Is it possible that it’s been 50 years? Am I really that old?

Even though the years are piling up, that August of 1969 remains vivid in this aging mind. It was my one and only fling with trying to be a member of a real football team. 

Let me take you back those 50 years to the North Carolina mountain town of Bryson City. I was fresh from reading "Instant Replay," the classic book by Jerry Kramer of the Green Bay Packers. It recounted his personal observations from the last NFL championship season the Packers enjoyed under the great Vince Lombardi.

I also bought a book by the legendary Frank Gifford that dealt with the basics of the game of football. How to block. How to tackle. All the important stuff.

I was ready for battle. So I showed up that first day of practice at Swain County High School’s 1950s-era gymnasium, where our locker room was housed in the basement.

My coach, the late Milton Barden, was far kinder to me than he should have been. I was about 5-feet-8-inches tall on a good day, weighed all of 180 pounds and had never lifted a weight in my life. In spite of all that, he let me go out for the team. 

Coach Barden wanted to give us the full training camp experience, just like the professionals, so we actually brought cots and mattresses and sleeping bags to our gym and lived there for two weeks. 

Twice a day, we boarded our ancient activity bus, lovingly called the Meat Wagon, and rode the half-dozen miles or so to our practice field, a gorgeous place that was an abandoned driving range on a nearby hilltop.

We would take turns slamming into the seven-man blocking sled, tasked with driving it from one end of the practice field to the other. At the end of the field was heaven, a spigot rising out of the ground with the coldest mountain spring water you could imagine. It felt even colder after a hot afternoon of banging the sled. 

It was not long after those two weeks were over that I came to the conclusion that the body the good Lord put me in on this Earth was not designed for this kind of activity. So, I went to Coach Barden and asked if he needed someone to be a manager. He kindly gave me the job.

I spent that year mostly on the sidelines, figuring my playing days were over. We put together a 6-2-1 record going into our final game. Unfortunately, the two losses and the tie were against the three teams we had to beat in our split conference to make the state playoffs.

That left us with a final game against Towns County, Georgia, a team we were told hadn’t won a game and was down to about a dozen players. So Coach Barden decided to let us and them have some fun. He dressed every able-bodied player on the team, including yours truly, the water boy.

We all played that final night of the season, and we had one of the highest-scoring games in the history of North Carolina football. I played my part in letting the guys from Towns County have their fun. I let a guy whiz by me on an 80-yard kickoff return, and I tackled another guy three yards into the end zone after he scored the conversion.

The result was an 81-46 Swain County win. That score is still listed in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association record book if you want to look it up.

Tomorrow we begin another high school football season in North Carolina. My best wishes to all of the young men who will be taking the practice field. I encourage you all to dream big. Every night you play, you could wind up getting into the record book like my team did — even if you’re not a star.

Pictured: Coach Milton Barden

d: Coach Milton Barden

Michelle Hurley attended 12 different schools in six states by the time she reached high school graduation. “You just learn to deal with it,” she said. “I was in the third grade before I did a full year of school without moving.” 

Hurley was on the move often with her family. Her father was on active duty in the Army during her childhood. Each time he was reassigned, his family had to build new relationships and adjust to new surroundings. 

Hurley remembers the frustration that came with each move and the fear that came with the phone calls in the middle of the night. Usually, the wives of other military men called her mother for late-night support, relying on the solace of sharing their situations with others. 

According to the Department of Defense, there currently are more than 2 million children of military parents in the United States. Each relocation brings with it the numerous problems associated with transitioning between communities and education systems. These issues add to the emotional distress children face when parents are absent for long periods, often deployed to dangerous destinations. 

Robert Blum, professor of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, elaborated in an interview with the American Association of School Administrators. “Military families and military children are amongst the most transient of populations,” he said. “With high mobility come issues of engagement, disengagement and reengagement.” 

The Department of Defense found that children are affected in different ways at different stages of development. Kids ages 3 through 6 were found to exhibit stress including regression, physical complaints and fears of separation. Older children, who understand the reality and potential dangers associated with their parent’s absence, exhibit signs of fear, irritability and sometimes aggression. Teenagers were found to be rebellious and at higher risk of using drugs and engaging in early-age sexual behavior. These emotional responses can have grave implications for their academic performance.

There are some ways that academic institutions can help ease the burden of transition for these kids. One of the best ways to help military dependent children is to make sure that teachers and support staff know who their army-connected students are. Educators have the resources for how to create a welcoming learning environment for them. 

The Fort Bragg School District manages nine public schools, serving about 4,162 students on post. The school system is comprised of one primary school, one intermediate school, five elementary schools and two middle schools. Most dependent children in grades 9-12 attend high school in Cumberland County. High school students who live in the Linden Oaks Community off NC 87, north of Spring Lake, go to school in Harnett County. 

A provision under the new Every Student Succeeds Act signed by President Barack Obama in 2015 represents good news for our nation’s schools. This bipartisan measure reauthorized the 50-year-old Elementary and Secondary Education Act, providing a longstanding commitment to equal opportunity for all students. Today, high school graduation rates are at all-time highs. Dropout rates are at historic lows. And more students are going to college than ever before.

One of the best ways to help military dependent children is to make sure that teachers and support staff know who their army-connected students are. 

After a one-month absence for the observance of the Fourth of July, Hope Mills resumes its monthly Food Truck Rodeos with an extra emphasis on helping the community.

“A lot of people didn’t realize we didn’t have a rodeo in July because the Fourth of July was the first Thursday of the month,’’ said Chancer McLaughlin, development and planning administrator of the town. “In August we are back, and the theme for this month is Back to School.’’

The rodeo is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 1, from 5-8 p.m. It will still be at Municipal Park on Rockfish Road but will be held near the outdoor basketball courts and the playground area at the park. 

All of the vendors who have been invited to take part at this month’s rodeo provide services related to children in the community. Among the organizations that will be represented are the Teen Wellness Clinic, C.H.I.L.D. Incorporated, Partnership for Children, Operation Inasmuch and Fayetteville Urban Ministry.

As usual, donations of nonperishable food for the Hope Mills ALMS HOUSE will be collected, but in keeping with the Back to School theme, school supplies will also be collected.

Because the ALMS HOUSE already has a distribution system set up for sending food to the local schools, McLaughlin said the school supplies will be turned over to them for distribution as well. Donations most needed are white loose-leaf notebook paper, pens, pencils and standard composition books. Book bags should be avoided because there are some schools that require all book bags to be made of a clear or mesh material that is see-through. McLaughlin said three-ring binders are also not good items to donate.

Another group that will be represented at the event is Cut My City, a group of local barbers and others who will provide free services including haircuts to students at an event scheduled at the Crown Coliseum on Aug. 10. McLaughlin said they will be at the rodeo to share information about their project.

As far as fun activities at this rodeo, there will be a gaming truck with free video games for the children, along with face painting and other activities.

DJ King James, who has performed previously at Hope Mills events, will have recorded music as well as karaoke.

The food trucks scheduled to appear include rodeo regulars Chef Glenn and Big T’s. Other trucks scheduled are Nannie’s Famous, Hopkins Barbecue, Coldstone Creamery, Kona Ice, Euasticias Fully Loaded Grill, Cedar Creek Fish Farm and Boss Ross Dogs.

For updates on late changes to the rodeo, check either the Hope Mills Development or the Town of Hope Mills Administration pages on Facebook.

The long-awaited bulkhead down the shoreline at Hope Mills Lake is finally complete. Now Public Works Director Don Sisko says it’s up to Mother Nature as to how quickly lake levels return to normal.

“We have no control over the inflow of water,’’ he said just days after the work on the bulkhead was completed. “The gate is open minimally so we can maintain the flow in the creek downstream.

“Hopefully we get a couple of days of rain in the next few days and that will take us over the spillway. Once it gets over the spillway to a normal level, we will close the gate completely and be under normal operation condition at the spillway.’’

While the lake was lowered, Sisko said, people could actually see one of the primary reasons the bulkhead was needed: to deal with erosion of the embankment.

“There were folks that were of the mindset you could put some soil there, maybe some sod, that would control the erosion,’’ he said. “The erosion would have a safety impact for the general public.’’

The bulkhead will make the park area near the lake more family-friendly, he said, so people can safely spread out a blanket and watch their children swimming or just enjoy the natural beauty of the lake.

In addition to the bulkhead, there are now steps down to the water and a beach area for launching kayaks and canoes into the water. “People can put their craft in the water without reaching to get over any riprap, rocks or that
sort of thing," Sisko said.

The access ramp is also handicap accessible.

Sisko sees no major issues as far as maintaining the bulkhead. “It’s made of natural material (Southern yellow pine) and it will shrink in dry periods and swell in wet periods,’’ he said. “We may have to do some sanding here and there if it splinters out.’’

The wood will be heavily treated with a preservative called chromated copper arsenate, which is used to protect outdoor wooden structures from microbes and insects.

“I don’t anticipate anything out of the ordinary for years to come, barring a catastrophic event,’’ Sisko said.

The yellow tape that is in place in areas around the park will likely stay there for awhile as new sod is being installed. “We don’t want any foot traffic on it,’’ Sisko said “We want it irrigated and rooted properly so we have a good standing of grass.’’

Sisko hopes the end product is a park area the citizens of Hope Mills can enjoy. “They get to come out and create their own memories,’’ he said. “We want to give them an open
space to enjoy.’’

Hope Mills town leaders expressed satisfaction that the bulkhead project is done.

“I know our community is ready to use the lake because of the extreme heat we are experiencing,’’ said Mayor Jackie Warner. “The good news is it won’t be much longer.’’

Commissioner Pat Edwards said the town will likely look into more plans for erosion control at the lake but added that for now, “The bulkhead looks great.’’

Commissioner Jessie Bellflowers thanked all the members, past and present, of the town’s Lake Advisory Committee for their work on developing the bulkhead project and the public swimming area.

He further praised the various companies that worked on the project, along with town staff who were involved. “The Hope Mills Lake park is a great addition to the town’s already impressive parks and recreational programs,’’ he said. “Our lake park is one of the best family parks that directly impacts the quality of life by contributing to the social, economic... and environmental well-being of our community.’’

Cigarette smuggling from North Carolina to New York has been going on for decades. State and federal governments charge excise taxes on cigarettes, ranging from 45 cents a pack in the tar heel state to $4.35 per pack in New York State. In New York City, the tax is $5.85 as of July 2019. The difference between tax rates is what makes cigarette trafficking appealing to the criminal element. 

This month, federal authorities broke up a ring of smugglers based in Fayetteville. Officials said 31 people have been charged with a scheme to defraud the federal government, the states of North Carolina and New York, and the Commonwealth of Virginia of millions of dollars in tax revenue.

Eastern North Carolina U.S. Attorney Robert Higdon said Justin Brent Freeman’s wholesale business, FreeCo Inc., at 231 Williams St. in downtown Fayetteville, served as the hub for the illegal operation. People would pay cash for large quantities of cigarettes at FreeCo and other retailers in North Carolina, including Sam’s Club stores in Raleigh, Fayetteville and Goldsboro. They would then pack the cigarettes into rental cars or vans for shipment to Virginia, Higdon said. 

In Richmond or Alexandria, Virginia, the cigarettes would be transferred to other cars and driven to Syracuse, New York. There, the contraband would again be shifted to other vehicles to be dispersed across the state and sold for cash, Higdon said.

Most of the people alleged to have been involved in the scheme, including Freeman, were arrested in connection with the $12 million cigarette smuggling operation and charged with money laundering and criminal conspiracy. Homeland Security Investigators, Cumberland County Sheriff’s Deputies, U.S. Marshals Service, Robeson County and Johnston County Sheriff’s Office took part in the operations. “This is not the conclusion of our investigation,” Higdon said. “This is simply a very strong first step.”

The smugglers were making up to $54 profit per carton by selling the cigarettes in New York while avoiding the state and local taxes there, Higdon said. The U.S. Marshals Service and local authorities staged raids in five states, arresting 25 of the 31 defendants after U.S. grand jury indictments were issued the week of July 15. Others were taken into custody over the next several days. The U.S. Attorney said 4,700 cartons of cigarettes, $840,000 in cash, 11 vehicles and five firearms were seized.

Last week, a federal grand jury indicted Freeman, FreeCo and the following defendants with criminal conspiracy and money laundering: Malek Hamoud Alsaidi, Ibrahim Ahmed Alsaidi, Sadek Dahan Shahbain, Ayed Yahya Ali Alshami, Alshami Yahya Ali Alshami, Mohamed Hafed Abdou, Mohamed E. Ould El Bechir, Akram Ali Amer, Mohamed Yeslem Ould Izid Bir, Mohammed Saaid Darweesh, El Hassen Hamadi, Musheer Mohammed Hazam Al-Naqeb, Ali Mohammed Mashli Al Qadhi, Mohamed Mounir, Aied Awad Shibli, Shibli Abu Issa Shibli, Manar Mohammad Talal-Mustafa, Mohammed N.M. Khalayfa, Saleh Mohammad Abdeljawad, Kaid M.K. Addailam, Amr Mousa Alhalemi, Ahmad Khalayfa, Rawhi Abdel Jabbar Khams Awad, Ali Aied Shibli, Amchad Rawhi Khamis Awad, Wachdi Awad, Abdallahi Mohamed Elhafedh, Ahmed Elhoussein, Dedde Cheikh and Arafat A.I. Abuhammoud. 

Half a dozen of them were also charged with interstate trafficking in contraband cigarettes.

This month, federal authorities broke up a ring of cigarette smugglers based in Fayetteville.

Hope Mills Commissioner Meg Larson has announced she’s not running for office this time. She also announced she is throwing her full support behind fellow Hope Mills Commissioner Mike Mitchell in his bid to unseat incumbent Hope Mills Mayor Jackie Warner.

If you’re wondering why, here is the explanation she gave on the private Facebook page Hope Mills Chatter. I’m not a member of the Chatter, but I have friends in that group who shared screenshots of Larson’s announcement.

Here’s what she wrote: “I am not running. I appreciate everyone that has supported me. However, the thought of possibly sitting another two years with Jackie Warner or Pat Edwards makes my stomach turn. Two of the most ineffective elected officials.

“Working with someone vs. seeing them as they give a cheesy speech at a government event, the Chamber or church does not mean they are good for the community.’’ 

That is the real Meg Larson. No punches pulled there. 

Larson has repeatedly accused Warner of being a bully, of forcing her agenda on the town and leaving the commissioners in the dark about what’s going on. I guess Larson dumped Edwards in the mix because Edwards has consistently defended Warner, not because Edwards is a poor commissioner, which she isn’t.

Go back and take a look at town minutes and see how many times this current board voted 4-1, with Edwards usually being the one, to defeat some plan or idea that the mayor supported. And let us remember, the mayor doesn’t get a vote on this board. And she’s the bully? How ridiculous.

I think one reason Larson and others accuse the mayor of being a bully is because of the way Warner runs town commissioner meetings. Excuse me, folks, but ever hear of parliamentary procedure? A guy named Robert wrote a book about it a long time ago. You can grab a copy on Amazon for $6.99.

The town also has rules of order, adopted by this board, and when Warner has to gavel a commissioner down, it’s usually because they are trying to speak out of turn against the rules. This isn’t Saturday night poker with the boys. It’s an elected governing body with procedures and protocol.

But let’s get back to the bullying issue. It’s a skill Larson has mastered. I know because she bullied me.

In March of this year, I wrote an Up & Coming Weekly story about the town losing artwork donated by students at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke because the commissioners didn’t renew the agreement they had approved the previous year. The whole thing could have been handled with a couple of phone calls to me and my publisher, Bill Bowman. But Larson and company called a special meeting of the board to deal with this red-hot issue.

What made the issue red-hot was they had egg on their faces for not doing their jobs, and they needed someone to blame. Even Warner herself said in my story that “we,” meaning herself and the full board, dropped the ball on the art project. She repeated that comment at the March 25 special meeting. 

 But pass-the-buck Larson and friends attacked Warner, who was legitimately afraid to bring renewal of the art project to the board because of the clear history they had established of voting against anything she supported. Further, the board blasted me. Larson accused me of manufacturing a quote from UNC-Pembroke professor Adam Walls. Walls told me in a phone interview about Warner’s fear of the board rejecting the art project.

Walls later spoke to both Larson and town manager Melissa Adams, and at the special meeting, both said that Walls stated he did not recall making that comment. I attempted to reach Walls after the controversy exploded, but he did not return my phone call. 

“For anyone to assume that and put it in print is irresponsible,’’ Larson said during the meeting. It certainly would have been. 

There is a difference between not remembering something and denying you said it, and what Walls said and what Adams and Larson repeated was not a denial. It was a memory lapse. Walls made that statement I attributed to him during our interview, whether he recalls it or not. 

Larson and others on the board chastised me for that “deplorable” article. They ripped me for not talking with any of them and added that the article contained multiple errors. You can hear the whole thing. The audio recording is on the town of Hope Mills website under minutes and agenda for March 25.

My publisher, Bill Bowman, attended that meeting. The board had the opportunity to ask him to comment and didn’t. 

Interviewing people is a two-way street. First, they have to agree to talk. I have tried to contact several members of the board for stories before. Larson, in an email I still have in my inbox, told me she would not speak to me because she did not approve of the relationship that the town had approved, and eventually rescinded, with Up & Coming Weekly. By the way, UCW is a legitimate North Carolina Press Associated weekly community newspaper — often referred to as news media.

Others, including Mitchell and Jessie Bellflowers, replied to previous requests and said they were too busy to speak with me. I have their replies, too. To his credit, Bellflowers reached out to me at the time of the missing art story, and I have quoted him in stories since. Our conversations have been civil and professional. So have interviews I’ve had with citizens and town staff from Hope Mills in the months since I’ve been writing about the town. Larson remains the only person in that time who has questioned the accuracy of my quotes. 

 Not a single member of the board who complained about that story in that special meeting, save Bellflowers, spoke to me about it. And not one person on the board who complained about factual errors or misinformation in the story asked to write a rebuttal or asked me to print a correction or retraction. In addition, UCW’s longstanding policy is to allow anyone to submit a dissenting opinion, feature or article focusing on the community. The only requirement is that they own it. This is why each article and feature appearing in UCW is accompanied by a photo and short bio of the writer. 

 This whole business with Larson and the feud the board has with Warner is about ego and who gets to call the shots. It’s not uncommon in politics, especially for rookie newcomers, who often have trouble figuring out how one builds a base of support and wins the respect of his or her fellow elected while learning how the process of governing works. 

Before I wrote this piece, I spoke with an acquaintance who is an elected official somewhere else in North Carolina. I explained the situation in Hope Mills to him, and he gave me some sage advice. He said it’s incumbent on people elected to office to do the best they can to work with the people they’re in office with and bury any personal animosity. 

Judging from her Facebook statement, it’s clear Larson is not capable of that. This being the case, I have a suggestion for her. Resign. Now. If she can’t stomach two more years with Warner and Edwards, she shouldn’t suffer a few more months. She should do it for her health. But mostly for the town’s health. She can then devote the bulk of her energy to slinging more unfounded mud in support of Mitchell’s campaign to unseat the mayor she hates so much. 

Maybe with Larson off the board, the remaining members can find the way to unity and a better Hope Mills. We can only hope so. 

Pictured: Hope Mills Commissioner Meg Larson

My wife and I share a date with one of America's most memorable and celebrated events. On July 20, 1969, America claimed its place in history as the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle landed and the first human walked on the face of the moon. We heard those famous words, “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” as they were first spoken. TV news stations large and small worked tirelessly to deliver even the most minute detail of the historic event to a waiting world.

Ten years later, on July 20, 1979, Dorothy Aafedt and I said “I do” in a remarkably unremarkable ceremony. Unlike the NASA mission, there were no television crews, no microphones or calculated illustrations. There was just a pair of kids surrounded by a couple of friends and family in a courtroom in southern Arizona. At the time it seemed like a small step, but it has proven to be a giant leap as Dorothy and I have continued to mark time since that date.

This past weekend we celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary, and it's given me cause to reflect on all that's transpired since our historic first steps.

Time has allowed us several years in Europe with our three children, and a home on both the East and West Coasts of the United States. The small, quiet union of two youngsters from Kansas gave way to an eventual family of 18, counting grandchildren and spouses. All but one now calls North Carolina home.

As a military family, we share memories of being diverted en route — never once landing at our intended destination at the point of our departure. We've relocated to Germany as our belongings relocated to Okinawa and have lived in hotels and motels on two continents while making new friends time and again.

Over the course of the last 40 years, one thing has become evident: there is nothing more important in a marriage than the relationship between husband and wife. When other things became more important, such as careers, children and personal pursuits, trouble isn't far behind. Though I've failed miserably at this on occasion, the facts show that when we make the relationship our top priority, the marriage flourishes.

Just like any other married couple, we've had our share of trials. From the lack or abundance of money to devastating loss and health crises, we've navigated a lot of territory in the past four decades. And honestly, I don't know how we would have fared had we not put our faith in Christ early in the game.

God has proven trustworthy. When we've faced struggles, we've been able to lean on the promise that there is more to this life than living and dying, or meeting and missing bills. Even death has stared us in the face, but with God in our corner, though our knees have gotten weak at times, we never blinked.

In the end, there is no secret formula for a long or successful marriage. It is a gift — a gift you get to open anew each waking day.

Marriage is a gift you get to open anew each waking day.
Photo by Caroline Veronez on Unsplash

A desire to compete and a love for athletics of all kinds drove Don Koonce to stay immersed in sports from his youth to his final days promoting Cumberland County sports via the radio.

Koonce, 71, died unexpectedly last week, barely a month out from the start of another high school football season. His radio crews from DKSports, Inc., were preparing to broadcast the games of Terry Sanford and Cape Fear High Schools.

Like his brothers, the late Calvin Koonce and Charles Koonce, Don was a star athlete at the high school level. Charles Koonce called his brother Don “one of the most outstanding athletes to come out of Cumberland County. He excelled in baseball, basketball, football and golf.

“He was a true athlete at heart. He always played to win.’’

Don Koonce once led Cumberland County high school basketball in scoring and qualified for the prestigious North and South Amateur golf tournament at Pinehurst.

But it was baseball where he made his biggest mark. He earned a scholarship to North Carolina State University and left after one semester to get a rare spring training tryout with the same New York Mets team his brother Calvin played for. Impressed with what they saw, the Mets signed Don.

He spent six years in the minor leagues, rising as high as the AAA level while playing mostly in the Virginia Tidewater area with teams affiliated with the Mets, Detroit Tigers, Atlanta Braves and Montreal Expos.

His career record was 27-34 with a solid 2.63 earned run average and 44 saves.

It was his connection with the Detroit organization that helped lay the groundwork for Don’s successful bid to bring minor league baseball back to Fayetteville. He was a force behind the creation of the Fayetteville Generals and the construction of J.P Riddle Stadium.
After parting ways with the Generals, Don spent several years as a Major League Baseball scout. He eventually joined his brother Charles, veteran local radio personality Lloyd Foster and his son Dave Foster in creating Mid-South Sports, Inc., in 1990. It focused on broadcasting Friday night high school football and other county sporting events.

Some years later, Don branched out on his own and created DKSports, Inc., which currently covers Terry Sanford and Cape Fear High School football in the fall. He also created a weekly WFNC Monday night talk show, "The Sports Page," with former Terry Sanford quarterback Trey Edge and veteran high school basketball coach Bill Boyette.

In recent years, Don has been involved in teaching young baseball players one-on-one, especially those with an interest in pitching. “There are a number of young guys in the ranks right now at various age groups that will pay tribute to the fact that he was the guy that got them started,’’ Charles said.

Edge has spent countless hours over the last several years traveling with Don to cover games and working with him in the radio booth or at courtside. Edge said he feels the competitive spirit never leaves a serious athlete. He thinks Don enjoyed radio because it gave him a chance to continue experiencing the highs and lows of the game.

“You experience the game as it’s happening, and you get to know the players and coaches,’’ Edge said. “I think that was attractive to him and kept that sports fire fueled. But then it got to the point where he was doing something for the community. Getting high school athletes publicity for the things they’ve done is a great thing.’’

Edge said Don was an incredible storyteller and would often tell about star players he’d competed against or scouted. “In the booth, he was always happy, always had a smile,’’ Edge said. “He wanted to put out a good product.’’

That product provided a valuable service to an important part of the Cumberland County population, the military community. Vernon Aldridge, student activities director for Cumberland County Schools, said the presence of the military in Fayetteville made Don’s coverage of high school games important.

“Often times parents get sent overseas, and kids may not be from North Carolina,’’ Aldridge said. “Don being on the radio allowed people deployed and family members in other states to keep up with their children (via internet live streaming of games). It’s a great asset for Cumberland County Schools.’’

Neil Buie, regional supervisor of football officials for the Southeastern Athletic Officials Association, played against Don from the time the two were about 8 years old.

“There was no greater advocate for sports in Cumberland County than Don,’’ Buie said. “His passing will leave a hole in the sports community and Cumberland County.’’

Terry Sanford assistant coach Bill Yeager, who has spent 50 years in this county as a high school athlete and coach, said Don always tried to put young athletes first. “He cared about this community,’’ Yeager said. “He was a good man. He’s going to be missed.’’

Terry Sanford principal Tom Hatch said Don always had positive things to say about the student-athletes both at Terry Sanford and in the community. “He did a great job covering football and baseball here (at Terry Sanford),” Hatch said. “Don was a great man.’’

Edge said that most of the sponsors for the DKSports, Inc., broadcasts for this fall were already in place before Don’s untimely death. “I would absolutely keep moving it forward under the name DKSports, Inc., to honor Don,’’ Edge said. “Our hope is, come Aug. 23, we’re on the air broadcasting high school football and (that) every Monday night Bill (Boyette) and I are doing 'The Sports Page.'’’

Left to right: Bill Boyette, Don Koonce and Trey Edge at the July 2017 announcement of the debut of "The Sports Page" weekly talk show.

Editor’s note: This is part of a series on Cumberland County high school spring football workouts.

Terry Sanford football coach Bruce McClelland lost 52 seniors over the last two seasons. His new team begins fall practice Aug. 1.

“We’ve got a ton of young guys and new guys,’’ McClelland said. “We’ve got a lot of holes to fill in key positions.’’

Fortunately, there’s some talent returning at a couple of key spots that should make things easier. Among the biggest returners is an experienced quarterback, Jacob Knight, who’s been waiting in the wings behind past stars Christian Jayne and Davidjohn Herz.

“He’s been good enough to play the last two years,’’ McClelland said of Knight. The fact that both Jayne and Herz are now playing minor league baseball is a good indication of the level of talent McClelland has enjoyed at the quarterback position.

Another player who will have to step up his game is running back Dorian Clark, who shared ball-carrying duties with Leonard “Flo” Mosley. 

Both Clark and Mosley ran for 1,000 yards last season. Clark had 1,662 yards to Mosley’s 1,423. Clark scored 13 touchdowns, Mosley 15.

“Dorian will have to tote the ball a little bit more with Flo gone,’’ McClelland said. Helping to block for him will be returning lineman Roscoe Blue.

Two key All-Patriot Athletic Conference players return on defense, lineman Elijah Morris and linebacker Jackson Deaver.

Morris, a defensive tackle, said spring practice has been about fitting new players into open positions and getting back to the goal of winning the conference title.

“I think we could really be a good team this year,’’ he said. “There’s a lot of leadership at every position.’’

He added teamwork is the key. “Instead of depending on one person for the whole team, we can play off each other’s strengths,’’ he said. “Working together. That’s the main thing.’’

One of the biggest players back is tight end and defensive end Ezemdi Udoh. Honorable mention all-conference at tight end last year, Udoh’s stock rose sharply after the season because he received more than a dozen college scholarship offers. He has orally committed to North Carolina State University.

It likely didn’t hurt Udoh that his brother Oli from Elon was taken by the Minnesota Vikings in the NFL draft.

“He’s 6-feet-5 and already up to 240 pounds,’’ McClelland said of Ezemdi Udoh.

McClelland expects another close race for the Patriot Athletic Conference title. “I think it’s going to be deeper this year,’’ he said. “I really think Douglas Byrd and Westover are making strides. It’s anybody’s conference.’’

Pictured top to bottom: Ezemdi Udoh, Elijah Morris

North Carolina’s recent budget standoff in Raleigh called into question whether the state could afford Medicaid expansion. Republicans offered a Medicaid expansion compromise bill, but Gov. Roy Cooper, D-N.C., and Democrats wanted full expansion of Medicaid to provide health insurance to an estimated 600,000 poor North Carolinians, many of whom are eligible children.

CNBC reported this month that North Carolina had built one of the country’s strongest business climates over the past two decades, fueled by low business costs, incentives and a young, educated workforce, many of whom have been trained at the strong universities in the state and Research Triangle Park.

Three years ago, Forbes ranked North Carolina’s economic development No. 1 in the country. No state’s economy is on more solid ground than the tar heel state. The state attracted $2.6 billion in venture capital in 2018, the sixth highest figure in the nation. It is also attracting skilled workers, who are moving to North Carolina in droves. But the tar heel state is no exception to push for Medicaid eligibility expansion, which is growing at a rapid clip nationwide.

In Ohio, for example, Medicaid rose 35% from $18.9 billion in fiscal year 2013 to $25.7 billion in 2017. Ohio Medicaid spending has grown 88% over the past decade, more than double the rate of growth in total state spending. Medicaid was already the largest category of state spending a decade ago, and currently the program consumes an even greater share of the state budget. In 2017, Medicaid consumed more than 29% of total state spending, up from 20% in 2008.

In 2008, North Carolina beneficiaries grew to a grand total of 1,407,257 who were covered by Medicaid — or Health Choice, for children who do not qualify for Medicaid. By 2015, that number had increased to 1,911,918. Over the same time period, the state’s population grew at an annual rate of 1.2%, a rate of growth that’s less than Medicaid eligibility is growing. Matt Salo, head of the National Association of Medicaid Directors, said about one-third of all kids in the country are covered by Medicaid as are more than half of all births.

Forty-one percent of North Carolina’s kids are covered under Medicaid or Health Choice, which is higher than the national average. Salo said the good news is that kids are less expensive to cover. Analysts like Steve Owen, senior fiscal analyst for the North Carolina General Assembly, have told state legislators several times over the past year that part of North Carolina’s success at holding down Medicaid costs is due in large part to the increase in the number of children enrolled, because their coverage is cheaper than adults and families.

Thirty-six states and Washington, D.C., have opted to expand Medicaid over the years. North Carolina is one of the 14 states that have not expanded coverage. Medicaid spending is the largest budget category and has grown at a faster rate than all other areas of state spending including education, public safety, and infrastructure. “By restraining spending growth to an average of 3.5% over the two-year budget, North Carolinians get to keep more of their money,” wrote Becki Gray, senior vice president at the conservative John Locke Foundation.

Two prominent Army generals with ties to Fort Bragg have become the nation’s top military leaders.

During the Clinton administration, former 18th Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg Commanding Gen. Hugh Shelton was the first airborne officer to become chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Gen. Mark Milley served as commanding general of Army Forces Command at Fort Bragg before being named chief of staff.

President Donald Trump tapped Milley, 60, to lead the Joint Chiefs. Milley will replace Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, who was named to the post in 2015. Trump nominated Dunford for a second two-year term last year.

Trump tweeted, “I am pleased to announce my nomination of four-star General Mark Milley, Chief of Staff of the United States Army — as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, replacing Gen. Joe Dunford, who will be retiring.

“I am thankful to both of these incredible men for their service to our country! Date of transition to be determined.”

Milley’s military career has spanned numerous commands and staff positions in Special Forces and eight divisions, according to his Defense Department biography. Before being named chief of staff in 2015, Milley served in command and leadership positions in the 82nd Airborne Division and the 5th Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg.

Highly decorated, his awards include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal and the Army Distinguished Service Medal. A native of Winchester, Massachusetts, Milley graduated and received his commission from Princeton University in 1980.

In 2018, Milley was involved in deciding whether the Army would publish a controversial report on the Iraq War, a two volume, 1,300-page study. Milley reportedly decided that he wanted to read the entire 500,000-word study before deciding on publication. Milley also directed that an external panel of scholars review the work before he made a decision. The panel returned glowing reviews on the study, including one that described it as “the gold standard in official history.”

In September 2018, Secretary of the Army Mark Esper and other Army officials decided to distance themselves from the study by casting it as an independent work of the authors, instead of being described as a project by the chief of staff of the Army’s Operation Iraqi Freedom Study Group.

When confronted by a reporter with The Wall Street Journal in October 2018, Milley reversed the decisions and directed that the report be published officially with a foreword that he would write. He declared the team that wrote the study “did a damn good job,” that the study itself was “a solid work” and noted that he aimed to publish the study by the holidays (2018).

Within days of this revelation, two members of Congress who sit on the House Armed Services Committee, Reps. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., and Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., sent a letter to Army leadership expressing their anger with the Army’s delay of publication of the report. The study was published in January 2019.

Pictured: Gen. Mark Milley

Fayetteville offers the experience for people to immerse themselves in art and entertainment every month for 4th Friday. The enriching event takes place in the historic downtown area, where people can enjoy food from restaurants, walk through shops and browse local art galleries. The theme for July’s 4th Friday, which falls on July 26, is “Parking Lot Party.”

“Downtowns are the ‘free throw line’ of any city,” said Greg Weber, president and CEO of The Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County. “To win a game, you need to get to the free throw line and hit those buckets.

“The Arts Council is increasing its investment in bringing people to Fayetteville’s ‘free throw line’ — downtown activity on 4th Friday. We are working to sink more buckets, and our expansion of activities on 4th Friday is an important first step.”

The Arts Council’s newest 4th Friday Artist’s Program will foster a space for artists to create and show their work and share their passion with others. Artists can visit www.theartscouncil.com/ParkingLotParty to sign up to showcase their work.

The Parking Lot Party will begin at 6 p.m., but other downtown organizations are getting involved in the fun, too, by providing their own activities.

The Market House will be open Friday from 6-10 p.m. for a free exhibit called “Vintage Postcards.” The display offers a look into the past, displays of documents like vintage receipts, bills, and letters from businesses past and present in downtown Fayetteville.

At Cape Fear Studios, attendees can see the creations of visual artists on display as part of the “8 by Exhibit.” The art will reflect the work of visual artists of a variety of mediums, and each piece has to have one dimension that is 8 inches.

Enjoy a free performance from the local musicians of the Bella Venti Woodwind Quintet at The Wine Café at 6:30 p.m. The professional musicians play the flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and French horn. Cash tips are encouraged.

The Fayetteville Woodpeckers will be playing against the Carolina Mudcats, and they’re celebrating Christmas in July. The game starts at 7 p.m. and features a Woodpeckers Winter Hat Giveaway for the first 700 fans through the gate. A fireworks show will take place after the game.

After strolling around and enjoying the art, attendees can catch a show at Gilbert Theater. As a part of its Summer Play Fest, at 7 p.m. there will be performances of “A Ghost Story, Abridged,” “The Devil You Say” and “Grocery Store.” Tickets cost $16.

The Summer Play Fest starts on July 24. The purchase of one ticket buys access to all of the shows for the week, through July 28. For more information or to buy tickets, call the theater at 910-678-7186.

Call the Cool Spring Downtown District at 910-223-1089 or visit www.theartscouncil.com to learn more about 4th Friday.

The Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County’s newest 4th Friday Artist’s Program will foster a space for artists to create and show their work and share their passion with others.

For every American who chanted “send her back” at last week’s Trump rally in Greenville, North Carolina, there are millions who were repulsed, saddened or both.

Count me among the latter group.

Various theories are floating around about why Trump supporters started those vile chants. Most suggest chanters were simply trying to show support for the president, not urging deportation of an American citizen serving as an elected member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Perhaps the chanters have never heard of simply clapping or cheering, or perhaps they do not understand our Constitution.

Video footage does not show Trump chanting, but he does stand quietly by while the audience chants behind him. No video shows him asking for the chants to stop. Various news outlets report some Republican officials, as well as Trump’s wife and daughter, have urged him to tone down the rhetoric, so we shall see how that goes.

The chanting was instructive, however. It reveals what his re-election campaign will be like for the next year-and-a-half. It will repeat his 2016 maiden voyage — filled with racist language, hateful rants against people he perceives as the “other,” impulsive and hurtful remarks. It will be aimed again at appealing to working-class whites, his core constituency, and designed to whip them into a voting frenzy.

The handwriting is on the wall for Trump and his party. They are not attracting women, minority or younger voters, so the idea is to turn out every Trump supporter they can corral and suppress the votes of those voters not attracted to Trump or not motivated enough to go vote against him.

Trump and his campaign strategists may be right. Racist and hateful language designed to bring his voters out may well work as it did in 2016. It is also true that every election is different — no one election can ever be duplicated, as thousands of incumbents tossed out of office every year can attest. Our American landscape is littered with losing candidates who were convinced the formula that elected them the first time would work every time.

What happened in Greenville says a great deal about Donald Trump and how he perceives our nation, but it also says a great deal about the rest of us. North Carolina has long prided herself as being different from other Southern states — more caring about public education, more nurturing of business ventures, more welcoming of social diversity. Since the chants, many among us have comforted themselves by saying things like “this is not who we are” and “we are better than this.”

But, in fact, this is who some of us are. The Charlotte Observer editorial board put it like this. “… it is, of course, part of who we always have been in America. And in North Carolina. It’s who we were in Wilmington in 1898. … It’s who we were when we redlined blacks out of white neighborhoods decades ago. It’s who we were on a July night in Greenville, and it could be what’s coming to Charlotte next summer.”

At some point, Trump will no longer be president. It may be by 2021, or it may be in 2025 after a second term. Whenever he fades into history, Americans will have to come to terms with not only his sometimes shameful behavior but our own. Some of us have kept silent when we knew we should speak up. Some of us may have chanted. Some of us may have taken more overt actions.

All of us should remember the words attributed to philosopher Edmund Burke and made famous by John F. Kennedy. “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”

From top to bottom: Rep. Ilhan Omar, President Donald Trump. 

Editor’s note: This is part of a series on Cumberland County high school spring football workouts.

After back-to-back 0-11 seasons, Douglas Byrd finally got in the win column last year with a 4-7 record that included 3-5 in the Patriot Athletic Conference. While head coach Mike Paroli was glad to see some improvement, he’s concerned that building on the positives of last season will be difficult this fall.

“We really only have eight returners off that team and only four seniors,’’ he said. “We had some great seniors that will be difficult to replace. And we have the production of Earlee Melvin, which is very difficult to replace.’’

Melvin, who came to Byrd from Cape Fear, sparked the Eagle offense a year ago with a Cumberland County Schools best of 1,713 yards from scrimmage and 20 rushing touchdowns.

There will be a big load on four-year starter John Carroll, a versatile player who could be at quarterback, running back or wide receiver for the Eagles.

As a running back last season, he gained 266 yards and scored three touchdowns.

Alton Simmons, another Cape Fear transfer, will also be counted on at running back. He rushed for 201 yards and three touchdowns for Cape Fear last season.

Another key returner is Zyon McEachin in the offensive line, who will man the left tackle position.

“This year we’re trying to continue the legacy Coach Bob Paroli built and trying to give Coach Mike Paroli a legacy to build on,’’ McEachin said. “We want to make our record better than we had last year.’’

McEachin said the current Byrd football team is committed to growing the program. “We want to try to get connected to the middle schools so we can have some middle schoolers come over and help build the team, make the population better on the team,’’ he said. “We have to replace the players that are moving on, fill in the spots.’’

McEachin said the goal for this year is to be a better role model for the younger players. “We want to leave a good footprint on the field so they have someone to look up to when we move on,’’ he said.

Paroli expects the Patriot Athletic Conference to again be a tough league. “You’ve got the 4-A teams (South View and Pine Forest) and then Cape Fear and Terry Sanford, which in reality are still 4-A teams,’’ he said.

He’s not sure Byrd will be a serious contender for the state playoffs this season. “I don’t think we’re in that conversation yet,’’ he said.

“Maybe the year after this one, with only four seniors starting, we should return most of the team, if we can get a good ninth grade class in here and keep them with us.’’

Pictured: Zyon McEachin

For a second time, the restored Hope Mills dam has been recognized with a national award for its design and construction. The town recently announced that the dam has been awarded the Envision Bronze Award from the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure. Don Sisko, head of public works for the town of Hope Mills, said the award is presented to projects like the Hope Mills dam on the basis of their resilience and sustainability.

Sisko said the award was based on 64 grading criteria. The dam has already been through two hurricanes since the water was impounded behind it, but Sisko said he’s not sure if that was part of the grading criteria that earned Hope Mills the award.

In his work with the dam, Sisko said it has been relatively carefree to maintain. “You always anticipate you’re going to find a little glitch here or there,’’ he said. “As far as actual operation of the dam goes, we’ve not had any problems with that.

“We’ve done our standard maintenance. I haven’t had to do anything out of the ordinary.’’

Currently, the levels in Hope Mills Lake are low to allow for the installation of a permanent bulkhead along one shoreline, where the will public have access.

Sisko said there has been no problem during that time with dissolved oxygen levels, nor any reports of fish kills downstream from the lake. It also hasn’t interfered with any downstream work projects.

“It’s worked as advertised,’’ Sisko said of the dam. “Like I tell folks, it was designed based on good scientific practices and built on good construction practices.’’

The town’s elected leaders, including Commissioners Jessie Bellflowers and Pat Edwards and Mayor Jackie Warner, all praised the work of Schnabel Engineering and ASI Constructors, builders of the dam.

“The Schnabel engineering design team collaborated with the town of Hope Mills Lake Advisory Committee, town officials and public involvement,’’ Bellflowers said. “As a community, we are extremely proud of this national award-winning project that serves the quality-of-life needs of our community for years to come.’’

Edwards praised the members of the previous Board of Commissioners who chose Schnabel and ASI for the building of the new dam. “The people we worked with and the geniality we had with everybody, and a board that worked together as a team, you can get a lot more accomplished,’’ she said. “The dam is beautiful. I love it. Everybody loves it.’’

While proud of the award, Warner expressed sadness that town leaders like the late Edwin Deaver and Bob Gorman were not alive to see the result of their hard work.

Warner, Deaver and Gorman were part of the traveling team representing the town that went to Concord, Charlotte and Raleigh during the process of choosing Schnabel and ASI to oversee the dam’s construction.

“It would have been nice if they had been around for that first ribbon cutting,’’ Warner said of Deaver and Gorman, adding in the names of former mayors Al Brafford and Eddie Dees.

“It’s a sustainable design, meaning it should last for many years,’’ Warner said. “It has already withstood two hurricanes and a whole bunch of bad weather. I think it has taken the test already (that) you might not have expected it to take for lots of years.’’

The Hope Mills dam, pictured left under normal conditions, has already withstood two hurricanes, pictured right. It recently won its second national award for its design and construction. 

The Vision Resource Center has been around since 1936, but it incorporated in 1939. In 1936, a group of Sunday School teachers got together and decided they were going to become The Association for the Blind. In 1939, they incorporated and worked with the Department of Social Services to become The Center for the Blind. The Vision Resource Center was one of the first four United Way of Cumberland County agencies. Since then, the organization has worked to make life for the visually impaired in the community better.

“Currently we have 676 blind and visually impaired adults and kids in Cumberland County,” said Terri Thomas, executive director of the VRC. “Right now, we are actually working with 250 of those individuals; 230 of them are adults, and 20 of them are kids.”

Thomas added that there are a lot of blind and visually impaired individuals in the county that the VRC does not know about as those individuals are not on the blind registry.

These are exciting times for the VRC, as the organization moves from the Dorothy Gilmore Recreation Center to its new home on Cedar Creek Road. “I would like to thank the city for allowing us to be in the Dorothy Gilmore Recreation Center for 10-plus years,” said Thomas. “Without them, we would not have been able to expand into what we have become now.” 

VRC was previously housed in a 199-square-foot facility at the Dorothy Gilmore Recreation Center. The new facility is a 2,700-square-foot building on 7 acres of land located at 2736 Cedar Creek Rd.

“Now we are going to be able to provide more things within our own location,” said Thomas. “We will have assistive technology skills training, our own gym, a kitchen for cooking classes, a conference room and more.”

Thomas added that the benefit of the VRC having its own facility is that the blind and visually impaired will have more opportunity for freedom and independence. They will be able to enjoy a cup of coffee, play games, listen to music, sit in a rocking chair and listen to the birds chirp. They have a place they can come to that’s outside of their homes, where they can stay as long as they want to and go home when they want. Thomas noted that this is one of the benefits of having a house — the therapeutic nature of the space.
“We now have a conference room area for the National Federation for the Blind to meet in, and we have families with support groups,” said Thomas. “Our blind and visually impaired members have a place that they can come and hang out instead of … sitting at home by themselves.”
Thomas has been executive director of the VRC for nine years and has fought for many of the things these individuals have needed.

“I came to the Vision Resource Center in 2010 by way of one of my blind friends at church who told me that she had a job for me working with the blind,” said Thomas. “I ended up at the Vision Resource Center with no (experience working with people who are blind) and just a will to help people.

“Everything that we do to enhances their lives deals with mind, body and spirit.”

Thomas added that VRC believes in wellness and in incorporating a lot of physical fitness for those who are physically able to participate. “We do exercise classes, ensure they do their elliptical, treadmill, ride bikes, walk at the John D. Fuller Recreation Center and other activities,” said Thomas.    
 

“Our next thing is socialization, which is key (for) people who are visually impaired because they don’t really get out, and they are not around people like them,” said Thomas. “They talk about how their family does not get it and (how) being around other blind people is something that they strive to do.”

Some of the activities with VRC include going to plays, eating lunch at various restaurants, visiting the beach, surfing, horseback riding, arts and crafts, making pottery, and visiting the Cape Fear Botanical Garden, Durham Performing Arts Center in Durham, PNC Arena in Raleigh and more.

“The core of all of it is more about the socialization and camaraderie between people that have a (similar) disability,” said Thomas. “We’ve made the things that seem impossible possible by doing whatever we can to make whatever activity they enjoyed when they had sight, the same way without sight.”

Some of the assistive technology equipment that blind and visually impaired individuals use includes 20/20 pens, Bump dots, iPhones, iPads, Wi-Fi service, Ruby magnifiers, CC TVs, Penfriend Audio Identifiers and other items. “People can have low vision but can’t see well enough to drive,” said Thomas.

The VRC will host Out of Sight Night at the Park Saturday, Sept. 21, from 6-10 p.m. at Segra Stadium. It’s the seventh annual “Out of Sight” fundraising event for the organization.

“We will have heavy hors d’oeuvres, vendors, activities, the Guy Unger Band, and a Game of Chance,” said Thomas. “Cocktail attire will be the attire this year.”
 

Thomas said there will be a different spin on the silent auction this year called the Game of Chance. Participants will be able to pick their fate with what kinds of gifts they like instead of writing down how much they want to pay for it.

“This year, instead of individuals wearing blindfolds, we are going to purchase glasses that have different levels of visual impairments; a sponsor will be supporting those,” said Thomas.

“As you walk around with your glasses, you will be able to see what it is like with different visual impairments. We have to educate people on what blind and visually impaired is not,” said Thomas. “It is my duty to make sure the Fayetteville community knows all about it.”
 

Tickets for Out of Sight Night at the Park cost $75. Segra Stadium is located at 460 Hay St. For more information, visit the website at
www.visionresourcecentercc.org or
call 910-483-2719.

In Raleigh, our elected scramble to gather the votes needed to override the governor’s veto of the budget. Much hangs in the balance for Fayetteville and Cumberland County as projects that would create thousands of jobs, enhance our community’s economic development and elevate our quality of life all hinge on the governor’s obsession with expanding Medicaid in North Carolina. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper is engaged in partisan politics. He is trying to impress his fellow left-leaning political cronies by demonstrating he’s a team player willing to reject the state budget to bring North Carolina into the fold by implementing Medicaid expansion. And, with support from political opportunists like freshman Sen. Kirk deViere, D-District 19, Cooper has put Fayetteville/Cumberland County’s $132 million infusion into our community in jeopardy. 

It is obvious in this situation that self-serving politics are taking priority over the governed people. If the budget veto stands, there will be many losers throughout the state.

The good news is that our Cumberland County delegation has demonstrated a refreshing display of unity, cooperation and communication when it comes to the needs and priorities of the people in our county.

Republican Rep. John Szoka has been diligent in his efforts to elevate the status of Cumberland County and to support the projects that will have a long-term and meaningful effect on the entire community. But the real soldiers in this fight to bolster our community are Democratic Reps. Elmer Floyd and Billy Richardson.

Floyd and Richardson have taken a tremendous amount of heat from fellow Democrats who will only side with their party because that is the thing they are expected to do — regardless of logic or ethics. Win or lose this battle over the budget, we can see who the leaders with integrity and character are. Win or lose, the true leaders will wake up every morning knowing they tried to do the right thing for the residents of Fayetteville and Cumberland County.

Win or lose, Floyd and Richardson have earned the respect of their constituents, who will not soon forget these representatives’ fight to remain diligent in their desire to create a stronger, more vibrant, more competitive Cumberland County for residents and future generations.

We have responsible leadership with vision — leaders who are willing to place people over politics while assuring citizens of Fayetteville and Cumberland County that we will be taking our place alongside the larger and more prosperous cities in our state. It is this delegation that, along with a substantial number of residents, businesses and organizations, has worked for years to improve our community. For too long we have watched while other North Carolina communities received special favors and funding from our state legislature while ignoring the needs of Cumberland County, allowing us to slowly become a Tier 1 county.

Many of our former legislators worked hard to improve Cumberland County and Fayetteville. Their efforts laid the groundwork for this current delegation to garner support for these much-needed projects — projects that will impact this community’s quality of life for decades.

This 2020-2022 state budget, if the veto is overruled, would bring a whopping $132 million to our county in projects that will benefit the entire community. These projects could net Cumberland County $20-$40 million a year in additional revenues. Think of what that will mean to this community. This budget is a once-in-a-lifetime win-win for Fayetteville and Cumberland County.

A special thanks to Republican Rep. Szoka and Democratic Reps. Floyd, Richardson and Marvin Lucas and Democratic Sen. Ben Clark for leading this charge. Again, win or lose, these gentlemen have drawn a line in the sand.

·        $12 million for the North Carolina Civil War and Reconstruction History Center; $3 million in year two with anticipation of a total payout of $46 million in the years ahead

·        $8 million to fund Cape Fear Valley Medical Center’s physician residency program

·        $1.85 million for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park

·        $1.5 million for Kingdom Community Development affordable housing construction

·        $900,000 for the North Carolina Military Business Center headquartered in Fayetteville, each year for two years

·        $750,000 for Airborne & Special Operations Museum’s renovation fund

·        $750,000 for the Cumberland County Veterans Healthcare Program

·        $16.2 million to Fayetteville State University

·        $20 million to Fayetteville Technical Community College

Opportunities like these don’t just happen. To make projects of this magnitude a reality for any community, it takes hard work, diligent legislative maneuvering and thousands of local residents, businesses and organizations spending time, energy and money. It takes forward-thinking an and understanding of the needs of our community by a dedicated group of hard-working, business-savvy political leaders who care more about their constituents than they do about themselves or their political futures.

This is why it is vitally important that we support and encourage our local delegation to stay the course and stand up for Fayetteville/Cumberland County by keeping people before politics. Encourage them to pursue the $132 million and reject Cooper’s veto.

For some Democrats, it will be a bold and challenging move. However, it will demonstrate to everyone in Fayetteville, Cumberland County and the rest of North Carolina that our leadership has the integrity, vision and talent needed to aggressively move our community forward by doing the right thing for the right reasons. No one said it would be easy, but that’s what real leadership is all about. The rewards will be many, and the consequences are few.

Again, a very special thank you to our hardworking local delegation: Clark, Szoka, Lucas, Floyd and Richardson. Keep up the good work.

Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

Photos, top to bottom: Rep. Elmer Floyd, Rep. Billy Richardson, and Rep. John Szoka 

When asked to single out the best players on his state championship Hope Mills National 8U Dixie Youth Baseball team, coach Jesse Cox couldn’t come up with an answer. “I love all 12 of them,’’ he said. “Every kid did a job and did it well.’’

Cox, who has been coaching Dixie Youth baseball for six years, will join his fellow coaches and the national team on a long ride to Ruston, Louisiana, for the Dixie Youth 8U World Series. Opening ceremonies are July 26. Hope Mills will begin pool play at 9 a.m. the next morning against Alabama and then at noon against South Carolina.

This is Cox’s second year coaching in Hope Mills, after previously coaching in Gray’s Creek. The all-star team he is taking to Louisiana is composed of players from the four teams in the Hope Mills 8U league. There are eight players from Cox’s regular-season team with four more coming from the other teams in the league.

Cox said he got input from his fellow coaches and their wives when putting the all-star team together.

The 8U level in Dixie Youth is what’s known as a coach-pitch league. The players from each team don’t pitch in the games. A coach from each team pitches to his own players when they are at bat while the opposing team is in the field playing defense. There is a pitcher on field with the coach who is pitching, but that pitcher only plays the position as a defender.

Each batter gets five pitches to try and hit the ball. If the batter strikes out normally on three strikes, that’s an out. If the batter fails to put the ball in play in five pitches, he’s declared out.

Since there’s no way to scout the opposition before going to the World Series in Louisiana, Cox said he’s focusing on the basics with his team along with trying to raise money any way possible to help pay the team’s many expenses for the 13-hour trip.

“We are preparing for another tournament, the next six innings of baseball,’’ Cox said. “We keep a level-headed focus with these guys so they don’t see any intimidation factor.

“We make them feel like, mentally, they can play with anybody. That’s how we approach every practice and every game.’’

Cox said there have been no changes to the way the team practices, just sticking with fundamental baseball.

The top two teams in each division of pool play at the World Series will advance to the eight-team double elimination championship bracket. The teams that fail to qualify will be placed in a consolation bracket where they will compete separately before heading home.

L to R: Coach Jonathan Ransom, Hunter Matthews, Dallas Lupo, Tanner Parrish, Joshua Ransom, Colt Burns, Landon Lusignan, Gavin Bowen, Coach Joshua Lusignan, Noah Reivera, Coach Jesse Cox, Ziriyon Campbell, Aiden Petereson-McAlexander, Corey Cox and Jonathan Lupo.

Cox’s team has held a number of fundraisers, including seeking corporate sponsors for a banner. If anyone would like to make a last-minute contribution to the team before they leave July 26, contact Cox at 910-308-5524.

If you’re looking for raucous celebrations from coach Doren Kolasa and his Hope Mills Angels 10U state champion Dixie Youth softball team, you’ll quickly be disappointed.

“We don’t jump up, and we don’t act silly,’’ Kolasa said of his team when they win. But it’s not because they’re an unhappy bunch — just a respectful one. “We teach them to stay humble. Make sure (they) understand somebody lost. We have time to celebrate later.’’

Kolasa’s team has been doing a lot of celebrating so far in the run through the state Dixie Youth 10U tournament. The team now finds itself headed to Alexandria, Louisiana, and a trip to the 10U Dixie Youth World Series.

Kolasa has been pleased with the way this 12-player group of all-stars has meshed in the postseason.

“I think they the first thing is communication,’’ he said. “It’s hard to get players to communicate.’’

In addition to communication, Kolasa has some genuine talent on the team, starting with pitcher August “Little A” Kebort. “This is a girl people need to watch,’’ he said. “She struck me out the other day in practice.’’

Kebort has been striking a lot of people out. In 20.2 innings, she has 52 strikeouts. She’s also the team’s top hitter, with an .850 batting average.

Another pitching standout is Haylee Lamb, who has 17 strikeouts in 9.2 innings. A surprise addition to the rotation is Jaycee Parnell, who was the catcher most of the season. In the postseason she’s pitched 8.2 innings with 19 strikeouts.

Parnell is also a leading hitter, with a .650 batting average, along with Kolasa’s daughter, McKinley “Boo Boo” Kolasa. She’s batting .556 and is also a defensive star at first base. Another defensive standout is Jazelle Young at third base.

At press time, the full schedule for the World Series had not been set.
After opening-day ceremonies July 26, Hope Mills is scheduled to play Georgia in the first game of the nine-team double elimination event July 27.

“For the last three or four months, we’ve told them defense wins championships,’’ Kolasa said. “Nothing is going to change. We always talk about focusing on fundamentals. Stick with basics. That seems to dial them in pretty good.’’

Anyone wishing to make a last-minute contribution to the team before they leave on July 25 can contact the Hope Mills Youth Association via its Facebook page.

Adults: Head coach Doren Kolasa, assistant coaches Brandon Boone and Mike Johnson
Players: Haylee Lamb, Lizzie Johnson, Dania Berry, August Kebort, Olivia Herron, McKinley Kolasa, Meadow Critchfield, Jazelle Young, DeeDee Rivera, Kenzie Smith,
Jaycee Parnell, Zee Owens

South View track athlete Isaiah Fultz made history and won a state championship earlier this year in a rented wheelchair with a flat tire. Now the school is trying to get him a chair he can call his own.

Fultz, who was left paralyzed after a childhood car accident, became the first Cumberland County athlete to compete and win an event in the wheelchair division of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 4-A track meet this spring. He won in the 100-meter wheelchair division with a time of 21.91 seconds.

So far, Fultz has been competing in a rented wheelchair that costs $150 a month. In addition to the cost of renting the chair, he had to spend additional money for repairs during the recent track season.

The week of this year’s state championship meet proved to be a nightmare for Fultz, South View athletic director Chad Barbour and South View track coach Jesse Autry. The Monday of the state track meet, Fultz had a tire to blow out on his wheelchair. Barbour took it to a local vendor, who promised to have it repaired in time for the meet. The day of the meet, the vendor had not received the new tire for the chair, and it wasn’t ready. Barbour and Autry picked it up and did the best they could to patch the tire so Fultz could race.

“He actually could have raced a lot faster,’’ Barbour said after Fultz won in his broken chair.

So this summer, Barbour began pricing racing wheelchairs and found one that sold for $3,055. Barbour started a fundraiser for the chair, but so far has only raised $150.

Barbour said the investment in the chair on Fultz’s behalf would be worth it to potential donors. “He’s the type of kid, if you get him what he needs, he’s going to be out there putting in the work,’’ Barbour said. “He’s as determined a young athlete as I’ve ever seen. He’s just a great kid who inspires me to do my job better.’’

Donations of any amount are welcome and can be dropped off at South View High School during normal summer business hours or mailed to Barbour at the school mailing address: 4184 Elk Rd., Hope Mills, NC 28348.

Barbour said checks should be made out to South View High School/Chad Barbour.

Photo: Isaiah Fultz currently relies on a rented chair for racing