I cannot get the sad story of the Stanford University rape case out of my mind.

Maybe it is because I was part of the group that established the Rape Crisis Volunteers of Cumberland County and counseled victims of sexual assault from adolescents to senior citizens.

Maybe it is because two decades ago, a young man of my acquaintance was accused of date rape at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was prosecuted by the state and defended at great cost to his family. The case ended in a plea arrangement, and his life continued, though hardly unscathed. I do not know the young woman involved, but I feel certain her life has changed as well.

Perhaps it is because I am the mother of the Precious Jewels, two sons and a daughter, and adore each of them.

Everyone with a television or internet access has heard the disturbing story. A promising student and Olympic swimming hopeful at the prestigious Stanford University was convicted of sexual assault of a young woman as she lay unconscious behind a garbage dumpster having passed out from alcohol consumption. The 20-year-old attacker was caught by two passersby, who tackled him as he ran away and turned him over to law enforcement. Compounding the already horrendous situation was the trial judge who gave the convicted felon an astounding six-month sentence, announcing in court that any more time would have “a severe impact on him.” His own father did more damage by penning an astonishing letter to the court, whining that his son’s life is now forever changed and “that is a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action out of his 20 plus years of life.” He could have received 14 years.

The sad dad spoke on behalf of his son, but the 23-year-old victim who has not been identified spoke for herself, leaving no doubt that her life has been upended in ways equally if not more profoundly than that of her now-tarnished golden boy attacker. 

I do not know if this incident and many others like it are more prevalent among American college students than they once were, but I do have some thoughts about what we have seen in recent years.

Alcohol is often the fuel that ignites these assaults, but we are fools if we think we can keep it away from young adults. With all good intentions three decades ago, we required states to institute 21 as the legal age to purchase and consume alcohol. In every other way, we allow those 18 and older to be adults. They can get married, can buy a house or a car on credit, can serve and die for our nation in combat. But have a beer legally? No way, we say. We may have saved some lives on the highway, but we have turned alcohol into forbidden fruit. We have turned our young people into lawbreakers when they buy and consume it and ourselves into hypocrites for looking the other way. Our national policy has been a national failure and needs to change.

Sexual assault is sexual assault no matter where it occurs. It should be dealt with by law enforcement and our legal system, not by college and university administrators who all too often have vested and strong interests in protecting their institutions. Baylor University is but the latest school to apologize for mishandling sexual improprieties within its football program, and it is probably not the last. These are criminal justice matters, not college pranks.

Somehow, we as responsible adults are not communicating effectively enough with our young adults about how to conduct themselves. Drunkenness is not an attractive or desirable state of being, and it does not promote good judgment. People who are drunk do things they would never do otherwise, and drunkenness is not a legal excuse. “Beer made me do it” does not fly in a court of law, whether the offense is jaywalking or attacking an unconscious woman. By the same token, while a 23-year-old woman drinking herself silly is not a crime, it does leave her open to an attack by a sexual predator, like the Stanford swimmer.

And, finally, respect for each other is overdue for a comeback with all of us. We live in a society that has adopted insulting each other as a sport — think Donald Trump. We give a pass to people who hurt each other’s feelings, and it is a short jump from that to hurting each other’s bodies. Many of our young adults seem to have missed the lesson on respect, and it is up to us to acquaint them with the concept.

My favorite litmus test that I passed on to my Precious Jewels is simple.

Do you want your family and friends to read about what you are doing on the front page of the paper and all over the internet?

If not, don’t do it.

Ha! Now that I got your attention, I will confess that I am a big fan of building a baseball stadium behind the Prince Charles Hotel in downtown Fayetteville and attracting a minor league team we can call our own.

However, the devil is in the details, and no one has better articulated this than local business owner and community activist Michael Chandler. Read his editorial “Fool Me Twice? “on page 9 in this edition, and consider yourself forewarned of the complexities and hazards in negotiating a project of      such magnitude.

And, if Chandler’s message is not enough, let me contribute this

addendum: It is the opinion of this writer that our community could afford to build all three of the quality-of-life amenities proposed to us during the past year: a baseball stadium; a downtown performing arts center; and a North Carolina Civil History Center - and do it without a major tax increase. 

All we have to do is convince the Wizard of Oz to provide the elected leadership of Cumberland County and the City of Fayetteville with the heart that would enable them to empathize with our citizens, overcome traditional pettiness, see vision and embrace cooperation and fellowship for the common purpose of moving this community forward

They would also need a brain to fiscally and strategically come up with a financial plan that would make these countywide economic game changing prospects a reality. 

And, finally they would need the courage to step up and step out with innovative ideas and strategies that serve all the residents of Cumberland County. Yes, political courage. Unfortunately, the majority of our elected officials are only expert, adept and enthusiastic about one thing: getting elected to an office and remaining there. Historically, some have served decades with little or no contributions to the betterment of our community. 

Hey, don’t kill the messenger. I will close with this: I proudly spent six years on the Cumberland County Civic Center Board. I was on the controversial board that built the Crown Coliseum.  Granted, the Crown remains an easy target when looking for something to complain about, and I will not dispute or defend the historic fiscal facts of its operation. However, one of the main reasons this complex did not and has not reached the expectations of Cumberland County leaders is because from the very beginning the City of Fayetteville, and consequently, its residents sat on the sidelines criticizing it, complaining about it, vilifying its mission, its management, its location and identifying it as the Bubba Dome. 

There was never a buy in from the Fayetteville Community.  Consequently, Cumberland County Commissioners distanced themselves from the albatross, allowing a decade of $3 million-a-year losses until a private firm (Spectra) was hired to come in to stop the bleeding and initiate the turnaround. That bold, but veiled act of courage and daring leadership was actually that of County Commissioners Jimmy Keefe and Ed Melvin, who at the time served as the Coliseum’s liaison. Neither of them sought credit or received credit for that bold and unprecedented initiative. They did the right thing for the right reasons, and that resulted in saving Cumberland County taxpayers millions of dollars. 

I digress:  Here’s my point about the  prospect we have for getting a downtown baseball stadium and a Minor League baseball team for our community. This must be a project where ALL local entities come to the table to take ownership of it: The City of Fayetteville, County of Cumberland, Chamber of Commerce, economic development organizations, Fayetteville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau and private investors. Celebrate it! Something this good must be good for everyone. Otherwise, without inclusion and cooperation, the stadium may still be built and the team may still come; however, like the Crown Coliseum, it will always exist with a mist of skepticism and negativism that will never disseminate. And, again, we will have paid for the privilege. 

We have only one opportunity to get this right. So, let’s all play ball! We can do this! 

Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

We all do it differently. When a loved one dies, we mourn. We grieve. We try to move on. We find ways to honor their memory and celebrate their life. For Dr. David Kishbaugh, it’s golf. That is how he honors his son Ryan’s life. Every year, at the Ryan Patrick Kishbaugh Memorial Golf Tournament, scores of friends, family and community members join David in a day of fun and friendship to celebrate Ryan and raise money to help others. This year, the Ryan Patrick Kishbaugh Memorial Golf Tournament tees off at Gates Four Country Club on Saturday, July 23.

Ryan Patrick Kishbaugh was a leader, a sportsman, a scholar and, to those who knew him, he was so much more. He was a friend and an inspiration. In his junior year at Fayetteville Academy, Ryan seemed to have it all. He was unstoppable. He played soccer and basketball. He was at the top of this class. He was headed to Princeton. 

But soon, things changed. The diagnosis came in October of his senior year. He had cancer. The day he found out Ryan wrote in his journal, “I have a premonition that this story will not end in me, but will carry on and will bring hope to others.” He didn’t slow down. He fought. In fact, Ryan went on to lead his school soccer team to the state championship that year. He played basketball. He graduated salutatorian of his class. Then, it happened. He died on January 3, 2003, of complications from a bone marrow transplant. 

That could have been the end of his legacy. Instead, his family set their grief aside and turned their loss into a new chapter in Ryan’s story. They established the Carpe Diem Foundation in his honor and now work tirelessly, raising funds to make a difference for others and fulfilling Ryan’s premonition on the day that changed everything for him and his family. 

The foundation’s mission is to:

• Help provide college scholarship assistance to student athletes with a chronic medical condition.

• Support other charitable organizations (such as the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society).

• Promote and help fund education and research for the treatment of chronic illnesses, especially those that affect young adults.

Since its inception, the Carpe Diem (Latin for cease the day) Foundation, has raised more than $35,000. Funds from the Ryan Patrick Kishbaugh Memorial Golf Tournament benefit the Carpe Diem Foundation. It is open to the public. 

Participants can sign up as teams for $400 or individually for $125. Non-golfers can support the cause by donating to the foundation.

It is Captain’s Choice on tournament day, with prizes going to the top teams in the corporate and standard flights. There is a trophy for the corporate team with the lowest score and prizes for the longest drive and closest to the pin. Participants can look forward to contests and side events throughout the day, including a hole-in-one contest.

The entry fee includes a bag lunch, beverages during the event and food at the awards ceremony. A commemorative bag hand-painted by the children of New Hope Children’s Home in Arequipa, Peru, and $60 in Nike bucks for use on tournament day at the Nike Mobile Pro Shop are included in the entry fee as well.

Same day registration starts at 8 a.m. The Nike Mobile Pro Shop also opens at 8 a.m. The shotgun start is at 10:30 a.m. Visit http://www.2016rpkmemorial.com to register now or to donate to the Carpe Diem foundation.

Good tunes, good food and good times come together as Fayetteville After 5 rolls into Festival Park on June 24. If ever there was a Friday night to offer up the very best that downtown has to offer, this is it. In conjunction with 4th Fridaywhere the galleries and shops stay open late, businesses participate in specials and the museums and libraries offer special activities, Fayetteville After 5 brings live music to soothe your soul and food trucks to tease your palate. That’s right. Food trucks, as in a dozen or so. It’s all downtown.

Presented by Bud Light, Fayetteville After 5is a Fayetteville Dogwood Festival event. With years of experience hosting what is perhaps Fayetteville’s biggest party each year (the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival) Executive Director Carrie King knows how to throw a party and is always looking for ways to amp up the fun when people come to events. This year she decided to add food trucks to the mix. “Because the food truck events we have produced in the past have been so popular in our community, we wanted to bring a small sample of those larger events to the concert series. The June event will host 10 to 12 local and regional vendors with the selections including wings, BBQ, Philly Cheesesteaks, hibachi chicken and dumplings to donuts and sweet treats,” said King. “We do plan to have the larger — full foodie experience — at our October food truck festival,” she added. 

The musical lineup for Fayetteville After 5 opens with local musician Chris Hurst and String Theory. Hurst’s music is rooted in the blues. He’s a regular performer at local eateries and festivals. “Chris Hurst & String Theory – Chis is a tried and true local and regional performer with a solid sound, fan base and performance,” said King.

Zac Brown cover band 20 Ride is the main entertainment for the evening. “20 Ride has a huge following in the Raleigh and Greensboro area,” said King. “A lot of tribute bands are specific to the rock genre. You usually don’t see country tribute bands unless it is for iconic performers like Johnny Cash or Hank Williams. So to find a group that is capable of doing justice to the performer is rare. But 20 Ride does not disappoint.” 

The gates open around 5 p.m. with music starting around 7 p.m. Bring a blanket or chair to sit on, unless of course you plan to dance the night away on the promenade. No pets or coolers, please, but friends and family are definitely welcome.

Many people associate the N.C. State Grange with insurance, which is accurate. But there is another side to the organization that is all about community — building a strong community and fostering success within its borders. 

On June 24, the N.C. State Grange will host its inaugural Joining Forces to Bring Veterans and Careers Together event at the Embassy Suites Hotel.

N.C. State Grange started in 1867, and incorporated in 1875. It originally worked on issues like railroad legislation and regulation. When the Department of Agriculture formed after World War I, the Grange went to work on behalf of farmers. While its history is long, its reach is even longer. In 1929, the Grange reorganized to not only serve farmers and their families but with a focus on communities. Community spirit and tolerance were strong themes for the Grange and still are. Part of that meant providing business training, which included a co-op for Grange members. Education was another pillar of the organization and remains so to this day. Future Farmers of America and 4-H Clubs have the Grange to thank for their existence, according to the website. Through 141 years of serving North Carolina communities the Grange has always been about building strong communities — in whatever ways make sense. 

“This is our first ever (job fair),” said N.C. State Grange President Jimmy Gentry. “Sometime ago the board said ‘We really ought to do something for veterans.’ We are a grass-roots organization and we support vets. We were thinking in terms of a day to do a presentation to honor
veterans, but as we started looking into it, we were told the best thing
we could do for vets is help find them jobs. So it led us to taking a
different direction.” 

While this is the first ever job fair hosted by the this non-profit, Gentry noted that he hopes it is not the last. “We have high hopes for this, and we are looking to have a good turnout.” 

Vets in attendance can look for a mix of veteran-related organizations and companies that are looking to offer good jobs and are currently hiring. “Those coming are in a position to hire,” said Gentry. Some organizations scheduled to attend are Farm Credit Administration, Fayetteville Technical Community College, Food Lion, Harris Teeter, Lowes, the Department of Agriculture, the State Highway Patrol, Smithfield, Uber and more. “We have about 35 participants and are looking to get a few more.”

While this job fair is about making connections, the N.C. State Grange is looking to see veterans actually walk away from this event with job offers in hand, maybe even more than one. With that in mind, it is going out of its way to provide everything an employer might need to seal a deal with a potential job candidate. “We are setting up a space at the event for employers to do on-the-spot interviews, so people should come with their resumés. We chose a venue that we think will facilitate an event that is successful for vets and businesses in attendance.” 

The job fair is at the Embassy Suites Hotel from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Visit www.ncgrange.com or call 624-4444 for more information.

Sustainable Saturdays return to the Sandhills with a film series running from June through November. This isn’t the first such film series put on by the organization, which partners with Fayetteville’s PWC to bring films about environment-related issues to the community. From global economics to local agriculture, local water issues, climate change and the importance of honeybees, this series offers an opportunity to not only learn about these issues but how to take action and make a difference. Each film showing includes a presentation by a guest speaker followed by an open discussion. The first film is at the Cameo Art House Theatre on June 25. 

The series kicks off with Black Gold, which delves into the international coffee trade. Follow Tadesse Meskela, the leader of an Ethiopian coffee cooperative as he struggles to save local farmers from bankruptcy. Blackgoldmovie.com notes that next to oil, coffee is the most valuable trading commodity in the world, yet while customers happily pay top dollar for cappuccinos, lattes and the like, coffee bean farmers face bankruptcy because buyers refuse to pay a fair price for the crop. On his journey, Meskela travels to London and Seattle to meet with coffee industry powerhouses. He faces challenges including New York commodity traders, the international coffee exchanges and the double dealings of trade ministers at the World Trade Organization.

Larry’s Coffee Bean Roasters is set to attend the showing and will offer coffee samples.

Other films in the series include: More than Honey; River Run: Down the Cape Fear River to the Sea; Farmland; Soylent Green; The Burden;and Community: Planet Neighborhood.Denise Bruce, the green action arm of Sustainable Sandhills, said, “We seek to have a wide array of environmental topics for the community to explore; and more importantly, we seek to provide a safe and public place for discussion and involvement.” 

More than Honey looks at honeybee colonies in California, Switzerland, China and Australia. It delves into the current honeybee crisis with colony collapse disorder and ponders the economic, political and ecological implications of the worldwide disappearance of the honeybee. 

River Run: Down the Cape Fear to the Sea follows the Cape Fear River from its headwaters to the ocean. History, ecology, commerce and issues facing the river’s future come in to play.

It’s easy enough to run to the grocery store to grab some produce, people seldom consider the farmers who grow that produce. Farmland showcases the lives of 20-something-year-old farmers and ranchers and documents the challenges they take to adapt to the ever evolving methods of farming.

Soylent Green, starring Charlton Heston, is a fictional account of the damage caused by greenhouse gasses and overpopulation. In this movie, a CEO with ties to the world’s food supply is murdered, leaving an New York Police Department detective to investigate. 

The Burden builds a case for moving the U.S. away from using fossil fuels. It shows this relationship with fossil fuels as a threat to national security saying, “The troops are crying out,” in the words of Gen. James Mattis, ‘to unleash us from the tether of fue! But is Congress listening?”

The final film in the series, Community: Plant Neighborhood,tackles the topic of citizens promoting change in their own communities. Balancing growth while preserving natural resources is no easy task, but this endeavor explores are variety of creative ways to transform toxic waste into a moneymaking enterprise.

All Sustainable Saturday films start at 10:45  a.m., and take place at the Cameo Art House Theatre on the fourth Saturday of the month.

For retired Fayetteville Fire Chief Benny Nichols, December 7, 1995, was a turning point in his long career. It was the day former 82nd Airborne Division paratrooper James Burmeister, 21, killed Jackie Burden and Michael James near downtown Fayetteville. He was identified as a Neo-Nazi skinhead with a hatred for African Americans. His objective that night was to kill a couple of African-Americans.

The cold-blooded killings bothered Nichols. He wondered how he might help bring the community out of several dark years of racial discontent. Forums were organized to bring people together to discuss racial issues. “The realization back in the late ‘90s was that I could do something as an individual,” Nichols said. He was an assistant chief at the time and thought maybe he could change the relationship of the fire department with Fayetteville’s minorities. 

Nichols persuaded City Council that it was long past time to build a fire station in the inner city to replace one that had been closed 20 years earlier. Fayetteville’s first black mayor, Marshall Pitts, helped cut the ribbon on the Langdon Street station two years later. Nichols called Fire Station 14 an investment in the community because it was more than a fire house. Fayetteville State University donated the property, and in return the larger-than-usual station became a community center. 

As chief, Nichols made the recruitment of minorities a priority for the fire department. His vision was a course of study at E.E. Smith High School that would encourage young African-Americans to consider a career in the
fire service. Then Smith Principal Rene Corders was one of Nichols’ enthusiastic supporters. The program took hold also at Fayetteville Technical Community College and Fayetteville State University. The objective was a bachelor’s degree in Fire Science. 

Fire Station 14 was also an extension of academia, or would have been had the concept succeeded. It was built with coed dormitories and classrooms for interns who could actually live the life of firefighters as they studied. But with the turn of the decade and the advent of Internet studies, that portion of the concept fizzled. And because more recently the city administration decided to revitalize city hall to make more room for offices, the fire chief and his senior staff were moved to station 14. The classrooms and dormitory were converted into offices and the fire station lost its identity as a community center. 

The joint fire academy is ongoing; however, with online studies being an integral part of the curriculum at several Cumberland County high schools. Did Nichols’ concept invigorate the recruitment of young African Americans? No, but it wasn’t because the fire department didn’t give it a try. So why aren’t minority students interested in becoming firefighters? “I wish I had the answer to that,” Nichols said. Fire Chief Ben Major echoes Nichols’ frustration. “It’s easy not to be interested in what you don’t know much about,” said Major. He tells Up & Coming Weeklythat he makes it a point to be seen at events in the black community. “They need to see me,” he noted. Major is one of only a dozen or so African-Americans among the city’s 331 firefighters. The department doesn’t have a full-time recruiter like the police department does. Major has asked for one over the last couple of years, but has been denied by City Council. 

For his efforts, the Nancy Susan Reynolds Foundation awarded Nichols a $25,000 grant to begin a scholarship for students interested in fire service studies. The Cumberland Community Foundation administers the scholarship, which has grown to a fund of $30,000. It’s up to school administrators and guidance counselors to make pupils aware of the fund. Unlike the police department, turnover isn’t a problem for the FFD. Remarkably there are no vacancies on the department. There’s a generational kinship among fathers and sons, and that too impacts efforts to diversify the department, and not just in Fayetteville.  It’s “become a major conversation among fire chiefs everywhere,” Major said.

“If we don’t do this, we will commit ourselves to mediocrity for a long time,” declared former state senator Tony Rand. He spoke out at a public meeting hosted by the North Carolina Civil War History Center Board of Directors. President Mac Healy brought Fayetteville City Council and a few County Commissioners together to ask for their financial support. No state has ever presented a comprehensive view of the effect of those times on all of its people … until now. Board member Mary Lynn Bryan emphasized that the educational center would focus on antebellum North Carolina, the War Between the States itself and reconstruction, virtually most of the 19th century. North Carolina people, not battles, would be the overarching presentation.

Healy told a full house at the Arts Council downtown that development of ideas for the center has been underway for eight years. Officials are at the point now of soliciting $7.5 million commitments from the city and county. Total projected cost of the 60,000-square-foot facility is $65 million. Here’s the breakdown: $7.5 million in local private donations, $7.5 million in statewide private donations, $15 million in city and county grants, $30 million in State of North Carolina grants and $5 million in state in-kind contributions. Healy said the state wants a local commitment to show that Fayetteville is serious about what would become a division of the North Carolina Museum of History. But, he added that if the state doesn’t commit, local government would not be held to their pledges.

The center would provide “an opportunity to teach people; to make people think,” Bryan said. “It takes Fayetteville statewide as a tourist destination,” said Dr. James Anderson, Chancellor of Fayetteville State University. In answer to questions from Fayetteville Mayor Pro Tem Mitch Colvin and Councilman Larry Wright, Board of Advisors Chair Dr. James Leutze assured all present that a motivating objective was to be sure the center told the multi-cultural history of the era. 

Healy said ground breaking is tentatively set for 2020. The history center, once built, would be operated by the state according to Healy. Annual operating cost is estimated to be about what it now costs to run the Museum of the Cape Fear which it would replace. The Civil War History Center would be built on the grounds of the 19th Century Fayetteville Arsenal and would incorporate the ruins of the arsenal. The entrance to the grounds and parking, would be where the museum is now. A covered walkway would traverse the highway below. 

The City of Fayetteville and its Public Works Commission have come to an agreement which very likely ends more than two years of squabbling between the public bodies. They have adopted a joint resolution asking the North Carolina General Assembly to make only minor changes to House Bill 392 which is pending in the legislature. The bill establishes PWC as “an independent public authority” thereby giving its governing body virtually total operational control. “This agreement brings clarity to both bodies,” said PWC Chairman Darsweill Rogers. “It’s a sensible solution to a decades old problem,” said PWC’s immediate past Chairman Mike Lallier. More importantly, Rogers says it’s understood that the city will not appeal the judge’s ruling. 

Action by the general assembly and a law suit filed by PWC resulted from former city manager Ted Voorhees persuading a thin majority of city council to challenge PWC’s independence. The flare-up that resulted is part of what cost Voorhees his job earlier this year. City Council has been meeting behind closed doors on numerous occasions in recent weeks to hammer out the agreement. City Attorney Karen McDonald tells Up & Coming Weekly that council agreed to the resolution in executive session a week ago. But, council did not make its decision public until this week.

The changes being asked of the legislature are in keeping with the declaratory judgment issued by a superior court judge in May. In a significant gesture of support, the Public Works Commission agreed to give the city $1.2 million dollars a year for the next five years for spending on economic development. Rogers says that’s in addition to the utility’s annual $9 million payments to the city in lieu of taxes.  He says the utility is able to make the contribution thanks to unanticipated revenues that have come its way. Rogers says the agreement between the city and the utility bring an end to misunderstandings between the bodies. 

A Fayetteville man with a history of domestic violence was jailed on charges of murdering his parents. Delilah Harris Miles, 62, and her husband, John Oalton Miles, 66, were found shot to death at their home in the Cottonade subdivision off Yadkin Road. John Oalton Miles Jr., 32, is charged with two counts of first degree murder and two counts of armed robbery. He lived with his parents at 6301 Cool Shade Drive. 

Fayetteville detectives learned that Miles Jr. had stolen the family car and fled to Miami Beach, Florida.  Police there located Miles and took him into custody without incident, according to Fayetteville Police spokesman, Lt. David McLaurin. He was charged initially with possession of a stolen motor vehicle and carrying a concealed weapon, ostensibly the gun used to kill his parents. Miles is awaiting extradition to Fayetteville. The Miles’ murders were the city’s 15th and 16th homicides of 2016.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Second Fayetteville Youth Sentenced in Murder

A local youth charged with helping a friend dispose of 15-year-old Danielle Locklear’s body in a river will spend the next six to eight years in prison. Dominic Lock, who was 18 at the time, was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Jim Ammons. He pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact of murder for his role in the 2014 death of the South View High School freshman. Lock’s lawyer and District Attorney Billy West agreed to a plea bargain after Locke was initially charged with second-degree murder by Hope Mills Police.  

Locklear was killed by her ex-boyfriend, Je’Michael Malloy of Autryville. He pleaded guilty last month to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 25 to 31 years in prison. West said Malloy strangled Locklear in Hope Mills on the night of March 11, 2014. He said Lock helped Malloy dispose of the body in the South River on the Cumberland/Sampson County Line. Cinder blocks had been tied to her ankles and around her waist.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cumberland County Taxes Remain Stable   

Cumberland County Commissioners have approved their  FY17 annual budget. The $430 million spending plan goes into effect July 1.  A large chunk of the budget — $327 million — is supported by ad valorem taxes. There will be no tax increase. The property tax rate remains 74 cents per $100 of assessed property valuation. “The commissioners are pleased with the budget. It holds the line on taxes and provides for limited growth,” said Chairman Marshall Faircloth. 

With the budget, 2,300 county employees are not getting pay raises, but most will receive one-time $800 stipends to help offset the higher cost of health benefits. The budget includes $78.7 million for Cumberland County Schools. Fayetteville Technical Community College will receive $10.6 million for current expenses as well as $945,000 for capital expenses. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fayetteville/Cumberland Youth Council  

A local student epitomizes the reason Fayetteville Mayor Nat Robertson thought it would be a good idea a couple of years ago to resurrect a local youth council. It had been dormant for many years. Jordan Burstion was valedictorian of her senior class at Jack Britt High School. During her junior year, she attended the Governor’s School of North Carolina, a summer residential program for academically gifted high school students. Jordan is described by City Councilwoman Kathy Jensen as “shy.” But as Chairperson of the Fayetteville/Cumberland Youth Council, Burstion addressed City Council eloquently, thanking the city for acknowledging statewide awards. She will attend Duke University on scholarship. 

“We’ve changed a lot of young lives,” Jensen noted when reflecting on her involvement with the youth council.

Once again, current events are too much with us. The lethal insanity in Orlando. The babbling of the endless Presidential campaign. If you are looking for a rehash of the bad news, turn the page. There is a website or a news channel waiting for you that only carries your version of reality. There is no point in trying to convince other people their politics and religion are wrong and that yours is right. It ain’t gonna happen. You won’t convince them. They won’t convince you. Ponder the words of Mark Twain who pointed out, “Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.” JFK may have been predicting social media when he noted, “Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.” 

This column is going to be an unintelligible mishmash of random quotes attempting to take your mind off the news. You would be better off stopping reading and taking a walk instead. However, if you insist on remaining, let us begin by pondering the wisdom of the late great Frank Zappa who wrote, “Watch out where the huskies go/And don’t you eat the yellow snow.” Your view of life will be more accurate and your breath considerably sweeter if you avoid eating the yellow snow. If you use tunnel vision to only look at one spot in the snow, you won’t be able to tell if it’s yellow or white because you have nothing to compare it to. Your favorite trusted talking head on your partisan TV network on occasion will tell you that the yellow snow is in fact white snow. Better to use a wider field of vision than your preferred social-media outlets to know where the huskies have been. 

While the world doesn’t divide neatly into black and white, it can divide into white and yellow snow. The ever-cheery German philosopher Nietzsche explained, “There are no facts, only interpretations.” Mr. Twain explained, “Facts are stubborn, statistics are more pliable.” Your Facebook feed is full of pliable statistics. Just take a look. 

Our old buddy, Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius left us with this bit of philosophy about dealing with the yellow snow and getting past troubles. He said, “Time is sort of a river of passing events, and strong is its current; no sooner is a thing brought to sight than it is swept by and another takes its place, and this too will be swept away.” No matter what happens, no matter how good or how bad, something else is coming down the road. Like George Harrison once sang, “All things must pass.” 

A while back, a protestor was standing outside a fundamentalist church where the preacher had been coming down pretty heavily on gay people. The protestor was holding a sign that read, “Zombies are a threat, not gays.” The homicidal morons of ISIS would disagree with the protester. If you don’t want to find yourself in agreement with ISIS, perhaps you might rethink your position on gay people. Is love better than hate? 

John Lennon once said, “All you need is love.” That seems overly optimistic when it comes time to pay the light bill but we must allow for literary license. North Carolina’s very own love guru Andy Griffin expressed these tender sentiments about our need to love one another. Ol’ Andy recited, “As sure as the vine twines round the stump/You are my darling sugar lump.” Lately it seems there has been a lot of Roundup sprayed around the stumps resulting in the vines of love being in short supply. 

While we may currently be a bit low on love, we have no limit to simple but wrong answers for complex problems. You need to look no farther than The Donald who recently made the curious announcement, “Politicians have used you and stolen your votes. They have given you nothing. I will give you everything. I will give you what you have been looking for for 50 years. I’m the only one.” The Trumpster will give us everything? I would like to have hair on the top of my head. The Donald sounds a bit too Messianic to me. But I have to admire someone with a total lack of self-awareness who announces that he is going to bring the New Jerusalem. Fortunately, I don’t have to vote for him. 

The Donald is selling America yellow snow. We will see if the American public has been watching out where the huskies go. 

The Wake County School Board hit a new high (which equals a new low) in political correctness earlier this month when they voted to do away with identifying the valedictorian and salutatorian of next year’s graduating class. 

Members of the school board believe that by identifying and allowing the top ranking of seniors in a class they are creating “unhealthy competition among top-achieving students.”

Starting in 2019, high schools would begin using a new system that recognizes seniors with Latin titles such as cum laude if they have a weighted GPA of at least 3.75.

In an article in the Raleigh News & Observer, school board members said “The change will allow students to take more of the courses they’d like rather than just the ones that will boost their GPA and class rank.

“We have heard from many, many schools that the competition has become very unhealthy,” school board Chairman Tom Benton said in an interview. “Students were not collaborating with each other the way that we would like them to. Their choice of courses was being guided by their GPA and not their future education plans.”

I say this is ridiculous. Competition has always been, and will always be present among high achievers. It’s what drives them. It’s what makes them high achievers. In high school, I had two very good friends — Allison and Deidre. Both were incredibly bright and were neck and neck to be number one and number two in our class. They were best friends. They studied together. They did projects together. They knew that one would be number one and one would be number two. But it didn’t make them scheme to hurt each other or go to far extremes. Instead, they encouraged each other. And, at the end of the day when Deidre was number one and Allison was number two, they worked together to write speeches that complemented each other. They worked as a team.

Because that is what you have to do in the real world. In the real world, which for some reason or another, people have decided that this generation is too fragile to deal with, people are not always going to succeed. Not everybody plays and not everybody wins. In the real world, you don’t get trophies for just showing up. 

And, that’s where we have gone so far astray. Kids have got to be challenged. They have to learn how to work toward a goal. They have to learn how to stand on their own two feet and how, eventually, to leave the nest. We, as a society, have done no favors to the current generation by coddling them and creating “safe spaces.”

There are no “safe spaces” in this world except the ones you create by yourself and maintain by your own wits. Thinking that kids are going to be permanently scarred because someone else is number one is ridiculous. Instead, knowing that number one is going to have more opportunities should drive kids to perform at a higher level.

I’ll use my son as an example. He is an athlete, a scholar and a gentleman. But he works hard at being all of those things. He gets no quarter from my husband and I. But he isn’t stressed out. He isn’t worried. He knows that he is loved and because he is loved, he has the freedom to succeed. He challenges himself a lot more than we challenge him. Last year when he played football, he wound up with cramps during summer practice because he wasn’t used to running so much. At the beginning of this year, he started a running program on his own so that he would be prepared, so that he would not suffer the pain of cramps. A little pain went a long way.

Students who want to achieve academically are the same way. They have goals. They know that in order to achieve those goals — attendance at a particular college, acceptance into a specific field of study, etc. — they are going to have to put in the work. And, if that means working harder than the next kid in line, that’s what they are going to do. Whether the schools recognize it or not, they are going to know, and they are going to compete.

The decision made by the Wake County School Board does not improve the education of the students in question. Instead, it plays into the “everybody plays, everybody wins” mindset that is weakening our country every day.

Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

It has been a labor of love since 2001 when Dean Melvin left his successful job as a car salesman to manage the Omni Cinemas 8 movie theater. He took on the task of turning the bankrupt business around, never planning on one day buying the theater. Since he worked at the theater earlier in the 1990s, he knew it had potential. No stranger to the industry Melvin started working in theaters when he was a teenager. His first theater job was at Eutaw Theater. He later managed a Raleigh drive-in when he was 18.  Now, Melvin owns the entire Omni Family Entertainment Center off Sycamore Dairy Road that includes the movie theater, the family video arcade and both the indoor and outdoor mini-golf courses.

Melvin does not credit his ability to turn around a failing business with any special entrepreneurial talents or insight. He says he simply did what he could, believing in himself and his employees to make the Omni a place where Fayetteville families can come for affordable quality entertainment.

The theater he came back to manage was a mess, Melvin said. The building itself was in need of major repairs and updating, and the place was dirty. But the previous management team left the movie projectors, which were state-of-the-art machines at the time. He knew as long as he had those projectors, he could show Fayetteville audiences quality movies. It was a start; the rest would follow with hard work and dedication. 

“It is a constant process of upgrading and improving,” Melvin said. “You just can’t keep doing what you’re doing to keep up.”

He has since upgraded the Omni’s projectors to digital ones. Melvin invested in the Omni’s first digital projector to show Avatar. It cost $75,000. Ongoing systematic upgrades and improvements are his method for ensuring that the Omni keeps on pace with other area entertainment venues.

 “As a small business we save a lot of money by doing a lot ourselves – painting, pressure washing, we do things in stages,” he said. “We’re a discount theater but we are just as good as they are for picture and sound,” he said. Melvin is very proud that the Omni can rival any movie complex in town for sound and picture quality. He realizes it is more than an investment, it is a necessity. Providing the most enjoyable entertainment experience for his patrons is his highest priority. “You’re gonna have competition,” he said. “Competition keeps you on your feet.” However, he doesn’t allow competition to dictate his business model or intimidate him into making risky financial decisions. “The bottom line is: you gotta pay attention to what other guys are doing,” Melvin said, “But stay on course with what you’re doing. You get better or get beat.”

After his success in turning the theater around, Melvin purchased it in 2003.  He then took over the entire Plaza in 2004, with tenants in some of the business space.

“I figured I was already paying so much for the theater,” he said of the initial $6.2 million purchase. For three years, he was solely responsible for the hefty $56,000 mortgage payment due each month until he could get bank financing. With a proven track record and good credit, this financing allowed Melvin to continue expanding. “It only took one guy to believe in us.” Melvin acquired Mountasia Mini-Golf Course in 2007, then the arcade in 2011. He renovated, modernized and up-fitted both, making incremental improvements as he could afford them. He bought new games and designed and constructed a new concessions area. He added a party room and began offering party packages. He also added a clean and comfortable parent waiting area. All of Melvin’s ideas and innovations are specifically intended and designed to provide area families a fun, safe and affordable entertainment experience. Adding and improving on site amenities increases business, which increases revenue, allowing even more improvements and innovations. Last year, Melvin invested $300,000 to upgrade seating in every one of his theater auditoriums. Decades-old worn cloth seats were replaced with large roomy high-quality leather rocking chairs. In addition, by removing several rows of seating, he widened the aisles substantially, allowing for more legroom and comfort. No doubt, it has been a proven model that has paid off for Melvin’s small business. “We’re doing better every year,” he said.  “We’re trying to bring the masses in,” he added. And that means providing a clean and comfortable environment for customers to enjoy the movie experience at a low-affordable discounted price without sacrificing quality. “We charge less, but we still want you to have the same experience as a first-run theater.”

Melvin’s obvious success doesn’t mean he’s through. Far from it. He is a visionary and sees many other potential entrepreneurial opportunities for the Omni Plaza and the 25-year-old movie theater. 

“You better be prepared to do a lot of stuff yourself when you’re in business for yourself,” he said. “It’s still a challenge to make a profit and pay your bills.” He mentions the $7,000 monthly electric bill he pays during summer months when the theater is busiest as one of the expenses he learned to plan for as he grew his business. He had to learn about such bills and a variety of taxes throughout the years.

 “When you’re in business you have to be very aware of potential problems and how to figure things out,” he said. “With little or no education, I’ve done well with the business part. I’ve made mistakes, but I think we’ve done well.”

Dean Melvin is a true entrepreneur. He has no business degree or formal education. He did not even finish high school. He attended the school of hard knocks when he went off to manage his first theatre in Raleigh. “That was my college, taking over that drive-in,” Melvin said. “I learned about business.” 

He applied much of that learning when he returned to the Omni.

“It’s been a long journey since coming back in 2001,” Melvin said of his now-successful and profitable business. His management team consists of mostly younger adults while his operation and maintenance teams are mostly older and more experienced personnel. It has proven to be a good balance, providing the younger employees with mentorship and plenty of opportunities to prove themselves capable and responsible. Melvin admits he has no grand strategy for hiring. However, he expects excellence and loyalty and he gets it. 

Jessica Diaz, 25, is the Omni Plaza Manager. She has worked for Melvin at the Omni for more than ten years and is responsible for managing employees throughout the Plaza. She is empowered to solve problems identified by customers and make operational decisions. Dean Melvin appreciates hard work and honesty. He knows that people will work harder when their efforts are noticed and rewarded. 

“We’re not perfect, we do make mistakes, but it’s all about serving our customers. I know how to handle different situations with customers or employees,” said Diaz. She credits Melvin’s management style for teaching her how to multi-task and preparing her to take on a management position. Another Omni Plaza manager, Jonathon Barcinas, 22, started out as an usher cleaning the theaters five years ago. He moved up to game technician at the arcade after Melvin found out he enjoyed working on cars in his spare time. Taking initiative and doing quality work got him promoted to managing the arcade. “I was offered manager pretty early,” Barcinas said. It is an experience he credits with providing him the life skills that are helping him in his college studies. “Dean delegates and rewards initiative. Working next to Dean, I’ve learned how to keep up with things … how to find a solution and fix a problem. I used to be in a little egg shell before I started working here. Now, I have people skills and customer service skills. I have learned to talk to people,” Barcinas added. 

Investing in people is as important to Melvin as investing in his business. Providing outstanding quality customer service is the key to making the Omni Family Amusement Center a place where people want to go with their families. Undoubtedly, Melvin is a hands-on manager and he expects only the best from his employees.

As tempting as it might sound to hibernate behind closed doors after a long week, don’t make that mistake. June 24 is 4th Friday, which coincides with Fayetteville after 5. That means, in addition to art exhibits and activities downtown, there is a concert, too. And, it’s free! What’s not to love?

If you missed the Art’s Council’s opening of the Public Works exhibit, now is the perfect time to check it out. What makes this exhibit so refreshing is that all of the artists are local, and no submission was declined. Anyone with an inkling of creativity and the gumption to submit a piece has a place on the walls of the Arts Council Gallery. Don’t take that to mean the work is subpar. The Public Works exhibit features pieces worthy of any professional gallery — along with an inspiring selection by local youth and hobbyists. More than the pieces themselves, this exhibit is a peek at the artistic spirit that inhabits this community and that deserves a look. For more information about the Arts Council and the 4th Friday exhibit, visit www.theartscouncil.com.

Art isn’t just for grown-ups. In fact, the smallest among us are often the ones with the most creative outlooks and active imaginations. Fascinate-U Children’s Museum taps into that on a regular basis, but on 4th Friday’s,the activities are free. From 7-9 p.m., Fascinate-U invites families to enjoy an evening filled with kid-centered activities celebrating art and culture. Bubbles, hula hoops and sidewalk chalk await. Throw in a little imagination and some outdoor space and it has the makings of a perfect fun-filled summer evening.

Most people equate libraries with books, and the local libraries do have them. But that’s just a fraction of what the Cumberland County Public Library and Information Center system offers. This 4th Friday, come meet some of the areas local authors — in person. Talk to them. Ask questions. Make a connection. Readers, writers and anyone who loves a good story will find something here. It’s at Headquarters Library from 7-9 p.m. at 300 Maiden Lane.

Local artist co-op, Cape Fear Studios opens its Annual National 2-D art exhibit on June 24. Artists from across the country compete for space on the walls of the main gallery. If art is about perspective, there is plenty here. Come see just how much perspective fits into just two dimensions. Visit www.capefearstudios.com for more information.

Right next door to Cape Fear Studios is another gold mine. The Fayetteville Area Transportation and Local History Museum is brimming with artifacts and information about local history. The exhibits changed out this year, so chances are even local die-hard historians will find something they’ve not seen before. Call 433-1457 for details.

Like a cold drink on a scorching day, a summer Friday night just begs for music on the lawn as the sun sinks in the sky. 20 Ride, a Zac Brown tribute band, headlines Fayetteville after Five in Festival Park. Gates open around 5:30 p.m., and the music starts around 7 p.m. Shake off the worries of last week and take a turn dancing on the promenade. There will be food vendors and beverages for sale. Bring your family, your friends, your neighbors (and maybe a blanket to sit on) and ease into the weekend. 

Michelle’s Jazz & Comedy Entertainment, LLC is bringing its much anticipated Jazz Showcase to town on Saturday, June 18 at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. at the Metropolitan Room in downtown Fayetteville.  

“When I moved here two years ago, there was no jazz at all,” said Michelle Ingram, promoter and owner of Michelle’s Jazz & Comedy Entertainment, LLC. “I’ve been doing this for a while in California, Florida and Denver, and basically I decided that I would start bringing jazz here to see how it goes along with the city.” 

Ingram added that this is the first show in a series consisting of two comedy shows, a Latin Jazz Explosion and a Jazzy Christmas special. 

The showcase features Grammy Award winner Norman Connors and the Starship Orchestra, Theo Valentin, Mike Eley, Pete Everett and the Total Package Band, Sam Rucker, Willie Bradley and Kwabena Dinizulu. 

“Norman Connors does his shows and he sings the songs that he wrote and produced for artists,” said Ingram. “He discovered Phyllis Hyman so Theo Valentin will sing most of the songs that Connors wrote for her.” 

Ingram added that they will play all kinds of Jazz as well as instrumental music and it will be a cool show.       

“I have classic hits that we always play which are ‘Betcha By Golly Wow’, ‘Valentine Love’, ‘This Is Your Life and You Are My Starship’,”said Connors, drummer, composer and producer. “I have 30 albums and I am celebrating my 43rd year as a recording artist.” Connors added that the audience should expect some dynamic singing from his vocalist Theo Valentin and dynamic playing from his band, The Starship Orchestra. 

Connors has been playing music since the tender age of 3. He met Miles Davis at the age of 13. Davis treated Norman like a son. “I met all these great people before I even started recording,” said Connors. “Miles Davis is my mentor, and I used to go to his house every day.” 

Connors added that he had a great education from a classical standpoint at Juilliard School of Music, the streets and from knowing some of the greatest musicians in the world that took a liking to him. 

Connors has discovered and produced Jean Carne, Angela Bofill, Phyllis Hyman, Norman Brown, Glenn Jones and many others. He is currently working on an album with 16 discs, which is his 40-plus year anniversary CD. “I have been working on this album for four years and we will finish it July 18,” said Connors. “Hopefully, the album will come out in September.”       

Tickets are $60 in advance and $65 at the door, which includes complimentary appetizers and one drink. The Metropolitan Room is located at 109 Green Street. For more information, call 302-8809.  

Cumberland County Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Jim Ammons will step down and another judge will hear the cases of four convicted murderers. 

Quintel Augustine, Tilmon Golphin, Marcus Robinson and Christina Walters were the only convicts in North Carolina to have their death sentences commuted under the Racial Justice Act. The four inmates were removed from death row by former Superior Court Judge Greg Weeks and resentenced to life in prison without parole. They persuaded Weeks that their prosecutors illegally blocked African-Americans from serving on their juries, thereby invoking the now defunct Racial Justice Act. 

Cumberland County Assistant District Attorney Rob Thompson is asking that the four defendants remain on death row. He argues that a 2013 act that repealed the controversial law no longer provides them a shield. The North Carolina Supreme Court decided in December that Weeks made errors that biased the cases against the prosecutors who were trying to keep the four defendants on death row. The Supreme court also said Judge Weeks should not have allowed Augustine, Golphin and Walters to present their claims as a group. The high court said their cases should have been conducted separately. Weeks decisions were remanded to Cumberland County Superior Court where Judge Ammons would normally have heard the case. 

Robinson, Augustine and Walters were in the courtroom for the hearing. Golphin chose not to appear, but his lawyers were there on his behalf. The lawyers alleged that Ammons would be unfair to their clients. They pointed out that Ammons has a close relationship with law enforcement, including the fact that his brother-in-law used to be the head of the N.C. Highway Patrol. 

“I have sworn to administer judgment without favoritism to anyone or to the state. I will not violate those oaths for anyone or anything,” Ammons said.  

But he volunteered to let another judge decide the case. Defense lawyers Jay Ferguson, Malcolm Hunter and Ken Rose insisted it was illegal for the state to put their clients back on death row, calling it a form of unconstitutional double-jeopardy but they were put back on death row at Central Prison.

The defendants were all involved in notorious local murders. Golphin and his younger brother, Kevin Golphin, shot and killed Cumberland County Deputy Sheriff David Hathcock and State Trooper Ed Lowry during a traffic stop on Interstate 95 in 1997. Quintel Augustine was convicted of murdering Fayetteville Police Officer Roy Turner Jr. on a street corner near downtown in 2001. Robinson and an accomplice kidnapped, robbed and murdered teenager Erik Tornblom in 1991. Christina Walters led a gang that kidnapped three women and shot them execution-style in a gang-related initiation. Tracy Lambert and Susan Moore died. The third victim, who was dumped on the Fort Bragg Reservation survived. 

Ammons did not prosecute or preside over the trials in any of the cases.

Local law enforcement agencies are conducting sobriety checkpoints on average of once a month. The check points are “dedicated to promoting highway safety awareness to reduce the number of traffic crashes and fatalities,” Police Lt. Stacey Smith told Up & Coming Weekly. Smith commands the police traffic enforcement division. On Friday, June 10, an estimated 50 police officers from Fayetteville, Hope Mills and Spring Lake and N.C. Highway Patrolmen joined forces for the most recent Booze It and Lose It campaign. The sobriety checkpoint was conducted on Hope Mills Road near Queensdale Drive, a straight stretch of roadway that gave police an unobstructed view of traffic. 

The Governor’s Highway Safety Program sponsors the Booze it and Lose Itprogram. According to a news release from the Governor’s office, “the goal of the checkpoints is to educate the public on the dangers of impaired driving and to reduce the amount of impaired drivers on the roadway.” The recent local roadblock was a five-hour event from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. Traffic along Hope Mills Road was reduced to one lane in each direction as dozens of officers coordinated speaking with motorists as they drove into the cordon of orange traffic cones. During a one-hour period, an average of 10 cars a minute passed through the check point, according to calculations made by Up & Coming Weekly on the scene. That translates into about 600 cars an hour during the first couple of hours. Traffic is lighter after midnight, but the chance of stopping drunk drivers is greater then.

City police say that, on average, fewer than a dozen drivers are charged with DWI during the check points. 

“I’m thrilled to death that the checkpoints don’t result in more arrests than they do,” said Police Chief Harold Medlock. 

He believes educating motorists about the dangers and liability of driving while impaired has paid off. 

“Typically we make dozens of arrests for no operators’ licenses, revoked licenses and suspensions,” Smith said. According to the Booze It & Lose It brochure prepared by the Governor’s Highway Safety Program, a drunk driver kills someone every 45 minutes on average. One out of every three car accident deaths involving teenagers is related to alcohol. And automobile accidents are the number one cause of death among teens.

These frightening statistics underscore the importance of being sober while driving. Those who drive drunk and hurt or kill others can be charged with murder in some circumstances. They can also be sued by those who were injured or by surviving family members. The Booze It & Lose It campaign brochure also explains some of the risks of being arrested for DWI. Even for a first conviction, a driver can have his driver’s license revoked for a year, be fined between $200 and $4,000 and spend between one day and 24 months in jail.

Valor, honor, integrity — even a soldier’s rank — came into play during consideration of awarding the Medal of Honor to Staff Sgt. Earl D. Plumlee.

In August 2013, Taliban insurgents launched a fierce attack on a coalition forward operating base in Afghanistan. A 400-pound car bomb breached a wall and 10 enemy attackers armed with suicide vests, rifle hand grenades and grenade launchers poured through the wall. Then a Staff Sgt., Plumlee, a Green Beret with the Army’s 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), was among those who engaged the Taliban fighters. Enemy attackers were no more than 20 feet away during portions of the battle, according to military documents describing the event. Plumlee was credited with killing several attackers at point-blank range, using both small arms and hand grenades.

Several soldiers earned awards after the battle. But it’s the award that was denied to Plumlee — the Medal of Honor — that drew the attention of the Defense Department Inspector General’s office. Even though Plumlee was recommended for the Medal of Honor by the head of a Special Operations Task Force in Afghanistan, he didn’t receive the nation’s highest military honor for heroism. Last month, Plumlee instead was awarded the Silver Star Medal, which is two notches below the Medal of Honor. 

While under consideration for the Medal of Honor, the Army’s Criminal Investigation Command looked into an allegation that Plumlee illegally tried to sell a rifle scope online. The allegation was not substantiated. The Washington Post, which first reported this story, suggested that service leaders only want squeaky-clean soldiers to receive the Medal of Honor. The Inspector General’s findings provide a unique glimpse into just how subjective decisions surrounding awards for valor can be. The Inspector General concluded there was no evidence that anyone used the CID investigation to downgrade the Medal of Honor recommendation. The report provided new details about how the decision was reached. In Afghanistan, the Medal of Honor recommendation received approval from senior generals including Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford who is now Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Army Gen. Mark Milley who later became Commanding General, Forces Command at Fort Bragg and is now Army Chief of Staff.  

The issue was taken up by the service’s Senior Army Decorations Board with two three-star generals and the top enlisted soldier in the service (the Sergeant Major of the Army) serving as voting members. Two of the board members recommended the Silver Star Medal, while another recommended the Distinguished Service Cross, one notch below the Medal of Honor, as more appropriate. One of the voting members said his decision not to recommend the Medal of Honor came down in large part to one thing: Plumlee’s rank. A then-staff sergeant,  Plumlee was expected to perform as a leader rather than “a private who would be seized by the moment and take extremely valorous and courageous action,” one board member said, according to the report. The awarding of the Silver Star Medal was eventually agreed upon by the board and received a positive recommendation from Gen. Raymond Odierno who was Chief of Staff of the Army. Army Secretary John McHugh approved the recommendation. Sgt. 1st Class Plumlee received the Silver Star Medal on May 1. 

June is the month for local high school graduation ceremonies. Cumberland County Sheriff Earl “Moose” Butler and Commissioner Larry Lancaster announce yet another commencement. The Cumberland County Detention Center has produced its first High School Equivalency Program graduates. The sheriff didn’t say how many inmates participated. A year ago, the sheriff’s office proposed to County Commissioners that an educational program be funded for jail inmates who were interested in working toward earning high school equivalency certificates. 

They approved the project and Global Learning Center won the contract to teach the school three times a year. Cumberland County School Board member and career educator Donna Vann spearheaded the project, according to Lancaster. The concept of an educational program in the jail is to educate the inmates “to make them more marketable in the workforce, lessening the likelihood of repeating criminal activity,” said Sheriff Butler. Inmates were pre-tested and those who were accepted attended classes twice a day for 10 weeks. The students took tests along the way to assure that they retained the material and were prepared for the state exam. At the conclusion of the course of study, a test administrator and a proctor from Fayetteville Technical Community College administered the final exam. The first four jail inmates-turned-students passed the exam. “While other students are in the program and working toward completion of the equivalency program, this is a wonderful start to a good program,” Chief Deputy Ennis Wright said.   

 

Reserve Officer Charged With Hate Crimes 

A reserve U.S. Army Officer is in the custody of the Army Criminal Investigation Division at Fort Bragg after being charged with hate crimes in Hoke County. Maj. Russell Thomas Langford, 36, of Fayetteville, posted a $60,000 bond and was turned over to the CID.  A Raeford native, Langford earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Appalachian State University in 2002 before joining the Army Reserve. He has been a full-time reservist since 2008.

Langford allegedly left bacon at a Hoke County mosque and brandished a handgun. Pork products are sometimes used to insult Muslims, whose faith prohibits eating pork. According to detectives in Hoke County, he threatened to kill Muslims. Members of Masjid Al Madina told authorities Langf ord made death threats to at least one parishioner. “He told people at the mosque that he would kill them and bury them behind the mosque,” said Capt. John Kivett of the Sheriff’s Office. “He brandished a weapon while he was on the property.” Later one of the members was followed home, but was not harmed. 

Langford’s mugshot shows him wearing a green military style t-shirt with the likeness of an assault rifle on it.  Authorities found three loaded hand guns, hundreds of rounds of ammunition and some knives in his vehicle, Kivett said. The soldier was charged with ethnic intimidation, assault with a deadly weapon, going armed to the terror of the public, communicating threats, stalking and disorderly conduct. The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations said the act constituted a desecration of a place of worship. The Council said the man Langford followed home is a Muslim Army chaplain at Fort Bragg. 

 

City Recommits to Urban Ministry     

Since 1993, the Fayetteville Urban Ministry has helped an estimated 4,000 low-income residents repair their homes. They call it the Nehemiah Project named after the Hebrew leader of the fifth century B.C. who lead the rebuilding of Jerusalem after Babylonian captivity. Urban Ministry’s mission is “to show God’s compassion for our neighbors in need, and thus build our community together,” according to its website. Individual projects typically range from replacing roofs and exterior painting to fixing steps and handrails. In 1994, the program assumed the Emergency Home Repair Program from the City of Fayetteville’s Community Development Department. Nehemiah partners with local contractors, the Re-Store Warehouse and dozens of volunteers from local churches to work on behalf of this community’s elderly and low-income population. The Nehemiah program is one of Urban Ministry’s four areas of concentration.

Fayetteville City Council split in support of funding the project at $300,000 in the coming fiscal year. Some council members had proposed cutting the budget by $100,000 in favor of other programs. Voting to provide full funding were Chalmers McDougald, Ted Mohn, Larry Wright, Bill Crisp, Jim Arp and Bobby Hurst. Mayor Nat Robertson, Mayor Pro Tem Mitch Colvin and councilmembers Kirk deViere and Kathy Jensen opposed.

 

Opioid Awareness Task Force    

Sixteen local agencies have joined forces to bring attention to the abuse of opioids in Cumberland County. “This is a public health epidemic and one that is uniquely American,” said Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN chief medical correspondent. Opiates include Demerol, Percocet, Hydrocodone, Morphine, Oxycodone and Heroin. In Fayetteville, Mayor Nat Robertson and Director Elizabeth Goolsby of the VA Medical Center, are bringing together local and state leaders in an Opioid Abuse and Awareness Task Force. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration describes prescription opioids as “powerful pain-reducing medications … that have both benefits as well as potentially serious risks.” The FDA adds “… these medications can help manage pain when prescribed for the right condition and when used properly. But when misused they can cause serious harm, including addiction, overdose and death.” The local group’s focus is to reduce opioid overdoses, educate physicians who prescribe opioids and bring public awareness to opioid addiction. “Opioid use and its consequences is a community problem that will take a community response to address,” said Mayor Robertson. 

 

 

 

Reducing Teen Pregnancy         

The Cumberland County Department of Public Health hopes to reduce the county’s teen pregnancy rate with the employment of two additional health educator positions. It’s part of the North Carolina Youth Connected Project to address teen pregnancy in Cumberland and Onslow counties. Over the next five year, $508,000 will cover the salaries and benefits of the two educators. The goal is to cut teen pregnancy rates in half by 2020. The program seeks to replicates the success of the same program in Gaston County where the teen pregnancy rate decreased by 40 percent. 

The Cumberland County Health Department will receive coaching on best practices in adolescent medicine and funding to become a pregnancy prevention hub in the community. Cumberland County ranks 18th in the state and Onslow County ranks second in the number of reported teen pregnancies in 2014, the most recent year for which data is available. N.C. Youth Connected is an initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Adolescent Health. 

In an atmosphere replete with allegations of discrimination regarding black victims where the evidence is questionable, now comes a case that is absolutely discrimination. In early May 2016, the Cumberland County School Board voted 6-2-1 for Vernon Aldridge to replace Leon Mack as the school system’s activities director. Aldridge is white and Mack is black. Board members Carrie Sutton and Judy Musgrave, both black, voted against Aldridge. They also voted against his appointment when it came before the personnel committee on which they serve. Alicia Chisolm, black board member, abstained from voting when the full board considered this appointment. Mack, the outgoing activities director, is retiring. 

The possibility of discrimination shows up in the reasons given for the “no” votes by Sutton and Musgrave. Their thinking is reported by Catherine Pritchard, The Fayetteville Observerstaff writer, in an article headlined, “School board taps Vernon Aldridge as activities director amid controversy.” Pritchard writes:

“Sutton said then she couldn’t support Aldridge’s appointment because she felt the school system should have looked harder to find a qualified minority candidate for the job. She said she believed black students, particularly young males, need to see black people in leadership positions to imagine their own future possibilities.

Asked then if she agreed with Sutton’s position, Musgrave said she did. Later, she said she was agreeing that the school system needs more minorities in leadership position in general. She said her opposition to Aldridge was because she didn’t feel he was qualified, not because he is white.

Given what Pritchard reports as reasons given for the actions of Sutton and Musgrave, a bit of information on identifying discrimination follows. From FindLaw under “Discrimination in the Workplace:”

The primary federal laws that address racial discrimination in the workplace fall under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In large part, the section often referred to simply as “Title VII” prohibits employers from: 1) failing or refusing to hire an employee based on their race; 2) firing or disciplining an employee because of their race; 3) paying an employee less or providing them fewer benefits on account of their race; 4) failing to provide benefits, promotions, or opportunities, to an employee because of their race; 5) improperly classifying or segregating employees or applicants by race. 

Examining Carrie Sutton’s explanation as to the reason for her vote in light of this quote from FindLaw, cries “discrimination.” By Sutton’s admission, her vote was based on Vernon Aldridge being white and not black. Because of his race, she voted not to hire him. Under Title VII, that is discrimination.

As for Judy Musgrave saying her vote had nothing to do with race but with Aldridge not being qualified, she should be required to explain the reasons for that position. The explanation is needed because her comment comes in conjunction with Sutton’s discriminatory votes. I can find no evidence she has been called on to make her case. There is silence. 

Back to Sutton and her stated reason for voting against Aldridge.  Imagine Sutton being white and Aldridge black. If the races of these two people were reversed there would be an outcry of major proportions and it would likely be led by media and organizations that claim great interest in freeing our society of discriminatory practices. Instead, with very few exceptions, there is silence across this city and county.

Be on notice, silence in cases such as this is dangerous. People who sense the wrong, but are quiet because of fear eventually respond. That response is not necessarily violent. It could simply be packing up and moving to another area or putting their children in private schools; thereby, allowing public schools to suffer. This city and nation are crying out for leaders who are thoughtful, fair to all and have the courage of convictions to deal forthrightly with difficult issues. 

Dealing forthrightly with difficult issues often requires individuals in positions of leadership to move beyond talking and do some hard work. What I see time and time again, is “passing the buck.” Carrie Sutton’s reason for voting “no” to the assignment of a white person to a position being vacated by a black man reflects some “buck passing.” She holds “the system should have looked harder to find a minority candidate.” What is the responsibility of blacks in positions of leadership and all black Americans when it comes to working together to prepare our own so they qualify for positions of high responsibility? Instead of doing the hard work of preparation, of lifting one another, the resounding chorus is for the “system” to handle it. Too often the “system” is expected to go against the rules and even defy common sense in order to calm opposing or demanding voices.

On preparing our own, here is how it looks. During my teenage years, Daddy was a building contractor. He built single-family homes as well as repaired homes in and around Camilla, Georgia. When I was about 13, he started taking me to job sites, especially during the summer. I worked, but also learned a bit about building. By the end of my junior year in high school, he had left building. That summer Daddy told me he and I were going to build a house for a lady on the eastside of Camilla. 

The first day on the job, he went to purchase building materials and left me at the house site. When Daddy returned I was sleeping in the wheelbarrow. He woke me up but as I lie in that wheelbarrow, Daddy stood near my feet, looking into my eyes. He explained that his reason for contracting to build that house was so I would have work for the summer. He never raised his voice… just gave me a brief overview of life and what it demands of a person. I got up and over the summer we built that house. I got an education on building and on living.

I spent the next summer working tobacco fields in the state of Connecticut. After the first year of college, it was back to Camilla. I went looking for a summer job. Public housing was under construction and I went there. This was the summer of 1966. Segregation was still alive and well in Camilla. I asked the white project foreman for a job and told him I could do carpentry. He did not believe me. I said, “Let me work a couple of days and if I don’t measure up, I’ll leave with no argument.” I worked the whole summer cutting fascia boards and other lumber pieces that were then installed by a white carpenter. 

Daddy prepared me for that job and so much more of the successes I have known in life. He had to invest in me, struggle some with me and call me to account. There were no TV cameras, no newspaper reporters telling what this black father did for his son. Except that I tell the story, nobody would know.

I tell it now only to illustrate what I believe is needed in our time. That is, for black Americans to break free of calling on the “system” to fix all that we see as ailing us. Further, be careful not to attempt manipulation of the “system” against others as in Vernon Aldridge’s case where I hold there is discrimination. Instead, follow Daddy’s example and be about helping one another prepare to lay hold of the many available opportunities. 

School’s OUT!

Those words gladden the hearts of restless students and scare the daylights out of some parents who have to figure out what their children are going to do for nearly three months. The lucky ones are in family situations where parents can spend long, lazy summer days with their little darlings. The not-so-fortunate families must scramble for, piece together and finance various activities or daycare to make sure the children are occupied, happy and safe until the school bell rings again. The really unfortunate families just cross their fingers and try to get through the summer alive.

We all know that what we once thought of as the typical American nuclear family — dad bringing home the bacon and mom keeping the home fires burning — is a fond memory. Two incomes, which means two working parents, have become both the norm and a necessity. The New York Times reported earlier this month that only about one fourth of American children now have a parent waiting for them at home after school and during the 10 or 11 weeks that children are out of school for summer vacation. Says KJ Dell’Antonia in The Times, “For the rest of us, the children are off, the parents are not. We can indulge our annual illusion of children filling joyful hours with sprinkler romps and robotics camps or we can admit the reality.”

That reality is that our traditional school calendar no longer fits the way most families now live today and that figuring out what children do over long weeks of summer is both difficult — almost impossible in some places and with some families — and expensive. The Times’ analysis found that two summers ago, parents expected to spend an average of $958 per child for camps, childcare and other summer expenses. The Dicksons are blessed with three Precious Jewels, and even though they are long past school age, I remember the stress of summer — what are they going to do, how much will it cost, who will drive them to and fro, how much TV is too much TV? One of my favorite photographs is of a Precious Jewel in a crowd of other campers “graduating” from a week-long day camp in Mazarick Park — a line of elementary schoolers wearing paper plates on their heads secured by strips colorful yarn. As dear as that photo is, I also remember having to leave work to pick up my camper and a friend’s child from Mazarick Park and take them home.

Keeping the Precious Jewels occupied and with luck learning something and safe during the summer months was challenging for the Dickson grownups, but we managed as do millions of other American families. The real issue, though, is that many families simply cannot.

The Times chronicled several of those.

A mother in Durham works in a daycare center, but she cannot afford to send her own 6-six-year-old there. Her only option for at least a portion of the summer is to leave him with his 12-year-old sister, who, naturally enough, resents having to babysit for weeks on end. Leaving children 6 to 12 alone, now termed “self-care,” rises during the summer months, and can be dangerous, even criminal. A mother in South Carolina was arrested two summers ago when she left her 9-year-old in a park while she went to work. Friends and relatives fill in for many working parents, and not always graciously, sparking family resentments. 

There are as many childcare arrangements as there are families who need them.

The long American summer break is a holdover from the days when school age children were needed for work on family farms, a rare situation now that most people reside in urban areas. European nations also have a summer break from school, but it is generally shorter, about six weeks. Not surprisingly, European children lose less academic ground over the summer than American children do, so that schools spend less time reviewing last year’s material when they do go back into session.

In other words, their so called “summer slide” is shorter and less steep than is ours.

So what to do?

We hear periodic calls for longer school years and shorter summers. Some schools, including some in Cumberland County, operate year-round, with more, but shorter breaks, lessening the slide. But let’s be realistic — there is no groundswell of support to do away with our traditional summer. 

What we can do is support more investment in educational summer programs, both in schools that might otherwise go unused and in other recreational programs. It is better for children who at best might just be bored and at worst might be in physical danger.

Besides, you might really enjoy the sight of your Precious Jewel wearing a paper plate on his head.

The editorial page writer for the Fayetteville Observer, Tim White, did little to enhance the confidence we have in our local daily newspaper, whose mission is getting to the truth or uplifting the image of the Fayetteville community. Matter of fact, what it did is confirm the speculation that White and our daily newspaper are out of touch with the citizens of the community. 

I’m referring to White’s editorial “PWC War Is Over and All Is Well” that appeared in the Sunday, June 5, edition of the paper. Here, not only did he present a mea culpa in regards to his stance and commentary concerning our local utility, PWC, and its lawsuit with City of Fayetteville, but, he doubled down on just how badly he miscalculated the circumstances, environment and controversy that surrounded then City Manager Ted Voorhees — all of which ultimately resulted in Voorhees’ termination by the City Council. Yeah, White admitted he never saw it coming. Surprise, surprise! He continued his quest for exoneration the next day by appearing on WFNC’s morning show with Goldie for a segment of True Confessions where he was either seeking forgiveness or asking for absolution. Either way, admitting you are wrong can be a humbling experience. However, in White’s case, his arrogance has always trumped humility. 

This being the case, it was no surprise to many of us that he went off mark siding viciously against the Mayor, our hometown utility and in assessing the intentions and competency of the former city manager. Again, no surprises here. For White to analyze our community, report on our community or pass judgement on our community, he must first know and understand our community. Pretty simple concept, yes? Fayetteville and Cumberland County are a community of revolving and evolving residents. 

You do not have to be from Fayetteville to embrace it and love it. We are a community where everyone’s welcome. Acceptance and hospitality is our southern nature, and, it doesn’t take long for someone to know who the players are and what the community’s issues, programs, policies, initiatives and priorities are. These are essential for defining, establishing and maintaining our quality of life. This is true if you live here and take a sincere interest in the community. However, if you don’t live here, it’s extremely difficult to maintain a healthy and knowledgeable perspective. And, in this community, many people feel as I do that one loses the right to criticize or pass judgement on our community’s internal, civic, social or governmental affairs if they DON’T live here, especially, when they are employed as a journalist by the local newspaper and double if they are the editorial page editor. 

And, that is where White miscued. He listened to the whispers of strangers. He took his information second-hand so when it came to understanding and empathizing with PWC’s plight with the City of Fayetteville, someone else made him their mouthpiece. This is also why he was caught unaware when the City Council terminated Voorhees. White was blinded by someone else’s light shining on the brilliant Ted Voorhees who also had someone whispering in his ear. Not a good journalistic testimonial when you miss the mark so conspicuously that you are compelled to admit it publically in hopes of salvaging credibility in the community you are supposed to be serving. 

Well, there are simple explanations for all of this. Tim White is not incompetent. Simply put, he does not live here! He is not a part of the Fayetteville, Fort Bragg and Cumberland County community; hence, has little insight into what we are all about or what we value and hold near and dear. Why should he? How could he? White lives two counties away from here in Chatham County. Yes, that’s approximately 58 miles from Fayetteville, or, a one hour and fifteen minute drive (and that’s on a good day). This is not to say White is a bad person or that he is not a good writer. He just should not be in a position to negatively criticize and pass judgement on the community if he doesn’t live here and where the impact of his editorial influence doesn’t affect him, his family, his community or his property values 58 miles away. 

In Chatham County White doesn’t have to be accountable to local readers, residents or face his constituents. Ninety percent of the community wouldn’t recognize him on the street. You won’t see him at a Chamber of Commerce event, 4th Friday, at a Kiwanis Club meeting, at the Cape Fear Regional Theatre, a Crown Coliseum event or SwampDogs’ baseball game. You won’t see him shopping downtown or run into him at a restaurant or see him casually shopping at the Harris Teeter. 

So, when you screw up and misread vitally important community issues like that of PWC and Voorhees it becomes pretty conspicuous he is disconnected and making headlines based mostly on second-hand information. Unfortunately for us, his sources are not only unreliable but they all have their own personal agendas not aligned with the welfare of the overall community. White is not alone. WRAL TV has fallen victim to the same journalistic malaise. They have already exposed and conveyed their true journalistic worth and sense of fairness with their sloppy and irresponsible reporting involving Cumberland County’s Clerk of Court Kim Tucker. However, we expect they will continue contributing money and sponsoring local community events in hopes of purchasing our affections and the illusion of community inclusiveness. 

Like White, they have people whispering in their ears directing and misdirecting what’s reported to the public. Also, like White, they too do not live here. No, we should be using media resources to tell the truth, convey the facts to our citizens, uplift our community and enhance Fayetteville’s image. Can this be done under the gaze of fair and competent reporting and journalism? Sure it can. First step, the media must get engaged with the community and make its own decisions and assessments. If they feel they must take sides on an issue, then investigate it and report the facts. At least the residents will be educated on the issues that affect them. Don’t expect things to change here anytime soon. At least now you better understand why things are the way they are. See ya at Harris Teeter! Thank you for reading the Up & Coming Weekly.