At the last City Council meeting the members of the Fayetteville City Council voted down a proposal to adopt a “resolution in support of immigrant communities in Fayetteville.” Good for them. After all, Fayetteville has an indisputable reputation for being one of the friendliest and most diverse communities in the country.
Regardless of whether this resolution was symbolic or not, it's absurd and insulting to even insinuate we must mandate such humanity. Sure, liberal- progressive communities like Chapel Hill and Carboro cowed down to North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper's left-wing progressive wishes, but in Fayetteville, trying to endorse and pass such a resolution in our community disrespects citizens of our proud heritage.
There is another disturbing aspect of that proposed resolution and the way it was voted on. The resolution was voted down with a 4-4 split vote. The City Council is made up of 9 District Representatives and the Mayor. The vote should equal 10, not 8.
Hmmm? Perhaps we should be concerned that our elected officials are not representing their constituents or taking their responsibilities seriously.
The 4-4 vote resulted when Councilman Mario Benavente proposed the motion introducing the symbolic resolution, and it was then supported by Council Members Brenda McNair and Courtney Banks-McLaughlin who were present at the meeting.
The fourth "yes" vote came courtesy of Deno Hondros who was not present at the meeting and was credited with an "unexcused" absence. Regardless of motion, an unexcused absence results in an automatic “yes” vote. (I contacted Loren Bymer, Director of Marketing and Communications for the city, to define what is considered an "unexcused absence " vs. an excused absence. His office has not responded.)
Kudos to Mayor Colvin, and Council Members Lynne Greene, Malik Davis, and Mayor Pro Tem Kathy Jensen who voted NO against the resolution. But, what about Council Members Derrick Thompson and D.J. Haire?
What was their vote? What were their comments and where did they weigh in on this issue? The answer is: they didn't.
Both were officially excused from the meeting by the council, so their absence did not count in the vote. So, is this how they are going to continue representing their constituents by manipulating absences?
If so, you can be assured that the outcomes will never be in favor of the citizens. Another question comes to mind: When a Council Member has an unexcused absence do they get paid for that meeting or is their salary adjusted?
Support immigrant communities in Fayetteville? You bet we do. Fayetteville is known nationwide for its diverse population and warm, friendly, hospitable outreach to all nationalities.
If any city councilman feels the need to introduce and vote on a symbolic resolution, let it be one recognizing Fayetteville as a community of History, Heroes and a Hometown Feeling. This includes our immigrants.
Thanks for reading the Up & Coming Weekly community newspaper, and I hope to see you in September at the International Folk Festival when we celebrate our diverse heritage.

The Dogwood Festival is just around the corner in Fayetteville, and the annual “unofficial kickoff” barbecue is about to happen. The annual Crime Stoppers Benefit BBQ celebrates its 40th year on Friday, April 26. It is hosted by the Fayetteville/Cumberland Crime Stoppers and the Spring Lake Police Department. Similar to previous years, the event will be at the parking lot of the Harris Teeter located at 2800 Raeford Road. This event is a chance to support the Fayetteville/Cumberland County Crime Stoppers and enjoy a nice meal of North Carolina barbecue.
The barbecue starts at 11 a.m. and ends at 7 p.m. One can stop by for lunch, dinner, or even both. The event is set up as a drive-thru, so you can pick up a plate of North Carolina barbeque without getting out of your vehicle. Each plate can be purchased with a $10 donation, and contains delicious barbecue pork, a dinner roll, coleslaw and potato salad.
“This year we are excited to be hosting our 40th annual Crimestoppers BBQ. This event serves as our main fundraiser to continue providing cash rewards for tips leading to arrests. Our community has been generous supporters of this event each year, which ultimately helps everyone in our community,” said Tommy Hodge, secretary of the board for the Crime Stoppers program. He also mentioned how each year they gain a lot of traction, serving over 3,000 plates of delicious Southern Coals BBQ on average.
The Fayetteville/Cumberland County Crime Stoppers is not officially a part of any police department. It is a community volunteer program that assists in law enforcement and has the goal of reducing crime within the community. They also support the Spring Lake Police Department, Hope Mills Police Department, the Fayetteville Police Department, and the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office.
“While our primary role is to pay out cash rewards, we also provide funds to purchase and operate kiosks that are stationed around Cumberland County,” said Hodge. “These digital kiosks display pictures to increase awareness of wanted criminals and the likelihood of a tip that leads to arrest. We currently have three kiosks in high-traffic areas: the Fayetteville police department lobby, the courthouse lobby and the downtown bus terminal.”
It is local fundraisers like these that help Fayetteville/Cumberland County Crime Stoppers raise money for their program. It helps them be able to give their cash rewards to citizens who give them tips and to pay for their staff. Anyone can call them to provide anonymous information on any criminal activity. If an arrest is made from the tip provided, the caller will be eligible for a cash reward of up to $2,000. The Crime Stoppers can be reached at 910-483-8477 to provide confidential tips for any criminal activity.

“The biggest benefit of Apollo was the inspiration it gave to a growing generation to get into science and aerospace,” said Buzz Aldrin, Astronaut, former American Astronaut and Engineer.
“The North Carolina Science Festival is the first statewide science festival in the United States. The festival promotes science awareness for all North Carolinians... The concept is the cultural, educational, and economic development of the sciences within North Carolina,” according to the North Carolina Science Festival (Wikipedia).
“The NC Science Festival started in 2010 out of Morehead Planetarium and has developed to cover events across the state during the month of April. Fayetteville State is proud to participate in this program for our second year. State on Innovation is the theme for 2024. This theme inspired the kickoff for our new degree program, Material Science and Advanced Manufacturing,” states Joseph Kabbes, Astronomy instructor and planetarium manager, Fayetteville State University.
Innovation and Aerospace Manufacturing will be presented at Fayetteville State Planetarium, Fayetteville State University on April 13 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. This free event will have presentations about Earth Science, Physics, Engineering, and Technology. Activities include launching rockets, coding robots, learning 3-D printing techniques, thrust testing rocket engines including the Bronco Nitro, experimentation with heat shield designs, designing personalized badges with the assistance of robots, driving robots on simulated lunar surfaces, flying small drones, exploration of thruster design and a full movie experience of the Fayetteville Planetarium.
“Innovation, to me, is the process of seeing what is and imagining the development of what may be. It takes the form of invention or could be the combination of existing ideas or products in unique and novel ways or for different purposes,” states Kabbes.
Fayetteville State University is offering a new degree program called Material Science and Advanced Manufacturing degree during Fall 2024.
“The new Material Science and Advanced Manufacturing Degree is an outgrowth of the existing Material Science minor in the Department of Chemistry, Physics, and Material Science at Fayetteville State. This extends the current work in material science at the microscopic scale to the macroscopic scale for manufacturing. This is to address a critical national priority to reestablish onshore manufacturing to address economic and strategic needs.
"The program excites me, as it is the first step towards engineering at Fayetteville State University, in addition to meeting a strong demand for material scientists,” Kabbes said. “We see the economic impact of material science every day, from new materials in cars and airplanes to 3-D printed parts and even houses. NASA and other organizations have a high need for material scientists and advanced manufacturing to help with the growing space economy. It is an exciting time for our students. In addition to training students for these new industries, one dream is to establish Fayetteville State University as the regional hub for new businesses related to Advanced Manufacturing.”
The degree program is available for Fall 2024. For more information contact Fayetteville State University, at https://www.uncfsu.edu.
“The mission of the Fayetteville State University Planetarium is to engage students in Cumberland County and the surrounding region. We hope to inspire and inform students of the opportunities in Science and Engineering, In Civil Engineering, for example, there is a shortfall of tens of thousands of engineers today. Engineers are responsible for public infrastructure, such as roads, buildings, and water supplies, but also design infrastructure as we move to build bases on the Moon and beyond. We want younger students to see some of the opportunities and say, ‘I could do that,’” said Kabbes.
Inspire and inform students from pre-kindergarten to college level to attend the Innovation in Aerospace and Manufacturing, at the Fayetteville State University Planetarium on April 13. The event is free., and will be held from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Lacey Crime's first canvas wasn't the side of a building like it often is now. It was a small wall inside her own home. The wall wasn't fully painted in graphics as most of her murals are now. Instead, the sky blue wall had smaller space graphics on it to give the feeling of looking at space from inside a rocketship. In 2015, it began with a child's bedroom -- her child’s bedroom. For her technically the art of cookie decoration preceded her love of murals and painting walls and buildings. But these days, even though Crime is known in the area for her cookies, murals are taking up more of her time.
Growing up, Lacey says she never took her artistic talent seriously. She thought she needed to get a "real" job to be successful. Art didn't seem like it could also pay the bills.
"It's pretty cool to say that the starving artist mentality is quickly becoming an idea of the past and artists are thriving in their field, making it their full-time jobs while [being] able to fully support their families," Crime said.
Crime’s first mural, the one featuring astronauts and space inside her child’s bedroom, led her to paint more and more. Although for Crime, she says it took years before she really delved into that space.
“Murals are satisfying, addictive. It’s a space profession that allows more time with my family,” she said.
Painting has taken her across North Carolina to different cities and even to the neighboring states. Crime just finished an interactive mural in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina at The Twisted Penguin.
“The interactive bench murals are always a fun way to fool the eye and get the people in town involved and excited about public art,” she said.
In Myrtle, Crime traded in a bench for a surfboard. And for this destination, some of her family got to come along. Crime says that's the most challenging part of her business: finding the time to balance both it and her family.
“Having to juggle being a mom of four and a military spouse … planning around my husband’s schedule and him having to try and plan around mine has been quite interesting to say the least,” she said.
Crime’s murals are usually created with a little bit of ideas from both the client and herself. She begins by talking with clients to get their vision and any ideas down on paper. Crime says this process is to ensure that not only is she a good fit for them, but the client is also a good fit for her. Then comes all the digital mockups of the design. While the greatness of artistic freedom is often bounced around in the field, Crime says she always gets happy when clients have an exact design and they just need her to paint it.
“I have one coming up where the client is giving me full artistic freedom. As much as it sounds fun, I find there’s more pressure because I really don’t want to mess it up and have their expectations not met,” Crime said. “Logos sound boring to many but they are so fun and relaxing for me. Give me a logo mural any day!”
As far as favorites, Crime has trouble naming just one or two but logos aren’t in the mix. Crime recalls a challenging mural in Lumberton as being one of her favorite pieces she has completed.
“I needed to put together a 4-stage scaffolding. I needed to recruit help moving it every time I was done with a section. I think there is more pride in that one because of all the labor involved. I didn’t have a lift where I could easily go up and down, left and right. It was straight-up labor and my body was sore every day from carrying the paint cans up and down each story. And of course, the design is absolutely beautiful. All of the elements give a snapshot of Historic Robeson County’s history.”
Thankfully for now, according to Crime, she stays pretty busy. While cookies are still part of her work now and in the future, she's glad for the swing toward work in murals.
"I am one of many artists who was selected to paint a large mural in the Durham County Public Art Project. I was just approved to paint a mural in the Central Prison in Raleigh," she said.
Although, according to Crime, the job that has held the most weight in her kids' minds was a job she did for Mr. Beast a couple of years ago.

Attention all daredevils! Have you ever thought about rappelling down the side of a building with your colleagues cheering you on?
United Way of Cumberland County presents an Over The Edge fundraising event Saturday, April 13 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Medical Arts Building in downtown Fayetteville.
“Over the Edge is what we call a peer-to-peer fundraiser that is the same scope of a walkathon in which people raise money individually,” said Carolyn Justice-Hinson, member of the United Way Board of Directors and co-chair of the event. “Over the Edge is urban rappelling and to participate in the event an individual must sign up and raise money. The goal for each individual is to raise is $1,000.”
She added, “They will rappel down the side of the Medical Arts Building in downtown Fayetteville which is approximately 50 feet.”
United Way of Cumberland County has typically raised funds that support partner agencies in the community through workplace campaigns.
“As times have changed and we were going through COVID-19, we started looking at some new ventures to help raise funds,” said Justice-Hinson. “Last year was the first year that United Way embarked on a fundraiser because we have always done workplace campaigns and individual contributions.”
Justice-Hinson added, “It was challenging to find buildings in Fayetteville to fit the criteria for rappelling. We are thankful to Cape Fear Valley Health System and Michael Nagowski for allowing us to use the Medical Arts Building which is the perfect location in downtown Fayetteville. With United Way, we wanted to attract younger donors, people involved with United Way and we felt this kind of fundraiser would be another way to get the younger generations involved,” said Justice-Hinson.
The adventurous event has taken a life of its own and some individuals have used it to take a stance for causes that are close to their heart.
“Some people are doing it in honor of a loved one, as a challenge to themselves, or because they have not had an opportunity to rappel before,” said Justice-Hinson. “Some people are doing it because their company is participating in what we call Toss the Boss and that is when the company or its employees raise money and the goal is to raise $2,500. When they raise the money, their boss agrees to rappel down the side of the building and if they decide not to rappel, they will have to pay additional money to not rappel,” she said.
“When participants come to rappel, there are areas for their friends and family to cheer them on,” said Justice-Hinson. “We have an MC and when you are rappelling down the building, he will talk about you and tell what cause you are rappelling for.”
Last year’s edgy event drew support from some of Fayetteville’s heavy hitters.
“We had the representative from the Garrison Command, Command Sgt. Maj. Greg Seymour, to participate last year as one of our VIPs and he is planning on participating this year,” said Justice-Hinson. “We had a lot of community leaders who participated … Superior Court Judge Ammons, Police Chief Kemberle Braden, County Commissioner Toni Stewart, City Councilwoman Kathy Jensen and North Carolina Superior Court Judge Robby Hicks.”
“Last year’s event exceeded our expectations and many of the partner agencies of United Way participated,” said Justice-Hinson. “There were a lot of the members of the community who just came out to observe and I will say that since COVID-19 there have not been as many activities that I really think had a sense of community and that day really did.”
She added, “It was incredibly positive and that is why the United Way decided that we would go for a second year with the fundraiser. This is a fundraiser like no other.”
Justice-Hinson’s decision to rappel has given her personal and professional fulfillment as well as a testament to her adaptability.
“When I was participating on the committee last year, I was very excited about it but I personally was not going to rappel,” she said. “I actually raised money so that one of my best friends could rappel and I was too chicken to do it because of my life experiences of being put in that type of situation and not being able to do it.”
Justice Hinson added, “At the end of the day, the event had been so successful that I ended up rappelling. Maybe I got caught up in the moment by looking around and watching all of the excitement of that day and watching the people who rappelled, get to the ground and were able to celebrate doing it. Now, anytime that I have a challenge, that has stuck out in my mind. If I can rappel down the side of a building, I can certainly tackle what is in front of me. It was a personal victory for me and that was my takeaway from it.”
All the funds that are raised are going to United Way.
“Last year we ended up raising $30,000 and every bit makes a difference,” said Justice-Hinson. “United Way is all about making this community a better place and it is really a win-win situation.”
United Way’s goal is for the fundraiser to become a popular staple in the community.
“We would ultimately love to see it grow, sustain it year in and year out and love to see some competition between businesses,” said Justice-Hinson. “We chose rappelling because it was different than any fundraiser that we had done around Fayetteville, it was unique and we wanted to do something with the military.”
The event is free and open to the public. For more information visit https://www.unitedway-cc.org/ or call 910-483-1179.

April showers and pollen aren’t the only things Spring is bringing to the Fayetteville community; on April 6, the City Market at the Museum will be hosting its annual Spring Kickoff. The Fayetteville History Museum hosts this local farmers, crafters, and makers market every Saturday, rain or shine. From 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., the Museum’s front lawn hosts a broad array of local growers and artisans who peddle their wares to visitors.
The Fayetteville History Museum’s City Market at the Museum has been a Saturday staple downtown since 2010 and is a warm and welcoming community of small businesses. The program began with former Museum Director Bruce Daws. Daws felt that the history museum and the farmers market were a natural fit. Historically, farmers markets have played an essential role in the Fayetteville community. Open-air markets served as significant economic and social institutions within our community.
Farmers markets have a unique and positive impact on their communities. These markets allow small businesses and small farms to establish themselves. Local markets also use fewer resources to bring products to the market, supporting a more economic and ecological way to produce and sell products. Market goods are often more sustainable. Farmers markets also help to increase access to fresh and nutritious food and allow consumers to build relationships with the businesses and farmers who produce the goods they are purchasing.
“My favorite thing about the market is the sense of community it creates,” explained Britney Mankin, historical properties specialist and market coordinator.
Each Spring, the City Market at the Museum hosts a kickoff event, and various organizations from around the community participate. This year, Fayetteville PWC will be in attendance, and Fayetteville/Cumberland Parks and Recreation’s Clark Park Nature Center and Lake Rim and the Master Gardeners will have tables set up. These organizations will have fun activities ready for all who visit their tables. The market is regularly the home to farmers selling vegetables and meat, bakers, crafters, food trucks and makers. For this event, vendors will contribute to gift baskets as part of a giveaway for attendees on the day of the event, and a small selection of carnival games will be set up for all to enjoy.
In addition to the Spring Kickoff, the City Market at the Museum hosts various special events throughout the year. The market regularly participates in the weekend-long Midsummer Magic event in July hosted by the Downtown Alliance. It hosts a dog-friendly day in August for the Dog Days of Summer.
The market is home to some tried-and-true regular vendors, such as Joyce and William Horne. They have been vendors at the market since it began and sell a selection of produce, jams, and jellies. This summer, there will be a host of newcomers to explore.
“This program brings energy and life to the museum grounds in the heart of downtown Fayetteville,” said Heidi Bleazey, museum director and historic and natural resources manager for Fayetteville/Cumberland Parks and Recreation.
The market always welcomes new vendors who make or grow their products. Those interested in becoming a vendor with the City Market at the Museum can stop by the Museum to collect and apply during business hours, Tuesday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Vendor spaces are approved at the discretion of the museum staff, and participation is free. For additional information, please call 910-433-1457.

In 2012, Hilda Burgos had a dream of bringing holistic wellness to Fayetteville. She bought a building on Anderson Street and she and her family spent the next two years renovating it to house such a service. In 2014, Prima Elements opened, offering fully plant-based smoothies and juices, aimed to provide healing through nutrition.
In the ensuing ten years, Hilda retired, but under the leadership of her son Adrian and daughter-in-law Audriaunna, Prima Elements has continued to grow through added services, classes, and therapies to promote healing and wellness through nutrition, movement and other holistic practices. On April 13, they are hosting a block party to celebrate their 10th anniversary and are inviting the whole community to come join in the celebration.
Prima Elements is a family/woman/veteran/minority-owned business located in downtown Fayetteville, just one block off of Hay Street. It is a unique small business in that it is service-based, not only retail-based. While the services offered by Prima Elements have grown over the past 10 years, the most popular feature is still the juice and smoothie bar. It is most people’s introduction to the company and continues to be Prima’s biggest asset. But Prima Elements is more than just a juice bar. They offer many services and therapies, including holistic health consultations, nutrition counseling, guided meditation, yoga and RestStation Therapy, which uses sound and vibration for restorative healing. They are also a certified training center for yoga instructors.
Prima Elements began with a recognition of how unbalanced Western medicine tends to be and with the belief that by incorporating Eastern, holistic practices, people could achieve more complete results and better healing for their body, mind and spirit. They also maintain a commitment to their community, through outreach and by intentionally keeping their prices lower than most similar services provided by other practitioners.
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of this unique business in Fayetteville, Prima Elements is hosting a 10th anniversary celebration. According to Audriaunna Burgos, this event on April 13 will be the grand opening they never had, as the business opened in a slower, more gradual way in 2014. The celebration is free and open to the entire community. Some of the highlights of the celebration will include:
• Food Trucks: Indulge your taste buds with a diverse selection of culinary delights. All food will be plant-based and will feature shish-kabobs, street corn, juice bars, vegan ice cream, and other unique, exciting food options.
• Ribbon Cutting Ceremony: Celebrate this milestone moment and share the excitement.
• Live Music: Enjoy performances by talented local artists throughout the day, including a steel drummer and an acoustic drummer. There will also be a playlist, curated by founder Hilda Burgos.
• Artisan and Craft Vendors: Explore unique and handcrafted items from local artisans.
• Small Business Vendors: Discover a variety of offerings from local small businesses.
• Competitions: Engage in friendly competitions-including a contest to see who can drink the spiciest juice and win exciting prizes.
• Kids Zone: A dedicated area for the little ones with activities and entertainment.
• Community Spirit with Zumba Class: Join an energetic Zumba class that embodies community spirit.
• Cooking Demos: Learn from culinary experts with live cooking demonstrations.
• Yoga Classes: Find tranquility and balance with invigorating yoga sessions.
• Sound Healing Workshops: Immerse yourself in the healing power of sound.
Bring the whole family out to Anderson Street. It will be blocked off for the party on April 13 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Whether you are a Prima Elements regular or this is your first introduction to this unique business and the services they provide, it will be a great opportunity to celebrate, discover something new and engage with your community.

The Fayetteville Symphony has partnered with the Kruger Brothers for a special event titled "Music of Appalachia," which will take place on April 20 at the Seabrook Auditorium located on the Fayetteville State University campus.
Jens and Uwe Kruger, two brothers from Europe, were brought up in a musical household where they began singing and playing musical instruments at a young age. Their upbringing exposed them to a diverse range of music, instilling in them a deep appreciation for the art form.
The siblings joined forces with Joel Landsberg, a bass player with a rich background in classical and jazz music. Since 1995, the three of them have been collaborating and putting on performances together.
Since 2002, the trio have found their home in Wilkesboro, NC, and the FSO is incredibly excited to have the opportunity to work together with them for this unique musical occasion.
“We’re excited to collaborate with the Kruger Brothers for this performance. It will be incredible to experience classical compositions with folk music elements. The Kruger Brothers have an incredible following and we’re looking forward to having new patrons in the concert hall!” said Meghan Woolbright, FSO’s Marketing and Office Manager.
From their inception, the Kruger Brothers have showcased their ingenuity by infusing classical music into folk music, resulting in a distinctive sound that stands out in the realm of acoustic music. This exceptional fusion sets them apart from any other artists in the genre.
The music originating from Appalachia has strong connections to Western North Carolina. When immigrants arrived from Wales, England, Scotland and Ireland, they brought their own musical traditions along with them. The sound of Appalachia was further enriched by incorporating influences from genres such as bluegrass, country, blues, and jazz.
You can look forward to hearing classic pieces like Copland's Appalachian Spring, Quinn Mason's Immerse and other selections from the Kruger Brothers that celebrate this rich music history.
The Coldwell Banker Trolley will be providing rides to Seabrook Auditorium. Pick-up will be at 6:30 p.m. at the FSO office located at 310 Green Street. The trolley will also be bringing patrons back to the FSO office after the concert is finished.
The concert starts at 7:30 p.m., but be sure to get there early and catch the pre-concert talk led by the FSO’s “Music Nerd” and FSO Musicians. Tickets range from $5 to $32 and can be purchased at https://www.fayettevillesymphony.org.

Fayetteville Fury is excited to announce the appointment of Skye Linkous and Ann Marie Chao as the new Co-Directors of the Fury Futures Program.
Their combined expertise and passion for soccer will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of young athletes in our community.
Skye Linkous brings a rich background in sports, coaching, and community involvement. Hailing from Watertown, New York, her diverse experience spans across dance, Tae Kwon Do, and multiple school sports, leading to her profound involvement in soccer as a parent and coach.
Skye's move to North Carolina in 2010 marked the beginning of her significant contribution to local soccer, including coaching stints at NZone and Freedom Christian Academy.
A certified first aid, AED, and a National Federation of State High School Associations coach, Skye’s commitment to nurturing young talent and fostering a love for soccer is unwavering. Her personal journey with the sport and her desire to create a positive impact make her an invaluable asset to the Fury Futures Program.
Ann Marie Chao's journey in sports is equally inspiring. Raised in Syracuse, New York, she was a multi-sport athlete from a young age, participating in soccer, lacrosse, competitive swim, and more.
Ann Marie’s leadership skills were honed through her roles at various camps and as a veteran of the United States Navy stationed in San Diego, where she continued to engage in competitive sports. Moving to North Carolina brought her closer to family and the local soccer community, where she has been coaching youth teams with dedication.
As a NFHS certified coach with U.S. Soccer Grassroots, CPR, and First Aid certifications, Ann Marie’s extensive experience and commitment to youth development are set to enrich the Fury Futures Program.
Together, Skye and Ann Marie will lead the Fury Futures Program with a focus on developing homegrown talent, fostering a culture of excellence, and ensuring soccer is accessible to all.
Their leadership will enhance the mission to provide a nurturing environment for young athletes to grow, compete, and embrace the beautiful game.
Fayetteville Fury is proud to have Skye Linkous and Ann Marie Chao join the team. We look forward to their contributions and the bright future they will help build for our young athletes.
For more information about the Fury Futures Program and the new Co-Directors, please visit Fayetteville Fury's official website.
The Fayetteville Fury is a professional indoor soccer team in Fayetteville, North Carolina dedicated to the community, personal development of the players, and to the growth of soccer among the youth by providing them with the skills and knowledge they need to excel in the sport.
As a proud member of the United Premier Soccer League, the team is poised to make its mark on the national stage, epitomizing the spirit of competition and sportsmanship.

On Thursday, April 25, at 7 p.m. the Ruth Pauley Lecture Series will present the fifth in its 36th consecutive season of free lectures from renowned thinkers, statesmen, and arts and entertainment figures. This lecture will feature Dr. Anne E. Weiss on the topic “Explore NASA: Sailing the New Cosmic Sea to Reveal the Unknown for the Benefit of Humanity.”
Dr. Weiss is a NASA STEM Engagement & Educator Professional Development Collaborative Specialist at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia – the nation’s first aeronautic laboratory. She earned a B.S in Vertebrate Physiology from Pennsylvania State University, an M.D. in Physiology from Arizona State University, and her Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration also from Pennsylvania State University.
In her quest to fulfill a lifelong dream of flying in space, Dr. Weiss originally trained as a neuroscientist, including research work at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.
For the past 28 years she has merged her scientific training with her passion for education as a middle school, high school and undergraduate science educator.
Since 2010, she has also contributed to various NASA STEM Engagement (Education) projects, including the NASA Educators Online Network, NASA/NSTA Teacher Learning Journeys, and NASA’s Aerospace Education Services Project.
Now more than 50 years after the Eagle landed at Tranquility Base, Dr. Weiss will discuss NASA’s preparation to send the Artemis II crew further than ever before into space aiming to establish a permanent base of operations at the Moon’s South Pole.
This foundational outpost on the shores of a vast cosmic sea will allow humans eventually to follow the trailblazing robotic missions that explore our Solar System and beyond, some of which look back nearly to the beginning of the Universe itself.
The Ruth Pauley board is excited to announce that for this lecture and in collaboration with Dr. Weiss, the Series’ Lyceum Scholars program and the program’s participating high schools, the Ruth Pauley Lecture Series will be awarding a scholarship. A high school student will be able to attend NASA’s Space Camp in “The Rocket City” of Huntsville, Alabama – a camp based on NASA astronaut training focused on teamwork and leadership skills. At her lecture, Dr. Weiss, herself a Space Camp alumna, will announce the winner of the scholarship competition and present the award.
Advance registration is required for Ruth Pauley Lectures. Get free tickets (no tax/no charge) by visiting www.ruthpauley.org, or by using the following link: www/ticketmesandhills/organizations/ruth-pauley-lecture-series.
The lecture will begin at 7 p.m. in Owens Auditorium at the Bradshaw Performing Arts Center on the Sandhills Community College campus. The lecture will be preceded with a cash bar in the auditorium lobby, and will be followed by a Q&A session and then an informal gathering with the speaker and refreshments in the lobby.
All Ruth Pauley lectures are free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.ruthpauley.org or contact Robert Hughes at rhughes44@nc.rr.com or
910-255-0777.

I think the North Carolina General Assembly deserves loads of credit for making our tax code friendlier to growth, investment, and freedom. In one respect, however, the state still imposes too heavy a load. It requires too many out-of-state retailers to collect and remit sales taxes. Lawmakers ought to fix this problem when they reconvene April 24.
Yes, I know it may sound odd to prioritize a tax change that, by definition, won’t benefit businesses based here. But hear me out. Our current filing threshold is unfair and out of step with that of most Southeastern states. Moreover, changing it will have only a modest impact on our future revenues.
First, some background. Until fairly recently, a state or local jurisdiction couldn’t really compel a company to charge and remit sales taxes unless it was headquartered or had a substantial physical footprint in the jurisdiction.
The rise of online commerce rendered that standard increasingly hard to defend. In 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a pivotal decision in a case called South Dakota vs. Wayfair. Rather than requiring a physical presence in a jurisdiction to establish a “nexus” for tax purposes, the majority ruled that it would be enough to have a significant economic presence in the jurisdiction.
In other words, if a company in Oregon does a substantial amount of business with consumers in North Carolina, the company ought to be required to collect and pay sales tax to North Carolina. Otherwise, competing retailers in North Carolina have to shoulder higher compliance costs and charge higher prices (because there’s a sales tax embedded in them).
Moreover, the argument goes, that governments charge sales taxes in order to pay for public services. While it makes intuitive sense that businesses with a physical presence in a jurisdiction collect taxes to help pay for the services that make their operations possible, even remote sellers and their customers benefit from some public services (one example might be courts for adjudicating potential disputes) and thus ought to have a role in financing those services. Rightly or wrongly, the four-justice majority agreed.
Now, Wayfair doesn’t allow governments to compel all retailers in the country to collect and remit sales taxes, regardless of how much business they do within a given jurisdiction. The justices ruled that small retailers ought not be unduly burdened, though they left it up to states to set the minimum thresholds that would trigger sales-tax liability.
Manish Bhatt, a senior policy analyst at the Tax Foundation, observed in a recent study that states with sales taxes have chosen three different solutions. Twenty-five states — including our neighbors South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia — use a minimum dollar amount of retail sales as the threshold. Another 19 states, including North Carolina, require that retailers with a minimum revenue or a minimum number of retail transactions in their jurisdictions collect and remit sales taxes. Finally, Connecticut and New York require both a minimum revenue and a minimum number of transactions to trigger sales-tax liability.
Bhatt argued that the transactions threshold should go. “Establishing economic nexus through transactions alone is quite burdensome,” he wrote, “as compliance costs associated with collection and remittance requirements could be greater than the business transacted.”
North and South Carolina illustrate the difference. Both states have set the minimum sales figure at $100,000 a year. But only North Carolina requires that out-of-state retailers with less than $100,000 in annual sales still file taxes if they conduct at least 200 transactions in the current or prior year.
If your company is doing less than $100,000 in sales here, your “economic presence” in North Carolina is minuscule. Our sales-tax rule may make you doing business here a waste of your time. I’d rather let North Carolinians decide from whom they buy goods and services. Our state should adopt South Carolina’s standard.

Editor’s note: John Hood is a John Locke Foundation board member. His latest books, Mountain Folk and Forest Folk, combine epic fantasy with early American history (FolkloreCycle.com).

Last week, a group of prestigious Fayetteville residents came together at the home of Ralph and Linda Huff to celebrate and launch a local $12 million fundraising campaign supporting the new $60 million Medical School in partnership with Methodist University and Cape Fear Valley Medical Center.
Those in attendance were a virtual who's who of Fayetteville residents that have long and impressive records for contributing to Fayetteville's infrastructure and quality of life. These select residents and business leaders continue to give back to the community that has given them so much.
They are pillars of the Fayetteville community who have for decades opened their minds, their hearts, and their wallets for the betterment of our community and all humanity. Out of respect for their privacy, I will not identify them except to say that eight people raised over seven million dollars of their twelve million dollar goal.
Generous and impressive.
The new medical school's potential economic impact on our community is even more impressive. Tens of millions of dollars will be brought into the community to boost our economy, not to mention the addition of hundreds of doctors, medical technicians, and support staff, and more importantly, the addition of much-needed medical services for the area.
This is a win-win-win proposition for Fayetteville/Cumberland County, Cape Fear Valley Health System, and Methodist University. I congratulate CFVHS CEO Mike Nagowski and Methodist University President Stanley Wearden for their vision and leadership in making this a reality.
Of course, projects of this nature and grandeur cannot be accomplished or succeed without the full support and cooperation of local elected officials, business and civic leaders, and residents.
Ralph Huff has successfully rallied the private and business sectors; now, we can only hope the local November elections will provide a higher level of involvement, talent, and competence in our elected officials that will inspire and complement more achievements of this nature.
My only concern is regarding the generous, philanthropic nature of residents, like those assembled at the Huff home. They are considered and respected as Old Fayetteville, and their numbers are dwindling year after year.
Who will replace them? Who will replace their generosity, dedication, and commitment to the future of the Fayetteville/Cumberland County community?
Undoubtedly, Dr. Franklin Clark was on point when he said, "This [the medical school] will elevate our community to a level of sophistication and finally get Fayetteville in the light I think all of us want."
I agree. Now, we have to get there and stay there.
Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

Easter Sunday is a significant day on the Christian calendar. Easter Sunday will be celebrated on March 31, and many of those celebrations will feature some notable traditions.
Some traditions are undoubtedly familiar to practicing Christians, while others might come as a surprise. As Easter approaches, faithful Christians and others intrigued by the holiday can consider these notable traditions from around the globe.
Easter witches
Witches are typically associated with Halloween, but they play a role in celebrating Easter in Finland. According to the Finland Promotion Board, Easter traditions in the northern European nation feature a mixture of religious references with customs related to the arrival of spring.
It is not unheard of for young Finnish children, particularly girls, to dress up as Easter witches the Sunday before Easter and go from door to door requesting treats in exchange for offerings designed to drive away evil spirits. The FPB notes that it is even common for children in western Finland to don their witch outfits and roam on Easter Sunday.
Fireworks in Florence
The folk tradition of Scoppio del Carro "Explosion of the Cart" takes place in Florence, Italy. The Uffizi Gallery reports that this tradition can be traced to the First Crusade in 1099. During the first Easter in Jerusalem, Crusaders gave the blessed fire to the people as a symbol of purification.
That custom has endured in Florence, where each Easter Sunday morning around 10 a.m. a candle is lit in the church of Santi Apostoli. That same candle is then used to light an antique cart loaded with fireworks, marking the beginning of a display that lasts around 20 minutes.
The Carpets of Semana Santa
Carpets might not be the first thing most Easter celebrants think of when pondering the holiday, but that might be the case for anyone who ever spent the holiday in Antigua, Guatemala. Guatemala's Semana Santa "Easter Festival" features detailed carpets of colored sawdust adorning a Good Friday processional route.
Preparation for the colorful and stunning display begins months in advance as the intricate carpets require ample time to produce.
Whips in the Czech Republic
Among the more unique Easter traditions takes place each Easter Monday in the Czech Republic. In adherence to this tradition, known locally as pomlizka, boys, and sometimes men, gather willow branches and braid them together into whips.
The whips are then decorated with ribbons before boys visit girls (or men visit women) whom they know and lightly tap them with the whips. The tradition is believed to bring women luck, vitality and fertility.
These are just some of the unique traditions many Christians adhere to as part of their Easter celebrations.

College can be expensive, but it doesn’t have to be expensive for you. The financial aid experts at Fayetteville Technical Community College will help you find a scholarship that is just right for you. The best thing about scholarships is that, unlike loans, you don’t have to pay back scholarship funds.
Are you a North Carolina resident who doesn’t have enough money to pay for college? A scholarship from the Golden LEAF Foundation can help! It provides up to $2,250 per year to students living in one of the qualifying counties (listed on the application). You can use this scholarship to pay for tuition, books, child care, and even transportation to help you get to school and be able to focus on your classwork.
Would you like to get paid to attend functions, events, and college celebrations? The prestigious Tom McLean Ambassadors Scholarship program allows students to represent FTCC on and off campus by serving as a student ambassador. Student ambassadors reflect a positive image and help share the good news about FTCC and how FTCC benefits students and the community. Throughout the journey, student ambassadors build positive relationships with community leaders, develop personal leadership skills, and experience unique opportunities that enhance personal growth. Student ambassadors must have excellent academic grades, submit a written essay and demonstrate exceptional communication skills during a panel interview. The scholarship amount awarded to each student ambassador is $1,300.
Do you need a little help completing your degree? Apply for the Finish Line Grant if you have completed at least 50 percent of your coursework and are faced with a financial emergency that occurred through no fault of your own, which could impair your ability to continue your academic program. Students pursuing the Finish Line Grant may receive up to $1,000 to help them complete their academic training.
Don’t enjoy filling out applications? FTCC’s Corporate and Continuing Education programs no longer require applications for some scholarships. These scholarships can be used for a wide variety of programs including welding, veterinary assistant, accounting clerk, medical billing, and more. Some courses can be completed online. Scholarships are available on a first-come, first-served basis, so it’s important not to delay in contacting FTCC’s continuing education staff.
FTCC student Heather Aicher, also a recipient of the Malcolm Nickelson Memorial Scholarship, recently expressed her gratitude for how the FTCC Foundation helped her: “As the widow of an Army veteran, it has warmed my heart to encounter support from the military-connected community in places I hadn’t thought to look. This scholarship has enabled me to continue my education in the field of IT, which I will use to secure a career that can provide a sustainable wage to support the family in my husband’s absence.” Comments such as these expressed by Heather represent the reason the FTCC Foundation exists: to clear roadblocks along the pathway of education for students pursuing a better quality of life.
Ready to learn more? Contact the FTCC Foundation today at 910-678-8441 or by email at foundation@faytechcc.edu. More information can be found at https://www.faytechcc.edu/scholarships or by visiting the campus at Harry F. Shaw Virtual College Center, Room 114, 2201 Hull Road.

With the spring season comes many things. From spring cleaning to camping, there are yearly things we all do throughout our daily lives. This year, like many before it, the local Masonic Temple Kindah Temple No. 62 is hosting its annual Spring Ceremonial.
Happening April 13th, a fezzing ceremony and night of celebration for the individuals being honored will be taking place. Up & Coming Weekly was able to sit down with Assistant Rabban Adrian Davis and Oriental Guide Shakoor Mitchner to learn more about the local temple, the masonic lodge, fezzing, and other exciting things about the pseudo-secretive nature of the Freemasons and Shriners.
The Kinda Temple No. 62’s Spring Ceremonial is a great opportunity to support the local Masonic Temple and meet the people involved in many community projects. The temple is itself deeply involved in community outreach projects and events on a regular basis.
Charity, fundraising, and youth engagement are some of the core tenets found in the basis of membership at the local temple and in most Freemason temples and Shriner lodges. One such event is the PTSD Awareness Motorcycle event the group has coming up on June 8th, with the proceeds going back to the Wounded Warrior Project.
“We also sponsor Ferguson-Easley Elementary School and work with the kids year-round with mentorship programs, easter egg hunts, Halloween trick or treats, and scholarships at the end of the year. We also sponsor young gentlemen and ladies on how to begin their journey through adolescence and present themselves in a way that garners respect and makes them feel confident.”
The Freemasons and Shriners pride themselves on being an organization focused on the continual improvement of the community. Through determined and focused efforts, the groups curate their members and offer developmental opportunities to one another in the pursuit of accumulating the skills, knowledge, and resources to fund and execute plans both large-scale and local to implement positive change within their communities. But how can someone get involved with their local temple?
“There are qualifications any individual must meet to join. There are important things to learn. Like any organization they need to understand the foundation of that group that they’re choosing to be a part of, what we do, the different groups within our local temple, and to let them get a feel for who they’ll be around and understand why these individuals set their feet in the community and strive to better things.”
Those being honored can have their fezzes donned by their friends, family, wives, or other loved ones. You may have noticed that we have yet to mention who exactly is being fezzed.
This is intentional, as the identities of those being fezzed at the Spring Ceremonial will remain hidden until the night of celebration to all but those directly involved in their leadership and individual training; a way to entice the local community to find out for themselves who they’ve deemed to have done the necessary community and self-work to earn the honor of donning their fez.
However, Davis and Mitchner were able to tell U&CW that ten individuals will be receiving their fezzes at the ceremony and they believe they were confident in presenting the best they have to offer to the community regarding the individuals being fezzed.
“When it comes to this Spring Ceremonial, to me it’s like a once-in-a-lifetime celebration. It’s like graduating high school; you only get one time to do so. There are certain elements in life where achievements are met and goals are set for someone, and those moments are a great thing. But within all of it, you can have all the different organizations, but with us, it is about what ‘you’ can bring with you. We aren’t just a ‘goody boys club.’ Everyone pays their dues in giving back. Quality over quantity is a frequent motto,” said Mitchner.
The pair invite the community out to this year’s Spring Ceremonial and fezzing at Kindah Temple No. 62 with the great pleasure of presenting their newest Shriners. Tickets start at $20 and are available through Assistant Rabban Adrian Davis or Oriental Guide Shakoor Mitchner.
To attend please call them at 910-587-3434 or 910-760-1136. The dress code is business casual, and the festivities will run from 8 p.m. to midnight. Clifford Duell Masonic Lodge #756, where the event is taking place, is located at 2860 Village Drive.
For more on how to get involved, reach out to Assistant Rabban Adrian Davis or Oriental Guide Shakoor Mitchner for more information.

Depicting a recognizable subject in a painting can evoke pleasure or even comfort for the viewer – we are familiar with the objects, figure or place. We perceptually experience a landscape when the artist captures the nuance of light, shadow and the size of objects diminishing in scale as they recede into the background.
In the new exhibition at Gallery 208, we do not have a memory of a locale or a familiar place to experience. Instead, we are able to view the unfamiliar. Beyond Surface: Abstractions by Kellie Perkins, opening April 2, is a body of work by an artist who has created accessible places and spaces for us to experience.
Instead of being constrained by the conventions and expectations of representational art, Perkins creates new forms and ideas about the potential of painting to be a new experience for the viewer. Unlike representational works in which we are limited to a place in time, Perkins creates a world of potential for us to embark on.
Unlike small works which can often limit our sense of the possible, the large scale of Perkins paintings is integral to the spatial experience. In the painting titled Storm, 36” x 36,” the artist has created an abstracted space, the color red illuminates small white areas of the background and are suppressed by lavender and shades of blue.
The formal elements of shape, movement and rhythm enable the viewer to move through the lavenders and blues on a yellow-orange brush mark.
The beauty of abstract works is the opposite of figurative works, it does not tell us a narrative story. Suppose we allow ourselves to leave the familiar world of the representational and experience the classical tradition of abstract expressionism.
In that case, we are open to the artist’s conveyed meaning and emotion using mark marking, color, line, shape and texture. While a story is not represented literally, the artist's style and approach convey a sense of an inner world and perspective.
Fantasy Falls, a 36” x 48” painting, is the only work in the exhibit that alludes to something identifiable. The artist has created a work in which the blue sound of falling water evokes a waterfall in front of something mammoth resembling a rock formation. The brilliance of the painting is subtle and similar to the way Cezanne was able to capture movement and stillness at the same time.
Fantasy Falls is mesmerizing. Created with muted colors, bold and visible brushstrokes we can sense the abstracted rock formation against an endless blue sky. In the composition, the flattened rocks are stacked and serve to anchor, and emphasize the solidity and stillness of the form, while a sense of balance and stability exists in the work.
In the blues and neutrals of the painted mark, the artist uses repetition of line to symbolize falling water and a sense of flattened movement over time. The flatness of the water pushes the rock formation into the background, staging us to sense the subject in different states of being. We see the opaque flatness, but our experiences remind us of the transparency of water.
Whisper from the Past is a small work; the 18” x 24” painting exudes something different than the majority of works in the exhibit. With less dramatic mark-making, we can float in a poetic, abstracted and manifested place of rest in time.
Contrasts of warm and cool colors swirl in movement around the perimeters of a central lavender space. The painting evokes activity and calm in mood, the lavender space shape is able to dominate amidst the swirls and movement. Again, in Perkins fashion, we experience the preferred - among turmoil a place of rest still exists.
Perkins was influenced by her training in fabricated metal sculpture during her undergraduate degree in metals from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
It was not until her study of painting during her master’s degree in art education that the artist investigated the potential of painting.
Experience in metal fabrication is evident in the works. The artist does not investigate volume but sees shapes and repeated patterns; constructing different textures on a flattened surface to create depth.
Similar to Cezanne, a dichotomy exists in the work. The background in metal fabrication enables the artist to experiment with different painting surfaces, transitioning into a painterly approach.
Perkins shared her influences and style of painting by saying the following: “By studying the works of Pat Steir, Sam Gilliam, Fiona Rae, Gerhard Richter, and Hans Hofmann, I formulated a strong foundation in the painting process.”
“Artistically, I render the unique physical nature of paint and provocatively mix colors to create a layered nomadic space on my canvases. This space resonates with my visual texture and mark-making along with my intricate treatment of the surface, using both traditional and nontraditional tools to invent marks in a multitude of layers.
These layers evolve into intense visual textures through the spontaneous application of paint, the push/pull of deep space, the form that evokes content, and the essence of the living, breathing artwork which compels the viewer’s involvement.”
Perkins explains how the “ancillary painting process produces my emotionally compelling expressive qualities in my paintings; a mark is not just a brush stroke, a squeegee pull, a palette knife scraping, or a painterly drip of liquid, but a creative, cogent, and personal stimulus, which evokes the viewer’s involvement in my work as an integral part of each person’s response.”
While representational art is popular among the public, visiting Beyond Surface: Abstractions by Kellie Perkins, is an accessible opportunity to experience the emotional and aesthetic appeal of an untethered and unlimited reaction to the unknown made known. It is as if we are on a break from what is seen to the sensuality of the unseen.
Perkins preferred to spend her career as an art educator in the Cumberland County public school system. The exhibit is an example of a dedicated and award-winning educator who remained a producing artist. We have the opportunity to see the results of her dedication to remaining an artist who explores the promise of the arts to express states of being in ways we can explore and enjoy effortlessly.
Practicing her style, Perkins successfully creates an otherworldliness through color and composition and the absence of recognizable form. We see shape and color first to pull us into space. The absence of recognizable forms creates a detachment from the natural world.
Dynamic compositions, often using diagonal lines and asymmetrical shapes, initiate a sense of movement and energy that is not grounded in the natural world.
Even seeing the smaller works, like Spiratic, visitors will leave the gallery feeling refreshed for not being tethered to the world; instead challenging our perception of reality.
Unexpected proportions in the paintings also challenge our sense of the relevance of scale and contribute to the feeling of being unleashed.
The public is invited to attend the opening of Beyond Surface: Abstractions by Kellie Perkins on Tuesday, April 2, between 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. At 6 p.m. the artist will give a short talk about the exhibit.
Gallery 208 is located at the headquarters of Up and Coming Weekly, at 208 Rowan Street in Fayetteville.
*Visitors should know there is plenty of parking behind the gallery. For anyone who cannot attend the opening, the exhibit will remain up until June 24. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday. For information call 910-484-6200.

This April 13, local automotive detailing shop Flawless Touch Detailing will be celebrating the move to its new location at 250 West Russell Street, Suite 102.
Owner Stanley Jacobs started his business to be a mobile car detailing service that would drive out to their customers on appointment. However, after he started his business, he focused on stabilizing his company by developing its headquarters location at the main shop. With the continual growth and success of his brand, Jacobs expressed his want to bring back and re-implement this mobile detailing service for the Fayetteville and Cumberland County area.
“People really like being in the comfort of their own home. You can call your barber to come cut your hair. Think of how great it would be to just relax at home while somebody comes and cleans your car. That’d be awesome, I’d love that,” Jacobs said. “People still come in, but a lot of people miss the mobile. I want to get back to that.”
Dealership corrections and repairs can be costly, but auto detailing services offer a cheaper and more specialized service for automotive care and maintenance.
Jacobs credits his current expertise with auto detailing to his time spent working at a car dealership when he first moved to Fayetteville from Lumberton. While Flawless Touch offers ceramic coating, paint protection and window detailing as well, Jacobs says the foundation of car cleaning is paramount to properly developing the fundamentals for professional and expert automotive detailing.
“We do a lot of interior details. That’s definitely what I started with. A lot of these up-and-coming people, they want to go straight into paint correction and ceramic coating, because ‘Oh that’s the big one.’ But if you don’t know how to clean a car, you don’t have any business touching the paint. That is when mistakes start to happen. There are a lot of bad things that can go wrong with a paint correction. When I started off, that’s all I did: clean dirty cars,” expressed Jacobs.
The main thing Jacobs believes sets him and his business apart is their commitment to customer service. Having a vast resume with multiple vocations, Jacobs says his belief in the importance of customer service is directly linked to his personal experience over the years.
“The way I try to stand out is customer service,” Jacobs said. “I do believe that the customer is always right. A lot of people don’t believe in that anymore; they’ve gotten away from that. Most jobs I’ve worked all dealt with customer service in some way. I’ve worked for Orkin, Walmart, and been a cable man, so I know how to deal with customers. Sometimes you can’t please everybody, but still, that doesn’t give me the right to lash out at a customer. They’re a paying customer, and I’ll always try to work with them to get them exactly what they paid for.”
Jacobs warned readers to steer clear of the do-it-yourself videos and clips found on social media on the internet. He stressed the importance of always vetting who you’re getting your information from, and ensure it’s a legitimate professional in the automotive industry.
The grand reopening event will be taking place at the shop’s new location on West Russell St. While normally open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., the celebration will start at 1 p.m. and go on into the night, finally ending at 8 p.m. Jacobs said there will be music, cool cars to look at, vendors, free t-shirts, cornhole and food trucks. For more information about the grand reopening, vendor spots, or car display, please visit the Flawless Touch Detailing website at https://flawlesstouchdetailingnc.com/or call 910-987-8093.

The folks at Cape Fear Regional Theatre know a good hit when it happens. For The Play That Goes Wrong, however, it was in the people on social media asking them to extend the multiple sold-out shows and the general community’s question about more showtimes for the play that made them know they had a hit on their hands. So, naturally, they decided that the show had to return — The Play That Goes Wrong, again.
“It was our highest attended play in the history of the theatre,” Ashley Owen, the Marketing Director for Cape Fear Regional Theatre, said.
The members of Cape Fear Regional Theatre are gearing up for a large renovation and Owen said the fly system that The Play That Goes Wrong requires wouldn’t be possible for another two years. They knew, she said, it had to be brought back before the renovations, which explains the closeness of the return of the production to its original run.
“There is no way we can do this show not in our own setting,” she said.
The Play That Goes Wrong is about a play, The Murder of Haversham Manor, going from “bad to utterly disastrous” and gives the comedic vibes of Gene Wilder with accident-prone actors and a corpse that has a hard time remembering to play dead. The show will hinge on comedic timing.
As far as actors are concerned, most of the original cast was able to return for the second run of the play. Just two actors had conflicts and had to be recast. And although this is the second run, Director Laura Josepher said the show will include plenty of subtle changes the cast and crew have been fine-tuning.
“They are still finding new things,” she said. “It is different. It feels a little bit different.”
The theatre admins had to apply for the rights to do the production the first time around and had to place new applications in to get the rights for this second run. Thankfully, Owen said, they were approved. They hope the community will come back and experience new laughs and maybe some of the magic from the first run as well.
“I would encourage people who saw it before to come again and bring people,” Josepher said.
For Josepher, she feels like comedy shows like this one get influenced by people coming together and being able to laugh together.
“It’s really cathartic. I see it every day and it still makes me laugh,” she said. Josepher has previously admitted that farce is hard. “It’s such specific timing. The world is a tough place that [it’s nice to have] an evening of just laughing.”
Tickets are on sale at CFRT.org, or call the box office at 910-323-4234. The show will run until April 7th. It will include military and teacher appreciation nights.

The annual Brothers for Brothers event hosted by the pub Charlie Mike’s will have many firsts this year for their poker run scheduled for April 20 at noon.
Tracy Guthrie, media rep and owner of Charlie Mike’s, said this poker run is open to anyone. Participants can register the morning of, with any vehicle they wish.
The event honors fallen brothers of the United States Army Special Forces, also known as The Green Berets.
But this year, for the first time in the run, two honorees will be recognized. The first is SFC Lance S. Cornett United States Army Special Operations Command. The second is SFC Roberto C. Skelt, 3rd Special Forces Group.
Because the establishment has a wall of fallen Green Berets, usually customers suggest from that wall who should be honored. And Guthrie said fallen sisters are not forgotten either. Proceeds will go to the Special Forces Charitable Trust. SFCT provides meaningful and sustainable support to families of Green Berets through its 501(c)(3) charitable status. Programs and services designed to enhance the well-being and health of both Special Forces soldiers and their families are supported by the SFCT.
The second first this year, is that proceeds will also be divvied up between SFCT and a military-based organization called Memorial 3 Gun. Memorial 3 Gun Foundation’s mission is to remember, honor, and memorialize fallen Special Operations soldiers through the world of competitive shooting.
Their desire is that families of fallen heroes know they are not alone during and after tragedy.
The annual event will continue to raffle off guns (participants must have a gun permit to receive these), knives and other various items. Guthrie said Mission BBQ will cater the food. It’s a community event too. She said many Fayetteville businesses are involved with this poker run.
Veterinarians, pet stores, and grooming stores are involved to raffle off animal baskets with gift certificates for pet lovers. Other giveaways are pool table lights, a golf bag filled with gift certificates to various golf courses, a Yeti cooler filled with adult beverages and handmade canes.
“It is an all-around good time with a solid history behind it,” Guthrie said.
In the beginning
The Brothers for Brothers event first started in 2009 by the original owner of Charlie Mike’s, Michelle Curtis. The first run was for Mitchell Young, a 7th group communications sergeant. Guthrie said it is her understanding that his wife Robin had the idea.
Michelle continued the poker run as a way to donate all the proceeds to various organizations that support the community.
In 2016, Iris Hash owned the bar.
“All the money made was then donated to the SFCT,” said Guthrie. “It has continued that way.”
As a finale to the day, Charlie Mike’s will be welcoming back those who completed the 222 mile Let’s Ruck It Out trip from Fayetteville to Camp Lejeune and back.
For more information regarding the Brothers For Brothers Poker Run, visit https://bit.ly/3THFYME.

From the dining facilities to the late-night diners, culinary artists, cooks, chefs, and casual connoisseurs alike rejoice. Fayetteville Technical Community College is developing a program for veterans ending their military service and those interested in starting their own food based business. FTCC and Fort Liberty Army personnel have come together to create the “Chefs to Soldier; Soldier to Chefs” program.
Charles Bullard, program and culinary instructor, said, “Sgt. First Class Brown and my department head Sabrina Santucci were the first ones to make contact. They came out to help showcase the culinary students' skills and in turn, the students get an opportunity to show their talents. It’s a growing partnership we’ve been working on to pool more resources and time into young students, or older students, that might want to consider a military career and those who get out of the armed forces.”
When leaving the military, many individuals regularly face challenges reintegrating into the civilian lifestyle. Whether that be in redeveloping social connections or choosing their next vocation, veterans face the unique challenge of having to recreate a semblance of normalcy in their everyday lives. Programs like the “Chefs to Soldiers; Soldier to Chefs” create more opportunities and pathways for veterans new and old to re-enter the workforce with a renewed vigor and skillset.
Aimed at facilitating the pathway between joining and leaving the military, this new program will act as a jumping-off point for people who are looking to develop a new skillset to make a career in the culinary arts. On the military side of the coin, Sgt. First Class Brown, from the Providers’ Café at Fort Liberty, has come together with the administration and instructors at FTCC to facilitate the transition people make when leaving the military. The new programs allow veterans, especially individuals within the 92G MOS (Cook and Culinary Specialists), to have a pathway to obtaining higher education and career certification within the food industry.
“Through chance, communication, and similar interests, we’re trying to make sure that both sides of the path have ample opportunities to access the other side and know what options are available to them,” Bullard expressed.
The program also allows civilians interested in serving their country through military service the opportunity to develop skills and training for a new vocation within the armed forces. The curriculum allows those talented in the kitchen to get a foundational knowledge of standard practices in the industry, kitchen and food safety certifications, and what to expect should they choose to enlist in the armed forces or in the civilian sector if they’re currently transitioning. Depending on their certifications and experience, credits for early developmental courses could be counted as part of the education requirements as well.
Bullard invites those interested in the culinary arts as a career on the civilian side or the military to come out and talk to an advisor or instructor to get involved with the course and program. For more information about the program, you can visit www.faytechcc.edu or call 910-500-0089. For active duty military and veterans looking for guidance in their transitional period, please visit FTCC’s website page at https://www.faytechcc.edu/military-veterans/veterans-services/ready-to-transition/ . Alternatively, transitioning service members can also call 910-486-3626 or email Pendy Eldridge at transtech@faytechcc.edu.

On behalf of the City of Fayetteville, Cool Spring Downtown District is pleased to announce the return of the third annual Juneteenth Jubilee: Their Wildest Dreams.
The Juneteenth Jubilee will kick off in the heart of downtown on Saturday June 15 with a full-day celebration in Festival Park from 1p.m. to 9 p.m. featuring nationally touring headliners, local performance acts, food trucks, small-businesses and corporate vendors, artists/artisans, history, games and other entertainment for the whole family.
Organizers are excited to announce the musical talent for this year’s celebration. The opening headliner is two-time Grammy nominated Pierce Freelon.
Freelon's critically acclaimed work has been featured on the TODAY Show, NPR, Billboard, Rolling Stone, Parents Magazine and the PBS Kids animated series’ Alma’s Way and Work it Out Wombats! He founded Blackspace, a digital maker space offering teens free programming rooted in Afrofuturism. He is also the co-creator and talent of the PBS Kids podcast “Jamming on the Job '' and has written two children's picture books with Little Brown. Most recently, Pierce was GRAMMY nominated alongside his mother, jazz singer Nnenna Freelon, for their first family album together, AnceStars.
The marquee headliner this year is Skip Marley. The maternal grandson of Bob Marley, Skip Marley is part of the legendary reggae family that also includes his mother, Cedella, and uncles Ziggy, Stephen, and Damian Marley, yet his own sound adds touches of contemporary pop, rap, and rock forms.
In 2016, Skip debuted on the family's Island-distributed Tuff Gong label with the ballad "Cry to Me." After he signed with Island Records proper, he debuted on the label with the dramatic, pop-oriented anthem "Lions."
A week later, Katy Perry released "Chained to the Rhythm," a collaboration with Skip, and the two performed it at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards. The single quickly became a Top Ten pop hit in several countries.
In 2020, Skip enlisted Rick Ross and Ari Lennox for the track "Make Me Feel," which, along with other contemporaneous singles, was included in his debut EP, "Higher Place," which was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album. That same year, Skip was also nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding New Artist.
The City of Fayetteville is the title sponsor of the Juneteenth Jubilee. In 2021, when Juneteenth was made a federal holiday, the City voted to make it an official holiday, as well as contract with CSDD to curate a. new celebration here in Downtown Fayetteville.
“Juneteenth event is about commemorating a pivotal moment in history; and affirming our commitment to diversity, equality and community,” says City of Fayetteville Mayor, Mitch Colvin. “It’s an opportunity for us to reflect on our past, celebrate progress and unite in our ongoing journey towards a more inclusive and equitable future.”
CSDD’s Director of Special Projects, Ashanti Bennett, shares the spirit for this year’s event: “When I first started thinking about this year’s Jubilee, the phrase 'we are our ancestors’ wildest dreams' kept catching in my head. I look around at the accomplishments of Black Americans across the country and the globe, not to mention the inspiring excellence right here in Fayetteville, the barriers that we continue to break, the leadership and advancement of the culture, and the joy we continue to express even in the face of turmoil.
"I can’t help but reflect on the wonder and pride that our ancestors would feel if they could see us now. Current events both here and around the globe are so tumultuous; for this year’s celebration, we truly want to lean into a vibe of joy and uplifting positivity.”
In addition to all the fun in the park, the Can-Do Coldwell Trolley will return to offer festival-goers a chance to take an educational tour focused on the history of Juneteenth and black history here in Fayetteville, curated in partnership with local historians from Fayetteville State University.
The current list of confirmed Juneteenth Jubilee event sponsors includes ABC-11, Healy Wholesale Company, Inc., Beasley Media Group, and Cape Fear Valley Health System, with additional sponsorships pending. To learn more about becoming a Juneteenth Jubilee sponsor, please email Bianca Shoneman, CSDD President/CEO at bianca@coolspringfay.org.
One of CSDD’s stated objectives with Juneteenth Jubilee is to showcase Black culture through Black artists, performers, and Black-owned small businesses. For more information or vendor application links, please visit CSDD's website at visitdowntownfayetteville.com. Visitors and residents of Cumberland County may follow Cool Spring Downtown District’s efforts and announcements on their website at visitdowntownfayetteville.com, as well as CSDD’s social media on Facebook at @CoolSpringFAY.org or @downtownfayetteville, or on Instagram at @coolspringdowntowndistrict or @downtownfay.

Carolina Journal’s first post-primary survey is out. It shows our state’s 2024 general elections will be, as usual, quite competitive.
That’s not to say North Carolina’s electorate is perfectly purple. It’s not. All other things being equal, Republicans enjoy a modest edge statewide of a few percentage points. As John Locke Foundation analyst Andy Jackson points out, GOP candidates won 46 of the 74 statewide contests held from 2012 to 2022, or 62%.
It’s with that context in mind that I offer these findings from the latest CJ Poll of 600 likely voters, conducted on March 6 and 7. It shows Donald Trump leading Joe Biden 45% to 40% in North Carolina. Similarly, GOP gubernatorial nominee Mark Robinson currently leads Democrat Josh Stein 44% to 39%.
In generic-ballot tests, Republicans enjoy six-point advantages for both state legislature and U.S. House. And in three Council of State races, the GOP nominees have sizable leads in the early going: Luke Farley (42%) over Braxton Winston (35%) for labor commissioner, Brad Briner (43%) over Wesley Harris (37%) for state treasurer, and Mike Causey (43%) over Natasha Marcus (37%) for insurance commissioner.
On the other hand, three other statewide races are closer to neck-and-neck, with the Republicans at 41% and the Democrats at 39%. They are, respectively, Dan Bishop vs. Jeff Jackson for attorney general, Jefferson Griffin vs. Allison Riggs for state supreme court, and Michelle Morrow vs. Democrat Mo Green for state superintendent of public instruction.
I gave you the percentage of respondents, not just the point spread, to emphasize that all these races remain competitive! That’s because many voters have yet to commit to either major party’s candidates. Even in the highest-profile contests, for president and governor, they constitute about 15% of the sample — and remember, these are likely voters, not just registered voters.
Some told CJ’s polling partner Cygnal that they were truly undecided. Other voters said they were planning to vote for someone else. When it comes right down to it, some of these ambivalent North Carolinians will, in fact, stay home this fall. Others may follow through on their third-party preference, although I doubt it will be the 9% currently saying that for president. The rest will swing R or D.
When “experts” tell you swing voters don’t exist anymore, that modern politics is all about turning out partisan bases, you should discount their opinions — at least for our state. North Carolinians know late-deciders and split-ticket voters still matter because we have eyes. We see that Roy Cooper won the gubernatorial elections in 2016 and 2020 — as Josh Stein did for attorney general those years — even as Trump was winning the state’s electoral votes.
Interestingly, across the 11 states that once formed the Confederacy, Democrats currently hold just four statewide offices comparable to North Carolina’s Council of State. Actually, scratch that. The four Southern Democrats in question aren’t just comparable to our Council of State. They are on our Council of State: Cooper, Stein, Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, and State Auditor Jessica Holmes (who was appointed after Democrat Beth Woods resigned and will be on your ballot this fall).
Democrats routinely win some state races here by finding ways to appeal to our small, but often decisive, group of swings. In their write-up of the new CJ Poll, Cygnal described the state of play as follows. North Carolina’s GOP base comprises 41% of likely voters. The Democratic base is 38%. The remaining 21% are “Persuadables.” They tilt Republican in generic races but are willing to support Democratic politicians they perceive as sensible or effective. For example, two-thirds of Persuadables disapprove of President Biden’s job performance but a similar number approve of Cooper’s.
I used to describe North Carolina’s true political color as magenta. But then I spent more time researching colors — I live to serve you, the reader — and discovered another purplish shade that’s more red than blue. It’s just the right fit.
It’s called “flirt.”

Editor’s note: John Hood is a John Locke Foundation board member. His latest books, Mountain Folk and Forest Folk, combine epic fantasy with early American history (FolkloreCycle.com).