Baseball fans know the roar of the crowds, the smell of stadium food and the high-energy environment of a baseball game can be an amazing experience.

But for some fans, those same components make attending games in person difficult to enjoy. With this in mind, the Fayetteville Woodpeckers will hold its first-ever “Abilities Awareness Day” on Aug. 14 at Segra Stadium.

Embracing an attitude of inclusivity, the Woodpeckers is partnering with ServiceSource, Miller’s Crew, Bravery Kids Gym and the Vision Resource Center to celebrate all abilities and sensitivities with a day of fun for the whole family.

The event will begin at 2:05 p.m., during the Woodpeckers vs. the Down East Wood Ducks game, and will feature a number of activities, stations and opportunities for everyone and everybody on the ability spectrum.

Fans will be able to enjoy sensory stations built by Bravery Gym along the concourse during the game. They will also have access to a sensory-friendly space if they become overwhelmed or want to take a break from the environment without having to leave. Guests can also check out sensory bags, which are available at guest services during every game and contain headphones, fidget toys and cue cards.

Fayetteville Parks and Recreation Buddy Sports baseball team will stand with the Woodpeckers during the national anthem and Special Olympics Cumberland County athletes will have the opportunity to participate in a free baseball skills clinic before the game gets underway.

During the game, Houston Astros autographed baseballs will be auctioned off to benefit ServiceSource, Miller’s Crew, Bravery Kids Gym and the Vision Resource Center.

The Millers Crew food truck, which acts as a training environment for adolescents and adults with developmental challenges, will also be on-site.

The Abilities Awareness Day is one of many events organized this year that focuses on serving, supporting or celebrating the community.

The organization held a benefit concert this past March to help Cumberland County families with rent and utilities and will host its first school supply drive on Aug. 5.

Up & Coming Weekly spoke to Woodpeckers’ Media and Community Relations Manager, Kristen Nett, about the organization’s push toward a more community-forward focus and the importance of events like this one.

“We care about providing an inclusive environment for everybody — just because we have screaming fans doesn’t mean we can’t also make a space for people sensitive to that. We want to support our Special Olympics and our Sport’s Buddies here in town. The Woodpeckers have a passion for helping others, and we want to use our platform to benefit the community; it’s our responsibility to do what we can to support it.”

Visit http://fayettevillewoodpeckers.com/tickets or the Truist Box Office at Segra Stadium to purchase tickets.

To learn more about Ability Awareness Day, visit www.milb.com/fayetteville.

Segra Stadium is located at 460 Hay St. in downtown Fayetteville.

Amber House, a teacher at Gray’s Creek Middle School, was recently named the North Carolina Association of Career and Technical Education’s 2022 Teacher of the Year.

The Teacher of the Year award is one of the NCACTE’s five main awards and recognizes teachers who are providing outstanding CTE programs for youth and/or adults in their respective fields and communities. According to the NCACTE website, recipients must have made significant contributions toward innovative, unique and novel programs that are serving to improve and promote career and technical education.

House teaches multiple courses at GCMS including Computer Science, Discoveries and Introduction to Office. During the 2021-2022 school year, she volunteered for the pilot program for the Minecraft Coding classes, and her students excelled. At the end of the course, 95% of her eighth-grade students earned the micro credentials for the eighth-grade Advanced Coding pilot class.

House helps her students find creative ways to reach their maximum potential and helps her peers do the same. House is dedicated to continuous improvement, supporting fellow teacher and student success. A recently recognized National Board Certified Teacher, she is a district Canvas trainer and serves as the chair of GCMS’ Positive Behavioral Intervention Supports committee.

House’s commitment to education doesn’t stop at the GCMS door. She also serves as a system-wide professional development presenter for CTE and other departments. She recently served as the president of the Business Marketing Division of NCACTE.

Many people in House’s school, community and field respect her work ethic, influence and innovation. She is constantly looking for tools, equipment and opportunities to engage students in 21st century learning and technology. She has received many grants to purchase 3D printers and the material used for printing in the 3D printers. She worked collaboratively with two other teachers in the district to 3D print masks for first responders in the Fayetteville and Cumberland County community.

Did you know that cantaloupe is in the berry family and is a cousin to watermelon, honeydew, pumpkins and squash?

The name was cultivated in the 18th century from the cantus region of Italy. They are the most popular melons in the U.S.

Composed of about 90% water, cantaloupes are primarily grown in California, Arizona and Texas, but you will find many of them grown in gardens and farms in the South. They bloom from July to September with mature melons ripening in about 90 days. Cantaloupes do not continue ripening after picking; they are ready to be picked on the vine that can grow up to five feet.

Their blooms carry male and female parts, the female flower has a large bulge at the base. Bees play an important role in the pollination process. Sometimes the plants will carry more female flowers than males and the reason is temperatures higher than 95 degrees.

Attracting bees to your garden is a great way to start growing by introducing plants that pollinate such as sunflower, coneflower, lavender and aster. Nothing can replace the pollination of a honeybee, but it is possible to hand pollinate.

The easiest way is to pluck a male flower and transfer the pollen to the female flower which works about 50% of the time. The male flower is visible by the presence of a stamen and the female flower has a bulge at the base.

There is nothing quite like the taste of sweet cantaloupe. Selecting a good one can be a little tricky if you are not used to it and especially selecting one in the grocery store.
The melon should feel heavier than it looks, the skin tan with a pale color between the netting, the surface firm but not hard and you should be able to smell the aroma. An overpowering smell or mushy surface is an indication that the melon is overripe.

Cantaloupe is good for us for a variety of health reasons other than fiber and water content. It is good for your hair with vitamins A and C, aiding in hydration, and is high in potassium. It is also a good source of vitamins B and C. Cantaloupe also contains a powerhouse of vitamins and hydration, potassium, magnesium, thiamine, niacin and folic acid.

It is a great post workout snack that lessens the chance of having muscle cramps, and fatigue and is good for your blood pressure and heart. In addition, it contains a lot of soluble and insoluble fiber which aid in digestion.

A snack in between meals can satisfy the appetite and is a good filler without adding the calories with a single serving of 60 calories. Eating the seeds can serve as a healthy snack with mixed nuts or eating them alone can aid in digestion.

Cats and dogs might enjoy this refreshing melon. If your cat or dog likes cantaloupe, giving a little bit will not harm them and can be considered one of the unusual things they might like to eat void of the rind. Seeds are safe but are high in fat, be sparing with adding many to your diet or your fur baby. With any of your fur babies, it is advisable to give just a little in case there is a reaction.

There is an abundance of recipes available that are not always associated with salads. You can enjoy a cold cantaloupe soup, drinks, granita, smoothies, dressing and martinis.

Summer is the time to enjoy a wide variety of fresh melons and fruit in many ways.

Live, love life and enjoy summer!

It’s almost cliché that so many movie and television depictions of interactions between troubled adult and psychologist begin with, “…tell me about your relationship with your father.” Or mother. Or whoever.

The idea is to get the person to consider who they are, where they are and how they got there.

Good, bad or other, one of the greatest gifts we have is our past. Understanding where we once were brings a true prospective to where we are now, whether physically, emotionally or psychologically.

Our past can serve as an indication of how far we’ve come in some cases and point us back toward home in others.

Music has, for as long as I can remember, been a huge part of my life. I make it, listen to it and have had the opportunity to work with music professionally for nearly a quarter century at this point.

And I can still recall the very day — and interaction — which changed the way I listened to music.

As a 13-year-old city kid, the freedom, fresh air and good ol’ hard work of farm life held a certain appeal to me. For the summer, I was invited to live and work with my cousin (12 years my senior) and her husband on their family farm.

Tom Maginley was a strong, funny and hard-working son-of-a-farmer and seemed to me to know a little about everything. And on the day music changed, I was on a 30-mile ride from their home to his family’s farm with Tom’s wife.

An educator during the school year, Memory was a well-educated daughter of a schoolteacher, my dad’s sister. Both my dad and aunt were adopted into their family and it was an odd family dynamic.

In fact, I’d never met any of them until I was 12 years old and was immediately fascinated.

On this ride, Memory turned and asked me what kind of music I liked. Declaring I was a rock music fan, she asked if there was a specific band or song I liked.

Out of the blue, I said, “American Woman” by the Guess Who (hey, it was the 1970s).

She seemed familiar with the song but asked me to repeat some of the lyrics.

Then she asked, “Do you know what the song is about?” I didn’t.

I had never thought about it. It just sounded cool.

It had the word American in it, so it flew past every radar in my home, but it was widely revered as an anti-war protest song. A war into which Memory’s husband and brother-in-law were drafted.

While I don’t care much for it now, I don’t think I stopped liking the song right away. But the encounter led me to listen more closely and reflect on what songs are really saying.

Whether the cry of a generation, a memory of love found or lost, or the adoration for a God whose love for His people is unwavering, we owe it to ourselves to pause, listen and learn.

“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.”
— Psalm 19:14 (CSB)

I asked Senator Thom Tillis why he voted along with the Democrats for the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. I eventually received a lengthy boiler-plate reply. The wording is designed to sound good and convincing. But I found in it something that any critical thinker should find disturbing, if not downright frightening.

What guardrails does this legislation put in place to protect due process for law-abiding North Carolinians?

Here is a paragraph from that lengthy response:

"I am very concerned about protecting and preserving our constitutional rights, which is why I fought to ensure strong due process protections were included in this legislation. For states that choose to use crisis intervention order programs, the legislation requires strong due process and evidentiary protections to protect our constitutional rights and prevent abuse. That means new due process guardrails for states with existing crisis intervention order programs and for those that choose to implement new ones. This includes both pre- and post-deprivation due process rights that include notice, the right to an in-person hearing, unbiased adjudicators, knowledge of opposing evidence, right to present evidence, right to confront adverse witnesses, and the right to be represented by legal counsel. It requires heightened evidentiary standards to justify crisis intervention and requires penalties for those who attempt to abuse the program."

Well, this reads pretty reasonable and convincing, until you get to the bit “unbiased adjudicators.”

Let’s see, somebody that doesn’t like you complains to the police. They raid your house and confiscate your legally acquired (and licensed if applicable) firearms. So, you demand a hearing to get your guns back.

According to this document from Senator Tillis, your claim will be heard by “unbiased adjudicators.”

So, who is going to appoint these “unbiased adjudicators” and by what criteria will they be judged to be “unbiased?” Will the officials that select these “unbiased adjudicators.” be subject to an equivalent requirement that they also be unbiased? Let’s get down to the core of this: who is unbiased about anything these days?

Will someone that is a member of the NRA be excluded owing to prima facia bias? Will someone that owns firearms be excluded? Will only people that do not own firearms be considered? Given the various statistics on gun ownership in the USA, it is very likely that the pool of “unbiased” people eligible to be appointed as adjudicators will be constricted, and very likely among a minority of the citizens.

I asked Senator Tillis to answer these questions. I got no reply.

Draw your own conclusions from Senator Tillis’ nonresponse. I wonder if he even read the text of this bill. He’s got staffers that can write up an executive summary in a couple of paragraphs, but just how unbiased are they when it comes to picking and choosing what goes into the summary?

What really bothers me about this whole idea is that it echoes what went on in the former Soviet Union. Back in the day dissidents were denounced, hauled before tribunals, judged to be mentally deranged and committed to institutions.

This so-called Bipartisan Safer Communities Act impresses me in the way it sets up a mechanism to deal with anyone deemed to be “dangerous” by bypassing due process and subjecting anyone thought to be out of line to bureaucratic repression. What's next?

Of course, if Senator Tillis disagrees, he can answer my earlier questions. Unless of course he thinks I am being out of line by even asking them.

Gun violence is a symptom of a much bigger systemic problem. Good old “divide and conquer” politics is the bigger problem. Gun ownership is written into the U.S. Constitution, but our politicians seem to find it more of a nuisance than a guideline. Forget that "... in order to form a more perfect union" bit. Instead of bringing this country together as Americans, they strive to emphasize class distinction and racial conflict. They are using COVID-19 to enforce top-down social control. And amid this, Senator Tillis and the rest of the senators and congressmen that foisted this bill on us expect “unbiased adjudicators” to right the wrongs.

— Leon A. Goldstein, Retired U.S. Army, Fayetteville resident

A man wanted in connection with a Saturday morning fire at a motel on Gillespie Street has been arrested and charged with arson, the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office said.

Michael Devon Dunham, 44, of St. Pauls, was arrested Sunday and charged with first-degree arson and burning of personal property, the Sheriff’s Office said in a release. Dunham is in the Cumberland County Detention Center under a $100,000 secure bond. His first appearance is scheduled for Monday at 2:30 p.m. at the detention center.

The Sheriff’s Office responded to the fire at the Royal Inn at 2640 Gillespie St. just after 4:30 a.m. Pearce’s Mill Fire Department also responded, and no injuries were reported, the Sheriff’s Office said.

The fire started on the bottom floor in room 112 and spread to the second floor.
The Sheriff’s Office said video footage showed a man going in and out of the room several times while it burned for 30 minutes before leaving.

“No attempts to extinguish the fire or notify anyone that the Royal Inn was on fire were made,’’ the Sheriff’s Office said in the release.
The Sheriff’s Office identified the man as Dunham.

Anyone who has information about this investigation is asked to contact arson investigator R. Tyndall at 910-677-5499 or Fayetteville / Cumberland County CrimeStoppers at 910-483-TIPS (8477).

Cumberland Road, Cotton, Hope Mills, Grays Creek Station 18, Grays Creek Station 24 and Fayetteville Fire Departments Station 1, Station 5 and Station 16 also responded and provided mutual aid.

Hope Mills Town Manager Scott Meszaros tonight Aug. 1 is scheduled to present a “State of the Town’’ overview that includes updates on a number of issues, including planning, parks and recreation and public safety.

The town Board of Commissioners meets at 7 p.m. at Town Hall.
The town continues to experience a record number of voluntary annexation petitions, according to information in the agenda packet. Between June 2021 and July 2022, there were 10 voluntary annexations for commercial and residential development, according to the “State of the Town’’ presentation in the agenda packet from Meszaros to the board.

That includes more than a thousand proposed single-family residential developments and 20 acres of industrial development, the agenda materials state.
The town also is seeing an increase in commercial and retail development. Recent commercial development includes two standalone Starbucks, Popeyes, Barbara Ann’s Chicken and a second Jersey Mikes.

In January, the town began conducting its own planning and zoning practices related to fees, application intake and zoning processing. According to the Inspection and Permitting Department, June was the busiest month for permit issuance and fee collections in the town’s history. The town collected nearly $90,000 in fees and issued 240 permits, according to information in the agenda packet.

With parks and recreation, the materials say permit drawings for Phase 1 construction have been submitted for approval and construction is scheduled to begin in the fall for Heritage Park Phase 1. The town is also making improvements at municipal park, including a baseball-themed splash pad and an inclusive playground.

The presentation also is expected to include an overview of how the town used $5 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds and nearly $4.7 million in state funds.

Most of the ARP money — nearly $2.4 million — went for street improvement projects, according to information in the agenda packet. About $1.6 million was earmarked for quality of life projects like the basketball court and ballfields at the Golfview property. Just over $1 million was earmarked for public safety, the agenda materials state.

The state funding was used for outdoor park improvements and infrastructure, the agenda materials state.
In other business, the town will consider authorizing the town manager to contract with Dormakaba USA Inc. for the installation of touchless automatic sliding glass doors at a cost of $10,628.05.

According to a memo to Meszaros from Public Works Director Don Sisko, the board directed the Public Works department to look into installation of an ADA-compliant front door at Town Hall. Due to the age and condition of the current front doors, Sisko’s department is recommending replacing the door with a hands-free automatic sliding door.

The town will also hold a closed session to discuss a personnel matter under attorney-client privilege.

Cumberland County Manager Amy Cannon on Monday, Aug. 1 again is expected to propose the creation of additional water and sewer districts during a meeting of the county Board of Commissioners.

The board meets at 9 a.m. in Room 118 of the Judge E. Maurice Braswell Cumberland County Courthouse.
Cannon's proposal to create two more water and sewer districts is in response to an increase in contaminated drinking water wells as a result of chemical air and water discharges from the Chemours chemical plant on N.C. 87 on the Cumberland/Bladen County line.

The Board of Commissioners was expected to consider Cannon's proposal during a July 18 special called meeting. However, Chairman Glenn Adams adjourned the meeting because the group did not have a quorum. The board in June said it did not plan to meet in July. Adams said after the special called meeting that he was not aware that most board members were going to be absent.

Cannon is expected to propose creating a water and sewer district in the Cedar Creek and east central portions of Cumberland County. The proposed districts would join the Vander and Gray's Creek water and sewer districts created to provide countywide water and sewer service eventually.

Additionally, the county manager is expected to ask board members to adopt resolutions giving county staff the authority to apply for grants from state and federal agencies for water feasibility studies.

Currently, the county Public Utility Department is working with an engineering design firm for the first phase toward extending public water to Gray's Creek and Alderman Road elementary schools.
The Public Utility Department plans to apply for fall 2022 funding with the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality's Division of Water Infrastructure funding.

But before the county can proceed, Cannon is asking the board to adopt several resolutions, among them are adopting the county's Code of Ethics, the county's Minority/Disadvantaged Business Contracting Goals, and authorizing her and the chairman to execute those documents.

After the presentation, Cannon is expected to ask the board to consider creating the two new districts, hold a public hearing on Aug. 15 to get comments on the creation of the water districts and have all the necessary board-adopted resolutions in place to meet the Sept. 30 fall funding deadline for grant applications.

The board also is expected to hold a public hearing on helping Cargill Inc. acquire $27 million in revenue bonds so it can build and install a solid waste disposal system at its Fayetteville soybean processing plant.
On July 28, the Cumberland County Industrial Facilities and Pollution Control Financing Authority approved issuing the revenue bonds in an amount not to exceed $27 million.

The seven-member Cumberland County Industrial Facilities and Pollution Control Financing Authority's function is to help issue revenue bonds for paying all or any part of the cost of industrial or pollution control projects.

The Financing Authority also helps to finance industrial and manufacturing facilities to alleviate unemployment or raise below-average wages, helps to finance pollution control facilities for industry, and conducts other activities appropriate to its stated legal objectives.
Although the Financing Authority approved issuing the revenue bonds, its actions do not create a liability or cost to the county. The Internal Revenue Code requires the board to hold a public hearing and render its decision after considering the comments.

The Fayetteville City Council on Monday, Aug. 1 is expected to receive an update on the proposed repurposing of the Market House. The council meets at 5 p.m. at City Hall.

The Market House has been a divisive issue for years, mainly because of its history of slaves being sold there.

Some people in the community have called for it to be torn down while others have suggested it be moved. The City Council has decided to repurpose the structure.

The Market House Repurposing Group was formed in late January 2021. The city worked with the U.S. Department of Justice, which held meetings to gather input on how the structure could be repurposed.

In March, after hearing a report from the Department of Justice, the council voted to hear from more residents, and not just a select group, before making a decision on how to designate a true purpose for the building.

The report from the Department of Justice came together after the department worked with 80 people — in what was described as a diverse group from different walks of life — during two sessions in October and January to glean opinions for repurposing the Market House.

Several options were identified. They included educational or themed events at the Market House; expanding the base and alleviating the multiple traffic lanes; using the space for vendor events; and using it as a place where diverse artisans could display their work.

When the groups were asked to develop solutions to the proposals, they suggested involving various groups in the community, including Fayetteville State University, Methodist University, the Fayetteville History Museum, the Arts Council of Fayetteville-Cumberland County, as well as artists.

The Fayetteville-Cumberland Human Relations Commission gathered additional community input on the proposed repurposing of the structure. It held meetings and created an online survey, according to background materials in the agenda packet.

According to materials in the agenda packet, the top recommendations from those meetings include:
Changing the language on the Market House plaque to reflect the involuntary nature of the enslaved.
Using the four corners of Market Square to display rotating art exhibits by local artisans.

Two people have been charged in connection with a Wednesday morning, July 27, shooting that left a woman with life-threatening injuries.

Officers responded to a report of a shooting just after 1:30 a.m. in the area of the 3300 block of Village Drive, police said in a release.

A woman had been shot and was taken to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center with life-threatening injuries. Police said an “unknown type of disturbance’’ occurred before the shooting.

Wednesday night police identified the woman as 44-year-old Angie Anderson of the 200 block of Eastwood Avenue.

“Detectives have determined the victim was not known to the suspects,’’ police said in a release. “The attack on the victim was the result of the disturbance between the victim’s boyfriend and the suspects.’’

Tyrece Kodjo, 19, of the 3000 block of Queen Anne Loop, was charged with attempted first-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury and shooting into an occupied vehicle, police said in the release. He was arrested Wednesday and is in the Cumberland County Detention Center under no bond.

Justin Simmons, 19, of the 3000 block of Armour Drive, was charged with accessory after the fact. He was arrested Wednesday and received a $50,000 unsecured bond, police said.

Police said there was a report of shots fired in the area of Village Drive and Roxie Avenue prior to the reported shooting.

Anderson’s vehicle, a red Ford Fusion, was stalled in the intersection of Village Drive and Roxie Avenue, police said. Her passenger was trying to help her. Multiple vehicles passed through the intersection during this time, police said.

Anyone who has information about the shooting is asked to contact detective R. Vernon at 910-729-2525 or Crimestoppers at 910-483-TIPS (8477).

The Fayetteville City Council will undergo a considerable change next month with four new members joining five incumbents, according to unofficial results Tuesday.

Three of those new council members – Mario Benavente in District 3, Deno Hondros in District 9 and Brenda McNair in District 7 – ousted incumbents in Tuesday’s municipal election, according to unofficial returns from the North Carolina State Board of Elections. The fourth, Derrick Thompson, was elected in District 6, where Councilman Chris Davis chose to run for a legislative seat.

Mayor Mitch Colvin defeated his challenger to win another term, according to the unofficial returns.

The mayor and the council members are set to be sworn in during an inauguration ceremony scheduled for 6 p.m. Aug. 11 at Seabrook Auditorium on the campus of Fayetteville State University. The event is open to the public.

Meanwhile, there is the possibility of a recount in District 3 if Councilman Antonio Jones requests one and the lead in his race with Benavente remains as narrow as it is.

Benavente edged Jones by six votes, 1,012 to 1,006, in the tightest race of the night.

“At this point, we don’t know,” said Vicki Hilburn, who serves as administrative support with the Cumberland County Board of Elections. “That would be after the canvass (process) was done. Right now the margin could widen.”

That’s because the absentee and provisional ballots will be added to Tuesday’s results during the scheduled Aug. 5 canvass to make unofficial wins official.

"After all that's done," Hilburn said, “we can discuss that.”

The canvass will be conducted at 11 a.m. at the Board of Elections, 227 Fountainhead Lane.

Angie Amaro, interim director of the Board of Elections, said at this point Jones would be able to call for a recount. “But,” she noted, “everything is not final.”

Jones, 48, is a pastor and a real estate agent. He said he plans to ask for a recount should Benavente's unofficial margin of victory remain like it is.

For a non-statewide ballot item in North Carolina, a candidate has the right to request a recount if the difference between the votes for the candidate and the votes for a prevailing candidate is not more than 1% of the total votes cast, according to the state recount law.

"I have my own personal set of ethics," Jones said. "I will not do those tactics, like send out lies and try to defame people. I saw the fliers. If it may have cost me, it's fine. I run a clean campaign. That does not move me. I'm not winning at any cost."

In response, Benavente said, "We ran a grassroots campaign with a lot of first-time volunteers. Getting young people involved in the political process. We knocked on doors, we pounded the pavement, and we had real conversations with people. And that's the real big difference between our campaigns. I got to know my neighbors, we spent real hours out in the community, and I don't think the same can be said about my opponent."

Amaro said a request for a recount must be made in writing. The Board of Elections must receive the written request by 5 p.m. on the first day of business following the canvass.

She said that overall, election night went “very smooth.”

Turnout in Fayetteville was 11.72% for this off-year election, with 14,833 residents voting out of 126,533 registered voters, Amaro said.

A grassroots campaign

Thompson, 60, and originally from Philadelphia, has lived in the Fayetteville area since retiring from the Army after 22 years of service in 2003. He also is a retired postal worker.

He believes he won the District 6 seat by running a grassroots campaign. He also credited his involvement in the community.

“Me being a president of the Rayconda Homeowners Association, being a former mailman and having collaborations with other community watch leaders in Arran Lakes, Hickory Grove, Ashbury and Woodland Village, we have the same issues," he said.

Thompson said his main focus will be collaborating with communities in the district.

“Every community in my district, I want to get to know you,” he said Wednesday. “To me, it’s about serving the people. My district and my city.”

The new council will need to come together, as well, he said, when asked how he thought the new members will get along.

“We need to collaborate together so when we walk out of a planning session, we’re all in one accord,’’ Thompson said. “We stand together or we will all fall.”

Thompson said he will bring new ideas, an incentive to do hard work, transparency and a willingness to work with others.

“I’m anxious,” he said. “I’m ready.”

‘I want to be a winner’

McNair, who is 61 and from Hoke County, has called Fayetteville home for 22 years.

She’s an entrepreneur, having established four beauty salons, a bail bonding business, an HVAC company that does repair work and a landscaping company for her son. McNair also has purchased real estate over the years.

What did she think led her to victory over District 7 Councilman Wright, who has served four terms on the council?

“Well, I don’t think I put a whole lot of thought into that,” she said. “I think my strength was with the idea of winning. I’m the type of person, once I start something, I have to finish it, and I have to be at the top. I want to be the winner; I don’t like to lose.

“I’m very passionate about becoming a city councilman because I have a heart for people, and bringing change and bringing it to the next level,” she said. “I don’t like being stagnant. I don’t like poverty. I grew up in that. My mom and dad struggled, raising six kids. … I was always the one who was a trailblazer.”

Once she is sworn into office, McNair said she would like to hold a town hall meeting so she can touch base with her District 7 constituents.

“Because they’re really counting on me,” she said. “I’ve had several calls already. Requests from individuals who are heartbroken and feel they’ve been left out.”

The newcomers and the incumbents on the City Council have different goals and have set standards, she said.

“I do believe people coming in now have certain standards,’’ McNair said. “We have to learn each other’s personalities and learn to respect each other. Everybody brings something good to the table.”

McNair said she likes unity and believes she can apply her common sense.

“I have the ability to tear down things that are not good and rebuild to a place where it’s good,” she said. “Where it’s functional on a different level. Where everybody will be satisfied. I have very high standards.”

First-generation American

Benavente, 32, was born in Korea to a military family. When he was about a year old, the family moved from Fort Bragg to Fayetteville.

He's a first-generation American, he said, whose father immigrated from Peru and his mother from Korea.

Benavente felt that his win was due to his working in the Deep Creek community in a variety of capacities since he graduated from undergraduate college. When he returned to Fayetteville about five or six years ago, one of the first things he said he did was go back to his alma mater —E.E. Smith High School. He said he asked, what can I do for my high school?

"And we started the college bound community, where I would come in once a week and work with students to help them," Benavente said. "To fill out college applications. To fill out college scholarship application essays. It went from there. I got to know the alumni association; I worked on the scholarship community. I'm now the vice chair of the board of directors for E.E. Smith.

"That's not something that they handed me," he said. "It's something that I earned — the trust of the association, very well established with community leaders. So folks got to know me over this time doing real work for the community. So when I made the shift to try to represent them as a City Council member, it was a logical progression. I had already been doing the work, and now I want to be able to do even more."

Benavente said that when he joins the council, he intends to continue his efforts on behalf of community members to push for a civilian review board that would provide civilian oversight when police misconduct occurs within the Fayetteville Police Department.

"I think that's going to be the very first priority for me once I'm on council," he said. "That's exactly what we need to make sure we're improving public safety in the right way."

Benavente said he has gotten to know most of the council members by attending council meetings and work sessions over the years.

"So I'm confident of the working relationship that I will have with them," he said. "We'll be hitting the ground running. When it comes to some of the newer faces, we certainly got to know each other in early voting polling locations and seeing the kind of dedication and time that they're willing to invest in serving the community. It tells me that we all want to make Fayetteville a better place. I am looking to move the city forward."

‘A true group effort’

Hondros, 45, is a Fayetteville native who graduated from Terry Sanford High School and Fayetteville Technical Community College. He started in the restaurant business but has worked as a commercial real estate broker for 23 years.

He credited his victory over incumbent Yvonne Kinston in District 9 to God, his wife, Liza, his son, James, and his campaign team.

"It was a true group effort," Hondros said.

He plans to stay true to his campaign platform, focusing on public safety and city infrastructure. Hondros previously served on the Fayetteville Stormwater Advisory Board.

"Loss of life or potential loss of property — there are a number of things going into public safety to make the community safer," he said. "Workforce housing: I believe that everyone should be afforded the opportunity to live where they labor."

According to Hondros, Fayetteville is roughly 20,000 units short when it comes to workforce and affordable housing.

"That's definitely something we can improve upon," he said. "We need to invest resources in doing that" while collaborating with public/private partnerships and land trusts.

The new City Council will have its own makeup and focus, he said, calling it "a new character."

Hondros said he intends to apply the standards that he uses in the real estate business.

"We pledge to ethically represent our clients. Not discriminate. Treat everyone the same," he said. "We pledge to work together and come to a resolution on a daily basis. These are things I think transfer from client to constituent."

Political newcomer Deno Hondros defeated first-term Councilwoman Yvonne Kinston on Tuesday for the District 9 seat on the Fayetteville City Council, according to unofficial returns.

Hondros received 911 votes; Kinston received 804, according to unofficial returns with the North Carolina State Board of Elections.

Hondros, 45, is a commercial real estate broker. He could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday night.

Kinston, 53, was first elected to the City Council in 2019. She is a sales and service agent for AT&T and executive vice president of the 530-member Communications Workers of America Local 3680 branch.

“I am proud of the race I ran. I’m proud of the work that has been accomplished,’’ she said Tuesday night.

Kinston said she called Hondros to congratulate him.

During the campaign, both candidates said transparency and public safety were among their top issues.

Kinston said that when she was elected to the council there were things that she wanted to accomplish. “And I think we’ve done that,’’ she said.

When asked if she might consider running for the seat again, she said: “I’m going to take a pause on that and we’ll see.’’

She said she may find other ways to serve the community.

“You ain’t seen the last of Yvonne Y. Kinston,’’ she said.

Freshman City Councilwoman Courtney Banks-McLaughlin will return for a second term representing District 8, according to unofficial election returns.
A strong advocate for the homeless, the 37-year-old received 748 votes, or 79% of those cast, according to unofficial returns reported Tuesday by the N.C. State Board of Elections. Downtown businessman Michael Pinkston had 196 votes.

Canvassing of unofficial returns is scheduled for 11 a.m. Aug. 5 by the Cumberland County Board of Elections to certify the results, according to Angie Amaro, interim director of the board.

The mother of five and wife of a former 82nd Airborne Division soldier, Banks-McLaughlin did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday evening.
Banks-McLaughlin has said she opposes the city funding $7.5 million for the proposed $80 million N.C. Civil War & Reconstruction History Center. She also has said she opposes an initiative to restructure the way City Council members are elected, changing from nine single-member districts to five single-member districts and four at-large council members.

Pinkston said he was surprised by Tuesday’s election result.

“I spent more than $30,000,” said the retired Army veteran. “It’s almost inconceivable. I lost 10 pounds walking and meeting people. I sent 17,000 mailers three times. … All the pieces seemed to be falling into place.”

Pinkston, 70, said he thinks “the election was very clean.”

“We didn’t spar. There was no mudslinging, …” he said. “But the election is done, and it is what it is. The voters spoke, and they chose Courtney.”

Pinkston has said that crime was an important issue for the city and called for the removal of Police Chief Gina Hawkins, who has announced her plans to retire.

District 8 includes the neighborhoods of Cliffdale Estates, Fairfield, Four Seasons, Hammond Hill on Fort Bragg, Kings Mill, LaGrange, Middle Creek, Parkers Ridge and Westpoint.

Political newcomer Brenda McNair on Tuesday upset incumbent Larry O. Wright Sr. for the District 7 seat on the Fayetteville City Council, according to unofficial returns.

McNair received 679 votes compared with Wright’s 656, according to unofficial results from the N.C. State Board of Elections.
Wright was first elected to the City Council in 2013.

This was the first time McNair had run for office. She ran on a platform of change and envisioned becoming more of an advocate for the people.
Wright and McNair are both ordained ministers. Wright is head of Heal the Land Outreach Ministries. McNair owns several businesses.
Wright said he doesn't feel bad about losing per se, because, “when one door closes, one door opens.”

“We congratulate the winners and hope they are successful in their endeavors on City Council and their efforts to help move the city forward,” Wright said.

Wright said he plans to continue to serve the community.

“That was my goal from the very beginning of my tenure was to make Fayetteville a better place,’’ he said. “We are still going to work with our community.

That's what we did before we became a city councilman and that’s what we will continue to do as a pastor and a minister in outreach.”

“We will look for opportunities to serve,” he said.
McNair said she faced roadblocks from the mayor and some members of the council who supported Wright. But she said many residents came out to say they were ready for a change.

“There was so much support from people coming out of nowhere that I have never heard of before,’’ she said. “People reached out to me and volunteered to help.”

McNair said she couldn’t have done it without that support.

“I want to thank God because this was really tough for me,’’ McNair said. “It was my first time running and it couldn’t have been done without him. I want to thank my team and the citizens for coming out and voting for me and believing in me.’’

She said she’s “ready to take this city to the next level.’’

Derrick Thompson defeated business owner Peter Pappas in Tuesday’s municipal election, according to unofficial returns.

Thompson received 962 votes and Pappas received 619 votes, according to unofficial results from the N.C. State Board of Elections.
Thompson and Pappas were running for the seat vacated by Christopher Davis, a one-term councilman who ran for the Democratic nomination for the N.C. House District 45 seat. Davis lost in the primary.

Thompson, 60, an Army veteran, moved to Fayetteville in 2003. He is retired from the Postal Service.

“I am just thankful, appreciative and humbled tonight,” he said Tuesday.

Thompson said being on the City Council will be an opportunity to serve the city on a larger scale.

“I will continue to serve my district, my neighborhood and my community. It’s what I’ve done for the last 19 years since I’ve been in Fayetteville, including the last five years as president of my neighborhood HOA and on the board for the last 13 years.”

Thompson also applauded Pappas for running a clean and respectful campaign.
Pappas, 44, has owned and operated Baldinos Restaurants for 24 years and is a commercial real estate broker.

“I appreciate the residents who came out to support me and even the ones who voted for my opponent,” Pappas said Tuesday. “We need that involvement in our community. It’s important that we are all involved.”

Pappas said he will continue to be engaged in the community and encourage participation from others.

“This has been a very exciting and rewarding journey, and I look forward to more,” said Pappas.

Incumbent Fayetteville City Councilman Johnny Dawkins handily defeated political newcomer Fred G. LaChance on Tuesday in the election for the District 5 seat on the council, according to unofficial results.

“We’re keyed up,” Dawkins said Tuesday night. “I’m not going to be able to sleep for a while. It’s an exciting time.”
This would mark Dawkins’ fourth term in office.

Dawkins received 1,643 votes and LaChance received 750, according to unofficial results from the N.C. State Board of Elections.
Dawkins, 63, has been a member of the City Council since 2017 and is a former chairman of the Greater Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce. He also served on the City Council from 2003 to 2005.

Dawkins, a health insurance and Medicare benefits consultant, campaigned on the issues of public safety, economic development and improving stormwater infrastructure.

Dawkins said he’s been in politics with his father, former Mayor J.L. Dawkins, since 1975.

“We got started early, No. 1; started working on the campaign in March 2021,” he said. “Then the pandemic and census delayed everything. Our team has been working and talking to constituents and listening to their concerns for almost a year and a half. I think being willing to work hard and be willing to listen is what matters with our citizens. My focus has been public safety and improving stormwater infrastructure. Our citizens care about our stormwater and infrastructure and good jobs.”

LaChance owns an antiques store on Bragg Boulevard. This marked the first time the 70-year-old Navy veteran has run for public office

“I would have liked to have seen a better turnout,” LaChance said. “We’ve got 12,000-plus voters in the district, and a little over 2,000 turned out. That’s just not good. But it is what it is. I think, personally, it’s the name (recognition for Dawkins). … I congratulate him. … I gave it a shot.”

D.J. Haire will be one of the longest-serving members of the Fayetteville City Council after easily turning back challenger Thomas C. Greene on Tuesday for the District 4 seat, according to unofficial returns.

The 63-yer-old veteran councilman received 1,232 votes and Greene, 50, had 237, according to unofficial returns from the N.C. State Board of Elections.
Canvassing of unofficial returns is scheduled for 11 a.m. Aug. 5 by the Cumberland County Board of Elections to certify results, according to Angie Amaro, interim director of the board.

“I thank the Lord for my wife, family and team,” said Haire, who is self-employed in real estate. “We put it all in. I thank the Lord for the residents of District 4. We’ve worked great together.’’

He will be starting an 11th term on the council. He was first sworn into office on Dec. 1, 1997, and remained in office until November 2013. He stepped away from the council for two terms before winning the district seat in 2017 and winning reelection since.

“It just means citizens from every precinct are giving you the thumbs up. It means people hear you and see you,’’ he said.

“They build a trust, and I think that goes a long ways,” Haire said. “I’m always telling new people coming along that you have to build trust.”

Greene is an Army veteran, bails bondsman and member of the local chapter of the Proud Boys, a nationwide activist organization linked to far-right and white nationalist political causes. At least five members of the Proud Boys were indicted on seditious conspiracy charges in the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol. Greene says he was not in Washington that day.

Greene told CityViewToday he does not support the organization’s participation at the U.S. Capitol.
He believes in term limits for council members and said in his campaign that Haire has served too long, but Greene was gracious in defeat.

“I’d like to congratulate D.J. Haire on his win,” Greene said. “I learned a lot. This was a big learning curve for me. I learned about local politics. Hopefully, we will improve on public safety, our police can be more active and we can hope for a better environment and standard of living for people.”

Council members and the mayor are scheduled to be sworn in at 6 p.m. on Aug. 11 in Seabrook Auditorium at Fayetteville State University.

Challenger Mario Benavente edged incumbent Antonio Jones by six votes on Tuesday in the election to represent District 3 on the Fayetteville City Council, unofficial returns show.

Benavente received 1,012 votes to 1,006 for Jones, according to unofficial results from the N.C. State Board of Elections.

The count, which was reported about 9:15 p.m., showed that there were 10 write-in votes that could have changed the outcome.
Benavente said public safety and the search for a new police chief will be his priorities. He said his training as a lawyer and in law enforcement will guide him in helping find a new chief.

“I look forward to learning about not just their experience in years but something that they can point (to) in the last department they were in,” he said Tuesday night. “Someone who is not just good on paper but on what they accomplished.”

“I’m very proud of my team,” said Benavente. “I was able to go out into the district and knock on doors and hear about constituents’ concerns. I look forward to being a zealous advocate for them.”

Jones has held the seat since December, when the City Council appointed him to fill out the term of Councilwoman Tisha Waddell, who resigned. Jones and Benavente were finalists for the appointment, and Jones won a second-round vote 6-3.

Benavente, 32, is a community organizer and legal professional. This would be his first elected office.
Jones, 48, is a broker and military relocation agent with the family-owned Jones Realty. He also is a pastor at Temple of Faith Church.

He could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.

District 3 includes parts of Fort Bragg and the neighborhoods of Cottonade, Country Club North, Hillendale, Hillendale West, Kornbow, North Hills, Tiffany Pines, University Estates, University Hills, and parts of Pondero

City Councilwoman Shakeyla Ingram, running for her second term in office, held off former Councilman Tyrone Williams in Tuesday’s election for the District 2 seat on the Fayetteville City Council, according to unofficial results.

Ingram received 749 votes and Williams received 653, according to unofficial results from the N.C. State Board of Elections.

There were 144 write-in votes, according to the state tally.
Ingram said Tuesday night that she does not know what the difference in the race was.

“But what I do know is I went in this race saying I would focus on this race and this race only. I stayed true to that,” she said. “I served in the pandemic and social unrest in my term. Maybe that was what it was. I’m grateful through it all. …

“It was in the voters’ hands, and I understood that,” she added. “The voters stated what they wanted.”

Both candidates grew up living in the district.

Ingram, 31, works in marketing and community relations

Williams, 53, was a member of the City Council in 2018 for a partial term. He resigned roughly two months after allegations emerged that he tried to solicit money from a developer. At the time he left office, Williams blamed local media for false accusations. Williams also blamed his former wife for falsely accusing him of molesting a 10-year-old boy.

On Oct. 21, 2019, court records show, Williams entered into a conditional discharge on a charge of assault on a child under 12, a misdemeanor, and received 30 months of unsupervised probation, which came with specific conditions he was ordered to follow if he were to have the charges later dismissed.

Cumberland County Court records show that Williams did not meet those conditions.

On April 4 of this year, a judge revoked the conditional discharge and Williams was convicted on a misdemeanor charge of assault on a child under age 12. He was sentenced to 60 days suspended for 12 months and placed on supervised probation, according to court records.
Williams is a real estate developer and Navy veteran. He could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday night.

Kathy Jensen will serve her fifth term on the Fayetteville City Council after defeating Alex Rodriguez on Tuesday in the race for the District 1 seat, according to unofficial returns.

Jensen, 57, received 807 votes to the 561 that Rodriguez received, according to unofficial results from the North Carolina State Board of Elections.

“I look forward to serving our city for the next year and a half,’’ Jensen said. “This gives me great opportunity to finish working on the parks and recreation bond and to bring more jobs into our city.”

Moments after hearing the election results, Jensen was humbled, thanking her family, friends and everyone who has supported her over the last eight years.

Born and raised in Fayetteville, Jensen, her husband, Jerry, and their four children live in North Fayetteville, where she owns An Affair to Remember, a small business featuring prom, pageant and formal wear on Ramsey Street.

Rodriguez, 48, is a retired Army officer and former police officer. He said he ran for office because he sees Fayetteville heading in the wrong direction with crime, pollution and economic development.

“I closed the gap on the primary from 29% to 36%, but I am a little disappointed with the results,’’ he said. “Fayetteville isn’t ready for change.’’

He said part of the challenge was along political party lines.

“I’m proud of the effort that I put into this and look forward to seeing what happens next,’’ Rodriguez said. “I wish it had been different, but this is a very blue city and getting bluer by the day.”

Rodriguez said he was undecided if he would run again, but applauded the race as being a good one.

Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin easily won re-election Tuesday, complete but unofficial election returns show.

Colvin, who was first elected mayor in 2017, defeated political newcomer Freddie de la Cruz. Colvin received 9,253 votes – or 62.74% of the total cast – compared with 5,452 votes for de la Cruz – or 36.97%.

Colvin could not immediately be reached for comment. This will be his third term as mayor. He served on the City Council for two terms, including a stint as mayor pro tem, before first being elected mayor in 2017. De la Cruz served 32 years in the Army.

After it became apparent that Colvin had won, de la Cruz expressed disappointment, not so much that he had lost, but that so few voters went to the polls. Figures from the North Carolina State Board of Elections show that only 11.72% (14,833) of the city’s 126,533 registered voters cast ballots in the City Council election.

“The biggest thing is look, I gave the citizens of Fayetteville an opportunity to make a change, and they stayed home. That's the message. That's my message,” de la Cruz said.

Although Fayetteville’s voter turnout was only 11.72%, the turnout for the Charlotte City Council race was almost as low, at 12%. Greensboro saw a 16% turnout.

De la Cruz said he plans to regroup, continue to operate his businesses – Venus Vogue Weddings and Formals and Fayetteville Limousine Service – and take a vacation with his wife before beginning another run as a mayoral candidate. He said he will take a look back at his campaign and see what he can do better next time.

During their election campaigns, Colvin and de la Cruz placed a high emphasis on improving public safety, as well as other quality-of-life issues, such as affordable housing and educational opportunities.

We have taken down the Silent Sam Civil War monument on University of North Carolina Chapel Hill’s campus and the statues of Confederate soldiers on many courthouse plazas.
But there are other monuments to the Civil War and slavery that cannot be removed — unfortunately.

In “Scars on the Land: An Environmental History of Slavery in the American South,” David Silkenat explains how over a 200-year period slavery made possible environmental disasters that cursed and continue to curse our region.

Silkenat says the slave owners in America’s South saw their landscape as disposable.
Using intensive farming methods made possible by slavery, southern plantation owners wore out their farms. Rather than rehabilitating the land as they exploited it, they simply bought new land to replace what had been ruined.

Sometimes, the replacement land could be purchased nearby. Other times, the owners and slaves from worn-out plantations would move from North Carolina to fresh lands in Alabama or Mississippi, with the enslaved people walking all the way.

In Virginia, Thomas Jefferson noted in 1793 that he did not use manure to fertilize or replenish his worn-out tobacco fields “because we can buy an acre of new land cheaper than we can manure an old acre.”
Twenty years later Jefferson acknowledged that the intensive farming by his slaves had left his soils inert.

But the environmental damage associated with slavery was not limited to farmlands.

In North Carolina, for instance, intensive enslaved labor made possible the exploitation and destruction of the magnificent longleaf pine forests that covered our state. To secure the pitch and tar from the pine trees, enslaved labor tapped, and scratched the surface, taking the ‘blood’ the trees needed to sustain themselves, leaving only ghosts of once-magnificent forests.

Silkenat wrote, “Intensive extraction conspired with environmental factors to expedite the forests’ destruction. Scarification caused by repeating chipping made the trees vulnerable to wood-boring insects such as the ips beetle, the turpentine bore and the black turpentine beetle. Stripped of their bark, the pine trees stood defenseless against these insects. A turpentine-borer epidemic in 1848 –1849 along the Cape Fear River devastated the heart of North Carolina's longleaf pine.”

Also, in North Carolina, the use of enslaved labor during the gold rush days before the Civil War made possible the extraction of gold but left a ruined landscape behind.

In South Carolina, the rice plantations that made that state wealthy before the Civil War, required an enormous commitment of enslaved labor to dig and manage the canals and other waterways that provided the right conditions for the crop. Those canals and their upkeep, adjustment and repairs destroyed the natural environment and left the coastal lands permanently affected.

Similarly, along the Mississippi River, the construction of levees to protect farmlands from flooding required enslaved labor. Continuing maintenance and repair demanded a long-term commitment of enslaved labor. The adjustments to the normal ebb and flow of the river still make for the continuing disruption of the great river’s natural flow.

In cotton and tobacco fields, hardwood and pine forests, rice fields, goldmines, rivers and levees, slavery brought about even more damage to the environment. Although the author sets out many more examples of damage, he acknowledges that “the environmental devastation chronicled in this book pales in comparison to the brutality of American slavery on human bodies and souls. Yet looking at slavery through an environmental lens reveals how the chattel principle poisoned everything it touched.”

Dr. Marye J. Jeffries has been named an Honorary Trustee of Fayetteville Technical Community College.
Jeffries, who served on FTCC’s Board of Trustees for 26 years, including four years as Board Chair, was honored June 21 in a ceremony at the monthly meeting of the FTCC Board of Trustees.

The designation of Honorary Trustee recognizes an individual for exceptional service and support of FTCC through the years. Jeffries served on FTCC’s Board of Trustees from 1992 until 2018. She served as Board Secretary from 1993 to 2004 and as Board Chair from 2004 through 2008. Jeffries was instrumental in the installation of the College’s two most recent presidents, Dr. Larry B. Norris in 1997 and Dr. J. Larry Keen in 2007.

Born in Victoria, Texas, Jeffries began her teaching career in Tacoma, Washington, then moved to Fayetteville in 1963 and began teaching elementary school. She was the first African American teacher at Vanstory Hills Elementary School and earned her Master’s degree in Education while working at Vanstory.

In the early 1970s, she joined Fayetteville State University as an associate professor of education. She earned her Doctorate in Education Administration and Supervision from UNC-Chapel Hill and held a series of positions at FSU, culminating in her appointment in 1995 as Associate Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs. She was the first African American female to hold that position. Dr. Jeffries retired from FSU in 1998 but remained extremely active in her community.

Her community service has included chairing the Fayetteville/Cumberland County Arts Council and the Cumberland County Auditorium/Arena Commission (now the Civic Center Commission).
She is a longtime member of the Fayetteville Chapter of The Links, Inc., an international women’s service organization, and served on its Executive Council and as its president. Her daughter, Dr. Kimberly Jeffries Leonard, is currently the national president of The Links. Kimberly Jeffries Leonard and several officers and other members of the Fayetteville Chapter of The Links, Inc., attended the ceremony at FTCC. Also in attendance were Glenn Adams, chairman of the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners, and his wife, Superior Court Judge Gale Adams; and FSU Chancellor Darrell
Allison and his wife, La Nica Allison.

Jeffries’ awards include the Order of the Long Leaf Pine and the Old North State Award. In 2011, she was honored by FSU as an Outstanding Black Woman in American Culture and History.
Jeffries is the 10th person to be named an Honorary Trustee of Fayetteville Technical Community College. Previous honorees include Tony Rand, W. Dallas Herring, Helen E. Batten, Thornton W. Rose, Lura S. Tally, Thomas R. McLean, Jeannette M. Council, Glenn Adams, and Larry L. Lancaster.

FTCC President Dr. Larry Keen praised Jeffries for her dedication and leadership at FTCC and in the community. “She has done such a remarkable job in so many ways,” he said. “We have all benefitted and learned so much because of her.”

A new exhibit dedicated to banking will be opening at the Fayetteville History Museum Aug. 2. The exhibit will focus on the history of banking in the Fayetteville area beginning in the late 1700s.
The exhibit will take the place of the History of Baseball exhibit on the museum’s second floor. Staff are working to create a space reminiscent of the opulence often found within banks. The room has been painted deep green, and white columns decorate the space. All of these finishing touches within the exhibit help to create the atmosphere of a bank, according to Bruce Daws, museum director.

“Architecture in banking was important. The bank had to speak to opulence, it had to speak to being solid, and it was usually classic architecture,” Daws said.

One of the panels in the new space is dedicated to architecture in the banking world, highlighting buildings in downtown Fayetteville such as the building at 100 Hay St. Originally built to be the National Bank, it has now been converted into office spaces. The building was built to replace the original National Bank, a three-story classic brick building.

“When they decided to build the 10-story skyscraper to replace [the old building], they asked the city if they could move into the Market House. The bank conducted business, not in the upstairs, but put windows and infill in the arches and opened that up as the bank while the mammoth structure was being built,” said Daws.

Stories like this fill the new exhibit space, which in addition to information about the architecture of banks, will hold a large collection of banknotes used in the Fayetteville area for 200 years. Most notable will be a 20 shilling note from 1754, the same year Cumberland County was established. The note is British, as, at the time, everyone who lived in the area were subjects of the Crown. In addition to this rare note, foreign coinage that would have been used for transactions will also be on display. Foreign currency was allowed as payment until the 1850s, when an act was passed forbidding it.

These coins and notes, known as “obsolete bank notes,” tell the story of the Fayetteville financial sector during the 1700s and 1800s.

“Banking is an important subject just to who we are as a city,” said Daws. “We were a colonial port city located at the head of navigation on the Cape Fear River. We were an important trade community. Fortunes were being made and lost on the Cape Fear River. Banks were certainly an important ingredient in the big picture of Fayetteville.”

The museum will be displaying obsolete bank notes from the local banks that popped up between 1807 and the Civil War. A rare set of four Bank of Clarendon notes will be shown. The notes are significant in that they are unsigned and uncut, meaning they never saw circulation.

The exhibit continues through the Civil War. The Civil War impacted banks in the South quite significantly, and the exhibit will have several displays detailing the roller coaster of currency during the war.

“Now, that was an interesting time because all of a sudden, overnight, you had to develop a treasury department and start printing money. Money was being printed so quickly at the very beginning that clerks were signing bank notes; they were being cut with scissors often times instead of being professionally cut,” said Daws. “At first that confederate currency held its value, it was kind of a trust that it was what it represented itself to be. As the war drug along and it wasn’t looking as good for the South, it had lesser and lesser value.”

On display will be a pile of confederate money that came down through one of the old families in Fayetteville.

“It was worthless, but it wasn’t thrown away. Often, it was tucked away as a souvenir, and after many years these saw the light of day again. Some of these notes are heavily worn where they were in circulation for a while; some are pristine,” said Daws.

Another significant piece on display is a banknote signed by the mayors and commissioners of Fayetteville on Aug. 1, 1865. Fayetteville fell to General Sherman in March of 1865. This note is important because of how soon after the war it was printed. A display panel also tells the story of William G. Broadfoot, a banker and confederate agent during the war at the Bank of Fayetteville. As Sherman was marching into town, he had an idea to hide the bank assets around Fayetteville. He put notes in a bank stationery envelope with details as to where these were hidden.

Several of the assets have since been located, affirming that Broadfoot’s plan worked.

Daws hopes the exhibit will showcase the importance of banking to the city’s history. From prominent bank presidents, vice presidents and directors such as Dr. Paul Melchor and Dr. E.E. Smith to Jacob Stein and E. A. Poe, the history of banking within Fayetteville is varied and tells a unique Fayetteville story. The banknotes on display all tell a tale of where the city has been.

“The notes themselves to me are like artwork. They are so finely done,” he said.

Daws said a special thanks should be extended to David Boitnott of North Carolina. The majority of the collection that will be on display is from his own private collection, and he generously allowed the museum to feature the history he has collected. Rev. Robert Alves of St. John’s Episcopal Church has also generously loaned out coinage for the exhibit.

The exhibit opens Aug. 2 at the Fayetteville History Museum at 325 Franklin St.

Be inspired by art and music at Kreativity Unlocked on Aug. 4 in the Orangery Ballroom at the Cape Fear Botanical Garden. Host Keith Sykes is a local photographer who will have prints on display to view with select items available for sale.

There will be an open bar with wine, spritzers and hors d'oeuvres. Guests can get creative with a 360-photo booth. There will also be musical performances by Testimony and DJ Liek, who both hail from Norfolk, Virgina.

This is not the first photography exhibit Sykes has organized. He held a show in 2018 at the Cape Fear Regional Theatre and one in 2019 at the Cape Fear Botanical Garden. He chooses locations that will inspire creativity in his guests so they can fully experience the art and music.

"One of the things that I always say when I'm putting (events) together is that it's all about the experience," said Sykes. "I want the people that come through the door to really experience something different than they've experienced in the first two shows."

Sykes has had a varied career that led to becoming a photographer and owner of an event planning company, IKreate Consulting. The New Orleans native joined the military when he was 20 years old. Sykes traveled the world while he served, which sparked his interest in photography. He settled in Fayetteville after 20 years of service.

"I have had a love for photography for a very long time because one of my older brothers was a photographer at one point, but it was never really serious," said Sykes. "And then, in 2015, I started taking it seriously because a couple of friends suggested it. So, my very first exhibit was in 2018."

Much of Sykes' inspiration comes from travel, and guests will be able to see areas like Edisto Island and Greenville, South Carolina, and some local spots in Fayetteville through his lens.
This event will be the last featuring his work as he plans to organize future events to help local artists.

"I want to give other local artists who are not very well known and who are not very visible in the local community the opportunity to show their work," he said. "So, I think the next thing I do will be something collaborative with a couple of different artists."

The event is limited to 100 guests. The cost is $50 and includes all drinks and appetizers. No tickets will be sold at the door. The event is not formal, but guests are encouraged to dress to impress.

Purchase tickets here www.eventbrite.com/e/kreativity-unlocked-tickets-302584035997.