On June 9, at 7:30 p.m., as part of Army Entertainment’s Summer Comedy Tour, Fort Bragg will host a show featuring Carlos Mencia, Trish Suhr and Jordan Rock.

Mencia is a comedian best known for his work as the host of the Comedy Central show “Mind of Mencia.” Mencia has also appeared in movies, including “The Heartbreak Kid” and “Our Family Wedding.”

With a wide range of styles, including man-on-the-street interviews, studio comedy, commercial parodies, nationwide sold-out tours and films, Mencia is known for his ability to connect with a large and diverse audience. According to the MWR website, “In the last couple years, Mencia chose to go back to his comedic roots, allowing him to share his newest material with smaller and more intimate audiences. In addition to touring, Mencia is continuously writing material for television pilots and upcoming comedy specials.”

Performing with Mencia will be Trish Suhr, best known for her work on the video game “Grand Theft Auto V,” and Jordan Rock, who previously worked for “Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell.”

The show will be held in the Sports USA Building, 3-2102 Longstreet Rd., Fort Bragg.

“Sports USA has a capacity of up to 1,000 people depending on the event, but we expect 400 to 600 people based on the number of tickets we’re selling,” said Anika Stickles of the Fort Bragg Marketing Office.

Parking is available on-site. For more information, go to https://bragg.armymwr.com/calendar/event/army-entertainment-summer-comedy-tour/2256401/26970 or call 910-907-0739.

Tickets for the show are $20 and can be purchased in person at Sports USA or online through the website listed above. The show is available to anyone 18 or older, and the doors open at 6 p.m.

PHOTO: Carlos Mencia

Fayetteville City Council elections have been non-partisan since the council-manager form of government was established in 1948. Regardless of the structure of local government, candidates for office are not identified by their political party affiliations. It’s common among municipal governments in North Carolina.

State law allows four different types of municipal election methods. These four methods are outlined by the North Carolina Legislature in Chapter 163, Article 24 of the state’s general statutes. A municipality’s chosen method of election is codified in its charter. The Fayetteville city charter provides that all nine members of council and the mayor be elected every two years.

The mayor is elected citywide. Council members are chosen in nine separate districts, which are comparable in size. At-large elections were eliminated in 2000 when a blue-ribbon commission recommended the current election method.

If there are more than two candidates for each district seat, there will be a primary election. The primary will trim the number of candidates to two per district, and they would advance to the general election in November. If needed, the primary would occur in October.

Some city council members want to change the terms of office to four years. Others do not. As a group, the body has done little to promote the proposition publicly. They scheduled a public hearing during the last meeting and only three people spoke. One speaker pointed out that two-year terms are the most constitutionally sound form of government.

Members of the North Carolina Senate and House of Representatives serve two-year terms. U.S congressmen also serve for two years. Critics of longer terms of office contend that voters have
short memories.

City council took no action when reminded by city attorney Karen McDonald that the agenda called only for a public hearing.

The mayor and city council are the “board of directors” for the municipal corporation. As such, they set policy, approve the financing of all city operations and enact ordinances, resolutions and
orders. Their responsibilities also include appointing the city manager, city attorney and members of various boards and commissions.

The city manager functions as the chief operating officer, administers the policy and decisions made by city council and oversees the day-to-day operations of city government. It is the city manager’s responsibility to ensure that all city services are delivered in an efficient and cost-effective manner and to provide vision and leadership to the city organization.

Members promoting a change propose that half the members serve four-year staggered terms with the others elected in opposite cycles two years later.

The cities of Durham and Wilmington have an interesting election pattern. Council members serve four-year terms. The mayor is elected every other year. Of the state’s largest cities, only Charlotte’s city council is politicly partisan, holding democratic and republican primaries with the winners meeting in the fall. Asheville, Greensboro and Winston-Salem elect their council members to four-year terms. Some are staggered. Durham voters hold all their members politically accountable at the same time.

Most municipal elections are held in odd years. A few municipalities elect their officials in evennumbered years. Although municipal elections are conducted by county boards of election, only
residents of the municipality are qualified to vote in city elections. These voters must have resided in the municipality for at least 30 days prior to the date of the election.

Fayetteville bus fares will not be going up in the next fiscal year. City council denied a request by the Fayetteville Area System of Transit and its citizen advisory committee, which recommended across-the-board increases for all fare schedules. Transit Director Randy Hume had proposed a single trip fare increase from $1.25 to $1.50. The popular day pass would have gone up from $3 to $4. Mayor Mitch Colvin noted the increases would have resulted in local fares being higher than other cities.

Hume said the fare increases would have generated $133,000, which the advisory committee indicated would have been applied to pay raises for bus operators. Officials said new bus operators earn $13 an hour. After six months, the hourly rate goes to $13.75. Hume told council that employee turnover, especially among bus drivers, is about 15 percent.

Council members Jim Arp and Tisha Waddell said FAST should find creative ways to market the transit system to increase ridership. “We need to get on the bus,” Waddell said. She said an “active and aggressive marketing campaign” is needed to encourage more people to ride the bus.

Councilwoman Kathy Jensen said her experience was that modern FAST buses are clean and safe. Several members pointed to the recent opening of the downtown transit center as a point of pride for the community.

Finding the new District 2 council member

City council heard from the nine citizens who would like to succeed Tyrone Williams as the District 2 council member. Williams resigned after being accused of attempted bribery in a local
downtown business venture. Council asked the candidates to make five-minute presentations during a May 29 televised council meeting. Candidates appeared in alphabetical order.

Former Fayetteville Police attorney Patricia Bradley told how she was raised in a poor neighborhood but won scholarships and grants and put herself through law school. “I am a fierce advocate
for under-resourced communities” she said. Bradley lives in Haymount, having practiced law for 23 years. A portion of Haymount is in District 2, which stretches from Cain Road near Eutaw Village through downtown to east Fayetteville.

Business owner Len Brown said he’s lived in the district since 1952. “I know District 2,” he said. He added that the community needs a full-time representative and claimed he could create more jobs than any of the candidates.

Vernell Cruz is an advocate for the disabled and said she has lived in Fayetteville only 6 years or so. She told council she didn’t expect to be appointed but appreciated the opportunity to appear.

Dan Culletin also lives in Haymount and is a known political entity in the district. He ran for the council seat in November and came in second. He applauded council for the way it handled the Williams situation. “Citizen engagement is the cornerstone of democracy,” he told council. He noted he is the only person running for the post who has already curried favor of District 2 residents.

Mary “Bunny” English lives on Hillsboro Street near downtown. She said she is a former broadcaster and a lifelong resident of Fayetteville.

William Gothard is a retired Army officer who manages a program at the U.S. Army Special Operations Command. He, too, is a Haymount resident and has served on the city’s Historic Resources Commission and Zoning Commission.

Phillip McCorquodale is vice president of operations for Phillips Towing Service and a former chairman of the Cumberland County Local Emergency Planning Committee.

George Mitchell is an Army veteran who is licensed in real estate and insurance.

Sharon Moyer is the community engagement manager for Partnership for Children and is a former executive director of the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival.

Real estate broker George Turner has also volunteered and has served on various city and county awards.

Will indoor public pools become year-round facilities?

With a fourth public swimming pool in the offing, it may be that Fayetteville’s two newest pools will soon become year-round facilities. City council is considering purchasing portable enclosures for the pools at Westover and College Lakes Recreation Centers.

Parks and Recreation Director Michael Gibson said both pools were designed to accommodate tent-like inflatable domes supported by lightweight crossbars. Once installed, they could be raised and lowered with little effort to enclose the pools, making them useable in cold weather.

The city administration is developing guidelines and procedures to accommodate high school swim teams and other aquatic clubs that have expressed interest in utilizing the pools. Swim club supporters note that the only local indoor pool of adequate size is located at Fayetteville State University.

The hope is that Cumberland County Schools will be interested in joining with the city to finance the enclosures. Gibson estimates they would cost as much as $65,000 each. Additional annual operating expenses are estimated at $20,000 a year. The pools currently are open four months out of the year.

Career criminals imprisoned

Two Fayetteville men have been given lengthy federal prison terms as violent, repeat offenders. Dontrell Wright, 24, and Calvin Spearman, 23, both of Fayetteville, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Louise Flanagan.

Wright will spend 19 years in prison. Spearman was sentenced to 14.5 years. Both men will also spend 5 years of supervised release.

Eastern North Carolina U.S. Attorney Robert Higdon Jr. said the defendants were named in a seven-count indictment in September of last year for robbing two local Subway restaurants and a
Pizza Hut in January 2017.

Wright and Spearman pled guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery, brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and aiding and abetting. The U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of North Carolina has implemented the Take Back North Carolina Initiative. The program emphasizes the regional assignment of federal prosecutors to work with local law enforcement and district attorney’s offices to reduce the violent crime rate, drug trafficking and crimes against law enforcement.

The investigation of this case was conducted by the Hope Mills Police Department, the Fayetteville Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Fayetteville man named VA Secretary

President Trump has named Robert Wilkie to be the nation’s next Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Wilkie, a Fayetteville native, has been acting VA secretary since late March.

His appointment is subject to Senate confirmation. Wilkie has also been serving in the Department of Defense as undersecretary for personnel and readiness. Prior to that, Wilkie was senior
advisor to Sen. Thom Tillis, R-NC, and held numerous roles during the administration of President George W. Bush.

“Robert is one of the most honorable and decent human beings I’ve ever worked with,” said Tillis. “Anyone who knows him has seen his drive to serve his country and his passion for honoring our nation’s veterans and service members, qualities that will be tremendous assets at the VA.”

Wilkie replaces the previous VA secretary, David Shulkin.

The VA is the nation’s second-largest government agency, charged with caring for 9 million veterans and more than 1,700 government-run health care facilities.

On Wednesday, May 16, I was privileged to witness our teachers, who rarely organize or complain, some 25,000 plus, come to our General Assembly to voice their concerns over what they perceive is the Legislature’s lack of commitment to public education.

Their visit left me with a plethora of thoughts and emotions. These wonderful teachers truly care for our children. Yet, they are reluctantly leaving the profession. They are going to other states to work. The teachers who are staying are frustrated and are very, very tired. The vast majority of them work two or three jobs just to make ends meet. They feel unappreciated and perplexed.

Despite their obvious concerns and presence, teachers were not dignified by some. There were those of the Republican super majority who chose not to meet with teachers and instead kept their legislative doors closed, hiding behind posters claiming how they had raised teacher salaries over the past three sessions. This was upsetting to teachers who simply wished to voice their concerns and ask questions of their elected officials.

Their questions:

“Why will they not speak with us?”

“Who came up with that $50,000 average salary figure? I am not making that.” The average pay for Cumberland County teachers is $41,000, which is $10,000 less than the claimed state average.

As I met with teachers who were literally lined up from the mall to the legislative building, I stopped and made inquiry with groups of teachers from various counties. I asked each group how many of them worked more than one full-time job to make ends meet. More than half acknowledged that they worked multiple jobs, such as working in factories, clerking at convenience stores and delivering pizza. One teacher spoke of how humiliating it was to deliver pizza to his current students.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, approximately 16 percent of teachers nationwide have a second job. Currently, 53 percent of North Carolina teachers have a second job. This same percentage placed us as third in the nation in 2011, and there has been no improvement since that time. Once again, we are first in matters we should be last in and last in matters that we should be first in.

Our teachers also expressed concern that our rapid accumulation of knowledge is exceeding our schools’ resources to prepare their students for such a pace. Technology will eliminate 50 percent or more of the current jobs. That is the bad news we must prepare for, as it is coming. The good news is 60 percent of our children will have an opportunity to land a job not yet invented.

According to futurist Gerd Leonhard, our children must be able to learn quickly, think critically, be flexible and adapt as mankind’s advancements and accumulated knowledge will soon double
every 30 days! What used to take centuries is now covered in a matter of days. Our accumulated knowledge accelerates proportionate to its advancement.

What does this mean for the leaders of the free world? If we are honest, North Carolina is near the bottom in every major category of educational funding. There are myriad reasons why, but we
have allowed ourselves to slip so far toward the bottom that it is considered by many to be a reasonable goal for us to achieve middle-of-the-pack status. This is being touted as excellence in education by both the Republican super majority as well as our state’s absentee superintendent of public instruction. However, the last I checked, middle of the road or middle of the pack is just what it is, mediocre. Our teachers are not buying it.

For 12 years, we have allowed our educational system to spiral downward. Those who know, those who are in the trenches, and those who are the professionals felt compelled to assemble and do what heroes must do. They organized, marched and insisted on being heard – they raised their voices in respectful but strong unison. They are saying to us just as loud and just as bravely as they can, “Enough. The time is now to pursue excellence.”

What does a top five education system look like? House Bill 888 (Professional Teachers & Administrators Accountability Act) is a great start.

First, it is not just paying teachers a professional wage, a wage that is commensurate with the difficult job they do. It starts with excellent preschools, which are the trigger for young minds to read and to be curious. It emphasizes reading throughout the elementary years but specifically mastering all reading during the first three grades. It is a classroom stocked with great textbooks, labs and internet and technology resources. It is principals welltrained to lead their schools, support their teachers and have their backs. It is young teachers assigned to well-paid mentors who set high standards and demand the best from their young protégées.

It is also a system that teaches parents to partner with their children’s schools and with their children to ensure they are receiving the knowledge and all that they will need for the jobs of the next century.

The critics will say, “Throwing money at a problem will not fix it,” or, “We don’t need to be the best – maybe just be top of our region.” To those I say, why don’t we lift up excellence as a goal?
Being mediocre is all but un-American; being less than mediocre is unconscionable. The price for our state to be in the top five of the nation is $100 a year for each citizen presently living in the state. An alternative way of financing this plan is to return our taxes to the 2015 levels.

If we are reluctant to put this program into place statewide, then shame on us. We have tried everything else – charters, vouchers, special school districts, etc. What we have not tried is being the best. I am certainly open to trying this global approach in six to eight different school systems throughout the state to see if it works – but try we must. Imagine our state with the best schools in the nation!

The next war on democracy will be waged on the battlefield of the mind. We are blessed to have so many members of our armed services here in North Carolina. Can you image sending those
brave men and women to battle mediocrely trained and equipped? Would we dare scrimp on their resources? Like our military, our children’s education must equip them for the battle of who controls knowledge, and with it, immense power.

PHOTO: Photo by Jose Moreno on Unsplash.

Memorial Day in this household is something to pause on for me. It’s looking at the flag that we see every day on our entertainment center and really, really looking at it.

It’s thinking on my parents who were both killed in a military training exercise in 1981, the reason that this flag is in our house.

It’s looking at the dog tags on it and thinking about my grandfather and his service, but also the stories he told of the ones who didn’t come home. Or the other pilot that he wondered about for years and tried to find for almost the rest of his life, only to find out this man died weeks after the last time Grandpa saw him in another fight in World War II.

It’s thoughts of the crew at the Special Forces Association Chapter 1-18 and the stories they’ve told us around the bar there of their friends who didn’t make it home, in a mix of tears and some smiles to go with them. It’s watching my husband, Scott, try to figure out how to memorialize his friends who gave the ultimate sacrifice and then seeing him realize that he will never be able to truly do this as perfectly as he wants to.

It’s a lot of piled emotions in one day.

And it’s also me smiling as I put on my first dad’s Hawaii T-shirt and wear it for the day. Smirking that he wore his shirts so tight in the ’70s that in my time, I’d like to think this shirt was made more for my size. It’s Scott telling great stories of his friends that he’s eventually laughing about in the telling.

It’s having our flag out on the front porch and a “Freedom” banner in the garden at the farm.

We honor them all, but more importantly to me than anything else is the actual remembering. We keep talking about them all. And instead of solemnity all the time, we’re chuckling. And remembering the trueness of them in the imperfection.

This is how we do Memorial Day, and I’m at peace completely. To me, this is fitting.

PHOTO: The late Air Force Capt. Donald Fonke.

This column is dedicated to a very special guy who works somewhere in the food service industry. I speak of Leon, an unknown folk hero who deserves recognition. I have never met Leon, but I feel I know him anyway. Leon, like Johnny Yuma, is a rebel. Leon is unafraid to buck society’s norms. He’s the kind of guy who made America great once upon a time. Leon is a rugged individualist willing to stand up against the job-killing regulations of the Deep State, which we all know stifle American ingenuity. I shall always think of Leon any time I enter a restaurant’s restroom that has been clumsily and cruelly targeted by Big Brother.

You have seen the invasive tentacles of the Deep State yourself every time you go into a restaurant’s restroom. Ponder that dictatorial sign from the Health Department on the wall that states: “Each Employee’s Hands Must Be Washed Thoroughly, Using Soap, Warm Water and Sanitary Towel or Approved Hand-Drying Device Beginning Work and After Each Visit to the Toilet.”

On said sign at Leon’s workplace, someone had hand-written in ink, “Especially Leon.”

Now every time I see one of those signs, I think of Leon and laugh. The next time you enter a public restroom and see that sign, you, too, are very likely to think of Leon and laugh. But be careful; laughing in a public restroom can cause people to look at you funny if you are not talking on a blue tooth phone.

But seriously, folks, this handwritten addendum to the Deep State’s sign is a direct attack on Leon’s ability to decide for himself whether or not to spread germs in the manner that he deems fit. Why should Leon – or anyone else – have to wash his hands if he doesn’t want to?

Holy Typhoid Mary, the Deep State is once again interfering with our freedom. One can make the argument that Leon is facing a hostile work environment. Leon’s pain and mental anguish from this outrageous infringement on his freedom can only be eased by the application of a large money poultice, which can be secured after lengthy litigation and substantial attorney fees. I liken Leon and his heroic fight for the right to work with dirty hands to Mel Gibson in “Braveheart,” who shouts, “They may take our lives, but they can never take our freedom to handle food with germy hands!”

Regulations are bad. They stifle competition and keep Darwinism from evicting people who want to make dangerous choices from the gene pool. If some people want to eat Tide Pods, it is their God-given right to destroy their gastrointestinal systems.

The Deep State has no right to try to prevent the pursuit of foaming at the mouth or self-infliction of excruciating abdominal pain. The people have no Tide Pods? Let them eat at a restaurant where Leon works. The Tide Pod eaters may end up in the Saint Hubris Hospital for the Mentally and Gastronomically Challenged, but that is their right.

Just because you can do something, means you should do it. If, for example, say a future presidential candidate were to travel to a faraway capital of a communist country, and while there, decide that he wants to enjoy a flood of entertainment by, as Putin put it, “Girls of reduced social responsibility,” if he can afford to hire such entertainers, who are we to say that would be wrong? If it can be done. It should be done. As the King of Siam once said, “So let it be written. So let it be done.”

If we accept the proposition that the Deep State is out to ruin America by regulating such piddling things as hand washing, drilling for oil in national parks or supporting public education, then it’s time to end those things.

All those post-apocalyptic movies and TV programs that show people murdering and eating each other after society collapses are just scare tactics from Hollywood and its evil twin the Deep State. We don’t need no stinkin’ rules. Rules are for sissies who can’t take care of themselves and have to rely on the Nanny State to impose order. As Chairman Mao once said, “Political
power grows out of the barrel of a gun.” It’s every man for himself. That old saying about sinking ship protocol, “Women and children first,” is so yesterday.

If The Donald wants to make the Chinese company ZTE great again by saving 75,000 Chinese jobs after his lovely daughter Ivanka gets a bunch of new trademarks from the Chinese government to sell books and various housewares in China, what of it? The Constitution’s Emoluments clause is a relic of the past. Constitutional limits preventing a President from financially benefitting from his office by doing favors for foreign interests are just the Deep State’s way of messing with the entrepreneurial spirits of Oligarchs.

If Leon has dirty hands, he is not alone.

Rodney King’s plaintive words echoing across the decades are more on point than ever in the wake of our most recent national shouting match that leaves everyone sullied.

First, comedian Roseanne Barr referred to two educated, professional African-American women who served key roles in the Obama administration as “apes.” Within hours, another comedian, Samantha Bee, called the daughter of our current president a word that cannot be printed in a community publication, if anywhere.

How on God’s green earth did we get to this low point?

Years ago, when I was an adolescent, I – like most young people just beginning to feel their oats – tried out a few forbidden words, including some with meanings I did not fully comprehend. At  some point in my linguistic rebellion, my mother got wind of it. A grammarian, a lover of the English language and a proper Southern mother, she was appalled and, as we say in the South, “was having none of that.”

She and I had a sit-down on the topic of being kind and respectful to others and using the beautiful flexibility and versatility of the English language both properly and with care. I came away from our conversation understanding something I had not considered before … that unkind, uncivil, and “dirty” language reflects more on the speaker than it does on the intended target.

Name-calling is cheap and easy, revealing a mind that either does not know or is too lazy to search for a precise and insightful word or phrase that actually means something. Referring to others as “apes” or with a four-letter expletive is not creative. It reveals minds too challenged or too lazy or both to come up not with scattershot but with words that have express meaning.

Barr and Bee should be embarrassed not only for what they said about others but also by the sheer mediocrity of their choice of words.

Clearly, our nation is as divided politically, geographically and educationally as we have ever been during my adult lifetime. I would have a difficult time scanning my circle of family, friends and acquaintances without being aware of which side they take. In other words, no one is neutral. There are next to no true “independents.” Virtually all Americans are in one camp or another. We agree with Barr or we agree with Bee, though we might not have used their cheap words, and no end to our current vitriol is in sight.

Whatever else they may be, Barr and Bee symbolize two deeply disturbing aspects of American culture in 2018.

An alarming percentage of us no longer value civility in our everyday lives or in other people. Courtesy matters less and less, as a trip down any roadway in the country quickly demonstrates with fist-shakers and fingerwaggers abounding. We barely notice profanity in person or in various media. Instead of shocking us as it did a generation ago, it has become the wallpaper of daily living. Barr’s and Bee’s language is so common that this column – a week or so after their utterances – may well be the last you hear about either of them.

We also value language less. Finding and using the words that match what we want to express seems too hard for many of us, so we take the easy route – simple and overused words that have no clear meaning and “dirty” words so overused they have little meaning at all.

In my dreams, we would all take Rodney King’s heartfelt admonishment, “Can’t we all just get along?” to heart. We can agree to disagree as we obviously do, but we do not have to speak like Barr and Bee.

We could all learn from Winston Churchill as well. Churchill did not call names, but he was a world champion at the clever and targeted zinger. When Harry Truman remarked that Churchill’s replacement as prime minister “seems like a modest sort of fellow,” Churchill shot back, “He’s got a lot to be modest about.”

That puts all expletives in their proper uncreative and below average place.

The plotlines of William Shakespeare’s most famous works, like “Romeo and Juliet” and “Hamlet,” are almost universally known. Less common, though, is knowledge of how Shakespeare’s theaters actually operated and how his plays were performed in relation to their time. Sweet Tea Shakespeare, currently housed in the 1897 Poe House on Arsenal Avenue in downtown Fayetteville, puts on shows born from an organization that reflects Shakespeare’s ideologies and methods.

That doesn’t mean STS is not contemporary – in fact, quite the opposite. Jeremy Fiebig, STS artistic director and president, founded the company in 2012 after moving to Fayetteville to teach theater at Fayetteville State University. He brought with him experience as an assistant director, stage manager and understudy at the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, Virginia, three years’ experience teaching theater at Waldorf University in Forest City, Iowa, and a love for the spirit of Shakespeare. That spirit, he said, is rooted in accessibility.

He explained that, “One hundred years before Shakespeare became Shakespeare,” the printing press created a fast-growing separation between those who could read and those who could not. “Shakespeare was writing pieces of literature that were read out loud,” Fiebig said. “He was playing with the language in the same way they were doing in print, but it was accessible to a whole group of people who maybe hadn’t been educated in the same way he had. That was the kindling that caused him to catch fire.”

STS performs more than just plays written by Shakespeare, but Fiebig said that, no matter the source material, “We try to be accessible to all audiences, regardless of background. That makes us do what we do in a certain style that’s... like a combination of musical theater and children’s theater.” At the same time, he said, those who know the original texts will still find STS shows true to the essence of the language.

Associate artistic directors Jessica Osnoe and Marie Lowe added that STS aims to inspire wonder and delight, not just in the stories but in demonstrating creative solutions for how to tell those stories with basic materials like Shakespeare would have used – fabric, light, wood, live music.

“Jeremy has one of the best visual senses of anyone I’ve ever worked with,” Lowe said. “So many things in Shakespearean plays... are difficult to produce: ships, castles, harpies, magic, storms. Jeremy finds truly delightful ways of invoking these things without actually building a castle or crafting a ship.

“That visual wonder … That’s one thing I think every audience comes away from our shows (talking about).”

This wonder is homegrown by committed company members performing a variety of roles, both administrative and performative, rather than a cast that rotates with every show. “We organize ourselves in the way medieval and renaissance companies would have,” Fiebig said. “That structure is responsible for turning us into what we are today.”

Osnoe explained that eight STS “masters” operate in a structure like a craftsman’s guild, each overseeing an “area of responsibility and apprenticeship with and for other company members known as ‘fellows’ and ‘wrights.’ The company comprises nearly 40 members, all with varying backgrounds, training and theatrical experience.”

This structure, she explained, allows different members to take turns hosting different responsibilities, contributing his or her strengths and in turn receiving feedback and guidance for growth that will benefit not just them but the entire company. Entrylevel company members – the “wrights” and “fellows” – have the opportunity to move up as they continue to dedicate their time and talents to the larger body.

Fiebig added that actors who do not wish to commit to company membership are still welcome to audition and that STS shows usually feature a mixture of company members and one-time performers.

STS also includes a youth company, Green Tea, which offers young adults ages 12-17 monthly classes and the chance to perform.

The next opportunities to see STS at work are “Pericles” and “The Tempest,” which are running in repertoire every other night June 5-21, except for June 18. These shows will conclude the company’s 2017-18 season.

Fiebig is directing both shows, with the help of codirector Jessica Schiermeister for “Pericles.” “Pericles” follows the adventures of the Prince of Tyre, a character Fiebig described as “a great, regular old hero, like Jesus or, you know, D’Artagnan. A guy to whom things happen. Like Harry Potter.”

Pericles, who will be played by Richard Adlam, charges around various locations in ancient Greece, experiencing shipwrecks, pirates, a murder plot, incest and romance – not necessarily in that order. With a 35-person cast playing a total of over 60 roles, it’s the largest number of people STS has ever involved in a production.

“The Tempest” tells the story of, in Fiebig’s words, “this guy who in part feels like he screwed up his life with his approach to the world. He’s a loner. He feels like the last 12-15 years of his life, he’s been suffering the consequences.”

The guy, Prospero, is a sorcerer and the rightful Duke of Milan. The consequences are that he’s been stranded on a desert island with his daughter, Miranda, for over a decade. The story that unfolds introduces us to, in addition to Prospero and Miranda, a captive spirit, a bitter monster, a scheming brother, a lovesick prince and a wise counselor, among others. “(The story) is ultimately about forgiveness,” Fiebig said. Prospero will be played by Ana Burby.

STS 2018-19 season

The new season kicks off in August and winds down next June. It will feature:

• “The Comedy of Errors,” a story about a set of twins separated and the sweet, confusing, satisfying chaos and reunions that follow.

• “OthelLIT,” a uniquely light-dark and boozy spoof on “Othello,” the tragic tale of love, deception and revenge.

• “Behold,” a folk Christmas cantata that joyfully blends the new and the traditional.

• “Sweeney Todd,” to be performed at Fayetteville Pie Company in the Westwood Shopping Center. The story of the Demon Barber of Fleet Street is deliciously adapted with rich, saucy danger, despair and … a cat.

• “Maid Marian,” a new adaptation of “Robin Hood” by Osnoe. Get to know a new voice in the narrative. “I think it will mostly be bittersweet,” Osnoe said.

• “Richard III” and “The Merry Wives of Windsor” in repertory. The first features one of Shakespeare’s most infamous villains and is a twisted tale of manipulation as a malcontent rises to power. Fiebig said it will feature electric guitars for a bluesy, rock feel. “The Merry Wives” is, in Fiebig’s words, “a great comedy while we’re still in the honeymoon phase of Megan and Harry,” referring to the recent royal wedding. “It has to do with who’s married to whom and who would like to be married whom.”

Fiebig reflected on his future goals for STS, saying, “We want to grow our relationship with Fayetteville and its businesses, organizations, families and individuals. I think for a city to work, actors and directors and designers are as critical as police and firemen and EMS workers. It’s so important to us that we aren’t just making art, but making art for here and making artists who will make a life here.”

For showtimes, tickets and more information, visit www.sweetteashakespeare.com.

As home to Fort Bragg and the 82nd Airborne Division, Fayetteville is nestled closer to thehearts of our Founding Fathers than most of America for one reason – the fine service members here who protect and defend our rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. They ensure that we can vote, we can dissent, we can speak our minds – even when maybe we shouldn’t.

Yet we do.

Just this past year, writers in Up & ComingWeekly made their voices heard regarding immigration, kneeling during the national anthem, and more recently, local politics in both Hope Mills and Fayetteville. We received pushback on all of it. And we were happy to read and print those responses, even when we didn’t agree.

Disagreements and pettiness happen daily on a national level with presidential tweets that make headlines and talking heads and celebrities who use their positions as a platform to further their political or personal agendas. Two recent cases that come to mind are Roseanne Barr and Samantha Bee. ABC canceled Barr’s TV show for inappropriate remarks she made about President Obama’s former democratic senior advisor, Valerie Jarrett. Meanwhile, on her show “Full Frontal,” Samantha Bee verbally assaulted President Trump’s daughter, Ivanka (a Republican staffer), by referring to her as a “feckless C**t.”

Did TBS’ executives admonish Bee’s behavior? Did they cancel her comedy show? They did not. Imagine the national outrage if Bee said that about Michelle Obama, or worse, her daughters Malia and Sasha.

Bee’s show was videotaped. This meant that TBS had the opportunity to edit out the offensive insult before it aired nationally. Those with the authority to make that decision chose not to.

Even if the performance was a live broadcast, a standard 10-second broadcasting delay allows for bleeping out vulgarities.

By their actions, these two companies made bold statements about where they stand. Undoubtedly, many agree with them. Others do not. But no one went to jail, mysteriously disappeared or lost their job. Because this is still America. That’s part of the glory of our country. We can speak our minds without fear of retribution from our government and with the expectation of being heard.

As part of this military community, we have lost far too many service members through the years because they answered the call to serve and were sent to handle America’s business in faraway places on our behalf. With Memorial Day in the rearview mirror, and on the heels of heartfelt ceremonies where we honored our friends for their sacrifice and quietly vowed to look after their widows and orphans, the name-calling and hate couldn’t feel more misguided or counterproductive.

We are lucky to be Americans, and we should definitely use our First Amendment right to voice our opinions, to disagree, to be true to ourselves. When passions run high, it is easy to forget the cost of our freedom. And that comes with consequences – for people and organizations. We both thank you for reading Up &Coming Weekly.

Nyielah Nick

Seventy-First

• Baseball/Track

• Sophomore

Nick has a 3.75 gradepoint average. In addition to basketball and track, she is active in ROTC and Find a Friend.

Zaryen McGilvary

Seventy-First

• Indoor and outdoor track

• Sophomore

McGilvary has a 3.6 grade point average. In addition to track, McGilvary is active in ROTC.

Freedom Christian Academy’s softball team won its second North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association 2-A softball championship in three years last week, again on its homefield, winning three straight games in the double elimination round of the state tournament.

Freedom was the No. 2 seed in the tournament and didn’t have to play a game on the road, beating Calvary Day School 10-0 in the opening round before play moved to Freedom for the rest of the tournament. Freedom beat No. 3 seed Rocky Mount Academy 13-2, then downed No. 1 seed Fayetteville Christian 3-1.

Rocky Mount came out of the loser’s bracket after eliminating Fayetteville Christian 3-2, then Freedom clinched the title with a five-inning 11-1win over Rocky Mount in the final game.

Haley Nelson got the win in the championship game, allowing three hits and one run in five innings while recording six strikeouts and yielding three walks.

Rocky Mount led briefly at 1-0 before Molly Montgomery homered to give Freedom a 2-1 lead. Montgomery singled home two more runs later in the game.

Kendall MacCauley also tripled to drive in two more runs for the Patriots.

Nelson, Montgomery and Lexi Little made the NCISAA 2-A All-State team for Freedom. Chosen from Fayetteville Christian were Destiny Smith, Olivia Nieto and Morgan Hatchell.

• NC Spurs will hold a basketball camp featuring Fayetteville Academy basketball coach Bill Boyette. The camp is for boys and girls 8-12 and 13-18 and will be held July 9-13 at Fayetteville Academy from 9 a.m. until noon each day. The cost is $200 per student and includes player evaluation. 

For information, call Jimmy Maher at 910-580-5643 or visit www.ncspurs.com/basketball.

NC Spurs will also hold an elite training camp for soccer July 19-21. Sessions for U10-U13 will be held 9 a.m. until noon and for U14-U18 from 5p.m. to 8 p.m. The camp will be directed by Shaun Maher, 14-year professional player with various teams in England and Ireland.

The camp is for boys and girls, high school players from freshman to senior and travel players ages 10-18. Players will be grouped by age and playing ability. Goalkeeper training will be provided using the new sidekick, which can beviewed at www.seattlesportsciences.com.

The cost is $225 and includes player evaluation. For more information, visit www.ncspurs.com or call Maher at the number given previously.

Summer soccer camps are also scheduled June 25-29 and July 16-20. Camp hours are 9 a.m. until noon daily. Ages are 4-15 with players grouped by ability. Goalkeepers will also train with the sidekick device. Cost is $170 per player.

Fayetteville Academy soccer coaches Jimmy Maher and Andrew McCarthy will work at both soccer camps.

Here’s a look back at how area athletes fared in recent North Carolina High School Athletic Association and North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association state track competitions.

NCHSAA

Cumberland County’s entry into the state’s Unified Track and Field program in conjunction with North Carolina Special Olympics and ESPN came to a successful conclusion in last weekend’s state 3-A track meet at North Carolina A&T University.

Cumberland County, under the leadership of county student activities director Vernon Aldridge, has been among the state leaders in giving special needs youngsters the chance to compete in Unified Track. There are currently only three counties in the state taking part in the Unified Track program, Wake County, Cumberland County and Guilford County. With seven schools participating, Cumberland County is second only to Wake County in total schools taking part.

At the state meet in Greensboro, Unified athletes were allowed to participate in two events, the 4x100 relay and the 100-meter dash.

The Gray’s Creek team of Charles Bechtol, Devonte Pierce, Kyler Brewington and Andrew Esterly won the 4x100 with a time of 51.77 seconds.

The Westover team of Jason Sylvester, Damarion Ford, Jada Gardner and Yahaira Leaks took third with a 58.04.

Terry Sanford’s team of Jeremiah Bordeaux, Darious Davis, Clarence Frazier and Alfred Davenport was third with a 1:02.30.

In the 100-meter dash, Andrew Esterly was third with a 12.39. Bordeaux was fourth with a 12.60. Gray’s Creek’s Pierce and Anthony Liszewski were fifth and sixth respectively, Pierce with a 13.08 and Liszewski with a 13.25.

NCISAA

In the NCISAAstate 1-A/2-Ameet, Fayetteville Christian’s Nashaya Pagan and Fayetteville Academy’s Morgan Dorsey had big days.

Pagan was an individual winner in two events and helped lead FayettevilleChristian to a relay win.

Pagan won the 100-meter with a time of 12.76 and the 200 with a time of 26.24. Only a freshman, Pagan was a double winner in the state meet for Fayetteville Christian last year.

She teamed with Aeryon Davis, Shadea McElvin and Monet Oliver tow in the 4x100 in this year’s meet with a time of 51.65.

Dorsey took the 400-meter dash for Fayetteville Academy with a time of 58.80. A year ago, Dorsey won the 800-meter state championship for the Eagles.

The Fayetteville Christian boys foursome of Jaden Jenkins, Declan Cutler, Trevonte Robinson and Latterrion Johnson won the 4x100 and 4x200 relays. Their time in the 4x100 was 45.28, and they won the 4x200 in 1:35.09.

Charlie Daniels is a name most people in this part of the country instantly recognize. In fact, one would be hard-pressed to find a corner of this nation where people are not at least familiar with the titan of country music and his smash 1979 country rock single, “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.” June 1, The Charlie Daniels Band brings the Southern Uprising Tour to North Carolina for one night to play a show at Fayetteville’s CrownTheater.

Daniels is 81 years old this year, but he shows no signs of slowing down. Since his self-titled, debut album was released in 1971, Daniels has been zig-zagging all over the United States. In all that time, he has fallen in love with America over and over. When asked what his favorite place is to visit while out on the road, Daniels said, “I love it all. I love this nation. I like to play anywhere I can get grits for breakfast.” He laughed and continued, “Give me a stage and a room full of people, and I’m ready to rock.”

For Daniels, North Carolina is home. He was born in 1936 in Wilmington, North Carolina, and the state remains a source of inspiration for him. “That’s where my dream started,” he said. While he was a teenager in North Carolina, he learned his first three-chord song on guitar. “I learned to play on an old guitar. Once I could play the G/C/D chords, I could play a whole song, and that was the most exciting thing to happen to me. After I learned those three chords on a guitar, I wanted nothing more than to be a professional musician. All of that started back there in Carolina.”

The Charlie Daniels Band is not alone on the Southern Uprising Tour. The Marshall Tucker Band, longtime friends of Daniels, is also on the bill.

Daniels reminisced about the time he met The Marshall Tucker Band: “I met Marshall Tucker Band in about 1973 or ’74. We were playing a show together in Nashville.”

Daniels said he walked into their dressing room and made a joke about their junior high school in Spartanburg, South Carolina. “Big ole smiles broke out on their faces,” he said. “We just hit it off. ”The two bands have been frequent tour companions ever since.

Daniels promises the people of Fayetteville and the surrounding areas a great show. He has built his career on entertaining his audiences. When asked if he would like to say anything to the people of Fayetteville, he said, “Come let us entertain you. That’s what we’re about. From the time we hit the stage to the time we leave, that’s what we do. Playing music is a pure joy to us, but it wouldn’t be a joy if it weren’t for you.”

The Southern Uprising Tour marks the end of the 82nd season of Community Concerts in Fayetteville. Community Concerts prides itself in bringing notable entertainment to the community. The organization also awards college music scholarship seach year to promising local high school graduates.

Community Concerts also produces the Fayetteville Music Hall of Fame.This year’s inductees to the Hall of Fame are Buck Hodge, the minister of music at Northwood Temple Church, and Bill Ayerbe of the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra.

Tickets for The Charlie Daniels Band with The Marshall Tucker Band at the Crown Theater range in price from $35 to $100 and are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased online at www.CapeFearTix.com or by phone at 888-257-6208. Additionally, tickets can be purchased at the Crown Complex Box Office and the Leisure Travel Office located on Fort Bragg. The concert is scheduled for Friday, June 1, at 7:30 p.m.

Mike Moses Jr. brings a rich connection with basketball to his new job as head boys coach at South View High School.

Moses, who comes to South View after coaching the St. Pauls High School girls last year, takes over from Wendell Wise, who stepped down earlier this year.

Moses played high school basketball in Detroit before going to Eastern Michigan and eventually playing basketball at Fayetteville State.

He coached for six years with Alphonza Kee at Fayetteville State, who is now head coach at Cape Fear. He worked briefly with Nike conducting basketball camps and also taught at Trinity Christian School in Fayetteville before getting back into coaching at St. Pauls last year.

He took a team that was 3-25 the previous year and guided them to a 13-11 record.

When the South View job opened, he was immediately interested. “I’m totally familiar with the success of South View,’’ he said of the school whose gymnasium is named for former coach Ron Miller.

The Tiger program has slumped in recent years, and Moses thinks it needs not rebuilding but what he calls rebranding. “You bring in a new coach, you bring in new philosophies,’’ he said. “I have an energy that’s unmatched. I’m super passionate about this game.’’

Moses said his father, Mike Moses Sr., coaches at the collegiate level and was a college player himself for St. John’s in the mid-1980s.

“I’m going to bring it every day,’’ he said. “Your players feed off that. I’m going to set a standard and expectation, and it starts with me.’’

Moses said he planned to hold his first meeting with the players at South View last week. He already has a plan set for off season workouts.

He wants the team to condition on Tuesdays and Thursdays and practice on Mondays and Wednesdays during the summer.

He also wants to get video of last year’s South View team to familiarize himself with the returning players.

“I’m an up and down guy,’’ he said of his basketball philosophy. “I’m trying to get a shot in the first seven seconds of a possession. We want to score in transition. It requires a lot of talent to come down every possession and get a basket in a set play.’’

PHOTO: Mike Moses Jr.

Dr. Christopher Dague has long been on the path to be a college professor. But he’ll take many pleasant memories with him from his 13-year detour as a teacher and coach at Jack Britt High School.

Dague, the baseball coach at Britt, will be leaving the school at the end of this year to become a professor at The Citadel in Charleston, SouthCarolina.

He got his Ph.D from North Carolina State University in 2015 and has continued coaching baseball and teaching at Britt, along with doing some teaching for Campbell University.

“I’ve told a lot of people, it’s bittersweet,’’ he said. “For me it’s more about the fact that this school and the people here will always mean more to me than I will ever mean to it.’’

Dague said he can’t imagine ever teaching high school anywhere other than Britt. “It’s a place that has such incredible expectations of the faculty, students and athletics,’’ he said. “It’s special here. I can’t really describe it.’’

He has a similar feeling for his new job at The Citadel, where he’ll teach educational psychology and curriculum instruction to both cadets and graduate students.

“I’m going to an institution with an incredible and historic tradition,’’ Dague said. “Hopefully the information I’m going to provide to those students will impact students across South Carolina.’’

Dague is the only baseball coach in Britt history tow in a share of a conference title. That happened last year. There is no baseball or coaching in his immediate future at The Citadel, and it’s something he will miss.

“It’s the last connection with my father,’’ said Dague.“I lost him in 2002. I thought a lot about him over the last couple of days. It’s been such a great opportunity for me. I’m going to leave the door open.’’

Jack Britt named Steve Clabaugh as its new baseball coach. Clabaugh is a former coach at Seventy-First and Overhills High School and has been an assistant at Britt for three years.

In a prepared statement, Clabaugh said, “I am honored and am very excited about my new role in the Jack Britt baseball program. I’m inheriting a program with a strong tradition of excellence, thanks to the hard work of some great coaches who have come before me.

“I’m really looking forward to working with this great group of young men, parents, administration and community.’’

PHOTOS: (Top to Bottom) Dr. Christopher Dague and Steve Clabaugh

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.

• Board of Commissioners Monday, June 4. A public hearing on the proposed FY 2018-2019 Budget will be held. Citizens Academy Graduation will take place that evening as well. Students will be presented with a plaque displaying their certificate of completion.

• Historic Preservation Commissioners Wednesday, June 13, 5 p.m.

Activities

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

• Fall sports registration June 1-July 28. $30 per child; $15 late fee after registration deadline. Season begins Sept. 8. Call 910-426-4109 for more information.

• Pet Fest Saturday, June 2, at Hope Mills Municipal Park. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free.Call 910-486-4636 for details.

• Food truck Rodeo Thursday, June 7, 5-8 p.m. Held in the big parking lot at Town Hall.

• Daddy/Daughter Dinner & Dance Saturday, June 9, 6 p.m. $50 per couple plus $20 for each additional ticket purchased. Call 910-426-4107 to RSVP by June 1.

• First Annual 4th of July Pageant Friday-Saturday, June 22-23. Pageant registration deadline is June 1. For more information, call 910-426-4107.

Promote yourself: To include your business’s event, emailhopemills@upandcomingweekly.com.

Thinking about putting up a sign to advertise something in Hope Mills? Do yourself and the town a favor by checking first with Chancer McLaughlin, development and planning administrator for the town. You could save his department and yourself some headaches.

McLaughlin and his staff oversee the good, the bad and the ugly of the signs that pop up all over Hope Mills. They recently sent out a mailer to all the businesses in town with a refresher on what is and isn’t allowed by the town’s sign ordinance.

That ordinance takes up about 14 typed pages. Why so much reading material? McLaughlin said it’s because there’s a lot of ground to cover.

McLaughlin said the sign ordinance stretches to14 pages not because there are so many different signs, but because the rules covering how different signs are regulated tend to be layered.

Since a person or a business may only be looking at one type of sign to install, McLaughlin said there may be only a couple pages in the sign ordinance that apply specifically to them.

If there’s one sign McLaughlin said the town is most likely to have a problem with, it’s what’s called a flag sign.

Flag signs are portable or moveable signs not meant to be permanently attached to the ground or a building. Sometimes businesses use flag signs, and that’s where problems arise.

“The sign ordinance allows flag signs for the grand opening of a business for a period of a week,’’McLaughlin said. “You can’t have a flag sign that’s a permanent attachment.

“In addition to providing information about the sign ordinance, the mailer the town recently sent out to local businesses about signs alerted the businesses that Hope Mills plans to become more aggressive in its handling of violations.’’

But McLaughlin and his staff haven’t exactly been ignoring the sign issue in Hope Mills. At least every other Friday, and sometimes more often if they notice an increase in illegal signs, McLaughlin and his co-workers do sign sweeps of Hope Mills.

Normally, McLaughlin said, his team divides the town into quadrants,focusing on the commercial areas, and take one quadrant each Friday of a sweep. Their aim is to cover the whole town in the space of one month. On some days, they’ll tackle a larger area.

While on these tours they also try to educate people they encounter on what signs they can and can’t use.

He noted nearly all the signs you see posted on public right of ways advertising various small businesses are against the rules.

On some weekends, McLaughlin said, his team picks up as many as 60 signs. And the sweeps continue.

“As fast as we keep picking them up, they keep putting them down,’’ he said. “We have to be very consistent with continually putting the message out there.’’

If you have questions about what signs are legal and illegal, contact McLaughlin’s office at 910-426-4103.

Fayetteville Technical Community College’s 56th commencement exercises on May 18 at the Crown Coliseum represented the first year in the history of the college where students in the graduating class divided into two groups to participate in separate ceremonies, at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Each ceremony recognized specific program areas. The change was made primarily for the convenience of FTCC students and their family members. Fayetteville Tech celebrated with a record number of graduates during the combined ceremonies: 2,498 curriculum/credit graduating students; 5,797 associate degrees/certificates/diplomas; 315 High School Connections students; and 210 adult high school students.

The staff at FTCC are grateful to the honorable Sen. Wesley Meredith, who served as commencement speaker and delivered a unique message to the graduating class – a message of hope, perseverance and success. It’s a message shared by many FTCC students who turn to the school in search of higher education, leading ultimately to a path for success.

Meredith shared his personal story about how he earned an associate’s degree from Fayetteville Tech in horticulture technology and was better equipped to handle the challenges of owning, sustaining and growing his lawn care business. He reminded students that the road of life following graduation would not always be smooth and easy, and dedication and perseverance would always be required – not only for graduates seeking to become entrepreneurs but also those who plan to work for an employer or continue their education.

Meredith represents an excellent role model for our college graduates in that he not only succeeded in developing and growing his business as a community college graduate, he also demonstrated his appreciation for the community he loves by serving the citizens of Cumberland County in his role as District 19 representative and majority Whip in the North Carolina Senate.

At the same time FTCC celebrated with 2018 graduates during the ceremony, we were also informed about the critical condition of another good friend of the school’s – Harry F. Shaw. We later learned that Shaw died the next day following the graduation ceremony.

Shaw once commented that he very much looked forward to shaking the hands of each FTCC graduate and was stirred emotionally when he saw the individuals who had turned to FTCC to complete their high school education. I would like to thank the FTCC students, faculty, staff, board members, family members of our students and other honored guests who took a few moments during the graduation ceremony to pause with me to honor the life and contributions of Harry F. Shaw.

Shaw served on the FTCC Board of Trustees from 1969 to 2007, served on the FTCC Foundation Board of Directors and worked diligently on several committees through his service to the North Carolina Community College System. In honor of his devoted service to FTCC, Fayetteville Tech named the Harry F. Shaw Virtual College Center (opened in 2005) at the Fayetteville campus in honor of him.

I invite you, also, as members of the Fayetteville community, to take some quiet time to reflect on the positive impact of Shaw’s many contributions not only to FTCC and North Carolina’s community colleges but also to the Fayetteville and Cumberland County area.

It is never easy to say farewell to a friend as good as Shaw was for so many in our community, but we can find some comfort in knowing that his touch will be embedded forever in our community and the place he loved so very much.

PHOTOS: (Top to Bottom) Sen. Wesley Meredith & Harry F. Shaw

As a community, Fayetteville offers a variety of artistic outlets for its youth – dance schools, theaters, musical organizations and more. Every year, the Kiwanis Club of Fayetteville hosts an event that lets these young performers share their talents with the community. The Kiwanis Club of Fayetteville presents its 67th Kiwanis Talent Night Saturday, June 9, at 7 p.m. at Cape Fear Regional Theatre.

“The Fayetteville Kiwanis Club has used this particular event not only to give children a chance to perform, but also to raise money for the other children/community-related events they support throughout the year,” said Bill Bowman, chairman of the production committee. “The Fayetteville Kiwanis Club has 33 different committees, which is more committees than some clubs have members, and each one of them participates in helping this community and recognizes the potential of children.”

The event will feature special guest appearances. The Fayetteville Dogwood Festival Queens will share insightful messages with the students. Jeremy Ruiz, magician, will perform magical acts.

“The money that we are raising actually goes back to the children to help them pursue whatever their endeavor is,” said Bowman. “Right now, the entire show will have about 26 participants in all four categories, which are K-2, 3-5, middle and high school.”

The overall showcase winner will receive a trophy and $200. The first-place winner in each division will receive a trophy and $100; the second place winner in each division will receive a trophy and $50; and the third-place winner in each division will receive a trophy and $25. Four $150 music scholarships will be awarded for voice, strings, piano and band instrument.

“The music scholarships will allow the student to go to the camp of their choice,” said Bowman. “We leave the scholarships open so they can apply the scholarship to whatever camp they choose to attend during the summer.”

Bowman added the music scholarships are sponsored by Rocket Fizz and Wendy’s restaurants. The businesses helped promote the program through all of their stores. The Kiwanis Club worked with Cumberland County Schools to contact art, music and dance teachers to get the word out about the talent showcase.

“What makes this event exciting is that we have had children like Grady Bowman, Brooke McLaurin and Victoria Huggins start with the Kiwanis Talent Night and (go) on to do really great things,” said Bowman. “We look forward to this event and hope the public turns out to see these remarkable children.”

Tickets cost $8 at the door. For more information, call 910-391-3859.

Alpha & Omega Dance Academy is bringing Peter Pan, Captain Hook and the Lost Boys to the Sandhills with its spring recital, “Neverland.” The AODA team welcomes the community to enjoy this unique, dance driven presentation of Peter Pan’s story Saturday, June 9, at Fayetteville State University’s J.W. Seabrook Auditorium.

A scaled-down children’s recital, featuring dancers ages 3-6, begins at 10:30 a.m. “Neverland,” the larger production showcasing students ages 7 and older, begins at 3 p.m.

“Instead of holding a typical dance recital, our artistic staff and dancers work hard to provide a theatrical and thematic production, complete with a cast of main characters, narration, acting, costumes and creative sets and props,” said AODA owner and instructor Rachel Choi.

AODA offers classes ranging from pointe to hip hop, and each of those classes will tell a part of the story – from ballerinas flying to Neverland to tap-dancing crocodiles to musical theatre performing the iconic song “Ugg-A-Wugg.”

“Whether you’re attending our (production) to support your friends or decide (if) our studio is right for you, we’re excited to give you a sneak peek into our world of dance,” said Sarah Pages, artistic and production director and dance instructor.

Choi said, “I hope this will be an entertaining show, but even more so, I hope ‘Neverland’ will serve to inspire everyone, young and old, to never forget the beauty and power of imagination, hope, belief and friendship – and perhaps a little bit of pixie dust.”

AODA is a Christian studio and one of the only local non-competitive dance studios. Its ratings on popular platforms like Facebook boast 5 stars. Past AODA productions include “A Puppet to a Boy” (“Pinocchio,” 2012), “Oz” (“The Wizard of Oz,” 2013), “Narnia” (“The Chronicles of Narnia,” 2014), “Alice” (“Alice In Wonderland,” 2015), “Adventures with Mary and Bert” (“Mary Poppins,” 2016) and “Belle”( “Beauty & The Beast,” 2017).

Tickets to “Neverland” on June 9 cost $10 and include entry to the morning children’s recital. They can be purchased in advance at AODA, 201 S. McPherson Church Rd., or at the door the day of the production at J.W. Seabrook Auditorium. AODA students and children under the age of six enter free. Seating begins 30 minutes prior to each show.

Visit www.alphaomegadanceacademy.com or call 910-860-1405 to learn more.

Playwright Tennessee Williams wrote often about the human condition. Cruelty, suffering and yearning for love in alonely world consumed his writing. “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” which he wrote in 1955, is no different. The Southern classic fits perfectly as the last show of the Gilbert Theater’s 2017-18 season, punctuating a theatrical journey of wild, caged hearts. Performances of the show run June 1-10.

“Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” tells the tale of a husband and wife, Brick and Maggie, who are at odds both physically and emotionally. They don’t sleep together. Brick, a copious drinker, is still in shambles over the suicide of his best friend. Maggie is concerned with whether or not Brick’s siblings will inherit Big Daddy’s fortune. Meanwhile, everyone except Big Daddy seems to know he is dying of cancer.

Knee-deep in the sludge of greed, familial discord and lies, the whole clan gathers to pretend and to smile and to “celebrate” Big Daddy’s birthday. Yet as often happens with family, past slights explode to the surface.

In Williams’ original play, he critiques the homophobia and sexism rampant particularly in the South. But these critiques don’t quite make it into the 1958 MGM film version, starring Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor. The film was produced in the height of the Hays Code era, when sexual repression on film was the standard.

According to director James Dean, the Gilbert Theater adapted Williams’ 1974 version of the play, which contains more overt portrayals of the original undertones.

“(Williams’) plays are usually about how difficult communication is between people,” said Dean. “This one is really about this one rich family and their lack of communication in that core, the dysfunction of this family.”

One of Williams’ earlier plays is subtitled “A Prayer for the Wild of Heart That are Kept in Cages.” It is also a good working summary of the Gilbert Theater’s season.

The season opener, “Evil Dead: The Musical,” is a playful reflection of the wild being caged in a dead zombie body. A cage is a cage.

The Gilbert’s follow-up was the classic story of “It’s a Wonderful Life.” George Bailey so embodies the idea of a caged free spirit. He wanted to build things. Go places. Be somebody. But he become strapped in his small town, destined to take over his father’s banking business and live a life of quiet desperation. The ending sees George accepting and becoming almost grateful for his cage.

To paraphrase the candid Williams: you either accept it, kill yourself or stop looking in mirrors.

By adapting David Ives’ play “Venus in Fur,” the Gilbert continued the theme of a trapped wildness aching to be free. Thomas wants to put Vanda in a certain kind of box: submissive to the director’s ideas and ego, demure, not headstrong. Still, Vanda is the one to turn the tables and put Thomas in that very box designed for her.

“Antigone,” on the other hand, shows the wild heart of an activist, a revolutionary, trapped in the cage of simply being born in the wrong time.

With “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” one hopes the Gilbert captures the desperation of Williams’ characters to connect beyond the steel cage of our individual selves. If so, it will be the cherry a top a well-crafted season.

“Every single person can relate to the things going on in this play,” said Dean. “We all have problems within our family units. You might love them and at the same time you just can’t believe they’re saying or doing the things that they do.”

To support the Gilbert and its 25th anniversary season next year, the theater is hosting a fundraiser featuring classical chamber music June 10. Tickets are $30 per person. For more information, visit www.gilberttheater.com.

It was just a few months ago that then Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend brought Fort Bragg’s 18th Airborne Corps headquarters element home from Iraq. Soon there after, Townsend got his fourth star and was reassigned. In another five months or so, the nation’s lead airborne headquarters will head back to the Middle East, the Pentagon announced. Fort Bragg’s new commanding general, Lt. Gen. Paul LaCamera, will go to Iraq with several hundred soldiers of his headquarters unit.

The 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, which is part of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) out of Fort Campbell in Kentucky, will be deploying to Afghanistan during the summer. The 101st is an elite, specialized light infantry division. Trained for helicopter operations, it is the most potent and tactically mobile of the U.S. Army’s divisions.

The 101st CAB will replace the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division based at Fort Stewart in Georgia as part of a regular rotation of forces to support Operation Freedom’s Sentinel, according to the Army release. Operation Freedom’s Sentinel includes two core components: working with allies and partners and continuing “counter terrorism operations against the remnants of Al-Qaeda to ensure that Afghanistan is never again used to stage attacks against our homeland.”

Most of the brigade’s soldiers will deploy and are expected to return in the spring of 2019, said Capt. Kris Sibbaluca, a brigade spokesman. He said the brigade will provide aviation support to troops on the ground using Black Hawk, Chinook and Apache helicopters. “The deployment will be a challenge. However, we do not doubt that our soldiers are ready,” said Col. Craig Alia, the 101st CAB commander.

The 18th Airborne Corps will replace Third Corps Headquarters of Fort Hood, Texas, as part of a regular rotation of forces to support Operation Inherent Resolve. It is the operational name for U.S. military intervention against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Since August of 2016, the 18th Airborne Corps has been responsible for the Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve. It will oversee this combined joint task force fighting the Islamic State and set conditions for follow-on operations to increase regional stability, according to the operation’s website.

Since Inherent Resolve began in late 2014, headquarters units of 18th and 3rd Corps have alternated deployments by their headquarters units. In the past, these rotations have lasted about one year.