Chemours has committed an investment of $100 million in plant upgrades to reduce GenX emissions by 99 percent. In addition, it has stopped pumping wastewater into the Cape Fear River and will now be trucking it to Texas. This was the message presented last week by Brian Long, general plant manager of the Chemours plant that borders Bladen and Cumberland counties. He was the host and keynote speaker at the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce breakfast last Thursday.

Long was accompanied by Damian Shea from the Department of Biological Sciences at North Carolina State University. Together, they came to update the business community on the actions Chemours has taken and will be taking to alleviate community concerns about the alleged harmful effects of GenX, which has been detected in local wells and water systems. GenX is a chemical compound used in making nonstick surfaces such as Teflon. The talk was informative and reassuring.

Unfortunately, only two of our elected officials were in the audience. I applaud Councilwoman Tisha Waddell and newly appointed Councilman Dan Culliton for their concern and interest. It was disappointing that no Cumberland County commissioners were present, considering the time and effort that has gone into addressing the GenX situation.

When both speakers were asked during the public forum if they would be comfortable having their families and young children drink the water, both Long and Shea answered with a resounding yes.

When it comes to GenX, the concerns over its toxicity and ill effects on residents seem unsubstantiated and grossly exaggerated. In some cases, they reek of government intrusion, unfounded accusations and speculation with a hint of corporate extortion. To many, Chemours is caught up in a tangled web of political power, greed and money grubbing. It’s unfortunate, but in this  climate of quick-fire litigation and political correctness, respectable and competent voices of the silent majority are reluctant to come forth to question outcomes, findings, studies and obvious flaws in the investigation process.

My skepticism has to do with knowing, or not knowing, what real harm or danger results from exposure to Gen X. I have made two observations over the past year. First, after more than two decades of residents living, working and playing in areas exposed to GenX, there has been no proven case or recorded medical evidence validating that GenX has any adverse effects on human beings. That’s nearly three generations of healthy, happy families – all drinking and bathing from the same faucets with no reports of birth defects, premature hair loss, allergies or skin rashes – and no reports of three-eyed fish being caught in the Cape Fear River or twoheaded calves in the livestock. You would think after decades of exposure, there would be some evidence or telltale
signs of a serious health hazard. There are none.

This brings me to my second observation, which I call the “Where’s Waldo” disclaimer. In hundreds, maybe thousands of news features, articles and editorials written about Chemours and the GenX situation, you will always find that onesentence disclaimer that reads: “Animal studies have linked GenX to several forms of cancer, BUT, it isn’t known if the effect is the same in humans.”

Like Waldo, you must search for it, but I assure you, it is there. The question everyone should be asking is, why is it there? For many, the answer is simple: After decades of exposure with no indications of detrimental effects on human beings, can you imagine how much toxin had to be pumped into that poor laboratory rat before it showed signs of cancer? Once the researchers accomplished this task, it became open season on Chemours. Chemours is now in their sights, viewed as a fat, cash-cow corporation that can be intimidated and squeezed by state and local governments, environmentalists and downriver municipalities.

This could be North Carolina’s payday, and Chemours is the paymaster. Hundreds of thousands of tax dollars have already flowed to organizations and universities for “research” to solve a problem that has yet to be defined or determined. The state’s demand for more money for more testing and more inspections, if granted, would mean hiring more people, expanding the Department of Environmental Quality and, ultimately, expanding the government. Is all this prudent?

The state Department of Health and Human Services weighed in with a four-week, all-inclusive study to determine and set the state’s health goal. According to Damian Shea, the NC State biological science professor, a proper study would have taken at least two years.

Nonetheless, the situation is real. People are concerned. Private wells have been declared contaminated, and something must be done about it. In addition to the $100 million plant investment, Chemours has offered to pay for the installation of water filtration systems in homes with wells that have GenX levels exceeding the state’s recommended levels. To this, we should say, “Thank  you, Chemours.” And, “Thank you for the many years you have supported and contributed to the families and economies of both Bladen and Cumberland counties. You are a good corporate partner.”

Thank you for reading Up & ComingWeekly.

It’s America’s birthday this week, and there is no shortage of celebrations. Our forefathers signed the Declaration of Independence 242 years ago. Their battle for freedom continued for eight more years before the colonies were freed from Britain’s grasp. In 1781, before America’s decisive win at Yorktown, the state of Massachusetts made July 4 an official holiday. It wasn’t until 1870 that Congress made it a federal holiday.

Here is a list of local events celebrating the Fourth of July.

Friday, June 29

Field of Honor

Visit the North Carolina Field of Honor, which is located at the Airborne & Special Operations Museum parade field downtown. Each flag on the field honors someone who has served or is currently serving in the armed forces. It is a salute to the modern patriots who have defended the hard-won freedoms the revolutionaries fought so diligently to claim almost 250 years ago. The flags come down July 6. Find out more at www.ncfieldofhonor.com.

Saturday, June 30

Cardboard Boat Race and Demolition Derby at Hope Mills Lake. The town of Hope Mills kicks of a weeklong celebration with a boat race. The event runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. There will be adult and youth races in single and multiple rower categories. Boats will be judged at noon with racing to follow. Boats will be judged on speed, style and spirit. All proceeds benefit Hope Mills Lake projects. Learn more at townofhopemills.com.

The Hope Mills Lake CelebrationStreet Dance will take place 6-9 p.m. on Trade Street. It is free to attend. Food will be available for sale. Call 910-426-4109 for details.

SwampDogs baseball

Enjoy America’s favorite pastime as the Fayetteville SwampDogs host The Heroes Grub and Suds Benefit Event in support of the Lone Survivor Foundation. The foundation offers therapeutic retreats for wounded service members and their families. Proceeds from this event will benefit the LSF, which is building an additional retreat facility in North Carolina. For more information on the LSF, visit its website at lonesurvivorfoundation.org.

Local breweries, food trucks and business vendors will be on hand, and the swamp will be filled with fun activities, including a military member softball game. For more information, call 910-426-5900.

Sunday, July 1

A Star-Spangled Kind of Day

From noon to 5 p.m., celebrate at Cape Fear Botanical Garden. Enjoy a tasty treat from one of the food trucks that will be on-site. Indulge in a beverage from the garden cash bar, and listen to Open Road’s classic rock cover tunes. The band will play from 1-4 p.m. Embrace the backyard barbecue tradition on a grander scale with the many activities on tap – bounce houses, lawn games, crafts and more. This is a rain or shine event. Call 910-486-0221 for details.

Heroes on the Water

From 2-6 p.m., Heroes on the Water Combined Forces Chapter will be at Hope Mills Lake to provide active-duty service members, veterans, first responders and their family members an  opportunity to get on the lake for some kayaking and fishing. To register for the event or for more details, search the event on Facebook. Spectators are welcome but must provide their own seating. Call 910-426-4109 for details.

Church at the Lake

Join Common Ground, a band from Hope Mills United Methodist Church, and musicians from Highland Baptist Church and Grace Place for the Inaugural Church at the Lake at Hope Mills Lake. Bring a blanket or lawn chairs and get comfy around the gazebo. The event is free and runs from 6-9 p.m. Call 910-426-4109 to learn more.

Independence Concert

The City of Fayetteville and the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra come together Sunday evening to present a free concert in Festival Park. It’s free, open to the public and starts at 7:30 p.m. Bring a lawn chair or blanket to sit on and then kick back and enjoy patriotic and popular works to celebrate Independence Day. There will be fireworks immediately following. Call 910-433-4690 for more information.

July 2

Art and Jazz at the Lake

Hope Mills Lake offers Art and Jazz at the Lake from 6-9 p.m. Listen to cool jazz performed by The All-American Jazz Quintet while watching local artists paint by the lake shore. There will be activities for children, including crafts, water color painting and drawing. Peruse arts and crafts booths set up by North Carolina artists, and stop by Big T’s or one of the many onsite food trucks. Call 910-426-4109 or search the event on Facebook to learn more.

July 3

Beach Dance

Hope Mills continues its celebration with a Beach Dance at Hope Mills Lake. DJ Ronnie will provide music, and local food trucks will be on-site with food for sale. Call 910-426-4109 for details.

Wednesday, July 4

Firecracker 4-miler

The Fayetteville Running club hosts the Firecracker 4-miler at the North Carolina Veterans Park. The course winds through the beautiful, historic sites of downtown Fayetteville. The event runs from 7-10 a.m. and costs between $10 and $30. There is also a 1-miler event, which starts at 8:15 a.m. Call 910-494-6708 for more information.

Fort Bragg’s Fourth of July Celebration

Each year, Fort Bragg invites the public to its parade field for a fourth of July celebration to remember. There will be music, parachute freefall demonstrations, the popular flag ceremony,  fireworks, food and beverages. This year’s headliner is country music star Trace Adkins. The event runs from 3-10 p.m. and is free and open to the public. Call 910-396-9126 to learn more.

Hope Mills’ July 4th Celebration

This is a busy day in Hope Mills with a parade from 10 a.m. to noon followed by Party in the Park from 4-10 p.m. at Hope Mills Municipal Park. There will be live music, bounce houses, horseshoe and washer tournaments, water slides, food and craft vendors and more. The celebration ends with fireworks, scheduled for 9:15 p.m.

Red, White & Boat

Spring Lake Outpost offers an entire day and evening filled with Americana. From 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., enjoy a day in the outdoors, floating down the river. Tickets cost $20-$60 an include a boat rental, local craft beer, sparkles and shuttle transportation. Call 910-248-3409 for more information.

Thursday, July 5

Hope Mills Food Truck Rally

Every first Thursday July through September, Hope Mills hosts a food truck rodeo at Hope Mills Municipal Park. Enjoy outdoor music, great food, children’s activities, vendor booths and more. No seating is provided, so bring a lawn chair or a blanket to sit on. To learn more, call 910-426-4103.

In the 2017 football season, South View’s team continued its gradual return to the glory days of the program in the early part of the 21st century.

The Tigers of Rodney Brewington were 9-4, tied with Overhills for the best finish among 4-A schools in the combination 3-A/4-A Patriot Athletic Conference, and went on the road to get a firstround state playoff victory over Jamestown Ragsdale.

With four-year starter Donovan Brewington back at quarterback, along with a stable of solid skill players, the future looks bright for the Tigers.

Still, there are some holes that need to be filled.

Coach Brewington spent the spring practice sessions looking for what he called diamonds in the rough and players who can perform well at multiple positions.

His biggest worry this spring was to begin the difficult task of replacing the entire offensive line.

“Getting those young kids ready has been the biggest thing,’’ he said after graduation took all five down linemen as well as the tight end.

If he is able to cobble together a solid group of blockers, they’ll have plenty of talent to be blocking for, starting with Donovan Brewington at quarterback. The coach’s son is the leading passer returning in the county, throwing for 1,906 yards last year and 21 touchdown passes. He was only intercepted three times and, along with departed Terry Sanford quarterback Christian Jayne, was the only county passer to complete 60 percent of his attempts, 63.1 percent.

“He’s the general on the field,’’ Coach Brewington said of his son. “It’s rare you have a four-year starter. It has been an interesting ride to watch him develop.’’

Matthew Pemberton will likely lead the running back corps for the Tigers, while Emery Simmons returns as one of the top receivers in the Cape Fear region, having already given an oral commitment to Indiana. Last year he was the third-leading receiver in the county in total yardage with 55 catches for 997 yards and 12 touchdowns.

“Everybody’s got their eye on them,’’ said Donovan Brewington of his top target. “He opens it up for everybody else.”

As he enters his fourth season as the Tiger quarterback, Donovan feels his knowledge of the game has improved and he’s able to make better decisions in certain situations, maturing both as a quarterback and an athlete.

He plans to get more work in over the summer on his footwork and throwing mechanics.

“I’m looking forward to producing better numbers than we did last year,’’ he said.

His experience is going to be crucial because of inexperience elsewhere.

“This is the youngest team I’ve coached in a long, long time,’’ Coach Brewington said. “We’ll be starting nine or 10 sophomores.’’

 

PHOTOS: (T-B) Rodney Brewington & Donovan Brewington

Last season, the Bears saw nine players go down with season-ending injuries and had several others who missed parts of the season because of injuries.

But, as head coach David Lovette likes to say, excuses are for losers, and this year during spring practice he began the work of trying to get back to what he described as “being Gray’s Creek.’’

On offense, he said that means finding what he called the team’s north, returning to the kind of explosive running game the Bears’ wing-t offense has been famous for under Lovette.

Defensively, he said the Bears want to do a better job of recognizing things and reading their keys.

Last year’s rash of injuries saw the Bears go 1-10 overall and 1-7 in Patriot Athletic Conference play, beating only winless Douglas Byrd.

The Bears enter the 2018 season optimistic with depth at running back.

Andre Allen, who rushed for 693 yards and nine touchdowns last year, is back. “He’s a very good athlete,’’ Lovette said.

Also returning is Trey Beckett, who was a 1,000-yard rusher as a sophomore but dipped to 793 yards and seven touchdowns last season.

Beckett, like his coach, offered no excuses for how the Bears finished last year.

“You’ve got to push through with what you’ve got, regardless of who’s playing out there,’’ he said.

Also like Lovette, he wants the offense to be explosive again. “I remember seeing Gray’s Creek running up and down the field on everybody,’’ he said. “I want to get back to being great.’’

As for his role on this year’s team, Beckett said he wants to be a leader and set a good example for the younger players. “I’m telling them not to take anything for granted,’’ he said. “I want to dominate the field, both sides of the ball.’’

Also back for the Bears along with Allen and Beckett is Cedrick McDowell, who had 665 yards rushing and five touchdowns in 2017.

The versatile Trevor Thomas, one of the players Gray’s Creek lost for the season last year, is being counted on to play multiple roles. “He’s going to play some receiver, quarterback and running back,’’ Lovette said. “We’re going to try to use him different ways.’’

The Bears lost one of their top defensive players with the graduation of Aaron Harrison, who will attend Charleston Southern.

A trio of players is expected to help lead the defense, among them Dominique McMillan, Isaiah Mills and Kendall Evans.

While Lovette is appreciative of the chance to practice in the spring, he wishes the North Carolina High School Athletic Association would follow the lead of bordering states like Tennessee and Georgia and allow a few days of full contact practice during the spring.

But, he said, “Any sort of practice is about getting better. That’s our big thing. Hopefully we can achieve that.’’

 

PHOTOS: (T-B) David Lovette & Trey Beckett

Ilove watching motorcycle racing. Speed, knees down and nerves of steel.

I remember getting my first Yamaha FZ-1. I loved that bike. I was lean and mean, and I felt invincible. I remember taking curves with my knees hanging down just trying to be as cool as those superstar racers on TV. My adrenaline was pumping, and I knew I was hitting those 150 mph speeds. In reality, I was probably doing about 30 mph, and my knees were nowhere near the pavement. It was a good thing too, because all I had on was a pair of blue jeans.

When we ride straight up, our body, bike and gravity make an invisible line that is vertical. This is the straight axis, which is the combination of the bike and rider combined. As we enter a curve and lean, the axis line stays vertical, but our angle, speed and gravity combine to move the bike’s center of gravity, and the new axis moves inward or outward.

On the outside, motorcycling is just a fun sport. On the inside, it is machinery and science. To understand our ability to take curves, let’s looks at Newton’s laws of motion.

Newton’s first law of motion states that every object will remain at rest or in motion in a straight line unless something changes by the actions of external force.

A stopped motorcycle will stay stopped until force is applied to make it move. Twist the throttle, and the action is transferred throughout the bike to the rear tire so you move forward. Once moving, the bike will continue to move in a straight line until an external force makes it change.

Newton’s second law states that the velocity of an object changes when it is subjected to an external force.

This law can be applied to how we move our weight, lean, or push the handle bars in the case of counter steering. There are so many ways that one can turn a motorcycle. Our riding position, gravity, speed of the bike, the rate of the turn and force all form the equation of a turn.

Riders can do little things to make their turns more controlled. If you place your feet inward on your foot pegs and press your knee against the tank in the direction you want to turn, your weight
will shift ever so slightly, and your bike will start to turn in response.

Newton’s third law states that for every action (force), there is an equal and opposite reaction. As we watch the racer take the curve, the rider leans off the bike. If you could see into his helmet, you would see his eyes focused on where he wants to go. As he approaches the turn, his eyes, mind and body have already calculated an angle to take the curve, and his body shifts as he moves into the turn. The speed of the bike compresses the shocks. The weight and lean of the bike keep it balanced throughout the turn.

Riding and understanding the science of motorcycling is one thing. It is another to do it. If you think that you want to actually get your knees down and take turns as fast as a racer, I would strongly suggest going to a riding school. They will ensure your bike is set up correctly and that you wear the proper protective gear. With a clean track, good visibility and professional help, they will teach you how to be a superstar – safely.

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

As a youngster, Dr. Kent Dean remembers the hours he spent enjoying various forms of recreation on Hope Mills Lake. Now that the lake has finally returned, he understands there’s a strong desire for local people to swim and enjoy the opportunities for fun the lake offers.

At the same time, as a veterinarian who’s practiced in Hope Mills for 31 years, he knows the town is wise to prohibit swimming in the lake until something can be done to lower the amount of fecal material that tests of the lake water have shown to be present.

Dean said there are a lot of intestinal, and in some cases respiratory, infections that can be transmitted by goose droppings.

His research found that a typical goose eats as much as four pounds of grass per day and can leave upward of a pound and a half to three pounds of droppings behind in that same period.

That means a flock of 20 or 30 geese in one location like the lake could produce a maximum close to 100 pounds of droppings per day.

That’s part of the reason the lake has tested for high levels of fecal waste.

“If it’s in the water, you can get it,’’ Dean said of the various illnesses that can be transmitted by goose droppings. Infections can come from a number of sources, he said, including E. coli and a Protozoa parasite called giardia.

Dean said giardia live in the intestinal tract of dogs and birds. “We can ingest it and it can cause bad diarrhea,’’ he said.

While people in good health are less likely to be infected by something in goose droppings, Dean said there’s always a chance. The odds increase if someone has a compromised immune system.

While people could become infected if the organisms enter an open wound on a person’s body, Dean said the most likely way is by swallowing the bacteria or breathing it in.

One disease the geese can transmit is called psittacosis, which appears in humans as a flu-like ailment that includes pneumonia.

Children, whose immune systems aren’t fully developed, are at risk, along with people who suffer from certain types of diseases or are undergoing chemotherapy.

“Anybody that’s got an infection where their immune system isn’t functioning well, they’re more susceptible for sure,’’ Dean said.

Dean said he drove by the lake recently and saw geese nearby. He is concerned about what options the town has to remove them.

“You can’t shoot or poison them,’’ Dean said. “They are protected.’’

Dean said there’s no practical way to sanitize the lake like a giant swimming pool.

One feasible option could be to hire an outside company to chase the geese away.

“Golf courses have a big problem (with geese),’’ Dean said. “There are people you can hire to bring in border collies and pester them enough to leave.’’

Hope Mills Mayor Jackie Warner said the town hasn’t reached a decision on what to do about the ongoing problem with geese and other water fowl polluting the lake. A few people have continued to go swimming despite the warnings about the danger. She said town officials could increase police presence at the lake to discourage swimmers. They already have signs posted asking people not to feed the geese so they hopefully won’t congregate there.

Warner hopes people will cooperate because town officials want to do everything possible to avoid imposing any real penalties for people who go into the water.

“It’s kind of sad,’’ Dean said. “It would be nice if it wasn’t like that, where animals and people could use it together.’’

Meetings

For details about all meetings and activities, including location where not listed, call Acting Deputy Town Clerk Tiffany Gillstedt at 910-426-4112. Most meetings take place at Town Hall.

Activities

• Hope Mills Area Kiwanis Club at Sammio’s, second Tuesdays at noon and fourth Tuesdays at 6 p.m. For details, call 910-237-1240.

• Fall sports registration through July 28. $30 per child; $15 late fee after registration deadline. Season begins Sept. 8. Call 910-426-4109 for details.

• First Annual 4th of July Pageant Friday-Saturday, June 22-23. For more information, call 910-426-4107.

• Wine-Tasting, Cheese and Appetizers Saturday, July 28, 5-8 p.m. Held at the Boarding House Tea Room, 3903 Ellison St., at the corner of W. Patterson Street across from Hope Mills YMCA. Open to the public once there is a 10-person commitment. Mix and mingle in cozy and quaint surroundings. Tasty hors d’oeuvres and vintage treasures available. Call Carla at 910-527-7455 to make reservations.

Promote yourself: Email hopemills@upandcomingweekly.com.

Family, friends and many former players came to South View High School on a warm Saturday afternoon earlier this month to pay tribute to former Hope Mills Boosters baseball coach Doug Watts.

Watts, himself a graduate of American Legion baseball at Whiteville in the late 1940s, gave 51 straight summers helping coach the sport he loved before finally retiring just before the start of this season.

Mark Kahlenberg, current coach of the Hope Mills team, organized the ceremony at the South View High School baseball field where the Boosters play their home games, presenting Watts with a framed Hope Mills orange jersey to remember his years of service.

Chip Watts, Watts’ son, threw the ceremonial first pitch to his father, who served as catcher.

Asked why his dad gave 51 years to American Legion baseball, Chip said the answer was simple.

“He felt he got to college (East Carolina) because of American Legion baseball,’’ Chip said. “He wanted to give that opportunity to other people.

“He makes everybody feel important, whether you’re in the starting lineup or sitting on the bench. When you feel like you’re important, it tends to bring out the best in you.’’

Jay Johnson, who went to high school at Cape Fear, was the shortstop on one of Watts’ best Legion teams, the 1984 squad that won the Eastern American Legion title and advanced to the state championship series before falling to perennial power Salisbury.

“To me, it went way further and deeper than baseball,’’ Johnson said. “He was more like family with me. He was almost like another father.

“Even after baseball, I’ve maintained a relationship with him. I love him as much today as when I first set foot on the field with him.’’

Watts said he was thankful for all the people who have stuck with him over the years as he strove to keep American Legion baseball alive in Cumberland County. There were once a number of
American Legion teams in Cumberland and surrounding counties. For the last several years, Hope Mills and Whiteville have fielded the only Legion teams in the Cape Fear region.

“I think travel ball has taken some of the popularity away from American Legion baseball,’’ Watts said. He recalled when he played the game in 1948 in Whiteville, there wasn’t even television for people to watch at night.

He said he stuck with it because he enjoyed watching young people battle to win every night, and for the chance to redeem themselves by being a hero in a game after making a costly mistake the night before.

“When people come and tell you it’s the best years of their life, it was mine too,’’ he said.

 

PHOTO: Doug Watts

While the term “fake news” may be of recent vintage, the phenomenon isn’t. For decades, policymakers in North Carolina and elsewhere have trafficked in poorly understood, misleading or demonstrably false information – often unknowingly, although that’s bad enough – and made poor decisions as a result.

A new survey from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics exposed one of the most egregious recent examples: the notion of the “gig economy.” For years, we’ve been told that the stable jobs our parents and grandparents once enjoyed are increasingly being replaced by short-term contracts, temp agencies and the proliferation of independent contractors, many of whom would rather not own their own businesses but are forced to do so by heartless employers and inexorable economic forces.

This is a factual claim, although hard facts have rarely been in evidence. The just-released BLS report represents the first large-scale survey of its kind in more than a decade. It shows that contingent work and independent contracting are not up. They are down.

In May 2017, 1.3 percent of U.S. wage and salary workers reported that they had been in their jobs for no longer than a year and expect to keep their jobs for no longer than an additional year. The latest time BLS asked this question, in 2005, 1.8 percent of respondents fit this definition of contingent workers. In 1995, the share was 2.2 percent.

When BLS broadened the definition to include independent contractors and the self-employed, as well as wage or salary workers who’d been in their current positions for more than a year, the share of contingent workers was 3.8 percent in 2017, 4.1 percent in 2005, and 4.9 percent in 1995. As for “alternative employment arrangements” in general, as BLS defined them, there are fewer independent contractors as a share of the workforce today than in 2005, and about the same number of on-call workers, employees of temp agencies and people working for contract-services firms.

Obviously, some professions and industries have become more likely to feature contingent workers and alternative arrangements over time, such as personal transportation. Uber drivers, usually working part time to supplement their salaries from other jobs, have displaced some full-time cab drivers. But other sectors have moved in the opposite direction, toward full-time employment.

Progressive and populist populations have frequently cited the expansion of the gig economy, and its supposedly pernicious effects, as a justification for pet policies ranging from expanding health insurance and job-training programs to strengthening labor unions and restricting international trade.

But it turns out that not only has there been no expansion of the gig economy in the first place, but also many of the millions of people who do work that way actually prefer their current  arrangements. Among independent contractors, for example, 79 percent said they’d rather work that way than be a traditional employee. And among temp workers, while a substantial number (46 percent) said they’d prefer a full-time job – and, of course, temp placements often lead in that direction – that’s a lower share than in 2005.

At least in the case of poverty statistics, also fraught with misunderstandings and misinterpretations, politicians have a better excuse: the official statistics are themselves flawed.

Is poverty lower, higher or about the same today as it was before the “War on Poverty” of the 1960s? If you go by the official measure, there hasn’t been much improvement. But the official  measure understates income, overstates inflation and leaves out public assistance programs such as Medicaid. Properly measured, the poverty rate is vastly lower today (less than 5 percent) than it was in the 1960s (30 percent).

Whether the subject is employment, poverty, education or health care, there will never be perfection in public discourse. We are all prone to making errors or missing important details. But at the very least, we should check our sources, define terms more precisely and be particularly skeptical of gloomy claims about things being worse today than in the past. To be blunt, such claims are usually wrong.

Can the experience of worldrenowned musician and North Carolina native Joseph Robinson contribute to North Carolina’s ongoing dialogue about the purpose and value of higher education?

You be the judge.

Robinson’s recent memoir, “Long Winded: An Oboist’s Incredible Journey to the New York Philharmonic,” asks: How did a small-town boy who never attended conservatory persuade one of the world’s greatest conductors, Zubin Mehta, to give him a chance at one of the world’s most coveted positions in one of the world’s greatest orchestras?

Robinson grew up in Lenoir, finished Davidson College, spent a year in Germany on a Fulbright fellowship and did graduate study at the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton. Without the  focused, intensive conservatory training that is a usual prerequisite to a high-level performing career, his effort to build a life around his passion for the oboe was a struggle. He moved through a series of journeyman teaching and performing positions at the Atlanta Symphony, the North Carolina School of the Arts and the University of Maryland before he broke through to the top

Growing up in a small North Carolina town might not be the best background for an aspiring classical musician. But the mountain furniture community of Lenoir had the best high school band in the state. When Robinson was drafted to fill an empty oboe slot, his course was set.

He loved the oboe so much that his Davidson classmates called him “Oboe Joe.” But Davidson’s musical program lacked the professional music training that Robinson craved. He almost  transferred to Oberlin where there were more opportunities. Instead, he stayed at Davidson and majored in English, economics and the liberal arts, focusing on writing and expression

His success at Davidson led to a Fulbright grant and the opportunity to meet Marcel Tabuteau, whom Robinson says was the greatest player and oboe pedagogue of the 20th century. When Tabuteau learned that Robinson was an English major and a good writer who could help write his book on oboe theory, he agreed to give him oboe instruction. Those five weeks with Tabuteau, Robinson says, “more than compensated for the conservatory training I did not receive.”

Years later, Robinson still had not achieved his aspiration to land a first oboe chair in a major orchestra when Harold Gomberg, the acclaimed lead oboe of the New York Philharmonic, retired.

Audaciously, Robinson applied, and when finally granted an audition, he prepared endlessly. He was ready for the hour and 20 minutes of paces the audition committee demanded. Afterwards, he was confident that he had done very well.

But Philharmonic’s personnel manager, James Chambers, after saying how well the audition went, reported that music director Mehta judged Robinson’s tone “too strong” for the Philharmonic. He was not to be one of the two players who were finalists.

That should have been the end of it, but Robinson writes, “I knew that winning a once-in-a-lifetime position like principal oboe of the New York Philharmonic was like winning the lottery.”

At 3 a.m., he wrote Chambers explaining why his tone might have seemed too strong and, “You will not make a mistake by choosing Eric or Joe, but you might by excluding me if tone is really the issue.”

When Chambers read the letter to Mehta, they agreed that it could not have been “more persuasive or fortuitous.”

Chambers reported that Mehta said, “If you believe in yourself that much, he will hear you again.”

Robinson’s final audition was successful. “His winning lottery ticket,” he writes, “had Davidson College written all over it.”

How does Robinson’s experiences contribute to our higher education debate? Simply put, while training for jobs and careers is critical, liberal arts are the keys to special lifetime opportunities like Robinson’s “winning lottery ticket.”

 

PHOTO: Joseph Robinson

The Caribbean American Connection of Fayetteville, will host its 8th Annual Heritage Caribbean Festival Sunday, June 24, from 12-9 p.m. in Festival Park.

“This is our festival where we give back to the community so they can learn about our culture,” said Sheron Baker, coordinator of the event.

The festival will feature authentic foods, arts and crafts, local performers, African dancers, Salsa singers, games for the children, face painting, Reggae singers, clothing, vendors and more.

“We have a lot of fun stuff we will be doing with the kids, and we will teach them about our culture,” said Baker.

In 2006, President George W. Bush issued an annual proclamation recognizing June as Caribbean American Heritage Month. “The month is designed to let the community know what the culture is about and all about the Caribbean,” said Baker. “We share our culture, food, dance and the customs we did before we got here.”

Baker added that the event continues to grow bigger each year, which is why it is being held in Festival Park.

The Caribbean’s rich culture has historically been influenced by that of African, European, Amerindian and Asian traditions. “We have a lot of different tastes and types of food that we eat, and we wear certain ethnic clothing,” said Baker. “We listen to Reggae, Salsa and steel band music, and we love to dance.”

The nonprofit organization also volunteers to help a local school. “We adopted a local school, and every Thanksgiving we provide to the school,” said Baker. “We also help with back-to-school drives, help flood victims, assist the Salvation Army with feeding the homeless, support the International Folk Festival and take part in Fayetteville State University’s International Culture Day.”

Baker also noted that “We have fundraisers to raise money in order to make this event successful. We have local restaurants who sponsor us to help make this event great. We look forward to the community coming out to support our event.”

Admission is free. For more information, call 910-261-6910

This summer, two library systems, Fort Bragg’s Throckmorton Library and Cumberland County Public Libraries, will host summer reading programs. The programs are designed to encourage reading among all ages through activities, events and prizes.

The goal of these programs is to combat a phenomenon known as the “summer slide,” or summer learning loss. Summer slide is the tendency of students in the summer to lose some of the knowledge and academic skills they learned during the school year. Research shows, on average, students lose a month’s worth of school-learning over summer vacation, with declines in math and reading. The loss grows more substantial as student age increases. Reading is shown to help counteract the effects of the summer slide, and libraries hope to encourage readership through their summer reading programs.

Fort Bragg’s summer reading program, held by Throckmorton Library, runs from June to July. Though it has already begun, anyone can sign up throughout the six weeks of the program.

The program has an event each Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. The activities include the “Children’s Song Hour” on June 20 to help children learn letters, syllables, words and sentences  through music. The June 27 program is titled “The Parisian Juggler – Paris.” Another event is “Living in a Vacuum, the Liquid Nitrogen Show: Space” on July 11. This event will show science in action through experiments involving vacuum chambers and liquid nitrogen. July 18 is themed “Saddle Up ‘N’ Read with the Amazing Teacher, Steve Somers: Cowboys.” The program concludes on July 25 with “The Rockstar Magic of Chris and Neal.”

All Throckmorton Library summer reading events are free and open to all ages. The summer reading program is sponsored by Fort Bragg Federal Credit Union, Triangle Rock Club, Pioneer Services and USAA.

Cumberland County Public Library’s summer reading program began June 1 and ends August 15. Readers of all ages are encouraged to join, with the library hosting visitors such as Pete the Cat and Clifford the Big Red Dog. There will also be crafts and experiments focusing on science, technology, engineering and math. Readers who progress through the program will earn prizes. Teens and adults who participate may win gift cards. The gifts are provided by the Friends of the Library, and there is a limit of one prize per person.

For more information on Fort Bragg’s summer reading program, and to register as a reader, visit: https://bragg.armymwr.com/promos/2018-summer-readingprogram.com

For more information on Cumberland County Public Library summer reading program, and to register as a reader, visit: http://ccplbulletins.blogspot.com/2018/05/summer-readingprograms-because.html.

June 22 marks 4th Friday in downtown Fayetteville. It is an exciting time the check out the new exhibits and activities. Every month, Cool Spring Downtown District sponsors a theme and coordinates with downtown businesses and galleries to host activities within that theme. It’s fun for the merchants as well as people who come to explore the small galleries, bookstores, bistros and shops while seeing exhibitors and artists of all types.

This month’s theme is commUNITY, to celebrate the diversity within the community. Business owners will have posters set up with their stories of when they first felt like they were a part of the community, and a gift basket will be given away to those eligible after taking selfies with the stories of the owners.

Every year, the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County invites the community to submit artwork for its ever-popular unjuried exhibit, “Public Works.” More than 150 pieces of art representing the diversity and creativity of this community will be on display through July 21. For details, call 910-323-1776.

The Ellington-White Gallery University Art Faculty Exhibit features the works of visual art faculty members from Fayetteville State University, Methodist University and Fayetteville Technical Community College. The exhibit will hang through June 30. Call 910-483-1388 for details.

Fascinate-U Children’s Museum brings a touch of whimsy to each 4th Friday celebration with activities for children. This month, visitors can learn paper folding techniques to create three- dimensional sculptures. Visit www.fascinate-u.com to learn more about Fascinate-U and the many summer activities it hosts.

The Market House of Cumberland County holds monthly exhibits on local history for 4th Fridays, and this month, World War I is on display in the “Fayetteville – ‘Over There’” exhibit along with its more permanent exhibit, “A View from the Square: A History of Downtown Fayetteville.” Call 910-483-2073 to learn more.

The Cumberland County Public Library will hold a local author showcase at 7 p.m. at the Headquarters Library. Local authors will be available to meet and talk to the community about their books and many writings, providing the chance to recognize and learn more about local authors and the diversity of their writing inspirations. To make a reservation for a table at the annual Local Author Showcase, visit theartscouncil.com/opportunity/local-author-showcase-cumberlandcounty-public-library.com and follow the instructions for submission.

The June 4th Friday event is all about the commUNITY and unifying those in the community, locals and tourists, with events, shopping, galleries, exhibits, artists of every kind, entertainment and more. Call 910-223-1089 to learn more.

The oldest conveyor of human thought and emotion is storytelling. It manifests in art of all forms. From the symmetry of the Giza pyramids to the poetry of Maya Angelou to Kendrick Lamar’s lyrics, through and through, we somehow feel closer to humanity as art transforms and validates our existence. We know we need it, but how does inspiration for art come about? In the brain, the heart, the soul, the divine... magic? This is the driving question of Shane Wilson’s new book, “The Smoke in His Eyes.” City Center Gallery & Books will host Wilson’s premiere North Carolina book reading event Thursday, June 28.

As a child, Wilson remembers how he fell into his imagination and conjured up stories. Now as an English teacher at Fayetteville Technical Community College, he has two novelsunder his belt. The latest book saw its publication release by GenZ Publishing on May 18.

“The Smoke in His Eyes” tells the tale of musicians. TJ is haunted by a mysterious and traumatic childhood event that rears its ugly head in visions. Muna, who appears as ethereal smoke, attempts to help him understand the nature of his visions.

“The book explores both of their individual reasons for creating art and their inspirations for it,” said Wilson.

Much like his first novel, “Smoke in His Eyes” falls into the magical realism genre. But the story holds fast to real-world actions and emotions. According to Wilson, the book is very much a North Carolina book. An entire section is even devoted to seeing the protagonist in the Appalachian Mountains.

The surreal elements of the narrative, in turn, heighten the mysterious events of everyday life.

“The best parts of life are the parts we have a hard time explaining,” said Wilson. “That’s what I would consider the magic of life, so I just like to dial that up when I write fiction. As adults, we’ve lost that sense of wonder a little bit. But there’s something in people that still likes fantasy, that escapism.”

 

Magic is just another word for inspiration, in Wilson’s words. After writing his first novel, his anxiety was, quite simply, having no new story to write. No inspiration to tap.

One line sums up Wilson’s fear: You’re going to have to figure out what you’re going to write about when you’ve run out of stories to tell.

Wilson’s fascination with the origins of inspiration ended up fueling the themes of his second novel.

“What is the compulsion to create and what is the compulsion to share?” questioned Wilson. “Essentially, the art we create is the only evidence for the existence of inspiration.”

“The Smoke in His Eyes” contemplates the role of inspiration in music. The main character is a guitarist. In fact, Wilson learned to play the guitar for this novel and even wrote the original songs featured in the book.

His dedication to craft reveals itself also in his upcoming book reading at City Center Gallery & Books. According to him, the reading would be disingenuous without music.

“The talks are going to be like a VH-1 storytelling situation where I’ll read a little bit and talk about it and then I’ll play a song,” said Wilson. “I think it’s an interesting wrinkle or spin on the old classic book reading.”

Wilson hopes the discussions at the book reading pivot toward the intersections of the different arts and how those arts help us make sense of our own lives.

“(My) book is for somebody,” Wilson said. “It’s just that those people have to find it, and readings give me an opportunity to do that. I love to talk about art, really. It’s less about talking about my own stuff than it is talking about books. It’s really exciting.”

The reading will take place at City Center on 112 Hay St. from 6 to 8 p.m. on June 28. It is free and open to the public. Call the venue at 910-678-8899 for more information.

A lot has been written about the diversity of Fayetteville City Council District 2. Another freshman politician has been chosen to succeed former Councilman Tyrone Williams. Williams resigned in May after being accused of attempting to bribe PCH Holdings’ Jordan Jones. The FBI’s Public Corruption Unit has been looking into the allegation.

Local Chiropractor and construction contractor Dan Culliton was appointed by council to succeed Williams last week. “District 2 is traditionally not as apt to choose someone like me,” said
Culliton, who is white.

District 2 is one of four predominantly African-American districts created by the 2010 census to provide for the likely election of minority candidates. However, two other white men have been elected in recent years. Kirk deViere most recently served the district before deciding to seek higher office, paving the way for Williams. In the mid-2000s, businessman Paul Williams was the District 2 council representative.

Culliton, 48, will be sworn in June 25. He finished runner-up to Tyrone Williams in last year’s general election and will serve the remainder of Williams’ term.

Culliton told Up & Coming Weekly he isn’t sure if he will seek election next year. He said it will depend on the will of the people.

“I’m going to be a strong voice for the district,” he said. Of his selection by city council, Culliton said, “They did the right thing; I’ve been engaged in the district for a long time.”

The district is shaped like a fan with five blades. It also includes a satellite residential area near Fayetteville Regional Airport. Its population is 57 percent African-American.

The Cumberland County Board of Elections says there are 16,740 registered voters in District 2, an impressive percentage of its 22,000 residents. Of that number, 9,498 voters are African-American. There are 5,039 white voters. But, only 2,600 voters turned out in the general election last November. Williams received a 56 percent majority.

District 2 is thought of as primarily serving the downtown area and East Fayetteville. There are portions of 21 voting precincts in the district. It also covers a significant part of Haymount north of  Hay Street over to Westmont Drive. On the northside, it includes areas along Ramsey Street as far north as Tokay and Country Club Drives. To the west, the district blankets areas north of and along Bragg Boulevard to Cain Road, where it butts up to District 4. And, east of the river, District 2 encompasses mostly residential neighborhoods from Person Street to Cedar Creek Road out to I-95, exit 49. It goes south along Southern Avenue and Legion Road and on Owen Drive to Village Drive.

 

PHOTO: Dan Culliton

George T. “Tommy” Griffin was known as an innovator to colleagues. The courthouse crowd also knew Griffin as a fun-filled prankster. He was dedicated to the staff of the Cumberland County Superior Court Clerk’s office. Griffin was buried last week following his death from a long illness. He was 77 years old and served as clerk of court for nearly 30 years.

Griffin was appointed in 1972, four years after what was then called “the new courthouse” was opened. He won election every four years after that without opposition. Griffin surprised a lot of people when he decided to run for sheriff in 2001. He lost the democratic primary to Earl “Moose” Butler in the 2002 Democratic primary election.

In the early 1960s, he paid his way through college at what was then Pembroke State University. Soon thereafter, Griffin became involved with the state’s Administrative Office of the Courts in Raleigh. He was a leader in creating a unified state court system after Tar Heel residents passed a constitutional amendment. Under this uniform judicial system, administration and budgeting were centralized. All court personnel are now paid by the state, and the Administrative Office of the Courts is responsible for developing a single budget for the entire judicial system.

North Carolina Superior Court clerks serve as probate judges. Domestic relations cases involving alimony, child support, child custody, divorce, equitable distribution and juvenile matters are also heard in this court. The clerks also maintain criminal court, civil court and juvenile court records as well as estate records. They provide courtroom clerks for all sessions of court in their respective counties.

Colleagues were impressed with Gifford’s forward thinking when he became superior court clerk in 1972. As new computer database and record-keeping technologies became available, he implemented them as budgets would allow. Cumberland County began pilot programs that soon went statewide.

Tommy Griffin was especially keen on his responsibility to the public, providing citizens access to all public court records.

He also collected fines and court fees and doled out child support payments.

Former Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Coy Brewer said Griffin was the driving force behind a pretrial release program that Cumberland County implemented to reduce overcrowding at
the jail.

Griffin’s senior assistant clerk, Linda Priest, took over for him when he retired in 2001. “He loved a good time” and was quite a jokester, she said.

Chief District Court Judge Robert Stiehl noted Griffin’s ability to hire hardworking, smart people. Griffin’s survivors include his wife, Pamela, and two sons.

 

PHOTO: George T. “Tommy” Griffin served as clerk of court for nearly 30 years.

Section of Cliffdale Road closed to traffic

The Aberdeen & Rockfish Railroad grade crossing on Skibo Road will likely remain under construction a few more days. It has disrupted local traffic since June 18. The North Carolina Department of Transportation closed Skibo Road (U.S. 401 Bypass) in both directions between Cliffdale Road and Chason Ridge Drive. It provides access to Best Buy, Target and other nearby shopping areas.

The busy corridor is scheduled to reopen at 5 p.m. Friday, June 22. Local motorists will likely use Glensford Drive, which runs parallel to Skibo as a detour.

Railroad workers are replacing the rubber-type crossing with more durable concrete panels. Aberdeen & Rockfish completed the same type of improvement last year at Raeford and South McPherson Church Roads. After the rail improvements are made, NCDOT will repave the crossing to make a smooth driving transition.

 

Cumberland County Schools funding boost

The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners is increasing school funding by several million dollars for the fiscal year beginning July 1. The county is providing $80,150,000 to Cumberland
County Schools for current expense funding.

The amount is an increase of $686,891 above the current fiscal year. The school board and county commissioners settled a funding dispute during a mediation June 11.

County commissioners also agreed to pay the schools 25 percent of tax revenues collected above the budgeted revenues for Fiscal Year 2018. Significantly, the county is also providing $1,315,299 for school nurses; $2,422,025 for School Resource Officers; and $865,093 for Crossing Guards, for a total of $84,752,417 of local county dollars for current expenses next fiscal year.

“It is our hope that both boards will once again develop a multi-year funding agreement, and we look forward to having those conversations with our new school superintendent,” said Board of
Commissioners Chairman Larry Lancaster.

Downtown bridge repair delays

Reconstruction of the North Cool Spring Street Bridge connecting Grove Street to Person Street will be delayed for several weeks. The city says repairs began in November 2017 and were expected to be completed by now. But problems that had not been found initially have added to the time schedule. This includes repairs to water and sewer mains, bank stabilization, storm drainage, curb and gutter and the sidewalk.

A portion of North Cool Spring Street was washed away by flood waters from Hurricane Matthew in October 2016. Two other downtown bridges over Cross Creek are still closed, one of them – the Ann Street bridge – because of damage three years ago.

Unattended cooking fires

Fire officials say walking away from the range while cooking results in one of the most common causes of house fires. There have been at least two instances in Fayetteville of unattended cooking resulting in fires this month.

The most recent was at a home on McMillan Street off Campbell Avenue downtown. The first arriving fire engine “found a single story, residential structure with fire showing from the front of the
building,” said Deputy Fire Chief Hieu Sifford.

Firefighters were able to quickly find the origin of the fire and extinguish the blaze. The lone occupant of the house was not hurt. Sifford said the fire was contained mostly to the kitchen, resulting in an estimated $8,000 in damage.

The same day, fire crews said unattended cooking resulted in a kitchen fire in Windsor Terrace off Hillsboro Street. The occupant left his cooking on the stove and laid down to take a cap. Chief Sifford said a smoke alarm woke him up to discover the fire. He was not hurt.

Recycling is up in Fayetteville

North Carolina’s Recycling and Materials Management Section has released recycling numbers for all 100 counties showing a 5.3 percent increase in paper and container recycling compared to the previous year. Local recycling programs collected more than 1.7 million tons of traditional and nontraditional materials last year.

“Recycling collection in North Carolina has expanded alongside increasing demand for recyclable material by in-state manufacturers,” said Wendy Worley, Recycling and Materials Management section chief. “Counties and municipalities are targeting much more than paper, cans and plastics. There are so many more materials that can be recycled, like construction debris, wood and electronics, and kept from going into the landfill.”

North Carolina recovered almost 27,000 more tons of paper than the previous year and 8,000 more tons of metal. Plastics and glass tonnages remained essentially unchanged.

The state says Cumberland County’s population has grown by 100,000 people since the 1991-92 fiscal year, but recycling here has increased by 32 percent since then. The city of Fayetteville was among the first to make curbside recycling available.

Come, let us now praise famous Environmental Protection Agency administrators. Who’s the leader of the club that’s made for you and me? None other than America’s most fearless and quirkiest Protector of the Environment. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Scott Pruitt. And as the emcee almost said in “Cabaret,” “When you are finished with him, you don’t have to bring him back.” He is nonrecyclable. Unless you have been living under the lava at Leilani Estates in Hawaii, our man Scotty is probably the best-known EPA administrator in years for his many scandals.

The president tells us he is going to drain the swamp in Washington, D.C. Who better to drain the D.C. swamp than a Swamp Thing like Scotty? It takes one to know one. Thinking about Scotty draining the swamp reminded me of one of the classic movies of all times, “Swamp Thing.” The plot of “Swamp Thing” is a bit convoluted, but basically, Dr. Alec Holland is a scientist who managed to get doused in a secret formula that grows plants, is set on fire and jumps into a swamp to put out the fire. Dr. Al mutates into the Swamp Thing, who is part plant and part man.

Dr. Al is scary on the outside but a sweetie on the inside. He falls in love with the enormously talented Adrienne Barbeau, who plays a lady scientist who has to take a bath. The Swamp Thing and Scott Pruitt are similar in looks and may have been separated at birth. Scott undoubtedly got chosen for his job as a result of his resemblance to the Swamp Thing.

Scotty can generate more scandals in a single bound than Superman can jump over tall buildings. And yet, he persists despite all his troubles. What is so colorful as a Scotty Scandal? Let me count some of the ways: $130 fountain pens for signing orders voiding environmental regulations; first class air plane flights to keep him away from the hostile, unwashed masses yearning to breathe free and clean air; a $43,000 Maxwell Smart cone of silence telephone booth for calling in orders for pizza and selling the mineral rights in National Parks; and renting a room for $50 a night from a lobbyist.

Next time you are in D.C., see what sort of room you can get for $50 a night. If you find such a room, bring your AK-47 and Samurai sword, as you will need them for protection from things that  go bump in the dark in a $50 room. Scotty likes to use emergency sirens on his motorcade to clear the streets of mere motorists who could get in his way to important dinner reservations at a fancy French restaurant – must not allow the Vichyssoise soup to get cold.

Let us stop for a moment to catch our breath. At the risk of boring you with scandal after Scotty Scandal, let us look at my two favorite Scotty Scandals.

At the top of my list of entertaining scandals, I place Chickengate. After taking office as head honcho of the EPA, Scotty got in touch with Dan Cathy, the CEO of Chick-fil-A, with a business proposition. Scotty wanted to hustle up a Chick-fil-A franchise for his lovely wife, Marlyn. By the time this column reaches print, the Trump/Kim summit will be in the history books. As a sop for not giving up his nuclear weapons, the rumor mill has it that Kim will allow an American fast food restaurant to open somewhere in North Korea. If it turns out that Scotty gets a fast food franchise in Pyongyang, you will know that the fix was in. As the politicians and talking heads say on TV: “When you come to the dining room table and drill down into giving Scotty a Chick-fil-A franchise in North Korea, it’s a robust, win-win situation at the end of the day.” Scotty can then move to North Korea to sell chicken, allowing the EPA to escape his grasp.

In a very close second place to Chickengate on the Richter scale of Politicians Behaving Badly, we find Scotty’s puzzling quest to purchase a used mattress from the Trump International Hotel in D.C. For reasons known only to Scotty, he sent a federal employee paid by your tax dollars to inquire at the Trump Hotel in Washington as to how much it would cost to get a used mattress from said hotel. By now, you are probably asking yourself, “Self, why would Scotty want a used mattress from Trump Tower?”

Scotty is not just an ordinary Joe who wants a used mattress to save money. There must be another reason. Maybe he was planning on taking the mattress with him to Pyongyang when he sets up his chicken fast food franchise. There could be a shortage of Sleep Number smart mattresses north of the 38th parallel. Maybe he has been watching “The Godfather.” Scotty may have
imprinted on the scene where Clemenza has to scout out locations for the Coreleone family to go to the mattresses to hang out when the war starts with the Barzini and Tattaglia mafia families. Perhaps The Donald can get Scotty used mattresses wholesale. Maybe Scotty just has a thing for stained bedding like a Glorious Leader of the Western World? As the president likes to say, “We’ll see.”

What’s it all about, Alfie? As the great singer Tom Russell once sang: “Sky above. Mud below.”

 

PHOTO: Scott Pruitt is probably the best-known EPA administrator in years for his many scandals.

A joke going around a while back held that medical science wants to study U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan as they are the only human beings able to walk upright even though they are spineless.

Whether this joke makes you chuckle or enrages you, “spineless” is used even by Republicans to describe both members of Congress and moderates across the country who stand silent no matter what Donald Trump says or does.

Said Richard North Patterson in The Washington Post in April, “With few exceptions, congressional Republicans are cowed by this president. They are accustomed to making excuses for him, and if they were going to stand up to him, they’ve already had plenty of chances.”

In The Boston Globe, Patterson also weighed in with this: “So completely has the GOP become Donald Trump’s personal chorus of sycophants that their thin cries of protest over tariffs evoke the quavering voices of captives in a hostage video.”

Writing for The Washington Post, Jennifer Rubin addressed spinelessness. “First, unlike Senate and House Republicans during Watergate, there are few genuine leaders of principle whose sense of propriety is offended by Trump. The moral and intellectual quality of the current crew of Republicans pales in comparison to the type of Republicans who finally told Richard Nixon the jig was up.”

Even sitting U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, a Republican from Tennessee, has used the word “cult” to describe GOP behavior in terms of Trump.

This is not the way our government is supposed to work.

Our Founding Fathers deliberately and carefully structured a balance of power among the three branches of government – executive, legislative and executive. Any one branch is to be kept in check by the other two branches. This requires courage and resolve, qualities not much on display these days in Washington or in the hinterlands.

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The death of Anthony Bourdain earlier this month shocked the world. He achieved fame as a New York chef and went on to host a popular CNN series, “Parts Unknown,” in which he traveled the world sampling foods that looked wonderful and some that would curl your hair. In doing so, he introduced us to people, places and cultures we would never see firsthand. He chatted with locals from famous cities and remote corners of the world, ate whatever they recommended – some dishes were doozies by anyone’s standards – and did so with grace and kindness. Bourdain once said in an interview that when people share their food, they are sharing parts of themselves, and he did his best to try everything, including foods most Americans would never consider
allowing past our lips.

Along the journey, Bourdain wrote a number of cookbooks, including the wildly successful “Kitchen Confidential,” published in 2000 and which is once again atop the New York Times bestseller list. Who knew that he also wrote well-received fiction?

A man of vast talents, Bourdain is mourned by those who loved him and people who knew him only by books and television. His intellect and love of people and adventure touched many of us.

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Last but certainly not least, what’s up with the North Carolina General Assembly?

In the waning days of the so-called “short” session, toxic (literally, in one case) legislation is popping up and getting traction.

Ours is a nation that dramatically trails other developed nations in voter turnout, with voter turnout in presidential years somewhere around 55 percent and an embarrassing 40 percent in mid-year elections. The world’s leader in voting is Belgium, where an impressive 85 percent of voters bestir themselves to get to the polls. You would think our political leaders would want us to vote, but our state’s Republican leadership is pushing a bill to further limit early voting, an option used more often by minority voters than Election Day voting. You would think legislators would like more people to vote, unless, of course, they are not their kind of voters.

Then there is a bill expected to pass that would limit how and when neighbors of hog-producing operations can sue the companies over offending odors from open-air waste lagoons and damage to property values. The bill comes in the wake of a $50 million verdict awarded in April to 10 neighbors of a hog farm, a verdict later reduced to $3.5 million, conforming to an earlier state law capping these damages. Such limits demonstrate more sympathy for business than for the people who must live with it.

Let me describe the odor this way. Years ago, I was advised to wear only washable clothing to tour a “state-of-the-art” hog operation in Cumberland County, with about 5,000 animals packed into houses so tightly that only a handful of people were required to run the operation. The stench was overwhelming and sickening. When I arrived home, peeling clothes off as I entered the house, a visiting child took one sniff and said, “PU! Where have you been?”

What are our elected leaders thinking?

WIDU radio personality and Fayetteville Observer columnist Troy Williams and I have journalistically crossed swords several times when it comes to perspectives on issues concerning the Fayetteville/Cumberland County community. This is not a bad thing. I respect Williams and consider what we do the pure essence of free expression. The free press accentuates the American privilege of free speech.

Williams’ article in last Saturday’s Fayetteville Observer, titled “Council does the right thing with Culliton pick,” was perceptive in identifying and acknowledging those people who want to use local government for their personal enrichment and political gain. Williams has put the Cumberland County Democratic Party and Fayetteville City Council on notice that identity politics comes
up short on substance when talent, qualifications and capabilities are ignored.

The city voted 6-3 to replace District 2 Councilman Tyrone Williams, who resigned after the controversy relating to him requesting $15,000 from a downtown contractor, with Cumberland County Republican Dan Culliton, a white man, over Democrat Patricia Bradley. Bradley is an African-American woman currently employed by Fayetteville State University. She previously served as assistant city attorney and was assigned to the Fayetteville Police Department during the city’s “driving while black” racial profiling controversy.

Bradley was no doubt the darling of local Cumberland County Democrats. Despite an aggressive Democratic campaign and political pressure from some of the sitting council members, common sense won out. Despite the pressure and a barrage of criticism from local Democrats, Councilwoman Tisha Waddell and senior council member Bill Crisp held their ground and stood on principle, joining their council contemporaries in voting for what was in the best interest of District 2 and the entire Fayetteville community. For this, they should be applauded and admired.

To quote Williams’ Observer article, “common sense and decency prevailed.”

He said something else in his article that struck a sensitive but relevant note with me. He wrote, “Without a doubt, a good government ought to be colorblind.”

That statement reminded me of something William T. Brown once said. Brown was a Fayetteville educator and principal during the years of desegregation in the schools and later a trustee at Fayetteville State University. In a discussion with Brown about the need to encourage and promote greater racial harmony within our community, I suggested that people needed to be more open, more tolerant and colorblind. Brown smiled as he corrected me: “Not colorblind, Bill; people need to be color intelligent.”

His point was that we always want to recognize and respect nationality and diversity, but character is what defines a person – and everyone needs to recognize this. Intelligence and character are what made Brown an exceptional educational icon and community leader. He was principal of E.E. Smith High School the first year that white students began attending historically black high schools in Cumberland County. To Brown’s way of thinking, intelligence, common sense, hard work and achievement were the keys to success. My conversation with him was more than two decades ago, and I have never forgotten those words.

Entitlement and identity politics have put our city and county communities in peril, and it needs to stop.

Local Democrats, many in the black community, are angry and disgusted with Tisha Waddell and Bill Crisp because Waddell and Crisp are independent thinkers with principles and integrity. They refused to be intimidated or bought off or have their core values compromised.

The recent 6-3 vote that chose Culliton over Bradley was a mandate and somewhat of a godsend at the same time. Bradley, after Culliton’s appointment, referred to Fayetteville City Council as “a den of wolves and thieves” in a Facebook post. Really? This begs the questions: What was the real intention and motivation for getting Bradley elected? And, who is masterminding this league of helpless and hapless lemmings? It will be apparent soon.

Honesty and integrity will win out when initiatives like this run out of strategy or logic or both. One thing is for sure, the 6-3 vote of the council for Dan Culliton has sent a resounding message. More and more people are beginning to connect the dots. Once the dots are connected, the only message that will be tolerated and acceptable to the citizens of Fayetteville will be the one that reads: “Fayetteville First!”

Now, that’s color intelligent! Thank you, W.T. Brown.

Thanks for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

Local farmers markets are more than just fun, they’re a homegrown solution to food deserts, which are (usually low-income) urban areas where residents must travel long distances to purchase fresh, nutritious food at an affordable price. Food deserts exist across the county, state and country.

If you do have access to fresh food, shopping at farmers markets is still a smart choice, as the produce will likely be fresher than what you could purchase at a typical grocery store. Supporting farmers markets also reduces the use of fossil fuels needed to transport supermarket produce around the world, and it’s a way to directly invest in the local economy.

More than just investing dollars, farmers markets offer the unique opportunity to invest in community – to get to know the people growing the food you purchase. You can ask about their growing methods and learn about why they might choose to go 100 percent organic versus simply pesticide- and herbicide-free. You can even ask to visit the grower’s farm, and in many cases, you’ll get a yes.

Here is a brief list of some of the many farmers markets in the area to get you started.

Murchison Road Community Farmers Market

• 1047 Murchison Rd. (North section of BroncoSquare parking lot, in front of Fayetteville StateUniversity Bookstore)

• Wednesday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., through October

• 910-672-2413

This market was established in 2014 by four Fayetteville State University Business School students. These students applied for and received grants to start a farmers market when  neighborhood markets in the Murchison Road area closed, creating a food desert. Grants came from the Ford Motor Company via the Ford HBCU Community Challenge (Start-up Award), the USDA Farmers Market Promotion Program and the city of Fayetteville. SNAP (formerly known as food stamps) is accepted at this market.

The second Wednesday of each month (July 11, Aug. 8, Sept. 12 and Oct. 10) is Healthy Wednesday. Community and service organizations are invited to share information about healthy lifestyle choices. Simple but important screenings, like testing blood pressure and blood sugar levels, are provided free that day. Participating organizations include Cumberland County Department of Social Services, CC Department of Public Health, Cape Fear Valley Health System, FSU Student Health Services, Community Health Interventions and Miller-Motte College.

Local chefs also visit on Healthy Wednesdays and provide cooking demonstrations using the produce that is available that day from the market.

Other agencies that offer services to improve lifestyle are also invited to Healthy Wednesdays: Legal Aid of North Carolina, Fayetteville Technical Community College, The Salvation Army, American Red Cross and Fayetteville Police Crime Prevention and the Fayetteville Fire Department.

Participating vendors selling goods include:

• Spence Family Farm, Spring Lake. Fresh farm in-season produce.

• Cape Fear Botanical Garden, Fayetteville. Garden-grown vegetables and potted plants.

• John Parker, Parker’s Ten Acre Farms, Cedar Creek. Pork products, chicken, eggs from open range chickens.

• Ms. Cherry’s Baked Goods, Hope Mills. Baked items, like cakes, brownies and cookies.

• 3BrotherLemonade Stand, Fayetteville. Fresh, made-from-scratch lemonade.

• Rhonda Jackson, Cumberland County. Homemade soaps.

City Market at the Museum

• 325 Franklin St., outside the Fayetteville AreaTransportation and Local History Museum

• Saturday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., year-round

• 910-433-1944

Founded in 2012, City Market at the Museum is a treasure in the heart of downtown Fayetteville. Vendors sell not just local produce, but also local honey and the work of local artisans – blended teas, handmade pottery, soaps, soy candles, jewelry, handblown glass, clothing, baked goods, specialty coffee and much more.

Dirtbag Ales Farmers Market

• 5423 Corporation Dr.

• Sunday, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., through October

• 910-426-2537

Grab a cold beer from the Dirtbag Ales Brewery and Taproom, then stroll and browse options that include fresh produce, local honey, craft kombucha, pasture-raised meats, eggs, fresh-caught fish and shrimp, clothes, flowers, beverages, coffee and even homemade popsicles and ice cream.

The market is dog-friendly and is next to a dog park, so bring your lawn chair and enjoy the family atmosphere on Sunday afternoons.

This market was born out of a desire for Dirtbag Ales and Sustainable Sandhills to work together and show off the bounty of the Sandhills. Sustainable Sandhills is the acting market manager; its mission is to save the planet while preserving the environment through education, demonstration and collaboration.

Gillis Hill Farm Produce

• 2899 Gillis Hill Rd.

• Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., through January

• 910-308-9342 or 910-867-2350

For the past 200 years, the Gillis family has owned and operated this farm. They have a roadside mart that provides, depending on the season, apple butter, apple cider, apples, beans,  blackberries, blueberries, broccoli, cabbage, cantaloupe, collards, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, gourds, greens, herbs, honey, Indian corn, grapes, Muscadine grapes, nectarines, onions, peaches, peppers, potatoes, pumpkins, raspberries, squash, strawberries, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, watermelons, zucchini, pecans, jams and jellies.

There are also seasonal Christmas trees, wreaths, vegetable plants, boiled peanuts, mums, strawberry picking, corn mazes and hay rides.

A lot of folks were worried how Seventy-First was going to fare when it stepped into the rugged Sandhills Athletic Conference last season and had to take on traditional powers like Richmond Senior and Scotland.

Falcon coach Duran McLaurin wasn’t among the doubters. “We were picked to finish fourth or fifth in that conference, and we finished second,’’McLaurin said. Actually, the Falcons tied for second with Richmond Senior, which beat them 25-19, ending the season 9-4 overall and 5-2 in the league.

McLaurin said there was no disgrace finishing behind a Scotland team that won the Eastern 4-A championship. At this year’s spring workout sessions, McLaurin worked toward doing as well or better than last year.

“We want to build depth, take a look at some of the sophomores that are going to be coming up from the junior varsity team and see if they can plug in some spots,’’ he said.

The big concern on offense is replacing 1,000-yard rushers Fabian Jones and Juan Maddox. The good news is quarterback Kyler Davis is back. “He’s special,’’ McLaurin said. “He’s going to be a good one.’’

Davis is the second-leading returning passer in the county with 1,778 yards and 19 touchdowns last season. He was only intercepted three times.

Offensive line returns some key players like Benjamin Willis and Tristan Hill.

McLaurin is counting on linebacker Javen Washington to be the defensive leader.

“We’ve got a lot of athleticism on both sides of the ball,’’ Washington said. “We’ve got a lot of young guys that can play.’’

Washington said the linebacker corps is seniorheavy, with himself, Jaliyah McNeil and Devante Wedlock returning. He said that trio will be key to Seventy-First’s success this season.

McLaurin expects the Falcons will contend for the conference title again this year. “Football is football,’’ he said. “You’ve got to be able to run the football and be able to stop the run. Those are
things I feel we do.

“As long as we stay stout against the run and not give up big plays in the secondary, do what we’ve been doing the last four or five years, which has been effective, I think we’ll be right there.’’

 

PHOTO: Linebacker, Javen Washington

All great teams have stars, but they’re not always the reason a championship is won. Such is the case with this year’s Jack Britt state 4-A softball champion.

All the pieces of a puzzle have to fit to make the picture complete, and a couple of big ones that found their way into Jack Britt’s title portrait were Ashton Fields and Taryn O’Connor.

When regular shortstop Jessica McRae broke her nose in the Eastern Regional series with South Central and had to undergo surgery, it knocked her out of the state finals with South Caldwell. Enter freshman Fields, who had to be plugged into the lineup at first base when regular first baseman Rayven Shepard moved to shortstop to replace McRae.

Fields played flawless defense at first the entire weekend, and fielded a throw from third baseman Savannah Roddey to get the last out of the final game.

“We knew she would be nervous when we started, but you would have never known,’’ said Britt coach Sebrina Wilson of Fields. “She stepped in and did everything.’’

Fields had almost no experience at first base with Britt, but she played the position extensively in travel softball. “I wanted to make sure I didn’t let the team down,’’ she said.

Early in the first game, she gunned down a runner headed for third and said that gave her a boost of confidence.

While the decision to move Fields to first was forced by injury, inserting Taryn O’Connor into the batting order the day of the final game of the title series was the result of Wilson’s intuition.

Wilson had a feeling O’Connor was due at the plate and wanted to put her in the lineup. “Joe (assistant coach Myrtle) said she had a really great day in the cage,’’ Wilson said. “She got aggressive and fouled off some pitches.’’

She wound up going 2-for-4 in the title game with a double and two RBIs.

O’Connor couldn’t explain what happened with her hitting. “God must have fallen in place for me,’’ she said. “They just told me to hit how I was doing in batting practice.’’

Wilson said there were other players who stepped up at key times for Jack Britt during the championship run. She mentioned Abigail Johnson, who got a big sacrifice fly in the playoff win over Fuquay-Varina and performed well as a courtesy runner in the title series with South Caldwell.

Kiara Ramos sparked a key rally for the Buccaneers in their playoff win over Wilmington Hoggard.

“The journey this year has been an adventure,’’ Wilson said. “Everybody we asked to do a job; they did it.’’

 

PHOTOS: (Top to Bottom) - Ashton Fields and Taryn O’Connor