrought iron fencing is K-rated, which means the barrier provides anti-terrorism crash protection. County government bought the 17,000 square-foot building at the intersection of Ravenhill Drive and Executive Place for $5.1 million.

Consultants will develop designs and preliminary cost estimates for renovations, which Assistant County Manager Tracey Jackson said will cost as much as $17 million, including upgraded communications equipment.

“Building a new center would cost more than $30 million,” Jackson said. “Our communications center and emergency operations center are outdated and obsolete.”

Officials noted that the county will request state grant funding from the North Carolina 911 Board of Directors. The city of Fayetteville and county commissioners have been debating whether to undertake a joint effort to consolidate 911 operations for several years.

County Commission Chair Jeannette Council said she has been in touch with Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin regarding the city’s interest in a joint venture and is awaiting a response. “We have been talking about building a new emergency services center for years,” she said. A “path is before us now, and we are excited about what lies ahead.”

Congressional election still undecided

With the seating of a new North Carolina Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement pending, the state’s 9th Congressional District still has no representation in Congress. Much of Cumberland County is in the district.

A state board evidentiary hearing on alleged election improprieties was canceled when courts ruled the board’s makeup was unconstitutional and dissolved it. In a separate court action, Superior Court Judge Paul Ridgeway denied Republican Mark Harris’ effort to be declared winner of the November election. He said the incoming elections board doesn’t have to certify the results of the election until the investigation into alleged absentee ballot fraud is completed.

“Why are we looking at a dramatic intervention by one branch of government into the functioning of another branch of government?” the judge asked. “That’s an extraordinary step to ask a court to take.”

Democratic leaders in the U.S. House have already said they won’t seat Harris until the fraud allegations have been resolved. Harris led Democrat Dan McCready by about 900 votes following the election, but the state board has refused to certify that because of suspicious absentee voting results in Bladen and Robeson counties.

Gene Booth named new Emergency Services director

Cumberland County Manager Amy Cannon has announced the promotion of Woodson E. “Gene” Booth to director of Cumberland County Emergency Services. He succeeds Randy Beeman, who resigned in July to accept a position in Durham County. Booth has worked for Cumberland County Emergency Services for almost 15 years, most recently as the Emergency Management Program Coordinator and fire marshal.

“Mr. Booth has demonstrated that he has the experience, skills and character to lead our Emergency Services Department, and that was especially evident as he managed the Emergency Operations Center during Hurricane Florence,” Cannon said.

Booth is a Hoke County native. He graduated from Cape Fear High School and has more than 21 years of public safety experience. During his tenure, he led the county’s emergency management efforts for Hurricanes Matthew and Florence.

FSU/Lafayette Society collaboration

Wednesday, Feb. 6, at 6 p.m., The Lafayette Society will partner with the Fayetteville State University Black History Scholars Association to co-host a presentation by Dr. Robert Taber about the Haitian Revolution. Taber is assistant professor of History at FSU, where he has taught courses about U.S., African-American, Latin American and French history since 2016.

“His audience will be introduced to the major events, themes and personalities of the Haitian Revolution, and (he) will highlight the ways the revolution influenced the coming of the U.S. Civil War,” said Lafayette Society President Hank Parfitt.

In 1775, slavery was legal everywhere in the Americas. By 1890, it was legal nowhere. The rebellion in Haiti, 1789-1804, is regarded as the most successful uprising of enslaved people in the history of the world.

The event will take place in the Rudolph Jones Student Center on the campus of FSU, and it is free and open to the public. For more information, email hankparfitt@embarqmail.com or visit www.lafayettesociety.org.

Photo: Sgt. 1st Class Joshua Beale

 Up & Coming Weekly polled the ten Cumberland County Schools senior high school football coaches on who they think this year’s Super Bowl winner will be.

Deadline constraints forced us to contact them prior to the playing of the American Football Conference and National Football Conference championship games the weekend of Sunday, Jan. 30.

The AFC finals had New England at Kansas City while the NFC game had the Los Angeles Rams at New Orleans.

Super Bowl LIII will be Sunday, Feb. 3, at 6:30 p.m. at Mercedes- Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. The game will be televised by CBS.

Up & Coming Weekly gave the coaches the option of picking both conference championship games and choosing a Super Bowl winner or just picking a Super Bowl winner from all four teams.

Here’s what they said, along with my prediction at the end.

Rodney Brewington, South View — Brewington picks Kansas City over the Los Angeles Rams in the Super Bowl. “Kansas City has better quarterback play,’’ he said.

Deron Donald, E.E. Smith — “The best four teams are left,’’ Donald said. “I may have to go with experience over talent this time. Kansas City and Los Angeles are probably two of the most talented and explosive teams in a while. However, Drew Brees (New Orleans quarterback) and Tom Brady (New England quarterback) are proven winners and have excelled on the big stage multiple times. With that being said, New Orleans and New England in the Super Bowl.’’

Donald’s score pick — New England 38, New Orleans 35.

Ernest King, Westover — King picks the Los Angeles Rams. “I feel they have a good enough defense to put pressure on the opposing quarterback,’’ he said. “Offensively, they have a good running game and they throw the ball well enough to have a balanced attack.’’

David Lovette, Gray’s Creek — New Orleans Saints. “I’m not real sure about my pick, but the Saints are as good as any,’’ Lovette said.

Duran McLaurin, Seventy-First — McLaurin picks Kansas City over New Orleans.

Bruce McClelland, Terry Sanford — “Young gun (Patrick) Mahomes (Kansas City quarterback) sneaks past Tom Brady and the (New England) Patriots,’’ McClelland said. “Drew Brees (New Orleans quarterback) and Sean Payton (head coach of New Orleans) squeak by the Los Angeles Rams in a high-scoring affair.

“New Orleans Saints 31, Kansas Chiefs 30 in the Super Bowl. Brees and Payton get ring No. two.’’

Mike Paroli, Douglas Byrd — Paroli picks the home teams in the conference championship games, Kansas City and New Orleans. In the Super Bowl, he likes the Saints over the Chiefs.

Brian Randolph, Jack Britt — Randolph picks New England in the AFC and New Orleans in the AFC.

“I am expecting two really explosive championship games, with all four teams lighting up the scoreboard,’’ he said. “I think in the end the Patriots and Saints will prevail and give us all a Super Bowl for the ages.

“My team (Carolina) was eliminated long ago, so I am just hoping for a really good game between two well-coached teams.’’

Randolph picks the New Orleans Saints to win it all.

Bill Sochovka, Pine Forest —Sochovka likes the New Orleans Saints in the Super Bowl.

“Any team but New England,’’ he said. “I would love to see Drew Brees get another Super Bowl ring. He is a great quarterback but an even better human being who gives back to the community.’’

Jacob Thomas, Cape Fear — “Both games are very interesting matchups with high-powered offenses,’’ Thomas said. “I want to go with the new blood, flashy quarterback, but my gut says don’t go against (Bill) Belichick/(Tom) Brady (of New England).

“New England beats the Chiefs in the AFC. I’m going with what I think gets the slight edge in quarterback-coach combination. The Saints outscore the Rams in the NFC.

“In the Super Bowl, I’m going with the Patriots to win it against all odds.”

And, just for fun:

Earl Vaughan Jr., Up & Coming Weekly — The early odds favor New Orleans to win it all, but I’m going to let my heart overrule them. My dad’s family is from Missouri, with many of my relatives living near the Kansas City area.

I think New Orleans is a tough out in the Superdome, so I’m picking them to win the NFC title while I’ll take Kansas City to get the most of home field and the play of Patrick Mahomes against the always-tough Patriots in the AFC final.

For the Super Bowl, I’m pulling with my relatives for the Chiefs, along with long-suffering coach Andy Reid, who I would love to see finally get an NFL championship.

Meetings

For details about all meetings and activities, including location where not listed, call Town Clerk Jane Starling at 910-426-4113. Until the Parks and Recreation building has been repaired following damage from Hurricane Florence, some meetings may be moved to Luther Meeting Room at Town Hall at regular dates and times. Those meetings are noted with an asterisk below.

• Board of Commissioners Monday, Feb. 4, 7 p.m., Luther Board Room, Town Hall

• Historic Preservation Commission Wednesday, Feb. 13, Parks and Recreation Center*

• Board of Commissioners Monday Feb. 18, Luther Meeting Room, Town Hall*

• Parks and Recreation Committee Monday, Feb. 25, 6:30 p.m., Parks and Recreation Center*

• Appearance Commission Tuesday, Feb. 26, 6:30 p.m., Parks and Recreation Center*

• Veterans Affairs Commission Thursday, Feb. 28, 7 p.m., Parks and Recreation Center*

Activities

For more information on these activities, contact Meghan Hawkins at 910-426-4109.

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

Promote yourself

Email hopemills@upandcomingweekly.com.

 The Jan. 16, 2019, issue of Up & Coming Weekly featured a Publisher’s Pen article by Bill Bowman about the virtues of the Fayetteville airport. Here are some of our readers’ unedited responses.

Hi Bill!

As usual on point! I learned the hard way about trying to save a couple of bucks flying out of RDU instead of Fayetteville. Long story short, it was a nightmare and I will never ever do it again! What really hurt Fayetteville is when U.S. Air merged with American Airlines and they cut the flights to and from Reagan National a couple of years ago.

I frequently traveled to Washington when that flight was available because I have family in Maryland. And it was cheap! Maybe someday we will get it back — along with other destinations — but until then, flying to Charlotte or Atlanta will suffice. And you are also correct, the Pentagon is only two stops away from the Reagan National on the Metro Subway system. It was very convenient for people in the military.

Have a great day!

Nelson L. Smith

Editor:

Mr. Bowman is 110 percent correct in this article, “Fly Fayetteville!” I have found this airport for my wife and I to be far friendlier and more accommodating with us and her post knee surgery accommodations! Also, taking into account the almost two-hour, 90- mile trip, expensive RDU parking and time wasted, to us it makes sense to FLY FAYETTEVILLE!

Matthew Fagin

Editor:

This isn’t a reflection on the airport. It’s a reflection on local government. That airport will never be more than a hub. But if they want large airlines to invest... they should give them something to invest in. They need to create industry in our community. And to do that they have to invest in our community! When you spend all of your time publicly disrespecting Fayetteville and all aspects of the community... you can’t really expect the residents to commit and you sure as hell can’t get outside agencies to commit. Local government owns that airport. They want it to be better, then they need to make it better. Or resign. Either option would be an improvement.

Liz Blevins via Facebook

Also in the Jan. 16 issue, Karl Merritt wrote about the government shutdown and misplaced outrage. Here is one reader’s response,

As I read your column on the 34th day of the trump shut do down. Yes, it’s his shut down, he said he would do it, and he said he would own it. He did it but he is not owning it. He also said that Mexico would pay, they told him that they would not pay for his wall. Thump lied, and he continues to lie everyday. To close the government is only hurting honest hard working people. For you and thump to bring up the drug and crime components is disingenuous. Placing a wall on the southern border will not solve the drug and crime problem. This is a complete shut down of the federal government and it’s shameful. It’s people like you and trump that I pray for every night that God will change your hearts.

James F. Hawkins

 The new director of the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has asked Congress for explicit authority to strengthen its enforcement of financial protections for service members. Kathleen Kraninger wants specific authorization to conduct examinations of payday lenders and others under the CFPB’s jurisdiction to ensure the lenders are complying with the Military Lending Act.

Kraninger’s appointment to the CFPB came under scrutiny in the Senate in December. She was a littleknown government employee. Her nomination was narrowly approved along party lines.

A 2006 Department of Defense report detailed the harmful effects of high-interest loans on service members and on military readiness. In 2015, the Department of Defense tightened its implementing regulation to help prevent lenders from evading the rules. But last year, under then-acting CFPB Director Mick Mulvaney, the agency pulled back from its regular examinations of payday lenders, saying it didn’t have the authority to do those exams.

In announcing her legislative proposal, which was submitted in January, Kraninger said the bureau’s commitment to the well-being of service members “includes ensuring that lenders subject to our jurisdiction comply with the Military Lending Act.”

The law limits interest rates that can be charged to active-duty service members and their dependents to an annual percentage rate of 36 percent. Young service members, who are particularly vulnerable to these lenders, aren’t necessarily aware of complex laws that protect them and might not file complaints. Kraninger noted she was pleased to see the legislation proposed recently in the House of Representatives.

The North Carolinas General Assembly has resisted efforts of payday lenders and other creditors to foist their high interest rates, often in the triple digits, on the people of this state. During years of back and forth on predatory lending, federal legislation has been inconsistent. Two years ago, a bill written by Congressman Patrick McHenry of western North Carolina would allow lenders with the most harmful lending practices to do business in the Tar Heel state.

The North Carolina Consumer Finance Act governs check-cashing businesses and prohibits cash advances under some circumstances. A company known as Online Cash 4 Payday declares on its website that “borrowers looking for loans without a credit check or who have bad credit will need to look for alternative forms of financing.”

North Carolina installment loans and personal loans are available and legal. There are dozens of small-loan and check-cashing store-front companies in Fayetteville. Online Cash 4 Pay said, “we are here to give you access to the money you need when your (sic) in a pinch … whether your (sic) needing a cash advance, installment loan, personal funds for debt consolidation, title loan, or any type of financial advance.”

In anticipation of a proposal to revise debt collection rules expected in March, advocates from 74 national and state consumer groups sent a letter to Kraninger urging the bureau to focus on protecting consumers from abusive debt collection practices.

 “Who’s on First” was a comedy routine made popular by comedians Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in the 1940s. It was clever and funny. The act centered on Abbott trying to explain to Costello the nature of a baseball game. The routine exemplified how difficult it can be trying to communicate an otherwise simple concept when the components of the event are misleading and confusing. Hence, the phrase, “Who’s on first?” took on the meaning, “Does anyone know what’s going on here?”

That’s a question many Americans are asking as they watch our national government spiraling out of control, making innocent American citizens collateral damage to politicians’ petty and senseless personal, political agendas. Republican and Democratic parties are guilty of this pettiness — of both ignoring common sense and allegiance to their sworn responsibilities to the American people.

This belligerent “my way or the highway” style of political thinking does not produce the kind of government that will preserve the future safety, rights and freedoms of American citizens.

The pettiness of our leaders at the highest levels of government should have all Americans concerned. The 35-day government shutdown is the latest example of this. Shutdown for what? To keep from allocating $5 billion to President Trump for border security? That’s chump change in our federal budget.

Is it worth putting our country in economic jeopardy and inflicting financial hardships on hundreds of thousands of innocent Americans? I think not. Again, Americans become collateral damage to the government elite as our leaders needlessly spend time and money on issues and situations that add nothing to America’s overall safety, well-being or quality of life. We deserve better. In this situation, we surely deserve more than a three-week continuing resolution granting a threeweek temporary reprieve. Now we have 800,000 federal employees holding their breaths, waiting in anticipation for the second shoe to drop. And, over what? Again, chump change and principle?

This irresponsible behavior trickles down to our local governments, too. That is why we are paying so much attention to the Hope Mills commissioners — with the exception of Pat Edwards, who makes common-sense decisions on the town’s behalf. Mayor Pro Tem Mike Mitchell and fellow Commissioners Meg Larson, Jesse Bellflowers and Jerry Legge are hell-bent on discrediting Hope Mills Mayor Jackie Warner. It comes down to not wanting her to succeed or get credit for initiating projects that would benefit the town and endear her to the Hope Mills community.

As a result, ordinances are adopted and unilateral decisions are made without citizen or staff input. This approach to politics has the town running amok, needlessly spending time and taxpayer money on an internal investigation that has yet to be defined — except to insinuate wrongdoing.

Really? By whom? When? The real purpose is an attempt to embarrass and discredit Warner and to fulfill personal agendas that have nothing to do with the well-being of Hope Mills or its citizens. If Mitchell, Bellflowers, Larson and Legge wanted the best for Hope Mills, they would spend their time and efforts working together to move the town forward and not in finding fault with Warner’s aggressive and successful leadership style.

Well, we can’t do much about the political situation in Washington, D.C. However, we can act locally. We love the Hope Mills community and will continue to support the town by being its community newspaper and its advocate. In reality, the growth, progress and opportunities in Hope Mills can overcome the negative impact of the town’s leadership — even with rumors and fake news circulation in the town undermining its leadership, progress and achievements.

Up & Coming Weekly and Elizabeth Blevins’ informational website, Hope-Mills.net, are committed to keeping you abreast of news, events and information that affect all the citizens of Hope Mills and Cumberland County. Stay tuned. Good things are happening in Hope Mills, and we are pleased to be a part of it.

Thanks for reading Up & Coming Weekly. Subscribe to the electronic version free of charge at www.upandcomingweekly.com. Stay in the know!

 If you are the mother or father of a high school athlete here in North Carolina, this message is primarily for you.

When you attend an athletic event that involves your son or daughter, cheer to your heart’s content, enjoy the camaraderie that high school sports offer, and have fun. But when it comes to verbally criticizing game officials or coaches, cool it.

Make no mistake about it. Your passion is admired, and your support of the hometown team is needed. But so is your self-control. Yelling, screaming and berating the officials humiliates your child, annoys those sitting around you, embarrasses your child’s school and is the major contributing reason North Carolina is experiencing a shortage of high school officials.

It’s true. According to a recent survey by the National Association of Sports Officials, more than 75 percent of all high school officials say “adult behavior” is the primary reason they quit. And 80 percent of all young officials hang up their stripes after just two years of whistle blowing. Why? They don’t need your abuse.

Plus, there’s a ripple effect. There are more officials over 60 than under 30 in many areas. And as older, experienced officials retire, there aren’t enough younger ones to replace them. If there are no officials, there are no games. The shortage of licensed high school officials is severe enough in some areas of the country that athletic events are being postponed or cancelled — especially at the freshman and junior varsity levels.

Research confirms that participation in high school sports and activities instills a sense of pride in school and community, teaches lifelong lessons like the value of teamwork and selfdiscipline and facilitates the physical and emotional  development of those who participate. So, if the games go away because there aren’t enough men and women to officiate them, the loss will be infinitely greater than just an “L” on the scoreboard. It will be putting a dent in your community’s future.

If you would like to be a part of the solution to the shortage of high school officials, you can sign up to become a licensed official at HighSchoolOfficials.com.

In Fayetteville and surrounding counties, you can also contact www.saoanc.org, the Southeastern Athletic Officials Association.

 E.J. McArthur

Cape Fear • Basketball• Sophomore

McArthur has a grade point average of 4.0. He’s a member of the Key Club, Future Business Leaders of America, Fear Factor and Distributive Education Clubs of America.

Amelia Shook

Cape Fear • Swimming/ cross country/soccer • Sophomore

Shook has a weighted grade point average of 4.5. She is a member of the Key Club, Fear Factor and the History Club.

 Dr. Marilyn Lanier is an assistant professor in the Department of Elementary Education at Fayetteville State University. She is also the founder and organizer of the “Fall in Love with Math, Science & the Arts Expo.” She put on the inaugural event in 2016. It had 25 booths and saw 300 attendees. Fast forward to 2018 and there were 64 booths, and 800 people attended the expo. This year, Lanier hopes to see well over 1,000 people at the expo, which will take place Saturday, Feb. 16, at Fayetteville State University Capel Arena.

It’s a celebration of math, science and the arts. The entire event is designed specifically to have fun but also to spark a passion for discovery and learning.

“The country is moving into science and math, so STEM, which stands for science, technology, engineering and math, covers a little of all these areas,” Lanier said. “This expo is a place where students can delve into science and try hands-on things. Students get to experience a variety of areas where they can see and get a good idea of what STEM is.”

Lanier promised guests will find plenty to keep them engaged — including a trip to the FSU Aquarium. “We will shuttle them over to the science building, where they can take part in observing organisms and do hands-on activities,” she said. “Last year, they were able to touch lobsters. It was such an amazing experience. You could see on their faces that they were excited about that.”

Look for static displays, including fire trucks, patrol cars, and an ambulance where people can get inside the vehicles and see how they work and talk to the people who use them. There will be plenty of other kinds of technology, too.

“We will have robots,” Lanier said. “They can get finger-printed, see small animals and even do puttputt. Science is everywhere and that is what we want to show people. For example, putt-putt involves physics.”

Though she leads the charge, Lanier said she is thankful for the support from the community. “When I started this, I wanted to connect with the community, and, because I’m a science person, I wanted to make hands-on experiences available to children. Being an educator, I know there is limited time in school where kids get a chance to do science hands-on.”

She is not alone in her enthusiasm for sharing the joy of learning. She partners with the Cumberland County Public Library and Information Center and the Cumberland County Schools system as well as other institutions, including Methodist University.

The expo is free to attend. “We try to make things very accessible,” Lanier said. “We want to get the message of STEM out there. We will have a lot of giveaways, and each booth will have something children can walk away with. Children are given a little bag to collect the goodies from the vendors —and they will get a lot of goodies,” she added.

The expo is sponsored by Fayetteville State University Department of Education/College of Education. It will take place at Capel Arena, which is located at 1200 Murchison Rd. It starts at 1 p.m. and ends at 3:30 p.m.

For more information, contact Dr. Marilyn Lanier at 910-672-1631 or mlanier1@uncfsu.edu.

  Next month will mark the one-year anniversary of my editor, Stephanie Crider, asking me to take on the role of Hope Mills correspondent for Up & Coming Weekly.

As I observe that milestone, I wanted to take a few minutes to share the backstory of my history with the town and why it is a special place to me.

Although I was born in and spent the early years of my Up & Coming Weekly life in Massey Hill — which everyone with any history in Cumberland County knows to be the natural rival of Hope Mills on the athletic field — Hope Mills has been important to me since my youth.

My late mother, Peggy Blount Vaughan, had many relatives in Hope Mills. As a girl, she’d catch the train in Fayetteville and ride out to Hope Mills on the weekends to spend time with her cousin, Mildred Starling.

I temporarily lost contact with Hope Mills, and the entire Fayetteville area, when my family moved away from here in the mid-1960s so my dad, Earl Vaughan Sr., could begin his training as a Presbyterian minister. It was not until I graduated from the University of North Carolina-Wilmington in 1976 that I came back to Cumberland County.

During my days as a Seahawk, I met a guy who not only reconnected me with Hope Mills but showed me more about the town and its people than I had ever known. His name was Eddie Dees, and he became my best friend.

Eddie and I had a lot in common. We both loved sports, we were both interested in writing, and, for a time, we were on the same career path. As college students, we were both employed by Fayetteville Publishing Company as correspondents in the sports department, Eddie with The Fayetteville Times and me with The Fayetteville Observer.

He graduated college before I did and returned to Hope Mills as a teacher at South View High School. Months later, he would help me get an interim position as an English teacher at South View.

It was there our career paths diverged. Halfway into my three-month interim job at South View, a full-time position opened at The Fayetteville Observer in sports, where I had been working parttime since the summer of 1972. I took it and stayed there until September 2016.

Eddie remained at South View until eventually leaving and going to Gray’s Creek High School and later Freedom Christian Academy before contracting pancreatic cancer, which eventually took his life in June 2016, months before I retired from the newspaper.

You could not spend any amount of time around Eddie and not get a strong sense of his passion for the town of Hope Mills. He lived there all his life — from the house on the hill near the railroad bridge as a youth, to his home on South Main Street as an adult, to the dwelling of his final years at the corner of his beloved Hope Mills Lake with wife Susan and daughters Carey and Casey.

He would share his fondness for his town in a book he wrote, “Hope Mills Heritage,” a book I was honored to have a small part in helping him write.

He loved Hope Mills. He loved its people. And he especially loved its beautiful lake.

When the dam first failed and the town lost the lake, he was crushed. Restoring the lake was a primary factor in his decision to enter politics and successfully run for Hope Mills mayor.

We used to spend hours riding in his truck as I gave him political advice before and after his election. I viewed myself as a poor man’s James Carville, and any bad decisions he made as mayor can largely be blamed on me because I knew way more about high school sports than I did politics.

For any faults Eddie may have had, loving his hometown wasn’t among them.

I’ve tried to adopt the same approach in my coverage of Hope Mills for Up & Coming Weekly. I’ve tried to tell the stories of the town, good and bad, with honesty and frankness, while sharing deep appreciation and respect for the thousands of people who call it home.

I hope I’ve done that, and I plan to continue doing it. I want to thank everyone who’s worked with and supported both me and Up & Coming Weekly in our mission to cover Hope Mills the best way we know how.

Thanks for reading what we’ve had to share, and here’s to another year of telling the stories of Hope Mills.

Photo: Former Hope Mills Mayor Eddie Dees

 Is seeing believing? Today we are going determine the nature of reality. In America, politically, what you see is what you want to see. It’s a pretty neat trick. Alternate facts reproduce like bunnies in spring time. Today’s crime against world literature tackles why reality, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.

Unless you have been living under a rock, you have seen the video of the confrontation at the Lincoln Memorial between high school students, Native American tribal elder Nathan Phillips and the Hebrew Israelites, which occurred at the March for Life in Washington, D.C. This video has it all — something for folks of every political stripe to seize as evidence that their side is correct and the other side is pure evil. The primary high school student shall not be named as he will encounter a passel of troubles for grinning at Phillips. Let’s call the student Archie. Now to explain how perception works.

The best college teacher I ever had was an English professor named Rollin Lasseter. A half century ago, Dr. Lasseter explained the nature of perception to our literature class one bright spring day by holding up a cigar. He asked us to look at the cigar and tell him what it was. The class, still having bright young minds, which had not yet been pounded by the real world, unanimously agreed it was a cigar.

Dr. Lasseter told us we were correct, but that while we perceived it was a cigar, what we really saw was light filtered through our optic nerves which was then converted into electrical impulses, which Mr. Brain then interpreted as a cigar. Dr. Lasseter pointed out, “You really do not have a cigar in your brain, because if you did, it would clog you in some fashion.” I have never forgotten this advice. What you see is subject to interpretation and filtration.

Back to Archie and Phillips. There are two opposed narratives about their meeting, which differ based upon what you think of Donald Trump. As they say, let us teach the controversy. The Beatles once sang: “Let me take you down/ Cause I’m going to Strawberry Fields/ Nothing is real/ And nothing to get hung about.”

Version A, short-form video: The video of Phillips and Archie that spread across the internet like a digital flood shows Phillips surrounded by chanting, mocking students wearing “Make America Great Again” hats. The students are menacing Phillips, who is playing a drum and singing a prayer song.

Archie stands up close and personal to Phillips with a frozen grin on his face while appearing to block Phillips. Adherents of Version A were outraged by the students’ actions, intimidating a man who had served his country in war. Phillips calmly chants a prayer song while confronted by a crowd who might do him harm at any moment. Phillips is quoted saying, “When I took that drum and hit the first beat... it was a supplication to God. Look at us, God, look at what is going on here; my America is being torn apart by racism, hatred, bigotry.”

Now let’s look at Version B, long-form video: In Version B, the high school students are shouting cheers to drown out insults from the Hebrew Israelites. Phillips then walks into the crowd of students to A, try to calm things down between the students and the Hebrew Israelites, or B, insert himself into the crowd of students to provoke an incident. Phillips walks up to Archie and refuses to go around him. Archie says, “He locked eyes with me and approached me, coming within inches of my face. I did not speak to him, I did not make any hand gestures or other aggressive moves. To be honest, I was startled and confused as to why he had approached me ... I was worried that a situation was getting out of control where adults were attempting to provoke teenagers.”

So, you take your choice. Pick your interpretation of what happened. Archie and his friends were punks trying to intimidate an older Native American activist who was trying to defuse an escalating confrontation between the students and the Hebrew Israelites. Or, Phillips was totally at fault for walking into a crowd of peaceful high school students who were blamelessly waiting for a bus while being harassed by Hebrew Israelites.

It doesn’t matter which perception you choose, as it won’t convince the other side that you are correct. Call each other names on the internet if you like. Like cement hardening under a hot July sun, America continues to calcify into camps that get along as well as the Shiites and the Sunnis. It may be that the result of the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart and America’s political arteries is not going to work out as well as either side hopes.

What have we learned today? Again, almost nothing. Better luck, next column. However, keep in mind the immortal words of the late, great singer Roger Miller, who advised us: “You can’t roller skate in a buffalo herd/ But you can be happy if you’ve a mind to.”

 The Hope Mills Lake dam survived visits from two hurricanes this past year with one minor exception.

The eel ladder, which allows American eels to gain access to Hope Mills Lake, suffered damage to a device known as the attractor pump. Now it’s time for town officials to begin the work of having the pump repaired and put back in working order.

The attractor pump is located on the downstream side of the creek bed near the base of the dam.

Don Sisko, who heads the public works department for the town of Hope Mills, said it’s directly below the two depressed soil areas on the side of the dam near Main Street.

“You can’t see the pump unless the water is really low,’’ Sisko said. “The only thing you see is the eel ladder and some piping that runs off the pump that dumps near the water surface to provide the splash for the attractor.’’

It’s that splashing water the pump creates that draws eels to the ladder so they can access the lake.

The season for eel migration begins March 15, so Sisko is hopeful work on the pump can be completed well in advance of that date.

Sisko said a local contractor has already been onsite to assess the damage done to the wiring for the pump. The contractor also looked at any changes that need to be made to better safeguard the wiring so more damage isn’t done to it in the future.

In addition, the contractor looked over the location to see what will be required to gain safe access to the pump and actually perform the repairs.

Sisko said he’s not sure how long the work to repair the pump’s wiring will take. “I’ve never been involved in pump repair in a running creek,’’ he said. 

But he added this isn’t an overly complex job and it can be performed by any competent electrical contractor. “It’s not astrophysics,’’ he said. “It’s pretty basic work.’’

Because the damage to the pump’s wiring was a direct result of the hurricane that struck Hope Mills, Sisko said the town is eligible to get money to pay for the repairs from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Sisko said he doesn’t know if the ongoing partial shutdown of the federal government will cause any delay in Hope Mills being able to get that money, though.

As for the dam itself, Sisko said representatives of Schnabel Engineering, the company that built the restored dam, have visited the site for a posthurricane inspection. Save for the damaged pump, he said, the Schnabel representatives saw no problems with the structure.

They will be returning in the near future for a scheduled periodic inspection.

Sisko remains confident of the dam’s status. “I tell folks that the dam was designed based on good science and built based on good construction practices,’’ he said. “There’s no absolute guarantees, but if you do (build on good science and sound construction), you stand a very good chance.

“It was our first hurricane with the dam. It got a lot of attention, but it withstood the weather, both literally and figuratively, and we’re carrying on.’’

Sisko felt the town’s public works department handled the challenges of the dam’s first hurricane well. “That’s what we’re here for,’’ he said. “We’re here to take care of the town, and we’re going to continue doing that.’’

 On New Year’s Eve, my boss, Dorothy, laid a bright blue spiral notebook on my desk. I slipped my thumb under the front cover and turned to the first page, the quiet crack of the card stock separating from the paper it protected.

“A new notebook for a new year,” she said.

This was a challenge.

Several years ago, Dorothy read a book called “One Thousand Gifts” by Ann Voskamp. Recently remembering it sparked her to buy the entire staff a notebook and a copy of the book. The challenge was this: to chronicle 1,000 God-given gifts, no matter how big or small, by the end of 2019. It could be a good meal or beautiful flower, a credit card paid off or sweet baby laughter. The first chirp of a bird when spring arrives. Family. Common things. Uncommon things. Silly things. Serious things. Any good gift from God.

Honestly, at first, this sounded cliché. It’s so easy for me to gloss over those sticky-sweet quotes — the ones that friends on social media post almost daily. I mean the quotes dressed in beautiful fonts slapped on a well-edited photo of some snow-covered trees. You know... those graphics that say things like, “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened,” or, “Life’s a journey, not a destination.”

Ugh. Give me a break. The quotes never really have anything to do with the background they’re plastered on, and they kind of make me want to throw up, but I digress. If those kinds of things help you, that’s great. More power to you. For me, it’s “thanks, but no thanks.”

However, I think there’s actually something to this “Gift List.” In the last 24 hours of Jesus’ life before he was crucified, he did a strange thing. In Luke 22 we find the account of the Last Supper, where Jesus brings his disciples together to have a meal together. Luke 22:19 says, “And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them.”

Originally written in Greek, the word for “he gave thanks” is “eucharisteo.” The root word of eucharisteo is “charis,” meaning grace. Jesus took bread, saw it as grace and gave thanks. Also found in eucharisteo is “chara,” which means joy. Isn’t that what we all long for? More joy? It seems that deep “chara,” or joy, is found at the table of euCHARisteo – the table of thanksgiving.

Voskamp writes, “So then, as long as thanks is possible, joy is always possible... Whenever, meaning now. Wherever, meaning here.” In every circumstance, in every season of life, joy can be found if we can focus on giving thanks. To say it better, joy is found when we see God in the here and now.

So, I’m making a list called “One Thousand Gifts in 2019.” I’m filling it with things that Philippians 4:8 talks about. That verse says, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

I definitely want more joy. I definitely want God’s grace. I will definitely be intentional in giving thanks.

Dorothy, if you’re reading — challenge accepted.

Meetings

For details about all meetings and activities, including location where not listed, call Town Clerk Jane Starling at 910-426-4113. Until the Parks and Recreation building has been repaired following damage from Hurricane Florence, some meetings may be moved to Luther Meeting Room at Town Hall at regular dates and times. Those meetings are noted with an asterisk below.

• Appearance Committee Tuesday, Jan. 22, 6 p.m., Parks and Recreation Center*

• Veterans Affairs Commission Thursday, Jan. 24, 7 p.m., Parks and Recreation Center*

• Parks and Recreation Committee Monday, Jan. 28, 6:30 p.m., Parks and Recreation Center*

• Board of Commissioners Monday, Feb. 4, 7 p.m., Luther Board Room, Town Hall

• Historic Preservation Commission Wednesday, Feb. 13, Parks and Recreation Center*

• Board of Commissioners Monday, Feb. 18, Luther Meeting Room, Town Hall*

Activities

For more information about these activities, contact Meghan Hawkins at 910-426-4109.

• Martin Luther King Jr. Day Monday, Jan. 21— Town offices closed.

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

Promote yourself

Email hopemills@upandcomingweekly.com.

  Tishera Owens

Gray’s Creek • Junior • Basketball/volleyball

Owens has a 3.94 grade point average while playing sports in the fall and winter for the Bears.

Nicholas Quinn

Gray’s Creek • Senior • Wrestling

Quinn, who wrestles in the 152-pound weight class for the Bears, has a 4.0 grade point average. Through Jan. 13, his record in wrestling this season is 14-11.

 The Patriot Athletic Conference will hold its annual postseason swim meet Wednesday, Jan. 23, at 4:30 p.m. at the Fayetteville State University swimming pool in Capel Arena.

But more than a conference championship, it will also mark the celebration of a milestone in advancing the championship aspirations of Cumberland County’s high school swimmers.

This year, Cumberland County’s swimmers didn’t have to take a two-week break from practice during the Christmas holidays.

Fayetteville State traditionally closes its doors during the Christmas break, meaning the pool at Capel Arena isn’t available for practice. But thanks to the city of Fayetteville, the swimmers had an alternative to not practicing this year.

Amey Shook, swimming coach at Cape Fear High School, said Fayetteville purchased two plastic bubbles to cover the outdoor pools at the Westover and College Lakes recreation centers. Since the pools at both locations are heated, the bubbles allow the swimmers to go inside and practice during the period the FSU pool is closed for the holidays.

Even when the temperature outside the bubble is freezing, Shook said, the bubble is a workable alternative to not practicing.

“Most days I can be comfortable coaching in a short-sleeved shirt,’’ Shook said of the atmosphere in the bubble. “When (the temperature) gets way down, I might wear a light jacket.’’

Shook said both recreation centers have heated indoor dressing rooms where the swimmers can go and change before and after practice.

“It’s a work in progress,’’ she said of the addition of a practice option for the county’s swimmers. “Each year we are gaining more and more support for the sport of swimming in the county. It’s going to change our results.’’

Looking ahead toward the conference meet, Shook is expecting a competitive battle for top honors. From a team standpoint, she said Cape Fear, Pine Forest, Gray’s Creek and Terry Sanford have all had outstanding team and individual performances this year.

Among individual swimmers, Shook said Zizhou Lu of Gray’s Creek has been almost unbeatable this season. Another top swimmer for the boys has been Brandon Chhoeung of Pine Forest.

Lu is strong in multiple events, but his best include the sprint freestyles. Chhoeung excels in the distance freestyle events.

For the girls, Shook said top competitors include her daughter, Amelia, and E.E. Smith’s Sarah Morton.

Amelia Shook is strong in several events, including the backstroke, middle distances and the butterfly. Morton’s best events are the breaststroke and the sprints.

Coach Shook said the key to success in the conference meet is a good effort from each team and swimming clean races. She said a number of county swimmers have already qualified for competition in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association regionals.

“I think, countywide, we have some great shots at at least a half-dozen state qualifiers,’’ she said. “On my team, my goal is to double the number of state and regional qualifiers we have.

“We have a lot of great swimmers in this county. They have worked hard all year. They are ready to swim fast.’’

 Americans have absorbed a great deal over the last few years.

We have learned — and not for the first time — how political divides damage personal relationships with family, friends and colleagues. Many of us can tell tales of our own experiences with toxic politics in the last several years. Some involve painful estrangements of important relationships.

We have learned anew how deeply painful statues commemorating aspects of our Civil War are to millions of Americans. Earlier this month, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chancellor Carol Folt resigned— some pundits say “bolted”— effective at the end of the school year. She also ordered the last remnant of a Confederate statue removed from campus only to have the UNC system Board of Governors abruptly terminate her, saying without words, “Don’t let the door hit you on the rump on your way out.”

And, we now understand the long-smoldering and erupting fury of American women over not only discrimination in the workplace but sexual harassment and abuse in both our public and private lives. This fury is captured in the #MeToo movement. It also encompasses the frustration of generations of women who have been bullied by men, demeaned by men, talked over by men, paid less than men for the same work and who have endured catcalls and inappropriate comments by men — the list is as long as the countless numbers of women on the receiving end of such actions.

The Gillette Company, whose razors are used daily by men all over the world, has launched a new ad campaign addressing what many dub “toxic masculinity” and asking, “Is this the best a man can get?” The ad released last week is just under two minutes long and had 20 million views on YouTube in its first two days. Not surprisingly, some viewers praise the ad while others find it threatening.

At the very least, Gillette has opened the conversation for the first generation of men to be held accountable for such actions by a large swath of American society, and the company should be saluted for that. Very few Americans would dispute the reality that being born a man in our culture comes with an extra measure of power, what some refer to as “male privilege.” While feminists have tried since the 19th century to move women’s issues up the national agenda, a bright national spotlight swung their way only in the last several years.

What Gillette’s ad and its supporters are attempting to do is pierce the protective armor of “boys will be boys” — at any age, apparently— and inspire men to hold each other accountable for their treatment of others whether that behavior is bullying, demeaning or outright abuse. The ad challenges men to reflect on their behavior and invites them to be kinder in both personal life and the workplace and to help other men do so.

Most American men are not violent and do not demean, bully or assault others, and the Gillette ad acknowledges that. It also points out that too many men remain silent when they witness such behavior in other men and challenges them to call out brethren’s negative actions. Some critics say the Gillette spot gives a pass to following the crowd even when men witness bad behavior, and there may be truth in that charge. At the same time, though, Gillette deserves credit for opening the conversation in a frank way, even if it is not perfect.

As a woman who grew up with one sister and became the mother of two boys, now men, I felt pressure— and still do — to teach my sons to treat all others kindly and with respect in both the workplace and in their personal lives. I know that today’s parents of growing boys feel the same pressure, and with any luck, the Gillette ad will resonate and inform their parenting.

Gillette’s tag line says it all.

“Boys watching today will be the men of tomorrow.”

That can either scare us or give us hope for change.