Sweet Tea Shakespeare is scheduled to perform “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” Jan. 20 until Feb. 5, every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, at the Fayetteville Pie Company, starting at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are $40 and include a dinner with pie. “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” is a retelling of the classic Jules Verne tale.

Sweet Tea Shakespeare is a theatre and music company based in Fayetteville, Raleigh, the wider North Carolina region, and online. Sweet Tea Shakespeare strives to create simple, elemental, magical performances and to share delight in the wonder of story, song and stagecraft.

Judson Clark, director of marketing and media at Sweet Tea Shakespeare said, “Don’t miss out on Fayetteville’s most innovative theatre event yet! Our talented cast will use their signature wit and charm to bring Jules Verne’s classic tale to life like never before.”

The audience will experience cutting-edge theatre technology that combines immersive sets, a curated menu by Fayetteville Pie Company, and exclusive streaming access. Whether viewers join us in-person or online, “we guarantee you’ll be mesmerised by this thrilling tale of high-seas adventure and epic discovery,” he said.

“20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” tells of Dr. Pierre Aronnax, a professor who leaves New York to investigate reports of an unusual sea monster sighted offshore.

To the surprise of Dr. Aronnax and his companions, the creature turns out to be a submarine, a burgeoning piece of technology at the time of the novel’s publication. When Dr. Aronnax’s ship is destroyed by the submarine, he is taken aboard and meets the brilliant and enigmatic Captain Nemo. Nemo’s creation, named the Nautilus, patrols the world’s waters unbound to any sovereign country, diving to the deepest and most mysterious reaches of the world’s oceans.

Born from Nemo’s desire to resist governmental authority and civilization, the Nautilus is used mainly to conduct research under the sea, as well as to provide a home for Nemo, who wishes to live independently of the world’s countries.

As with other productions, Sweet Tea Shakespeare will add their own unique take on the story that will no doubt entertain audiences. The Fayetteville Pie Company is located in the Westwood Shopping Center.

For more info, visit www.sweetteashakespeare.com

Gallery 208 opens its first exhibit of the new year with States of Mind: Paintings by Angela Stout on Jan. 19.

A painter, printmaker and sculptor, Stout is an artist who chooses to investigate the portrait as a subject in her work. Visitors to the exhibit will experience a less obvious theme as the likeness of each individual dissipates into moments of discovering our humanity — one portrait at a time.

Seeing a body of work by Stout is a palatable experience, a contradiction between the physicality of paint and illusion — feelings are conjured. We experience each work as a comprehensible moment; although abstracted, the artist evokes an emotion, something familiar.

Stout practices the art of camouflage. We are enamored by the skills to create a likeness, yet a feeling emerges from the artist’s manipulation of material, illusion and the physical. An image on canvas or paper has the potential to evoke a type of certainty, often a dichotomy.

In the painting titled “Deterioration,” a fair-haired young woman looks intently at the viewer through the lens of a yellow-green filtered pictorial environment.
The surface of the 36”x 36” painting on canvas has been deliberately scratched, the surface marred in a way that the flat illusionistic layers of paint physically separate away from the painted surface.
The marred mark-making begins to move across the figure — color and paint are released from the surface — the figure remains motionless. A feeling emerges as we experience the physicality of the paint in contrast to a transfixed illusionary figure suspended in spatial disorder.

Seeing “Deterioration” viewers will have their own interpretation of meaning. For me, Stout has created a situation, and I find myself responding with empathy to the fixed figure in the painting, I feel moved to say “just breathe.”

In comparison, the artist limits herself to the talent of illusionistic painting to evoke meaning in the blue painting titled “O.” Duality is present. Stout has masterfully created hard and soft at the same moment.

We experience the hardness of cold in contrast to the soft supple flesh of the individual. The figure exists in a state of contrast: grace and hardship, obscurity and specificity, flatness and texture.

“O” is an example of how the artist balances the theoretical and the emotional. The artist explained how she created a technical problem to resolve.

“In this painting, it was to focus on balancing the achromatic with the chromatic, without it being noticeable. Since emotion is central to my work, it was important to create a feeling of coldness, an emotional or physical aspect of being cold.”

We naively enjoy Stout’s work without knowing a process has always taken place to resolve a complicated technical order. If we look closely at the painting titled “Suppression,” the order is more obvious. A male figure stretches the edge of an American flag across his face just below his eyes. As he gazes upward the softness of the flag hangs below his clenched hands.

Examining the technical, we see that the young man is painted in tones of grey, whereas the flag is painted in saturated colors. The red and blue are in strong contrast to the greys. The implied diagonal movement of the stripes and arms directs us to the eyes as a focal point. The white of the background, stars and stripes are flattened patterns. Without spatial reference, the white is strategically used as composition, but also holds the figure between foreground and background.

An extensive exhibition record, “Suppression” was exhibited in an international online competition in Milan, Italy, in 2020. Collaborating with photographer Neysa Wellington, the M.A.D.S. Milano competition call for art was to celebrate the art of photography and how photography is a resource for painters.

In the exhibit, Wellington’s photograph was exhibited with Stout’s interpretation of Wellington’s photograph. The result for Stout was the painting titled “Suppression.”

At the height of COVID, Wellington and Stout’s submissions were accepted; both were part of the online exhibition, their works projected outside the gallery on monitors during the epidemic. Visitors to States of Mind will see a body of work by a well-known local painter but also an artist who regularly creates prints.

Originally from Warren, Ohio, Stout is a disabled veteran who lives in Broadway, North Carolina, and has soared to success after completing a four-year art degree in 2020. After earning an Associate Degree in Visual Art from Fayetteville Technical Community College, she completed a Bachelor of Art in Studio from Fayetteville State University.

Upon leaving the university, Stout had already developed a clear path for the direction of her works of art.

She stated: “All my art focuses on evoking feeling. I focus on the portrait, but they have underlying social themes. In addition to the philosophical concerns in my work, I maintain a romantic view of beauty in the world around me.”

After completing six art history courses in her program of study, Stout was also clear on those artists, living and deceased, who would influence her own work.

Stout commented, “I am connected to modern and historical art methods. My love of painting is inspired by Baroque artists Michelangelo Caravaggio and Rembrandt. Other major historical influences are Henry Ossawa Tanner and John Singer Sargent. Modern influences are Gerhard Richter, Kehinde Wiley, and Cindy Sherman.”

The newest works by Stout are regularly exhibited at the Cape Fear Studios in Fayetteville.

Stout teaches what she has learned about painting and clay modeling in the continuing education program at Fayetteville Technical Community College. In her filled painting classes, students learn what visitors to Gallery 208 will see: Stout understands the properties of color and how to apply them in a work of art. The public is invited to attend the opening reception for an artist whose work always tells us something about ourselves and the world around us.

When visitors to the Gallery spend time with the work, they will come to understand how the paintings by Stout go far beyond a relative or exact likeness of an individual. Stout’s work, like any good work of art, is in the work’s potential to tell us something about our culture in an enlightening and collective context.

States of Mind: Paintings by Angela Stout opens on Jan. 19 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Gallery 208. The exhibit will remain up until March 24. The Gallery is located at 208 Rowan Street in Fayetteville. Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information call 910-484-6200.

Fashion has a lot of uses. It can be practical, it can be pretty, it can be silly and it can also tell us a lot about history.

From designs to textiles, clothes and how we wear them can reflect the state of the world. That reflection will be clear in the new exhibit at the Fayetteville History Museum.

“Bits and Baubles: Curated Fashion Items from our Collection” opened last week. The exhibit looks at a variety of women’s clothing and accessory items from the museum’s collection. Each item on display has a connection to women’s fashion. Museum staff have had a shopping trip of sorts through the museum’s stored collection but have also brought in a few personal pieces from their own pasts.

“The museum has a distinct collection of things that aren’t on display and sometimes come out on rotation. And so we’ve been able to peek back behind the closed doors and go through and pick out some things that have been on display that have some unique stories to tell. And so we thought that would be fun,” Heidi Bleazey, the historic and natural resources manager for the Fayetteville History Museum, said.

The exhibit title refers to “bits” as in tidbits of local fashion history, customs of the past and local textile mill history. The “baubles” will be on display in the main entrance gallery of the museum, as well.
Bleazey says that the exhibit is not a comprehensive look at fashion, it does have a few standouts for local impacts of fashion.

“We have some information on probably one of the most famous stories here in Fayetteville, the Capitol Department Store, or taking it way back to Colonial North Carolina and talking about the Edenton Tea Party,” Bleazey told Up & Coming Weekly. “Not only did the women of Edenton boycott tea, but they boycotted imported fabrics which must have wreaked havoc on their wardrobe — their patriotic statement of support for the colonies against the taxes imposed by the British,” she said.

There will also be information about the impact that African Americans had on the local fashion world of Fayetteville as well as Massey Hill and the textile factories.
Another aspect of the historical exhibit is that it can be interactive. If people have their own historical fashion items hidden in an attic or closet somewhere, they are encouraged to add it to the museum’s collection and put on display.

The exhibit is located in the main museum gallery and is free to the public. The Fayetteville History Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Fayetteville History Museum is located at 325 Franklin Street in downtown Fayetteville.

The museum is part of the Historic and Natural Resources of Fayetteville Cumberland Parks and Recreation. For more information, visit www.fcpr.us/historymuseum or call 910-433-1457.

The new year is only two weeks old, and it didn’t take long for Methodist University to begin garnering national and international attention.

Higher Education Digest, an independent higher education magazine with a wide-spread international audience, recently promoted Methodist University as one of 10 “must-watch” North American colleges and universities in 2022. MU was the only university from North Carolina on a list that featured Oklahoma State, San Diego State and three others from the U.S.

“MU is honored to be featured on this well-respected list,” said Minnu Paul, director of MU’s Global Education.

“Our University is constantly working to create an experience that engages, enriches, and empowers our students’ lives. The strong leadership from MU has led to a stout educational system that supports all of our students, especially our international students. This ranking solidifies the fact that we are a globalized campus.”

The magazine’s writers point to a number of MU’s successes and attractions, including its thriving city atmosphere (nestled between the Appalachian Mountain Range and North Carolina coastline), MU’s ranking as the No. 1 most diverse university in North Carolina, the more than 80 types of undergraduate and graduate programs, and the top 16% ranking nationally
in The New York Times for overall economic mobility.

The story says Methodist University is “helping unleash the full potential of an individual’s mind... and committed to an ecumenical spirit that respects diversity and recognizes the dignity and worth of all human beings.”

The Higher Education Digest also touches on why Methodist University is known as one of the top institutions for international students.
Currently home to students from more than 50 countries and six continents, MU provides a dedicated Global Education staff who can support international students’ unique social and financial needs.

The article goes on to highlight the University’s Campus Engagement Office and One Stop as additional staff resources for international students.

“Plus, non-international staff and people in the Fayetteville community are welcoming and supportive of international students,” said Paul. “They donate in kind, monetarily, they pick up students from the airport, and they provide a home away from home in various ways.”

To read the entire feature, visit www.highereducationdigest.com/december-2022-10-must-watch-north-american-colleges-universities-in-2022/

About Methodist University

Methodist University is an independent, four-year institution of higher education with approximately 2,000 students. MU offers more than 80 undergraduate and graduate degree programs (including doctoral-level options) on campus and online. MU has been named the "No. 1, Most Diverse University in North Carolina," features 20 NCAA intercollegiate sports (with nearly 40 team national championships). To learn more about Methodist University visit methodist.edu.

Our American culture swims in “isms,” and we assign values, positive and negative, to them.

For example, capitalism and individualism are good. Racism, sexism, classism, sizeism, socialism, fanaticism, egoism — all bad. Others, including nationalism, skepticism, Americanism are more in the eye of the beholder — positive for some people and negative for others. Buckle up your linguistic seat belt as we are about to hear a lot in 2023 about another ism, ageism.

At this writing, Americans have one declared presidential candidate for 2024, Donald Trump, who is staring down his 77th birthday. We have another presumed candidate, incumbent President Joe Biden, who celebrated his 80th in November. Clearly, neither man can be considered what my father always called “spring chickens,” but is that important, and if so, how important?

The World Health Organization says ageism “refers to the stereotypes (how we think), prejudice (how we feel) and discrimination (how we act) towards others or oneself based on age.”

We all commit ageism, mostly without thinking about it. We treat children differently than adults. We discount the views of many teenagers and young adults, assuming they do not have the knowledge or life experience of adults. And, like it or not, we too-often assume that elderly people are not as competent as they
once were.

I am not as old as Trump or Biden, but neither am I the mother of school-age children and working woman I once was. Increasingly, people I do not know, sales people especially, address me as “Miss Margaret,” something that did not happen in earlier years. I understand that it is meant to convey respect, but to me at least, it feels like a diminution based solely on age.

At the same time, it is true that we all change as we age, certainly physically, and for many people, mentally. That reality is going to be a topic as we head into the 2024 presidential campaigns.

Americans, including politicians, are living longer, and our elected leaders, particularly at the national level, are older than ever. In addition to Biden and Trump, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is 82, and widely considered among the most effective Speakers in American history. U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell, a leader who keeps an iron grip on Republicans in that chamber, will be 81 next month.

These geriatric politicians, like them or loathe them, are clearly competent, their ages notwithstanding. So, what should we demand from all our presidential hopefuls of all ages? At the very least, we must expect health records, not merely a blanket statement from some doctor that “this guy is healthy as a horse.”

We should recognize that generally speaking, we are all healthier if we eat well and exercise our bodies regularly, and that certainly includes presidential candidates. And, because we do not know yet who will throw his or her name in the ring, it is worth remembering that statistically, women outlive men in the United States.

American presidents have not been especially forthcoming about their health. Woodrow Wilson had a severe stroke while in office, and many historians believe his wife became the de facto president for the final months of his term.

Franklin Roosevelt suffered from heart trouble and high blood pressure and was crippled by polio before his presidency, though he was rarely photographed appearing compromised. John Kennedy, our second youngest president and widely seen as healthy and vibrant, actually suffered from serious physical and occasionally life-threatening conditions.

As we move toward the 2024 election, Americans have every right to expect candor about health from all our candidates, especially those who aim to be president. If they are asking for our trust and support, we should expect no less from them.

In 2022, Americans spent $33 billion on a variety of weight loss products and diets.
Marketers know the advantage of targeting the consumer, especially after a holiday season for sales. One commercial advertises a weight loss of five pounds per week. Extreme weight loss turns your system into a state that is not beneficial for long-term sustainability. any times, calories are dramatically cut to the point that the person is hungry all the time and lacks the energy for activities.

A slow approach to calorie reduction with good food choices is a better way for weight loss and sustainability. Drastically cutting calories can be satisfying on the scale and the way your clothes fit, but dropping several sizes quickly can play havoc on your metabolism.

It is hard to maintain the deficit when your body is not getting the fuel it needs for activities. In the long run, the drastic weight loss could end up with weight gain after the diet is over. Weight loss is not a one-time main event, it is a lifestyle change in conjunction with exercise.

Health guidelines for weight loss suggest cutting your calories by a least 500 calories per day which should equal a one-pound-per-week goal that is safe and realistic.

A registered dietician is a recommendation for guided weight loss, but taking a look at the consumption of what you eat during the day can be a good guideline for the start. Be honest with yourself about your overall consumption each day. Do you think your calories add up from sodas, sweets, chips and dip? They are good but they do not offer any nutritional benefits. Eating processed foods also adds calories to the diet as well as driving through the fast-food restaurant. You don’t have to go cold turkey and avoid everything in your diet.

Punishing yourself by denying something that you enjoy is not the way to lose weight. Still enjoy that favorite burger or chicken but cut down on the number of times that you go to get that favorite sandwich or latte! Eliminating the amount of processed food will be a start to a healthier you.

The American diet has increased in overall consumption of plate size over the past 10 years and has almost doubled in the amount that is served in restaurants.
The old saying to eat everything on your plate in today’s environment can lead to weight gain and obesity. Overall, in 2022 the national range for all ethnicities was a staggering 41.9%. It is the second cause of health decline with cigarette smoking number one. As we gain weight it settles around our heart and lungs and is known as visceral fat and puts strain on our hearts, lungs and joints.

What can you do to shave those calories without going on a drastic diet? Outside of beginning to shave the empty calories, portion control is a great way to begin. Make the plate serving on a salad plate instead of a dinner plate and avoid second helpings. Add more vegetables to your plate and add foods high in fiber such as apples, green beans, nuts and lean meats such as chicken and fish for your omega3. When dining out take half of your meal home!

The bottom line is that starving yourself is not a healthy way to lose weight. There are many fitness apps available for monitoring your caloric intake such as My Fitness Pal, as well as the Dash eating plan.

Live, love life with moderation and exercise.

The Defense Department recently launched a 12-week paid fellowship program to expand employment opportunities for eligible military spouses.

The Military Spouse Career Accelerator Pilot program provides spouses of currently serving members of the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Space Force, to include active, reserve and National Guard components, with paid fellowships at civilian employers across various industries and locations.

This program directly addresses DOD's Taking Care of Our People directive to expand spousal employment. DOD continually reaches out to the force to better understand their concerns and improve how we can best support them and their families on a broad range of issues. It also supports the Spouse Education and Career Opportunities program's overall goal of providing information, tools and resources to assist spouses in finding meaningful career opportunities.

"The military spouse career accelerator pilot is a game changer for career ready military spouses," said Patricia Montes Barron, deputy assistant secretary of defense for military community and family policy.

"The department has partnered with Hiring our Heroes to provide robust and meaningful fellowship placement that could lead to full-time employment. Military spouses have made it clear that meaningful employment is essential to their quality of life. We hope this program provides them a strong start to solid employment opportunities."

Expanding Spousal Employment Opportunities

Military spouses who are accepted into the program will be placed with host companies that match their location and work experience, among other factors. Spouses will receive in-person or professional training and mentoring. At the end of the fellowship, spouses who excel in the program may be invited to join the host company as a direct hire.

This program will run for three years, and applications will be accepted throughout the length of the program, with new opportunities available each month. The first cohort of fellows will be placed with their host companies starting in January 2023.

Spouses can find more information about eligibility and learn how to apply for this unique opportunity on MySECO, the website of the Spouse Education and Career Opportunities program.
https://myseco.militaryonesource.mil/portal/article/military-spouse-career-accelerator-pilot

Connecting Employers With Skilled Talent

By partnering with the fellowship program, employers gain access to a pipeline of military spouse fellows that are equipped with education, transferable skills and experience in a variety of roles and industries. They represent a diverse population faced with challenges finding and maintaining careers due to frequent relocations.

Employers who are accepted into the fellowship program will receive the following benefits:

• •Early access to a diverse pool of a highly skilled and educated workforce
• •Free opportunity to connect directly with military spouses – the program is fully subsidized by the Defense Department and is free to employers to participate
• •Recognition opportunities through promotional activities and social media engagement
• •Opportunity to bring military spouses who excel in the fellowship on board as a direct hire after the program is completed

Employers can apply to participate on a rolling basis throughout the length of the program. This program is provided at no cost to employers with the Defense Department providing compensation for all military spouse fellows.

Employers who are interested in hosting a military spouse fellow may visit the Hiring Our Heroes website to learn more https://www.hiringourheroes.org/employers/hosting-a-fellow/mscap-host-interest-form/
Spouse and employers with additional questions about the program can contact mscap@uschamber.com.

About Military Community and Family Policy

Military Community and Family Policy is directly responsible for establishing and overseeing quality-of-life policies and programs that help our service members, their families and survivors be well and mission-ready. Military OneSource is the gateway to programs and services that support the everyday needs of the 5.2 million service members and immediate family members of the military community. These DOD services can be accessed 24/7/365 around the world.

About Spouse Education and Career Opportunities

The Defense Department established the SECO program to provide education and career guidance to military spouses worldwide, offering free comprehensive resources and tools designed to help spouses meet their career and education goals. This program also offers free career coaching services six days a week. For more information visit https://myseco.militaryonesource.mil/portal/.

Fayetteville Technical Community College recently announced that Dr. DeSandra Washington has been named Vice President for Academic Support and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Services.
In this capacity, Dr. Washington will oversee several departments, including Library Services, the Student Learning Center, University Outreach, Parents for Higher Education and the Male Mentoring Success Initiative.

She will also lead the newly established Diversity, Equity and Inclusion services.

In this capacity, she will provide leadership over the implementation of DEI initiatives to facilitate a learning environment centered around equity, inclusive excellence and celebration of human diversity.

Dr. Washington began working at FTCC in 1998 as the Basic Skills Counselor. Since that time, she has served in several roles, including Director of Counseling and Admissions, Dean of the Spring Lake Campus and Associate Vice President for Academic Support.
Dr. Washington has served on several committees at FTCC including the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges tenth-year reaffirmation committee, the SACSCOC fifth-year reaffirmation committee, the Mighty Minority Male committee and the Student Appeals committee.

Due to her work with serving and supporting minority students, Dr. Washington was selected as an Engaging Excellence in Equity Fellow, sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. To continue the practice of transforming lives, she was honored to be a part of the 2020-2022 William C. Friday Fellowship for Human Relations.

In 2021, Dr. Washington was afforded the opportunity to complete the Diversity and Inclusion Certificate Program through eCornell at Cornell University.

Dr. Washington earned her Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice and Master of Arts in School Personnel from North Carolina Central University. She earned her Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership at Fayetteville State University with a specialization in higher education.

Dr. Washington is a dedicated community servant and says one of her greatest joys is helping others.

Cumberland County Schools’ Student Services department was recently awarded just over $5 million through the Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grant Program.

The district applied for the grant in collaboration with RTI International. The award is administered through the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Safe and Supportive Schools. This year’s competition was highly competitive; more than 185 applications were received, and only 67 proposals were awarded.

This grant will allow CCS to implement the Alliance for Leading and Learning (ALL) Program. The funding will be used to partner with Fayetteville State University and the University of North Carolina at Pembroke to create a diverse pipeline of highly qualified school-based mental health professionals, meeting the needs of approximately 50,000 CCS students in pre-kindergarten through grade 12.

“We are excited about receiving this grant and providing additional resources to meet the needs of the whole child,” said Dr. Natasha Scott, the district’s executive director of Student Services.

“Through a robust collaboration with higher education partners, we look forward to increasing the number of school-based health professionals in the district, which will ultimately help our students thrive in the classroom and in life.”

The program will allow graduate students from FSU’s and UNCP’s master’s programs in social work and students from UNCP’s master’s program in school counseling to provide mental health care while earning important experience and credit hours in a supervised environment.

Additionally, this program will focus on recruiting individuals from diverse backgrounds. The ALL Program will promote inclusive practices by developing the knowledge, skills and dispositions of school-based mental health professionals to use practices that encourage inclusivity and remove unconscious bias.

This will ensure that all CCS students receive the support they need, echoing CCS’ goal of providing a safe, positive and rigorous learning environment that prepares lifelong learners to reach their maximum potential.
For more information on Cumberland County Schools visit www.ccs.k12.nc.us/.

Dr. Stacey Wilson-Norman, Chief Academic Officer for Cumberland County Schools, is one of nine school administrators from across the nation named to the Chiefs for Change Future Chiefs leadership development program.

Chiefs for Change is a bipartisan network of state and district education leaders. As a participant in the 18-month Future Chiefs program, Dr. Wilson-Norman will engage in collective learning on issues central to effective leadership and receive coaching and mentorship from members of the Chiefs for Change network.

“Dr. Wilson-Norman is a phenomenal and innovative leader who is working diligently to transform the lives of students in CCS,” said Dr. Marvin Connelly, Jr., CCS superintendent. “She is a sterling example for others to emulate and is frequently called upon by educational leaders across the country for advice and guidance. I know this experience will strengthen her skill set, allowing her to make an even bigger impact on our school district and community.”

Over the course of the program, Dr. Wilson-Norman will study systems management, shadow current chiefs, receive individual coaching, attend a variety of virtual and in-person sessions.

“As a lifelong educator, I’m thankful for this opportunity to learn more about effective leadership,” said Dr. Wilson-Norman.

“I’m excited to collaborate with other leaders as we work toward enhanced learning experiences and improving student outcomes across the nation.”

Prior to joining CCS, Dr. Wilson-Norman served as the chief academic officer with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. Additionally, she has served students and families as a teacher, principal, assistant and deputy superintendent.

During her distinguished career as an educator, Dr. Wilson-Norman has received numerous notable accolades, multiple recognitions and served on various boards and organizations. She has been recognized as Principal of the Year for Durham Public Schools and Central Office Administrator of the Year by the North Carolina Middle School Association. She is also the recipient of PowerSchool’s North Carolina Excellence in Leadership Award.

January is a time of rebirth, conviction-driven resolutions, and a do-over for last year’s missteps and disappointments. It’s a time when people can look toward the future and aspire to become better than they were.

For all the joys of a clean slate, January can also be a month of harsh realities, short days, and a reminder of the ugliness that lurks at the edge of our everyday lives.
In addition to the federally recognized Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, January is also National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month.

In partnership with W.O.R.T.H. Court (We Overcome Recidivism Through Healing), Fayetteville Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, and Methodist University Social Work Department, the Child Advocacy Center of Fayetteville has put together several initiatives during the month of January to bring awareness to a crime that destroys the lives of thousands each year.
Research conducted by the American Civil Liberties Union suggests that between 15,000 and 18,000 people are trafficked yearly. Exact numbers are difficult to nail down due to the far-reaching and fast-paced nature of the crime. Still, according to the U.S. Department of State, there are approximately 24.9 million victims of human trafficking worldwide at any given time.

Human trafficking — whose victims can be any age, gender or race — is recognized as the use of force, fraud or coercion to obtain or exploit individuals for labor or commercial sex acts.
Though the epidemic is worldwide, the potential for human trafficking exists everywhere. From the bustling city scapes of New York down to rural Appalachia — there’s no such thing as a safe space.

Because of its proximity to I-95 and easy access to major cities like Atlanta, Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina ranks among the top 15 states in the nation for human trafficking.
Due to these alarming numbers, CAC has made it a priority this January to not only inform the public about the very real dangers of human trafficking, but to arm them with the tools to prevent it as well.
One initiative intended to bring the community into a larger conversation about human trafficking is the inaugural “Be Their Voice 5k Run” on Saturday, Jan. 28 at Methodist University. Race-day registration begins at 8 a.m.; the race will officially start at 9.

Fayetteville Running Club, a local nonprofit organization, is assisting the CAC with this special race meant to honor victims and bring awareness to this growing issue.
The race is $25 to participate, and the money raised will be split between the CAC and W.O.R.T.H. — North Carolina’s only human trafficking court.

“We’re proud we can use our love of running to help and serve our community. We’ve been a part of this town for almost 15 years and cherish opportunities like ‘Be Their Voice 5k’ to give back,” FRC President Shaun Wussow shared via a press release for the event.

Vagabond coffee will be on-site to warm up spectators with hot drinks and bottled water for sale. For sweet or savory breakfast options, local favorite Fayetteville Pie Company will have some of their delicious wares for purchase as well. In honor of the mission, both businesses will donate a portion of the day’s sales to CAC.

Founded in 1993, CAC, a nonprofit organization, was instituted to create a safe space for children to share their stories of abuse with a panel of professionals specially trained to meet their unique needs. Partnering with over 19 different agencies, the CAC strives to “alleviate the trauma children experience once a disclosure of sexual abuse or serious physical abuse occurs by creating a community of collaborating advocates.”

According to their website, the CAC’s mission is to collaborate with community partners to respond to and prevent child abuse. As children make up an estimated 27% of all human trafficking victims worldwide, the CAC feels it is particularly important to support all efforts to bring awareness to the danger modern-day slavery poses to an already vulnerable population.

“We want the community to have some hands-on tools to recognize the signs of human trafficking,” said Faith Boehmer, the CAC’s Prevention and Volunteer Coordinator.

“It does happen here. It happens in the small rural communities — it happens everywhere,” she said.

In addition to this month’s 5k, the CAC has put together a commendable list of activities to aid in its information dissemination efforts.

• Jan. 11 was National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, and many local community members and businesses encouraged others to wear blue in solidarity with the victims of human trafficking.
• On Jan. 19, the CAC will host a human trafficking forum featuring a panel of experts at the Kiwanis Rec Center at 6:30 p.m. Speakers include the honorable Judge Tony King of W.O.R.T.H. court, Beverly Weeks (Cry Freedom Missions, C.E.O.), Sarah Hallick (Communicare), Sgt. Nicole Mincey (Cumberland County P.D.) and Nancy Hagan (N.C. Human Trafficking Commission).
• Wednesday, Jan. 25, there will be an information session at John D. Fuller Rec Center at 6 p.m.
• Tuesday, Jan. 31, the W.O.R.T.H. Court Team will present “Day of Hope: Human Trafficking” at Cumberland Hall on the Fayetteville Technical Community College campus from 1 to 2:30 p.m.

The sheer number of scheduled activities for this month’s campaign clearly indicates its urgency. As the number of victims continues to rise locally and abroad, the need for action is long overdue, and the role of “passive citizen” is no longer enough.
Awareness and action are at the heart of this initiative. While they alone can’t make this problem disappear — it’s a great place to start — a message CAC hopes to make clear.

“Ultimately, we want for the people that attend to walk away with an awareness, education and confidence that allows them to recognize that they can do something,” Boehmer shared. “We want them to take that information to their churches, schools and social groups and help others become aware of the signs at grocery stores, hotels or restaurants. We hope they take advantage of that education and call or text the number to get help.”

If you suspect someone is a victim of human trafficking, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.

To register for the “Be Their Voice 5k Run” visit https://www.cacfaync.org/. For more information about the Child Advocacy Center, visit https://www.cacfaync.org/.

In a community of our size that is deficient in attractive gateways, greenways, sidewalks and bike paths, the Fayetteville City Council has chosen to mimic the trendy ideas of other cities despite their documented hazards and dubious positive effects on the community.

I’m referring to the Fayetteville City Council’s proposal for creating a shared transportation system utilizing electric scooters in downtown Fayetteville and other areas of the city. Yep, only our city leadership would advocate for an initiative that has a history of plaguing other metropolitan cities with the hazards and dangers of electric bicycles and two-wheeled scooters.

Well, in this case, our Council may be putting the proverbial “cart before the horse.”

First, “Micro-mobility” (B***S*** name for Mechanical Litter) may be more feasible in large cities and municipalities, however, Fayetteville is not Dallas, San Francisco or New York City. We’re not even on the level of Winston-Salem or Durham. And, though e-scooters may be perfect for short-distant trips, in downtown Fayetteville all trips are short trips.

Second, alternative vehicles such as electric bikes and scooters operate best in areas with sufficient pedestrian pathways and adequate bike paths. Fayetteville has neither. Sure, the City Council has committed bond funds for creating more bike lanes and pedestrian walkways in Fayetteville but those plans are still on the drawing board, and no telling how long it will take to complete.
Of course, organizations like the Downtown Alliance are most likely to be skeptical of the proposal because astute businesses are acutely aware of what negatively affects their business.

In addition, downtown merchants are acutely aware of what messages come out of City Hall. They do not necessarily lie but most commonly are configured as ‘half-truths.’

For instance, the city contends that downtown merchants really don’t understand the proposed draft ordinance and that they have misinterpreted what is proposed.
After all, the city’s draft ordinance clearly states that electric scooters and bicycles would not be allowed to be ridden on sidewalks. Really? So, we are to believe that our City Council and staff are more knowledgeable about this subject than say Consumer Report, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety or the Consumer Product Safety Commission?

Oh, and guess what? IIHS finds that riding on sidewalks IS dangerous for riders and pedestrians, and they have found that without a concrete plan of where and how e-scooters can be operated, they will pose safety risks for both riders and pedestrians.

The rapid growth of this industry has left municipal leaders struggling to keep up with general traffic impact and rising safety problems. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, e-scooters resulted in an estimated 50,000 emergency department visits, and at least 27 fatalities between 2017 and 2019, with injuries and deaths rising every year.

Our city officials would like to you think that other cities like Raleigh, Durham, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Greenville and Charlotte all have successfully implemented e-scooter programs and these serve as a positive endorsement that this is a good thing for our community. Wrong! That’s another half-truth.

First of all, we are NOT Raleigh, Durham, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Greenville.

Second, Fayetteville has one of the worst traffic accident records in the state and one of the highest motorcycle accident fatality rates. When the The Charlotte Observer reports in 2019 that statewide crash data shows 34 crashes resulting in serious e-scooter injuries and identifies them as 15 in Charlotte, 17 in Raleigh, and one each in Winston-Salem and Greensboro with another 17 crashes in these two cities that caused only property damage.

And, in addition, according to the N.C. Department of Transportation, many e-scooter accidents go unreported. So, there you have it! I am not a fan of “Micro Mobility.”

It is my hope the Council comes to its senses and fully understands the burden of liability it will take on if they issue permits for these types of vehicles.
The city would be wise to follow the gut instincts of the residents, organizations and business stakeholders downtown. They are correct: e-scooter vehicles are dangerous, a nuisance, and a hazard to pedestrians, and will ultimately appear as unsightly mechanical litter on the streets of downtown.

In closing, for Council members like Councilman Mario Benavente who favor finding positive ways to expand downtown, may I suggest you focus on homelessness, panhandlers, parking, crime, litter and of course, shopping carts!

Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

Dr. Anna “Theresa” Perry has been named the Executive Director of Academic and Instructional Systems for Cumberland County Schools.

Following the recommendation of CCS Superintendent Dr. Marvin Connelly, Jr., the Board of Education approved the recommendation during a Board meeting on Jan. 10. With 27 years of experience in the field of education, Dr. Perry will lead the district's information technology curricula and systems in her new role.

She will be responsible for the overall leadership and supervision of the Student Academic Systems for the school system.

Areas of supervision for the position include digital learning facilitation, PowerSchool, student records and instructional materials.

Dr. Perry earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary Education from Fayetteville State University in 1994, a Master of School Administration degree from Fayetteville State University in 1999, and a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership from East Carolina University in 2010. She began her career in Cumberland County Schools as a teacher and has served as an Assistant Principal, Beginning Teacher Coordinator and assistant superintendent for Communications and Innovative Projects.

Previously, she served as the executive director of North Carolina Teacher Corps for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. She most recently served as the Director of Professional Development for the district.

Later this year, the U.S. Supreme Court will finally compel the University of North Carolina and the rest of American higher education to halt the pervasive practice of racial and ethnic discrimination in admissions.
Academic leaders should have ended this obnoxious and counterproductive policy on their own, decades ago. It shouldn’t have required lawsuits by Edward Blum and his group Students for Fair Admissions to force universities to comply with federal anti-discrimination laws.

But it did — and even now, the higher-education establishment is plotting to circumvent what it finally understands will be a definitive ruling from the nation’s highest court. One tactic will be to diminish the significance of academic ability and accomplishment in the admissions process while elevating the role of more-subjective criteria such as essays, interviews and extracurriculars.

In this way, they hope to smuggle illegal preferences in the “back door,” so to speak, much as Harvard University already discriminates against Asian applicants by systematically giving them low ratings in interviews.

This may be one reason UNC officials sought to extend a “temporary” moratorium on the requirement of minimum SAT or ACT scores for admissions.

Originally introduced in 2020 as a pandemic-era measure, the moratorium will now last until 2025. High test scores shouldn’t be the sole or even primary criterion for university admissions, of course, but the best available evidence suggests that a combination of grade-point average and test score is a better predictor of college success than GPA alone.

Another probable response to the end of racial preferences in admissions will be, if anything, more pernicious: universities will shift their emphasis from admissions to employment.
It is already illegal, but nonetheless widespread, for institutions to take race or ethnicity into account when making decisions about hiring, pay and promotion.
Infuriated by the end of admissions preferences, however, progressive faculty and activists will press university leaders to advance “social justice” (properly used, the noun needs no such modifier) by establishing explicit hiring goals and preferences based on both racial and ideological identification.

One device for tracking the latter will be the use of “diversity, equity, and inclusion” statements. At many campuses and departments, including some here in North Carolina, individuals are already required to submit DEI statements when applying for jobs or even for admission to graduate programs.

Here’s what the UNC-Chapel Hill medical school offered as a sample of the kind of DEI statement it wants from prospective faculty:

“As I move forward in my career, I intend to continue to include issues of equity and inclusion in my bedside teaching. I commit to annually attending a seminar offered by the University Office of Diversity and Inclusion to learn more about the intersectionality of race, gender, and sexual orientation in clinical care and medical education, and to confront my own biases and the biases of our medical culture to improve inclusivity in my environment.”

What if you are an experienced, accomplished and caring physician who sincerely believes you already treat everyone with respect and dignity and prefers to devote your professional-development time to other topics, such as the economics of health care or the latest innovations in your medical specialty?

Better not say that if you want to get a job, or get ahead, at the medical school.

Contrary to the strident claims of self-styled “anti-racism” advocates, the most-effective way to combat prejudice and expand opportunity in a free and open society is to make less use of crude racial and ethnic categories, not more use of them. It is to treat individuals as individuals, not as pawns in some political game or cogs in some social-justice machine. It is to respond to specific markers of personal disadvantage — offering scholarships to poor students, for example, or well-tailored accommodations to disabled ones — rather than to membership in some politically concocted class of preferred beneficiaries.

Explicit admissions preferences will end. Then a broader debate, likely a very contentious one, will begin. The stakes couldn’t be higher.

The Fayetteville City Council approved, by a vote of 8-1, recommendations to amend the city’s waste collection ordinance at the Jan. 9 council meeting. Changes to the ordinance include limiting the amount of trash, recycling, yard waste and limbs that can be collected from people’s homes each week.

The city will also no longer drive on private streets that are not regularly maintained and could damage city collection trucks. The city will determine a place to collect waste for those streets on a case-by-case basis.

The changes to the city’s ordinance do not include an increase in fees for taxpayers in Fayetteville. The City Council will decide on fee schedules during the budgeting process in June. Mayor Mitch Colvin was the only public official to oppose changes to the ordinance. Council member Kathy Jensen was not present at Monday’s meeting.

Now that the City Council has approved the recommendations to amend the ordinance, city staff will finalize the changes and start “a comprehensive education campaign about changes to ensure residents are aware and informed,” said Jodi Phelps, chief of staff for the city manager’s office, in an email.

The changes to the ordinance will not go into effect until after the education phase is complete, said Daniel Edwards, assistant director of public services for the city of Fayetteville and head of the city’s solid waste division, during a presentation to the City Council at Monday’s meeting.

Edwards said an exact date for when the changes will begin has not been decided. He said the changes could start as early as the new fiscal year, which begins on July 1, or as late as December.

The changed ordinance will put collection limitations on the following:

• •Trash: two 96-gallon rollout carts collected every week
• •Recycling: one 96-gallon rollout cart collected every other week
• •Yard waste: a combination of 10 items containing yard waste every week
• •Limbs: a total of 10 cubic yards every other week

The city-provided rollout carts for trash collection are 96-gallon bins that are either green or brown. The recycling rollout carts are the same size, but are the color blue. Yard waste can be collected in various containers including bins and plastic bags. Fayetteville defines yard waste as leaves, pine straw and grass clippings, among other small yard waste.

The city defines limbs as tree trimmings, large shrubbery and large limbs that cannot fit in the city’s rollout carts. Previously, the city’s ordinance did not have consistent limitations on trash collection and limb collection was limited to 20 cubic yards. There were no limitations on recycling and yard waste collection. Edwards said the changes will put Fayetteville more in line with ordinances in other North Carolina cities such as Raleigh, Durham, Winston-Salem and Greensboro.

Concern over recycling

Mayor Pro Tem Johnny Dawkins said at Monday’s meeting that he was concerned about the new limitations on recycling.

“I don’t want to do anything to discourage recycling,” Dawkins said.

Edwards said that the one-cart limit on recycling is a contractual requirement required by the vendor that handles the recycling process for the city.

“As part of the contract that we have with waste management, that is we’re in charge of one cart per house,” Edwards said.

The city’s solid waste division serves 61,560 households in Fayetteville as of June 2021, according to a report from the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality. Of those households, about 4,000 have an additional recycling cart that they purchased from the city under a contract with a previous vendor, according to Edwards’ presentation to the City Council. The city will still collect from households that have an additional cart. Households with only one cart cannot purchase an additional cart under the current contract. Edwards said that the new contract saves the city money as the processing rate for recycling is cheaper than before.
Dawkins, who voted for the changes to the ordinance, said that most households who want an additional cart probably already have one, but he did want a way for more households to purchase one if they wanted to.
City Manager Doug Hewett said that the city could look into allowing households to purchase an additional cart.

“We could come back to see if waste management or someone else would have some appetite to amend the contract,” Hewett said.

Colvin, who voted against the changes, asked if the Council was going to amend the recommendation to allow for more recycling. No such recommendation was made.

“The larger cans certainly encourage more recycling,” Colvin said.

Raleigh, Durham, Winston-Salem and Greensboro allow for their residents to at least have two carts for recycling collection. Edwards said that if residents have any recycling over the one-cart limit, they can take it to the Ann Street landfill in Fayetteville for recycling. Recyclable materials can be taken to the landfill at no charge, according to the fee schedule from Cumberland County Waste Management, the entity that operates the Ann Street landfill.

Changes for private streets

The changes to the waste collection ordinance approved by the City Council Monday night also clarify where the city will not collect waste on private streets that are not well maintained and may damage city vehicles or harm city employees. According to the changed ordinance, which private streets that are considered unsafe for vehicles and employees will be determined by the solid waste division.

“Unpaved, has potholes, and literally as we’re driving along, we’re doing damage to the road and damage to our trucks,” Hewett said, describing the type of roads the ordinance would affect. He said the city has received complaints of city trucks damaging private roads.

The city will still collect on private streets that do not pose this risk, Hewett said.

“This is not the private roads that are well maintained. This is the ones which are, again, not safe for vehicular traffic,” Hewett said.

The city will work with residents on private streets deemed unsafe, on a case-by-case basis, to determine a pick-up location for waste, Hewett said.
Council member D.J. Haire, who voted for the ordinance changes, said that working with residents on pick-up locations was better than forcing them to improve road conditions.

“I think that’s much better than trying to put in an expense maybe, maybe when they’re not really ready to do the expense,” Haire said. “I like that better than trying to use a force by hand on the property owner.”

When Brendan Slocumb sat down to write his debut novel, “The Violin Conspiracy,” in the summer of 2020, he had but one goal: He hoped at least one person liked it.

Over a year since its publication, “The Violin Conspiracy” has garnered rave reviews, was named by Penguin Random House as a “Must-Read Book” of 2022, and was selected as a Good Morning America Book Club Pick. It’s safe to say his furtive goal has been met and exceeded — a fact the Fayetteville native still can’t quite believe.

“I am 100% floored at its success,” he told Up & Coming Weekly with a laugh. “The fact that it's found such a varied audience is incredible. I’m just geeking out over how many people write to me that relate to the story, had no idea this world existed, or have had their minds changed because of my book — it’s amazing.”

“The Violin Conspiracy” tells the story of Ray McMillian, a young, Black, classical musician whose dreams of becoming a world-famous violinist are stymied by the rampant racism within the fine arts realm and the theft of his great-great grandfather's priceless Stradivarius the night before the most important competition of his career.

It’s a niche subject but one the newly minted author knows well. A multi-instrumentalist, Slocumb, much like his character Ray, has dedicated his life to the pursuit of musical excellence. Since earning his degree in music education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Slocumb has taught in both private and public schools and performed with orchestras throughout Northern Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C.

On Sunday, Jan. 22 at 3 p.m., the Friends of the Cumberland County Public Library will host Slocumb at Headquarters Library as he returns to Fayetteville to discuss his work. Following discussion and questions, Slocumb will sign copies of his book, which will also be available for purchase.

“We are excited and honored to host Mr. Slocumb at Cumberland County Public Library. The Violin Conspiracy is an absolutely riveting read, and I encourage everyone in the community to join us for this exciting program,” said Cumberland County Public Library Director Faith Phillips in a press release.

Slocumb, too, is excited about his return to Fayetteville. He credits the town and its proximity to Fort Bragg with enriching his life with so many different types of people. Fayetteville is also where Slocumb found classical music — a discovery he credits to saving his life.

“The strings program was a complete blessing,” he said. “Without that program, I wouldn't be here; I’d probably be in prison. I’m so grateful for the opportunities I’ve had, the people who helped me, and all the support I received from the community in general — it was life-changing. I appreciate my time there and am proud to say I'm from Fayetteville.”

The book’s protagonist, Ray, like Slocumb, is from a town in North Carolina and must choose between following his dream or wasting his talent by following paths charted by others. He’s a character drawn from Slocumb’s own lived experience, but he represents millions of other talented young people of color who are so often left out of narratives that delve into the world of high art.
Moved by the tragedy of George Floyd as it played across the world stage, Slocumb felt the time was right to bring the idea of Ray, a Black man burdened with a beautiful gift, to the forefront of contemporary literature.

“Ray is a lot of people, mostly me, but there are thousands of Ray McMillians out there,” he shared. “I think people are waking up to the fact that he exists in many forms, and they're giving this character a second look — seeing him with different eyes.”

While holding up his character as an object for inspection, Slocumb hopes that Ray's story invites and creates a meaningful dialogue around the unspoken racism and institutional bias within the world of classical music.

Historically, classical music is a European art form — originating in the mid-18th century in countries like England, Austria, German, France and Italy. However, it’s move across the Atlantic to American shores has done little to move the diversity needle. Even today, the genre remains overwhelmingly white. Less than 2% of classical musicians are African American, and only about 4.3 % are conductors.

The lack of diversity within professional classical music sends a clear message to minority youth that their access to that world is limited, and their dreams of one day being a part of it are impractical. With his novel, Slocumb hopes to bring some sorely needed visibility to the Black musicians quietly waiting for their turn in the spotlight.

“There is one Black person on stage at the New York City Philharmonic,” Slocumb stated. “That’s not at all representative. I know discrimination in classical music is common, but I think it’s out of sight, out of mind. I hope my book shines a light on the real instances of racism and discrimination in classical music and gives a voice to people who wouldn't have one otherwise. I’m really proud of that.”

Slocumb’s next novel, “Symphony of Secrets,” is slated for release in April, and the writer/musician is just excited to be along for the ride and interested in wherever this journey leads.

“I’m just open to anything that comes along,” he said with a smile in his voice. “I’m not looking for anything, but not going to let anything pass me by. I’m writing book three, and I’m just thrilled to be riding this wave of classical music.”

Visit www.cumberlandcountync.gov/library or call 910-483-7727 for more information about the Friends of the Cumberland County Public Library, Inc. and the library programs they support.

To learn more about Brendan Slocumb, visit his website at https://www.brendanslocumb.com/.

Cumberland Family Academy, the district’s family engagement outreach arm, is kicking off the new year with a family fun night.

Cumberland County Schools’ elementary school students, along with their families, are invited to attend “Family Reading Fun” with Nationally Renowned Children’s Author Dr. Kimberly Johnson, on Thursday, Jan. 19 at William H. Owen Elementary School. The school is located at 4533 Raeford Road in Fayetteville.

Families can arrive at 5 p.m. for a pizza party and will have the opportunity to mingle and take photos with local school mascots. The reading session begins at 6 p.m.

Dr. Johnson’s high-energy, interactive “Family Reading Fun” session will provide families with tips and suggestions on making reading fun while helping students become better readers. Families will leave with strategies to implement at home to help encourage a love of reading.
Pizza, books and other giveaways will be provided while supplies last. Space is limited, so families are encouraged to register today: https://bit.ly/readingfunnight.

A children’s author and educator, Dr. Johnson is passionate about education and literacy. Originally from Shelby, N.C., Dr. Johnson is currently a professor at Clemson University and has authored 18 children’s books. She visits schools throughout the U.S. speaking to children and adults about literacy and writing. She grew up in a household with grandparents who could not read or write, yet they encouraged her to be the best person she could be! Now, she has committed her life’s journey to “empowering our children to know that they can succeed, no matter what their circumstances are.” Learn more about Dr. Johnson here.

About Cumberland Family Academy

Cumberland Family Academy (CFA) provides FREE workshops and educational events for the families of Cumberland County Schools (CCS). As part of its strategic plan, CCS launched CFA during the 2020-21 school year. From research, we understand that students achieve more when families are involved in their education. The purpose of the CFA program is to provide families with tools to support the success of their children’s education and to bring schools, parents/guardians, families, and community organizations together as equal partners. For more information on CFA, visit www.familyacademy.ccs.k12.nc.us.

A Fayetteville man has been sentenced to seven years and two months in federal prison on a charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, according to the Fayetteville Police Department.
On Feb. 27, 2020, a shooting was reported in the parking lot of McDonald’s restaurant in the 500 block of Grove Street, according to a Police Department news release.

Third-party witnesses said they saw a man — later identified as Kendale Tyrone Strange — pull into the rear parking lot and confront the victim, according to the news release. Strange struck the victim in the back of his head with a handgun, and the gun discharged, the witnesses told investigating officers. The victim fell to the ground and Strange drove away, witnesses told officers.

A spent shell casing was collected as evidence, the release said.
A parallel drug investigation by the Police Department’s narcotics unit showed drug-trafficking activity at Strange’s residence on School Street, the release said. On March 18, 2020, officers searched the home and found a 45-caliber Hi Point handgun in the trunk of Strange’s car. Ballistic analysis showed that the handgun was the same gun used in the assault in the McDonald’s parking lot, the news release said.

Strange was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, the release said.

Strange was sentenced to seven years and two months on Dec. 28 in U.S. District Court in New Bern by Judge Louise W. Flanagan.

The Fayetteville Police Department, FBI and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tyler Lemons and Nicholas Hartigan prosecuted the case, according to the release.

The Fayetteville Police Department is investigating after an 18-year-old was found dead Sunday morning, Jan. 15 on Docia Circle.

Just after 11 a.m., police responded to a call of a “suspicious subject’’ lying in the backyard of a residence on the 5300 block of Docia Circle, police said in a release.

Officers confirmed the person was dead and had been shot, the release said.

Police later Sunday identified the victim as Stephon Darius Links.

The department’s Homicide Unit is investigating.

Anyone with information about this investigation is asked to contact Detective M. Waters at 910-635-4978 or Crimestoppers at 910-483-TIPS (8477).

Two women are charged with trespassing on a school bus on separate days, according to the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies arrested Gianetta Yvonne Fredrick at 9:40 a.m. Jan. 9. She is charged with trespassing on a school bus, disorderly conduct at a school, and resisting a public officer, according to a news release.
Just after 11:30 a.m. Jan. 11, Brittany Nicole Smart was arrested and charged with trespassing on a school bus, the release said.
Fredrick and Smart were taken to the Cumberland County Detention Center. Fredrick was given a $5,000 unsecured bond and a court date at 9 a.m. Feb. 15. Smart was given a $2,500 unsecured bond and a court date at 9 a.m. Feb. 16, the release said.
The Sheriff’s Office said that only school personnel and students are allowed on a school bus. Parents can walk their children to the bus, but they are not allowed to board a bus, the news release said.

A St. Pauls man was arrested just after midnight Sunday, Jan. 15 and charged with driving his truck into an outdoor seating area at a Raeford Road restaurant and striking several patrons, according to the Fayetteville Police Department.
He then put the white pickup in reverse, backed into the seating area and struck the victims again, police said.
Joshua Caleb Hunt, 22, was charged with assault at Mikoto Japanese Restaurant & Sports Bar in the 7900 block of Raeford Road, according to a news release.
Investigators said Hunt was involved in an altercation in the outdoor seating area before the incident. Two of the victims were taken to the hospital; a third victim declined transport, the release said.
The incident was reported about 12:15 a.m. Sunday, the release said.
Hunt is charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury; one count of assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury; damage to real property; and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, the release said.
He was given a $300,000 secured bond at the Cumberland County Detention Center.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Detective B. Pleze at 910-676-2596 or Fayetteville-Cumberland County CrimeStoppers at 910-483-TIPS (8477) or http://fay-nccrimestoppers.org.

Dr. Eric Mansfield, an ear, nose and throat specialist and a former state senator, will be the keynote speaker for the 30th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Prayer Brunch.

The brunch is scheduled from 10 a.m. to noon Monday, Jan. 16 at the Crown Expo Center, 1960 Coliseum Drive.
Mansfield served in the N.C. Senate from 2011 to 2013. He ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 2020.

The brunch will be followed by Youth Extravaganza from noon to 2:30 p.m. Kevin Brooks of ThegroupTheory, a nonprofit organization that works with youths, will lead the session.

At 5 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 15 Pastor Archie Smith of Spread the Word Worship Center, will be the keynote speaker at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Worship Service at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, 400 Campbell Ave.

Tickets for the brunch and worship service are $25 for each and can be purchased in advance at the Crown Expo Center box office.
Tickets also are available at Lewis Chapel Missionary Baptist Church; Simon Temple AME Zion Church; Manna Church; Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church; New Life Bible Church; and WIDU radio.

The brunch and the worship service are sponsored by the Fayetteville-Cumberland County Ministerial Council. For more information, go to the Ministerial Council website.

Harnett County events

In Harnett County, several events are planned for Monday, Jan. 16 including a breakfast, parade and downtown rally.
The NAACP MLK Breakfast is scheduled for 8 a.m. at the Dunn Community Building on Jackson Road. Bishop Reginald Hinton will be the keynote speaker, organizers said.

The parade is scheduled for 11 a.m. Lineup will begin at 10 a.m. on the 100 block of West Broad Street. Willis B. McLeod, chancellor emeritus at Fayetteville State University, is the grand marshal.

The rally is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. at City Hall. Retired Cumberland County Chief District Court Judge Ed Pone is the scheduled keynote speaker, organizers said.

The Cumberland County Board of Education voted 6-3 on Jan. 10 to end uniform dress codes at three schools.

Uniforms will not be required at Howard Hall Elementary, Pine Forest Middle and Sherwood Park Elementary in the 2023-24 school term.
School board members who voted to drop the policy were Greg West, Donna Vann, Alicia Chisolm, Susan Williams, Jacquelyn Brown and Nathan Warfel.
Carrie Sutton, Judy Musgrave and Deanna Jones voted to keep the dress code policy in place at the schools.

Sutton, a staunch supporter of school uniforms, clasped her hands and dropped her head in silent disappointment after the vote.
The principals of the three schools had said they were in favor of uniforms, but they also spoke of respecting the wishes of their respective stakeholders.
At least 70% or more of the stakeholders at each school had voted to stop requiring uniforms.
Earlier during the meeting, Sutton had asked that the agenda item on the uniforms be pulled from consensus vote for further discussion.

The board approved her request.

“I’ll just review what I said in committee last week," Sutton said. "Uniforms work. It’s shown in private charters, church schools that uniforms are for a reason. Especially in the early grades — elementary and middle schools — for attention span, concentration. And then the social stigma is removed from

one student looking at a ‘have student’ and a student looking at a not-having student.

“Here we are again. I’m asking all the board to consider how we are to support every one of our children and that’s to learn. … I’m asking that we not approve this.”

The principals were then asked to come forward to give their views on the school uniform issue.
Sutton said she had heard last week that the principals were in agreement to keep uniforms. "Has anything changed? I’m open to hearing it," she said.

Jennifer Jasinski-McAdoo, the principal at Sherwood Park Elementary, said what she is in agreement with is what’s in the best interests of her students and stakeholders.

“I thought it was my due diligence to follow through if (we were) going forth with this survey because it’s been at least a 10-year process since this happened before," she said. "I think it’s my duty as principal to listen to what the stakeholders are saying. According to these surveys and the survey results, that’s what the stakeholders are asking for.”

Jasinski-McAdoo said she has seen research from both sides of the argument: “That they do work, and they don’t. There is no proof to show that it does increase academics or (improve) behavior …”

Cornelius Felder said coming in as the new principal at Pine Forest Middle School, they were required to have the school uniform dress code. He was going to reinstate the dress code for the next school year but said he received a lot of concerns from the parents.

Those, he added, included financial worries and the fact that uniform inventory was not in stock. Some parents wanted to do a survey.
Whatever the survey determined, Felder said, “I was going to support the stakeholders of what it said. I was going to respect the process.”
Erica Fenner, the principal at Howard Hall Elementary, said she had a lot of parents ask about conducting a survey on the issues, too.

“We are a Title one (low-income) school. I am in favor of school uniforms,” Fenner said. “But I respect the vote of the majority of our stakeholders.”

West then made the motion to consider the schools’ requests to drop their uniform policies.
Warfel seconded the motion before the board as a whole gave it final approval.

In a Jan. 10 memo, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin rescinded the Aug. 24, 2021 memorandum mandating that members of the Armed Forces under DoD authority be vaccinated against COVID-19, and the memorandum of Nov. 30, 2021, pertaining to the vaccination of National Guard and Reserve personnel. 

This rescission requirement was established by the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023.
The announcement was made in a media release from the Department of Defense.

The release stated: “The health and readiness of the Force are crucial to the Department's ability to defend our nation. Secretary Austin continues to encourage all Service members, civilian employees, and contractor personnel to get vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19 to ensure Total Force readiness.”

The full rescission memorandum can be viewed at https://media.defense.gov/2023/Jan/10/2003143118/-1/-1/1/SECRETARY-OF-DEFENSE-MEMO-ON-RESCISSION-OF-CORONAVIRUS-DISEASE-2019-VACCINATION-REQUIREMENTS-FOR-MEMBERS-OF-THE-ARMED-FORCES.PDF