What is North Carolina’s bestknown and most influential college? It might be an institution that went out of business 60 years ago, Black Mountain College. Still today, educators praise and criticize the college’s progressive and collaborative approach. In 2015, Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art’s exhibit, titled “Leap Before You Look: Black Mountain College 1933-1957,” celebrated the college’s “cultural force long felt” and the “school’s ethos, in which experience was the basis of knowledge, and objects were not fixed things, but mirrors of their environment, the result of action and experimentation.”

A book recently released opens the door to understanding the college’s enduring allure.

Surprisingly, that book, “Hidden Scars” by Mark de Castrique, is not a Black Mountain guide or history book.

It is a detective story.

“Detective story!” I can hear you screaming, “What can a murder mystery have to do with a closeddown college?”

De Castrique is the author of a series of novels set in modern-day Asheville featuring the detective team of Sam Blackman and Nakayla Robertson. Sam is a veteran who lost his leg in military action and wears a prosthesis. Nakayla, his partner in business and in love, is African-American.

De Castrique makes Black Mountain College the center point of action in the detectives’ investigations of suspicious deaths in two different time periods.

First, an 80-year-old woman asks them to look into the death of her brother, Paul Weaver. He was student at the college in the 1940s who died in a reported hiking accident. Seventy years later, his sister suspects foul play.

Second, their first investigation takes them to the former site of the college. There, a film crew is making a commercial film set in the college’s heyday in the 1930s and ’40s. Soon there are new deaths to investigate.

In trying to crack the 70-yearold case, Sam and Nakayla track down former Black Mountain students who might have known Paul. They fly to New York City to visit Eleanor Johnson, an African American who was a student of the legendary dancer, choreographer and Black Mountain faculty member Merce Cunningham.

Eleanor remembers Paul as a good friend but does not believe their interracial friendship prompted violence against him. However, she tells them Paul had a special bond with a Jewish refugee, Leah Rosen, who lives in a retirement village in Chapel Hill. A long drive to Chapel Hill for a visit with Leah confirms her friendship with Paul but nothing more.

Another contemporary of Paul’s at the college, Harlan Beale, is a handyman on the film set. He also provides filmmakers with background information about the college. Shortly after agreeing to help Sam and Nakayla find others who might remember Paul, Harlan is found dead at the Black Mountain College Museum in Asheville.

In scarcely over 200 pages, Sam and Nakayla, aided by Asheville city police, Buncombe County sheriff’s deputies and the FBI solve, these mysterious deaths, both contemporary and 70-years past.

In following the investigations, readers learn of the special progressive educational experiences the college provided: Buckminster Fuller and his attempts to build a geodesic dome, Merce Cunningham, and a host of artists, craftsmen and authors who became teachers and mentors and jump-started their students’ careers.

The college attracted political liberals, racial integrationists and even some communists. These ideas and the people who held them were not welcome in the North Carolina mountains. And the progressive learning model the college projected did not attract the financial support necessary to fund even a modest college operation.

While Mark de Castrique is giving us a well-crafted and satisfying detective story, he reminds us of what we lost when the college closed.

4th Friday provides an opportunity to enjoy and participate in the city’s growing culture that prioritizes the arts and local businesses. Friday, Oct. 27, is unique in that it will benefit from the involvement of Cool Spring Downtown District, a nonprofit organization dedicated to re-branding Fayetteville’s artistic identity and increasing connectivity between the city’s art-related organizations and individuals.

The Zombie Walk is one of October’s biggest 4th Friday events, a time to dress up in your best zombie costume and makeup and roam the streets of downtown. Back-A-Round Records – a new record store and recording studio space set to open soon – and Cool Spring Downtown District present the Zombie Walk pre-party from 6- 8 p.m. in the parking lot of Headquarters Library. In partnership with the library, Fayetteville’s Paul Mitchell school will provide facepainting and zombie makeup for a $5 donation that will go toward breast cancer research.

First, second and third place for best costumes will be awarded before the official walk begins at 8 p.m. Zombies will proceed up Ray Avenue and east on Hay and Person Streets, with the walk terminating at the stage on Green Street, adjacent to Back-A-Round Records. Live music from Nephilym, Motorjunkie and Carolina Committee’s DJ Moodswing will start around 8:20 p.m. Zombies ages 21 and up can end the night at The Church at Paddy’s for the official after-party and Zombie Prom. Call (910) 568-5654 for details.

Zombie revels are not everyone’s cup of tea, though, and there are plenty of other options to enjoy. Concurrent to the Zombie Walk pre-party, WCCG 104.5FM will host a street dance from 6-8 p.m. on Person Street near the new Taste of West Africa building.

The Arts Council will host Riser Burn, the 82nd Airborne Division Band’s rock ensemble, playing on the sidewalk at Hay and Maxwell Streets from 7-9 p.m. As an alternative pre- and after-party, Cape Fear Regional Theater is partnering with the American Tattoo Society to present a film screening of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” at 11:59 p.m. For $25, guests receive a prop bag and entrance to the pre-party at Latitude 35 in addition to the midnight showing admission. Tickets for Oct. 27 may sell out; the show will also run Oct. 28 and Oct. 31. Find out more at www.cfrt.org. The Arts Council’s new exhibit, “Reclaimed,” debuts on 4th Friday. The exhibit features art that uses old materials recycled into new, unique forms and will be open 7-9 p.m. Cape Fear Studios at 148 Maxwell St. opens its exhibition of Mark Gordon’s pottery, and the Ellington-White Gallery at 113 Gillespie St. continues its exhibition “Robert Motherwell: Works on Paper.”

Other galleries open for 4th Friday include Alter Egos Gallery & Studio at 108 Gillespie St., City Center Gallery & Books at 112 Hay St., Old Towne Gallery at 124 Maxwell St., and Gallery 116th at 116 Anderston St.

“We’re trying to be more diverse in our offerings to the community,” said Mark Regensburger, president and CEO of Cool Spring Downtown District. “We try and bring people together who might not otherwise know about each other, and as our organization grows, we’re seeking to be more of a matchmaker for people to be able to do wonderful things. … We’re working with all the organizations like (the Dogwood Festival), the Arts Council, all the museums downtown, the Cameo, the Indigo Moon Film Festival.”

Sam DuBose, Cool Spring Downtown District general manager, added that the organization wants to help artists and entities new to Fayetteville’s arts and culture scene. “We try to bring them downtown, help them through the permitting process, advise them on how to navigate the systems effectively and legally,” he said.

Cool Spring Downtown District is also facilitating a volunteer programming committee chaired by Isabella Effon, owner of Taste of West Africa. “The idea is to extend our 4th Friday beyond just the sweet spot of three blocks on Hay Street,” DuBose said. All community members are welcome on the committee. Call the Cool Spring office at (910) 223-1089 if you are interested in  volunteering in any capacity.

The Old Wagram Prison has been taken over by the Scotland County Parks and Recreations department and turned into an unconventional haunted house. Saturday, Oct. 28, and Tuesday, Oct. 31, you can step into a genuine abandoned prison and find yourself wading through the zombie apocalypse as a tale of terror and desperation unfolds with you right in the center of it. The cost for such a pleasure? Just $10.

This is no clichéd haunted house with nothing to do but shuffle through strobe lights and wait for a teenager in a latex mask to jump out at you. Bryan Graham, who helped found the project said, “It’s almost like a theatre production. This isn’t a standard haunted house where you enter and walk through. This has a build up.”

Unlike other haunted attractions, the Insanitarium at the old Wagram Prison has a unifying plot that the guests take part in. Graham said, “This has a story to it, a script – and paramilitary guys at some points who defend you from the zombies.”

To make the experience more immersive and terrifying, many of the actors have gone through a fourhour paramilitary training session. The Gryphon Group, which helps train soldiers in everything from surviving gunfights to protective mission programs, counseled the actors so they could move with the kind of professional lethality that lends authenticity to the performance. The zombies they will be fighting received costumes and makeup from the St. Andrews University theatre department. 

To further distinguish this event from other haunted houses, all proceeds will go back to the community. The Old Wagram Prison is in the process of being transformed by the Growing Change organization into a youth recreation center and will be partially funded by the event proceeds.

The rest of the profits will go to the Laurinburg Chamber of Commerce, the Parks and Recreation department and other nonprofit organizations.

Graham, along with his fellow project founders Noran Sanford and Chris English, have “high hopes and expectations. The mystique of the facility already sets you up for success.”

If you are interested in becoming an actor next year or lending your talents to future performances, contact Graham at the Laurinburg Parks and Recreation department via email at bgraham@ scotlandcounty.org.

For those who wish to go through the Insanitarium, tickets are $10 and sold only at the venue. The event will run from 7:30 p.m. to midnight on Oct. 28 and 31 at 22600 Wagram Rd., Wagram.

The experience is estimated to last between 20 to 25 minutes, and Graham suggests patrons come wearing close-toed shoes. “We plan to scare you so that you think that you need to be running,” he said.

Riding on the success of sold-out performances of “Dreamgirls,” the Cape Fear Regional Theatre will next bring local audiences a classic thriller sure to showcase the talent of cast and crew alike.

The scene for “Wait Until Dark” is a basement apartment in New York City’s Greenwich Village in 1967, said director Talya Klein. Susy and Sam Hendrix are newlyweds.

“She lost her sight two years ago,” Klein said. “Sam is an ex-Marine, now a photographer, who unknowingly becomes a drug mule.”

Sam is unaware that a doll he brought home is filled with drugs.  When he leaves the apartment, Klein said, “three baddies try to con Susy into giving them the doll. Things escalate and get increasingly more dangerous.”

It is a harrowing tale made more unique by the lead character being blind, Klein said.

“Wait Until Dark” was written by Frederick Knott and premiered on Broadway in 1966. A movie adaptation opened in 1967 starring Audrey Hepburn, Alan Arkin and Richard Crenna.  Knott also wrote “Dial M for Murder,” another play that Alfred Hitchcock adapted for film.

A play confined to one apartment might sound like an easy and simple production, but Klein said “Wait Until Dark” requires sharp focus for set, prop and script details.

“I’ve never directed a thriller before,” Klein said. “I’m having so much fun.  The story is beautifully constructed, and every piece means something.”

“Everything is a big deal,” she said. “When a character is smoking a cigarette and holding a match book, it is important. The details are constructing a chain.”

Audiences shouldn’t worry that they may miss vital clues and not understand the action, though, Klein said.

“Even if you miss a couple of things, you’ll get it,” Klein said. “‘Wait Until Dark’ is for people who love details.”

Leah Curney plays Susy in the play. She said her character’s blindness is a critical part of the story, but also that the story is really not about that.

“She has to discover how capable she truly is, and her disability becomes an asset,” Curney said. “It’s like watching really good martial arts. She’s using the limitations of this space to her advantage.”

Jillian Wickens-Johnson, 13, is making her professional debut in “Wait Until Dark” as Susy’s 10-yearold neighbor Gloria. Wickens-Johnson said her character sees Sam as a father figure to her character but considers Susy more of an evil stepmother at the beginning of the play.

“Gloria has a beautiful character arc,” Wickens-Johnson said. “She comes in as an angry child and, over the course of the play, … bonds with (Susy).”

Susy and Gloria must work together against characters Klein calls ‘the baddies’ in the story – the three shady con men trying to retrieve the doll.

Patrick Falcon plays Harry Roat, the mysterious lead con artist. “Roat is an alias,” Falcon said. “It is a guise my character constructs. He has a history of darkness. He’s very much a nebulous shape-shifter who could be anyone but no one at all.”

“I have the job of trying to make the character as vile as possible,” Falcon said. “It’s terribly fun as an actor.”

“Wait Until Dark” is a classic suspense thriller for audiences 13 and above due to some violence.  “The most terrifying moments we don’t see,” Klein said.  It is an example of the “story-telling that happens when we have to imagine what happens.”

“Wait Until Dark” runs Oct. 26 through Nov. 12. Ticket prices and information about several opening weekend specials are available at www.cfrt.org or by calling the box office at (910) 323-4233.

Local municipal general elections will be held Tuesday, Nov. 7. Early voting is underway now and will continue through Saturday, Nov. 4. Elections for governing bodies are held in Fayetteville, Hope Mills, Spring Lake, Falcon, Godwin, Linden, Wade, Eastover and Stedman plus the Eastover Sanitary District.

One-Stop early voting is held only at the Cumberland County Board of Elections Office, in the E. Newton Smith Center at 227 Fountainhead Ln., Fayetteville. Dates and times for early voting are:  Oct. 25–Oct. 27, 8 a.m.–5 p.m.;  Oct. 30–Nov. 3, 8 a.m.–5 p.m.;  Nov. 4,  9 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Officials did not say why the polls would not be open on most Saturdays and Sundays. Citizens who want to take advantage of early voting but are not registered to vote may do so when they arrive at the board of elections office. They must provide acceptable identity documentation. Would-be voters should be prepared to show documents that list current names and addresses in Cumberland County. A complete list of allowable forms of identification is outlined on the county’s website.

Regular office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Voters who because of age or disability are unable to enter the voting place are permitted to vote curbside from their cars. The process is overseen by an elections official. A curbside voter is entitled to the same level of assistance, privacy and instruction provided to voters in the polling place. For more information and for links to voter information, general election polling places and the N.C. Board of Elections, go to www. co.cumberland.nc.us/elections or call (910) 678-7733.

Local government has approved incentives to encourage private investment in a $44 million distribution operation that would employ 140 full-time workers at the Cedar Creek Business Center east of Fayetteville. City and county governments have authorized incentive packages for the unnamed company, which hopes to build a 650,000-squarefoot fulfillment center in the park on NC-53 east of Fayetteville. Robert Van Geons, president and chief executive officer of the Fayetteville/Cumberland Economic Development Corp., said state officials also are considering incentives for the company in the form of state grants. A fulfillment center is a modern term for e-commerce packing warehouses. The term was coined in the middle of the 1990s and usually refers to a self-contained product packing and shipping facility.

Firms like Amazon have their own fulfillment centers, while smaller e-commerce companies outsource their warehousing, packaging and shipping to larger companies. Amazon, for one, offers to handle order processing to third-party sellers. Another example was Fingerhut, which in the 1990s expanded its own fulfillment center to take on services for other companies.

Van Geons said he expects the company, which he has not yet identified, to decide whether to locate in Cumberland County soon after the incentive deals are finalized. Conditions being offered by local and state governments have ostensibly been agreed to by the company.

“All that remains is for the state to agree,” Van Geons said. The company’s decision could come within 30 to 60 days, he said. Van Geons told county commissioners and Fayetteville City Council that the company expects to employ 18 managers, 30 clerical staff and 92 warehousemen. The managers would make an average of about $62,000 per year each, he said, while the other workers would earn from $28,000 to $32,500, plus benefits. The city and county agreed to rebate up to 75 percent of the company’s annual property taxes for seven years, according to resolutions that both bodies adopted. The county will sell 98 acres of land in the industrial park for $1.23 million, which is half a million dollars less than its fair market value. That’s a windfall for the county, which has owned the Cedar Creek Industrial Center for 18 years. It’s the same location where Sanderson farms proposed to build a poultry processing plant that would have employed 1,000 workers. County government rejected that proposal.

As part of the project, the State Department of Transportation has agreed to improve Cedar Creek Road and create a signalized intersection at the entrance to the plant. The company agreed to create at least 112 jobs by the end of 2019. Seven other jobs would have to be created in each of the next four years. “I think it sets the stage for further development there,” Cumberland County attorney Rick Moorefield said.

A woman identified by Fayetteville Police as the mother of a juvenile who was killed about 10:30 a.m., Oct. 21, is in the Cumberland County jail charged with her son’s murder. Police “responded to a report of a domestic disturbance at the Fairfield Inn & Suites at 4249 Ramsey St.,” said Police Sgt. Shawn Strepay.

He said a hotel guest called 911 to report what was described as a physical disturbance in a thirdfloor room. Strepay said officers found Zamarie Chance, 9, badly injured and unresponsive. He died soon after arriving at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center. His mother, Crystal M. Matthews, 35, of the 6000 block of Whitemoss Court, a community of quarter-million-dollar homes off Andrews Road, was charged with first-degree murder and felony child abuse. She was taken into custody at the scene and later jailed without bond.

Mall to close for Thanksgiving

Fayetteville’s Cross Creek mall will be closed Thanksgiving Day. All CBL & Associates shopping malls across the country will not be open on Thanksgiving Day. Cross Creek Mall is a CBL property. Owners say their decision is in response to “Black Friday creep,” which has resulted in retailers opening their doors on Thanksgiving to gain a competitive edge. It’s the company’s second year of closing on the holiday. There is a caveat to CBL’s decision: Anchor stores and others with separate entrances will be allowed to open if they like. That is unusual because management’s rules generally apply to all stores, big and small. Cross Creek Mall will open at 6 a.m. Friday.

Veterans Affairs proposes new choices

The Department of Veterans Affairs is suggesting that Congress overhaul how veterans receive health care in the private sector. The VA wants to do away with the widely criticized “30-day/40-mile” rule. The new plan is called the Veterans Coordinated Access & Rewarding Experiences Act, or CARE. It would give veterans and their VA physicians flexibility in choosing whether they receive care at a VA facility or from a privatesector provider.

“We want veterans to work with their VA physicians to make informed decisions that are best for their clinical needs, whether in the VA or in the community,” said VA Secretary David Shulkin.

He announced earlier this year that he intended to do away with the rule that allows veterans to go outside the VA for health care only if they had to wait more than 30 days for an appointment or if they live more than 40 miles from a VA clinic. The rule was implemented as part of the Veterans Choice Program in 2014. It has been criticized by some veterans as complicated, bureaucratic and restrictive. Some health care providers claim the VA has been slow to reimburse them for services provided under the program.

Air Force workhorse retired

The last C-130H Hercules cargo plane in the active-duty Air Force bade sayonara to Japan this month. The aircraft was the last of its kind assigned to the Yokota-based 36th Airlift Squadron, which has been trading out its 14 H-models for newer J-models in recent months.

“It’s sad to see it go,” said Lt. Col. John Kerr, shortly before he took the controls of the plane for the long flight to Montana. Some H-models are being reassigned to Air National Guard units. Others are being retired.

It wasn’t too long ago that Pope Field said goodbye to its C-130H models. The 440th Airlift Wing had 16 of them supporting worldwide airborne response and providing training missions for the XVIII Airborne Corps and 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg. The 440th was an Air Force Reserve unit that was transferred to Pope as the result of the 2006 Base Realignment and Closure Act.

Despite opposition from North Carolina congressmen and senators, the 440th was inactivated as an Air Force cost savings measure. And Pope’s last C-130 departed in June 2016. The 440th was deactivated three months later. Pope is now an Army airfield hosted by Fort Bragg. As for Lt. Col. Kerr, his trip home was also his last flight. He’s retiring from the Air Force and is looking for work in commercial aviation, he said.

Womack Army Medical Center’s holiday schedule

Fort Bragg’s hospital has published its holiday schedule. All primary care and specialty care clinics will be closed on Veterans Day, Nov. 10. This includes Byars Medical Clinic, Clark Health Clinic, Joel Health and Dental Clinic, Robinson Health Clinic, Womack Family Medicine Residency Clinic, Fayetteville Medical Home, Hope Mills Medical Home and Linden Oaks Medical Home.

The hospital will take the usual two days off for Thanksgiving, Nov. 23 and 24. All primary care and specialty care clinics will be closed for Thanksgiving, including the clinics mentioned above. There will, however, be a consolidated care clinic Nov. 24 from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and a flu vaccination clinic from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Womack Family Medicine Residency Clinic. The consolidated care clinic will operate by appointment only. The appointment line phone number is (910) 907-2778. The flu vaccination clinic will be on a walk-in basis.

This year’s Christmas Holiday will be observed from Friday, Dec. 22, through Monday the 25. All primary care and specialty care clinics will be closed Dec. 22 through 25 for Christmas. On New Year’s Day, Monday, Jan. 1, 2018, all primary care and specialty care clinics will be closed. To make an appointment at a clinic, log on to www.TRICAREOnline.com or call (910) 907-2778. The Emergency Department is always open for medical emergencies.                 

Chemours is cooperating with the state

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality has directed Chemours to provide bottled water to nine more well owners near the company’s Fayetteville facility. This is because the most recent preliminary test results show GenX above the provisional state health goal in residential drinking wells. That makes 35 residential well owners living near Chemours’ Fayetteville Works facility on the Bladen County line who are receiving bottled water because of GenX detections in their well water.

DEQ is sending all well owners test results as well as health and other information. “Bottled water is a short-term fix, and we’re working with the counties and the company to find a long-term solution for families who rely on these wells,” said Michael Regan, secretary of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality. DEQ is working on longer-term water solutions for residents with affected wells, most of whom live north of the facility. Among the possibilities are installing home water filter systems or connecting affected homes to uncontaminated wells or a nearby public water supply. “We all count on having access to a clean, reliable source of drinking water, and these well owners deserve no less,” Regan added.

Kathy Jensen has many titles and roles in our city. You might know her as Councilwoman, business owner, ECU alumni, huge Pine Forest High School fan, others fondly know her as friend, sister, wife, or mom.

I have so much respect for Kathy Jensen in her many roles and leadership in our city. Her passion spans beyond the North Side of Fayetteville where she has represented her
District so well.

Additionally, she has been the only woman to represent us for the past four years on the City Council. Through starting the Fayetteville Youth Council, she has empowered young students across our city to get involved making a difference and additionally they get exposure to the inner workings of Fayetteville through attending City Council meetings.

Kathy has practical experience collaborating, providing input and solutions for city ordinances, a voting record that speaks for itself on infrastructure and economic development. The decisions made on City Council require a higher level of thinking problem dedicated and invested in our community.

She has served our city well and her trajectory moving our city forward is evident as you continues forward in her role as a member of our City Council.

Thank you,
Kelly Twedell

PHOTO: Karen Jensen

This is a first for me.

I’ve never run for office. To be honest, I never even thought about running – until earlier this year, when some close friends and family members encouraged me to launch a campaign for city council.

I blew them off at first. I’m not a politician, and I’ve never had much regard for the folks who will say whatever it takes to get elected and then ignore their constituents once they get into office. But I also grew up here in Fayetteville, built my business here, and hope to be here for the rest of my life. I love this city. I love its potential. And I know we ultimately won’t reach that potential if we keep electing the same people and hoping for a better result.

I also know our local government could use a little more real-world experience. In business, you have to work with people to get things done. You have to find common ground. That doesn’t mean you compromise your core principles, but it does mean you have to listen and find creative ways to solve problems. I think we could use a little more of that experience at every level of government, but maybe especially the level closest to the people.

After countless hours praying and thinking about this, I would like to be your District 5 City Councilman. And here’s what I can promise you, if elected:

• Responsiveness. I’ll listen to you and your concerns, and I’ll do whatever I can to help resolve any problems you have with the city’s bureaucracy.

• Honesty. I’ll tell you the truth, even if it’s not what you want to hear.

• Common Sense. I’ll do everything I can to make decisions that make sense for our district. I hope I can earn your vote in the upcoming election. In the meantime, if I can ever answer any questions about me or my campaign, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

PHOTO: Henry Tyson

The president tweets, and America either cheers with delight or recoils in horror. There is no middle ground. As the Irish poet Willie Yeats wrote in “The Second Coming,” “Things fall apart: the center cannot hold/... The best lack all conviction, while the worst/are full of passionate intensity.”

We currently have more passionate intensity than you can shake the proverbial stick at. Our current civil divisions may not turn out as well for us as we hoped with all the momentum frothing up on the fringes of society.

On a similar but less lofty version of Yeats’ point, recall the immortal advice from Johnny Mercer: “You’ve got to accentuate the positive/eliminate the negative/ and latch on to the affirmative/don’t mess with Mr. In-Between.”

Taking a hint from Mercer, I tried to find something positive in President Trump’s recent comments about the press writing things he doesn’t like. The president branded the mainstream media as the “Enemy of the People.” He has tweeted, “With all the Fake News coming out of NBC and the Networks, at what point is it appropriate to challenge their license? Network news has become so partisan, distorted and fake, that licenses must be challenged, and if appropriate, revoked. Not fair to the public!” He finished up by saying, on TV, “It’s frankly disgusting the way the press is able to write whatever they want to write. And people should look into it.” George Orwell has already looked into it.

Pondering the president’s statement about how disgusting it is that the press is able to write whatever they want to write got me thinking about how the president might get the press to write stuff that he likes. Fortunately, our old buddy George Orwell spelled out the solution in his laugh-a-minute book, “1984.” With the savings from gutting the subsidies to pay for health insurance, the EPA and the State Department, the president can create a new department: The Ministry of Truth as described by Mr. Orwell. The Ministry of Truth (Minitrue) is just what the president needs to combat Fake News, which is any news he doesn’t like.

Imagine what Trump’s Minitrue might look like using Orwell’s Newspeak from “1984.” Orwell was kind enough to include a Newspeak dictionary in “1984” which defines the Minitrue as “the department of government in charge of all record keeping, history re-writing and trashy entertainment and spurious news, which the Party handed out to the masses. This includes written literature, movies, music and other forms of propaganda handed out to the proles.” News or history that doesn’t meet the approval of the Minitrue goes down the old memory hole into the furnace in the basement.

The new U.S. Ministry of Truth will be in charge of granting prior approval for any news reported by TV, newspapers, social media or individuals. Let’s walk down Orwell Lane and review his Newspeak concepts.

Censorship by any other name would smell as sweet. The goal of the Minitrue is to prevent thoughtcrime, which consists of even considering any thought not in line with official standards. Thoughtcrime will be enforced by the Thought Police, who will monitor all statements, facecrime (facial expression reacting adversely to news supported by the State), and activities of citizens. The goal of controlling the news is to create bellyfeel, which is blind, enthusiastic acceptance of a concept.

The goal is to create citizens with blackwhite, which is “the ability to accept whatever truth the party puts out – no matter how absurd it may be. It means the ability to believe that black is white and forget that one has ever believed to the contrary.”

A double-plus good citizen must have the ability to doublethink, which is “the power to hold two completely contradictory belief’s in one’s mind simultaneously and accept both of them.”

Good citizens will participate in a daily Two Minute Hate Session where all televisions and smartphones will show pictures of enemies of the State like Anderson Cooper or Rachel Maddow for the viewers to boo, hiss at and curse. Orwell provided the blueprint for the Ministry of Truth. All that is needed to stop the disgusting news media from reporting double-plus ungood facts offensive to the president is a little old Constitutional Convention to abolish the First Amendment or indifferent citizens. The first Secretary of the Ministry of Truth ready to enforce rightthink is already on the national scene.

May I introduce the Secretary of Minitrue, the Honorable Steve Bannon. Behind his tiny hands, Big Brother is watching you.

Editor’s note: With the election right around the corner, former city council candidate Jason Brady has some salient thoughts on the future of the greater Fayetteville area. Publisher Bill Bowman yields this space to Brady this week due to the relevance and timeliness of the topic. 

Since I’m no longer a candidate for Fayetteville City Council, I can write about this topic without breaking an agreement I had with Bill Bowman. We agreed that I not bring my candidacy into my column.

So, today I want to write about my campaign issues that obviously didn’t resonate with voters, but which I think are still relevant.

I didn’t pull them out of the air. Instead, months before I filed for office, I started a conversation with people. It was an informal conversation at first. I simply asked people what they disliked about living in Fayetteville.

Let me emphasize again – it was an unscientific survey. I used social media, direct mail, hand-delivered surveys and just pure conversations with people who would listen and answer. Heck, I even jotted notes on paper napkins and paper place settings from the Greek Pancake Breakfast.

The most telling thoughts people had about Fayetteville came from my first two questions:

1.  What three things don’t you like about living in Fayetteville?

2.  What three things do you like about living in Fayetteville?

I included other questions to gauge opinions about local government. I asked if they believed Fayetteville and Cumberland County spent tax dollars wisely. I asked for their take on the bond referendum for parks and recreation amenities, and I asked what they thought about spending $33 million on a baseball stadium and if downtown was the best place to build it. I received interesting answers and more fodder for future columns.

But first, about the first two questions and answers – on which I based my campaign message.

While I asked for three reasons someone might dislike living in Fayetteville, the responses seemed to center mostly on four dislikes. They may have been worded differently, but the core thread about our city was obvious. They are listed below in no particular order:

•  Lack of professional-level jobs, the kind of full-time jobs that pay a salary that can entice a family to live in Fayetteville. We have plenty of low-paying, part-time jobs. We don’t have jobs that keep young people in Fayetteville. The only young people coming back are those whose families own businesses and can employ them.

•  A trashy appearance, especially along the gateways into the city. It’s not just trash, but the appearance of property. Despite efforts of people like Councilman Bobby Hurst, who spearheads the Fayetteville Beautiful efforts, we have more people who don’t care how we present our community to visitors who could be potential employers.

•  Violent crime. People hear about gunfights in crowded parking lots or dead bodies floating down the Cape Fear River. Violent crime has risen nationwide for two consecutive years, and Fayetteville is no exception.

•  Finally, people dislike the traffic. The responses about traffic varied. For some, it’s those “damned” center medians the highway department is putting on every street, making it nearly impossible to get where you’re going. For others, it’s the sheer volume of traffic coupled with crazy aggressive drivers who’ll change a lane and cut you off like it’s the right thing to do. The reasons people like living in Fayetteville, sadly, have nothing to do with our city. Rather, it’s because of Fayetteville’s position in relation to other amenities: family who live nearby, military-affiliated services and proximity to the beach and mountains.

Our soon-to-be elected council has a lot of work ahead to address these types of issues. I hope voters are smart enough to elect representatives who can work toward solutions and not for candidates based on superficial motives.

 This weekend, the newly-named Fayetteville Marksmen will drop their puck on home ice for the first time. Friday, Oct. 27, the Marksmen take on Huntsville Havoc at the Crown Coliseum from 7-10 p.m. Spectators should expect more than a new name from the team; the first home game of the season will demonstrate a new atmosphere and a shift in focus, too.

The Marksmen will measure success in terms of community engagement and the consistent creation of a quality experience for spectators, according to co-owners Chuck Norris and Jeff Longo.

“The results of the team that we put on the ice are very important, but they’re not nearly as important as the overall success of the organization in being a community asset,” Norris said. He added that as a re-branded organization, the Marksmen want to be very involved “in the local scene; be at different events, have our players in schools.”

“We’re more than a professional hockey team,” Longo said. “We know there’s a fairly finite number of hardcore hockey fans in Fayetteville, and we want to appeal to people who might not know as much about hockey but who are looking for a very fun yet affordable evening.”

Norris and Longo hit the ground running when they took over management of the previouslynamed FireAntz in mid-March. Norris, an Army veteran now located in Charlotte, who lived and did business in Fayetteville for 20 years, serves as CEO. Longo, who spent over 20 years in professional hockey in upper management positions, serves as president.

Their plan to position the team as a community asset rather than simply as a sports team involves working with over 70 local partners and sponsors, including the Cumberland County Commissioners, the Cumberland County Crown Commission, the Salvation Army, Special Olympics North Carolina, Fort Bragg MWR, United Service Organizations of Fort Bragg, Cape Fear Youth Hockey, Fayetteville Kiwanis Club and Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing.

These partnerships and the overall goal of quality entertainment will be reflected at home games throughout the season, which runs through April 2018. “We got really lucky this year; our schedule features 24 Fridays and Saturdays,” Longo said. He explained that 14 of the team’s 20 home games this season will feature extras in terms of entertainment, with seven of those 14 having big themes and being the most elaborately planned.

Kicking off these “big seven” is the first home game of the season on Oct. 27. Appropriately themed Opening Night, the evening will feature food trucks in the parking lot prior to the game and a Marksmen flag giveaway for the first 2,000 spectators to enter the building. Those who purchase special ticket packages will receive a free flag as well. Fans will also receive a voucher from Bubba’s 33 for a buy-one, get-one-free pizza when they purchase tickets. The other biggest games of the season are:

Friday, Nov. 25: Teddy Bear Toss – After the first goal of the game is scored, fans rain teddy bears they brought from home down onto the ice. Players later give the bears to children at Cape Fear Hospital. There will also be a puck giveaway and $1 hotdogs.

Friday, Dec. 22: Star Wars Jerseys – After the game, at center ice, Star Wars jerseys that have been worn and autographed by players will be up for live auction. A portion of the proceeds will directly benefit the Salvation Army. Beer will be available for $2.

Saturday, Jan. 20: Pooch Party – Bring your dog to the game. Marksmen military-style cap giveaway and $1 hotdogs.

Saturday, Feb. 10: Pink in the Rink – The team will partner with Highland OB/GYN of Fayetteville to raise breast cancer awareness. Pink T-shirt giveaway and $1 hotdogs.

Saturday, March 10: Nickelodeon Night – Look out for your favorite Nickelodeon characters! Youth jersey giveaway and $1 popcorn.

Friday, March 30: Fan Appreciation night. Last game of the regular season.

Longo said he hopes many of these themed nights, including the Teddy Bear Toss and the Pooch Party, will become annual traditions. But games not falling within these dates will still have fun incentives and extras of their own.

For the second game of the season – Saturday, Oct. 28 – a ticket package includes four tickets, four pucks and a $50 gift certificate to Carrabba’s for $49.

Boy scout nights are Oct. 27, Jan. 13 and March 10. Scouts will have the opportunity to camp out at the Crown following the game on Jan. 13. Nov. 4 is the first of many military nights, when service members will get the best seats in the house for only $10.

At the time of this article’s publication, Marksmen first-time head coach Nick Mazzolini and director of hockey operations Ryan Cruthers will have just finished finalizing the Marksmen’s 2017-18 roster. Mazzolini recently retired from a successful career in professional hockey. His first season as a professional player was with the Alaska Aces of the East Coast Hockey League; he served as captain for the 2013-14 season, during which time the Aces won the Kelly Cup. He’s also played for Italy’s top hockey league, Hockey Club Bolzano, and Germany’s second-tier professional hockey league, Del2.

Longo shared his excitement about Mazzolini: “As soon as Nick’s name became available, (Cruthers) said, ‘We’ve got our guy.’ … Nick was asking us so many questions about the community and wanting to get just as involved as we did.”

Since the Marksmen is a developmental league, the team experiences a high turnover rate – about 40 percent of players returned each season while they were the FireAntz, and that trend will probably continue, according to Longo.

That’s why the new name and team mascot were chosen so carefully, Norris and Longo said. They want fans to connect with a team name – the Marksmen – that honors Fort Bragg’s elite, and a mascot – the Carolina red fox – that “can be vicious and ferocious … and also the big cuddly mascot that children want to hug.”

The Marksmen are working from a good foundation. The FireAntz helped found the Southern Professional Hockey League in 2004 and hosted eight of the nine largest crowds in SPHL history.

“The support is there; the community wants the product,” Longo said. “We just needed a little punch in the arm and a new approach. Chuck’s got a great vision for what success looks like, and we’ve tripled the size of our staff so we can execute everything we’re talking about.”

Jim Grafstrom, general manager of the Crown Complex, couldn’t be more excited about the future of the team. “The new ownership tandem of Chuck Norris and Jeff Longo are a dynamic group that are looking to not simply re-brand the team, but re-brand the experience,” he said. “The Marksmen organization has made a concentrated effort to transform the standard hockey event into a memorable fan experience that the whole family will enjoy. … It’s not just about the game, it’s about the fan experience.”

Purchase tickets and learn more about the team at www.marksmenhockey.com.

Antiques and international cuisine. Who knew they could blend together so well to create such a calm, cozy and welcoming atmosphere in a historic boarding house? Mason Steele and Carla Welsh knew. Steele is an antique collector of over 30 years, and with a nudge from Welsh, the two decided to open The Boarding House Treasures & Tea Room located on Ellison Street at the corner of West Patterson Street in historic Hope Mills.

Welsh, owner and chef, traveled all over the world as an airline flight attendant with Pan American World Airways for 21 years and has brought back delicious cuisines from across the globe – Africa, the Mediterranean and India, just to name a few.

“I like to entertain, and I like to share the recipes that I’ve learned,” Welsh said, explaining why she took an interest in restaurant management and later in owning one.

Welsh said she likes to recreate the recipes from her memories of her travels around the world. She is passionate about what she does and loves to see others enjoy her food. She changes the menu the first and third week of the month.

Steele noted that Cumberland County is an international county due to the armed forces, and the restaurant will help cater to the many different cultures while allowing people to learn the various styles of cuisine that many may call different but some will call home-cooking.

Steele and Welsh are both ServSafe certified, which means they have taken training courses for food and alcohol safety.

Donations

Welsh said, “We receive a lot of donations; beautiful donations,” as she was pointing to different china tea pots and other dishes. Mayor Jackie Warner has donated, along with others within the community. 

Steele said, “It’s a pleasure when you see people like Pat Hall and other guests bring in a gift.” Both Steele and Welsh are involved with the local government and strive to help make the community better for themselves and others to enjoy. Steele is also a member of the Historic Preservation Commission.

Why is this location?

The Boarding House Treasures and Tea Room used to be a boarding house for the workers of Mill #4. It was built in 1907, and Steele and Welsh have remodeled the building while honoring its historic heritage.

Welsh explained that one reason they chose this spot is because “you can get out of the traffic and come here. You have an intimate ‘getaway’ for two people of your family.”

Steele retired in 2013 and walked by the building every day. He got excited when he saw a man placing a “For Sale by Owner” sign in the yard. Steele was looking for a place because he was a vendor in downtown Fayetteville at the Cotton Exchange and The Livery, but there was not enough room for his collections. He even went across the street to Lode Stone Art and Antiques and still did not have enough room.

“I called Carla and talked to her about joining me to make this into a tea room,” he explained.

Welsh said she knew this market would not support just a tea room. “You have to have a variety of foods, including the meat and potatoes,” she said. 

“I had a lot of things. Well, not a lot, but a fair amount of things,” Steele claimed while Welsh jokingly stared at him, indicating that he indeed had a lot of things. “I needed to downsize, and being part of this has helped. That was the main purpose.”

Steele also said that by opening the business in the century-old home, he and Welsh were saving the home from being demolished. The home is mentioned with the mill houses in the National Registry. The house belonged to Mill #4 until 1954 when it was bought by Fred and Elizabeth Taylor. Welsh said the physician for the Taylor family, who is now in his 90s, came to have low tea (tea served with desserts on fine china), and they were honored to have served him. Steele and Welsh excitedly spoke of a guest who came and told them of the time he was a
boarder and mill worker at the young age of 16. They told of various guests that frequent their tea room and how they enjoy getting to know each person that comes.

“We invite people to sit together in the European style … we do have the two large tables,” Welsh said. “And we don’t want someone waiting to come in and have a seat when there are some available,” she added.

“It allows for everyone to meet others from the community if they don’t already know each other,” she said.

Steele said he has been a collector for decades. “I became more of an accumulative picker in the ’70s, and I put a taper on it when I met this lovely lady,” Steele explained, referring to Welsh.

Steele used to sell his treasures at the North Carolina State fair grounds and would travel “all over” to discover more valuable items. His most interesting pieces are precious metals and gold nuggets. His experience from working in the mines in West Virginia helped him gain knowledge of precious metals and stones. He explained how he has been to depths of 200 feet vertically and has gone horizontally underground from one mountain to another. One of his favorite experiences was when he was underground and the gems glittered like stars in the darkness.

“It was like seeing all the color spectrums of the rainbow,” he said.

Honoring the Military

The Boarding House Treasures & Tea Room will host a Fallen Soldier Table in honor of MIA/POW military servicemen and women who have yet to make the journey home. They appreciate the sacrifices that members of the military have made and continue to make.

Time for Tea

The Boarding House Treasures & Tea Room is open Thursday-Saturday from 11:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. and Sunday from 11:30 a.m.-5 p.m . The tea room also hosts events such as baby showers and birthday parties.

“Mrs. Carla is so sweet, and the food is awesome,” Madison Vaught said in describing her 18th birthday party that was hosted by The Boarding House Treasures & Tea Room.

“Mr. Mason showed us the rooms of the house and his treasure collection. I really enjoyed talking with them,” she continued. “They made me feel right at home.”

For more information about The Boarding House Treasures & Tea Room, call  (910) 491-7777.

PHOTOS: (Top to Bottom) Owner and chef Carla Welsh; Owner and collector Mason Steele

Yomar Machin

Seventy-First • Soccer • Junior

Machin has a grade point average of 3.36 for Seventy-First. A member of the Falcon soccer team, he has also been a wrestler for the past  three seasons.

Jade Wilds

Gray’s Creek • Golf • Senior

Wilds has a 3.88 grade point average. A member of the golf team, she is active in Future Business Leaders, National Honor Society, Girls Expecting More Success, Academy of Information Scholars and Academically or Intellectually Gifted.

Longstanding tradition in American Legion baseball will finally change this summer.

After years of playing by American League rules, the ruling body of the American Legion will let teams decide if they play seven or nineinning games in regular season, but all postseason play will be seven innings.

In addition, the sport will adopt familiar high school baseball rules including use of courtesy runners for catchers and pitchers and allowing reentry of starters taken out of the game.

The changes are geared toward making the game more fan- and player-friendly and hopefully drawing more high school players back to the game.

But some purists aren’t excited about the changes.

Mark Kahlenberg is coach of the Hope Mills Boosters American Legion team, the last one left in Cumberland County.

Kahlenberg doesn’t see a point in playing nineinning games during the season if all postseason games will be seven innings. “You’re looking at wasting pitching and longer baseball games,’’ he said of nine innings. “If you’re going to change, stick with seven and make it a rule for everybody.’’

Kahlenberg liked nine innings because he felt it helped prepare high school players for the college game. But he understands national American Legion leaders trying to change the game to increase participation. “I hope it works,’’ he said.

Austin Warren starred for Hope Hills before moving on to play at Wake Tech and now UNCWilmington. He doesn’t think switching to seven innings from nine will discourage college players still eligible for American Legion play not to want to participate.

“I thought Legion ball was a pretty good transition for me going to play college ball,’’ Warren said.

He also thinks the reentry and courtesy runner rules will encourage more participation.

“I remember when I played: once kids were taken out they were putting on tennis shoes because they knew they wouldn’t re-enter,’’ he said. “Knowing they can re-enter, they’ll stay in the game, stay more motivated.’’

Veteran Methodist University baseball coach Tom Austin, who coached Legion baseball 15 to 20 years ago, sees the change to seven innings as a benefit for players.

His son, Jacob, and one of his Methodist players, Matthias Carter, played for the Hope Mills team this past season.

“I remember driving to Wilmington with Jacob,’’ Austin said. “We wouldn’t get back until after 1 a.m.’’

For players with summer jobs, Austin can see where nine-inning road games on weeknights could cause a problem getting to work the following day.

“I don’t have a problem with them going to seven innings,’’ Austin said.

He thinks the courtesy runner and re-entry rules could pose challenges for Legion coaches.

“The courtesy runner is an interesting animal,’’ he said. “Now you can specialize your subs and have a kid on the bench who flies. That can change the game.’’

Re-entry also gives the coach the chance to put a good hitter in the lineup at any point during the contest. “It’s a bookkeeping nightmare, but it certainly has its merits in keeping more kids involved,’’ he said.

PHOTOS: (Top to Bottom) Mark Kahlenberg, Austin Warren, Tom Austin

Pine Forest football coach Bill Sochovka has an unusual description for the kind of speed star Trojan running back Lavonte Carter displays.

He calls it “skinny fast.”

Here’s how Sochovka explained it: “Our holes don’t have to be massive where his complete body has to go through the hole. As long as he’s got a gap, he’s got the ability to get skinny in that hole.’’

It’s once he gets in the hole that Carter shows his most impressive skill. “As soon as he’s in the hole, he elevates his speed from gear one to gear three quick,’’ Sochovka said. “When he breaks through the hole, he’s already in the secondary before you think about it. He can also slow his pace, get skinny, and then explode into the next gear.’’

E.E. Smith got a taste of that recently on a late run by Carter that set Pine Forest up for a game-winning field goal.

That win pulled the Trojans into a three-way tie for first place in the Patriot Athletic Conference with three regular season games left.

Not a bad rebound after starting the season 0-3 and allowing 40 or more points in two of those losses.

“Our offense went from sputtering to... putting up big numbers,’’ Sochovka said. “I’m not a real smart guy, but when you have a back who has over 1,000 yards and over 100 per game, you don’t change that.’’

Through games of Oct. 13, Carter is Cumberland County’s only 1,000-yard rusher with 1,018 yards, 14 rushing touchdowns and 127.3 yards per game.

“I have a lot to prove,’’ Carter said. He felt the Trojans made a big point with their win over E.E. Smith.

“Everybody kept doubting us, saying we were going to lose,’’ he said. “We had to prove them wrong.’’

Solving the early losing streak was a matter of finding chemistry and playing as a team, he said.

As for the rest of the season, Carter hopes to continue to run like former USC star Reggie Bush did during his college days with the Trojans. “I like the way he cuts, the way he runs,’’ he said. “I compare myself with him.’’

Like Carter, the Trojans have something to prove in the Patriot Conference. Sochovka hopes they have turned the corner. “I was worried about winning games to keep us afloat,’’ Sochovka said. “The most important thing I was worried about was us coming together. We are getting better very week.’’

PHOTOS: (Top to Bottom) Football coach, Bill Sochovka; Running back, Lavonte Carter

Critters: they are everywhere. And they are crazy. Critters and motorcycles don’t get along. I tried to think of how many people I know who have hit an animal while on a bike and walked away. I came up with two – me and my friend Rick, who has hit two deer and survived.

I was in Colorado, and I hit a bird at 60 mph. It hit my arm. At first, I wasn’t sure what had happened because it happened so quickly. Then I had a sensation that my arm was missing. I checked and saw it was still with me. Then I saw the feathers. I was lucky it was not a direct hit to the face. Everyone else I’ve ever talked to who hit something wound up on the pavement. It is painful, expensive and sometimes life-threatening.

Critters come in all shapes and sizes. In the past few months, I’ve encountered several animals, including dogs, raccoons, turkeys, possums, cats, a turtle and deer. I’ve also been stung on my face by bees on three different occasions. It stinks (I’m putting that as nicely as I can for a family-friendly newspaper). One got inside of my full-face helmet and went to town on the side of my face. It died a quick and horrible death. When something like that happens, it is good to keep calm. Don’t panic. Slow down and get to the safe part of the road, all along bearing the pain shooting through your face. Once you and your bike are safe, have as much fun as you can getting away from or killing the bee as you wish.

Deer and dogs put me on high alert. When I see either, I go into the defense mode real quick.

Deer are beautiful creatures, but they are crazier than most of the animals we encounter on America’s roads. Deer season is in full swing in most areas of the state. The deer have all received their NC Hunting Regulation Digest and have studied the rules, locations and hunting times just to keep life interesting. They study these things so they will know where and when it is safe to roam and laugh at the humans trying to hunt them. This means that these beautiful animals are hanging out near the roads because they know that hunters can’t shoot them there. These animals see you coming and, for the fun of it, will jump right out in front of you just to watch you freak out. Sometimes, they will stay on the road and play chicken with you. Judging by the dead deer on the side of the road, I suppose some are just suicide deer.

The point of the story is that you should avoid animals at all cost. Even a small animal can ruin your day. Once, I spotted a beautiful deer in the brush ahead of me. I slowed to see what the doe was going to do because animals are slow to respond to lights, horns or motorcycles. I was almost at a complete stop when suddenly the crazy thing jumped up and over my front tire. It was so close I could smell it, and I’m telling you – they look nice, but they stink.

Whether the animal is small or large, if you hit one on a bike, chances are you are going to lose. Pay attention to deer crossing signs. They put signs where they collect numerous carcasses. When you see these signs, be on your guard. As evening approaches, be aware that animals are attracted to paved roadways because they provide warmth – particularly on cool nights.

When you see an animal, it is best to try to move the animal out of your way. Hollering, horns and loud pipes seem to work for most animals – except for the crazy motorcycle-chasing dog. The top speed for the crazed dog is about 30 mph. If you come upon one, just stay focused, roll the throttle up or down and get out of its way. If you get in a tight spot and find yourself side by side, you’d better have your wits about you. If you kick at it, you can easily lose your balance and swerve off your line and wreck. If you screw up and drop your bike, you may be laying there with a bike on you and a dog taking you for a snack. It is tempting to stick your foot out, but I like to keep my leg out of the path of the dog’s teeth. No matter what evasive action you take, remember to stay focused on your driving first and then get out of the danger zone as quickly as possible.

If you encounter an aggressive dog on your regular route, you may want to contact the local authorities. Depending on the owner, law enforcement official or ordinance, this tactic may not work. If it doesn’t, I would suggest stopping and talking to the owner. Be polite and tell him or her that their pet is a hazard. If the owner refuses to do anything about it, you might just ask the owner if you can get the name of their insurance agent and lawyer and let them know that if you wreck because of their dog, you will be forced to take legal action.

We share the road with lots of people, critters and unexpected hazards. So, be careful out there. It’s a jungle.

RIDE SAFE!

State Sen. Rick Horner can quip with the best of them. During a recent debate about school construction needs in North Carolina, the Wilson County lawmaker and former school board chairman argued that the state lottery ought to fulfill its original mandate by producing more money for local facilities.

“There’s nothing more important than running a casino honorably,” Horner deadpanned.

It was a funny line and got lots of laughs from his audience of educators, community leaders, journalists and parents assembled at the Booker T. Washington Theatre in Rocky Mount. Horner, a Republican, joined Sen. Erica Smith (D-Northampton), John Locke Foundation analyst Terry Stoops and North Carolina Justice Center analyst Matt Ellinwood on the panel for the debate, which was hosted by Loretta Boniti, a reporter and anchor for the statewide cable channel Spectrum News.

But Horner’s point was a serious one. For decades, advocates of a government-run lottery for North Carolina promised that its net revenues would boost education spending in the state.

Opponents, including me, predicted that whatever the original language of a lottery bill might be, future legislatures would find it convenient to redirect money to whatever budget hole lawmakers wanted to fill at the time – even if that meant supplanting current education funding, derived from generally applied taxes, with gambling proceeds.

I don’t think the government should prohibit gambling, mind you. I believe in individual freedom, including the freedom for individuals to make incredibly bone-headed decisions coupled with the responsibility of living with and learning from the results of those decisions.

What I and others objected to was putting state government in the gambling business with a monopoly that would manipulate its marks into bearing a disproportionate share of the cost of government services. The propensity to play the lottery isn’t equally distributed, and the resulting tax bite is a regressive one – poorer households spend a larger share of their incomes buying tickets than wealthier ones do.

To swap broader taxes on sales, income or property with a narrower revenue source was, of course, one of the main attractions of the state lottery for some proponents, who didn’t plan to play themselves but welcomed the idea of someone else paying government’s bill. This, however, was and is bad public policy.

One way to lean against it – and one that Horner, Smith, Stoops and Ellinwood all endorsed in some form – would be to restore the share of net lottery proceeds dedicated to school construction to the original 40 percent contained in the 2005 law that created the lottery. In recent years, that percentage has dropped into the teens, although state leaders already seem to be headed in the direction of pushing it back up.

As the lawmakers and policy experts emphasized during the Rocky Mount forum – the first in a series of “Hometown Debates” on education hosted by the North Carolina Institute of Political Leadership and its local partners – school construction has traditionally been the primary responsibility of local government, not the state. Thus, dedicating more lottery funds to it poses less of a risk of supplanting other state funding streams, at the very least.

During the debate, which was broadcast on television by Spectrum News and on radio by the North Carolina News Network, the panelists disagreed about other funding approaches for school facilities. Smith and Ellinwood said the legislature ought to place a $2 billion school construction bond on the statewide ballot in 2018.

Stoops said the 2016 Connect NC bond package should have included K-12 capital needs, while Horner questioned the wisdom of statewide borrowing for local school construction, arguing that local communities are in the best position to determine and address their own needs and that putting out lots of capital projects for bid at the same time across the state would bid up the price tag, given the limited number of contractors available.

I don’t think a radical rewrite of the division of labor between the state and localities is warranted. But a more honorable government casino would be welcome.

• Oct. 2-Nov. 18 Registration for Youth Basketball at Hope Mills Parks and Recreation Center, 5766 Rockfish Rd. The center is open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. and Saturdays 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. There is instructional basketball for ages 5-6 and regular basketball for ages 7-17. The cost is $30 per child. Address and birth certificate must be presented when registering. Call (910) 426-4105 for details.

• Oct. 28  Medicine Drop-off from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at The Hope Mills Fire Department, conducted by the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office.

• Oct. 31 Trunk ’R Treat at Hope Mills Municipal fields 1 and 2, 6-8 p.m. Ages 1-12. Call (910) 426-4109 for details.

• Nov. 4-12 Heroes Homecoming V at the Hope Mills Public Library, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Nov. 4 is the first day of a nine-day ceremonious event to honor veterans. The focus will be on Vietnam Veterans. Visit www.heroeshomecoming.com for more information. The event is free and open to the public.

• Nov. 4 - 12 Cumberland County’s display of Missing Man Tables.

The public is invited to tour these tables, thank the businesses participating and – most importantly – honor our MIA/POW soldiers. Visit www.heroeshomecoming.com for details.

• Nov. 5 Vietnam Veterans Memorial Ceremony and Flag Display hosted by The Hope Mills Veterans Advisory Commission at the Hope Mills Veterans Memorial from 3-4:30 p.m. Special guest speaker will be retired Lt. Col. Walt Brinker. Free and open to the public.

• Nov. 6 Bench Dedication at Hope Mills Lake by the Hope Mills VFW Post 10630. The dedication starts at 5 p.m. and is free and open to the public. Visit www.heroeshomecoming.com  for details.

• Nov. 8 Veteran Movie Extravaganza 

Millstone 14 on Camden Road in Hope Mills will honor veterans by presenting an evening of military-themed movies. The event is free for veterans and their families. The event begins at 4 p.m., and space is limited. Call (910) 354-2124 or visit www.heroeshomecoming.com.

• Nov. 10 Building Dedication Ceremony by VFW Post 10630 honoring  retired CW4 Edwin S. Deaver, former Hope Mills mayor and commissioner.

 The Kiwanis Club of Hope Mills has been active and productive in the last few weeks. Sept. 26, Kiwanis hosted its annual banquet with District 11 Lt. Gov. Susan Chriscoe as the special guest of honor. Dwayne Jacobs was awarded Kiwanian of the Year and recognized for his dedication and hard work.

During the Kiwanis meeting held Oct. 10, the Fayetteville Marksmen assistant general manager/director of ticket sales, Nathan Driscoll, was a special guest. He spoke of the Fayetteville hockey team’s mission and goals and how they apply to the community. He noted that civic organizations such as the local Kiwanis Club are key entities in bringing the community together along with the local team to better benefit the youth. Driscoll, husband and father of five, said he looks forward to working with local civic groups to formulate programs that will provide ways for families to interact with the Fayetteville Marksmen. 

The Kiwanis Club held a successful barbecue fundraiser Friday, Oct. 13, and sold over 800 plates. This raised money to help with community efforts such as buying school supplies for local children, helping provide for the local K-Kids and high school Key Clubs and helping low-income families.

Jan Spell, Kiwanis treasurer, agreed that the sales from the barbecue fundraiser were a blessing. “God is great,” she said. 

Members from the Kiwanis Club of Hope Mills will travel to Lake Waccamaw Oct. 28 to participate in Kiwanis One Day. This is a day in which Kiwanis clubs from all over the world take part in a variety of community service projects. Kiwanis of Hope Mills will be helping the Boys and Girls Homes of North Carolina with different services from yard work to mentoring the children of the Boys and Girls Home. 

“It’s surreal,” Jan Spell said.  “This is the one day where every Kiwanis club in the world works together on the same day to make it better. It’s this day when you learn what being a Kiwanis (member) really means.”

The next meeting will be held Oct. 24 at Mi Casita’s in Hope Mills at 5:30 pm. New members are always welcome, and there is never a shortage of community activities in which to partake. For more information on becoming a member, or if you have any questions, call the Kiwanis of Hope Mills at  (910) 426-7256.

This was supposed to be something of a rebuilding year for the Fayetteville Academy boys’ soccer, with a team filled with young players lacking experience.

So much for lowered expectations. When the seeds for this year’s N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association 2-A state playoffs were announced, Fayetteville Academy was put at the No. 1 spot with a 15-1-1 record. That mark included a penalty shootout loss to public school power Lee County and a tie with North Raleigh Christian.

This story was written before the Eagles began postseason competition. By the time it’s published, they’ll hopefully be preparing to advance to the semifinal round of the state tournament.

Regardless of what happens in the postseason, it’s been another banner year for the Eagles, the result of a familiar formula put together by veteran coach Andrew McCarthy.

“We always play a tough schedule,’’ he said. “We always want to challenge the boys. They’ve been a very committed group every day at practice.

“We’ve stressed getting better every game and every practice. We’ve had a few bumps along the way, a few performances that haven’t been as good, but overall they’ve been doing what we’ve asked of them.’’

An area where the Eagles have been solid is defense. In 14 of their 17 regular-season matches, Fayetteville Academy has allowed one goal or less.

“It’s not just the back line and the keeper,’’ McCarthy said. “You defend from the front. It’s a team effort by the defenders, and the keeper has been fantastic.’’

The keeper is Carter Boliek, a senior who took up the position three years ago. “The only thing holding him back was game experience,’’ McCarthy said. “He had all the talent. He’s come up with big saves in big games. If you have a good goalkeeper, you’ve got a good chance.’’

Boliek said the focus of the Eagle defense has been working hard as a unit and making it harder for the opposition to score.

“I think everyone on our team has improved exponentially,’’ he said. “We’ve come together and gelled well. That’s led to a lot of team success.’’

Center back Julian Barbaro credits the good coaching the Eagles get from McCarthy and assistant coach Jimmy Maher. “We’ve all been pretty positive and stayed together,’’ he said. “We’ve spent countless hours on and off the field, talking, staying tougher and helping each other out.’’

It’s been four years since Fayetteville Academy brought a state soccer title home. McCarthy said the formula for doing it again remains the same.

“Hopefully we’re well-prepared,’’ he said. “We know the game plan going in, and we do what we need to do.’’

PHOTO: L-R: Julian Barbaro, Andrew McCarthy, Carter Boliek

• Oct. 19 Hope Meals Food Truck Rodeo at 5770 Rockfish Rd. from 5:30-8:30 p.m. See flyer, right.

• Oct. 19-21 Ole Mills Days Festival 

Celebrate the Mills Way! Details: (910) 429-4109. Oct. 21 is the Hope Mills Chamber of Commerce’s and WKML 95.7’s annual Chili Cook-Off and corn hole tournament. Chili entries are due no later than Oct. 18. Go to www.hopemillschamber.org and click on the events tab to enter. Contact Lela Schimmel at (910) 423-4314 with any questions.

• Oct. 31 Trunk ’R Treat at Hope Mills Municipal fields 1 and 2, 6-8 p.m. Ages 1-12. Call (910) 4264109 for details.

• Nov. 4-12 Heroes Homecoming V at the Hope Mills Public Library, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Nov. 4 is the first day of a nine-day ceremonious event to honor veterans. On this day, the focus will be on Vietnam Veterans. Visit www.heroeshomecoming.com for details.. The event is free and open to the public.

• Nov. 5 Vietnam Veterans Memorial Ceremony and Flag Display hosted by The Hope Mills Veterans Advisory Commission at the Hope Mills Veterans Memorial from 3-4:30 p.m.

Monday, Oct. 9, the Town of Hope Mills held its monthly town meeting. Mayor Jackie Warner called the meeting to order and Reverend Mike Wells of Hope Mills Church of God led the invocation.

Scott Garner of Garner & Brown Architects PA from Charlotte, North Carolina, presented to the Board of Commissioners the plans for the Public Safety Facility Project. According to Garner, the facility will be complete in two-and-a-half years or more. The Public Safety Facility, which would house the Hope Mills Fire Department and the Hope Mills Police Department, will be built in the location where the departments are now. The BOC authorized Town Manager Melissa Adams to retain Garner & Brown Architects PA for its services and approved them to move forward on designing and building the facility.

Mayor Warner presented a certificate of recognition to Cindy L. Murray for employment with the Town of Hope Mills for 37 years. 

Mayor Warner and the BOC approved to establish Oct. 9 as PANDAS/PANS Awareness Day. PANDAS is pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associate with streptococcal infections and is a subset of PANS, or pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome. The mayor read an explanation of PANDAS/PANS: “The diagnosis means the child has a sudden, dramatic change in personality, displays obsessive-compulsive disorder together with accompanying symptoms of streptococcal, viral or bacterial infection.”

She then presented a Certificate of  Proclamation to Jennifer Woods.

Royal Presentations

Amaya Rae received a certificate of recognition for her accomplishment of receiving the 2017-18 title of Little Miss Fayetteville State University.

The Miss Hope Mills Cotton Pageant queens were also recognized and will represent Hope Mills at various events in the upcoming year, such as Ole Mills Days, the Christmas parade and the 4th of July parade.

The first to be recognized was 3-year-old Harper Sullivan, daughter of Rachel Arnold. She was crowned 2017 Hope Mills Wee Miss Cotton and Miss Photogenic.

McKala Sallie, daughter of Carlton and Michele Sallie, was recognized for being crowned 2017 Hope Mills Junior Miss Cotton.

Jada Thomas, daughter of David and Dorothy Thomas, was recognized as 2017 Hope Mills Young Miss Cotton.

Amanda Hall, daughter of Ron and Nola Hall, was recognized as 2017 Hope Mills Teen Miss Cotton.

Bailey Haggins, daughter of Jamie and Jennifer Haggins, was recognized as 2017 Hope Mills Miss Cotton. Each received a certificate.

Change in Direction

Drivers in Hope Mills can expect a change in the traffic pattern for Johnson Street and Hill Street. Public Works Director Hector Cruz explained the safety issues with changing the pattern from a two-way on Johnson to a one-way direction. The traffic pattern would be reversed on Hill Street. It would still be a one-way, but traffic would flow towards Rockfish Road rather than away from Rockfish Road.

Cruz anticipates traffic flow to be smoother and with less chance of accidents.  These changes will also allow for a sidewalk. The start date is to be determined. 

A Very Special Thank You

Elaine Saleeby and her late husband were recognized by the mayor for their contributions to the town. Saleeby has given a generous donation of her land off of Fountain Lane to the Town of Hope Mills. The land, which includes a mill house with the true Mill Stamp, will be part of Hope Mills Lake Park and possibly Heritage Park.

PHOTO: Cindy L. Murray & Mayor Warner