April Killings Unrelated

Three local men died violent deaths at the hands of others in April. Police said the homicides were unrelated but did not appear to be random. 

Mark Lewis, 54, of Concord Drive in College Lakes, was shot at his home Sunday afternoon, April 2. Officers found Lewis with a gunshot wound to the chest, said Police Sgt. Shawn Strepay. Police took the alleged shooter into custody at the scene. David Adam Wildhagen, 30, of the 5000 block of Cooper Road, is charged with first-degree murder and was jailed without bond. A pair of homicides occurred within two days of each other late in the month. The death of Jeffrey Brewington, of Goins Drive off Owen Drive, remains unsolved. Police found Brewington beaten inside his home late Friday night, April 22. He had been robbed and police apparently have no suspects. On Monday, April 24, officers responded to a shooting on Alamance Road off Raeford Road. A family member had discovered Dennis Burden, 21, dead. The alleged shooter is Shyheim White, 19, of Dublin.  He was charged with involuntary manslaughter growing out of what police called “negligent and reckless use of the firearm.”  

Serial Rapist #2

Up & Coming Weekly recently reported on a serial rapist who’s wanted for committing 11 rapes after breaking into apartments of local women. 

A second highly-publicized case continues to have the attention of the Fayetteville Police Cold Case Sexual Assault Unit. Sexual assaults committed by the “Ramsey Street Rapist” took place over two years between March 2006 and January 2008. The series of rapes occurred in the North Fayetteville area and remain unsolved.  These attacks were committed by a subject who was dubbed the “Ramsey Street Rapist.” 

DNA belonging to the unknown subject was recovered at three of the crime scenes and has been uploaded to the National Combined DNA Index System. The Ramsey Street Rapist was described as a white male, then about 40, about 6 feet tall and weighing about 200 pounds. Time-progressed composites illustrate what he would probably look like today, with and without facial hair. Detectives have remained relentless in their search for the “Ramsey Street Rapist” for the last 10 years.  

Local Youth Council is a Winner Several Times Over

The Fayetteville–Cumberland County Youth Council is proof that our youngsters are among the best and brightest in North Carolina. Two were elected to the Executive Board of the State Youth Council during a conference last month. Rebecca Mitchell was elected chairperson and Konstance Woods was chosen as the state council’s secretary. The FCCYC was honored as the state’s most diverse youth council. 

Joshua Jensen was awarded North Carolina State Youth Council’s Most Outstanding Member and Jordan Clayborn was a keynote speaker. FCCYC has representation from high schools across Cumberland County. Its members range from sophomores to seniors. The Youth Council helped with Hurricane Matthew relief and hosted an event to help teenagers prepare for their future and develop leadership skills at conferences across the state and nation. The Fayetteville-Cumberland Youth Council’s mission is “to serve as a voice for youth in a youth-led organization.” 

Institutional accreditation reflects a voluntary decision made by the institution to conduct a self-evaluation of its academic operations from every vantage point to meet the standards of an accrediting agency. Because of the amount of rigor involved, many institutions either choose not to seek to meet these standards or they develop their own standards and the result may be labeled as “degree mills.” Graduates from those schools earn the paper, but not the product required by reputable employers.

Since accreditation is not required, graduates of institutions which have not met prescribed standards have a red flag that follows them as they seek their places in society. Some schools even follow agencies that are not accredited, hence the degree is still not what it proposes to be for lack of a core of standards. Without accreditation, the school has taken money without giving the student a standard-based education.

Accreditation approval demonstrates compliance with standards developed by an official agency. In the United States, there are six regional accreditation bodies (Regional Accreditation) and a host of nontraditional schools (such as beautician and barber schools, Bible colleges) with a specific focus (National Accreditation). Both accrediting bodies require the applying institutions to comply with standards approved by the U.S. Department of Education and therefore qualify for federal (Title IV) funds.

For institutions to receive these federal funds, the government recognizes the choice has been made to spend time, effort and finances to prove that the institutions have met the guidelines of an approved agency. Usually, they have affiliated themselves with a qualifying accrediting agency and become a candidate for accreditation and then have applied for and received the status of accreditation. They have completed these steps because they want to professionally prepare graduates of their institution to perform at a high level in their chosen field. 

Many hours will be spent by all facets of the institution studying its operations from every aspect, including budget and its appropriate use, faculty, resources, curriculum, library, mission and mission-appropriate goals as well as administration and long-range and strategic planning. Assessment tools that determine the success of the institution are also vital.

Initial accreditation is only the first step. A team of professionals reflecting the areas of competencies sought will receive written documents from the institution certifying compliance with basic standards of the accrediting agency, assessment results and long- and short-range planning of the institution. 

This is followed by a visit by these professionals to examine the actual operations of the institution. Reaccreditation follows at prescribed intervals to assure continued compliance with the standards of the accrediting agency.

Carolina College of Biblical Studies has chosen to meet the national standards of the Association for Biblical Higher Education for both its on-campus and online degree programs. CCBS completed a team visit for reaccreditation April 4-7. CCBS received six commendations, one for the online program, from the visiting team and some recommendations that it will address to complete the reaccreditation process.

The graduates of CCBS have been very successful and often continue to graduate schools such as Liberty University and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. They are also serving as pastors and planters of churches. Almost 90 percent of our graduates made CCBS their first choice to enroll in college. It is not unusual for our students to recruit others to attend the college.

The administration, faculty and staff of CCBS recognize, as do our students, that accreditation is the gold standard. The Association for Biblical Higher Education has set the standards as the accrediting agency, and CCBS has met those standards as we seek to disciple Christ-followers through biblical higher education, for a lifetime of effective servant leadership.

Should North Carolina “Raise the Age?” North Carolina is the last and only state to prosecute 16- and 17 year-old teenagers as adults. Only 3 percent of violent offenses are committed by our youth. This means the overwhelming majority of our teenagers receive adult consequences for minor offenses. A teenage mistake could prevent a child from entering the military, receiving college financial aid or obtaining employment. But, this could all change with House Bill 280, the Juvenile Justice Reinvestment Act, proposed bipartisan legislation which would raise the juvenile offender age to 17 except for violent felonies. 

Under the proposed legislation, teenagers who commit murder or rape would still be prosecuted as an adult. Why the push to increase the age limit?  According to an article titled “States Raising Age for Adult Prosecutions Back to 18” published by ABA Journalin February of this year, “adult penalties lead to more teen recidivism (repeatedly committing crimes), new science shows teenage brains really do mature later,” and it is a response to high incarceration rates.” Also, over the past 10 years, the U.S. Supreme Court has declared it unconstitutional to execute for crimes committed as juveniles, outlawed the automatic life without parole for nonhomicide crimes, extended the ban on automatic life without parole for teenagers who have committed homicide and retroactively extended the ban on life sentences. The difference is our juvenile justice system focuses on rehabilitation — helping the child make a change — versus the adult system which focuses
on punishment. 

According to North Carolina Policy Watch, House Bill 280 has the support of the North Carolina Sheriff’s Association, the Police Benevolent Association, the Association of Chiefs of Police and the North Carolina Chief Justice’s Courts Commission. Over the next few months, we must watch to see if North Carolina joins the rest of the nation and raises the age.

Over the past several decades American foreign policy toward China has been primarily economic in nature. In 1979, we granted Most Favored Nation trading status with China, and in 2001, China became a member of the World Trade Organization. For years, the theory has been that China will reform government dominance and communist tendencies with increased access to global markets. Our leaders have believed open market access would permeate the Chinese culture with greater personal freedoms and liberties.

Unfortunately, the outcome of continuous and unrestricted market access has not yielded the intended results. China remains a significant human rights abuser, censoring everything from news and journalism to religious freedom, women’s rights and political dissidence.

Furthermore, China has used the economic benefits of global market access to blatantly undermine international adversaries through cyberespionage, corporate IP theft, market manipulation, illegal naval expansion and the significant development of domestic military capabilities.

When I hosted Dr. Henry Kissinger for a speech in Charlotte in 1991, he contrasted Russia and China, with Russia being an outward expansionist regime and China being still relatively unengaged in the world. Today, however, through the favor of economic expansion granted in large part by the United States, China has aggressive visions to expand its global footprint across multiple continents. Through economic expansion, China has emerged from its reclusive traditions to become a major economic and military power.

China has built its economy from a $300 billion GDP in 1985 to over $11 trillion today. This is largely a result of the theory that open markets would transform culture.

As a member of the Congressional Executive Commission on China, I have heard scores of testimony from victims who detail the continued egregious violations of human rights, religious liberties and freedoms of conscience by the Chinese government — proving our original economic theories wrong.

Hope for a culture change in China has been diminished by the dominance of the Communist Party and their underlying vision to stay in power and suppress their citizens. With this in mind, the United States must shift its foreign policy toward China and use our various economic resources to compel the Chinese government and force change. We must impose a severe price on China to change their mindset.

Today, China pursues its economic and expansionist interests seemingly unchecked. For example, Chinese investment in the United States has skyrocketed, growing from approximately $4.6 billion in 2010 to $45.6 billion in 2016. Many of these investments come from state-sponsored firms and strategically target our critical and financial infrastructure, as well as American start-up companies who produce emerging foundational technologies with broad military applications.

One way we can counter strategic Chinese economic warfare is to strengthen our export control laws and rules associated with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. Through denying market access to Chinese state-sponsored firms, we can more effectively leverage government action, particularly related to human rights and North Korea. The key to compelling change in North Korea is through imposing serious economic penalties on the Chinese government for providing material and political support of the oppressive North Korean regime. 

We must approach every action and every economic transaction with China as directly related to Chinese support for North Korea, Chinese abuse of human rights, Chinese cyberespionage and Chinese military development.

Over the past several years, through multiple Congressional letters co-signed by dozens of my colleagues, I have fought for heightened government scrutiny over various Chinese state-sponsored transactions, both domestic and abroad.

Our efforts led to an unprecedented economic penalty imposed on the ZTE Corporation for selling embargoed technologies to Iran in 2012. 

We have raised public concerns related to Chinese state-sponsored attempts to purchase American financial institutions, including the Chicago Stock Exchange and MoneyGram. Additionally, we have analyzed global Chinese efforts to invest in semiconductor technologies and have targeted certain transactions that will disrupt our Defense Department’s supply chain for critical military applications.

As our government moves forward with China, we must consider policies that impose a strategic disadvantage to the Chinese economy. 

Our policies must include efforts to sanction Chinese officials who engage in cyberespionage or human rights abuses and Chinese entities that provide critical or financial services to North Korea.

Further, we must consider punitive action against Chinese trade-based money laundering, as well as money laundering that emerges from Macau.

As China continues to modernize its military and emphasize capabilities intended to disrupt and challenge the United States, our government must respond by using our strong markets, economy and trade policies to compel immediate action by the Chinese government.

America has a choice. We can have prescriptive economic and trade policies with China — including tariffs, sanctions, improved export control laws and strong CFIUS review authorities — or we can continue to allow them to advance their human rights abuses, execute massive corporate theft and cyberespionage operations and deliver material support for North Korea.

This column first appeared on Fox News Opinion. 

How did we get here?

Jeff “Goldy” Goldberg hosts Good Morning Fayetteville on WFNC 640 AM. On a recent show, he was interviewing a police officer who works with the Crime Stoppers program in our area. They started the conversation by discussing a shooting at Lake Rim. Reportedly, two groups were arguing, guns were produced and a man was shot. In essence, Goldy wondered aloud and with genuine concern, “How did we get here?” He explained when he was young, at most, arguments were settled with fists … not guns. His tone was one of absolute amazement that what was being reported could happen. What follows are my thoughts in response to Goldy’s question that people America are asking: How did we get here?

In my estimation, our actions, for the most part, are the result of what we view as acceptable behavior. Regarding crime, Leonard A. Sipes Jr. clearly makes this point in an article titled “Top 10 Factors Contributing to Violent Crime-Updated,” in which he wrote: “Our criminological training is that governments do not control crime, communities or societies do; there is little the justice system can do if you decide to engage in violence, use drugs, participate in theft or buy stolen goods. We note that the criminological literature generally agrees that crime rises and falls over time at roughly the same rates in states and western countries, thus the explanations for crime seem to have a common, societal theme (i.e., drug use, universal agreements as to what is permissible).”

What I want to examine is what I consider to be the most relevant part of the quote above: “…universal agreements as to what is permissible.” This leads one to ask how agreement as to what is permissible is being determined and promoted in America. I contend the answer speaks to how we became a society riddled with crime and a multitude of other ills. That is, we have and are experiencing a dramatic shift in the forces that shape agreements as to what is permissible in society.

A major destructive shift is in the decline of church, especially Christian, influence on this process of defining what is permissible in society. I grew up in Camilla, Georgia, where the population was about 5,000. I remember walking over a mile to Union Baptist Church where my father was pastor. 

Cheryl McCoy, her sister Brenda, Bobby Rosemond, Joe Grissom and I would make that walk to attend various youth activities. That was a time of foundation-building for us. The positive influence of all the good that happened in that church experience was a major factor in shaping our thinking regarding what is permissible in life. I am confident in saying not one of us in that group of walkers would see the crime, lawlessness or deafening irresponsible conduct of far too many Americans as permissible behavior. The very positive impact our Christian church had on my walking group was not unique to us; it was a widespread happening in that little town and across America. 

The Christian Church has lost much of its capacity for, as was the case with my walking group, influencing what is viewed as permissible in America. Not only has that capacity declined, it is moving toward total collapse. Consider the following quotes from an article titled “The Decline of Christianity In America” that was posted June 30, 2009,
at www.signsofthelastdays.com:

According to a stunning new survey by America’s Research Group, 95 percent of 20 to 29 year old evangelicals attended church regularly during their elementary and middle school years. However, only 55 percent of them attended church regularly during high school, and only 11 percent of them were still regularly attending church when in college.

The reality is that young Americans are deserting the Church in America in droves … 46 percent of Americans between the ages of 18 to 34 indicated they had no religion.

Given what I have said so far, the question is: Why has the Christian Church, for the most part, lost the ability to influence what is viewed as permissible in American society? I hold the primary reason is that, in general, Christians have turned away from modeling and calling others to live in accordance with the teachings of scripture and the example of Jesus. This has happened, and is happening, for the same reason it occurred in the time of Jesus. John 12:42-43 (NIV) says:

Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved human praise more than praise from God. 

In these verses, Jesus is within days of going to the cross. Some people in positions of leadership believed he was the promised deliverer of the Jews. Because this belief was not widely held, and accepting it would cause rejection of believers, many who believed kept quiet. In our time, being Christian attracts rejection, verbal attacks and denial of religious liberty. 

I am not aware of physical attacks on American Christians, but it is becoming more and more challenging to be Christian in America. Too often, the response of many Christians is to steer clear of the hard work of influencing for good what is seen as permissible. The result is those who are counter to the Christian faith fill the void and set the course. 

Interestingly, many Christians explain or justify their failure to take a stand by going to what Jesus said about judging. In Matthew 7:1, Jesus says, “Do not judge, or you will be judged.” Jesus goes further in the verses that follow. I contend He is not saying to never judge. Instead, Jesus explains how we should judge, how we should hold one another accountable. What He says should not be used as a reason for failing to, as Christians, be active in the process of determining what is permissible in society. 

My hope and prayer is that Christians in America and around the world will find the wherewithal to stand and be the Godly influence we should be in defining what is permissible in society. I realize doing what we ought to comes with a high price. Be reminded that Jesus gave notice to those of us who stand with him (Matthew 5:11-12):

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Most of us have them in our families. 

Sometimes we refer to them as “an eccentric” or a “real character,” like one of my favorite relatives who wanted more of the women in our family to be blonde. If you look at my photo on this page, you will see blonde is not my natural hair color. 

Sometimes, there is no denying the situation is beyond eccentricity, like a cousin who was so angry at the power company in his area that he set up a flat bed truck decorated with Christmas lights and railed about his grievances with a megaphone to passing motorists. That was when he was not dropping anti-power company leaflets out of his twin-engine plane all over the crop fields of his rural county.

Sometimes, it is clear we are dealing with a mental illness, like another cousin who is struggling with significant depression in her senior years. It is this kind and other serious conditions that we find so difficult to acknowledge and to discuss within our own families and without.

That is why it struck me when I read last month about Britain’s Prince Harry, the red-headed, fun-loving, hard-partying bachelor prince, and his public announcement of his battles to keep mental and emotional equilibrium after the sudden death of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, when he was only 12 years old. Prince Harry confessed he more or less shut down his emotions for 20 years, with neither he nor his older brother, William, talking much about their mother and the loss of her. Prince Harry said bottling up his emotions hurt both his personal life and his work.

Part of his coming out about his mental health issues included a filmed interview with Harry, William and William’s wife, Kate Middleton, about the importance of being open about mental health.

Joining in the ongoing conversation is Lady Gaga, who has spoken openly about living with post-traumatic stress disorder. Like Prince Harry, Lady Gaga spoke publicly with Prince William about her mental health.

The British princes are not the first children to lose their mother suddenly and too early, nor is the flamboyant entertainer the first celebrity to have had a traumatic past. The difference is they are talking about their experiences. They are urging others to do so as well and to seek help for mental health issues when we need it.

Writing recently in The News & Observer, Duke University psychology professor Robin Gurwitch said children often experience death of a loved one or some other trauma that, left unaddressed whether through talking to others or through professional counseling, can lead to crippling depression. 

We cannot shield children from these experiences, but we can help them understand and cope. “In reality, talking is the most important step we can take to help our children heal from trauma and loss,” said Gurwitch.

Talking truthfully about our experiences chips away at the stigma of mental stress and illness, with well-known people bravely leading the way. The other critical piece of the equation is providing access to needed mental health services. 

North Carolina tried to set up community-based services in the early 2000s, but I do not know anyone who thinks this system is yet working the way it should. Many of the homeless people we see in our community are in need of mental health services that simply are not available to them. We can and must do better.

Many years ago, a person in her 50s and dear to me was successfully treated for long-term substance abuse, and when she returned, we did talk about her issues in a way we never had before treatment. I asked her what she had learned during her time away. She thought a moment and said, “I learned that everyone has problems. I had thought I was the only one.”

She had thought that for decades, probably because no one talked much about substance abuse or other mental health issues — or if they did, it was probably to criticize and not to offer help. My dear one is long gone now, but I still feel sad that she lived with substance abuse longer than she might have because no one was willing to talk about it honestly.

My guess is Prince Harry and Lady Gaga have access to all sorts of treatment, and their forthright conversations about mental health are going to help many people. The rest of us can do that as well by acknowledging mental illness for what it is — a collection of largely treatable conditions, just like most physical illnesses, which most of us love to discuss ad infinitum.

Oh my! Decisions, decisions, decisions. Hmmmmmm? Where should the City of Fayetteville put the new sports complex? Well, from where I sit, and from what I’m hearing on the street from citizens who are informed about this opportunity, it is pretty much is a “no-brainer.” 

However, what they seem to be more concerned about is the way the City Council is behaving. You would think on major proposals and important City business that coordination, cooperation and communication between Council members would be paramount. Well, not so much. Matter of fact, what seem to be “no-brainer” decisions are seemingly very divisive. This is causing some anxiety among citizens who are following the process. 

Recently, Council member Ted Mohn reached out to me and other members of the media to get our take on the sports complex situation. We appreciated this consideration. In his memo, and in Ted Mohn style, he included a comprehensive evaluation of the suggested Fields/Cedar Creek Road site. He certainly did his homework. It included a graphic of the Rocky Mount Sports Complex for comparison with a dated 4-year financial impact of the complex. He also included a graphic of the Fields/Cedar Creek Road location that included a possible additional 36-acre add on. He also showed nearby commercial development and a sample concept of how the location could house and develop into a viable sports complex. No doubt a lot of time and effort went into this study. However, in my opinion, the Fields/Cedar Creek Road location is not the right location for this project. What follows is basically what I shared with Councilman Mohn in response to his request.

I thanked him for including me in his quest for information and for all the time and research he invested in making sure the Council had all the facts and details and an understanding of the circumstances when considering where to locate the new $9 million sports complex. This is a major project, an important decision and a very big deal for our community. Accordingly, it needs to be thoroughly thought out and examined from all angles, especially from the perspective of the residents and taxpayers of the City of Fayetteville. This is not the time for infighting or petty ward politics.   

I also clarified Up & Coming Weekly’s position and obligation to local residents as a community newspaper. Even though we now have a “hard news” element in our publication provided by Senior Reporter Jeff Thompson, traditionally, Up & Coming Weekly’s format has been derived from local observations and analysis of situations affecting our community from a historic perspective and how these actions or events impact the quality of life here in Fayetteville and Cumberland County. We do this mostly using “first person” insights and opinions. Matter of fact, by the time I’m ready to pen an article, I find myself pretty much putting down in print what the majority of our readers are already thinking. They trust Up & Coming Weekly because we validate their thoughts.

After 21 years, the journalistic track record and reputation of Up & Coming Weekly is pretty stellar. And no one can accuse us of “fake news.” 

With a small community newspaper like Up & Coming Weekly, it’s not how many papers we print each week that is important — it’s who reads it! 

So, with all this being said, I told Mohn in response to his email that “historically speaking” the Cedar Creek/Fields Road area is a poor choice of locations. By historically, I mean Fayetteville and Cumberland County governments have chronic bad habits of justifying the means to accommodate the ends. And, unfortunately,  with very costly results. I could list at least a half-dozen examples, but I did not need to. Mohn knows what they are and so do the taxpayers. The sports complex should not and cannot become another one of these casualties. 

This complex needs to be an economic driver. So, whatever monies the City has to come up with to assure its success should be considered a solid and vetted economic development opportunity. And, as such, it should be a rock-solid investment. I implored Ted to use his time, talent and influence to get the Council to shed the politics and do the type of due diligence that will net us a sound and responsible decision.

I challenged him to query the Council members and the folks he sent memos to about how many times they have visited Exit 49 on Cedar Creek Road in the last year. To Dine? To Shop? To patronize the hotels? I bet zero! 

While he is at it, I suggested he ask how many have ever participated in a travel sports program, and then find and interview people who have been active in traveling sports teams and ask them what they look for in community amenities when considering participating in a tournament or road trip. 

I promise you, we can do more for building Fayetteville’s economy and quality of life while enhancing our community’s brand and image by placing it out by Bragg Boulevard near the All American Freeway and I-295, close to Cross Creek Mall. Really. I’m a big believer in creating a “WOW!” factor when it comes to promotion and marketing – two things Fayetteville doesn’t do very well close to home.  If, when all is said and done, we have to invest another $4 million to make this location happen, you can rest assured the “WOW!” factor will be there already included and thriving, and at no additional cost to
the City.

Everyone is hoping City Council makes the right decision. I personally hope they take the opportunity to finally prove me wrong when I say: “Fayetteville never misses an opportunity, to miss an opportunity.” 

Everyone wants this project to be successful, right?  This being the case, why even risk the chance of a failure by choosing an unproven location? Fayetteville’s leadership should hedge its bet by placing the sports complex near I-295 and Cross Creek Mall. This sound location would justify and protect the taxpayers’ and the City’s investments. After all, when it comes to the Reilly Road location or the location at Exit 49 on Cedar Creek Road, the idea of “Build it and they will come” just hasn’t happened. At least not in the last two decades. Again, why risk the taxpayers’ money? 

Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

“The word ‘conductor,’ in my opinion, has more than one meaning. There’s ‘conductor’ like the person who waves the stick around, and then there’s ‘conductor’ as in the element that conducts the energy like a copper wire. You are conducting the energy of the music into these people that you’re standing in front of, and then that transmits to the audience.” 

The man who said this has been in love with music since he was 3 years old and the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra just revealed him to be its new music director and conductor. His name is Stefan Sanders. 

Sanders said he remembers going to a concert when he was a teen and sitting very close to the stage. He said seeing the energy emanate from the conductor to the musicians onstage was “absolutely mesmerizing to watch. I knew right then and there ‘This is what I want to do with my life’ … it just took my breath away.’”

Today, as a successful conductor and thriving artist, Sanders said his approach stems from that same idea about emanation he initially fell in love with. “There’s a term in music called ‘pulse.’ And that is usually referred to as the time, rhythm or beat of the music. But I think … the pulse of music is more like the pulse of a living thing, a heartbeat. There’s this inner pulse that all living things have... it’s a word used to describe the feeling (of something at its core).” 

He believes a conductor’s number one job is to take the time to understand the pulse, or living heartbeat, of a piece of music, and to emanate that understanding to the musicians. His job is done, he said, when an orchestra can feel the music’s pulse without him so that for the performance he can simply be the facilitator. 

And music isn’t the only thing that has a pulse. Cities do too, Sanders said – and he liked Fayetteville’s. Sanders spent a week in Fayetteville last November when he came as one of five auditioning guest conductors selected by an FSO search committee. “After a couple of days in Fayetteville, I knew that if they would offer me the position, I would heartily accept,” he said. “I was completely charmed by Fayetteville. One thing that surprised me was the amount of international representation … Every single person I met was an absolute delight.... I know I’m going to a community of like-minded people and people that respect and treat one another with dignity and kindness.” 

Sanders said he wants to build the identity of the orchestra within the community as an essential, vibrant point of human connection and help continue FSO’s upward trajectory of musical excellence. “When the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra was putting together (the contract), they were very wise in stipulating they wanted a 12-week commitment. This is more weeks than there are actual performances... They (wanted to ensure) they would have access and availability of their music director to make an impact on their community beyond just conducting concerts. That is one of the things I really relish for this for the coming season and our future,” he said. 

Sanders said he wants to combat the idea that orchestras are “high-brow” or only enjoyable to certain types of people. “Good music was … written by a human being that had the same experiences and feelings about life that every other person has about life. It just so happens they were living and working in a time where this was their medium for expression,” he said. He said he wants to provide a context where everyone feels welcome to come to an FSO concert and where people are willing to sacrifice some of their time and resources to do so because they can see the value it will add to
their lives. 

“(Art) is how we know for a fact … that we all share … this sense of community, whether it’s Fayetteville, North Carolina, the U.S., North America or the globe,” said Sanders. “We are not alone, and culture and art are how we express these feelings we all feel no matter where we’re from. This consumes my mind and my vision for what I do. I’m constantly thinking about how I can share this with as many people as I possibly can because that’s really what conducting is all about.”

The 2017-18 FSO season, led by Sanders, begins this October. Tickets will be available starting in May. Learn more about FSO’s values and mission at www.fayettevillesymphony.org. 

Jayla Speaks

Seventy-First • Softball • Junior

Speaks maintains a 3.625 grade point average while competing for the Falcon softball team. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meghan Leach

Jack Britt • Swimming/lacrosse • Junior

Leach has a 4.9 grade point average while representing Jack Britt in swimming during the winter and lacrosse in the spring.

The rebound at South View continued last season during Rodney Brewington’s second season as the Tigers’ head football coach. South View topped the .500 mark with a 7-5 record and earned the Mid-South 4-A Conference’s third qualifying berth in the N.C. High School Athletic Association playoffs.

But the 2017 Tigers, as well as all of the Cumberland County schools, face new challenges. Realignment puts South View in the new Patriot 4-A/3-A Conference that mixes members of the old Mid-South and the defunct Cape Fear Valley 3-A.

Overhills, Pine Forest and South View will be the lone 4-A schools in a league that will include Cape Fear, Douglas Byrd, E.E. Smith, Gray’s Creek, Terry Sanford and Westover. Cape Fear and Smith will be newcomers to the 3-A ranks next season.

“We’ve been stressing to our kids we’ve got to work as hard as any team in the conference,’’ Brewington said. “The standard is high and we want to find our place in it.’’

Coaches had two choices this year on how to handle the spring workout session. 

Brewington opted for the one that let him meet with up to 21 players per day and hold practice in April.

“Doing the 21 players allows us to get new kids that we feel can impact our program hands-on training,’’ he said. “Really it’s just understanding the plays and the formations.’’

At the end of the workouts, Brewington wants his players to know all their offensive formations, base plays and check-offs. On defense, he wants them to know the base defense and how to react to the different formations they’ll see this season.

Jaquan Span, who will be a senior linebacker and running back this fall, said the team is focusing on unity this spring, along with staying on top of work in the classroom.

“I don’t feel there’s a team we can’t beat unless we don’t feel like playing,’’ Span said as he looked to the season ahead. “I want to be able to earn my team’s respect and trust.

“We’ve got to trust ourselves first. If we trust ourselves, it will be able to work.’’

After one sub-.500 season in his first year back at his alma mater, Duran McLaurin has been the picture of consistency leading the Seventy-First football program.

Over the last three seasons, his Falcons haven’t finished lower than second place in the Mid-South 4-A Conference and have made it to the second round of the state playoffs two of the last three years.

But things are about to get real for the Falcons, as they say, as they join Cumberland County rival Jack Britt in moving to the revamped Sandhills Conference with traditional football powers Scotland and Richmond Senior and dramatically improved Pinecrest.

McLaurin respects the rich tradition of some of the members of the new league, but he is mindful of the fact that Seventy-First has won more football state titles than any other Cumberland County school, three, plus an Eastern 3-A title in the 1970s when no state championship was played for in that classification.

“Seventy-First has some tradition as well,’’ McLaurin said. “Pinecrest, Scotland and Richmond are all going to be big games for us just like everybody else. I hope our kids do what they do and stay focused.’’

McLaurin was glad to have the option this spring of working with 21 players per practice, starting in April. “We’re breaking in new receivers and getting a mesh in with some new things on offense,’’ he said. “I couldn’t wait until May. I wanted to get out here and see what it looks like.’’

McLaurin said he’s missing a few players who are playing spring sports, but the big thing this year is all of his assistant coaches are available for spring practice and not tied up coaching a spring sport. “We’re doing okay with the numbers,’’ he said.

Despite the tough competition expected in the Sandhills Conference, McLaurin said he still expects to finish in the top echelon of the league. “We can’t worry about what everyone else is doing,’’ he said.

Reggie Bryant, a wide receiver who will be a senior this fall, agrees with his coach.

“The guys are a little scared and nervous, but I think we should do good,’’ he said. “I like the competition.’’

Bryant feels confident because of the return of Falcon quarterback Kyler Davis, who threw for 1,716 yards and 15 touchdowns last season.

“He led the team well,’’ Bryant said. “If somebody messed up, he picked them up.’’

Bryant is hopeful that attitude will spread. “We’ve got to be confident in ourselves,’’ he said. “If we can be confident, I think we should do it.’’

I cannot decide which element of Ghost in the Shell(107 minutes) was the most problematic. Was it casting Scarlett Johansson as an Asian character? The wooden acting? The insipid dialogue? The retread plot? The ridiculous plot twists? The confusing character motivations? The fact that the script was written by at least six people, all with conflicting ideas about what was supposed to happen? Or that it was probably edited by a Bonobo chimpanzee that had been given a bottle of tequila, hit on the head and locked in a small room with editing software? Somebody call the ASPCA, because I am ready to beat this tired old dog of a movie to death.

I get the cyberpunk thing. Oppressive governments, big corporations, technological domination — I can’t say I was ever a huge fan of the genre, but I’ve read William Gibson’s Neuromancer and Animatrix was watchable. Heck, I might go put on Johnny Mnemonic after I finish writing this review. The main problem I have with most cyberpunk anime is that it tends to focus on the toys instead of the characters, and Ghost in the Shellwas no exception. I found the whole thing confusing. Maybe because I never saw the anime upon which it was based?

The movie is stupid, and I doubt the Venn diagram of which groups are into the movie is much more than a huge circle around the phrases “People who like anime” and “People who like Scarlett Johansson,” but, Spoiler Alert: I am about to give away plot points. If you are the automatic outlier who reads my reviews, plans to go see Ghost in the Shell, but has no idea about the plot, you should probably stop reading.

The plot revolves around the idea that a big corporation with vague ties to a governmental anti-terrorist group called Section 9 would find it cost-effective to kidnap runaways and experiment on them instead of signing up mercenaries, soldiers, police officers, or, holy hot garbage, any of the desperate people without access to quality tech who would gladly sign away their current crappy lives for the chance at becoming an actual, immortal superhero. Are the writers seriously trying to sell the audience on the idea that a corporation would foolishly risk exposure and PR nightmares and lawsuits by kidnapping someone they know nothing about, implanting false memories in their brains, inserting them into an all-powerful cybernetic shell, training them in all kinds of crazy spy skills, giving them a flipping invisibility suit and lending them out to a government security group? Did they not think to check hospitals for terminal patients? Did no one suggest recruiting from those wounded in the line of battle?

I know, I know. You’re thinking, the movie has no conflict if the corporation was completely chill about getting volunteers. I can write around that problem in about five minutes. Remember an awesome little flick called Source Code? The guy in the box was the only guy who could be in the box because only he could bend space, time and narrative logic — because he had a special brain. Insert a bit of throwaway dialogue into this script about how a specific kind of mind was required to contribute the “ghost” that would animate the “shell,” and my level of disgust is no longer sitting at 11. Otherwise? It’s me, throwing popcorn at the screen, screaming “Be less STUPID, you STUPIDHEAD.”

Well, at least I got some catharsis through writing this scathing review. I will give credit where credit is due and note that some of the visuals were not completely crappy. Those that are not hardcore ScarJo/anime fans should probably spend their time elsewhere. 

Now playing at Patriot 14 + IMAX.

Spring is here, and the days are getting longer, which means new rides, new adventures and new dangers. 

Occasionally, I like to find a class to refresh my mind and shake off any bad habits I may have developed. In the past few years, I have had a couple of incidents that made me think I was a little too close to wiping out. 

A few weeks ago, I attended MotoMark’s Stayin’ Safe course in Burlington. Mark Brown has been teaching motorcyclist classes for years and is well-known throughout the motorcycle community. He offers many classes, one of which is titled “Stayin’ Safe.” Today, Stayin’ Safe is owned and operated by Eric Trow. Trow is a highly-respected instructor in the motorcycle community. He is an author for Rider magazine and the recipient of the American Motorcycle Association (AMA) Outstanding Road Rider Award for his work in motorcycle safety. 

I was not sure what to expect when I arrived at class. One by one, bikes came pulling up. We were introduced to Mark and Eric. Then in came NASCAR’s Kyle Petty and his wife, Morgan. 

After some introductions and paperwork, eight of us students headed to our bikes. Each rider (and passenger), was given a radio to hear the instructors. We lined up one by one, and we started doing a series of maneuvers. After a few minutes, we hit the road. 

We were split into two groups; Mark took one group and Eric the other. In my group was Kyle on a Harley, a rider on a BMW and a rider on a trike. As soon as we twisted the throttle, Mark started mentoring us on safety, stability and sight. He pointed out things like road intersections, cars moving in and out of view and how to read the road. 

We pulled into a parking lot for a discussion. Mark and Eric used chalk, toy cars and motorcycles to show which part of the lane is best to position yourself in for protection on the road. He also taught us about late entry in a curve and vanishing points. 

As the day progressed, so did our speed and the curves we took. We switched instructors and took turns leading the group. After a 100 miles or so, we pulled back to MotoMark’s headquarters.  

At the end of class, Mark asked us what we thought about the day. It was interesting that Kyle Petty, who leads the Kyle Petty Charity Ride across the country, said the class was good for him and he learned a lot. He also mentioned it was good for him to learn that a trike has different dynamics than a two-wheeled motorcycle. 

The Kyle Petty Charity Ride raises money for the Victory Junction camp here in North Carolina. At Victory Junction, staff members help children with chronic medical conditions or serious illnesses be able to just be children. 

As I pulled away, I was happy about two things. I could say that I had Kyle Petty in my rearview mirror, and I was happy about what I had learned. Mark and his staff are truly dedicated professionals who care about the riders and the sport. Since the class, I have felt both smoother and steadier in my riding abilities, which means I feel safer.  If you want to find out more about MotoMark’s classes, check out www.motomark1.com.

If there is a topic that you would like to discuss, you can contact me at motorcycle4fun@aol.com. RIDE SAFE!

Fayetteville Technical Community College has formed a new Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. A partnership with Bunker Labs RDU and EntreDot, the CIE will share space with the FTCC Small Business Center. It will function as an instructional and co-working hub for entrepreneurs participating in CIE and SBC programs. 

The CIE will provide business startup and growth strategy services to active duty military members in transition, veterans, spouses, students and the general public using EntreDot’s proven Six Steps to Success process. The focus will be on early stage Main Street businesses, bringing business startup process strategies and trade education together. The FTCC CIE classes will combine class meetings, internet instruction and one-on-one mentoring.

Over 450 entrepreneurs have gone through this program in the Triangle. Clients range from ages 25 to 65, and about 70 percent are women. One entrepreneur remarked that “we could not find a structured program with a strong mentoring component that focused on my kind of business — a Main Street business. If you want to start an accounting firm or a physical therapy practice or a restaurant or make a new consumer product, there is no one who specializes in this space except EntreDot. EntreDot cares if you are starting a dry cleaner or a trucking company. Most other incubators don’t want to waste their time on these kinds of companies even though they create 65 percent of the new jobs in the country each year.”

Entrepreneurs always have ideas in their heads. Step one, Ideation, creates the opportunity to analyze which idea should be worked on first and which should be placed on the shelf for now. Six Steps to Success is a lean innovation process, designed to save time and money by asking the right questions at the right time and providing connections to the right resources to fill in the gaps. This process cuts the time needed to get to commercialization in half.

For some clients, they may have been in business for two to five years, but the business is more of a hobby than a serious enterprise. This situation is often a result of the client having a good day job or family obligations and not having time to work on the business full-time. Changes may occur, causing the client to find themselves in a position to want the business to be the primary activity and source of income. 

When this occurs, clients need a “reboot,” and Six Steps to Success is the perfect process to do that. For many clients, the program helped them focus on the right market segments, evaluate earnings potential and build a business with an exit value. Even clients with a mature business should begin with Step One Ideation to review what has been learned and evaluate what needs to be adjusted to be successful.

The FTCC CIE ribbon-cutting was held April 6 at the General Classroom Building at FTCC’s Fayetteville campus. The first 10-week Six Steps to Success class began April 10. Registration is through Corporate & Continuing Education at www.faytechcc.edu. For more information, call (919) 522-0722, or email innovationcenter@faytechcc.edu.

Active Artist Area 

 On April 29 and 30 there will be an area on Person Street totally dedicated to live demonstrations by local artists. It is called the Active Artist Area and will be manned from noon until 6 p.m. Artists will demonstrate skills like throwing pottery, raku, blowing glass and acrobatics. Raku is a traditional Japanese method of glazing pottery. It usually involves coating pottery in lead-based glazes and then baking the product in a kiln. However, many modern potters have
altered the process. 

 One featured artist who will be demonstrating is Greg Hathaway. Hathaway is a well-known local artist and owns a business downtown called Gregs! The shop, located at 122 Maxwell St., is a fun place to purchase fine art, pottery and gifts. Much of the work sold in the shop is Hathaway’s work. He is a talented artist and is particularly well-known for his watercolors and pottery. He will be demonstrating his incredible skills for anyone and everyone interested in learning. 

 Another featured group of artists is Air Born Aerial Arts. The group is a circus-style performance troupe based in Fayetteville. The troupe trains in a variety of genres, but each one requires an amazing amount of strength, skill and balance from all of the artists. They train with aerial silks, which are long strands of fabric that hang from the ceiling that artists manipulate. They also train with hammocks that are continuous loops of fabric. The static trapeze is a bar suspended from the ceiling by two ropes, and the Lyra is a hoop suspended from the ceiling. Each of these genres requires a unique set of skills and facilitates different styles of performing. The artists will show their hard-earned skills with unique and daring demonstrations. 

Every artist at the Dogwood Festival has put countless hours into developing his or her skills. The result of most art is visually striking, but the process can be just as beautiful. The Active Artist Area on Person Street gives the community the opportunity to take a peek into the artists’ workshops. Watching and learning about all the time and work that goes into creating a beautiful bowl or perfecting a flip makes the final product all the more valuable. The Dogwood Festival is about appreciating what the community has to offer and Fayetteville has incredible artists. 

Anchored Attraction Area 

The Anchored Attraction Area is an exciting addition to the Dogwood Festival. It is a new performance area on Gillespie Street near the Market House. It will feature three different family-friendly shows. These three shows are interactive. This area will only be open on April 29 from 12 p.m. until 7 p.m. Each show is an hour long and will be performed twice on April 29. 

The first show is Juggling and Bubbling Fun, with the first showing from 1-2 p.m. and the second showing 4-5 p.m. This show features Steve Langly, who is affectionately known as the “Bubble Guy.” He is a professional entertainer, juggler and bubbleologist. He has been on the Tonight Show and Comedy Central and is the proud holder of many Guinness World Records. Langly uses his incredible juggling and bubble-making skills to engage families with comedy and fun. His shows are full of mind-blowing tricks that
are not only fun, but also educational. 

Shadow Players Combat Pirate Show takes the stage first from 3-4 p.m. and then 6-7 p.m. This stage combat group brings pirates back to life. The light-hearted show takes audience members into the past and a world of swordplay, whip work, comedy and pirate song. Since the pirates are trained in stage combat, their brave and daring antics are actually quite safe. They use their talents to make the audience members’ experience on the high seas a family-friendly and hilarious adventure. It’s a great opportunity to learn about The Golden Age of Pirates.

The Rock ‘N’ Rope Warrior will take place from 3-4 p.m. and 6-7 p.m. The performance features David Fisher, who has made appearances on The Today Show, NBC Nightly News, Good Morning America and America’s Got Talent. 

On these shows Fisher demonstrates his intense and interactive jump rope show. He has been performing this show all over the world for 23 years. Jump rope may not sound that exciting at first, but Fisher holds three world records for it. He is even recognized by Ripley’s Believe It or Not as The World’s Best Rope Jumper. 

LaFayette Ford Lincoln Car Show 

April 30 at 4 p.m. the roads of Downtown Fayetteville will be overrun with unique vintage vehicles for the Lafayette Ford Lincoln Car Show. Anyone with antique cars and trucks, custom vehicles, sports cars, imported cars and hot rods is encouraged to come and share their beautiful vehicles with the community. The only requirement is that all entries must be registered and titled 1996 or earlier. The first 75 entries will receive commemorative dash plaques.

 Beginning at 12 p.m., experts will judge each car to decide on the winners for 38 awards. Trophies will go to best in show, sponsor’s choice; mayor’s choice; chairman’s choice; judge’s best import; judge’s best truck; judge’s best convertible; judge’s most unusual; people’s choice top ten; and judge’s top 20. It’s a fantastic opportunity for vehicle owners to compete for some trophies, show off their fun cars and share their passion with others
in the community. 

You don’t have to own a vehicle to enjoy the car show. This is also an opportunity to chat with the people who own them instead of trying to point them out to friends at a stop light. Everyone is invited to come and see all of the incredible cars and to help the judges decide on the people’s choice top 10 award. This is a family-friendly event and a unique way to appreciate American and international history. 

The car show takes place from 12-6 p.m., with registration at 10 a.m. All proceeds benefit the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival. The entrance for participants is at the intersection of Gillespie Street and Russell Street. There is expected to be a line of cars from the Market House to Franklin Street. Overflow will be from Otis F. Jones Parkway to the parking lot entrance. For more information, visit www.faydogwoodfestival.com or call 323-1934. 

Fayetteville Duck Derby 

The Fayetteville Duck Derby takes place in Festival Park on April 30 from 3-4 p.m. Community members are invited to adopt a rubber duck for $10. Each duck will be tagged with a registration number after adoption. Then, over 5,000 ducks will be released into the Cross Creek. 

As the ducks are put into the creek, the race begins. The first seven ducks and the last duck to cross the finish line will receive prizes. First place wins a deluxe edition camper from Camping World. Second place wins a yearlong shopping spree at Food Lion; third place gets the same at Super Compare Foods. Fourth place brings $500 home in cold, hard cash. Fifth place wins a set of tires from Ed’s Tire & Auto Service, a $500 value. Sixth place gets a large flat-screen TV from Wal-Mart. And the owner of the seventh duck to cross the finish line gets a one-year gym membership at Renaissance Day Spa. The owner of the last duck to make it to the finish line will get a jar of molasses and a camping tent. 

Ducks can be adopted online, in the mail, at a Fayetteville Duck Derby booth or at a sponsoring business. To adopt a duck online, visit http://www.duckrace.com/fayettevilleduckderby. Participants must be 18 years old to adopt a duck. While it is delightful to watch the cute little rubber ducks float down a creek, participants do not need to be present to win. Tag numbers are randomly assigned by a computer, but participants can adopt
multiple ducks. 

Proceeds from the Duck Derby benefit 20 local nonprofit organizations and the schools in Cumberland County. There are also fundraising teams created by organizations like the Cape Fear Botanical Garden, the Child Advocacy Center, Falcon Children’s Home, Fayetteville Running Club, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and Fayetteville Urban Ministry, to name a few. Participants have the opportunity to adopt ducks specifically for these fundraising organizations, and have control over where their donations go. Organizers are also accepting more teams with fundraising goals. Community members are also invited to participate by volunteering. It can take a lot of work to make sure that every duck is ready for the big race. 

In addition to watching the ducks race down the creek, this family-friendly event will feature live entertainment, a kid’s zone, food and vendors selling merchandise in Festival Park.
While the race itself is relatively short and dramatic, the festivities are intended to create a relaxing and fun event for the community in the gorgeous surroundings of Festival Park. 

KidStuff

The Partnership for Children presents the eternally popular KidStuff. It’s located in the Festival Park footprint and is filled with free child-friendly games and activities. “We host KidStuff every year because we believe children learn best through play, especially when this time is shared with significant adults in their lives. We welcome the opportunity to educate parents on available community resources while discovering what they view as their top-priority family needs. We are deeply appreciative to our sponsors and community partners whose generosity allows us to provide fun, age appropriate activities for our smallest attendees.” said Mary Sonnenberg, PFC President. 

KidStuff includes several zones designed to make it a fun experience for children and parents alike. The infant/toddler zone is a space for little ones to break out of the confines of their strollers and backpacks and enjoy moving around.

The pre-K zone features learning centers to engage preschoolers with hands-on experiences.

The PNC Grow Up Great Mobile Learning Adventure is an exhibit that transforms preschoolers into pint-sized ballerinas, astronauts and veterinarians and their parents into early childhood educators.

 From bounce houses to bubbles, blocks, riding toys, face-painting and more, children and their grown-ups will find something fun to do at KidStuff. The entire space is built around the fact that children develop critical skills through play. When children are given quality early childhood experiences, they will be ready to learn upon entering school, require less remediation, are more likely to graduate from high school, and will grow into productive citizens and valuable employees.

Fayetteville-Cumberland Crimestoppers Barbecue

A sanctioned Dogwood Festival Event, the Fayetteville-Cumberland Crimestoppers Barbecue takes place on Raeford Road at Highland Centre. Crimestoppers sells delicious plates of barbecue for $7 per plate and uses the money to offer rewards to anyone wishing to report anonymous information regarding any crime. 

Since its inception, the Crimestoppers program has played a part in more than 4,000 arrests and 5,300 felony charges. It has helped recover more than $4,875,000 in property and $1,893,000 in narcotics. Crimestoppers has issued more than $316,000 in rewards and helped solve 2,477 cases, 67 of which were homicides. Call (910) 483-8477 to report any information regarding a crime and remain anonymous!

The barbecue runs from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.,
Friday, April 28.

Shriner Fish Fry

A sanctioned Dogwood Festival events, the Hope Mills Shriner Fish Fry is set to run from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday, April 28. It takes place at the Hope Mills Shrine Club at 4461 Cameron Road. Plates cost $8 each. Guests are invited to eat-in or take plates home with them. Proceeds from this event benefit Shriners Hospitals for Children. 

Shriners Hospitals for Children provides specialized care to children with orthopedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate regardless of the families’ ability to pay. All care and services are provided in a family-centered environment. Call (910) 224-5264 for more information.

A Garden Party

Ladies: It’s time to dust off your “southern belle” hats! Gentlemen: Pull out your seersucker suits. Dress in your best summer chic attire and join the Boys & Girls Club of Cumberland County for A Garden Party.

On May 5, A Garden Party, a Fayetteville Dogwood sanctioned event, takes place from 4-7:30 p.m. at Festival Park. This grand Southern tradition features dancing, entertainment, good food and friends. 

Proceeds benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Cumberland County, Inc. 

Boys & Girls Club of America started in 1860 in Hartford, Connecticut. The founders believed boys who roamed the streets needed a positive alternative. The program grew from that premise and to date has helped thousands of children. Local Boys & Girls Club programs include academic enrichment, daily after school care, grant
programs and more.

Tickets to A Garden Party are $50 per person and are available online in two locations: You can visit www.ccbgc.org or go to Eventbrite and search “The Boys & Girls Clubs of Cumberland County 8th Annual Garden Party.”

Save Our Stage Fundraiser

On May 5, from noon to 6 p.m., join the fun at the Save Our Stage Fundraiser at Campbellton Landing. Activities include live music, bounce houses, local vendors and a petting zoo. This event is a fundraiser to save the Sol Rose Amphitheater. The Sol Rose Amphitheater at Campbellton Landing provides an outdoor venue along the Cape Fear River for any manner of musical, theatrical and sporting events.

This stage has been at the center of many community events over the years. It has had bands, orchestras, actors and sportsmen across the planks. 

Hurricane Matthew submerged the stage, and the floodwaters pushed and pulled at the timbers that make up the tiers in the theater. Many of these timbers need to be replaced. The stage itself needs some work, and there are still fallen trees and tons of mud to dispose of. The purpose of this event is to raise funds to cover the reconditioning of the amphitheater and stage so scheduled community events can take place here this season as planned.

Learn more about the Dogwood Festival and its many activities at www.faydogwoodfestival.com.

The Heritage Square Historical Society invites the public to enjoy the third annual Wine, Brews & Silent Auction Thursday, May 4, from 6-9 p.m. 

HSHS President Elaine Kennebeck said this year’s silent auction is bursting with steals, in part because it was originally scheduled for last October but was delayed due to Hurricane Matthew. With the extra months, extra items have continued to accumulate, totaling over 250 pieces, according to Kennebeck. 

And the items are not yard sale fare. A 50-inch Smart TV will be up for nabbing. There will also be a huge assortment of gift certificates from Fayetteville’s finest restaurants and entertainment venues, from Bonefish Grill to Roland’s Dance Studio, along with specialty wine and pet-themed gift baskets. Rounding out the huge collection are all kinds of original artwork, vintage and new jewelry, antiques and furniture, chinaware, lamps, quilts and pillows. 

The HSHS usually starts bidding at about 40 percent of the value of an item. So, for a $400 item, the bidding would start at around $150 —and Kennebeck said she’s never seen anything at their auctions sell for more than the actual value. More likely, she said, is that a buyer could get the item for the starting price or very close to it, due to there being so many items in this sale. 

Kennebeck said one of the most perennially enjoyable aspects of the evening is the food and drinks. Large tents are set up and attendees enjoy unlimited food and drink as they participate in the auction. 

The $40 ticket required for admittance covers unlimited top-shelf wine, assorted brews and ales, and food catered from Fayetteville’s finest dining establishments. Gourmet desserts will be provided by The Sweet Palette, New Deli and more, including an array of homemade desserts. 

Live music provided first by a Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra quartet and later by Paul Saunders Jazz Group will add to the festive atmosphere.

All proceeds from this event will be used to help maintain and preserve Historical Heritage Square, which is Fayetteville’s largest historical property. Two of the three buildings on this property, the Sandford House (dating back to 1797) and the Oval Ballroom (1808), are open to the public for their enjoyment and education. 

Kennebeck said one of the Society’s current goals is to put an education center in the Sandford House. “There are so few historical properties left in this city … it’s important for our school children,” she said. “Our goal is to take things out of the archives and have them framed so school children can come and have a tour of the grounds and see how people lived back then.” 

Bidding stops around 8:15 p.m., and the event technically ends at 9 p.m., “but really there’s no deadline … typically it’s way after 9 p.m. that anyone leaves,” said Kennebeck. “People just stay, and it’s great. Come and have a good time!” 

The Wine, Brews & Silent Auction will be held at Heritage Square, 225 Dick St, May 4 from 6-9 p.m. For more information and to purchase tickets, call
(910) 483-6009. 

Spring has arrived with cool evenings and warm afternoons. People all over Cumberland County are taking to the outdoors to enjoy the fresh air and warm weather. For many area residents, enjoying an afternoon outside poses little threat to their health —but for others, an afternoon in poor air quality can cause respiratory distress. 

The Environmental Protection Agency provides a useful website for daily air quality conditions. In addition to a website there is a mobile phone application. The app sends notifications directly to your phone letting you know what the quality of the air will be for the day. The Airnow app and Airnow.gov use a color-coded system. Green means the air quality is good for everyone. Yellow means moderate or that specific sensitive groups may be affected. Orange means those with respiratory illnesses like lung diseases or asthma should stay inside. Red means the air is unhealthy and everyone is at risk of health problems from poor air quality. Finally, purple means the air is very unhealthy. 

Recently, some Cumberland County Schools have adopted the Air Quality Flag Program.
The Air Quality Flag Program is designed to communicate air quality conditions and appropriate activities to students and teachers. The program uses the same color-coded system as Airnow.gov. Students and staff at schools check Airnow.gov each day and a corresponding color pennant is raised on the school flag pole. 

This program is not limited to just schools. The program can be adopted by businesses, local governments, libraries, fire departments and others. The EPA is hosting the annual Air Quality Flag Challenge, where schools, government offices, fire departments, libraries and other entities can sign up. Qualifying organizations may also receive a free set of flags. Organizations interested in the program are encouraged to contact Denise Bruce, Cumberland County Air Quality Coordinator, by emailing
greenaction@sustainablesandhills.org before May 31. 

4th Friday is a celebration of the arts and Historic Downtown Fayetteville. There is always something fun and
exciting happening. 

This month there will be more activity than usual. “This is an exciting 4th Friday because it is the kickoff to the Dogwood Festival,” said Mary Kinney, Marketing Director of the Arts Council of Fayetteville/ Cumberland County. “They are going to be over in Festival Park doing their official kickoff party to the 35th annual Fayetteville Dogwood Festival.” 

Here are a few 4th Friday events that will take place Friday, April 28: 

Friday night will feature free country music concerts in Festival Park followed by fireworks. Brittany McLamb will perform at 6 p.m., LANCO at 7:30 p.m. and
Parmalee at 9 p.m. 

Experience the continuation of the exhibit, Arts and Flowers, presented by Ellington-White CDC at the Arts Council at 301 Hay St. 

Rock music will be performed by the 82nd Airborne Division Band’s “Rizer Burn” from 7-9 p.m. at the Arts Council as well.

Cape Fear Studios presents Skewed Reality: The Drawings of Steve Opet from 6-9 p.m. at 148
Maxwell St.

The Ellington-White Gallery presents the continuation of the Common Ground exhibition from 7-9 p.m. at 113 Gillespie Street. 

Fascinate-U Children’s Museum, located at located at 116 Green St., will have meet-and-greet with your favorite princesses along with free play from 7-9 p.m. “This is one of my favorite stops because I have little ones,” said Kinney. “They will have real-life princesses to meet that night and the kids can have free play in the museum.” 

Fayetteville Area Transportation Museum presents a new historical exhibit: Saint John’s Episcopal Church — The First 100 Years. It examines the unique architecture, symbolism and stained glass windows in the church. 

The museum also has a display of cool and vintage cars, a recreated 1920s gas station and Fayetteville’s 1880s Silsby Steam Pump Engine from 6-10 p.m. at 325 Franklin Street. “There will be some beautiful history about the church that will be talked about in this particular exhibit,” said Kinney. 

The Market House is featuring the educational exhibit Scottish Heritage and the permanent exhibit A View from The Square: A History of Downtown Fayetteville from 6-10 p.m. 

“The Market House is open to visitors on 4th Friday so you can actually go upstairs inside the Market House,” said Kinney. “They have a permanent exhibit in which you look in four directions out of the Market House and it gives you the history in
that direction.” 

All events are free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.theartscouncil.com or call the Downtown Alliance at (910) 222-3382.

Almost 10 years ago, Fayetteville and Cumberland County declared itself a “Soldiers’ Sanctuary.” In September 2008, in a statement of support for the nation’s military men and women, Cumberland County declared itself the “World’s First Sanctuary for Soldiers and Their Families.” It was an undertaking of the Fayetteville Convention and Visitors’ Bureau. “The Communities of Cumberland County have always supported our military neighbors,” said FCVB President & CEO John Meroski.  The now- familiar blue and white signs were posted along all major highways leading into the county. 

The idea of a sanctuary for soldiers was and is to provide them and their families with local services ranging from free child care to job placement for soldiers’ spouses. On Declaration Day, then-8th District Rep. Robin Hayes (R-N.C.) read a proclamation in a ceremony at Fayetteville Independent Light Infantry Armory and Museum in Downtown Fayetteville. What became known as a 500-plus member Army’s Army of community leaders and volunteers pledged to “watch over those who watch over us,” by designating military families honored members of the community.

The Army’s Army was a frontline support group at a time when two wars raged in Iraq and Afghanistan. Local member businesses offered discounts and preferential treatment to the troops. Many of them still do nine years later. An online networking website, www.Fayettevillewantsyou.com, was created to connect soldiers considering moving to Fayetteville with one-on-one citizen guides that helped steer them through the relocation process. It’s still online and calls itself “the foremost military resource for our community.”

The Soldiers’ Sanctuary is spearheaded by Cumberland County community leaders and the Army’s Army. It was an outgrowth of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Act. Thousands of military and defense department families moved from Atlanta to North Carolina when Ft. McPherson was closed and the Army’s Forces Command was repositioned at Ft. Bragg. They were required to settle in one of the 11 counties closest to Fort Bragg. Try as it did to accommodate them, Cumberland County was not the choice location for many of those soldiers and civilian DOD employees. Hoke, Moore, Lee and Harnett Counties became temporary homes for many of the transplants. Some of them rented their Georgia homes and returned to the peach state after fulfilling their obligations to the Army.

Yet, in the face of those disappointments, Greater Fayetteville poured its collective heart out to those military families who continued coming to Fort Bragg. First Lady Michelle Obama adopted support for service members and their families while she was in the White House. “You have found ways to help strengthen families under great stress. You’ve found ways to make life fun for children who wake up and go to sleep worried about their moms and dads,” she said of Fayetteville and its commitment to the military. The FCVB’s Meroksi put it best when asked to reflect on the creation of the Soldiers’ Sanctuary Community: “Community and state leaders who came together to declare the county a Sanctuary Community were merely stating what was already true.” 

Fayetteville Technical Community College President Dr. Larry Keen hosted Cumberland County Commissioners at lunch to make an informal budget request. Only three members of the seven-member board accepted the invitation. Commissioners Jeanette Council, Larry Lancaster and Jimmy Keefe showed up. Dr. Keen gave the board an update on student enrollment and asked the county to consider increasing the school’s budget by $544,000 in the new fiscal year, which begins July 1.

The local budget allocated to FTCC by County government is $11.6 million. The college’s total budget this year is $136 million, said Chief Financial Officer Betty Smith. “We have pinched until it hurts,” declared Commissioner Council while at the same time praising FTCC for its commitment to higher education. Council points to the County’s $16 million budget shortfall, drawing attention to a significant decline in property values as recently disclosed in the tax administration’s revaluation report.

Keen’s annual report revealed a small reduction in student enrollment. “Community colleges nationwide are losing students because the economy is getting better,” he said. 

Seven hundred ten thousand full-time students are enrolled in North Carolina’s 58 community colleges; 11,800 of them at FTCC. Keen told commissioners the college also serves 27,000 adults in continuing education classes. And there are 1,510 active-duty military men and women, and 2,300 veterans enrolled. The college was ranked second in the nation among technical colleges by the Military Times. A year ago, FTCC announced the hiring of three head coaches for the inaugural men’s and women’s intercollegiate basketball and golf teams. 

Commissioners seemed surprised to learn that Cape Fear Valley Health System has told FTCC it needs 400 new nurses each year. 

“210 nursing students are enrolled next fall,” Keen said. He added that he believes FTCC can turn out the 400 nurses needed within five years. In other areas, Dr. Keen told county commissioners and administrators he would like to provide FTCC employees a 3 percent cost of living pay raise in the coming fiscal year. 

As for students, Keen said based on course enrollments, course credit hours and course level, individual full-time equivalent student enrollment support is $982, well below the state average. He said it would take an 8 percent funding increase to bring FTCC per student spending up to the state average. He’s asking for a 5.1 percent increase, which would make FTCC 27th in student financial support of the 58 colleges in the system.

FTCC provides affordable vocational-technical, business and industry, general education, college transfer and continuing education programs on four campuses across Cumberland County. FTCC meets the needs and desires of its diverse student body as well as the economic development needs of the community. The Fayetteville/Cumberland County Economic Development Center is headquartered at the main campus. 

Shawcroft Road Temporarily Opened

City contractors have completed the temporary installation of a culvert beneath Shawcroft Road, the only entrance to the King’s Grant neighborhood off Ramsey Street. 

The road has re-opened, having been closed for six months. A culvert, which carried a small stream beneath Shawcroft Road, was destroyed when the street collapsed during Hurricane Matthew last October. The City decided to make temporary repairs while awaiting Federal Emergency Management Agency funding to make permanent repairs. Since its original development, King’s Grant has grown to a community of 3,000 residents and 600 homes. A popular public golf course is also on the grounds. City Engineering and Infrastructure Director Rob Stone said Shawcroft Road will remain open for at least two months while a final decision is made on whether to install a permanent culvert or a bridge over the stream. That process is set to begin in June.

Fort Bragg’s All-American Division

America’s Guard of Honor is observing its 100th anniversary this year. The 82nd Airborne Division was constituted as part of the U.S. Army National Guard in August 1917 to support America’s entry into World War I.  

The division rose to international acclaim during World War II and has long been recognized as the most celebrated military unit in American history. The Fort Bragg division, commanded by Maj. Gen. Erik Kurilla, is often referred to as the nation’s Global Response Force, although the GRF designation is officially given to one of the 82nd brigades and placed on standby duty for a year at a time. The 82nd’s Third Brigade is currently assigned the responsibility of being prepared to “mobilize, load and land anywhere in the world in less than 36 hours,” as outlined in its mission statement. “We are trained, prepared and ready to go,” said 82nd spokesman, MSgt. Daniel Bailey.

The Hurley Pots

About 30 years ago the city of Fayetteville added to the Downtown ambiance by placing dozens of large, black landscaping pots along the sidewalks. They were not universally accepted at the time, and were named after then-Mayor Bill Hurley. 

Maintenance of the Hurley pots was not kept up, and the flora planted in them died. For years, the pots were neglected. But, as Downtown began to flourish, various local residents took a renewed interest in the pots. Seasonal flowers and plants designed to survive in the large cast iron containers were planted. For the first time, this spring, Fayetteville Technical Community College’s Horticulture Department agreed to freshen them. April 18 was designated planting day, and FTCC horticulture students went to work replanting 100 Hurley pots. 

FTCC Honored Again

Fayetteville Technical Community College is in the top five large two-year colleges in the nation when it comes to digital education. The Center for Digital Education ranks FTCC fourth in its 12th annual survey of how community colleges use technology to improve services to students, faculty, staff and the community at large. Colleges surveyed indicated that mobility devices and app support is their top priority in the coming year, followed by website redesign/updates, cybersecurity tools and digital content and curriculum. The survey revealed that 54 percent of colleges offer professional development courses on how to use mobile apps for instruction. CDE is a division of e.Republic, the nation’s only media and research company focused exclusively on state and local government andeducation.  

Why the heck would Joe upload a picture of a dandelion weed for his Facebook profile photo? It struck me as odd.

Joe was a popular jock with a perpetual smile. But he also has a brain that earned him an ROTC scholarship to Arizona State University. After his stint as an Army officer, Joe returned to ASU as its principal systems analyst.

Again, I asked myself, why would a tough jock put a dandelion flower on his Facebook page. Then I saw others pop up on my high school alumni page, just like they do in my yard.

Slap to the forehead! It’s April and the dandelion is the symbol of children of military parents — often referred to as military brats; a derogatory term worn as a badge of honor.

Joe and I were brats. We are among 15 million Americans who at one time were children of military parents. We all have some of the same things in common. We were newcomers, outsiders, sometimes outcasts, but most of all we were adaptable. When people from a nonmilitary background asked us where we were from, we often paused before answering because the answer could be from nowhere to everywhere.

It was our way of life and I accepted it without a second thought. I thought going to nine schools in 12 years was normal. I never realized that this was a bad thing. Ignorance can be bliss.

I asked Joe via email what he thought was so great and not so great about us being military brats. His response: “The best part of our life as brats was that we were exposed to a more diverse group of people … not only in the countries we lived in, but the kids that became our friends.” He went on to say the exposure made us more accepting and understanding of the differences and similarities we have.

The worst part, he wrote, was moving away from our friends. While there would be new ones, “leaving the others was really tough.”

I posted the same question on my Wurzburg American High School Alumni Facebook page. Answers varied but the theme was consistent.

Exposure to new cultures and diverse people who would become friends was the most common positive response. The most mentioned downside was leaving new friends.

One person said every time he had a steady girlfriend, either his or her father would get orders to move.

I didn’t know him personally, but I knew many others whose steady heartthrobs left because a parent received orders. Not having “officially” ended their relationship, they usually became conflicted about forming new relationships. In the end, chances were they’d never see each other again.

Today, there are almost 2 million school-aged children of military parents. The Army at more than 911,000 makes up the largest portion, followed by the Air Force at about 430,000, Navy at about 300,000 and Marines at 120,000.

In 1986, then-Secretary of Defense Casper Weinberger, citing the frequent moves and separations military children face, designated April the month of the military child. It apparently caught on, and military installations across the U.S. and overseas celebrate the day. 

The military also ramped up family support programs for the children.

Purple is this military children month’s official color, representing a combination of the colors from all services. And, according to Brats Inc., several years ago an online debate resulted in an official flower: the dandelion. It’s a weed, blown to the four corners of the world, hard to kill, and one that can thrive anywhere in any climate.

Let us begin by giving a shout out to Nicholas Pelletier who, on April 25, 1792, became the first guest of the guillotine in Paris, the city of light. Nick was a murderer and a robber sentenced to death. France had been using a two-tier system of capital punishment until Nick came along. In the late 1700s, common criminals were executed in a variety of unpleasant ways: torture, burning at the stake and breaking on the wheel. Convicted aristocrats got a better deal. They were dispatched by the State Executioner Charles Sanson. Chuck was an expert swordsman who could slice off their heads with one swift blow from Rufus, his special Executing Sword. 

The disparity between the send offs for common criminals versus aristocrats seemed unfair to the bleeding hearts of France. In the interest of equality, the idea spread that commoners and rich guys should both check out in the same fashion through sword beheading. 

Like all simple solutions for complex problems , there were practical issues with cutting off everyone’s head with a sword. Chuck, the state executioner, pointed out that many more executioners would have to be hired to travel France. Sometimes the special Executing Sword would break, creating a mess. Ordinary swords just wouldn’t do the job. Paris only had two such swords. Sacre bleu!

Enter our old buddy, Dr. Joseph Guillotin, with his bright idea. He invented the guillotine. His device dropped a heavy blade from a scaffold onto the neck of the condemned. Joe enthusiastically explained the value of his invention, saying: “The mechanism falls like lightning; the head flies off; the blood spurts; the man no longer exists.” Progress is our most important product. After a number of trials on farm animals, and allegedly with some suggestions of French King Louis XIV, the guillotine was ready to be tried on Nick in late April 1792. The Guillotine was painted a festive red and set up in downtown Paris. A crowd worthy of the Gator Bowl came to watch the send off. Whack! Mon Dieu! It worked. Nick was dispatched to his reward.

 The guillotine went viral. It was manufactured and spread all over France, lopping off heads with industrial efficiency. French toy makers made tiny guillotines that children could use to lop off the heads of their dolls or live mice. Chuck Sanson became a lean mean killing machine. He killed 300 people in three days after the French Revolution turned into the Reign of Terror. As a side effect of Dr. G’s invention, Louis XIV lost his head to Chuck.

Currently, the Pharmaceutical Side Effect Development Council has spent many years developing opioids to mask pain and create legions of addicts to its products. The goal of the Side Effects Council is to mask one medical problem while creating multiple new exciting and expensive side effects that can only be remedied by taking another drug, which in turn creates new side effects. Have you ever held one mirror up in front of another mirror and watched the endless reflections curve off into infinity? That is the business plan of the Side Effects Council. One drug begats side effects that can only be remedied by another drug, which begats different side effects. As the King of Siam once said, “Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.” Side effects equal profits. 

 How can this be? Oh, it be. If you are of a certain age and watch TV news, you can’t avoid the TV ad for Movantik which has been invented to cure opioid-induced constipation, or OIC as the cool kids call it. A rugged construction foreman tells us he hurt his back and has to take opioids for pain. The opioids have backed him up. He’s tried prunes, laxatives and various folk remedies by the light of the moon. He finally tells his cute doctor that he is constipated. She smiles and asks him how long he has been holding back this information. This is his Movantik Moment. He is now happy and free to discuss his constipation. He smiles, takes the meds as prescribed, and becomes a regular fellow again. 

Dr. Guillotin would be proud. King Louis the XIV died due to a side effect of the guillotine. America’s opioid addiction epidemic has created side effects undreamed of by Dr. G. Opioid — side effects that exist on a scale that makes the French Reign of Terror look like an ice cream social. If you are not sitting in twin bath tubs next to your beloved waiting for the Cialis to kick in, you, too, can have a Movantik Moment. Big Pharma is full of something other than just obscene profits. The ad guys originally wanted to call this a Movantik Movement but Standards and Practices nixed that slogan.

Let my people go. 

We Americans like to think of ourselves as an egalitarian, classless society where “all men are created equal.” Thomas Jefferson penned those words in our Declaration of Independence, and while they embody a beautiful sentiment, I wonder whether even he believed them, because the only people who were “created equal” were white, landowning men. The reality is that we are not and have never been an egalitarian, classless society.

Two recent books, a meaty read by a college professor and a memoir by a self-described “hillbilly,” look at our country and see much the same picture. They see a society stratified by culture, education, resources, language, social capital and just about every distinction we can imagine. 

In White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America, Nancy Isenberg, an American history professor at Louisiana State University, makes the case that glaring class differences have been with us from the beginning. 

We all know that women and blacks were pretty much left out of our original Constitution and Bill of Rights. We also all know that our Founding Fathers — think George Washington and Thomas Jefferson — were men of education, sophistication and material resources. 

What many of us do not know is that most of our original English settlers were more-or-less refugees, people not wanted in their homeland because they were non-productive drains on the English economy. Some of them walked up the plank and headed for the New World voluntarily, and others were simply deported.

Jefferson’s writings refer to these people as “rubbish.” Since his day, they have been referred to as “crackers,” “Okies,” “hillbillies” and, more recently, “rednecks” and “trailer trash.” All are derisive nouns for the poor white people who have been with us since before our actual founding. 

In Hillbilly Elegy, J.D. Vance movingly chronicles his childhood in the Kentucky mountains in a working-class city in Ohio. The first person in his family to go to college, Vance graduated with honors in less than two years and went on to Yale Law School. At 32, he said he escaped a hillbilly culture of violence, drugs, transience, multiple father figures and poor or no work ethic only because his grandparents and several others believed in and supported him when the rest of his young life was in chaos. 

Maybe coincidence and maybe not, these two widely-read books burst onto the literary scene at a time when such inequities are becoming more pronounced and when many Americans are deeply concerned about this these issues.

The Pew Research Center reported several years ago that the wealth disparity between America’s upper-income families and middle-class ones is greater than it has ever been across our two-plus centuries of existence. In fact, the top 0.1 percent are now worth more than the bottom 90 percent, with the big slice of the pie continuing to grow and the smaller one still shrinking. In addition, while the Great Recession affected almost everyone, the folks at the top have recovered, but the folks at the bottom continue to struggle. 

Other disparities abound as well. Upper incomers have access to and better health care opportunities than those at the bottom. They live longer. They are better educated, and as Vance points out, they practice their religions more often and have fewer marriages. 

It is not getting any better for an overwhelming number of Americans. Baby Boomers, my generation, expected to do better than our parents, and by and large, we did. Millennials, people born in the early 1980s, have only a 50 percent chance of doing better than we did, about the same as flipping a coin, according to the Equality of Opportunity’s report released late last year. The report noted that “children’s prospect of achieving the ‘American Dream’ of doing better than their parents have fallen from 90 to 50 percent over the past half century.”

Such statistics do not make for screaming headlines or lead the evening news, but they are quietly and profoundly changing our country. Both Isenberg and Vance acknowledge there are no easy answers to any of this. Both say government policies can play a role in helping people, but at the end of the day, it is up to us to make positive decisions about education, work and family life.

It is all worth thinking about as our new presidency unfolds and as we make electoral decisions in future election cycles.